The intellectuals rejection of God.

[reddogs]

How is it that those with the hightest IQ seem to be the ones who most reject God.

"The belief that heaven or an afterlife awaits us is a "fairy story" for people afraid of death, Stephen Hawking has said.

In a dismissal that underlines his firm rejection of religious comforts, Britain's most eminent scientist said there was nothing beyond the moment when the brain flickers for the final time.

"I have lived with the prospect of an early death for the last 49 years. I'm not afraid of death, but I'm in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first," he said.

"I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark," he added.

Hawking's latest comments go beyond those laid out in his 2010 book, The Grand Design, in which he asserted that there is no need for a creator to explain the existence of the universe. The book provoked a backlash from some religious leaders, including the chief rabbi, Lord Sacks, who accused Hawking of committing an "elementary fallacy" of logic.

The 69-year-old physicist fell seriously ill after a lecture tour in the US in 2009 and was taken to Addenbrookes hospital in an episode that sparked grave concerns for his health. He has since returned to his Cambridge department as director of research.

The physicist's remarks draw a stark line between the use of God as a metaphor and the belief in an omniscient creator whose hands guide the workings of the cosmos."
Stephen Hawking: 'There is no heaven; it's a fairy story'

 

[JacobKStarkey]

Many intellectuals also do not reject God.

 

[Romans 8]

Which Steven Hawking are you referring too? The first one died decades ago because no one can live 55 years with ALS. The average life expectancy of someone diagnosed with ALS is 2 to 5 years.

Anyway, to answer your question: I would say massive pride is the major blockage. Pride and superiority. That would sum it up.

 

[devin553344]

Einstein believed in God as my tagline says "God does not play dice with the universe" -Albert Einstein. And he was clearly smarter than Hawking. He was up there with Max Planck who was also a Christian genius well beyond Hawking and Max Planck said:

This spirit is the matrix of all matter." Planck regarded the scientist as a man of imagination and Christian faith. He said: "Both religion and science require a belief in God. For believers, God is in the beginning, and for physicists He is at the end of all considerations…

You shouldn't assume that genius is separation from God. In fact the more you know about science the more you see a divine creator in my opinion

 

[friend of]

Hawking is kinda overrated.

1 Corinthians 1:25-27

 

[Carl Emerson]

These are the words of Einstein...

"I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene."

Einstein was then asked if he accepted the historical existence of Jesus, to which he replied,

"Unquestionably! No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word...."

Believe me there are many secret believers in Israel.

Blessings,

Carl Emerson.

 

[sfs]

Einstein believed in God as my tagline says "God does not play dice with the universe" -Albert Einstein.

Not in a personal God, though: "I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings.

 

[Carl Emerson]

Not in a personal God, though: "I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings.

Yes important distinction... but this rather clashes with the revelation in the Torah and many secretly see Jesus fulfilling this message. The cost is high to reveal this - instant dismissal from jobs, excommunication from family...

Blessings,

Carl Emerson.

 

[Carl Emerson]

Check this out...

I Found Shalom

Jewish top intellectuals meet Jesus...

Blessings,

Carl Emerson.

 

[Kenyon Ledford]

I've never understood how a high IQ can stand on its own next to an infinite entity. I always tell these people that I don't want to stand in judgement, unsaved, before God and saying, "But a GENIUS said you didn't exist!"

 

[Kenyon Ledford]

Also, don't geniuses leave the house with their underwear on their head sometimes?

 

[PloverWing]

Which Steven Hawking are you referring too? The first one died decades ago because no one can live 55 years with ALS. The average life expectancy of someone diagnosed with ALS is 2 to 5 years.

Presumably, the Stephen Hawking described here: Stephen Hawking - Wikipedia . You're correct that ALS often progresses quickly, but occasionally patients live much longer with the disease, with Dr. Hawking being a famous example.

 

[FireDragon76]

Einstein believed in God as my tagline says "God does not play dice with the universe" -Albert Einstein. And he was clearly smarter than Hawking. He was up there with Max Planck who was also a Christian genius well beyond Hawking and Max Planck said:

This spirit is the matrix of all matter." Planck regarded the scientist as a man of imagination and Christian faith. He said: "Both religion and science require a belief in God. For believers, God is in the beginning, and for physicists He is at the end of all considerations…

You shouldn't assume that genius is separation from God. In fact the more you know about science the more you see a divine creator in my opinion

Einstein believed in spiritual sentiments and recognized the place of religion in human life, but he was not an orthodox Jew. He was interested in Buddhism, and believed a "religion of the future" would resemble it. He did not believe in a personal, anthropomorphic God.

So I guess he was "spiritual, but not religious".

 

[jkjk]

How is it that those with the hightest IQ seem to be the ones who most reject God.

"The belief that heaven or an afterlife awaits us is a "fairy story" for people afraid of death, Stephen Hawking has said.

In a dismissal that underlines his firm rejection of religious comforts, Britain's most eminent scientist said there was nothing beyond the moment when the brain flickers for the final time.

"I have lived with the prospect of an early death for the last 49 years. I'm not afraid of death, but I'm in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first," he said.

