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A Debate: Believing in God is Psychologically Healthy

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.

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A Debate: Believing in God is Psychologically Healthy

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  1. A Debate: Believing in God is Psychologically Healthy Daniel, Annie, Chase, and John. AKA Group 5

  2. 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.

  3. Still “Not”… Looking back through history… -Crusades -Inquisitions -Native American culture destruction Not exactly the coolest events! What this means is…

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. Intermission/Idyllic Phase…

  8. 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.

  9. Healing • Belief in God tends to work when nothing else is going right. • Provides comfort. “Everything’s gonna be ok.” • Therapeutic.

  10. Freud • Father of psychoanalysis, believed religion to be fully psychological, a neurosis we create for ourselves because we cannot cope without.

  11. Carl Jung-famous psychologist • Believed that a “religious perspective” was so vital in his patients that he could not treat them without. • WOW.

  12. If God is merciful… • People are taught to mimic the goodness of God, to be compassionate, merciful, and forgiving. • And this is healthy. • 

  13. Believing In God Via Spirituality • Spiritual people tend to be less stressed, have better health, and live longer lives as a result.

  14. 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!

  15. 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/

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