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Subject: 
Personality test vs. Religion
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.off-topic.debate
Date: 
Mon, 25 Oct 2004 22:29:22 GMT
Viewed: 
1848 times
  
In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Brendan Powell Smith wrote:
What seems to happen quite often in my observation is that people pick and
choose a few small bits from the entire Bible that line-up with their own
sense of what seems right and just, and then assume that *these* are the most
important parts of the Bible--its true over-arching message, and anything
else in the Bible that seems to in any way contradict that message must then
either be ignored or *somehow* forced to align with that overall message.  It
often strikes me as people trying very, very hard to hammer square pegs into
round holes, but that's how much of theology strikes me.

I've noticed that too. I've also noticed similar things with people who are just
"decisive". They'll form an opinion early on, then focus on facts that support
the opinion, rather than base the opinion on facts. Of course it's more like a
sliding scale than a rule-- 'the more decisive you are, the more likely you
might be to see things you *want* to see and ignore things you *don't* want to
see'. But that's more just a theory of mine at the moment than anything I know
for a fact.

But that right there got me curious-- if people inherently *want* a God to exist
(I know I always did as a kid, and heck, it still might be really nice depending
on the God), and if the above is true, should it follow that religious people
are inherently more decisive than atheists? And how about how closely you adhere
to your religion, or how ... uh... 'vehement' you get at people who present
opposing views? (I'm not sure I know how to phrase that in a PC manner at the
momnt)

Anyone know any Meyers/Briggs analysis that cross references religion?

Certainly the Bush/Kerry thing would seem to support the theory if nothing else
:)

DaveE



Message has 2 Replies:
  Re: Personality test vs. Religion
 
(...) I would say that it's definitely a sliding scale, because we're all guilty of that to some extent. I certainly note such tendencies in myself--I just try to keep them in check. (...) That's an interesting separate question: do atheists, by and (...) (20 years ago, 26-Oct-04, to lugnet.off-topic.debate, FTX)
  Re: Personality test vs. Religion
 
(...) This behavior has been described as "confirmation bias," though I don't know if that's a formal designation or just what (URL) calls it. Either way, it speaks of the tendency to exclude data that doesn't fit one's preconceptions, and it's an (...) (20 years ago, 26-Oct-04, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)

Message is in Reply To:
  Re: The Brick Testament: Joshua and the Israelites Massacre Twenty-Nine Kingdoms
 
Hi, Matthew. (...) Just to be clear, I did not mean to imply that you were necessarily providing *your* justification for the Canaanite genocide, just *a* justification, which is, I think what Stephane was asking for when he asked "How does your (...) (20 years ago, 25-Oct-04, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)

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