How is it we are so sure about our beliefs? How do we know that these people are who they say they are? If someone wrote a book about you do think they could cover your whole life and put everything about you in one book. I am talking about every belief system known to man. Why would they tell us everything...then we would hold the cards and not them.
2007-02-02 10:50:20 · 25 answers · asked by Dereck 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
We don't. We know the monotheistic religions disprove themselves a lot, but maybe they just got passed down wrong, information got conveyed wrong, who knows, we really can't say. We know that it looks like religions started off as polytheistic, whether they knew something we don't is up for debate. People believe what they want to believe, but it is sad to see people declare their beliefs as supreme.
2007-02-02 10:55:44 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Wow, that is a pretty good question. I think mostly we hope that what we believe is true. You can't really know 100% that what you believe is the true answer. You can come pretty close. I think it is a psychological protection for us to assume that our belief system is true.
To simplify it, when I leave for work, I am pretty sure that my house still exists and that it is still located in the same place, but do I know that is the truth? No. There is no way for me to know that it is the truth. Other people may tell me that while I was away at work, my house was still here, same as ever - but they could be telling a lie, right?
So this last little fraction of a fraction of a fraction of 1% of unsureness that I have is bridged by "faith".
2007-02-02 11:01:34 · answer #2 · answered by citrus punch 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, considering everything about the Dharma, as the Buddha taught it has been chewed over and debated in heavy logical debate for thousands of years, as the Buddha expected us to, and hasn't been refuted yet, no matter how many different ways it's been chewed over and spat out... I'd say it's pretty darn true, and I'm not able to refute it either. I analyze and study, pull my old books on religions off the shelves and compare and contrast Buddhism with the opinions of other religions and all other religions fall way short for me. I take nothing on faith, even within the philosophy I've settled on, which is Tibetan Buddhism. I never stop asking, comparing, contrasting, analyzing, yanking the science books off the shelves, the religion books, etc. ... nobody's measuring up to the Buddha's teachings. To me, that's a mark of truth.
It's like a trinomial math problem. When you can plug all three conclusions you arrived at, back into the problem as a proof and it works... it is truly the answer.
_()_
2007-02-02 10:58:57 · answer #3 · answered by vinslave 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
According to the Vedic system, knowledge which is achieved from the greatest authority is to be considered perfect. According to the Vedas, there are three kinds of proof: 1) Pratyaksa, 2)Anumäna and 3) Sabda. One is by direct visual perception. If a person is sitting in front of me, I can see him sitting there, and my knowledge of his sitting there is received through my eyes. The second method, anumäna, is auricular: we may hear children playing outside, and by hearing we can conjecture that they are there. And the third method is the method of taking truths from a higher authority. Such a saying as "Man is mortal" is accepted from higher authorities. Everyone accepts this, but no one has experienced that all men are mortal. By tradition, we have to accept this. If someone asks, "Who found this truth first? Did you discover it?" it is very difficult to say. All we can say is that the knowledge is coming down and that we accept it. Out of the three methods of acquiring knowledge, the Vedas say that the third method, that of receiving knowledge from higher authorities, is the most perfect.
I am not a believer, and i never was, that is why, even though, i was raised Catholic, i never accepted, because i wanted to experience by my own the existence of God. Now that i found it, i am sure that i am correct, because i can perceive God every day in my life, and i am not talking about miracles, miracles are for fools, i am experiencing real thing. Of course, i have dedicated my entire life to a process by which i can see real results. God is not a cheap thing that will manifest to anyone just because he is demanding. First we must qualify, we must qualify for a job, for graduate, for anything, then, why not for seen God?
2007-02-02 15:51:30 · answer #4 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God didn't throw a book at us and say "BELIEVE OR ELSE" He gave us reason for faith in Nature, Science, and fulfill Prophecy. On top of all this the men that God gave the Word through were willing to suffer death before they would deny the witness they gave... These things become a good starting point for faith to build... Jim
2007-02-02 11:18:00 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I say 'I believe in God' because I have FAITH. Faith 'looks like the deepest widest canyon possible' until you can 'see it differently' and then it's just 'a line in the sand' that you can step over. Pretty much 'everything else about me' that is good comes from that 'faith' ... and 'I' am the only person on Earth who can 'hold all of my cards' ... but my husband is 'the highest of my cards' ... and the same holds true of him, too, with me being his 'highest card' ... and God 'watches over' our 'card game' and helps us 'play fair' with the rest of the world.
2007-02-02 11:04:59 · answer #6 · answered by Kris L 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you know something is true, it's not a matter of belief. If you believe something, the strength of your belief is what you hold onto. Without "strength of belief", it's just maybe so.
2007-02-02 11:01:55 · answer #7 · answered by 4-real 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I know that what I believe (the Bible) is true because the prophecies that have been foretold have actually come true. There is no way that so many detailed prophecies could be made hundreds of years in advance and then they come true at the exact time. This is not coincidence. If you want to build your faith, then read the Bible and pray for understanding.
2007-02-02 11:01:14 · answer #8 · answered by summer98 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
What I believe is true. That kind of question can be used either to have someone doubt a lie they believe, or a truth they believe. Which are you trying to do?
2007-02-02 11:08:05 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is the wrong question.
What you need to ask is "What would it take to make you accept that what you believe is false?"
If the answer is "nothing" then there is no more that can be said. Those people are the invincibly ignorant.
Most people, though, believe things because they were taught to and they have no reason not to. As long as they can accept that there is the possibility of a reason not to, then you have a basis for discussion.
As an atheist, I ceased to believe in god because I could not see him working in this world. I would be willing to believe in a god who did for us what he did in the bible. Take, for example, plagues. Clearly the god of the bible can create plagues, so he should be able to remove them as well. If every malaria parasite in the world was to vanish tomorrow, I would believe.
I am curious if there is anything which could happen to a believer (prior to death) to make them stop believing.
2007-02-02 10:52:58 · answer #10 · answered by Dave P 7 · 1⤊ 4⤋