Which are you more afraid of: Being too gullible and believing things that aren't true, or being too skeptical and missing out on something important?
There's a sucker born every minute. -- P. T. Barnum
Test everything. Retain what is good. -- St. Paul, 1Thessalonians 5:21.
It happened that one of the Twelve, Thomas, was absent when Jesus came. The other disciples kept telling him, "We have seen the Lord!" His answer was, "I will never believe it without probing the nail-prints in his hands, without putting my finger in the nail-marks, and my hand into his side." A week later the disciples were once more in the room, and this time Thomas was with them. Despite the locked doors, Jesus came and stood before them. "Peace be with you," he said, and then to Thomas: "Take your finger and examine my hands. Put your hand into my side. Do not persist in your unbelief, but believe." Thomas said in response: "My Lord and God." Jesus then said to him, "You became a believer because you saw me. Blessed are they who have not seen and have believed." John 20:26-29.
2006-08-20 09:50:24 · 19 answers · asked by darkangel1111 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
im not christian~~i believe in God`im not a proponent of scripture~just a student of life
2006-08-20 09:51:52 · update #1
I would rather be too gullible than to be too skeptical and miss out on something important...life is full of experiences and we can either be too afraid to reach out and embrace them or we can run toward them and embrace them head on not knowing the full extent of where it will take one.....I would rather have the adventure of embracing it head on...life is only lived once on earth ..why not try to be a little gullible and enjoy the ride..I dared to believe and I have not been sorry one minute for my decision....God does reveal himself to those who will just believe......what journey it is to believe......
2006-08-20 10:13:47 · answer #1 · answered by shiningon 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe that who ever wrote that book decided that this story would be just the thing to show people that Jesus was a real person. When ever someone writes a story they control the ending of it also. Just writing it does not make it right or real.
Until someone shows me proof of the things these people wrote about in the bible then I will continue to question it fervently.
I do however believe in a Creator. You may call IT what you wish but some thing had to put all of this into existence and if it was a big bang then so be it, that could still be called a Creator or whatever you want to label it.
2006-08-20 09:59:29 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If those were the only two choices, then I'd be more afraid of being too skeptical.
If I'm too believing, I might be hurt and or disappointed, but I can learn something from it and learn to use suffering to become a better person. But if I'm too skeptical, I end up bitter and not believe anyone or I believe nothing, then life has no real meaning.
My advice: be open, believing and give the doubt, and also verify and learn from mistakes.
2006-08-20 09:58:53 · answer #3 · answered by Joe_D 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A famous psychologist, Paul Meehl, once wrote about the struggles between science and art in psychology and referred to this as "muddleheadedness" and "simplemindedness".
The former keep the minds so far open that their brains fall out.
The latter are so closeminded that their ideas simply don't reflect the complexities of the real world.
Both are of course mistakes, and I can't say that I fear one more than the other. The fear really is that one loses sight of the balance between these polar ends, and ends up at one extreme without even knowing it.
2006-08-20 09:57:35 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I think it's a false dichotomy. Being too skeptical can also lead you to believe things that aren't true. Notice that the creationists are exceptionally skeptical about science, apparently considering any unanswered questions to be reason to reject science outright. That leads them to retain their misplaced certainty in creationism. The same phenomenon is all over the "alternative medicine" community.
That being said, I am more careful to avoid being too gullible than I am to avoid being too skeptical. I think I'm finding a good middle ground, though.
2006-08-20 09:55:44 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
The best answer gets 10 points for the rating, everyone who answers gets 2 points. I'm more afraid of being too gullible.
2006-08-20 09:56:18 · answer #6 · answered by Mariposa 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I could blow you out of the water so fast.. But making Christians take a second look at thier faith is something that I don't enjoy doing.. Anymore.. It's gotten too monotonous. If you want to argue for ten years, keep posting pointless questions like this.
2006-08-20 09:57:00 · answer #7 · answered by Animal 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I think that the question should be -- if you believe in God how can you NOT be a proponent of scripture.
If you don't believe in scripture then how can you believe in God?
To say you believe in God but, are not a proponent of scripture seems oxymoronic to me.
2006-08-20 10:06:53 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Neither. If I am too gullible God will correct me, and if I miss something important God will show me.
Psalms 144:15b Happy is the people whose God is Jehovah/YHWH.
2006-08-20 10:06:44 · answer #9 · answered by tina 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Either extreme has its pitfalls. But why be afraid? It we be nearly impossible to be completely one way or the other nor plausible to change from one way to another. We are what we are and our fauults are already in place...or you may want to consider them as assets....its all a matter or symantics anyway.
Your also confusing the issue by quoting the Bible.
2006-08-20 09:57:50 · answer #10 · answered by Capt 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