Is Stephen Hawking right - faith's just a crutch?

📸 FBF: This time last year we released a video, 'Is belief in God just a delusion?'.

[robhubbard]

It's an interesting argument but, I'm sorry, I don't buy it.

The Hawking claim that people will willingly delude themselves as a comfort blanket is sound, we know this to be true and we see it in other ways, for example in the face of a diagnosis of a terminal illness or even in movements of the stock market. Whilst you do see the reverse, (for example the jealous husband incorrectly accusing his wife) that delusion cannot be seen as a comfort blanket.

Finally, the argument made by Hawking is a dismissal of a claim (IE the existence of a personal God) which is presented without evidence. The reverse argument you make, that rejecting the bible story is a fairy tale is weaker insofar as there is no claim being made to be this "fairy tale" but rather that no fairy tale is needed.

If a drug company said "try these pills, they'll cure cancer, please give us all your money", you would ask for evidence of it. If people chose to use those pills anyway, that is their choice. You might even get cases where the person using the pills got better, but a sensible person could still say "I don't think those pills cure cancer until they have been tested". Imagine if the manufacturer was to say "you're delusional if you think my pills don't cure cancer, you've got no proof that they don't."

In that scenario, would you hand over money to the manufacturer? I sure wouldn't!

[MrFossilabgfyth]

Saying religion is for weak people is silly. So, lacking religion makes one stronger? Really, I don't by that! 😅

[JadDragon]

Sounds like atheist cope to me.
Jesus lives! ♥️ and is Yahweh God 🙏🏻 Christ ✝️ and King 👑