Christians, please explain to me how your beliefs?

Question

are not delusional? This is not meant as an insult, I just honestly see that belief that many of you hold is delusional. Could you please point me out where I am wrong? Thanks.

Here are some of the reasons I find it delusional.

* certainty (held with absolute conviction))
* incorrigibility (not changeable by compelling counterargument or proof to the contrary)
* impossibility or falsity of content (implausible, bizarre or patently untrue)

Answer 1

Think this goes for all religions....and all religions are ancient.

Answer 2

Ad Seriatim:

Certainty: I am as certain that the Gospel is true as I am that 2+2=4. It is within the realm of possibility that someone might demonstrate the falsity of this premise, but it is certainly not within the realm of 'probability!'

Incorrigibility: I have listened with relish to the many arguments of skeptics for over 30 years. Most of them are insipid and shallow. The few which are not, have all counterbalancing arguments which I tend to place more weight on. Just as I've heard people argue against many other perfectly reasonable things I believe, and make arguments which convinced THEM, but which failed to convince ME. They may leave puzzled at why I can't accept the 'plain truth' say, of Marx's Materialist Dialectic, but to me the arguments against such a belief which can be garnered from Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, are stronger. It is just the same with the claims of the Gospel.

Impossibility or falsity of content: I do not believe anything without good reasons my boy. What is it you are talking about? Perhaps because of the a priori acceptance of a Materialist view, or Logical Positivism, YOU find certain of these claims 'impossible' or filled with 'falsity.' But that is the result of your own chosen a prioris, and not the fault of unbiased investigation.

I should be perfectly willing to carry on this conversation further if you so desire. It's just the sort of intellectual foil I need to keep my wits sharp as my dotage approaches!

Answer 3

What beliefs do you hold? Is 2+2=4? Are you certain? Is your belief changable? Is your conclusion considered bizarre by anyone? By your definition, your belief that 4 is the answer is "delusional".

Faith is ultimately a conclusion based on reason. Did Jesus walk the earth? Did he claim to be God? Did he die for sin? Did he rise on the third day? The evidence is overwhelming!

There are over 100 prophecies in the Old Test about the birth, live and death of Jesus...written hundreds of years before he came. Just three: The OT tells us where he will be born, when he will come, and how he will die. What other source can tell you the future with 100% accuracy? No man can! The Bible is from God and it can be trusted as the very words of God.

It says, if you believe in Jesus Christ, you will not perish but have eternal life. He says, "I write these things so that you may know that you have eternal life"

I know I have eternal life. His Spirit dwells in me. I know the promises of His Word. It's as certain to me as 2 + 2.

Answer 4

First let me address your reasons for thinking my beliefs are delusional, and then I'll tell you why I think they aren't.

Certainty
I'm not so convinced that my beliefs are right that I don't entertain the possibility that I could be wrong, so this argument is a straw-man.

Incorrigibility
This argument is also a strawman

Besides being strawmen, the above two arguments wouldn't work even if they were true. It doesn't follow that if somebody is certain of something that his belief is therefore delusional. For example, I believe the law of non-contradiction is true, and I belief it to the point that I think it's impossible to be false. I'm so certain of it that I don't think it's possible that I will ever change my mind. I don't think it's possible to level a sound argument against it. But at the same time I don't think I am delusional to believe in the law of non-contradiction.

And besides that, a belief has to be false before it can be delusional. It's possible to be certain of something that is, in fact, true. Even if your certainty is unwarranty, it doesn't make you delusional as long as the belief is true.

Impossible to falsify
Some of the claims of Christianity are historical in nature, and they could be falsified by the historical record.
Some of the claims of Christianity are philosophical in nature, and they could be falsified by philosophical arguments.
However, a belief is not delusional just because it's unfalsifiable. The law of non-contradiction is also unfalsifiable, but it's not delusional to believe in it.

Now as to why I think my beliefs are not delusional. As I said above, before a belief can be delusional, it must be false. You asked how my belief could not be delusional, and the obvious answer is that they could avoid being delusional by being true.

