atheists: when does it become a mark of insanity to believe in something?

"There are two paths leading to oneness with the Tao.

(re 'belief/acceptance)

The first in the path of acceptance.

Affirm everyone and everything.

Freely extend your goodwill and virtue in every direction, regardless of circumstances.

Embrace all things as part of the Harmonious Oneness, and then you will begin to perceive it.

The second path is that of denial.

Recognize that everything you see and think is a falsehood, an illusion, a veil over the truth.

Peel all the veils away, and you will arrive at the Oneness.

Though these paths are entirely different, they will deliver you to the same place: spontaneous awareness of the Great Oneness." - Lao Tzu

I think people who truly believe in supernatural beings (which includes Harry Potter, since he's both a fictional character in a novel and supposedly a wizard) do have some mental screws loose -- at least if they're over the age of, say, 9.

However, since the existence of a god is pretty much accepted by a lot of people, despite the total absence of any empirical evidence for one, one could claim that believing in a god is a normal, if not remarkably bright, thing to do and not really evidence of "insanity".

One does wonder, however, why most people who believe in a god don't ALSO believe in Santa, pixies, fairies, Lord Voldemort, and the Easter Bunny. You have to ask yourself why they think the existence of a god is perfectly logical but not the existence of talking wolves hanging out in Little Red Riding Hood's grandma's house.

I'm not sure where the line is drawn, but god is the least likely to exist out of all of those.

Santa was at least based on a historical figure. I'm sure there are people named Harry Potter. Suppose a guy named Harry Potter knew a few magic tricks--he might convince someone who was impressionable enough.

It becomes a mark of insanity when the belief is generated by genuine pathology of the brain. It's easy to see how *healthy* psychological mechanisms could be hijacked by a belief in God or Santa. It's much harder to see how healthy psychological mechanisms could be hijacked by a belief that you hear God's voice in your head or that you had brunch with Santa Claus at the North Pole yesterday.

Insanity is a cultural interpretation of someone. "Insane" today, was "touched by God" centuries ago.

Not insanity gullibility and stupidity.

When it brings no real joy, happiness or peace of mind.