Is it better to believe what feels right and true or what can be proved and is more likely to be true?

Question

I notice that some people are more inclined to seek truth in their own subjective perceptions and hopes. They think what they believe is true because they can feel it or intuit it. Other people are more inclined to seek truth in objective analysis through tests and logic. They think what they believe is true because they can prove it (more or less) or logically defend it. Which inclination do you think you have? Which inclination is more desirable or beneficial to have? Which leads to greater happiness or satisfaction with life?

Answer 1

Both, God will meet you either way if you want Him. First, feelings and emotions are fickle, you really cannot depend on that for true reality.

If you come to God by faith and trust, and do not have the wherewithal to prove--God will meet you and prove His existence because God will come to the seeker. I was 15 years old--I had no proof either way. But I wanted Him in my heart, and He came in, washed me clean and proved it on a very subjective level.

However, as one becomes more intellectual and in need of proof, God will meet you there as well. The trick is to come as a seeker and not an accuser. God will shun the prideful, and will draw close to the humble. It all has to do with your motives and desires. If you seek to discredit, God will give you over to it with all the "evidence" you need to disbelieve. If you come with the sincere desire to know the truth, God will provide all the evidence you need to make an intelligent choice. More than that, a choice that extends into a domain outside of time and space. - It's incredible.

Answer 2

It is better to seek truth and life a life that believe something to be true and follow it. Belief is a set of Dogmas that have been told to be true and we believe it without questions. It is something we dont question because we live in that frame work and start seeing through that frame work and function on these limits. For eg. Islam talks about killing the non believers and the muslims accept it no questions asked! The reasoning capacity is robbed when we are willing to just accept it as true. But on the other hand if we question this dogma and see, non muslims are also human beings made by god, and why is it that god chooses humans being to kill another and at the same time get a good label as "God is compassionate" violence and comapassion do not go together. This is reality.
When we lead a life based on rules on how to lead our lives set by others, we will never be happy, because it our life, and we have the right tolive it the way we reason it. our lives are our meaning we give to the world we live in. As long as our meaning does not bring unhappiness to any soul on earth. Now tell me will you not be happy to express your self honestly? How do we grow and be wise if we dont choose our own path. We are the authors of our own life. I think being true to yourself and understanding the world is true happiness, in being so we are not jealous of the other, we can love better, we can give better, and extend our happiness. We will respect others better, and love our differences.

Answer 3

I feel you should follow a religion that feels rite to you.
To me, religion is not something that is wrote inside of a book, but rather something that you feel. It should give you a better out look on life and help you to become a better person.
I don't beleive in following something that inflicts fear apon its followers or beleiving in a religion that says you need to live a certian way or only love a certian way. Its just not for me. However I do respect others who follow this type of path and whom are devoted to their beleifes WHEN they do not look down apon others that follow a diffrent path them they do.
I don't think any one way of beleiving is better then the next AS LONG as the person following that path feels it makes them a better person. There for I don't feel that the religion you follow should need to be "proven" as a true religion.
As far as what religion has more "material" benifits, I think it depends on the country you are refuring to. In the USA I beleive that christians have more "material" benifits since that is the religion this country is based off of and I feel it is accepted more so then, oh lets say the pagan religion.
AS far as desirable religions, I think with younger people its Wicca because these young kids have a missconception of what it really is.
You can take every religion out there and find "truth" with in it. Its just some times the truth is not what the follower wants to know.

Answer 4

I don't believe in faith without reason; the Bible says, 'prove all things and hold on to that which is true.
I used to be an atheist but I still searched for the truth then suddenly I found it...as bright as the sun.
Science have searched for the truth on what what makes the world go round and they have discovered many theories; remember that science does not make the world go round...the world have been working well long before the word science was coined.

Answer 5

Only so much can be proved 'objectively' - basically what is physical and observable...things you can get your ruler around.

But the best things in life are not so. Do you have any deceased friends or family that you loved or loved you (or both)...if yes, prove love existed.

You can not prove love exists. That is considered subjective...either you feel it or you don't. There is no love meter.

To 'objectively' prove anything - it has to be separate...you have to be able to get your ruler around it to measure it. But in reality, there is no other...no separateness. You can't measure something from the inside that you are a part of...how do you get your ruler around God to measure it?

In the end, you believe your experience. If you experience love...you know it exists. Otherwise it does not mean much to you. The same goes for God and the spiritual...either it is in the realms of your direct experience OR it doesn't mean much to you.

~ Eric Putkonen

Answer 6

I chortle at the folks who think their feelings are a good guide to reality and a sound basis for decision making, because I know their lives are littered with failures from which they've learned no lesson.

Even magical thinkers like the Jews and Christians have:

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?

But you'll see from the posts how many of them ignore this warning and "feel" their way through life instead of reasoning and analyzing.

Answer 7

I have the subjective kind. To me it is more desirable and beneficial because it relies on God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost, not on man and man's finite understanding of things. It's a great comfort to know what I know, believe what I believe and have faith in what I have faith in. In a way I almost respect atheists because it takes a lot of guts to not believe something unless it can be proven. IMO it doesn't make them right, but it is worth some sort of respect or admiration or something.

Answer 8

It's only the lack of research and logical testing in which people can not find their answers, so they are lazy and go with a gut feeling of what's right or wrong. I don't feel it's right that Yahoo answers will just pull a violation notice on answers that aren't properly investigated whether or not they actually were violations, but it really doesn't matter what I feel does it?

Answer 9

It's better to believe what can be proved, when that's an option. Frequently in the soi-disant "real world", that isn't. In that case, you follow the evidence. If the evidence is insufficient to proof, as it usually is, then you are forced to make the subjective call as to "what is more likely". In that case, feelings are a valid part of the decision.

Answer 10

This, ironically, seems to be subjective itself. For me, I like to believe what is based on reality. I like to think rationally. However, there are many people who cannot. This is why questions testing your logic abilities are on the GMAT. Some people just can't cut it. What can these people do? They don't know what to believe, because they can't think about reality. They can "feel" and, in their situation, I guess that's better than waiting for someone else to tell them what to think.