Non-believers are smarter?

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An acquaintance posted this video on Facebook:
youtube.com/watch?v=RZqaeusdMTk&feature=youtu.be

I’ll admit, I didn’t review the original research, but the way they reported it was pretty typical of how research is reported for the general public: all sensation, no caveats. It screams “confounding variables” and “bias” to me.
For instance, it makes sense to me that with wealth comes more of a sense of self-sufficiency, so one might turn to God less. Not the other way around.
Also, certain ethnic groups that place a higher value on spirituality/religion also have more of a genetic/cultural tendency to obesity.
That last part about how atheists do charitable work out of “compassion” didn’t even make sense and did not offer a comparison for the motives of believers.

I simply made a comment that it doesn’t seem to make you smart enough to understand the difference between correlation and cause and effect.

What would you say?
 
jamaro said:
An acquaintance posted this video on Facebook:
youtube.com/watch?v=RZqaeusdMTk&feature=youtu.be

I’ll admit, I didn’t review the original research, but the way they reported it was pretty typical of how research is reported for the general public: all sensation, no caveats. It screams “confounding variables” and “bias” to me.
For instance, it makes sense to me that with wealth comes more of a sense of self-sufficiency, so one might turn to God less. Not the other way around.
Also, certain ethnic groups that place a higher value on spirituality/religion also have more of a genetic/cultural tendency to obesity.
That last part about how atheists do charitable work out of “compassion” didn’t even make sense and did not offer a comparison for the motives of believers.

I simply made a comment that it doesn’t seem to make you smart enough to understand the difference between correlation and cause and effect.

What would you say?
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Not true. Now I will say some faiths probably do have a lack of education (I think a lot of fundamentalists and evangelicals are not as formally educated as Catholics and Mainstream Protestants), but There are plenty of super intelligent and successful Christians out in the world.

To play devil’s advocate though, I don’t know very many uneducated atheists, at least true athiests (not agnostics).
 
I know plenty of intelligent Faithful believers. The level of intelligence does not dictate your belief in god.
 
I’m not sure why it is important.

If these genius atheists are so smart, why do they spend so much of their time debating against something they don’t believe. Could it be that is their fight against something they can’t understand and is pulling them? I feel like I’m right but the debate is beneath me.

I don’t really know but I long stopped worrying if someone else thought I was bright. I’m not bright and there is much I don’t understand. That is something that doesn’t much concern me.
 
Brandall said:
I’m not sure why it is important.

If these genius atheists are so smart, why do they spend so much of their time debating against something they don’t believe. Could it be that is their fight against something they can’t understand and is pulling them? I feel like I’m right but the debate is beneath me.

I don’t really know but I long stopped worrying if someone else thought I was bright. I’m not bright and there is much I don’t understand. That is something that doesn’t much concern me.
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Or it could be because we enjoy lively discussions that make us think. I am bright and am not sure why you would even comment if you do not enjoy being pulled into conversations that you so abhore
 
There are a lot of Catholics on here that are much more intelligent than I am. At least, they use big words that leave me discombobulated.
 
Even if non-believers are on average more intelligent, it would only mean that their mental faculties are to them a source of pride that leads them away from the truth.

There are plenty of intelligent believers, not least the current Pope.

And even if every believer were mentally. challenged, I’d rather possess the Truth along with them than count myself among the intelligent, but misguided, non-believers.
 
CarlM86 said:
Even if non-believers are on average more intelligent, it would only mean that their mental faculties are to them a source of pride that leads them away from the truth.

There are plenty of intelligent believers, not least the current Pope.

And even if every believer were mentally. challenged, I’d rather possess the Truth along with them than count myself among the intelligent, but misguided, non-believers.
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Yes i would as well. I would always prefer to have the truth over a misconception.
 
but cant you just picture their faces (non-believers) when they stand in judgement in front of God???😉
 
Brandall said:
I don’t really know but I long stopped worrying if someone else thought I was bright. I’m not bright and there is much I don’t understand. That is something that doesn’t much concern me.
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The more intelligent we are, the more we understand that we don’t know much. The most intelligent people in the world admit that they know very little.
 
Viki63 said:
The more intelligent we are, the more we understand that we don’t know much. The most intelligent people in the world admit that they know very little.
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I think that’s not intelligence as much as wisdom. I know a few people who are very intelligent, but are severely lacking in wisdom.
 
Being “smart” is not the same as being wise. There is such a thing as an educated fool.

California Man Sets Himself, American Flag, Christmas Tree on Fire to Protest Religious Names

Published December 23, 2006
Associated Press

A man used flammable liquid to light himself on fire, apparently to protest a San Joaquin Valley school district’s decision to change the names of winter and spring breaks to Christmas and Easter vacation.

The man, who was not immediately identified, on Friday also set fire to a Christmas tree, an American flag and a revolutionary flag replica, said Fire Captain Garth Milam.

Seeing the flames, Sheriff’s Deputy Lance Ferguson grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran to the man. Read more
 
livingwordunity said:
Being “smart” is not the same as being wise. There is such a thing as an educated fool.

California Man Sets Himself, American Flag, Christmas Tree on Fire to Protest Religious Names

Published December 23, 2006
Associated Press

A man used flammable liquid to light himself on fire, apparently to protest a San Joaquin Valley school district’s decision to change the names of winter and spring breaks to Christmas and Easter vacation.

The man, who was not immediately identified, on Friday also set fire to a Christmas tree, an American flag and a revolutionary flag replica, said Fire Captain Garth Milam.

Seeing the flames, Sheriff’s Deputy Lance Ferguson grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran to the man. Read more
Click to expand...
That is unintelligent AND unwise. And really immature as well. How does he expect anyone to take that seriously?
 
"I simply made a comment that it doesn’t seem to make you smart enough to understand the difference between correlation and cause and effect.

What would you say? "

Yep! exactly. They “made” the research say what they wanted it to. Total lack of honesty.
 
Viki63 said:
The more intelligent we are, the more we understand that we don’t know much. The most intelligent people in the world admit that they know very little.
Click to expand...
A very wise saint stated that the smartest people in the world are the ones who know that they are not perfect, or admit that they don’t have all the answers. I think it was Saint Teresa of Avila who said this, and she had no college degree :D!!!
 
Intelligence, when it’s proclaimed like this, is vastly overhyped.

When someone says “That person is so intelligent/bright!” I’m like “And?”
 
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