Comments on: Thinking About God Calms Believers, Stresses Atheists

By: Young One

Young One — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 01:25:29 +0000

I’ve tried, I’ve tried a LOT to look up at the sky and think “one eternal and all powerful being made this” – but I simply can’t. If im condemned to “hell” , so be it, but I refuse to waste my life putting everything into the hands of something I have no proof of.
I still have faith in things though, I still accept that there are things we can’t explain away. I believe that there is a lot more we have to know about – so when friends accuse me of having no belief in anything, its not strictly true.

(I commend JayKay on his choice of faith, chocolate is our saviour)

By: JayKay

JayKay — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 14:45:49 +0000

I think about chocolate instead – works the same. I can also blame the chocolate too – my mistakes are all down to the choccie. But I know, ultimately, that the Wispa Bar is my saviour and therefore I shall be calm in the knowledge that I am on this earth solely to serve Nestle, Mars and, Kraft and that I will live on as a reincarnation of the once gloriously chewy, now sadly foamy Mars Bar.

By: Eric Clyne

Eric Clyne — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 11:27:22 +0000

Two men are waiting to go over the top to certain death. One knows he is going to heaven. The other, an atheist, is facing the big sleep. ‘When you compare what we each believe, I have to be braver than you,’ says the atheist. Just then, another true believer came on the scene. He was a bad, bad, boy. And he said, ‘Braver than him for sure, but not braver than me.’

Belief relieves stress for those conceited enough to assume they are going to heaven. Did the survey check out believers who really, really, South Park really believed they were going to hell?

By: Riffler

Riffler — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 10:19:11 +0000

So belief has a placebo effect. Did anyone not already know that?

By: fostwind

fostwind — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 20:36:38 +0000

Wow, melika got it spot on. We should all turn our hearts to Thor before it’s too late!!

By: melika

melika — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 17:46:18 +0000

probably because somewhere deep deep down subconsciously the atheists know there is a God, and they get stressed because they know (unfortunately) that unless they change they are going to hell

By: charles

charles — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 16:44:05 +0000

THANK GOD I’M AN ATHEIST

By: Radu C

Radu C — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 14:44:28 +0000

Now do the same test, but in reverse: prime people with ideas that claim God does not exist. I’m predicting the result like this: atheists will be more calm, while the anxiety of believers will go through the roof.

This now complete set of results will show that people like their ideas and hate ideas that contravene with their own, and the levels of anxiety are related to how much they love or hate certain ideas.

By: Iain Diamond

Iain Diamond — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 13:35:10 +0000

As an atheist, I question whether the results found in this study are determined by having a belief in God or by having any belief system e.g. Buddhism embraces theists and atheists. I would imagine any structured set of beliefs would provide a better coping mechanism for our journey through life than the freedom and confusion of just making it up as you go.

By: sarah

sarah — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 09:25:12 +0000

hate to say this but i thought phsycologists already knew this! Surely having a religion gives you something to beleive in, real or not it’s a way to cope if you can’t explain something, it acts as a kind of OCD- any kind of beleif system works in the same way, i think it depends on who you are and how strong your beleifs are.maybe it comes down to confidence- if you are athiest but sure of it then i don’t beleive you will be effected by stress if bad luck comes around- i feel strong athiests accept that things like that happen and so are in a way also prepared for the worst- i do think ppl who are ‘athiest’ more because they feel bitter about religion would feel more stressed, because prehaps bitterness is out of fear/unsure-it means that in some way they might still beleive in something.