Why do people believe in the supernatural?

[Robert]

Growing up, I never cared about religious people's views. I just viewed it as just people's funny beliefs, such as Big Foot or Alien Abduction.

Over the last 6 years, I have lived in a legally mandated theistic state. It causes me to wonder why do people believe such outlandish things?

Even when I was a 7 year old child, I was skeptical about such claims. How can any reasoning adult believe in fairy tales?

You show your ignorance of the subject with your last statement. The reason they believe is that God opens their eyes, just as he keeps yours firmly shut. Don't try to understand it, it won't work if you don't understand the language, and you won't. But don't think for a second, that just because you call it a fairy tail, that it is, that is just a dumb statement to make. There are many things we don't understand fully in this world, and that is one of them, but this lack of understanding does not mean that he does not exist.

[Robert]

Really it's based on fear and ignorance. Fear of the unknown, fear of death, fear of being alone so they invent or embrace an imaginary friend who is always there and can comfort them when they're unhappy.

rubbish!

[Robert]

In other words, they're delusional. No matter how much you believe in a falsehood, it remains false.

But you would have to prove they were delusional wouldn't you. Whereas it is the ones who do not see who are deluded, no matter how well it is presented

[Robert]

lazy thinking, fear, ignorance, the unwillingness to question one's beliefs (kinda falls under lazy, but this is very specific in that people build little bunkers for their supernatural beliefs where rationality and skeptical inquiry arent allowed), delusion, and lots of other reasons or combinations of reasons. With religion, it seems to be a regional indoctrination thing. Most americans are christian because their parents were. Had they been born in the middle east, they would likely be muslim.

but the effect of indoctrination cannot be underestimated. People who are drilled with this stuff day in day out when they are YOUNG tend to believe hard and not give it up for any reason. and those are also usually the types that integrate their religious belief with who they are, which means attacking their beliefs as unsound means attacking their very definition of who they are as unsound. They dont know how to seperate the two.

Most non believers are from non believing households too. They believe because their eyes are open, unlike yours, which are firmly shut. You are deluded as 2 thess2 says. This you cannot except

[Robert]

Nothing has been proven false as of yet.

What about gut feelings? Of course, one could not expect another person to change their view based on another's gut feeling, but for the person having it, it's hard to deny. If you've had a gut feeling, a certainty that you can't explain, you know what I mean. Should you ignore your feelings because you can't 'prove' them?

I can't say I believe in supernatural forces because I don't think it wise to believe in anything but I have a gut feeling that our universe is intelligent in some way. Maybe this is where theist belief comes into play? Maybe that gut feeling they once had has been molded, shaped and added to, and becomes that of their religious institution. Either way I can't prove my feeling and either way, it's not going away. I don't think it's wise to rationalize away my gut feeling only because I can't explain it, just as I also don't think it wise to start creating a 'theory' of how this intelligent force might operate or what it might do. Suffice to say, I'm okay with saying I don't know except what I feel.

From someone who it seems is saying he doesn't know, this is the most balanced open answer yet (on this post not personally)

[Robert]

Precisely. You should be open to the possibility of just about anything, but in order to actually believe anything should require demonstrable, objective evidence that said idea is actually true.

Why, why, why??? Why must this always be the case? Why must I PROVE WITH PHYSICAL EVIDENCE that I am hot, hungry, want to go to town, buy some new shoes I don't need? WHY? WHY?

There is this stupid materialistic ideal now where we MUST have something NAILED to a table to believe in it. What of love???? I believe in the big bang, evolution, multiverse yesterday, tomorrow, my great great grandfather, my mind, my thoughts, you, Australia ---and I can't see any of them!!! Why should it be that the TOE (theory of everything) must be something we can fit under a microscope!

[Robert]

You can believe whatever you want, but the reality is, your beliefs have no bearing on factual reality. If you're interested in what's actually true, instead of what makes you feel good, you have to reject "gut feelings" as a valid way of discovering truth.

Many things start from a position of gut feelings, what we intuitively think is right, even in science. You cannot say that BELIEVE has no bearing in ''factual reality'' just because you can't see it. And what has 'feeling good' got to do with it? It sounds like a usual misrepresented, misunderstood blind response

[Robert]

What I will never understand is how some people that can't believe our universe just happened have no difficulty believing that an even more complex and mysterious creator intelligence just happened. A double standard like that should make your head explode.

Yeah that's right! I mean, to find one intelligent person, proves there is no other even more intelligent doesn't it!! And as regards the universe and where it came from, I mean, we man, we would know wouldn't we. As TO US this universe is complex, then surely there could be nothing else more complicated could there, otherwise intelligent man would know wouldn't he!

[ruksak]

Yeah that's right! I mean, to find one intelligent person, proves there is no other even more intelligent doesn't it!! And as regards the universe and where it came from, I mean, we man, we would know wouldn't we. As TO US this universe is complex, then surely there could be nothing else more complicated could there, otherwise intelligent man would know wouldn't he!

As a species were just getting started. Unlike most species we're pretty our extinction is pretty well guarded.

I have to think that it's very natural for us to ponder extraordinary supernatural beings and occurrences in our universe. However, to 'believe' in such seems akin to lying to ones self.

The concept of faith seems like a disclaimer to me.

[Elithium]

Your asserting something to be true despite all evidence to the contrary does nothing to support your stance. It only makes you willfully ignorant.

You show your ignorance of the subject with your last statement. The reason they believe is that God opens their eyes, just as he keeps yours firmly shut. Don't try to understand it, it won't work if you don't understand the language, and you won't. But don't think for a second, that just because you call it a fairy tail, that it is, that is just a dumb statement to make. There are many things we don't understand fully in this world, and that is one of them, but this lack of understanding does not mean that he does not exist.

[Elithium]

You believe the most valid view is some one who advocates using emotions to form beliefs over reasoning and evidence? Shall I show the incredible stupidity of such a claim or are you going to admit that you only like what he stated because it was an attempt to support your own ignorant view?

From someone who it seems is saying he doesn't know, this is the most balanced open answer yet (on this post not personally)

[Peter]

Yeah that's right! I mean, to find one intelligent person, proves there is no other even more intelligent doesn't it!! And as regards the universe and where it came from, I mean, we man, we would know wouldn't we. As TO US this universe is complex, then surely there could be nothing else more complicated could there, otherwise intelligent man would know wouldn't he!

Uhhhh, what? Really, I can't tease any meaning out of your words that relates to or rebuts my comment. Care to try again?