debate-points, belief, supernaturalThis quote is by GK Chesterton. Is he right? In my experience, it is xians who tend to beleive in “anything” - ghosts, astrology, alt-med. I recall that there was actually a piece of research in the USofA which demonstrated that they are more vulnerable to financial scammers. It’s probably making a virtue of believing without evidence which causes it - not being able to understand the nature of evidence, and refusing to acknowledge how easily their own brain can be tricked. It’s what makes even quite mild, liberal religion dangerous.
The assumption behind the statement is that belief in (the single Judeo-Christian deity) is supposed to be some kind of moral lodestar, and that once you lose that guidance, you are vulnerable to fall prey to any crazy thing which wanders by and wants to rent space in your head. Therefore, the statement implies, you should believe in (the single Judeo-Christian deity) so that you don’t fall for all the false nonsense.
False equivalence, false dichotomy, and bad framing. The Judeo-Christian mythology is not the only mythology. It’s not the best mythology. Refusing to believe one particular set of organized superstitions doesn’t automatically mean you will fall under the spell of a different set of organized superstitions, nor one which is inherently worse. You might. You might not. You might regard all organized superstition with a critical eye.
It sounds like a statement which would come from a theist who doesn’t want someone to be aware of other schools of “thought” or belief outside the Judeo-Christian one, for fear the person will find fault with it or find something else out there which is more to the person’s liking. In other words, “Out there, there be dragons! Stay in here where it’s safe.”
Personally I don’t think the quoted sentence makes any sense and is poorly worded (it uses double negatives to start).
Also, it seems to make massive generalizations, which is normally not very constructive/productive.
I have an anecdote to contribute; I hope that’s OK!
I had a long and heated discussion with a Christian woman I know only as “the Republican Lady.” Hearing that I’m an atheist, she bombarded me with every bit of evidence she claims to have for God’s miracles:
In summary, this woman subscribes to almost the entire range of paranormal belief, excluding only spacefaring aliens and cryptozoology. Conned out of money and support by her own son, she appears to be the epitome of a piously God-fearing Christian who is at the same time gullible to a fault.
The above quote is a frankly ridiculous assertion. Without context, it is impossible to see if Mr. Chesterton offers anything to support this sweeping statement, or if it is expected to stand on its own. Regardless, it seems readily apparent that ceasing to believe in God does not logically compel belief in anything else.
Belief in certain woo is rising at the same time as belief in religion is generally falling.
Whether this means religion is a woo equivalent of methadone is another matter.
“When people stop believing in God, they don’t believe in nothing — they believe in anything.” No. They set the foundations for believing in themselves.
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