02 April 2011

Quote of the Week:

"The true-believer syndrome merits study by science. What is it that compels a person, past all reason, to believe the unbelievable. How can an otherwise sane individual become so enamored of a fantasy, an imposture, that even after it's exposed in the bright light of day he still clings to it — indeed, clings to it all the harder?… No amount of logic can shatter a faith consciously based on a lie."


~ M. Lamar Keene, Allen Spraggett, and William V. Rauscher

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

The role of vanity is often overlooked Zee. Most of the religious folks that I've known over the years share this one trait...the inability to contemplate the complete end of their existence. That's one of the main reasons that their faith is so important to them.

Rob

Dave Lucas said...

Amen to that, he commented chuckilingly...

Unknown said...

Religion is a physical and emotional need.

It is no coincidence that churches are full of simple, lonely, shy and
heartbroken people.

Religion is a friend and crutch for these people. It gives them emotional support and means they don't have to expend too much energy thinking!

Jack Crow said...

"It is no coincidence that churches are full of simple, lonely, shy and
heartbroken people."

What a load of hooey.

C Woods said...

Recently I read the book "Sway: The Irresisable Pull of Irrational Behavior" by Ori and Rom Brafman. It gives dozens of examples of how even smart people have been swayed by a pretty face, fear of loss or failure, preconceived ideas and much more. The examples are interspersed with research results which explains what swayed the people involved. This book doesn't provide deep psychological profiles, but rather explains irrational behaviors in layman's terms. I'm sure everyone will recognize a bit of oneself in the book, but some may be too irrational to admit it.

Although I am convinced that most believers have been so indoctrinated (most often as children) that they cannot reach beyond their long-held beliefs, I thought the examples in this book might explain some behaviors of "true believers." For example, if someone sees the irrationality of his/her religious views, s/he may reject them because of the fear of loss ---all those years wasted as a believer, the sense of belonging provided by a church, the comfort of thinking a supreme being has one's back, fear of being rejected by one's religious family, and of course "just in case" insurance.

I've known people who switched form one religious group to another because they've been sucked in by a fast talker or a pretty face ---just as we are sucked in by advertising. Or a friend tells about her wonderful experience at a church, so with a preconceived idea of its warmth and acceptance, someone thinks he feels the same way ---at least temporarily. Later the fear of loss will prevent him from rejecting the first impression.

It happens to all of us to come extent. But some people have better BS detectors than others.

Michelle said...

same quote could be used to query why people fall in love too. ;-)

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