Belief in God hard wired by Evolution!!
Is this a cosmic joke?
Some time ago I ran across a strange article about a discovery that atheists actually might not exist:
Scientists discover that atheists might not exist, and that’s not a joke
By Nury Vittachi
Metaphysical thought processes are more deeply wired than hitherto suspected
WHILE MILITANT ATHEISTS like Richard Dawkins may be convinced God doesn’t exist, God, if he is around, may be amused to find that atheists might not exist.
Cognitive scientists are becoming increasingly aware that a metaphysical outlook may be
so deeply ingrained in human thought processes that it cannot be expunged.
https://www.science20.com/writer_on_the_edge/blog/scientists_discover_that_atheists_might_not_exist_and_thats_not_a_joke-139982
And if God did use Evolution to hard wire atheists into having faith in Him wouldn't that be a great cosmic joke!
And some of their findings may even be a little dark!
While this idea may seem outlandish—after all, it seems easy to decide not to believe in God—evidence from several disciplines indicates that what you actually believe is not a decision you make for yourself. Your fundamental beliefs are decided by much deeper levels of consciousness, and some may well be more or less set in stone.
What you actually believe being set in stone is tantamount to the negation of free will. I'm not sure that is what is really meant here. More on the need to believe something but we are still free in just what that is. Not quite the same. So we would be wired to believe but we are still free to choose.
After all, if all the evils in the world can be blamed on religion, then arguably eliminating religion is not only desirable but a moral obligation for atheists who believe in peace.
Not all Evolutionists are atheists, though admittedly, that is where you would expect to find a majority of them. But this new scientific research is turning that thought on its head.
And so we come to a very curious part of the study:
This line of thought has led to some scientists claiming that “atheism is psychologically impossible because of the way humans think,” says Graham Lawton, an avowed atheist himself, writing in the New Scientist. “They point to studies showing, for example, that even people who claim to be committed atheists tacitly hold religious beliefs, such as the existence of an immortal soul.”
Actually I would go further than that. They also believe in some form of afterlife. Something that is mainly reserved for those having religious or spiritual beliefs.
One only needs to go back a few years to the passing of a world renowned atheist who claimed that God did not exist.
And with his passing he was caricatured as stepping out into the cosmos, a thought that I am sure was warmly welcomed by atheists worldwide.
Yet, it is in its simplicity showing some sort of belief in an afterlife. Or at least an allusion of hope in the unknown.
And as a Christian, I saw the immediate contradiction.
"deeply wired into humanity"
But by this research if Evolution has hard-wired them to have faith then who could fault them?
There are other, more socially-oriented evolutionary purposes, too. Religious communities grow faster, since people behave better !?!
And though some evolutionists are now writing that there is no evolutionary purpose, this article does consider that there is:
EVOLUTIONARY PURPOSES
If a tendency to believe in the reality of an intangible network is so deeply wired into humanity,
the implication is that it must have an evolutionary purpose.
The article then suggests some purposes may be how people deal with the death of loved ones, and a need to ask for a higher help in times of crisis, for example war.
And then comes a really fascinating quote:
There are other, more socially-oriented evolutionary purposes, too. Religious communities grow faster, since people behave better (referring to the general majority over the millennia, as opposed to minority extremists highlighted by the media on any given day).
This one really makes me want to scratch my head in puzzlement. If religion is a positive force for evolutionary development then why all the bad press from Dawkins et al?
Celebrity atheists such as Richard Dawkins appear to claim the moral high ground when it comes to violence. Dawkins, along with Sam Harris and the late Christopher Hitchens, insist that because religion is intrinsically violent, then atheism is inherently more pacific. After all, if all the evils in the world can be blamed on religion, then arguably eliminating religion is not only desirable but a moral obligation for atheists who believe in peace.
https://theconversation.com/why-the-arguments-of-the-new-atheists-are-often-just-as-violent-as-religion-95185
If Dawkins et al are calling for the elimination of religion as a moral obligation to obtain world peace then why in the world is scientific research now claiming that a purpose of Evolution is religious communities where people behave better?!?
If Dawkins et al are calling for the elimination of religion as a moral obligation to obtain world peace then why in the world is scientific research now claiming that a purpose of Evolution is religious communities where people behave better?!?
Now back to those Evolutionary purposes...
EVOLUTIONARY PURPOSES
If a tendency to believe in the reality of an intangible network is so deeply wired into humanity, the implication is that it must have an evolutionary purpose. Social scientists have long believed that the emotional depth and complexity of the human mind means that mindful, self-aware people necessarily suffer from deep existential dread. Spiritual beliefs evolved over thousands of years as nature’s way to help us balance this out and go on functioning.
Spiritual beliefs evolved?
Over thousands of years?
So this paper is stating that spiritual beliefs evolved over thousands of years which means that these spiritual beliefs are one purpose of Evolution!
Not only is this a fascinating revelation, but it also causes serious problems for atheists. At least according to the following embarrassing quote from wikipedia!
With respect to the range of phenomena being rejected, atheism may counter anything from the existence of a deity, to the existence of any spiritual, supernatural, or transcendental concepts, such as those of Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Taoism.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism
Spiritual Atheism is an oxymoron
So it appears that atheism comes with contradictions and inconsistencies. Well that's not news to Christians and no doubt atheists themselves are going to have to come to grips with this.
So this paper is stating that spiritual beliefs evolved over thousands of years which means that these spiritual beliefs are one purpose of Evolution!
So I would conclude that “people who claim to be committed atheists tacitly hold religious beliefs” does sort of beg the question, are they really atheists or something else altogether?
Maybe we should call them Spiritual Atheists?
And I did run across one girl some years ago who was rabidly atheistic and claimed to be spiritual so she would definitely fit this sort or label.
But I can't help but feel that the concept of spiritual atheism is an oxymoron.
An oxymoron is a label or definition made up to opposing words that don't usually belong together. Some examples I found on a website are: cheerful pessimist, living dead, and very curiously, devout atheist, which strangely is not too dissimilar from the label I am suggesting here: spiritual atheist.
https://www.thoughtco.com/awfully-good-examples-of-oxymorons-1691814
A Complete Load of Hogwash!
And though I don't believe in Evolution, you would have to admit, if God did use Evolutionary processes to bring humanity to this point it certainly would be quite a cosmic joke to find out that Evolution has hard-wired into us a belief in Him as the Creator implying that the theory of Evolution itself is a complete load of hogwash.
Now that's some cosmic joke!
And though the title of the article suggests it is not a joke, I really find it quite hilarious.
It certainly would be quite a cosmic joke for God to have Evolution hard-wire into us a belief in Him as the Creator implying that the theory of Evolution is in fact a complete load of hogwash!
REFERENCES
Scientists discover that atheists might not exist, and that’s not a joke
By Nury Vittachi
Created Jul 6 2014 - 8:03pm
https://www.science20.com/writer_on_the_edge/blog/scientists_discover_that_atheists_might_not_exist_and_thats_not_a_joke-139982
Stephen Buckley
E-mail: greatesthoax [at] duck.com
Last revised: 18 Dec 2021.
Construction started 4 Dec 2021.
Companion pages
 |
|
|
|
|
Page design/construction Stephen Buckley 2021.