A Debate: Believing in God is Psychologically Healthy Daniel, Annie, Chase, and John. AKA Group 5
A Debate: Believing in God is Psychologically Healthy
Daniel, Annie, Chase, and John. AKA Group 5
The “Not” Perspective
• “Belief in a cruel God makes a cruel man.”-Thomas Paine
-Sometimes one can be led toward negative tendencies.
Denying oneself of healthy pursuits such as finding love, starting a career, etc.
One may come to bias, or favoring certain people based on their beliefs, and whether or not they coincide with one’s own.
Still “Not”…
Looking back through history… -Crusades-Inquisitions-Native American culture destruction Not exactly the coolest events!What this means is…
Assumption?
• When people think they know what God is saying, and that everyone else is wrong…bad things happen. i.e. previous page.
• People believe so strongly in something that they condemn, torture, and kill other people, sometimes in mass quantities.
Mixed Messages
• As an example, Christianity: God is described as being wrathful and punishing, an angry being.
• God is described as being a kind, loving, and benevolent being.
• Are you confused? Some people tend to get that way.
Fear: A Powerful Tool?
• Belief in a wrathful God can lead an individual to unhealthy levels of fear.
• To do what God wants, people have to deny themselves, and they feel guilty if they are unable to do so.
• Corrupt people can use God as a means of personal gain and power at the expense of others.
Intermission/Idyllic Phase…
Ok, now for “Is Perspective”
• One who believes in God is aware of the depth in life and has a passion for living.
• Individuals not believing in God tend to have a “hunger” or hole in their lives.
Healing
• Belief in God tends to work when nothing else is going right.
• Provides comfort. “Everything’s gonna be ok.”
• Therapeutic.
Freud
• Father of psychoanalysis, believed religion to be fully psychological, a neurosis we create for ourselves because we cannot cope without.
Carl Jung-famous psychologist
• Believed that a “religious perspective” was so vital in his patients that he could not treat them without.
• WOW.
If God is merciful…
• People are taught to mimic the goodness of God, to be compassionate, merciful, and forgiving.
• And this is healthy.
Believing In God Via Spirituality
• Spiritual people tend to be less stressed, have better health, and live longer lives as a result.
Meaning
• Believing in God and what he stands for provides a meaning for living, and gives direction for an individual’s life to take.
Her life has meaning!
Works Cited
Elkins, David. Spirituality. 1999. Psychology Today. 18 Oct. 2004 <http://cms.psychologytoday.com/articles
Schaffer, Art. Six Avoidance of Negatives. 1987-2004. Eclectic Church. 18 Oct. 2004 http://eclecticchurch.org/