Premise 1 : If belief in God is for the weak and mentally frail … then what about these incredibly strong, smart people ?

One of the greatest mischaracterizations of people who believe in a higher power is that they must be un-intellectual, un-philosophical, and unscientific. The presumption is that if you are intellectual, philosophical or scientific then God is not only unnecessary, but intellectually implausible.

The average human IQ is 100. Only 0.2 percent of all humans have an IQ over 150, only 3.2 percent over 140.

Here is the 1994 Book Of Geniuses Top 13 Most Intelligent People in The History of the World And Their Religious Belief

Rank	Name	IQ	Genius	View Of God
1	Johann Wolfgang von Goethe	220	Writing/Poetry/Science	God As Supreme Being
2	Leonardo Da Vinci	200	Art/Science Genius	Faith in God Central to Life and Work
3	Isaac Newton	192	Science/Engineering	Faith in God Central to Life and Work
4	Gottfried Leibnitz	191	Philosophy/Mathematics	Faith in God Central to Life and Work
5	John Stuart Mill	182.5	Philosophy/Economist	Faith in God Central to Life and Work
6	Galileo Galilei	182	Physics/Astronomy/Mathmetician	Faith in God Central to Life and Work
7	Rene Descartes	177	Philosopher/Mathematician/Writer	Faith in God Central to Life and Work
8	Desiderius Erasmus	177	Theologian	Faith in God Central to Life and Work
9	Michelangelo	177	Sculptor/Artist/Architect	Faith in God Central to Life and Work
10	Baruch Spinoza	174	Philosopher	Agnostic
11	Michael Faraday	175	Electromagnetism/ Electrochemistry	Faith in God Central to Life and Work
12	Raphael	170	Painter/Architect	Faith in God Central to Life and Work
13	Charles Dickens	165	Writing/Poetry	Faith in God Central to Life and Work

The truth is, many of the world’s foremost intellectuals, and most effective leaders strongly believed in God as a supreme being. Some of the most well known scientists, presidents, astronauts, philosophers, artists, and composers expressed their belief openly:

We by our arts may be called the grandsons of God

Leonardo da vinci : Inventor, Artist- Considered greatest Genius Of All Time IQ 220

God is our fortress, in whose conquering name let us resolve to scale their flinty bulwarks

William Shakespeare (2013). “First Tetralogy In Plain and Simple English: Includes Henry VI Parts 1 – 3 & Richard III”, p.56, IQ 210

Should a man live underground, and there converse with the works of art and mechanism, and should afterwards be brought up into the open day, and see the several glories of the heaven and earth, he would immediately pronounce them the work of such a Being as we define God to be

Aristotle, Greek Philosopher
IQ 200

In want of other proofs, the thumb would convince me of the existence of a God.

Sir Issac Newton, Discovered Laws Of Gravity
IQ 193

The laws of nature are written by the hand of God in the language of mathematics

Galileo Galilei, Known as The Father of Science
IQ 180-200

A bit of science distances one from God, but much science nears one to Him…The more I study nature the more I stand amazed at the work of the Creator

Louis Pasteur, French Biologist, Discovered Principles of Vaccination, Pastuerization
IQ 180

I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upone the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how a man could look up into the heavens and say there is no God

Abraham Lincoln, 16th President Of United States
IQ 148

To look out at this kind of creation here and not believe in God is, to me, impossible

John Glenn, NASA Astronaut, Engineer
IQ 160

I tremble for my own country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever

Thomas Jefferson- 3rd President of United States, Author of Declaration Of Independence IQ 160

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else

C.S. Lewis, Author of 26 Best Selling Books Including The Chronicles Of Narnia
IQ 150

With a deep sense of my great responsibility always upon me when I exercise my art, one of my most constant and most earnest endeavours has been to exhibit in all my good people some faint reflections of the teachings of our great Master All my strongest illustrations are derived from the New Testament; all my social abuses are shown as departures from its spirit

Charles Dickens: Considered Greatest Author of Victorian Era, IQ 165

By one estimate made by Weijia Zhang from Arizona state University and Robert G. Fuller from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, between 1901 to 1990, 60% of Physics Nobel prize winners had Christian backgrounds.

In an estimate by Baruch Shalev, between 1901 and 2000, about 65.3% of Physics Nobel prize winners were either Christians or had a Christian background.

All but two of the 45 men who have served as President of the United States identify themselves as Christians who believes in a higher power.

Paschal, Einstein, Beethoven, John Adams, Emerson, Lincoln, Eisenhower and countless more brilliant Generals, Philosophers, Scientists, Authors, Composers believe in God as a reality not a human invention.

See Quotes From These and Others About Their View of God

Discussion Question 1: By reviewing the condensed list of incomprehensibly smart and successful people listed above, is it fair to say that people who believe in God only do so because they are mentally and emotionally frail ?

Premise 2 : If Christianity is an invention, and a crutch…what about the countless people who didn’t want it, but now believe?

Christian history is replete with examples of people who literally opposed Christianity and even made disproving it one of their life’s objectives.

The Apostle Paul (also called Saul) who wrote 13 of the New Testament books, and highly educated is one of the clearest Biblical examples.

Paul Before Conversion:

Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Acts 9:1

Paul After Conversion:

May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Galatians 6:14

Augustine of Hippo (IQ 180) is considered the father of orthodox theology with 113 books, 200 letters, 500 sermons still in print. Before his conversion he was a renowned philosopher and skeptic.

Augustine Before Conversion:

Went to Carthage to continue his education in rhetoric, and there he came under the influence of the controversial Persian religious cult of Manichaeism, was an advanced skeptic of Christianity. He lived a hedonistic lifestyle for a time, including frequent visits to the brothels of Carthage

Augustine After Conversion:

Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee

Confessions of Augustine

C.S Lewis (IQ 150) is most famous for his book “The Chronicles of Narnia” which have been made into feature films. He has written more than 30 books, translated into more than 30 languages was a professed atheist. A new feature film called “The Reluctant Convert” was released in 2021.

C.S Lewis Before Conversion

At age seventeen, C. S. Lewis explained bluntly to a Christian friend he’d known since childhood, “I believe in no religion. There is absolutely no proof for any of them, and from a philosophical standpoint Christianity is not even the best.”

C.S Lewis After Conversion

Fifteen years later, he would write to the same friend on a very different note: “Christianity is God expressing Himself through what we call ‘real things,’ . . . namely the actual incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection.” Written in 1952, his book “Mere Christianity” has sold 3.5 million copies, and still sells 150,000 copies a year.

If you type in Lists of converts to Christianity from nontheism or Lists of former atheists or agnostics you will find over 150 prestigious people ranging from biochemists, philosophers, and Hollywood directors and actors.

These list also contain the names of former socialists, humanists, and marxists all of which have two things in common:

1. They all exhibit superior intellects
2. They all reversed their positions concerning the existence of God as a living reality.

Discussion Question 2: Does this information help confirm that Christianity is not just a religion composed of naive, and weak minded people as Sigmund Freuds theory presupposes?

ThinkCubed Truth Veracity Grid :