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Are there any Religious NT's?

8K views 141 replies 62 participants last post by  silk15 
#1 ·
Are there any Religious NT's?

Ever met one? I personally haven't. People whom i've met who are religious have "F" in their type.
 
#105 ·
I leave the possibility of anything open, but I don't believe in any religion. I have said it before but i'll say it again... I highly doubt are ability to comprehend such things has the origin of existence. Shit, I can't wrap my mind around what could have started it all and by that I mean what started the start....if that makes sense to anyone else but me. I often wonder if everything even had a beginning...
 
#110 ·
ofcourse there will be a few exceptions. but the overwhelming majority of NT's will not believe in God because they have the ability to question and analyze religion and realize what it really is. the exceptions may believe in a diety because of there strict environment like their radical parents/government,etc. it really bothers me when people ask do u believe in God. i think if there is anything other than the universe we have no way of comprehending it. or like what is everything? anyway I'm having trouble communication what I'm thinking but i hope u get my jist.
 
#112 ·
I find that most NTs who are religious were brought up that way thus making it appear more normal, as a coping mechanism from death, illness, or other traumatic experiences, or simply claimed the title without actually reading the bible.

If you hid religion from an NT until adulthood then exposed it to them in a controlled environment, not only would it seem far fetched, but I'd bet they wouldn't believe billions of people believe in it.
 
#113 ·
Two articles I recently read that I found interesting.

The Atheist at the Breakfast Table | Psychology Today

This one claims that even within the scientific community, the social group with the highest concentration of atheism, there is still upwards of 40% of the population who are theist which is far higher than the 10% that people assume. Even if they're not vocationally scientists, NTs are still naturally scientific.

Your Sixth Sense | Psychology Today

This one claims that people who are highly intuitive are more likely to believe in the supernatural than people who are less intuitive.

I have not looked into the validity of these claims and as far as I can tell there is little to no correlation to MBTI, but I still found them interesting reads.
 
#117 ·
Two articles I recently read that I found interesting.

The Atheist at the Breakfast Table | Psychology Today

This one claims that even within the scientific community, the social group with the highest concentration of atheism, there is still upwards of 40% of the population who are theist which is far higher than the 10% that people assume. Even if they're not vocationally scientists, NTs are still naturally scientific.

Your Sixth Sense | Psychology Today

This one claims that people who are highly intuitive are more likely to believe in the supernatural than people who are less intuitive.

I have not looked into the validity of these claims and as far as I can tell there is little to no correlation to MBTI, but I still found them interesting reads.
I'd say that NTs are more likely to view religion as another philosophy, tool for personal development, or scientific theory. We aren't going to be religious in the sense that most people think of it; it wouldn't be all about the spirituality like I've noticed it tends to be with NFs, unless the NT had analyzed the spiritual angle and considered it worth attempting (which would, again, make it a personal development tool, not really a soul-connection-type of deal).
 
#115 ·
I have a legitimate question for religious NTs. Not trying to offend or argue, simply curious to hear a rational explanation:

Do you believe in magic? In all seriousness. I find religion, from reading the bible in full, to be packed to the brim with magic. Just because it's holy, religious, or god based doesn't omit it from being a form of magic. And if religion is true, then magic exists in this world, right? I just dont see how a person can say they don't believe in magic but believe in the events of talking snakes, converting matter, walking on water, and healing miracles.
 
#116 ·
I don't believe in like "Harry Potter magic" or anything, but...there are ways. It's impossible to wave a stick around and make a snake appear out of thin air, you can't get something from nothing. Science has been turning matter into energy for a very long time though. Atomic energy is a great example of this, hell even simpler than that is a basic fire. Scientists are now discovering ways to convert energy back into matter (sorry, I don't recall where I read the news article on this so I have no point of reference), basically making things out of thin air. We are finding more and more creative ways to manipulate matter and energy, which is basically exactly what magic is - manipulating matter and energy. Any time you use a remote control you're manipulating energy, every time you nuke something in the microwave you're altering matter. We just understand it better not. Way back in the day they use to use candles (usually of specific colors), organic matter, and "spells" to try to achieve the same thing as we now use electronic devices for. The way I see it old school magic does work, it's just that trying to use magic to accomplish something is like trying to kill a rabbit in the woods on a rainy night using a sharpened stick, while using scientific means is more akin to killing a deer in an open field in broad daylight using a sniper riffle. Both things have the potential of getting you meat for dinner, it's just that one has a much higher probability to get you a far greater reward with significantly less effort.

A more scientific explanation on magic - candles emit heat energy, certain colors affect light waves at different frequencies, chanting emits sound waves, etc. It's all an attempt (albeit not a very effective one) to utilize different energy sources to influence the physical world around us. A popular reference to chaos theory is that of the butterfly causing a hurricane, I could see magic as working in much the same way.

Also since this is a thread on religion I could add this. Our psyche is nothing more that electrical pulses and chemical reactions housed inside our skulls. Essentially our consciousness in nothing more or less than raw energy. With all the different kinds of energy that we know are bouncing all over damn planet, let alone flying across the entire freaking universe, why would anyone assume that sentience is tied specifically and exclusively to biological beings? I'm not saying that something like the sun, or wind might hold some kind of intelligence or anything, or that there's spirits living in people's houses, but I see it as a very real probability that there are sentient beings somewhere in the universe made from pure energy without a "physical" form.

Just my $0.02, cause hey, you asked.
 
#118 ·
My ENTJ best friend or whatever, she annoys me so much right now I feel like downgrading her to just childhood friend. She was a pagan, Wiccan, atheist, and now born again Christian, all in that order. Well her mother died and that's why she decided to go back to church. To answer the question, she was religious in being a pagan, Wiccan, and now Christian. When people usually say religious, it's automatically assumed being religious in an Abrahamic religion. I've talked to her about religion often and she sometimes question the bible, and sees it as an inspiration self-guidance book and it shouldn't be taken literally. Then sometimes she has her moments and praise this and that. As long as she doesn't try to convert me, I'm fine with her.
 
