Religion is a form of Stockholm Syndrone.

An interesting take on why people believe in god.

http://andrewoneverything.com/religion-as-a-form-of-stockholm-syndrome

It explains why people are grateful to god for saving them some horrible disease or accident when they should ask why god gave them the horrible disease in the first place.

Reply 1

buchanan700

16

I'm tired of this. Sure I'm an atheist, but you know what? Why does it even matter to you why people believe in God? It's comforting, it's been around since the dawn of intelligent man to explain things people can't, and in any case it makes people happy.
Just leave them alone. Live and let live.

Reply 2

Claudine

14

I'm an athiest too, I think the idea of a god is nice, so can't you just let people believe what they want!?

Reply 3

Merell

Nice metaphor. But seriously? SS and religion are otherwise completely and utterly unrelated.

Reply 4

RollerBall

20

Original post by buchanan700

I'm tired of this. Sure I'm an atheist, but you know what? Why does it even matter to you why people believe in God? It's comforting, it's been around since the dawn of intelligent man to explain things people can't, and in any case it makes people happy.
Just leave them alone. Live and let live.

By challenging ideas we have learnt so much. You can strengthen your own ideals or learn new ones by debating. This is a new viewpoint I for one have never thought about before. It's not the usual anti-islam trash we see on here, it's intelligent and well written.

If everyone sat down and accepted everything we'd have stagnated as a race long ago, innovation would have slowed down we wouldn't be anywhere near where we are now. Discussion is one of the finer points of intelligence/higher mental states.

What a truly ignorant thing to say.

Reply 5

Moleman1996

17

Original post by buchanan700

I'm tired of this. Sure I'm an atheist, but you know what? Why does it even matter to you why people believe in God? It's comforting, it's been around since the dawn of intelligent man to explain things people can't, and in any case it makes people happy.
Just leave them alone. Live and let live.

it matters when wars start due to religion...

but I agree, i'd rather just leave well alone than provoke religious people into attacking atheism, it's really quite tiring when they can't get their heads around us not having some sort of Grand Council of Atheists... and religion does do a lot of good, corrupt leaders use it to their own ends to do bad.

Reply 6

Aphotic Cosmos

17

Original post by Claudine

I'm an athiest too, I think the idea of a god is nice, so can't you just let people believe what they want!?

You think that being the subject of an infinitely powerful big brother who has predetermined your future is a nice idea? :confused:

Reply 7

evantej

18

Original post by Maker

An interesting take on why people believe in god.

http://andrewoneverything.com/religion-as-a-form-of-stockholm-syndrome

It explains why people are grateful to god for saving them some horrible disease or accident when they should ask why god gave them the horrible disease in the first place.

This is an inappropriate comparison for a number of reasons. First of all, I think you take a religious person's flippant comment after surviving a horrible disease at face value. Secondly, and related to the previous point, what you suggest about the religious person's reaction has more to do with their view of God's benevolence rather than the condition you ascribe to them. Thirdly, a truly religious person has a rather 'care free' view of mortal life so I doubt they would ever react in the way you suggest when they learned they had a horrible disease.

The commentary on the website you linked is very misleading. It represents religious views from a particular denomination that have little relevance to Britain, and have had little relevance for a long time. It is like suggesting the religion Voltaire critiques in Candide is the same as modern Protestantism in Britain...

Reply 8

Chloe xxx

I too dont believe, but if it brings a person inner peace and influences them to be good people, which I'm sure it does to many, then its only a good thing. It doesnt affect me, only when people manipulate 'God's Word' to fit their own warped agenda.

I do think these people give religion a bad name as a whole.

EDIT: Hmmm....why have people negged this? lol

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 9

Maker

OP

20

Original post by Merell

Nice metaphor. But seriously? SS and religion are otherwise completely and utterly unrelated.

Your easy acceptance of ignorance is truly remarkable.

Reply 10

Maker

OP

20

Original post by buchanan700

I'm tired of this. Sure I'm an atheist, but you know what? Why does it even matter to you why people believe in God? It's comforting, it's been around since the dawn of intelligent man to explain things people can't, and in any case it makes people happy.
Just leave them alone. Live and let live.

Are you kidding me?

Don't you think that its important to find out why people do what they do? That is the whole point of learning, to understand the world around us.

Just because people have been doing it for thousands of years is irrelevant.

Reply 11

Maker

OP

20

Original post by evantej

This is an inappropriate comparison for a number of reasons. First of all, I think you take a religious person's flippant comment after surviving a horrible disease at face value. Secondly, and related to the previous point, what you suggest about the religious person's reaction has more to do with their view of God's benevolence rather than the condition you ascribe to them. Thirdly, a truly religious person has a rather 'care free' view of mortal life so I doubt they would ever react in the way you suggest when they learned they had a horrible disease.