They could also avoid being delusional by being well-justified.

Answer 5

>>>Here are some of the reasons I find it delusional: certainty (held with absolute conviction))
* incorrigibility (not changeable by compelling counterargument or proof to the contrary)
* impossibility or falsity of content (implausible, bizarre or patently untrue) >>>

Well, people who believe "racism is wrong" hold that belief with certainty.

They hold it with incorrigibility -- they do not believe that there's a compelling counterargument asserting that racism is OK.

And people who believe racism is wrong hold to the impossibility that it's patently untrue.

So, using your own logic, does this mean that the idea that "racism is wrong" is also "delusional"?

Or are Christians the only ones who are not allowed to hold their beliefs with certainty, while everyone else is?

.

Answer 6

Your question seems to contain some rhetorical glitches which mitigate a full answer. Could not your catagory of delusional be applied to any adherent of a system of convictions-- religious or otherwise? Further, in each of the catagories, there is the possibility of a subjective appraisal. Example, one might be inclined to consider an answer that did not conform to one's own presuppositions to be "incorrigible". Also, Christianity is a variegated belief system, the content of which is based on particular claims-- you give your potential interlocutors no reference in regards to the specifics of their claims. Are all Christian beliefs "delusional"-- how about service to the poor and a commitment to social justice, which are beliefs that many Christians hold to be integral to their faith. Systems of convictions are about particular claims rather than generalities. Lastly, as a psychiatrist, I find your appropriation of the term "delusional" to be problematic as it is a clinical, not merely rhetorical designation. Are you offering a clinical diagnosis? I would recommend posting your definition of delusional in the philosophy section to test it as an hypothesis and definition. It might lend some clarity to your querie and engender some sincere and intelligent discussion.

Answer 7

A) No such thing as certainty, except in the promises Jesus made: we are saved by G-d's grace and as we give ourselves to G-d. Faith is a process and the very fact that we are human introduces doubt and worry.

B) How so? The church in its inimitable way has determined over the years that compelling arguments regarding heliocentric universe make an geocentric belief obsolete. Our understanding of G-d has progressed to, from the vengeful G-d of Abraham and Moses (& Mohamed) to teh G-d of Love Jesus introduced to us.

C) What you see as falsity we see as hyperbole or dramatic license. No one should make a claim that teh bible is a totally literal tome.

Take care of your soul.

Answer 8

It's simple. You can't have an effect without a cause. 1st grade science.

There is a Pillar of Truth, who has made Hisself known to us, if presented to a person PROPERLY, it makes absolute, unquestionable, sense.

My advice to these kinds of questions is to please, for your eternal sake, don't count out God, the Father of Jesus Christ, until you have thoroughly gone through the evidence like a lawyer working on a case. If at that time you decide it's bunk, by all means, denounce it.

My opinion, and Gods word, say that if you truly search Him, you WILL find Him!

Hope this helps.

Also, thanks for a "kind" way to put your question. Atheist or not, most people would find it hard to believe, but there are level grounds for Christians and atheists to be friends.
I'd say 90% of all of my friends are non-believers. If we go around looking like we sucked on lemons all day long like a lot of my christian brothers and sisters do, it's no wonder atheists look at us the way they do!

Answer 9

Are we going to start this all over again. Look, why does it bother you so much about what other people believe in? I believe in a God because there are examples all over this universe. Look at how perfect everything is. Did you know that there is a better chance of there being a "God" then the universe just coming to exist by a lucky coincidence?

Answer 10

I am certain that the Bible is the Word of God. That he is indeed the Creator and Father of the Universe. I cannot be encouraged to change my mind. I know that beliefs like evolution and the "big bang" are impossible and untrue. But most of all I have something a lot of people are lacking and that is faith.

Answer 11

I have no problem with a belief in a deity. For some it makes sense.

I have a problem with religions that are about hate and judgment because they are man made specifically to control the masses through fear of an imaginary place.