Religion Holds the Mind Ransom to Irrational Beliefs
Submitted by Julio Chang
What causes great minds to be held ransom by irrational beliefs? Or small minds, for that matter?
As I continue to research my doctoral dissertation on “Interpersonal Conflict of Pastors Who Have Lost Their Faith”, I realize that many religious people have not overcome their childhood indoctrination because they (1) find comfort in those beliefs, (2) fear the truth will expose the fallacy of their beliefs, or (3) their ego prevents them from admitting they have been wrong.
Their irrationality often turns into defensiveness and belligerence even when confronted with scientific truths that debunk their long-held belief in mythology.
Let’s use the Book of Genesis as an example. The first book of the Christian bible describes the creation of the world and humanity, followed by its destruction. What rational person really believes that the earth was created in five days approximately 6000 years ago, populated by two people, one of whom was created from the rib cage of her partner, manipulated by a talking serpent to disobey their creator, and there was a 40-day flood that destroyed most of the earth except for two of all animals and eight people?
Four in ten Americans believe that god created the earth less than 10,000 years ago…
