Comments on: Who is More Intelligent: Atheist or Theist?

By: crooked wand

crooked wand — Wed, 27 May 2009 02:36:06 +0000

http://kspark.kaist.ac.kr/Jesus/Intelligence%20&%20religion.htm

studies show a clear correlation between intelligence and atheism

By: Psh, cha.

Psh, cha. — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:38:51 +0000

[...] This one, over at Friendly Atheist (excellent blog), discussing (in the comments) whether theists or atheists are ‘more intelligent’ is really interesting. [...]

By: Miguel Chavez

Miguel Chavez — Tue, 13 May 2008 02:08:44 +0000

Answer: who cares. You still have to address the evidence, regardless of your position.

But “hoverFrog” makes an interesting point…

Best,

By: Adam_Y

Adam_Y — Sun, 11 May 2008 14:05:47 +0000

Firstly, it’s a self portrait that I drew regarding my own personal feelings towards my religious upbringing and my subsequent move towards becoming a humanist.

If you were to have a look at the original post on my site you would also notice that I was prompted to draw this because I was accused of having no faith, by a Christian. I found this rather empty headed of them, since I do have faith… just not in any god.

I wasn’t saying that all Christians, or any other religious believer are vacant, mind-wise, just that particular one… he was speaking without thinking, as a result of his religious indocrination, as far as I felt anyway.

I certainly have no problem with the intelligence of religious types en mass, as that would be both discriminatory and, oddly enough against my own faith in humanity.

By: hoverFrog

hoverFrog — Wed, 07 May 2008 10:25:38 +0000

Clearly theists are imaginative people.

By: Richard Wade

Richard Wade — Tue, 06 May 2008 23:57:23 +0000

Thank you Mike C. Your question is really a far better one to ask, and one to ask of ourselves constantly. I met so many, many people in my previous work, some of whom were undeniably intelligent, some of whom were pretty dim and most of whom were somewhere in the middle. They had all sorts of other strengths, weaknesses, virtues, flaws, gifts and challenges but none of that ever impressed me for or against them.

What impressed me was when they demonstrated virtues that could only be used when interacting with others: Kindness, compassion, courtesy, courage, honesty, respect, fairness, tolerance, patience and generosity.

None of those require intelligence by the usual definitions, nor does any other category of people posess them more than any others, be they atheist, theist, unschooled, educated, rich, poor, old, young, male, female, or any of the so-called races. Anyone can practice these in their daily lives and anyone can fail to do so. Anyone can get better at practicing them no matter how good they already are at it, or how bad they are at it. All we need to practice them is another person in front of us, and any person should be suitable. No, not the one we would prefer but the one in front of us right now.

By: bullet

bullet — Tue, 06 May 2008 22:47:48 +0000

You owe me a keyboard.

By: Darryl

Darryl — Tue, 06 May 2008 22:25:11 +0000

Good thoughts Mike. Yes, one may be intelligent and narrow-minded, negative, unfriendly, etc. Intelligence, as we know, is no hedge against error, bias, bigotry, superstition, and ignorance. I consider myself a reasonably intelligent person, but I know my weak points. I know that I have to work at trying to see things as others do.

By: Mike Clawson

Mike Clawson — Tue, 06 May 2008 22:14:06 +0000

It occurs to me that perhaps “who is more intelligent?” is not a very useful question to be asking. Perhaps a better question would be: If you think that you are more intelligent than others (whether you’re a theist or an atheist), how can you make sure to use this intelligence in a way that blesses others, rather than belittles them? How do you nurture your intelligence in a way that avoids the pitfalls of arrogance, self-righteousness, and a blindness to one’s own biases, and at the same time causes others to desire intelligence too and seek it for themselves?

By: MTran

MTran — Tue, 06 May 2008 21:08:56 +0000

bradm,

Thanks for trying to clarify your previous remarks. They still come across as gratuitous posturing to me, perhaps even more so, regardless as to whether your intent was innocent or well meaning.

Why do you think you need to admonish anyone on this thread? What makes you think you are qualified to do so? Why do you rank your own preferences on how people evaluate themselves as being superior to the preferences you (mostly erroneously) attribute to others?

Whatever wisdom you think you are imparting, you are not. I’d suggest you reassess the rather hypocritical instructions you have issued to the less enlightened masses who frequent this site. I’d also urge you to stop dispensing advice until you get a better handle on your own limitations.

By the way, which NFL team plays the best game? Which Olympic contenders have been given the best odds of winning? Maybe you don’t care –I know I don’t– but many millions do. Is there something terribly amiss about those who do?