Faith is over-rated.

I’ve been reading this book called The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. Basically, the entire book disapproves of the concept of god and meticulously disproves the existence of it.

Why do people believe in god? Why do people blindingly believe in something that has never been remotely proven to be true? Why do people waste so much money and time on religion? Why is it okay for people to do hurtful things as long as they’re in the name of religion? Why is it frown upon to lose faith rather than being celebrated as an achievement of freedom? Why do people get penalised or worse, killed for not believing or adhering? Why do some animals get discriminated because of fools who mistranslated some religious scripts? Why don’t religions get on with time?

Why burn offerings to your god on the side of a road where parking is already scarce and pollute our already ailing environment? Why taint my Chinese New Year celebrations by giving me a red greeting card which includes description of how the colour red signifies the blood spilled by the son of god? Why can’t I walk my dog in peace without getting dirty looks?

I once worked with a girl who stressed out so much because her mother would pressure her into spending hundreds of Ringgit into buying offerings to be burnt away. This is a girl who earned so little she couldn’t fix her car or sometimes, make payments for the car loan. Apparently all these issues did not matter to the mother.

Will the world be a peaceful place if everyone had one same faith? Does religion cancel out ill thoughts and human’s thirst for power & money? Seriously? Lets say it is possible to convert EVERYONE on this planet to one religion, then what? Will there be no more suicides, gossips, bribery, murders and rapes? Do religious people truly believe that having one single whatever faith will make the world a better place? If you answered yes, I can understand why you’re religious in the 1st place.

I mean all of us non-religious people could probably answer all the questions above, but the book truly explored them and more.

According to Dawkins, some people are religious because apparently religions teach one to be moral, ethical and the whole shebang. But it’s pretty obvious that you don’t need a religion to impart these qualities into a person, right? I mean personally, none of my parents are religious but yet I’ve been taught to be considerate to other people and to stay away from crimes basically. So why don’t just cut out the middleman and get straight to attaining those qualities?

You may argue that there are people who practise religions the wrong way and shouldn’t be clumped together with people who practise them properly. But you can’t deny that all these instances of stupidity and inconsideration did begin with a blind faith in a delusion, no?

30 thoughts on “Faith is over-rated.”

  1. I’m always puzzled & astonished by how far people will go for their faith. Some even started war in the name of it.

    Some even preached me about their religions. Not to be offensive, but I don’t find the way they practice their faith amusing. It borders on mysticism & radicalism.

    Whenever I try to talk something logical & scientific, some of these people always turn it into a religious topic, and it really puts me off. (-_-)

    Moreover, most of the religions nowadays are a mixture of itself and traditional cultures. Some have so many different type of teachings it’s really confusing.

    Hence, My Favorite Tag-line for the faithfuls:
    “I believe in God, but not Religions.”

  2. so much as one would wonder why some people have faith, others also wonder why some have none. If only we can agree to disagree.

    I personally love the quote, just because u don’t see or feel or believe in something, it doesn’t mean that it’s not there.

  3. I don’t really have the link on me, but I think having faith in a higher being fulfills certain parts of your brain. So religious nirvana is literally achievable as a physical state, if you go by mapping of chemistry and brain waves.

  4. Richard Dawkins is the famous name for atheist literature, but try “God is Not Great” by Christopher Hitchens for more science-y explanations :)

  5. Alex-RC, not SOME wars, all wars have religious roots.

    bob…likewise just because someone believes in something vehemently it doesn’t mean it is there either.

    That’s the whole problem with this ‘God’ business, they can’t prove it is there and we can’t prove it’s not.

    It’s ok, science and religion are mutually exclusive – so believe whatever makes you happy :D

  6. alex: i guess that’d make you an agnostic then ;)

    bob: agree with ST (comment above), just because u can’t see it or feel it, doesn’t mean it’s there.

    lainie: i think only some people are able to achieve spiritual enlightenment whether through religion or not. but unfortunately many are just not capable of doing that and use religion as an excuse to inconvenient and judge others.

    mell: thanks for the recommendation, mwahs

    yeehou: word!

    st: i don’t really care if ppl keep religions to themselves but what piss me off really is when they start imposing it on others or fulfilling nonsensical rituals at the expense of other people.

  7. Well said alex, Believe in God, not religion..:D

    I think religion is a safety net when shit happens so that you can always have something to blame. The concept of the safety net is also used by those that preach their religion..ie “even if no one loves you, god loves you”………

    I guess faith is a gift some of us have not yet received…….

    i’ll pick up the book and read…

  8. Who give you the air to breath in, the sunshine to keep you warm, the rain to quench your thirst?
    Most importantly, who create you?
    Do you really believe that all these marvelous creations just happen like that for no reason?
    No darling, of course there is SOMEONE behind all these creations.

