The Inductive Argument Against Religions, Based on Science and Antiquity

The Inductive Argument Against Religions, Based on Science and Antiquity:

Why All Religions are False
(Syllogistic Formulation)

P1: There is more than one religion in the world, and more than one sect/denomination per each religion. Many of these are mutually exclusive.

C1: Due to P1, it logically follows that it's impossible for ALL religions and denominations to be true.

P2: It is observable today that large numbers of humans are gullible and tend to believe falsehoods.
That includes people believing religions which are false (and based on C1, we know these exist). It also includes more "mundane" falsehoods such as con-jobs, deceitful sales pitches, sting operations, psuedo-science, superstition, and more.

P3: The more scientifically literate a person becomes, and the more knowledgeable they become, the less likely they are to being gullible and susceptible to believing falsehoods.

P4: The scientific revolution is a recent achievement, compared to the entirety of human history. In other words, it is only relatively recent that many people started becoming scientifically literate and knowledgeable.

C2: From P2, P3, and P4 it follows, that the farther back in history we go, the less scientifically literate and knowledgeable many people were, and therefore were more susceptible to believing falsehoods and superstition.

P5: All major known religions first appeared very far back in known human history, or were based upon religions that first appeared very far back in known human history.

The Epic of Gilgamesh Tablets

C3: From P5 and C2 it follows, that during those days of early human history, most people were gullible and scientifically illiterate, and therefore susceptible to believing falsehoods and superstition.

P6: Using the scientific method and the modern knowledge we've accumulated till this day, not a single supernatural claim could ever be proven. Instead, every single supernatural claim that could have been tested using scientific methods, was tested and was found to be either caused by completely natural processes, or even fraudulent. This means that while it has been proven and demonstrated that humans tend to ascribe supernatural beliefs to completely natural, although misunderstood, phenomenons, till this day it has never been proven that supernatural beliefs were ever justified.

C4: From C3 and P6 it follows, that all religions that first appeared in the early days of human history, are most likely based on falsehoods and superstition, and from C2 it follows, that human gullibility and ignorance are what allowed these religions to flourish and spread.

C: From C4 it follows, that all ancient religions, and those based on early religions, are most likely false.

Timeline of the Evolution of Myth & Religion

These days, we know a lot about just how fragile the human mind is and how susceptible it is to believing in falsehoods. This is the reason for the invention of the scientific method: As a mechanism to counter human fallibility.

Watch: Psychology of Belief Playlist:

Why does God take credit for the good things but not the bad?

Well, first of all, god doesn't "take" anything, because god doesn't exist.

It's the people who assign to him the credit.

But why do they do that?

In the past, when polytheism was prevalent, people used to assign the bad things to the gods as well, not just the good things. Gods were often seen as capricious, erratic, and even irrational in their "behavior". And while it better matched the reality of how nature "behaved", it would instill a strong sense of inconvenience in the hearts of people. Imagine having your life governed by a bunch of capricious, erratic and irrational powerful beings. Doesn't seem very nice, does it? Quite depressing, even. It can make you feel powerless and helpless in the face of such odds.

Greek gods and goddesses influencing human affairs from above the clouds

Enter Christianity: Here we have these new 'preachers' who go around talking about an "all-loving" and "perfect" god. Such that always has our best interest in his heart. Such that even 'sacrificed' his own life for our benefit.
After years living under the tyranny of capricious and sadistic beings, now all of a sudden it appears that it wasn't these powerful beings who were at fault at all... Because they didn't even exist. But it was us the humans who were at fault.

Now, all of a sudden the "power" to "fix" the world lays in our hands. And all we have to do? All we have to do is to "fix" our belief system. Just believe in a different god who is "the one true god". Suddenly the people don't feel powerless anymore. Suddenly the good fortunes and benefits are right behind the corner, and it's super easy to get there! All you have to do is say "I accept Jesus Christ as my lord and savior" and ABRACADABRA you are now without illness or sadness and you are "saved", if not in this life then in the next.

The 'one true God' loves you and wants to help you. But there is something you must do in return.

From the movie "Agora" (2009)

It's almost like voting in political elections:
You vote for the candidate who promises you the best things.

If people had not assigned the good things to their god, then their god is redundant and unnecessary. Such a belief system would simply not survive as a religion.

If people had assigned the bad things to their god, then it makes their god capricious and undesirable. You wouldn't want to "vote" for such a "candidate". It also makes the people feel powerless to fix the bad things that happen in their life.

Bottom line is:

People assign the good things to god, and the bad things to themselves, due to wishful thinking.

They wish to have the power to change things for the better (using minimum effort as possible), and they wish that the god they worship would be a good god - and therefore worthy of worship.

To this effect, Christianity is the result of "religious evolution" where the religion that sounds better to the people (i.e. tells them what they want to hear) is the religion that survives better than the rest (and not because it's more "true" than other religions).

Special thanks to Atheist Republic for the inspiration to this post.