If I believed something based on faith in a non-religious context, wouldn't that be delusional?

Question

If I said I believed life is actually a big computer program like a giant video game, in which we are just characters, made by an advanced alien race, someone would ask why I beleived that. If I said I believed it because I had faith in it, I'd probably be thought of as crazy. My faith-based belief would be an irrational assumption or delusion. And it definitely be a hard sell to convince people that I was right.

Of course, my example is a bit ridiculous. But when I've questioned religious people, it seems that the reasons for their beliefs usually boil down to faith as well. And they seem to take pride in that. When put in a religious context, why is faith-based thinking seen often as okay or even praiseworthy? Why the paradigm shift?

Answer 1

First off figure out what believing really is, stripped from anything we attach to it. The only things we have to believe are intangible, as soon as things become tangible we no longer have to believe in them but simply acknowledge their existence.

Secondly, you look at what it is that believing does. Without belief all our efforts would simply end up as if bad fate. If for instance the Wright brothers didn’t believe that their construction would ever fly, their vision of; would have not resulted in them being the inventors of modern flight. They may have said a little prayer when they took off on their first test flight, but their effort wasn’t unidirectionally intended to glorify and praise God. Once they did realize their invention, they maintained to believe in it. Yet look closely in what they believed! They did no longer believe that the machine could fly, because such was proven. They did however believe in the intangible capabilities, potentials and possibilities of their invention.

The delusional portion that comes up with believing is as follows; when our expectation of our belief doesn’t come through soon enough we will likely qualify such as a delusion. Jules Verne made a mental trip to the Moon through his writing. A lot of it was very accurately calculated (though messed up by the British who refused to convert the meter measurement properly to their miles in consecutive translations). Though the saddest thing mainly was that Verne died long before the Russians and Americans actually ventured out in space with the summit of a moon landing by the Americans in 1969. So from his perspective and from those living in his time period his writings were pure fictional.

Many religions claim the act of believing. Yet such a claim is besides the truth. Your act of believing is yours in the first place. Therefore when it comes to matters of faith we attach these to a religion and a God and no matter how much they are related to those instances (sorry for calling God an instance but in a sense He or She would fairly qualify as such – but that is an whole other story), the believe starts with the believer. Many industries now claim the Wright’s invention, but the Wrights were the first to realize it for fact, others, among which Leonardo Da Vinci, did fruitless attempts. So in our history flight started with the Wright brothers. According to a deeper reality however flight started as an idea and a belief, and probably much envy towards birds and insects.

Now to your claim (silly as it may be), what if we are nothing other than computer entities in a machine built by aliens? Read up on Daniel F. Galouye’s “Simulacron 3”. The conception of such an idea is nothing new. If you replace aliens with God you will likely end up in the same truth as religious people. What remains is those present here with either a God Creator or an Alien Manufacturer! And those remaining here all have to believe to achieve anything - whether that is God given us the possibility or the Aliens to have given us a chance. Meanwhile, architects start building in their heads, draw it out and than it becomes real. But in their thought process some of their structures may well be delusional up until someone solves the up to then impossibility.

So with or without God or Aliens it is always praise worthy for us to believe in the things we do, in the thoughts we think and in finding ways to realize these. The latter is the thing that deserves the most of praise.


Now on a side note, anyone who claims they believe in God because they know he exists are uttering a fallacy. Because as soon as you know something i.e. as soon as you have proven something beyond reasonable doubt, there is no longer a reason to believe in it. The same goes for believing in God or in one’s self. How fast do you think a sprinter could run if he/she didn’t believe he or she could run very fast? Believing is probably the most common factor that we share with others, we all simply don’t believe the same or in the same way, but we all believe; probably more consciously so than that we all breathe.

Answer 2

If I am hearing you correctly; you feel that having faith in believing that we live in a big video game is ridiculous.

Religion has some pretty ridiculous stories also. The only answer I can think of to your question right now is that religion has been around since the beginning of time, so it is ingrained in our minds to a level that people tend to believe it as fact.

