God Help Me, Say 82% Of Americans

Most Americans believe God is concerned with their personal well-being and is directly involved in their personal affairs, according to new research out of the University of Toronto.

Overall, most people believe that God is highly influential in the events and outcomes in their lives. Specifically:

82 per cent say they depend on God for help and guidance in making decisions;

71 per cent believe that when good or bad things happen, these occurrences are simply part of God's plan for them;

61 per cent believe that God has determined the direction and course of their lives;

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Ok, that's enough depressing statistics, you can read the whole article here.

What is the experience of faith?

Have just read "What is faith?" on Digital Bits Skeptic and have to admit some disappointment. Great title but sadly a rather short article whose focus is on the pronouncements of faith rather than the experience of faith. My feeling is that looking at the ejaculations of the religious faithful under a rational microscope merely defines the linguistic boundaries between faith and reason but tells us little about what it means to have faith.

I think that what we need to look at is the experience of faith rather than the articles of faith.

from Asylum Joy, "What is the experience of faith?"

Our Future: Truth or Lies?

Is it possible that our future will consist of less religions and theism?
Or…

* Will we evolve into a non-superstitious society or will we continue to cling to these myths to justify our preferences and prejudices?

[...]

I hope that there will be a time when the majority of our population realizes that the answers lie within our physical means? We humans can find the answers that will not only aid in our existence, but will help us progress as an ongoing race and a better world.

from Proud Atheists.

I would just add that we must also retain a mental dimension and be able to look both inwards and outwards with the same scientific outlook of detached observation. Faith is ultimately a physiological state and we can deprogram, but in our society having power over others seems more important than having power over our own mind.

Everything Happens for a Reason

This is a rather lightweight op-ed piece from the Friendly Atheist which, however, has generated a fair amount of comment. If a friend starts confiding in you about some tragedy in their life and then slips into,“This is all happening for a reason.” or “It’s part of God’s plan.”, how do you react?

If you believe in a god - any god - you may be able to sympathize. The search for some consoling meaning in the randomness of the universe is often natural. But to build up one's personal problems into some grand cosmic plan seems largely unhelpful, both practically and emotionally. Sure, shit happens! Why did lightning strike here and not there? Complex system. Why has my partner lost interest in me? Complex system.

The universe is a complex system; some parts behave in good old fashioned cause and effect whilst others appear random and unpredictable. We've known this for some 100 years - in just the last 40 years we've even come to understand how simple systems can exhibit complex structures. Perhaps it's just time for human psychology to catch up with human science.

Taking a drug may relieve the pain but it won't heal the wound. Would you rather your friend kept taking the drugs, or would you rather be genuinely helpful?