religion makes stupid people even more stupid

[psyah]

Re: religion makes stupid people even more stupid

@Ranjhaa

psyah

I am sorry but the multiplier logic really goes over my head here. But we can take the tool analogy further. We know and have seen how any religion can be used by otherwise perfectly sane people to do unimaginably inhuman acts and cause distress to everybody around them. Of course, we can always argue that it is not being interpreted properly or the workmen should be blamed and not the tools, but no one can argue that the tool does not play a part. If there was no tool, the workmen at best would have been unemployed and perhaps may have lead an otherwise sane life. What I am interested in knowing is how can religion make a positive impact on any person, make the great earth that we inhabit a better place for everybody?

The multiplier analogy does work, but you have introduced another parameter which is not an act of good or bad but the absence of an act. In this case the absence of an act is the absence of religion. The absence of religion will not have the x2 multiplier. It just means that there is x1 multiplier with the absence of religion.

stupid religious -1 x 2 = -2
wise religious 1 x 2 = 2
stupid irreligious -1 x 1 = -1
wise irreligious 1 x 1 = 1

This shows the world view not the divine view, in the world view irreligious people are neither very stupid nor very wise.

On the other hand there is a divine view as well. Stupidity is not the definition of crime because crime is an evil act with intent for evil, however stupidity is merely a set of evil acts without the intent.

Coming back to the drill hole analogy, if a worker was hired to drill a hole for a shelf and he used the drill incorrectly the shelf could not go on, if he chose not to drill at all the shelf would still not go on. Choosing to avoid using a tool when we are supposed to use it is wrong as is using the tool incorrectly. In fact the person who uses the tool unwisely will be told off and may be trained for at least trying to use it, the other one will get sacked for not even attempting to use it.