Why do some people choose a life of "faith" and other's do not?

Question

Is there a difference in biological make-up? Brain Chemistry? Guilt and fear?

What is it?

I can't bring myself to buy into the notion that there is an after life - I find the whole idea really nutty, but, there are those that really buy into it.

Answer 1

Hee hee... Ah! my friend... one of those nuts here! LOL. Seriously... it is just as easy to ask 'why do some NOT believe?'

Everyone has a different reason... I choose belief because I see continuity in all things... from the seasons to the growing of things... I see a need for the cycle to go on. It almost seems... un-natural if it doesn't.

Now... I am not going to tell you that you what to believe or how to believe or to find Jesus or Allah or anything like that. I'm not even going to tell you that you are crazy for your lack of belief. I don't think that you are, nor do I think I am nuts for my belief. We have different life experiences and different perspectives. My brother and I were raised by the same people in the same home... he is an athesist. If I could see the world through your eyes, maybe I'd see how silly I look. But then, if you could see the world through my eyes... well... it just makes me wonder :)

*hugs*

Answer 2

You ARE living a life of faith...we all must do so because there is simply too much about life that we don't understand and that we can't possibly know! People put faith in many things in order to function...logic, mind, feelings, perceptions, parents, leaders, laws, and more. When you pull away from a light that just turned green, it requires faith that the other drivers will stop at their red light and not t-bone you. Loving someone requires you to have faith that they won't hurt or deceive you.

You have faith that because your brain tells you that something is "too nutty" it can't possibly be true. Personally, I have a hard time putting all my trust in my own understanding of the world...my thoughts and feelings...and other people... have proved unreliable in so many ways throughout my life...for me, what is "nutty" is putting absolute faith in anything that has let you down in the past!

Answer 3

It's part genetics and part environment.

There is a certain brain structure that is more conducive to religiosity. It is gradually being eliminated through evolution (which is why we don't have as many religious crazies now as we did 2000 years ago), but it still exists in a lot of people.

It is a disorder in which the sides of the brain don't speak to each other properly, which causes the illusion of a godly "voice," or feeling of a presence, which is somewhat similar to symptoms of schizoid disorders.

But of course, you are also more likely to be religious if you were raised in an extremely religious environment.

All evidence points to the idea that atheism is on the right side of evolution.

Answer 4

I think the whole reason behind religion is because it conveniently explains the meaning of life, and where we go when we die.

If people are not believers, they are comfortable living with not knowing. But those with faith have found "answers" that make sense to them - and probably are comforted by them.

Also faith provides a certain amount of structure and rules to live by - and there are many people who need structure in their lives from an outside source.

Answer 5

We as a species seem to have some sort of predisposition to "religion". Perhaps religious belief conferred a survival benefit, like the fight-or-flight reflex.

Assuming it is some sort of trait based on neurochemistry, brain structure, or some other type of physical trait or combination of traits, "faith" is going to fall out in a random bell-curve distribution, with the zealots up on one end of the curve, the die-hard atheists at the other, and the rest of us spread out somewhere in the middle.

Answer 6

To understand that you would have to understand faith. To most it's an abstract term but to one who has had that special touch of the Holy Spirit faith is a part of your heart. You just know.

You can't buy it or make it or conjure it up. It only comes from communing with Jesus.

If you believe nothing you are nothing and it doesn't even matter. If you are something you came from something and nothing else matters.

Try studying a bible just for kicks and God Bless.

Answer 7

There is some evidence that a genetic defect causes some to have a tendency to believe without adequate evidence. Some even consider this particular trait an evolutionary adaptation that was suitable for earlier times, when danger lurked around every corner and fear of death could mean starvation.

Answer 8

That's what faith really is. Believing in something that you have no proof really exist. I think of myself as a woman of science. I believe in evolution vs. Adam and Eve, and I don't attend church. But I do believe in a higher power and that our time in this world is not limited to our current life. Truth is.. I want to believe in that. Because if we only had one shot at life then it's over, then that's a good reason to fear death. But if our souls move beyond our physical body and lives on then death is just another part of life.

Answer 9

It is an acquired taste like black olives or any other food.
When we are infants our parents give us tiny bites of different foods and we get used to them and easily begin to love them.
If you were never given small tastes of God then you may feel it is silly.
But God himself offers...Taste and see that I am good.

Start small...read the bible and form an opinion of God..and the more you read the more grateful you will become of God.
When you see that everything he has said comes true then when he promises us everlasting life....you will start to put faith in God

Answer 10

"Why do some people choose a life of "Faith" and others do not?"

Some humans hearts are open and wish to know the "Truth".
Other Humans hearts are hardened as though they were stone, and are full of self righteousness.

It's in each humans consciousness as to which group they wish to belong too.