#123 ·
I can't bring myself to really believe in any religion I've been exposed to.

But I hope there is some sort of afterlife, because the thought of oblivion makes me think that everything is pointless. I hope, but I am still doubtful without any sort of proof.
 
#124 ·
As a child, I was a highly devout Orthodox Christian. None of my parents were particularly religious, so it wasn't due to their influence. I don't think that it's too difficult to find religious NTJs, especially INTJs - a Ni+Fi combination can be very spiritual. I lost my faith somewhere in my early teens, and after a period of atheism/agnosticism I'm intrigued by non-religious philosophical teachings that support the existence of a higher power, most of all pantheism. While I find believing in one of the established religions to be fairly naive, as most religious doctrines make no logical sense when analyzed outside of their context, it's hard for me to believe that the universe and natural laws, as well-ordered as they are, became from a sequence of random happenings. The answer to the creation of the universe lies above conventional science and logic.
 
#127 ·
I lost my faith somewhere in my early teens, and after a period of atheism/agnosticism I'm intrigued by non-religious philosophical teachings that support the existence of a higher power, most of all pantheism. While I find believing in one of the established religions to be fairly naive, as most religious doctrines make no logical sense when analyzed outside of their context, it's hard for me to believe that the universe and natural laws, as well-ordered as they are, became from a sequence of random happenings. The answer to the creation of the universe lies above conventional science and logic.
I highly recommend you check out the Neo-Platonic Enneads, a grand work of Plotinus, a Greco-Roman philosopher from the 3rd century AD. This body of work is appears to be the greatest culmination of western philosophical and religious thought prior to the Abrahamism disease infecting the Western world via Christianity. In Enneads, there are no fairy tale myths or saviors with supernatural powers, just pure reflection on the nature of the universe, the mind realm and existence itself. These ideas are basically what the esoteric mystery schools of ancient Greece and beyond had been teaching carefully-selected initiates for many, many centuries.

The West could have had a a universal system of thought that rivaled Buddhism in intellectual and spiritual complexity, but no the idiotic belief systems that appeal to the lowest-common-denominator emotions of the masses always seem to win out, just as what happened when Christianity swallowed up Europe.

There is indeed religion for smart people, we just need to know where to look!
 
#134 ·
I am a born again Christian and an INTJ Biologist.
I mean this, i mean this i mean this: if it were not for Jesus accepting me, I would go insane. I really can't stand people...the only one who can judge me, has forgiven me. hallelujah.
I'm being real (not mocking) I know it is odd since i am an INTJ, but I mean it.

Lately, I have been thinking that maybe many scientists do not believe in God because if God is real, and if he created everything then He is far larger, smarter, better, complicated, amazing, infinite, Holy and awesome than anything that has ever been described to them. The scientist knows that if there is a God they had better be on His good side.

I'm open to serious, non mocking, non profane conversations about this from other INTJs.
 
#137 ·
Einstein and Faraday both believed in God.
CS Lewis was a Christian.
One of my close friends has a PhD in Organic Chem, she is a Christian.
And I know just as many brilliant people who do not believe in God.

:frustrating::frustrating::frustrating::frustrating:

Einstein did not think that there was a sentient, omniscient, omnipotent, person-like being who created the universe. To call him religious is quite a stretch. "Spiritual" would be more apt, because of the awe and wonder the universe inspired within him.

There is some debate as to whether or not he should be considered a pantheist and how close his conception of God was to Spinoza's.
 
#138 ·
Never met a religious NT, but that may be circumstance. Personally, Im an even split agnostic, so I am holding out for proof, but Im still holding out..

Its easy to fathom God as a real "thing". From a scientific standpoint, the "god" theory is just as sound an alternative as quantum physics and the "brain theory".


I think that people confuse the idea of god with the different religious versions of god.. I think that while there may be a god, he is not a god of love, or hate, he simply just is. We want so bad to justify ourselves as unique and special.
 
#139 ·
People need to remember that there is a difference between intelligent people and NT's (I know a lot of NT's are intelligent, but there are others out there that are intelligent and not NT's). Just because somebody is intelligent do not immediately go deeming them an NT. We are rather rare (a test in Australia concluded that NT's only make up about 9% of the population), and other types can be extremely intelligent and scientists, engineers, philosophers etc... One of my best friends is an INFP and is an extremely intelligent person and is planning on doing an Engineering degree.

Anyway now that I'm done with my rant about not including every intelligent person who may or may not be a scientist out there as an NT, I'd like too say that it would be extremely unlike an NT to be truly religious. Spiritual maybe, but religious I think not (particularly for the ENTPs and INTJs out there). You need to remember that an INTJs and ENTPs primary functions are to question anything, and everything, which would make following a religion extremely hard/tedious (I'm not saying that everybody who is an ENTP/INTJ and claims to be religious is lying about their type, its just an assumption based on our primary function). As an ENTP following a specific set of rules without question, even where they are irrational or silly, just seems unlikely (I could be proved wrong though, I'm not trying to dismiss anybodies beliefs here). Anyway, thats just my 2 cents worth.
 
#142 ·
I know an INTJ Christian and he is actually the smartest person I know. He always has a reasoned answer for everything and just makes me feel dumb sometimes, not that that's his intention- he just really likes knowledge. He teaches maths and physics, studying astrophysics.

A lot of us can't believe he believes in God when he's such a 'see it, believe it type' and the biggest advocate of science. Yet he is an authentic type Christian unlike others who once he's reasoned something, he actually lives it.
 
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