Faith as a Destructive Force

[Dragon_Of_Heavon]

Though on this particular forum this point may be somewhat mute I figured I should help any theists who may be on the forum to understand the many ways in which their faith is destructive to many things in particular and life in general. Let me state before I even begin that I do have a deep seated disdain of organized religion and faith in general. I have no love for faith and I think that it is a generally destructive force in this world. With that said I will start off with one reason and cover more as we go along the reason being they are going to be rather lengthy. Sorry it’s the nature of the beast.

First faith is a corrosive force that eats away at reason and intelligent thought. I’ll explain: Faith operates by abdication of ones will to a presumed higher power. In most faiths this higher power has vanguards that perpetuate the focuses and views of the faith. It is to these people that the willing participants abdicate their individual thoughts and adopt the thought process of the hole. Many try to keep their individuality intact under the focus that while keeping with the collective hole they have their own views and beliefs on the side. From this view point a particular problem arises, it is that a person who advocates the beliefs of the whole and their own at the same time is perpetuating a belief in a contradiction. One thing cannot be held as true in hole, while another set of views is also held as true yet conflicts with the former point of view. An example of this contradiction is found many a time within the followers of the Catholic faith. If a Catholic states that the Holy see is the perpetuating voice of the church on earth, and this Catholic believes that the Pope speaks for their god on matters of Dogma as well as church tradition, then he/she cannot hold a belief that is in opposition to the Holy see and remain a Catholic in good standing. An example of this is that the Holy see advocates that under the dogmas of the church abortion is a mortal sin. (The worse one between mortal and venial) A Catholic cannot hold a view as being true that Abortion is a ok and remain Catholic. The Catholic must hold the decree of the Holy See as absolute on any dogma of the church. Any abstraction from the church on matters of the faith throws the persons faith into the realm of contradiction and invalidates it completely.

By abdicating to a presumed higher authority the person loosens their control over their own beliefs and views and can be swept up in the beliefs of the whole. Reason dictates that every person judge reality for themselves and not abdicate personal view points over to any higher control. To do this is to abdicate one’s own mind. There are two basic choices open to any person: you can either choose to think or choose to let others do the thinking for you. Faith eats at reasoned thinking in that it states that the thinker cannot be right unless he/she is in agreement with a higher power. From this problem extends the arm of control that faith holds over the believers. Reason on the other hand screams that we must think for ourselves and never except something as true unless a proper argument with evidence is given. Faith is the belief in something without evidence and is the work of the foolish and not the thinking person. Reason requires evidence and as faith advocates acceptance without evidence the acceptance of faith is corrosive to the thinking mind as it destroys the foundations of reason by which the thinking person operates.

[Ihateyoumike]

An example of this contradiction is found many a time within the followers of the Catholic faith. If a Catholic states that the Holy see is the perpetuating voice of the church on earth, and this Catholic believes that the Pope speaks for their god on matters of Dogma as well as church tradition, then he/she cannot hold a belief that is in opposition to the Holy see and remain a Catholic in good standing. An example of this is that the Holy see advocates that under the dogmas of the church abortion is a mortal sin. (The worse one between mortal and venial) A Catholic cannot hold a view as being true that Abortion is a ok and remain Catholic.

Well said. As for this statement, if the person holds an opposite belief that is a mortal sin (such as your abortion example) and they keep that belief until the day they die, then they will not be a catholic in good standing and be damned for eternity. However, the catholics have left themselves a convenient little out on this one, and it's called "forgiveness." No matter what sin you've committed, you may go into a church for confession, and get your "slate wiped clean." Or, on your deathbed, you can say "I'm sorry" to god and repent for all your sins, and everything is forgiven. Pretty convenient, huh?  

First faith is a corrosive force that eats away at reason and intelligent thought.

You said it!

Faith is the belief in something without evidence and is the work of the foolish and not the thinking person.

Yep. For example, my roommate is definitely not an organized religion type of person. I have asked him his beliefs a few times though, and he's stated that he believes in a god. The other night we were outside having a smoke, and I mentioned how interested in astronomy I have become, and he said he hates it. I asked him how he could not be interested with all the questions that there are, and the thought that the Universe might be infinite, and how it all began, and his answer was that it's too much for him to think about and that he'd rather leave that up to someone else. It opened my eyes to the fact that, for some people, believing in a god is simply the lazy way out. I don't understand how he can not care to try to find answers, but I can respect the fact that he doesn't care (kind of) because he is not involved with an organized religion. His lack of caring to find answers, and simply saying "god did it" is not hurting anyone, it's just making him an intellectually lazy person. That conversation made me realize that it's organized religions that I really despise, and not people who are just intellectually lazy like my roommate.