Just a quick reflection on Pascal's wager (in honor of it's 928,108,281st posting)... Is it even possible for the argument to convince anyone to change?... I know that even if I tried hard, I wouldn't be capable of changing my belief system without actually having some good argument for the belief itself, believing that believing it was in my best interest couldn't ever do it for me...
What about you guys?...
(For the record, please try not to evaluate how likely it is that changing is in your best interest, just answer the question)
2007-06-28 18:07:53 · 16 answers · asked by yelxeH 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
*le sigh*
Okay, let me rephrase, if you would be given $1,000,000 dollars if HONESTLY believed happy faces were symbols of an evil alien plot at the end of the week, could you change that belief?
2007-06-28 18:21:40 · update #1
I already did change, I was a Atheist and now I'm a devout believer, it has totally been for my best interest all the way around. God has done for me what no one else ever could have.
2007-06-28 18:12:09 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Belief has to follow reason. Truth is Truth and the heart knows this better then the mind. Any heart could not change to irrationality.
I believe the heart is where the Trinity dwells in the Baptized.
St. Augustine said, "The faithful must believe the articles of the Creed "so that by believing they may obey God, by obeying may live well, by living well may purify their hearts, and with pure hearts may understand what they believe.” (CCC 2518)
The life that is lived well is believable. If the discussion reflect this the better. The right attitude toward God is mystery and a journey and this should be reflected to.
It is also good to stand to agree to disagree, this is best to keep the threat of victory ( an agreement) away and so it becomes a discussion. Then life takes the people toward their end.
It is also important to distinguish knowledge and understanding. You need to know before you understand. So find out what you agree on in terms of knowledge and then discuss the understanding.
For example, a car has four wheels. That is knowledge. Understanding is how the wheels spin.
Forget interest, I rather be disinterested and generous. that is what my mother in heaven teaches about love. And everything else is vanity. And unfortunately, I'm loaded. I need to find heaven. J
2007-07-06 21:15:57 · answer #2 · answered by animalis1779 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't think your belief system should go to the highest bidder.
Hopefully, before you establish your belief system, you have made a conscience effort to study about it and make an informed decision.
I believe that's why there are so many questions being ask back and forth on this forum between Christians, Atheists and other Beliefs. People tend to have the same beliefs as their parents or peers. Sometimes people want to fit-in by claiming whatever the latest belief fad is. They just don't make an entirely informed decision before announcing to the world what their Belief Values are.
2007-07-06 04:54:01 · answer #3 · answered by bubbleheadyeoman 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It might be possible that a person could live a lie long enough that they actually start believing the lie (smiley faces being a symbol of evil aliens?? come on now....), as a sort of self hypnosis maybe. The human brain is extremely complex, so who knows for sure But that would take a very long time to take place, so I guess it doesn't fit in to being "at will".
2007-07-06 21:44:10 · answer #4 · answered by Lazerus JPA 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We all have a will to choose what we want to believe. I think its through experiencing something more so than merely thinking its in your best interest that will make you change. Example is : when i was in high school, i was a little wild... loved to party etc. then someone told me about Jesus. I was skeptical of believing because i thought i would have to give up everything in life that was fun.. It wasn't until i realized that i was in need of a Savior in my life and after receiving the Lord my life did change. Outwardly I was the same person, but inwardly i felt such a peace that is unbelievable. It was like putting Jesus in the drivers seat of my life and i finally could sit back and enjoy the ride knowing He was now in control. Good luck in your search.
2007-06-29 01:19:02 · answer #5 · answered by ckrug 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I like the original question best, not the edit. But to answer, no, I don't think I could.
I would still believe what I believe. I could not change my beliefs without some argument or proof to the contrary.
2007-07-06 13:38:29 · answer #6 · answered by † Seeker of Truth † 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've been told changing my religion is in the best interest of my eternal soul. It hasn't even brought up the urge to change.
My beliefs would not be able to change over night, and it is very, very likely, that I will never be a part of a main stream religion. My beliefs are my beliefs and the sharp side of my tongue to anyone who tries to tell me I have to abandon my beliefs because they think theirs is the "right" way for all of humanity.
2007-06-29 01:13:00 · answer #7 · answered by spirenteh 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have talked about this with people many times.
I don't think you can choose your beliefs. I think beliefs are something you come to, and they are individual because they are based on experiences, thoughts, preferences, understandings you take away with you, etc...
beliefs are the outcome after seeing everything you've seen and hearing everything you've heard and mulling it over in your head.
Beliefs can change-- whether you want them to or not-- but not because you choose to change them automatically-- it's not a conscious decision. They change because new informations, thoughts, experiences start leading you to believe differently. This can happen slowly over time, or occasionally on a dime when some new bombshell is dropped on you.
I think we can lie about our beliefs-- to others, and even ourselves. We can try to bury that niggling little feeling that something about what we're saying/doing isn't right. We can refuse to admit it, refuse to face it or embrace it, but it's still there.
2007-06-29 01:36:02 · answer #8 · answered by MSB 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You mean that the happy face symbols are not part of the alien conspiracy, lol?
The nice thing about my religion is that I chose it out of my own free will.
2007-06-29 01:29:14 · answer #9 · answered by Searcher 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Allow me to ask you this: How could you know/see that something else was superior if the thing you already have has given you the greatest joy and freedom imaginable? How are you going to imagine something better than what's already unimaginably good?
2007-06-29 01:13:24 · answer #10 · answered by jaicee 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