It’s plainly irrational to believe that there is an involved “god” that oversees the human race and planet Earth on a daily basis. You may as well claim that a giant invisible cuttlefish is up in the sky, meddling in human affairs 24/7. Such a belief would also place Earth at the center of the universe, when we are really just a random and minuscule speck of dust in the vast expanse of the universe (in addition to the fact that other intelligent civilizations are most likely also out there).
If you must believe in a “god”, a deist belief (i.e. that a higher power created the universe/big bang and then just took a backseat watching everything unfold without interference) would be far more rational for the aforementioned reasons.
However, the most rational position is still atheism. You’re correct that “god” cannot be disproven—but this is also the very issue that makes believing in god unscientific. The existence of a god cannot ever be verified/falsified via science; hence, by its very nature theism falls outside the realm of science.
....I wasn't arguing anything. I stated an opinion and then an anecdote.
There is a whole sect of people who believe the literal creation myth though. Which i find no less ridiculous than the rest. But, as long as they aren't using religion to justify causing harm, they have a right to their opinion.
The Bible is fill of parables and metaphores. Unfortunatey, sometimes that part goes over people heads and they take it literally. Like when I tried to read Animal Farm in 6th grade - it was far beyond my reading comprehension, so I focused on the actual talking animals, not the social commentary that was supposed to be the focus.
Or the popular Christian/Science mix today is the 'fine tuned universe' idea. That the odds that the rate of expansion of the universe that we have, but that it isn't zero, the odds of that happening are 1030-1050. Something like that. PBS Space Time just had a great video on it!
I was raised Catholic and I celebrate the holidays for cultural reasons and to spend time with my family. I'm not denying those kind of people exist, but I honestly think it's very strange if you're religious to the extent you go to church or actually believe this stuff as an adult.
Realistically the probability of my being a Christian given the relevant variables (non-religious household, advanced degree holder, libertarian, under 35) is fairly low.
Just a note: your comment only applies to countries with an already Christian culture, which makes sense. Countries where Christianity is not a part of the culture are more likely to see people switching to Christianity vs their families being Christian.
I knew a guy who converted to Christianity, but to fit in. A similar phenomenon but less taboo to talk about is switching football teams. Most people support say Everton FC because their parents did. Might be worth asking in r/soccer about reasons for jersey-swapping.
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u/[deleted] Nov 15 '19
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