Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Mistoffelees
Who taught it first? If we are born with a predisposition to look up at the stars and always come to a conclusion that a higher power is involved then we are born as deity believers. Or if you don't want to use the word "born" it is our innate disposition.
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If you believe this yourself, and are not just playing devil's advocate, you are making far more assumptions than I am by claiming that we are very likely born atheists (read: not born as deity believers).
To make the above statement, one would have to assume that they understand the mind of mankind since it's inception, and I suppose in this thread, i'm guilty of this as well. Really, all rational an scientific thinkers should not use terms as "is, was, definitely", etcetera. It really comes down to a question of
likelihood.
Quote:
 : It is likely that at many points during human history, in different epochs, regions and tribes, select humans did one of the following:
-made up campfire stories to entertain people which, over time, turned into legend and in some cases religion taught as truth passed down from generation to generation
-intentionally made up false stories for whatever reason (likely to give credence to power and/or general order for a society) in the form of religion taught as truth passed down from generation to generation
-had ideas that came in either hallucinations or dreams, neither understood at the time, to charismatic individuals throughout history who truly believed they were visited by a deity, which turned into a religion taught as truth passed down from generation to generation
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Quote:
 : It is likely that at many points during human history, in different epochs, regions and tribes, almost all humans, if not all, after long consideration of their surroundings and in particular natural disasters and celestial events, have all come to the one conclusion without any outside influence whatsoever : There must be a God.
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