    You need faith when you believe the existence of God because without it, what’s the point you have God anyway?

    And yes, I truly believe that the world will be a better place by having ONE religion :)

    1. ky: he’s awesome!

      matt: yeah, seems to me it’s just a security blanket. and ppl modifies teaching to justify their actions.

      vanilla: what an awful quote!! this is the kind of extremism propagated by religious bigots.

      nadia: The world will only be better according to u because ur blind faith has rendered u unable to recognise the countless miseries that have come with religions.

      As for the creation of the world, it’s a such a mysterious and complex scientific coincidence that yeah, I guess it’s just more acceptable for simpletons to believe that it all started from god.

  9. Why do people blindingly believe in something that has never been remotely proven to be true?

    Take God out of the picture and put LOVE

  10. actually, err… i didn’t complete my sentence and had accidentily submitted my comment.

    i believe in God. i belive in Christ. because without God, nothing in this world ever really make sense (to me) and to many out there.

    God = Love

    was just trying to help you to understand a little better when you questioned on why do people blindingly believe in something that has never been remotely proven to be true.

    the same thing goes for love.

    how do u know what true love really is? do you have faith in love? if you do, would it be ‘over-rated’?

    isn’t love the only thing that is keeping us going in life? people who miscontrue the idea of love may not know what love actually is. they may not practice what love is supposed to be and is all about. e.g. incest, etc – which is wrong!

    which brings about another question – do you personally think that everybody that is born into this world was born with an internal moral compass? who brought moral order into this world? whose law are we practicing? how do you know what is right or wrong? is it based on your own law? or perhaps, it was based on God’s absolute standards? think about it.

    you don’t question the love that someone has for someone or for believing in it because …people love because they just do… or perhaps, it could have been a conscious decision just because you chose to love that someone? because you’ve experienced what it’s like to be in love and to be loved in return.

    the same goes in experiencing the grace of God’s love in our everyday lives. you may not have experienced it yet. you may not know it yet. but once it does hit you, everything will make sense!

    the world would be peaceful if everyone shared that one same LOVE for one another. if everyone knew what God really wanted and if they abided by it, there would be no wars, no suffering, etc.

    1. vanilla: haha funny how your incomplete comment made more sense to me ;) there are things far too complex for our reasoning. for me love is love. people who don’t embrace god or religions are capable of unconditional loving, some even far more than ppl who claim to be faithful to their religions.

      no, i don’t think people are born into this world with a built in moral compass, but i believe in self-preservation. rules and moral standards are formed because ppl want to protect themselves and in doing so, protecting others too.

      i really want to what you mean by god’s love? seriously, please enlighten me? how can something that has not been proven to exist or not can give you love? is that not a delusion? perhaps u should look into yourself and ask yourself if it’s not just your own brains tricking you into believing you’re feeling something that does not exist. instead of doing good in the name of god, why don’t you just do good for people and yourself?

  11. Do you believe that there are nine planets in our solar system? Let me just ask you this first. If you do, let me ask you this, have you personally seen the planets for yourself? Or was it based on scientific studies, textbook material which you’ve learned? Did you ever question on whether those planets were real or did you accept it as a fact because with the technology of satellites, ‘why, of course it HAS to be true’.

    I’m not saying that there aren’t nine planets – believing that there are wouldn’t make any difference to me… but my point is that, most people, are able to stomach facts better based on proof. Did you question the validity of the proof? The source of it? How about the source of our history? How real was it? We’d never really know, would we? But yet well, ‘It does sound like a reasonable story, so I’ll take it as it is’…is most of our common view.

    The proof that God exists? The bible. Have you read the bible before? You can’t provide a fair argument if you’ve never even attempted to read it or more importantly, understanding why.

    https://www.allabouttruth.org/who-wrote-the-bible.htm

    As a matter of fact, proof is all around. Testimonies. Miracles. Did they just happen? Or was it divine intervention?

    With the number of believers in the world, surely must say something… It’s either that they are delusional, as you may opine, or perhaps it is real – based on their experiences with God, of which you may not understand or know because if you DID, it’d be pretty hard to dismiss the fact that God is there?

    i remember reading a post of yours not understanding why people would cry over the death of their pets (if i recall clearly). bet you couldn’t relate one single bit back then, because you never did have a dog then. it’s practically the same thing. you won’t know until you do know.

    Have you ever wondered on whether there is a God out there? Have you ever wondered whether He is real? Or did you immediately just close your mind to the idea of God because it sounds like hogwash to you?