"I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark," he added.

Hawking's latest comments go beyond those laid out in his 2010 book, The Grand Design, in which he asserted that there is no need for a creator to explain the existence of the universe. The book provoked a backlash from some religious leaders, including the chief rabbi, Lord Sacks, who accused Hawking of committing an "elementary fallacy" of logic.

The 69-year-old physicist fell seriously ill after a lecture tour in the US in 2009 and was taken to Addenbrookes hospital in an episode that sparked grave concerns for his health. He has since returned to his Cambridge department as director of research.

The physicist's remarks draw a stark line between the use of God as a metaphor and the belief in an omniscient creator whose hands guide the workings of the cosmos."
Stephen Hawking: 'There is no heaven; it's a fairy story'

Personally, I think a lot of educated people reject God for at least one three reasons. First, many people's experience of religion has been oppressive, and they have come to see religion as an integral part of whatever system of oppression. Second, well educated people (the ones who become famous for publishing something new or insightful, anyways) got that way by questioning or rejecting key assumptions of previous ways of thinking. So those people are already naturally predisposed to question "accepted" wisdom. Especially among those who become well-versed in history, it is easy to become cynical. Third, many academics have lived relatively charmed and comfortable lives, all things considered. Many have gotten to where they are relying on their own intellect and reason. They've never really needed God. On the other hand, when bullets start flying, suddenly the devout atheists start muttering prayers...

Edit: I'll add a fourth as well: many brilliant people are so singularly focused on whatever it is that they are researching. They simply don't have the inclination or proclivity or space in their brains for anything else. In a sense, their research becomes their religion.

 

[FireDragon76]

Not in a personal God, though: "I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings.

I think as Christians we can acknowledge some truth to Einstein's vision of God . It's not the primary focus of our religion, but it is recognized as a truth about God. We recognize the majesty and awesomeness of God revealed in creation. But it is also a fearful reality and leaves us potentially with a basic existential anxiety.

 

[devin553344]

Einstein believed in spiritual sentiments and recognized the place of religion in human life, but he was not an orthodox Jew. He was interested in Buddhism, and believed a "religion of the future" would resemble it. He did not believe in a personal, anthropomorphic God.

So I guess he was "spiritual, but not religious".

I wouldn't say he wasn't religious. Religious people simply must believe in a God and worship that God. He believed in God. Worshiping that God is really a subject of debate then. And he was religious as posted already.

But more to the point is that Einstein didn't reject God. He proclaimed his God. A creator of the Universe. Which the purpose of the OP was to conjecture whether increase in IQ related to rejecting God.

 

[Jonathan Walkerin]

How is it that those with the hightest IQ seem to be the ones who most reject God.

You do realize that flipside of that assumption is that those with lowest IQ seem to be the ones who most embrace God ?

Maybe the person`s IQ ; which by itself is rather controversial meter of anything should not be used for anyone`s acceptance of God ?

 

[Gary K]

I would agree with the point reddog made.

It has always been the intellectuals of the Christian church throughout history that have led it astray. In his book, Origin, Nature, and Influence of Neology, N. N. Whiting brings out how the influence of the French revolution and it's total rejection of everything to do with God changed the entire Christian church of Europe with its skepticism and so-called higher levels of logic. Then he demonstrates how this influence spread to the US as the US theological seminaries would send their students for "finishing" to the German theological schools which which had come to accept the rationalism for the French intellectuals.

This same influence today is seen in organizations like The Jesus Seminar. It has accepted the totality of the errors introduced by rationalism. For a good summary of those errors and how they were inculcated in the church by the so-called intellectual elite read the first 30 or so pages. Here is a link to a free download of the book. Ellen G. White® Estate: Whiting, Nathaniel N.

Here is a link to who N. N. Whiting was: Nathaniel N. Whiting - Wikipedia . There used to be a more complete history of his life on line a few years ago but it has disappeared, or at least I can't find it any more.

It was also the intellectuals of the Jews who led them to crucify Jesus. Their elite bought into the forms and ideas of Greek thought 2 or 3 centuries before the coming of Christ as the Greeks opened their schools to the best and brightest of the Jews and it was that influence that led them away from God. It was that influence which led them to crucify Jesus. For the Adventists reading this thread, Stephen N. Haskel brought this out very well in his book The Story of the Prophet Daniel. Chapter 14 deals with this subject.

 

[Dave-W]

These are the words of Einstein...

"I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene."

His being a Jew HAS to be where he got the idea of "frames of reference." It is very similar to Hebrew Block Logic.

 

[bekkilyn]

It has always been the intellectuals of the Christian church throughout history that have led it astray.

Many of the greatest theologians throughout history have also been intellectuals. It is unfortunate that in the 21st century, so many Christians have decided that the brain God gave to us and proclaimed to be good should be cast aside for ignorance. And even SDA's love the prophet Daniel, who despite being the Lord's faithful servant, was also very much well learned and would have been just as familiar with Babylonian religion and practice as the Pharisees were with Greek philosophy in Jesus' day.