Are Christians not as smart as atheists or agnostics? David Sklansky is betting they're not ... literally.
This isn't my idea, but it's still an interesting topic for consideration. Take a look at what Sklansky's betting ... and maybe you'll want to take a crack at it.
Let's head below the fold ...
This is an open challenge to any American citizen who passes a lie detector test that I will specify in a moment.
We will both take the math SAT or GRE (aptidude test). Your choice. We will both have only half the normally allotted time to lessen the chances of a perfect score. Lower score pays higher score $50,000.
To qualify you must take a reputable polygraph that proclaims you are truthful when you state that:
- You are at least 95% sure that Jesus Christ came back from the dead.
AND
- You are at least 95% sure that adults who die with the specific belief that Jesus probably wasn't ressurected will not go to heaven.
If you pass the polygraph you can bet me on the SAT or GRE. Again this is open to ANY one of the 300 million Americans.
Also, for those who think I am being disengenuous because I would make the offer to anyone at all, you are wrong. I am now so rusty that at least one in 5000 Americans are favored over me and I would pass on a bet with them. That's 60,000 people. If the number of people who would pass that polygraph is between 10 and 30 million, which I think it is, that means that at least 2000 of these types of Christians are smart enough to be favored over me. Given such Christian's intelligence is distributed like other American's are.
But I'm betting fifty grand they are not. Their beliefs make them relatively stupid (or uninterested in learning). Or only relatively stupid people can come to such beliefs. One or the other. That is my contention. And this challenge might help demonstrate that.
PS Since this challenge is open to any American, anyone who reads this should feel free to bring it to the attention to any smart Christian they know. Any math whiz, any professor, etc. But I need to warn you that they will almost certainly turn you down. And the reason will NOT usually be because they think they will fail the math test. University professors will probably not fear this college dropout. But given they are expert mathmeticians, their real fear, though they won't tell you, is that you will find out how badly they fail the polygraph.
I admit to having had some reservations about squaring my faith with my intellect when I was active in the church. Now that I'm not active, I'm not so inquisitive about it anymore.
I do, however, believe that the vast majority of those who count themselves among the "religious right" are less educated, and indeed less intellectually curious, than those not in that group. I have no proof of this; only my opinion. Still, there's probably a reason why universities traditionally are bastions of liberalism, and why someone like George W. Bush appeals so much to the so-called "average American."
Anyway, this still should engender some interesting debate, although I highly doubt anyone's going to take Mr. Sklansky up on his wager. What do you think?
(Cross-posted in substantially the same form at Blast Off!, home of the ever-popular "Daily Schadenfreude!)