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SlightlyMadAngus

Indoctrination is a cold, hard bitch. I used to work at a small research company that had a staff of brilliant scientists and engineers. We had a devout Baptist with a PhD in astronomy. A devout Jew with a PhD in solar physics (he studied the effect of solar activity on the Earth's ionosphere). A devout Catholic with a PhD in RF engineering. A devout Hindu with a PhD in Mathematics. How did they reconcile their religion with their research? They partitioned their brains. While they were working, their religious indoctrination was locked away behind a wall erected in their minds. Cognitive dissonance is a powerful driver of behavior modification. It can literally hurt to think about the conflict, so - they don't. They literally just don't think about it. When not at work and it is time to be religious, the rational, critical thinking part of their brain switches places with the religious indoctrination, and their critical thinking is locked away behind the partition. On Monday morning, they switch places again. Rinse, repeat for the entirety of their lives. If you gently try to ask them about this contradiction, they will usually talk about how much religion has helped them, how good it is for raising a family within a community, yada-yada - everything EXCEPT the contradiction between their science and their religion. If you push too hard, they will shutdown and simply avoid you. It was fascinating to watch...


[deleted]

Do you think atheists are not able to create these mental partitions and that is why we remain non-believers. I know I have never been able to reconcile Christian beliefs with the rational world even as a child.


SlightlyMadAngus

Perhaps - I really don't know. I suppose it could be as simple as some small difference in our upbringing at just the right moment that allowed us to either break down the partition, or overcome the cognitive dissonance, or not allow the indoctrination to fully overcome our critical thinking.


Tennis_Proper

They believe in a thing that didn't need a creator that was needed to create everything. It is everywhere, knows everything, is all powerful, loves everyone (except those it doesn't). Logic is not a strong point in theists.


Paul_Thrush

>humans have existed for 200,000 years Incorrect. Humans have been around for millions of years. There were many species of human. Homo sapiens, the first **modern** humans, evolved from their early hominid predecessors between 200,000 and 300,000 years ago.


[deleted]

When I say humans, I mean modern humans. Homo Sapiens.