It couldn't have been any better if the Israelites had made the whole thing up.

But there is no evidence that God exists and almost all versions of God mandate belief in a magical, chaotic and undetectable supernatural realm. For those who take scripture to be literally true, belief in God rapidly spirals into absurdity. So how can smart people believe things like this?

It is easier to explain this by analogy. There is no doubt that smoking is harmful to our health. There is plenty of validated evidence that smoking significantly increases your risk of emphysema, chronic bronchitis, heart disease and many forms of cancer. Yet we probably all know smart people who smoke.

People smoke because it satisfies them and they rationalise away the evidence of risks. People believe in God because it satisfies them and they rationalise away the lack of evidence and all the contrary evidence.

So, belief in God is a preference, just like preferring redheads to brunettes and no-one is obliged to justify their preferences.

Actually, it is a little more subtle than that. The smart smoker is implicitly saying, I like to smoke and I am prepared to accept the risk to my health. And the smart believer is implicitly saying I like to believe in God and I accept the risk that my belief may not be true.

You may think I'm arguing that our unconscious preferences drive our behaviour and we are little more than spectators. There is more truth to that than most of us like to admit but there is plenty of evidence that our preferences can change and we can influence the process.

It's a fact that better educated people are less likely to believe in God (and less likely to smoke). So being smart can help you take control of your preferences; understanding the process can help everyone take control of their preferences

You don't have to be a spectator.