When do beliefs become ridiculous?

[_Some Schmo]

I think what really determines how ridiculous a belief is has to do mostly with it's lack of plausibility.

But going deeper that that, I think you can measure the ridiculousness of a belief by asking, "Why do you believe that" and if the farther away that reason relates to the belief, the more ridiculous it is.

For instance, if you ask, "why do you believe Joe Smith was a prophet" and the answer is, "because my parents taught me it was so" or "it just feels right to me" rather than something like, "the historical evidence shows that [insert whatever supporting evidence there may be]" it's a pretty good bet that it's a ridiculous belief.

So I guess I feel it's not so much what you believe but why you believe it that may or may not make the belief ridiculous.

[_Zoidberg]

What's truly scary is the possibility that I might be a lunatic and everyone around me keeps telling me that, but I somehow manage to process their words to mean something completely different. There is really no way of finding out.

This is actually what worries the most about the whole thing.

If I recall correctly, Darwin was excellent at disciplining his thinking, and would always go out of his way to look for evidence that contradicted whatever belief he currently embraced. I've tried to do that myself whenever possible.

But how can you be so sure that you are actually perceiving independent objective reality? Maybe you are so biased you actually see a strawman that you yourself created instead of the real thing even when you think you are looking for contradicting evidence. Especially when it comes to day-to-day life versus actual lab work, for instance.

That's not addressing you personally, of course.

[_Doctor Steuss]

Maybe. But lets look at it from a 'macro' perspective. In other words, there are things that everyone, on the whole, find ridiculous. Like bigfoot for example. Or the lochness monster. Or the FSM. etc. (...or creationism...?)

By “on the whole” I’m assuming you mean a majority (the reason I ask is there are people such as Biologist John Bindernagel that believe in Bigfoot)?

What makes those things ridiculous? And then, how can one person see some belief as ridiculous, while at the same time believe in something that everyone else sees as ridiculous? What tools are they using to judge the other ridiculous beliefs, that they aren't using on their own beliefs?

Is it merely like Steuss said - that they simply conflict with our own beliefs? And if so, is that a good measuring stick?

To bring it closer to home - as a believing Mormon 2 years ago, I found the beliefs of scientologists as flat out ridiculous. The reason was probably simply because their beliefs conflicted with my own. Now, is that fair? Or should I have been using some other, more rational (scientific), measuring stick?

Sorry, I'm probably rambling and making sense to no one but myself...

No, you are making perfect sense, and it’s one hell of a question. I love Eastern religions. I don’t believe in any of them (such as the Vedas, or much of Krishnamurti’s views); however, I don’t find them “ridiculous” either. I don’t know what it is that causes me to not see them as “ridiculous.” I think that staunch fundamentalist Christian creationism is ridiculous… but for some reason I don’t think that the creation hymn in the Rig Veda is “ridiculous.” I don’t believe there’s any credence to the Veda hymn, but at the same time, I don’t think of it as the “r” word.

I just dunno.

[_evolving]

Beliefs systems become ridiculous when they are incorporated, institutionalized and marketed to the public, then require the financial backing of the believers to exist. It is a ridiculous practice to shape your world view on a belief, that just because it has ties to the ancient world, it must be more correct or true than the other belief systems. If in 60 AD the Romans liked the philosophy of the Greeks more than they liked the Jews – today we would all be discussing our relationship with Zeus and his only begotten son Adonis.

[_Polygamy Porter]

Or when a grown thinking adult believes the story that a floating glowing spirit of a native american did not wake the brothers of this Joseph Smith, who slept in the same bed

His brothers slept in the same bed with him? This is the first I've heard of this.

Do you have a reference for me?

Thanks!

:)

If I recall correctly, it is part of his story written by his mother.

The tours of the old smith shack talk about him sharing a bed with three other boys... in an effort to make you feel sorry for how poor they were I guess as Mormon salesmanship always involves emotional manipulation.

How did his three other brothers not see this being the glowed brighter than the noon day sun?

Perhaps the entire family were drunks, and the boys were passed out from drinking too much moonshine.

No? Well perhaps Moroni stooped over the three boys and seeped out some noxious sleeping gas from his holy sphincter... it had to be an SBD as a loud noisey fart might have startled them and can you imagine the stories from these boys waking up to that!

[_Gazelam]

[_Runtu]

I think that goes way beyond ridiculous and into the tragic.

[_Polygamy Porter]

I wonder, does anyone know which flavor of koolaid they used? And was it chosen for a particular reason?

Tropical Punch?

[_Doctor Steuss]

<snip pic>

I wonder, does anyone know which flavor of koolaid they used? And was it chosen for a particular reason?

Tropical Punch?

If I recall correctly, it was unflavored water. Some people were forced to drink at gunpoint. Some refused to drink and were shot.

(where's the vomit emoticon when you need it)

[_Belial]

Beliefs systems become ridiculous when they are incorporated, institutionalized and marketed to the public, then require the financial backing of the believers to exist. It is a ridiculous practice to shape your world view on a belief, that just because it has ties to the ancient world, it must be more correct or true than the other belief systems. If in 60 AD the Romans liked the philosophy of the Greeks more than they liked the Jews – today we would all be discussing our relationship with Zeus and his only begotten son Adonis.

In truth we eventually were successful in melding most of Greek philosophy with the foul Church started by the Firstborn. In Hell it is considered a great joke that many Christians laugh at pagan myths while believing the same thing under different names.

Absurdity is one of our favored weapons.