do you believe there is a GOD?

College Life
101

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Listening to a bunch of schizophrenics ramble about their beliefs is neither deep nor philosophical.</p>

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Case in point…</p>

<p>Actually, this whole thread is just scary. I hope to GOD this is a ■■■■■ thread, because if it isn’t, and if this is normal discussion between religious schizophrenics, the world is worse than I thought… Arguing about whether a delusion exists outside of space and time? Trying to bully people and override rational logic to somehow magically make yourself more credible, and doing so by saying they can’t think within a scientific framework? W.t.f. is that garbage? I feel like I should be passing out Thorazine like candy.</p>

102

<p>lol …</p>

103

<p>“Actually, this whole thread is just scary. I hope to GOD this is a ■■■■■ thread, because if it isn’t, and if this is normal discussion between religious schizophrenics, the world is worse than I thought… Arguing about whether a delusion exists outside of space and time? Trying to bully people and override rational logic to somehow magically make yourself more credible, and doing so by saying they can’t understand within a scientific framework? W.t.f. is that garbage? I feel like I should be passing out Thorazine like candy.”</p>

<p>How in the world is this thread scary? That just sounds bigoted, like you’re calling religious people schizophrenic, which would be incredibly ignorant. </p>

<p>“Trying to bully people and override rational logic to somehow magically make yourself more credible, and doing so by saying they can’t understand within a scientific framework?”</p>

<p>What? Magically make ourselves more credible? It’s not “magic” it’s philosophy, these are serious views held by some of the greatest minds in world history. To write all of it off as schizophrenic delusions is stupid and lazy.</p>

104

<p>“Actually, this whole thread is just scary. I hope to GOD this is a ■■■■■ thread, because if it isn’t, and if this is normal discussion between religious schizophrenics, the world is worse than I thought… Arguing about whether a delusion exists outside of space and time? Trying to bully people and override rational logic to somehow magically make yourself more credible, and doing so by saying they can’t think within a scientific framework? W.t.f. is that garbage? I feel like I should be passing out Thorazine like candy.”</p>

<p>And I also find this thread very good. There’s no flaming, no one is being rude, everyone is stating their points and refuting others in a very civilized and respectful manner, at leas IMO, at least until you came along… and if you don’t like the thread don’t read it</p>

105

<p>@ikillers
Religion is not philosophy. If it was, it would be called philosophy and not religion. No, writing off the state of being religious as schizophrenia is not stupid nor lazy; it’s progressive. A small, illogical provision in the definition excludes being religious as a schizophrenic behavior, and that is its cultural normality. The same religious belief in an atheist culture would be, by all accounts, schizophrenic.</p>

<p>You won’t understand how scary it is because you are one of the schizophrenics. To a normal person, irrational, illogical discussions conducted in a serious manner are very indicative of mental “illness.” It’s no different than if the god being referred to was from The Green Obtrusive Deity’s Holy Bible of Nothingness. He doesn’t exist in this dimension. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s only because you haven’t been touched by his loving power. Once you accept his embrace, you can free yourself from the scientific framework that bounds you to worldliness. See? If anyone said that to you seriously, you would think they were schizophrenic (or on drugs), and rightfully so.</p>

106

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<p>This is the sort of intellectual laziness that I assume you would only want to be associated with those with whom you disagree, so I’m surprised that you are willing to stoop to this level.</p>

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<p>Schizophrenia is a mental condition that is chemical/biological; religion is not. To compare them is absolutely insulting to both groups and indicative of ignorance of scientific facts, ones to which you clearly cling dearly. Don’t defecate messily on what you hold as sacred.</p>

107

<p>It’s almost not worth arguing with you. I mean, are you kidding me? Are you seriously writing off the BILLIONS of people around the world who believe in a higher power as schizophrenics? That we need to take drugs? Are you saying Mother Teresa was a schizophrenic, who only helped the poor out of a mental illness? What about Martin Luther King Jr? </p>

<p>What in the world is you definition of a “normal person”? And God doesn’t exist in this dimension, otherwise he wouldn’t be God. Doesn’t sound crazy to me. You need to get off your high science-skeptic horse and open your eyes a bit. Take a step out of the bubble.</p>

108

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I was a little early, but yeah.</p>

109

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The problem with stooping to the level of schizophrenics, especially in this case, is that it gives them the false impression that their beliefs are valid enough to be worth disproving, which is obviously counter-productive. It is a mistake to do this, and it has been done countless times in the past, several times by me. My decision is not lazy; it’s deliberate.</p>

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Schizophrenia is actually a mental disorder and does not imply any sort of chemical or biological abnormality. There is active debate about whether it has physiological origin, and the evidence is not sufficient to suggest that it does, IMO. Medication is prescribed to treat the symptoms, not to cure some genetic abnormality.</p>

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I laughed out loud a little bit.</p>

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Words need not be said ;).</p>

110

<p>Okay, I have a comment.
A lot of arguments here deal with ‘evil’ and god’s relation to it.
this assumes a benevolent god- why make that assumption in the first place?</p>

111

<p>Read “the god delusion”…pretty interesting stuff</p>

112

<p>Also, to answer your questions, ikillers…

Yes.

