It has been coming for a while, a post where I basically slag off religion in all its forms. However as this has already been done by people far cleverer then me I shall do something different instead.
What is a delusion?
"The most recent Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders defines a delusion as:
A false belief based on incorrect inference about external reality that is firmly sustained despite what almost everybody else believes and despite what constitutes incontrovertible and obvious proof or evidence to the contrary. The belief is not one ordinarily accepted by other members of the person's culture or subculture."
If the last sentence had not been put in then the vast majority of the worlds population would be deemed to suffer from delusions.
Let us accept for the time being that people brought up and taught religion in a religious environment are not suffering from delusions, what I am curious is when people swop from one religion to another or from atheism.
If a friend of yours was to suddenly start giving lots of money to scientologists would you be concerned? What if they suddenly became a born again christian and started to spread the message that homosexuality was a sin?
Do they need psychiatric help?
In my posts the views expressed are my own, in this please note I am playing devils advocate with myself. I am not sure what to think.
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I was brought up in a religious household FM. It was not oppresive and I was allowed to formulate my own (non) beliefs.
ReplyDeleteFor my parents sake - I truly hope that there is a 'Heaven' and that they exist there.
For me - I believe that man needs to 'look up to' someone/thing as much as they need to look 'down' on others ie, racism, sectarism, etc. It is neccesary otherwise to consider the point of existence. To me - it is just purely procreation of the species. Nothing more - nothing less. I think it is arrogant to think otherwise.
I am content with my (non) belief... but I would not deny others their belief. Belief in a Supreme Entity is not in itself a mental illness... but appled with fervour, it can indeed become one.
Anna G.
Same here; growing up in a household where father was strict and more religious, although still moderate, while mother, though religious too, she openly voiced doubts. It was she who allowed me the freedom to decide for myself - and she bought me lots of books on all religions to read too. Only, my 'conviction' now is a bit different to Anna G, in that I 'feel' more inclined to believe that powers other than simple evolution are responsible for the creation of this universe and what's beyond. I feel, if you don't mind me saying so Anna, that it is too simplistic a view to ignore the fact that the human knowledge is but an ant's worth compared to what we don't know - and will never know. And so, yes I believe in god - but not in the way described by all major religions, in that someone is sitting up there recording what we eat and how we talk ... and is just preoccupied with punishing us when we are naughty - and chuck us to the cool or red hot room accordingly. I think sometimes, what a vendictive character!
ReplyDeleteInstead, I feel this superior entity that we can't comprehend is a positive force that does and will help us go through our lives when we remember 'it' - a pure and positive energy of 'good' ... the rest is up to us whether to remember or not ... and that's why we are all so different.