God created in man's image

[Michael]

Dear God, please confirm what I already believe

God may have created man in his image, but it seems we return the favour. Believers subconsciously endow God with their own beliefs on controversial issues.

"Intuiting God's beliefs on important issues may not produce an independent guide, but may instead serve as an echo chamber to validate and justify one's own beliefs," writes a team led by Nicholas Epley of the University of Chicago in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The researchers started by asking volunteers who said they believe in God to give their own views on controversial topics, such as abortion and the death penalty. They also asked what the volunteers thought were the views of God, average Americans and public figures such as Bill Gates. Volunteers' own beliefs corresponded most strongly with those they attributed to God.

Next, the team asked another group of volunteers to undertake tasks designed to soften their existing views, such as preparing speeches on the death penalty in which they had to take the opposite view to their own. They found that this led to shifts in the beliefs attributed to God, but not in those attributed to other people.

Source (http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18216-dear-god-please-confirm-what-i-already-believe.html)

This should surprise no one, though it is interesting to find some scientific evidentical support for this analysis that has been so obvious for so long.

As I have often pointed out in the past, MacLeans Magazine does an annual religion survey here in Canada. They always report that some 85-90% of the population claim to be Christains. But apparently less than 50% believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ. There are always lots of wild discrepencies like this - indicating that a great many people define their religion quite subjectively - and then claim that is what religion stands for.

Indeed, if I recall correctly, Kingdaddy - everyone's favorite religious idiot from 'the other board' - was particularly pernicious in playing this game. He had constructed an elaborate and complex religious system that had nothing to do with Christianity (looked a lot like Buddhism) but claimed that it was Christianity as it was meant to be (he's right and the bible is wrong of course).

One must never underestimate the ability of humans to delude themselves.

[Margot]

Source (http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18216-dear-god-please-confirm-what-i-already-believe.html)

This should surprise no one, though it is interesting to find some scientific evidentical support for this analysis that has been so obvious for so long.

As I have often pointed out in the past, MacLeans Magazine does an annual religion survey here in Canada. They always report that some 85-90% of the population claim to be Christains. But apparently less than 50% believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ. There are always lots of wild discrepencies like this - indicating that a great many people define their religion quite subjectively - and then claim that is what religion stands for.

Indeed, if I recall correctly, Kingdaddy - everyone's favorite religious idiot from 'the other board' - was particularly pernicious in playing this game. He had constructed an elaborate and complex religious system that had nothing to do with Christianity (looked a lot like Buddhism) but claimed that it was Christianity as it was meant to be (he's right and the bible is wrong of course).

One must never underestimate the ability of humans to delude themselves.

You must be reading my mind. I was thinking about this very thing last night, and then again this morning. Hmm... I was thinking about it a lot.

My atheist friend was dumped by her catholic boyfriend last night because she is an atheist. I mean, we all saw it coming, but still. Ouch. Everything was going well until he got home to his fantastically religious family. YOU'RE DATING A WHAT?!

They'd been dating for two months. He went to church each Sunday before going to work, she took her pill each morning, and both attended his death-metal concerts in the evening.

I'm sorry, dude, but you're not going to heaven.

I just don't understand the mentality behind buffet-style religion. Or this manufactured omniscient got-yer-back buddy.

[Americano]

You must be reading my mind. I was thinking about this very thing last night, and then again this morning. Hmm... I was thinking about it a lot.

My atheist friend was dumped by her catholic boyfriend last night because she is an atheist. I mean, we all saw it coming, but still. Ouch. Everything was going well until he got home to his fantastically religious family. YOU'RE DATING A WHAT?!

They'd been dating for two months. He went to church each Sunday before going to work, she took her pill each morning, and both attended his death-metal concerts in the evening.

I'm sorry, dude, but you're not going to heaven.

I just don't understand the mentality behind buffet-style religion. Or this manufactured omniscient got-yer-back buddy.

Sounds like it was casual until until his visit to control central. She's fortunate it happened now. They could well be the potential in-laws from hell for a non-Catholic.

[Zarquon]

exactly what I've said here, and experienced myself(was raised a Sikh).

[cassandrabandra]

Source (http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18216-dear-god-please-confirm-what-i-already-believe.html)

This should surprise no one, though it is interesting to find some scientific evidentical support for this analysis that has been so obvious for so long.

As I have often pointed out in the past, MacLeans Magazine does an annual religion survey here in Canada. They always report that some 85-90% of the population claim to be Christains. But apparently less than 50% believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ. There are always lots of wild discrepencies like this - indicating that a great many people define their religion quite subjectively - and then claim that is what religion stands for.

Indeed, if I recall correctly, Kingdaddy - everyone's favorite religious idiot from 'the other board' - was particularly pernicious in playing this game. He had constructed an elaborate and complex religious system that had nothing to do with Christianity (looked a lot like Buddhism) but claimed that it was Christianity as it was meant to be (he's right and the bible is wrong of course).

