The Evolution Of Belief

[chefranden]

Heavenbound A scientific exploration of how we have come to believe in God

 

...Call it God; call it superstition; call it, as Atran does, “belief in hope beyond reason” — whatever you call it, there seems an inherent human drive to believe in something transcendent, unfathomable and otherworldly, something beyond the reach or understanding of science. “Why do we cross our fingers during turbulence, even the most atheistic among us?”

 

...“If you have negative sentiments toward religion,” he tells them, “the box will destroy whatever you put inside it.” Many of his students say they doubt the existence of God, but in this demonstration they act as if they believe in something. Put your pencil into the magic box, he tells them, and the nonbelievers do so blithely. Put in your driver’s license, he says, and most do, but only after significant hesitation. And when he tells them to put in their hands, few will.

 

Read all of it.

[Ouroboros]

Hmm.... I don't cross my fingers during turbulence...

[ShackledNoMore]

If someone told me that, and handed me the box, I think I might hesitate more out of caution for some trick or deception than out of fear of any supernatural properties of the box.

[Fonkey]

Fantastic article! Thanks.