The commentary on the website you linked is very misleading. It represents religious views from a particular denomination that have little relevance to Britain, and have had little relevance for a long time. It is like suggesting the religion Voltaire critiques in Candide is the same as modern Protestantism in Britain...

I don't think your post refutes the case for SS being a reason why people believe in a deity.

Also, don't forget cognitive dissonance which works hand in hand with SS to provide people with reasons why they should believe in a deity and ignore all the troublesome contradictions that belief in a deity brings.

Reply 12

EffieFlowers

3

Original post by Moleman1996

it matters when wars start due to religion...

but I agree, i'd rather just leave well alone than provoke religious people into attacking atheism, it's really quite tiring when they can't get their heads around us not having some sort of Grand Council of Atheists... and religion does do a lot of good, corrupt leaders use it to their own ends to do bad.

Because there would be no war if there were no religion..

Reply 13

EffieFlowers

3

Original post by Maker

Are you kidding me?

Don't you think that its important to find out why people do what they do? That is the whole point of learning, to understand the world around us.

Just because people have been doing it for thousands of years is irrelevant.

Well if people spent their time asking that question about more relevant circumstances other than a persons belief the world may be a better place.

Reply 14

RollerBall

20

Original post by Maker

Posts

I could rep you so hard right now.

Reply 15

evantej

18

Original post by Maker

I don't think your post refutes the case for SS being a reason why people believe in a deity.

Also, don't forget cognitive dissonance which works hand in hand with SS to provide people with reasons why they should believe in a deity and ignore all the troublesome contradictions that belief in a deity brings.

It does. I suggested that religious people do not see their relationship with God in the way that SS requires. In fact, it does not even apply in the example you gave. A religious person would not thank God for 'saving' their life, except flippantly. Their relationship to God and view of death is completely different to what you believe. A lot depends upon the individual beliefs of the person, but - to give one extreme example - the person's life is not his own anyway so he has nothing to be thankful for. He is merely following God's will. In addition, and this is a more general point, whether or not he died in this case is completely irrelevant because of his views of the afterlife.

Cognitive dissonance would support your argument if you were right, but you are not. You are using a very specific example to infer some generalisation about religious belief being irrational. But you really did not need SS to 'prove' that. And a religious person does not see the 'troublesome contradictions' in their belief, otherwise they would not be religious in the first place, so you end up being wrong for two different reasons. Neither SS nor cognitive dissonance have anything to do with religious belief.

Reply 16

buchanan700

16

Original post by RollerBall

By challenging ideas we have learnt so much. You can strengthen your own ideals or learn new ones by debating. This is a new viewpoint I for one have never thought about before. It's not the usual anti-islam trash we see on here, it's intelligent and well written.

If everyone sat down and accepted everything we'd have stagnated as a race long ago, innovation would have slowed down we wouldn't be anywhere near where we are now. Discussion is one of the finer points of intelligence/higher mental states.

What a truly ignorant thing to say.

Original post by Maker

Are you kidding me?

Don't you think that its important to find out why people do what they do? That is the whole point of learning, to understand the world around us.

Just because people have been doing it for thousands of years is irrelevant.

But 'challenging ideas' and 'learning' in a truly neutral academic sense isn't what the OP is doing. He's clearly attacking faith, and disguising it as some sort of intellectual thing. 'Stockholm Syndrome', 'victims of' etc, besides using childish and snide arguments (Oh, why doesn't God do this then if he's almighty, ha ha ha), is just an example of trying to rabble rouse.
Finding the roots of someone's faith? Great.
Examining and studying religions in terms of it's relevance to world history? Great.
Challenging genuine real world concerns about the behaviours of extremists? Yup.

The point is, all this is, is all this is doing is trying to raise an argument when there is no need. This is subtley or not much, trying to make people question their faith and use points, such as "Why doesn't God do anything?' that you know we'll never know and can only be explained by pure faith.

Reply 17

Merell

Original post by Maker

Your easy acceptance of ignorance is truly remarkable.

I'm not ignoring the problems of religion, ignorance, war or otherwise. I am simply saying that using stockholm syndrome as an analysis is outright wrong. The two are entirely unrelated. The psychological symptoms and causes that lead to an SS diagnosis involve circumstances that CANNOT be replicated by any other social or 'religious' framework. For a start, it involves intense 1 to 1 interpersonal interaction /trauma with another flesh and blood person (not a metaphysical concept)- SS is dependant on power and control dynamics between humans. Not ideas, or abstract social groups.

Sure, you can make a nice meaningful metaphor out of it. But if you try to actually compare the two with any degree of seriousness... you would be being.. err, kinda silly.

TL;DR you can not literally compare SS to religion and not have sensible people laugh at you.