One must never underestimate the ability of humans to delude themselves.

LOL -I don't know how many times I have said that God is exactly as judgemental and vindictive, or kind,loving and generous as his followers.

Nice people believe in a nice God. Nasty people believe in a nasty God, even if they tell us how much he loves us.

I've said before that the biblical God is seriously deranged - and the model for toxic, abusive parenting. I have to wonder why people block out how the story of genesis, Cain and Abel, and also Abraham sacrificing Isaac - to name just a few of the highlights of God's sadism, manipulation and favouritism - would be considered if a human being played these games with another person.

I have thought a lot about the kind of God I could believe in - He would be omnipresent in all of us, He would care for that which he created, and to love God is to treat others, and your world, with care and with respect. But the thing is with this God, he doesn't have to exist, because all of that is just the right way to behave anyway.

So if my "God" is in my image .... I'm irrelevant!

As for religion - its alwats struck me that those who talk most about howmy ex sister in law - a serial God botherer for at least the last 20 years. has suddenly turned into a non believer according to her daughter. I don'

[rstones199]

LOL -I don't know how many times I have said that God is exactly as judgemental and vindictive, or kind,loving and generous as his followers.

Nice people believe in a nice God. Nasty people believe in a nasty God, even if they tell us how much he loves us.

I've said before that the biblical God is seriously deranged - and the model for toxic, abusive parenting. I have to wonder why people block out how the story of genesis, Cain and Abel, and also Abraham sacrificing Isaac - to name just a few of the highlights of God's sadism, manipulation and favouritism - would be considered if a human being played these games with another person.

I have thought a lot about the kind of God I could believe in - He would be omnipresent in all of us, He would care for that which he created, and to love God is to treat others, and your world, with care and with respect. But the thing is with this God, he doesn't have to exist, because all of that is just the right way to behave anyway.

So if my "God" is in my image .... I'm irrelevant!

As for religion - its alwats struck me that those who talk most about howmy ex sister in law - a serial God botherer for at least the last 20 years. has suddenly turned into a non believer according to her daughter. I don'

Not me cassandrabandra, I dont believe in fairy-tales :p

[cassandrabandra]

Not me cassandrabandra, I dont believe in fairy-tales :p


well Rstones, if the kind of God I could believe in would make me irrelevant, maybe its better not to have a God like that in the first place ...

no matter how much nicer than the biblical God.

and oops I just noticed my strange ending to that previous post - my ex SiL who was a serious God botherer for decades as apparently given it up. a couple of years ago we got chocolate LAMBS for easter, and I was persona non grata because someone asked about why eggs were associated with easter ... and being me ... I explained the origins of easter symbols ... (bad move when we were sharing transport. a deadly silence all the way home)

but now she's gone off God. I don't know why, and she hasn't spoken to me for a while ... the girls grew older, so didn't rely on parents to help them maintain contact, and we had a couple of disputes about that time because I tended to challenge a few things (not religion - I didn't go that far, but historical inaccuracies, creationism, prejudice against people I knew who were gay - these things all got a bit much ...

but she was such a staunch believer at least from her late twenties through to late forties - I wonder for how many others its just a fad that passes ...

not meaning to belittle believers, but thats what happened with her

[Michael]

I've never seen anyone express that 'religous phase' thing.

I have seen people go into 'religious phase' when they hookup with some new significant other who just happens to be strongly religious. Similarly, I've seen religious people become decidedly 'non-religious' as soon as they divorced/separated from their significant other (who is known to be strongly religious).

That is to say, most of the 'religious phases' I've seen in people seem to correlate to their personal relationships.

[cassandrabandra]

I've never seen anyone express that 'religous phase' thing.

I have seen people go into 'religious phase' when they hookup with some new significant other who just happens to be strongly religious. Similarly, I've seen religious people become decidedly 'non-religious' as soon as they divorced/separated from their significant other (who is known to be strongly religious).

That is to say, most of the 'religious phases' I've seen in people seem to correlate to their personal relationships.

she seemed to have multiple levels of "religious phase".

she took up religion after a personal tragedy, and it both contributed to and sustained her through a relationship break up. she started out with Dutch Reformed, and moved on to Baptist Evangelical - including one congregation which seemed to be a single parent church. chnaged congregations quite regularly, and eventually hooked up with a pastor and remarried, changed congregations again after that divorce At least twice), and was even more nuttily religious when last I saw her (nearly two years ago). not sure what's happened now.

Clearly religion was never satisfying (all the changes of congregation) so maybe she's looking elsewhere for answers - but as she was so obsessive and even tyrannical she must have had to recreate herself in some way to let it all go.