Religion: Real or fake, the poll

[Egbert]

Democracy in action.

[Riesstiu IV]

I am god.

[Perfection]

"God is dead" -God

[rah]

Bah, public, so I won't bother answering.

The question should be rephrased "Do you believe in God or other mythical beings like Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny?"
That might generate a few additional yes answers.

[Jon Miller]

Asking someone if they believe in a mythical being is sort of nonsensical and demonstrative of a lack of rationality, isn't it?

JM

[MikeH]

Asking someone if they are irrational isn't irrational?

[SlowwHand]

Another thread about religion started by an atheist is kind of repetitively redundant.

[Jon Miller]

Asking someone if they are irrational isn't irrational?

If they are irrational, they will answer rational or irrational. If they are rational, they will answer rational.

But it is a completely different question from 'Is there a god' even if you believe that it is irrational to believe that there is a god.

JM

[MikeH]

Well, I would rephrase it as:

"Do you believe in mythical beings like God, Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny?"

[SlowwHand]

Bah, public, so I won't bother answering.

The question should be rephrased "Do you believe in God or other mythical beings like Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny?"
That might generate a few additional yes answers.

HEY, MIKE! Why don't you people get another rallying cry?

[Jon Miller]

But that is a very different question then:
"Do you believe in beings such as God, Ghosts, or Aliens"

And I am being a lot fairer than you. No one over 4 or 7 believes in Santa or the Easter Bunny, while most of the earth believes in God. The majority beleif is by some definitions rational (and generally considered rational), even if it is wrong.

Your question makes you sound irrational, like people who ask the following: "Do you believe in man made causes of cancer, like vaccines, abestos, and tobacco?"

JM

[MikeH]

I don't think how many people believe it affects how rational it is. Lots of people believe lots of things without any rational basis.

There can't be any rational basis for belief in God, that's what Faith is about isn't it? A belief in something despite the lack of evidence.

[rah]

The age of the person and what being it is really doesn't matter. It's all the same despite the count of believers. You're either a believer or not.

I do find it laughable that people think that the more believers = validation when speaking of God.

[MikeH]

To be fair his point that a main stream belief is considered more rational because it's mainstream does hold some water.

He didn't say it supported the existence of God.

[Jon Miller]

I don't think how many people believe it affects how rational it is. Lots of people believe lots of things without any rational basis.

There can't be any rational basis for belief in God, that's what Faith is about isn't it? A belief in something despite the lack of evidence.

Believing things with lacking evidence is rational behavior. Everyone does it. From people who believe their team will win, to people who support democracy in the Middle East, to people who think that providing health care to everyone is a better system then the US one.

It is believing things with contrary evidence which is less than completely rational.

I would argue, as would the millions of scientists and engineers who believe in God (and many who don't believe in God) that that isn't what religious Faith is all about. Just like it isn't what all the other types of faith are about.

And if you believe it is, you are listening to special people like Kid rather than rational people like Freeman Dyson... which isn't very reasonable is it?

JM