    There’s only so much that I can say which will probably be dismissed by you BUT seriously, I believe that if you just said a silent prayer in your heart – telling God that you would like to know Him and reveal Himself to you and to gain an understanding of His ways, you’d be surprised of how a small little prayer can go a long, long way. It may not be an instant answer but you’ll see…

    God’s love? Just look in the mirror. Who created you and me? Parents? Parents of parents? Who created the first of mankind? Evolution? (Guessing that you’re a fan of Dawkins). The debate of creationism vs evolution will never end til kingdom come so I won’t go into that.

    I actually have his book, the God delusion. I bought it to understand what the hype was all about when that book first came out with many people worshipping Dawkin’s book citing it as their favourite book. I’ll admit that if I didn’t know God and if I read his book, I’d be “WOW this is SO true…” without really questioning it because ‘I’d be happy with that understanding as it sounds logical…’ Or perhaps to you – it “IS pure logic”. But now that I know two sides of it, I’m still sticking with mine. Believing in God takes a whole lot of logic too. Trust me.

    My brains tricking me? Or are your brains blinding you? Turn it around and I could say that your belief in disbelief is blinding you from the truth?

    I made a conscious decision when choosing Christ because the puzzles all started to fit as I started to discover more about the truth. The love I ‘feel’ is more of a knowing of how it all began and what He has done for us and how He was truly changed me as a person. I really don’t know how to explain this to you but everyone will have their own personal encounter or experience with God if they seek for it and I hope that you will one day too. Good day.

    1. vanilla: I’ve read the bible but not extensively. Kind of like reading a compilation of stories on morality set in the ancient times. So?

      The problem with people who believe in god reading Dawkins is their refusal to accept the logical explanations and brush it off as simply nonsense spewed by pitiful atheists who have not received the grace of god. I asked you what it’s like to feel love from god, but all you can tell me is, I will know when I know? I’m sorry but that’s just not good enough. Using my experience with dogs as an example is weak, because while I did not share the same compassion for pets before, I did understand how people could get attached to an actual entity whether it’s car, a person, a lock of hair or yes, pets. If I asked a pet lover why they love their pets, they can explain exactly how it’s like for them, not “you know when you will know”. And now that I can relate to the love for dogs, I don’t go around telling people that they should get pets too.

      And pets don’t start wars, don’t encourage people to keep donating money to build bigger & grander facilities (in doing so they neglect their real necessities), don’t try to protect pedophiles from persecution, don’t stop people from living their lives as how they want to, and I can go on forever. My point is just this: I don’t really care about what you believe in, and you’re probably a logical person too, but you shouldn’t be denying that your innocent and loving faith is also supporting the perpetuation and growth of a massive, systematic enslavement of the minds. Have a good day too.

  12. Vanilla go google/wiki for ‘cargo cults’ and john frum.

    You look just like one of em sky watchers.

    Your lil delusional god is nothing more than visitors with high tech toys.

    You are your biBull. pfft!

  13. Unless you think I am a “militant atheist”, then I don’t think I am making a “rich” comment as you assume. Even Karen Armstrong spoke out against Dawkins, Hitchens and Harris.

  14. The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ by Philip Pullman is an interesting book to read about how stories could be distorted in its recording and telling. Though I’m sure Christian fundamentalists wouldn’t be all happy about this book I must reiterate that it is a work of fiction :)

  15. hi kimberly

    wow u sure have a lot of “why”
    just curious.. what is the purpose of ur life? what is your endgame?

    p/s why dooo you get dirty looks while walking ur dog? :)

    1. blah: i don’t think it can be summarized in one comment. help out when possible, be true, don’t hurt the feelings of ppl who don’t deserve it, list goes on.

  16. Interesting that vanilla uses the term “absolute morality” of God, and claims that incest is bad. However we just have to think about Adam and Eve’s kids, and you are in for alot of incestuous relationships. Also reading through the bible you’d find that the morality prescribed is far from absolute, otherwise we’d be forced live very different lives today.

    Regarding menj’s attempt discounting the entire book using a disparaging comment, the difference between a militant atheist and a militant religionists is that militant atheists merely attack you with words and ideas, not stones.

    BTW, kim, dawkins doesnt disprove god, after all it is logically impossible to diprove the existence of something. However, he just goes through all the ‘proofs’ of god and refutes them.

    Hitchens doesnt have much sciency stuff, but dawkin’s “Greatest Show” is chocablock on why, how, when life on earth became to be.

    For those starting up, Sagan’s works are very good too: “Demon haunted world”, “Pale blue dot” – all nice reads, including the movie/fiction “Contact”

    yk

  17. Seconding yoonkit’s book recommendations, especially Carl Sagan’s Demon-haunted World. I’d even say start reading it first and then read the rest

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