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I have to say that while I, for the most part, agree that many "lay" people use their religion as a crutch of sorts to help them deal with the challenge of facing an existence full of ungraspable meaning, significance, value, etc., but to suggest that those who have faith in religious philosophy are, by nature of being faithful, less intelligent than atheists is well, yes, condescending. What about religious scholars, Jesuit and Franciscan monks...the Rev. Jim Wallis? And for that matter, the Dalai Lama and other Buddhist monks, lamas, bikshus, etc. The Buddhists have faith in reincarnation, karma, enlightenment and nirvana, bodhisattvas...does this make them less intelligent? Atheism is a faith, as well. Atheists have faith that the unknowable is, at least, definitely not what they think it is not. I offer up, as a fully neutral observer, that many people who call themselves atheists are not necessarily more intelligent or open-minded than those who have faith. That they are simply another fragmentation of mankind's eternal quest for the meaning of life. I suppose, it's natural for those who think they are privy to "the truth" to lord it a bit (no pun intended...well, maybe a little one) over those who are "not." Avid Christians do it, too. Ya. But I think to voice these things in a generalized way is just a way of patting one's self on the back to validate their own understanding of things.
And, for my two cents, the discussion on this thread has been very engaging and thoughtful on the part of both pigglet and KnifeMissile. I've enjoyed it very much. But I just wanted to touch for a moment on the subject of spiritual or aspiritual prestige. One is as annoying as the other from my perspective.
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Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce
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