this post was submitted on 15 Jan 2024
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[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago (5 children)

I believe in "at least one god" as a Thelemite and a Freemason. I wasn't raised religious at all, in fact my secular parents actively discouraged me from taking part in faith-based activities with my friends. When I grew up, though, I realized this couldn't be it and went on a Quest for the Truth.

God is Math. God is the Sun. God is NOT an imaginary friend, as they say, "hanging around up there".

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

Besides the fear of death that many mentioned already, its also a need to find an answer to how the world works and the need to find purpose in life.

Without these we suffer: Without understanding our environment, we feel our circumstances are out of our control and become anxious. Without purpose we become depressed (there is an excellent book called "from death camp to existentialism" about this subject).

Our brains are asking us for an urgent answer and the best quick answer most people can come with is religion. This is why it exists in every culture in history.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago (3 children)

Organized religion or religion in a spiritual sense? I do believe there is some higher power that created matter and the laws of physics. But I don’t believe they care or even know about us.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

Dude, we have people that think vaccines are giving people disabilities and that the moon landing was fake. There's no shortage of morons out there. I'd go so far as to say many, if not most religious people are fairly rational, especially by comparison xD

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

Same reason people buy lottery tickets despite the odds..

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I have recently come to the conclusion that there are cognitively functional people with a sound mind that believe that it is not possible to know anything for sure. Like, it's not possible to know if the scientists are telling the truth. We just have to take their word for it. Why not stick to the thousand year old belief system then? It has better apologists, armed with an experience of hundreds of years of demagogy and dogma regarding fending of criticism of said belief system.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago

None of the knowledge you mentioned overturns religion

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Might be a bit shocking but it wasn't knowledge that deconverted me.

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