You think they haven't heard that before?---IQ is useful primarily to achieve the ends that represent one's values. Suicide bombers anticipate a great reward in the afterlife in exchange for their lives.
That's what you have to change to stop them. Pointing out what you think to be a better option will be of no help.
In all seriousness, studies have shown that people with higher IQs are more prone to atheism. That's not to say there aren't intelligent religious folks. There most certainly are, but on the whole, I feel pretty confident that they'd have lower IQs than most. As far as I know, there have not been any studies done to show how IQ changes with the depth of one's religious convictions, so we can't write them off as being mentally retarded either. You kind of have to take into account that many of the ones we know about, particularly with 9/11, underwent intensive schooling and testing to get a pilot's license. They went to schools here in the US. Some in AZ, as I recall... hmmm... I don't know if they did get licenses, but they did go to school. Either way, I sure as heck can't fly a plane and I'm pretty sure my IQ is decent. That's a round-about way of saying that they'd likely all be different. Some are probably highly-intelligent- smarter than you or I (I know, I can only speak for myself). Others are dumb as rocks. *shrugs* Smart people do dumb things sometimes. I don't think we can judge intelligence based on how they choose to leave this world.
The greater intelligence means just all the more brain need to be washed. Somebody could spoil it all by teaching such a thing as critical thinking.
Atheists may generally be a slightly more intelligent species but the key I think is learning and practice of critical thinking. Can make a person a little harder to brainwash.
Interesting phraseology---usually whatever we are "prone to" tends to be something to be avoided---migraines, Meniere's disease---Whatever...
Or perhaps the lack of belief in gods is their hubris.
And belief is considered a matter of faith, anyway, so perhaps IQ is only useful in such matters in that it helps one to understand the rational basis for those beliefs.
But let me be clear, I have great respect for some of the atheists that I have dialogued with over the past 5 years online; and whether there is in fact no god or gods, or whether that god or those gods have simply chosen to not be perceived by those atheists does negate their reasoning ability. They and I differ primarily in the assumptions we start from, not from any errors in logic.
I'm not sure that concentrating on a suicide bomber's IQ is the best approach. The human will is incapable of choosing evil in and of itself---it must choose evil that for whatever reason it has to judge it as "good for them to do." Suicide bombers believe that there is a great reward in the afterlife for their actions. You can't just appeal to their IQ---you better have something better to offer them that suits their values than that "pie in the sky."
I didn't realize that "prone" ever had any specific connotation, but I looked it up and sure enough, in British English dictionaries, it does. American English dictionaries don't give it the same distinction.
It sounds like you're addressing what I've said from the opposite standpoint, though, as if religious people have higher IQs, when my point was the opposite. Religious people have lower IQs overall, so it would stand to reason most religious suicide bombers have lower IQs as well. I also counter-argued my own answer and said IQ likely couldn't be told based on the action as well.
You said "And belief is considered a matter of faith, anyway, so perhaps IQ is only useful in such matters in that it helps one to understand the rational basis for those beliefs."
I think the point in being atheist is that there is no "rational" basis for a belief in a god. You can't make a rational decision about that. Faith has nothing to do with logic or reason. It's a belief you have without evidence or proof.
"They and I differ primarily in the assumptions we start from, not from any errors in logic."
Again, faith and logic do not coincide. It's one or the other. You either analyze and use facts to determine there is no god or you see absence of other answers and put your faith in the concept that there is one. Or, you invent reasons to believe in a god. The Mayans used to sacrifice people to their gods. When they got rain or the crops did well, they took it to mean the gods were happy with their sacrifice. "The gods must exist! They answered our sacrifices with a bountiful crop!" When the weather was too dry, they assumed they hadn't shed enough blood to make their gods happy, so they killed more people. If, eventually, the rain did come, that was their proof the gods existed. And, if the rain didn't come, that was their proof the gods existed but were unhappy. All signs point to the existence of Mayan gods. People still do that today. That's not logical. "I asked God for help and he provided." "I asked God for help and heard nothing, so he is teaching me a lesson." No. That is faith, and it has nothing to do with any type of logic at all.