No, that was just me being facetious.

They were officially motivated by delusions, but I suspect they might have been inherently motivated to do good for the world, delusional or not.

The operational definition at that time was “someone who listens to logic and reason.” Everyone is delusional to some degree, but normal people modify their schemas when presented with new information and logic that contradicts their current beliefs. Edit: By the way, that’s what science is.</p>

113

<p>My reality and what I preceive is all there is. I am the sole architect of this reality. Things make sense and seem logical and “feel” right because I made them make sense seem logical and “feel” right. </p>

<p>Honestly, logic makes no sense. think about it. Reason doesnt exist</p>

<p>I am God</p>

114

<p>@gotakun
instead of having a mental disease, which you really can’t help, I think religious ppl actually choose to believe an inaginary man that will smite you if you break his laws</p>

115

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You can’t help being addicted to a chemical substance, but choosing to partake doesn’t make you not addicted. It’s important to keep in mind that psychological disorders categorize abnormal behaviors and don’t imply physiological origin, even if there is one. The terms mental “disease” and “illness” are not entirely accurate, since diseases and illnesses typically do imply genetic abnormalities.</p>

116

<p>Hmm, interesting, but I don’t think religion would be schizophrenia per say, maybe “delusional” would be a more appropriate tag.</p>

117

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<p>That seems like a well reasoned and logical argument; where does it not make sense?</p>

118

<p>The DSM-IV-TR’s definition of schizophrenia:</p>

<p>A. Characteristic symptoms: Two (or more) of the following, each present for a significant portion of time during a 1-month period (or less if successfully treated):

[ul]
[<em>] delusions Obviously, every unscientific belief is automatically a delusion</em><em>.
[li] hallucinations Any physical perception of a non-physical (non-existent) force is a hallucination. Hearing, seeing, feeling a supernatural being (a god or other holy figure, for example) is a hallucination.[/li] [li] disorganized speech (e.g., frequent derailment or incoherence) Speaking in tongues is not unheard of, but not universally applicable, although a lot of the arguments that can be found even in this thread are technically incoherent.[/li] [li] grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior[/li] [</em>] negative symptoms, i.e., affective flattening, alogia, or avolition[/ul]</p>

<p>B. Social/occupational dysfunction: For a significant portion of the time since the onset of the disturbance, one or more major areas of functioning such as work, interpersonal relations, or self-care are markedly below the level achieved prior to the onset (or when the onset is in childhood or adolescence, failure to achieve expected level of interpersonal, academic, or occupational achievement).
In the scientific social community, this dysfunction would be more apparent than in a religious culture. In other words, being surrounded by others who are similarly delusional masks the dysfunction.</p>

<p>C. Duration: Continuous signs of the disturbance persist for at least 6 months. This 6-month period must include at least 1 month of symptoms (or less if successfully treated) that meet Criterion A (i.e., active-phase symptoms) and may include periods of prodromal or residual symptoms. During these prodromal or residual periods, the signs of the disturbance may be manifested by only negative symptoms or two or more symptoms listed in Criterion A present in an attenuated form (e.g., odd beliefs, unusual perceptual experiences).
No explanation needed…</p>

<p>**Note: Delusions are not necessarily untrue. I know, it’s a hindrance to my agenda, but it needs to be said to preserve my credibility.</p>

<p>For those wondering, I didn’t just do all this for a measly thread on CC ;). I have a whole article written about this.</p>

119

<p>hey. All BS arguments aside, what’s the harm of believing there is a god? I get so tired of you people arguing that I don’t even bother looking into the evidence. I just don’t give a rat’s as5 anymore. But that doesn’t stop me from thinking about what will happen when I die, and that motivates me to aspire to be a good person, pray and hope that I don’t end up in hell. Again, what’s the harm?</p>

120

<p>The only thing wrong with religion and a deist view is when people use their view to create an agenda which affects other people (think politics, evangelism, social and moral codes, etc). And unfortunately, that’s like 99.9999% of the time, especially with Judeo-Christian religions.</p>