Jesus turned water into wine
Jesus walks on water
The parting of the Red Sea
The immaculate conception of Jesus
God taking a rib from Adam to make Eve

These were a few Biblical stories that I just can't seem to believe

I do not fully understand the paradigm shift that you spoke of, so I can't say anything about that.

Answer 3

I think many women believe (have faith) that their husbands will be true to them. I don't think they are suffering from delusion. Maybe (in many cases) they are just victims of wishful thinking.

I tend to think some people of religious faith are victims of wishful thinking too. But there are probably as many reasons for people to be into religion as there are people. Some, I'm sure are in it just for status--that is; having a position in the church. Others may have been brainwashed. And yet others just for the social aspect of it. A fellow retiree told me that the church she joined a short while ago took a survey and found out that ninety-something percent (can't remember the exact number) didn't believe in God. They were there just to meet people and make new friends from a group they felt most likely consisted of good people.

Personally, I was raised Catholic, didn't believe any of what was being taught to me, but participated because my parents expected me to. As soon as I was old enough to leave home, I dropped religion from my life completely. I like to think I was finally in a position to allow common sense (rather than pressure from family and church) to guide me.

Although I'm not religious, and never have been (even though I attended church as a kid), I don't feel even the slightest need to try to sway religious people away from religious belief. The way I look at it is that when stuff was being handed out, some got common sense, and some got religious belief. Whether I'm right or wrong, I think I got the better of the two items. And I don't want to make the other people feel bad by telling them I think they got a raw deal. I just quietly go about my life being thankful for my good fortune.

Answer 4

If people would actually 'read' your question with your following comments, you actually make a valid and worthy point.

You have in fact put into words something I have thought about and considered for a long time. Even though I always went to church as a child, I began to question 'blind faith' of Christians as an adult.

I actually agree with what you have said here, because as an adult I have also tried to discuss my thoughts with prideful Christians, and although I can appreciate their devotion, I still did not feel anyone gave me conclusive reasons as to why Christianity should be the end all, be all, of the religions of the world.

I do respect most Christians and feel everyone has the right to believe as they chose, but I continue to question many of the beliefs Christians try to impose on the rest of the world.

So, to specifically address your question: yes, I think it could be considered somewhat delusional.

To each his own....

Take care.

Answer 5

The pride of the religious people is often consisted in their conformism. They feel "protected" because they are part (and building elements) of one big community. If you believe something that makes more sense to you, then you should do that, because the "backround story" (Bible, Kuran,...) about what happened with the saints and the prophets is not what the religion is. It is a strong, guiding and orienting frame of reference concerning your values, your personality improvement, YOU as an improver of the world and the humanity. So the answer of your question: No you are not delusional, you have the right and that is how it should everybody do. Everything else, as I said, within the animal-instinctive conformism mediocrity is suffocation of the soul, and thus of the Player (God, Allah, etc.)

Answer 6

If you have logical reason to believe something, then no, not at all. I have faith right now that all the fish in my fishtank, which is in another room, are alive. I can't see them. I haven't seen them in about twenty minutes. But the most logical conclusion for me to draw is that they are alive, and this is an act of faith.

Answer 7

I don't think so. I think faith is very subjective. If you believe in something hard enough and you get enough of people to believe in it, becomes true.

Kinda like manufactured reality. I say something is true, everyone follows, whether or not it is true in the first place would not matter anymore because people already believe in it and its true.

Kinda like ghosts and monsters. They have a life of their own because many people believe in them, whether or not its true or not and whether it can be proven, is secondary.

So yeah, find enough people to believe in what you believe in and you might just find yourself a new reality :)

Answer 8

I think having faith in general is more optimistic than delusional. However, people still need to be careful when deciding what or who to have faith in. Remember Jamestown, 950 people died because of their faith. Terrorist are strapping bombs to their body because of their faith.

Answer 9

I am not sure I get your point blind faith is not sensible but God can show himself if many way and reading the bible brings it to life even more I know my saviour Yeshua so it is far more than just faith

Answer 10

I think faith and belief are two seperate functions. I would be praying to my girlfriend had the two reconciled.