Why do you believe the things you believe?

Question

Cause you think that those things are are an acturate depiction of how the universe is, or 'cause you wish to believe them for some (any) sort of reason?

DuckPhup--
Quite long answer, but you're saying that religious belief is a far cry from the belief that comes from rational conclusion?
I agree 100%.

Blessed Beast--
Nice case of circular reasoning. Thanks

Answer 1

proven research. it has less holes in it than having faith.

Answer 2

No i do no longer blame you in any respect. I easily have placed myself on your shoes to be certain how God seems (no pun meant) from an Atheist's viewpoint. it particularly is amazingly difficult/impossible to settle for. i will understand the skepticism. yet it is so significant which you're asked to take a extensive bounce of religion. i'm no longer asserting something like "why do no longer you agree for Jesus jointly as you nonetheless can" or "can no longer you notice God everywhere?". i'm asserting try questioning outdoors the field; placed the skepticism and/or silly emotions aside and open your coronary heart/ideas/in spite of to the possibility that God is genuine to be certain if/the place it leads you. in keeping with risk no longer something will replace; then you particularly've lost no longer something. in keeping with risk something will take place which will replace you perpetually. At church the day earlier to this, we had a definite presentation of how God replaced human beings's lives. between the persons introduced he became a former Atheist; now he's a Christian. basically understand that it somewhat is totally attainable to alter right into a believer.

Answer 3

There are some subtleties at work here that seem to escape the notice of most people. They have to do with the nature of 'belief'.

A rational person might say "I believe in the Big Bang." A religious person might say "I believe in creation, as described in Genesis." But these statements are not even remotely similar, with respect to what is meant by the word 'believe'.

For the rational person, the statement of 'belief' in the Big Bang means that they understand that the concept provides a scientifically and mathematically consistent explanation, congruent with the evidence, which accounts for the evolution of the universe from a fraction of a second after the initiating event, up until the present. When the 'inflationary model' came to the fore, rational people said "Well, good... that clears up a few questions and makes things even more coherent." NOBODY threw up their arms and wailed "Oh, no... oh, no... ain't so... ain't so... the Big Bang is the inerrant truth... not this ridiculous, atheistic 'inflationary' model."

See... when we say "I believe in the Big Bang", we don't really mean the same thing as the religious person means when he says "I believe in creation, as described in Genesis," or "I believe in God." Our 'belief' in the Big Bang (or anything else) isn't really a 'belief'... it is more properly a 'paradigm'... a useful way of looking at something, or thinking about something. If additional information is uncovered that adds to the conceptual model, that is a good thing... not a disaster. If part of the conceptual model is discovered to be incorrect, and must be tossed in the trash and replaced with something completely different... that is also a good thing... not the end of the world as we know it. And often, no matter how highly confident we may be of the accuracy or completeness of a particular paradigm, we may have reason to apply a DIFFERENT paradigm to the same thing, in an effort to tease out new insights; for example, we might want to contemplate the potential implications of a change to a theory from the perspective of the Tao Te Ching, the Gaia hypothesis, or ecological homeostasis. We KNOW that all theories are approximations... and that is OK. We KNOW that we don't have all the answers... and that is OK, too. There is nothing wrong with saying "We don't know... yet; but we're working on it."

But these modes of thinking, perceiving, contemplating and understanding are utterly alien to the 'religious' mind. For the religious mind, a 'belief' is not a paradigm... not a useful way of thinking about something... it is an internalized conviction that one knows the absolute 'truth' pertaining to some aspect of existence and/or fundamental reality. 'Beliefs' are one of the key interpretive component filters of the religious person's 'self-description'... a part of what DEFINES them as a person... the very thing that creates their world-view... an underpinning of their 'subjective reality'. Any challenge to one of these internalized 'beliefs' is perceived and interpreted as a vital threat... an attack upon the 'self-description'... and an assault upon their subjective reality.

And here is the key difference: When there is a change in one of the paradigms dealing with a scientific concept, or a new insight into the workings of the universe, to the 'rational' person it merely constitutes an interesting new piece of knowledge and understanding... a new insight. However, if that same new insight, or piece of information (a feature of the universe, for example) seems to threaten a tenet of Christianity, everybody goes to battle stations, goes into 'damage control' mode... for fear that the whole edifice will come crashing down. And, ultimately, it will.

So, when a fundie disparages evolution, for example, it really has nothing to do with a genuine, intellectual dispute regarding scientific details... they are generally scientifically illiterate, anyway. Any 'scientific' arguments that they present are inevitably not even understood... they are just lifted from the pre-packaged lies and misrepresentations that are found on dozens of 'Liars for Jesus' (LFJ) web sites, and parroted. They are in a battle. They are trying to sink science before science sinks them. They are desperate... and science is (mostly, and unfortunately) oblivious to the fact that they are even in a fight, and that somebody is trying to sink them. They are just blithely bopping along, doing what science does... figuring out how nature works.

No... none of this has anything to do with a mere disagreement pertaining to evidence and understanding. It has to do with minds that deal with fundamental issues in an entirely different way. It has to do with a flexible, open-minded, intellectually honest (willing to question and doubt one's own presumptions) curiosity about the universe, contending with a rigid, unyielding world-view that depends from a certainty that certain delusional faith-based (willful ignorance and magical, wishful thinking) 'beliefs' represent the absolute 'truth' of reality.

We might as well be talking to an alien species, from a distant planet.

When the religious enter a venue like this one, they are (generally) NOT seeking answers, or new information... these might cause them to QUESTION their beliefs, or might put their beliefs at risk. No... they are seeking VALIDATION... of their beliefs, and hence, of their self-description.

Answer 4

I love nature and loving myself naturally leads me to believe that I am part of nature and that the laws that govern my life are the same as the laws that govern the rest of nature. Those natural laws have some parts that are difficult to accept, such as the part where I don't get to live in my current form forever.
Nature is all around us, if we only look. But fables inspired by the inherent fear of nature are also all around us.
Some of my beliefs are still rooted in the fear of my impermanence in the world, but I'm working on being more realistic in my attitudes.

Answer 5

I believe in Christ 'cause it's the only thing in my life that has completely set my heart free...I can do anything with Him by my side

Answer 6

I beleive in nothing spiritual because I see no reason to believe in anything spiritual.

Answer 7

I believe I can fly. I believe I can touch the sky.

Answer 8

I believe you Anita

Answer 9

because only you can make it possible to believe and to not believe, its a battle of what your brain tells you to.

Answer 10

Because it is THE TRUTH!

In Christ,
Bob