How do you know that what you believe in is right??

Question

Do we just believe what we are brought up to believe?

This is a serious question. I have been thinking about this a lot lately. How do I know what I believe is not just out of fear? Fear of hell? Fear of being wrong? I do believe in God, it's all these different relgions and everyone thinking their's is the only right way that I'm having problems with.

Answer 1

Ask yourself that if there were no Hell, would you still believe in God the way you do now?

Read and learn about other religions - how they are similar, how they are different. There are some common threads that run through most (if not all) of them that may surprise you.

If almost every religion believes that theirs is "right" and everyone else is "wrong" - there's no guarantee that the one you follow now is right. So it makes sense (to me, anyway), to learn what you can and try to see if there is a deeper truth buried under all the dogma and rhetoric.

Gypsy has a very good suggestion - go to http://www.beliefnet.com/ and try their Religion Selector. Choose the answers that come from your heart, not the answers that come from your upbringing.

Answer 2

Because I don't believe in things which haven't been studied, proven or verified.... I only collect knowledge, not vague beliefs. I am a sceptic through and through.... I think people believe what they are brought up to believe and I can honestly say that I myself have observed as much in my lifetime and their are scientific studies that also verify that statement. I was very lucky in how I was brought up... completely neutral, I learned about religion and science and everything in between but I was never influenced by my family in any way.. I got to form my own convictions and ideas. The one thing about religion that always turned me away was the threats by its members, always it seemed to me they wanted to scare me into believing in a god... at a very early age I met religious classmates at school etc and it was always the same "You will go to hell if you don't believe in god!" I early realized that all those people were frightened into believing by thier family or whatever upbringing they had, and I have always been grateful that my family never did that to me... thats why I dont believe in any religion because I know that you cannot prove religious belief... you cannot prove if it is right or wrong and there is no way that any part of faith or belief can be verified. I mean seriously if you have to use fear to make someone accept something it cant be very logical. To me something that cant be verified should not be believed... and you should always question everything to get to the bottom of it and find out the truth. If you cannot prove or disprove something then you will never know if it is right or not so really you shouldn't believe it until you get irrevocable proof. ALways keep an open mind until then!!

Answer 3

Not all religions think their way is the only right way. I know mine (Asatru) certainly doesn't. You have to find for yourself where your heart truly is with the divine. No book can tell you this. It comes only with some pretty deep soul searching and quiet contemplation.

I suppose I could sit here and say things like "Well, the Voluspa (or the Havamal or any of the Eddas) says...." and try to 'prove' something to myself or someone else with verses and quotes. But really all that proves is that those books exist, much as the bible floating around only really proves that book exists. I still study them, tho.

I study the Voluspa and the Havamal and read the Eddas because they are part of my cultural heritage. I study other religious writings of all faiths because I like to learn about other cultures. But neither of these things can give what is truly important, and that is a deep, personal relationship with the divine. That will never come from any book of any culture. That comes only from inside YOU.

~Morg~

Answer 4

I don't know for sure that it is right, that's what makes it a belief. I belief ceases to be a belief when it is factual.

I think that sometimes people believe what they believe just because of the way they were raised. However, I think that once people develop and mature, they start to finely tune their beliefs to fit their lives while still considering their upbringing. But this could never happen to some, it's on a person to person basis.

Answer 5

Philosophy has been playing with this for years, centuries, millennium. It is the question that drives logic. And that Drove Many very smart people mad.
I can only answer subjectively. I have no way to formulate an objective assessment of the correctness of my belief system. I think this is related to Godel's incompleteness statement.

The best you can do is to test for logical rigour and agreement with evidence.

Science works in the directly opposite way that religion does.

Religion assumes that it is right and demands faith to support its assumptions and authority to enforce them.

. Science assumes it is wrong and demands evidence to try and disprove its guesses and uses free thought to modify those guesses and improve them..

Answer 6

I never claim that the things I believe are right or true. I think that would be very presumptuous of me. If I cannot see it with my own eyes, etc. to know that it is true, then anything beyond that is just what I choose to believe. I would never claim it to be true or right.

I think each person has the right to believe whatever they want, and should not interfere with anyone else's beliefs. I think that it's fun and beneficial to talk to others about what you each believe, and why you believe it, but I think it is bad to judge others for beliefs, or to try to force your ideas on them. In other words, I think debate and talking are good, but harming or judging others is bad.

But of course, those are my beliefs, and I only am expressing my opinion, not implying that what I'm saying is right or true. :)

Answer 7

Alot of Bible prophesies have come true. do research on Bible prophecy. You will be amazed. So if something was told would happen thousand of years ago and it does, that pretty much does it for me. Example: Bible says Israel would become a nation again. It did in 1948. There are so many others too. And Azzael, if your right, what do you look forward to after death. Nothing ? but if I'm right. Hell? Me, if your right. Nothing? But if I'm right. Heaven and it didn't cost me nothing but believing.

Answer 8

This is what I have done.I put what I believe to the test and if it makes my life better then I keep it, if it doesn't I throw it away.You are right to worry about believing in a religion and I pray you don't get caught up in one.Jesus said...learn of me my yoke is easy and my burden is light, and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.Also in the book of James he says if any man lack wisdom let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not,but let him ask in faith not wavering.My advice is to ask God and know he will answer you and wait for that answer,believe me if he made me understand he will make you to understand.

Answer 9

There is no way to know that what you believe is right. Thats why they call it faith. Thats why every day more and more intelligent people are looking at facts and logic and realizing god probably doesn't actually exist at all.

It's all fear tactics to control the uncontrollable.

Answer 10

well, its easy to know it if u have the sincerity, faith to the TRUE GOD, and willing to find the TRUE GOD. U have to throw away all ur bias and hatred towards other religion. Put inside ur mind and heart that u will accept what is good and lead to the TRUE God.

as in Bible, Quran, or even in any research, there are several ways we are thought to proves thing. So, in order to find the true religion, u have to apply those proves test to differentiate what is wrong and what is correct.

God has give us the power to be able to think and to learn. So i can advice u and im hoping u will accept my advice.

First, u have to have knowledge. As u knows that there are several religions in this world. As we know, there are only 1 God, meaning there will be only 1 true religion that God has revealed to human.

So i would recommend u to read and learn more about all the religion (Jews, Islam, Christians etc). The most important thing is for u to find the true person to learn those religion. For examples, dont go to a non-muslim to learn Islam, or go to somebody that has lost faith in Islam to know about true Islam. U have to find a right person to have the true knowledge of that religions.

So, after u learn, u can differentiate and know what is true and what is good for u.

It is not a sin to learn more, as the more we learn, the more we will know about God and our faith.. God lovesd people who have high knowledge about religion and God.

In Islam, God did say that we muslims must learn and do research to find and to know the true God. We must believe in proves that has been provided to us which is Quran and this whole world. We have brain and we should used it to the maximum.

Plus, in Islam, God said that, everybody was born as Muslim, but it was their parents who will make their kids a christians, jews, or muslims.

Meaning, the parents are responsible to lead their kids to the true God. But, its for ourselves to find true God. God will help u if u r sincerely want to find TRUE GOD.

Bare in ur mind that something true which is from God will definitely have STRONG PROVES.

u can chat with me if u want to..

try to read the link below, i hope thats help.