Reading article about Atheism and
Intelligence.
I agree with the assertion of the
article that people who are of high intelligence tend to question and
challenge the concepts of religion. Most notable of these is the
tendency of atheists to see themselves as the shapers of their own
fate. (Brave movie connection as well. "Fate be changed") Intelligent people tend to
be more successful because of their level of education and their
problem solving skills. “Jesus take the Wheel” is not a concept
they could accept.
One of the things that draws people to
paganism is this concept as well. I remember when I first started
studying the authors that I read included Laurie Cabot, Scott
Cunningham, and DJ Conway. There are others as well that I have read
since then, as well as researching eastern religions and LeVay
satanism.
Almost all authors of note in these
communities will mention the role that an individual has in shaping
their own lives. Some of these authors will stop at thinking positive
and letting positive things come to you. Like attracts like. This
concept is most common in eastern philosophies and new age occult
books.
Paganism and Satanism go a few steps
further. The Goddess does not want us to be door-mats. We must defend
ourselves if attacked and go after what we want to achieve. Satanism
holds it a “sin” to be stupid in the sense that one must not
assume others hold the same values and would act the same way in any
given situation as the "believer". There is also a tenet of holding
one's domain sacred and any who would disrespect one in their domain
should be treated aggressively and removed. This does not reflect
the belief of “turning the other cheek” as in Abrahamic
traditions.
LaVay wrote of the concept of
manipulating probabilities with spells and ritual. If you seek to
find a job and you only have a 40% chance of getting a job at that
particular company or in that job field, then a spell could tweak
that probability. Say the energy you send out increases your chances
to 60%.
The next step is action. In witchcraft,
authors and teachers speak of silence about the spell. The belief is
that if you talk about it you could dilute the energy. This
especially makes sense in talking to others about your goal. Their
negative ideas and cynical comments can decrease your drive to
succeed. Their inability to believe in you and affect your ability to
believe in yourself. Peer pressure works powerfully in our society.
This low opinion of your abilities will affect your tone of voice,
your posture, and your attitude in interviews and at fairs. Not to
mention, being a witch is not exactly accepted in our society yet.
You still have to put yourself out
there in order to make things happen. You can do all the spells in
the world but if you don't mail out your resume, browse listings and
go to job fairs, nothing will happen. You have to network and put
your name out. This is where atheists get it right as well.
You cannot rely on an accident or luck
to make things happen. Often people who do this end up with things
they did not want. This can happen in magical communities as well. If
you read an event as a sign that you should take that job or date
that person, the sign could be wrong. Because of that “magical”
indication that you were meant to be, you might ignore warning
signals that it's actually wrong for you; warning signs of an abusive
relationship or a really stressful and traumatizing job position.
Stubbornness in your ideas can lead you to try to stick it out hoping
it will get better or you'll get stronger so you can take it.
[In my younger years I have made this
mistake a few times with an abusive relationship as well as a job
that was harmful to my psyche. It took me over a year to shake the
abusive X and two years in a dead-end job to realize that I was
breaking down. The last few months of that job meant therapy so I
could finish the year and then PTSD symptoms and breakdowns for two
years after. It was very difficult to enter a classroom again and
took a year of subbing to be able to function normally without
out-of- control emotional responses to my environment or the kids.
I'd over-react to slight things sometimes, and be apathetic to things
that needed strict attention. I even had a breakdown when I witnessed
a student fight. I managed to get out of sight and it was my planning
period, but it shook me and I had a really tough second half of the
day. I manage fine now. I'm in a really good place at this point in
my life. ]
This is where non-religious people get
it right. They don't see spiritual signs at all and so can remain
open to analyzing relationships and job environments in a more
reasonable way, not to say they don't make mistakes out of fear,
addiction, or co-dependence. Since you only have one life, there is no afterlife or reincarnation, you'd better get it right and enjoy the heck out of this one.
When bad things happen, sometimes
religion can be comforting. But it can also keep one from growing
beyond the experience. If one becomes dependent on a deity
intervening, and everything that happens is meant to be, it can lead
to paralysis. No decisions are being made, no improvements or
emotional processing of anger or grief occurs. It can actually
contribute to making things worse or an emotional breakdown from
refusing to process the events and feelings.
This can be clearly seen in fascist
groups that refuse to accept a scientific explanation when it is
staring them in the face and their very lives depend on it. Global
warming is one such event that many are still sticking their heads in
the sand about. Watching glaciers fall apart, watching the oceans
warm and species die out as storms become more deadly, should be
enough to turn believers into every reasonable person. However,
religion is not reasonable. It is faith and “you can't fix faith”.
(Shepard from Firefly)
Some even intentionally litter and
waste our resources believing if they destroy the planet it will
bring about the second coming sooner. They look forward to and work
toward the destruction of all life on earth with glee. Very scary
people.
The other side of this double edged
blade is that ideologies can bring about great changes. Sometimes
religious people do some amazingly altruistic things as a result of
compassion they learned from religious leaders. However, Atheists do
not have religion but they do have ideology and compassion. This
belief in something greater than us is not dependent on religion and
ritual. You can believe in creating a healthier planet for the human
species and not need the motivation of God's Will.
I don't think getting rid of religion
is a good idea. It's part of human expression and experience. Our
symbols and myths come from religious history. We study human
nature, experience, and psychology through these myths and symbols.
It is such ritual and symbols in my religion that helped me process a
traumatic childhood. I was able to use the energy of deity and these
mental-imagery techniques to develop a sense of positive
relationships and my own growth. Religion was a very powerful
psychological and emotional tool. Again, therapy is expensive.
Religion can definitely be practiced on the cheap.
But we also need to be careful. When
misused, religion can be dangerous and fascist. We must never pass
laws for religious reasons or persecute people for religious reasons.
Religion is a powerful force of oppression and a sense of
“other”-ness. Those who are not of the same religion can be
demonized and dehumanized. This is how atheists get support from
history and psychology in claiming religion is the root of all evil.
Religion is like a gun. It's not the
tool that is evil but the hand that holds it. Compassion can lead
one to use it to help others, defend the weak and support a just
society. If the hand holding it is driven by fear then great
injustice occurs.
And this is where small minds become
influential. When one lacks education, one lacks a deep sense of
reason. The higher in the academic tiers one gets (usually but not
always) the greater one's sense of reason, the greater one is able to
analyze a situation and question fallacies of that reason. You have
to be able to be objective and sometimes put your emotions aside.
This requires many years of cognitive training as well as simply
growing up so your cerebrum can fully form. Many who rush to
judgment or are dragged around by emotion lack this training. They
are even suspicious of this training and develop a fear of those who
are highly educated.
Some intellects can suffer from
fallacious paths of thought. If they become too dependent on reason
and then something in their logical chain of thought is off, then
they can become tyrannical. Compassion is essential when dealing
with genius. A genius without compassion can endorse eugenics and
other genocidal tendencies. (Examples in literature and TV abound.)
We're seeing this now in our political
parties. One appeals to religion, conservative values and fear. The
other appeals to humanitarianism and compassion—even to the point
of fostering dependence and learned helplessness.
(Need to discuss Selfishly motivated
Altruism later)
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