Why Belief Isn't That Different for Atheists or Religious People

By Larry Beinhart, AlterNet. Posted January 6, 2009.

Nobody knows how it can be like that.

                        -- Richard Feynman 

The more success the quantum theory has, the sillier it looks.

                        -- Albert Einstein 

Anyone who is not shocked by quantum mechanics has not fully understood it.

                        -- Niels Bohr 

So how do we sort out weird theories -- including those about invisible things, those with big, gaping holes, and those that involve strange, inexplicable ideas -- and pick the ones that we accept and reject others?

We play a game called "If … Then …"

We take whatever observations we have. Then we make up a story that "explains" it. Once we have a story, we say, "If this story is true, then things should happen in a certain way." 

It is often stated that of all the theories proposed in this century, the silliest is quantum theory. In fact, some say that the only thing quantum theory has going for it is that it is unquestionably correct.

                        -- Michio Kaku 

What Kaku means by that is, if you plug in quantum equations, then make a prediction, it works.

If you imagine a mystery force called gravity -- without being able to describe what it is or how it works -- you can plug in Newton’s equations and then discover that it works every time.

The same is true with evolution. Whatever the gaps, however incredible it seems, if you proceed on the assumption that it’s real, then everything else in biology works with it. 

The opposite is true with theories of God.

If God tells the truth and there’s nothing wrong with the chain of evidence, then there should be no contradictions within sacred texts. But there are.

If God made the world in seven days, from the rock itself to humans, then the geological, fossil and historical records should reflect that.

If God created a flood that covered the whole world, then there should be physical evidence that reflects that.

If the sun stood still in the sky, then it must be moving around the earth.

This could go on for pages. And it’s true of other sacred texts as well. 

The point of all this is that we will drop perfectly obvious, commonsense ideas (the sun goes around the earth) in favor of truly weird ideas (the earth beneath us is spinning) when there are things they don’t account for (fails some if-then tests) and the new idea satisfies the if-then tests, but that we don’t do it with religious ideas.

If we are going to work on the assumption that God is a false belief, we still have to acknowledge that it has a special status in the world of false beliefs. It is not only broader and more profound, it is stronger and has a special hold on people.

Any theory of why we believe has to account for those qualities.  

This is part of a series on God, Religion, Faith and such. The next one will propose a theory of Why We Believe in God.

See more stories tagged with: belief, god series

Larry Beinhart is the author of Wag the Dog, The Librarian and Fog Facts: Searching for Truth in the Land of Spin. His latest book is Salvation Boulevard. Responses can be sent to beinhart@earthlink.net.

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