| Does intelligence help a person to have faith in the supernatural, or hinder the ability to have faith in the supernatural? |
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Asked 1 year ago
by Chipmonk  United States |
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About
I'm short, cute, have four legs, but my real name isn't Alvin. I don't even sing.
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11 Points
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It ain't the IQ, it is what you do with it.
Even the very intelligent can be indoctrinated into a bad belief system, especially if you nab them young enough. If they have a bad one, it is almost worse, as they can use their high IQ to justify it.
Neither.
I don't know either way. Some of history's greatest thinkers and scientists were also learned theologians and Isaac Newton was known to be a mystic. Anyhoo, this question reminded me of the results of a recent study: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=402381&c=2 There are several articles available about it, just google.
The most intelligent understand that "faith" is not necessary to the acceptance of "the supernatural".
(Now I will step behind my bullet-proof partition. um, where's my helmet?)
Aww shucks, ya don't need a helmet on my account, I'm a pacifist.
I was referring specifically to scientists who also held a strong faith. In fact many of the early scientists and mathematicians of Europe learnt their trade as an aside to their theological studies. That being said, I agree that there need not be a faith in any kind of higher power to believe in a supernatural world.
oh, ok, we agree! I also think that, while not required, belief in a high power could help.
(Where's that friggin' helmet...?)
Well, after some internal turmoil, I realised it was ok for me to believe things I saw with my own eyes. It doesn't mean that there's a higher power at work, just that we haven't gotten around to finding out why weird things happen now and again.
But wasn't it easier for people to think "supernatural" 1000 years ago before people learned there is a reason for lightening, earthquakes, tornados, natural disasters, or anything that was easily dismissed if it could be attributed to supernatural causes. Now that it has become increasingly harder to blame things on "the gods" people have to stretch their imaginations to continue to credit the supernatural rather than that which is natural, logical, and readily explainable by empirical evidence.
That's the point exactly, just because something is odd and inexplicable today, doesn't mean there isn't a perfectly reasonable explanation our science hasn't progressed to finding yet. Which comes back to the point that you don't need to have a religious faith to "believe" in supernatural occurances.
Well most "smart people", such as scientist, tend to believe in Evolution, and deny god.
I think faith is the wrong word. Shouldn't it be believe.
faith is belief.