No, I'm pointing out that the relationship between atheists and IQ's is correlational, not causative. The smarter you are, the more likely that you think that you can figure things out without relying on the existence of a god or gods to "fill in the blanks" and explain what you haven't figured out yet.
Atheists might conclude that there is no "rational" basis for belief in a god, but a believer can easily make the same case for the rationality of a belief in the existence of a god.
I'm not sure what you mean by "faith and logic don't coincide." Reason informs faith and shows the rational logic underlying belief in a God.
From the American Atheists website https://www.atheists.org/activism/resources/about-atheism/Atheism is not an affirmative belief that there is no god nor does it answer any other question about what a person believes. It is simply a rejection of the assertion that there are gods. You can be an atheist for any reason, not simply intellectual superiority---just as you can believe that sacrificing people will make it rain.
And there is a difference between "faith" and "Faith" (a virtue). And one of the highest functions of man's intellect is the study of God in theology. Faith informed by reason is extremely satisfying intellectually---it provides truth that satisfies the mind rather than doubts that confuse it.
The American Atheists website does not speak for me because atheism is not a religion. And, that's more or less what that phrase says. It later uses the example of stamp collecting and says something to the effect of "you wouldn't say not collecting stamps is your hobby." Ergo, Atheism is not a religion. It is not a belief system. It's lack thereof. And, aside from not being aware of philosophies surrounding different gods, I can't imagine a circumstance in which someone would be an atheist. I know the concepts behind dozens of religions. There is no evidence of any god. I lack belief in a god. That is a rational decision. But, religion doesn't involve questioning. All roads, no matter which one you take, validate your belief. You aren't looking for facts. If "A" happens, it means god exists. If "B" happens, it means god exists. It's like me looking at a glass, and if I see water in it, it means I live by the ocean, and if that glass is empty, I still live by the ocean. But, you and I both know the level of water in my glass is not related in any way to my proximity to the ocean. That's logic. We understand that water can come from underground wells or carried in through canals, or come from lakes and reservoirs.
"Faith informed by reason" "rationality of a belief" Umm... nope. Logic and reason require proof and evidence. And, if all roads take you to a god, there's no litmus test. With no litmus test, you cannot be making an informed, logic-based, rational decision. I could ask you, "What would it take to prove to you that there was no god?" And, at best, you might say "If I die and there's no heaven." Well, that can't prove anything now. If you asked me what it would take for me to believe in a god, I could tell you that if I saw god or spoke with god, I would believe in his existence, which is supposedly possible, depending on which religious doctrine you follow.
"Faith informed by reason is extremely satisfying intellectually---it provides truth that satisfies the mind rather than doubts that confuse it." Faith may satisfy a mind more than doubts. Sure, I'll give you that. It ties everything up into a neat little package that's easy to digest. All roads lead to god and god knows what he's doing. What a lovely world that would be to live in. I genuinely often wish I could believe despite absence of evidence, because I might then think that all the horrible things that happen around me are happening for a reason, and that something good will come in the end. I don't think that, though, and swallowing the truth that the world just sucks sometimes and that people do horrible things is hard. A mind that's satisfied with the "bedtime stories" of a god and savior would be delightful. But, my mind can't be satisfied by that because it's not logical. So, I study mental illness, psychology, and human behavior, and I learn why people do crappy things. There's no devil on their shoulder. No jinn whispering things into their ear. They're mentally damaged in one way or another. The question is why and then how to help. I put my power in people. I believe that if we study enough, we can treat mental issues better. And, I believe that that, if people treated each other better, we could have a better world, perhaps without suicide bombers. That is my faith. I put my faith in people. No, I have no proof that the good of man will triumph, but there's no god coming to save us, and so that's my only choice. I suppose it's not all that different than a person believing in god. Both are far-fetched. But, if having a god calms your mind and makes you want to be a better person, more power to you. Please don't deny that it's anything other than faith, though. You have no proof of a god anymore than my cup of water is proof I live by the ocean.
And, although I did not use the phrase "correlation does not equal causation," my words should have made that clear. There are dumb atheists. There are intelligent religious people. However, the fact that the two are correlated does suggest that religious suicide bombers will have lower IQs on the whole.
tom jackson 