David Sklansky has an open bet that if you are a fundamentalist Christians then you are stupid

[toddaa]

Check this out (via Jim Downey at UTI) http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=8230586&page=0&fpart=all&vc=1

[kiahzero]

1. Horrible idea

The people who would answer yes to both questions ("Did Jesus literally come back from the dead" and "If someone doesn't believe that, will they be denied Heaven") may have problems making their own religious beliefs coherent, but that's not something that's tested by the SATs or GREs.

[Warpy]

2. I know people who self identify as fundamentalist Christians

and they're far from stupid. They focus on the New Testament and try to follow the admonitions to treat all people with respect, help the less fortunate, and generally put their lives where their mouths are.

Oh, and they vote Democratic. They didn't fall for the GOP hate machine that twists Paul and Leviticus and tries to make that the standard for one's belief.

[toddaa]

3. Would they pass the lie detector test?

Putting aside the credibility of lie detector tests, that's the most intriguing part of the bet. And Sklansky states that there are certainly fundamentalists smarter than him, but he's playing the odds.

[wake.up.america]

4. The "fundamentalists" have hijacked the term fundamentalism.

[cosmik debris]

5. He's not playing the odds

He's playing the game of insulting people who disagree with him. I don't really object, but you shouldn't sugar coat it.

[izzie]

6. I think it is just how they think.

You have to be taught to question and reason I think. Generally we grow up and are told something that we are to do. We have a type of faith in doing what is right by who is bring us up. Course unless you had a dau. like I had who asked why about every thing. Having faith also let you off asking questions. It makes things easy to let others think and do it for you. I think these are the same type that go with a man like Bush who does not like any one to question him as he feels he is right. They fit together. It is almost like the old style ruler who took care of his slaves with the church helping him do it. The enlightenment by passes these people I guess.You can almost hear these people going along with anything Bush or some one wants when they call in on c-span.

[Evoman]

7. The most you can say about the fundies is that they are ignorant, or maybe naive.

They are not stupid, far from it. I have a fundie friend, and he is not stupid at all. Yeah, hes ignorant about science and evolution, but its not that hes not capable of understanding.

I don't think it does us any good casting these types of asparagus (hehe) on other people.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

8. I find this counterproductive

For one thing, I can find numerous people who couldn't pass the test who aren't fundamentalist Christians, but rather of another more progressive faith or who are atheists/agnostics. For another, how does making such assumptions make it likely that anyone's mind is going to be changed about anything? To my mind, it is simply an attempt to perpetuate stereotypes without any good reason.

[toddaa]

9. I think it says more about gamblers

The guy basically confirms every stereotype I have about people who gamble.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

10. if you are a fundamentalist then you believe contradictions

you are a literal believer in the bible and it has many many contradictions in it, that are well documented. It was compiled by a committee.
And if you can believe in two opposite things at once, you definitely have a major problem with logic. Christianity is not logical at all. And I think this has a lot to do with intelligence.

For more quick info about contradictions, check out www.skepticsannotatedbible.com