Anyoneelse see the similarities between Belief in God and Psychosis? (beliefs, hell)

[ChristineES]

That religion is a form a pschosis was first discussed by Freud, who was a cocaine addict. Cocaine has killed countless people.

Sorry, I just couldn't resist.

[Mister Emu]

People get locked up over seriously believeing that the Government is ran by aliens

Well duh! They get locked up because the aliens don't want you to know the truth!

The main similarity between the two is their credibility.

And I'd say the main difference is reality

They are both technically possible, but are lunatic, farfetcht ideas.

Yeah... sure...

incorrigibility (not changeable by compelling counterargument or proof to the contrary)

For this to be applicable to belief in God there would have to be compelling arguement or proof to the contrary... I have found a lack of both(not saying I have compelling arguement or verifiable proof for the existance of God).

impossibility or falsity of content (implausible, bizarre or patently untrue)

God is neither impossible nor false, in no way able to be determined as implausible(or plausible for that matter), bizarre or patently untrue... guess it doesn't quite meet the standards

as you are about respond and defend your belief, remeber the bit about
" incorrigibility (not changeable by compelling counterargument or proof to the contrary) "

I surely hope you aren't suggesting that this is a compelling counterarguement?

[fantôme profane]

Anyone who thinks they are perfectly sane has got to be nuts. There are some people who do suffer from delusions, the rest of us tend to enjoy our delusions.

[ayani]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

Joseph Campbell once said, the saint and the lunatic find themselves in the same waters. The difference is: The saint knows how to swim, the lunatic doesn't.

i like this.

for me, devotion is not unlike being in love- one is blinded by it. what matters is *how* one is blinded.

one can be blinded by self-pity, fearfulness, aversion, or despair. one can also be blinded by hopefulness, selflessness, compassion, or courage.

i would rather be saved and humbled by remembrance of Truth, than left to drown in my own dellusion or anger. it's interesting that you mention psychosis, Bronze, because this is exactly what i was lead out of *by* faith.

[doppelgänger]

Not being able to distinguish one's interior world from the external world - i.e. projecting one's thoughts and imagination as a reality outside of one's subjective experience is "psychosis." Having said that, every conscious human being displays at least some degree of psychosis. When it manifests itself in harmful ways, such as destroying relationships, causing the person to engage in self-destructive behavior, violence, etc., then it should be treated with the help of a professional.

[matthew.william]

Originally Posted by Haydaman

....?
He did not, anywhere in his post say that. He said there is equally as much evidence that God exists as there is that aliens run the government. Why are people accused of lunacy "locked" away? Because they are a danger to society. Look at where religion has gotten us. Countless people have died in the name of God...and for what? Nothing has been gained, only lost. You are nothing more than a danger to society.

He doesn't believe God exists. He thinks people who believe in God are psychotic. There is no empirical hard proof that God exists, or doesn't exist. It's safe to say Bronze is certain God doesn't exist. Even if I were to provide a pretty good argument for the existence of God, he probably wouldn't change his mind. So, according to his definition, he suffers from psychosis.

As for what religion has gotten us...hospitals, orphanages, universities, etc. And those are just direct projects of the church.There are plenty of things religious people have developed, discovered that you're probably a fan of. Genetics, medicine, etc. The list goes on, but here are some fun numbers...Christians have held positions of government power for 1700 and some odd years. According to the Encyclopedia of Wars, they are responsible for roughly 3% of wars in recorded history. Muslims have held positions of government power for about 1300 years. They are responsible for about 4% of wars in recorded history. Atheists have held positions of government power for about 100 years, and are responsible for just under 2% percent of wars in recorded history. So the war/year ratio isn't all that favorable to atheists, and those numbers aren't including mass internal slaughter and genocide.
More numbers:

The Inquisition: 3000-5000 executed
Great Leap Forward: 25,000,000 dead

I won't post anymore numbers, but they generally follow the same pattern. It's not countless how many people who have died in the name of religion. It's countless who have died in the name of atheism. But that's because atheist rulers generally hide their past in mass graves.

I'm sorry you feel I'm a threat to society. I promise I'll withhold from killing babies and eating kittens for today.

Also, I wonder, what has atheism given us? Just curious.

~matthew.william~

PS. This post is in no way saying that atheist are always bad people, etc. I just don't like when people write vitriolic criticism of something that hasn't been looked into very well.

[matthew.william]

Originally Posted by doppelgänger

Not being able to distinguish one's interior world from the external world - i.e. projecting one's thoughts and imagination as a reality outside of one's subjective experience is "psychosis." Having said that, every conscious human being displays at least some degree of psychosis. When it manifests itself in harmful ways, such as destroying relationships, causing the person to engage in self-destructive behavior, violence, etc., then it should be treated with the help of a professional.

I agree completely with that. Nicely done.

~matthew.william~

[Shadow Wolf]

Yeah, us that believe in a god are a real danger to society.
We have murders, thieves, rapist, molesters, and other such people, but gotta watch out for us who believe in a god, cause were gonna destroy society.

[sojourner]

"Seek and serve Christ in all people, loving your neighbor as yourself. Respect the dignity of every human being. Persever in resisting evil, and whenever you fall into evil, repent. Strive for justice and peace among all people."

Many of us who believe in God make these promises. If that's delusional, I'd rather be there than in a reality where children are sodomized, women are degraded, the weak are taken advantage of, and those with power use everyone else for their own gain.