Why do you believe what you believe?

[A Nonny Moose]

All right, why do you believe what you believe?

[3nigma]

Uh oh, a fifth thread covering this same topic? Maybe this wasn't a good idea...

 

Granted, it's a different facet of the same question, but oh boy, here we go again, hehe....

[killbot1000]

Hahaha I am so proud I started this

[macgirl]

Only Jobs is the true GOD, I said

[non sequitur]

I believe what i believe because it is the balance of evidence, signs, and experiences i have had in my short life. I believe Christ died for our sins, and I believe that the world would be a better place if i made it a priority to love God and love people.

[Zealot]

Maybe we should change this board´s name for humm......"Religious life" hosted by gwprod12 killbot1000 and special guest Orihara.

 

PS: can we just talk about other things like sports or wathever not that i like sports.

[3nigma]

PS: can we just talk about other things like sports or wathever not that i like sports.

I second that motion. It's fine to chat about world-paradigms, but 6 threads on the same topic is a bit excessive.

 

-3nigma

[killbot1000]

I second that motion. It's fine to chat about world-paradigms, but 6 threads on the same topic is a bit excessive.

 

-3nigma

 

But sports are superficial and $hitty, especially on a forum

[mifki]

And even with sports, your still going to get the same stuff, its like "I go for God" because mohammeds team isnt winning, we'll get the same thing imo. this forum should be totally un-biased

[3nigma]

But sports are superficial and $hitty, especially on a forum

I'm not talking about sports in particular, lol, just a random example. The original poster even mentioned he doesn't even like sports.

 

lol

-3nigma

[OryHara]

I believe what i believe because it is the balance of evidence, signs, and experiences i have had in my short life. I believe Christ died for our sins, and I believe that the world would be a better place if i made it a priority to love God and love people.

 

In the words of Scruffy from Futurama: "I 2nd."

 

But sports are superficial and $hitty, especially on a forum

 

2nd.

 

I'm not talking about sports in particular, lol, just a random example. The original poster even mentioned he doesn't even like sports.

 

lol

-3nigma

 

Scruffy votes his 40,000 shares for the mysterious stranger.

 

"Takes Hat off" Scruffy Believes in OSx86.

[killbot1000]

Back to why I believe what I believe. Atheism is the only logical choice (for me anyway)....

 

here is my logic, ones body is made up of DNA which work as instructions (extremely laymen's terms) that put our bodies together, we eat, and we use this mass and energy to continue our bodily processes, our brain is part of our body, if you take somebody's brain out, they are dead, what they were (person wise) is gone. You can make a person quite easily by mixing a sperm and an egg. So where does the soul come in? Where in this process does a soul come into play? How did it logically get there? And for that matter, if you were raised with no religion whatsoever, would you suddenly believe in god, and spirits, etc?

 

I think not

[gwprod12]

People believe what they believe because the human brain has a yearning for explanations. Superstition in particular is something implanted into someone by someone else, most likely at an early age. Even the most hardened skeptic still bows down to the superstition of their youth.

[3nigma]

if you were raised with no religion whatsoever, would you suddenly believe in god, and spirits, etc? I think not

Actually, yes. People would attempt to believe in God, and they have historically, as well. The reason:

People believe what they believe because the human brain has a yearning for explanations.

Throughout history, humanity has always had some kind of purpose-searching and god-worshiping, whether Judeo-Christian, Aztec, Egyptian, Zoroastrian, etc.

 

Looks like the conversation took off, after all...

 

-3nigma

[gwprod12]

That is false. Gods and mythology in general do not spring to belief in the mind of a child. Notions describing a rudimentary understanding develop independently. Mythology must evolve through teaching, from generation to generation. Someone isolated from all human existence and knowledge might see lightning and be perplexed by it. That does not mean that they attribute Gods or Spirits as it's source. They might come up with an entirely logical (yet incorrect) deduction, as early natural philosophers did when observing the same phenomena. As a child, I never once attributed misunderstood phenomena to god or magic. In fact, I understand that my explanation for electricity at age 4 was completely cogent, while also being completely incorrect and based on false principals. One cannot assume that God or spirits or whatever is the deduction anyone in this situation would make. Because it isnt. One might, or might not, depending on their nature.

 

In a person innocent of all human experience, it's safe to assume that superstition would be a strong force in their lives.

[killbot1000]

Actually, yes. People would attempt to believe in God, and they have historically, as well. The reason:

 

Throughout history, humanity has always had some kind of purpose-searching and god-worshiping, whether Judeo-Christian, Aztec, Egyptian, Zoroastrian, etc.

 

Looks like the conversation took off, after all...

 

-3nigma

 

 

By saying this though, aren't you kind of saying your own beliefs are wrong? Because you are kind of saying that because we don't know the answers, we make up answers to explain what we don't know. I can do that about anything, but I will be wrong. Spirituality and death are no different and I don't see why it is so difficult for people to accept rational explanations for natural processes of life (or death).

 

I also find it funny how you said that people would attempt to believe in GOD (your definition of god). Lets just forget about nature worship, or multiple gods, etc.

 

 

Also you say people would attempt to believe in god because throughout history people have had god?

 

So lets break that down a little further:

 

People would believe in god because they have had god before

 

Sounds a little circular

 

Try again please

[3nigma]

Mythology must evolve through teaching, from generation to generation.

I agree, but all of it has to start somewhere. Who invented the mythology? And if people weren't eager to accept it, why did it not immediately just die out with the wacko who made it up? (these are rhetorical questions and not meant to derail the conversation).

 

Look at our present-day surrounding us as an example. In this great time of "greater enlightenment" and better scientific understanding, there is still a large, non-Christian, sweep of spirituality. The "New Age Movement" that is and has been sweeping through the culture is this very thing. Eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism are also gaining large footholds in contemporary society. Even if people aren't subscribing to the beliefs of their culture (Christianity in the US), people are still attempting to latch on to some sort of greater spirituality.

 

I don't think this applies to everyone. There will always be exceptions to broad generalities. But that doesn't make the broad generality false. (insert racist example here).

 

By saying this though, aren't you kind of saying your own beliefs are wrong? Because you are kind of saying that because we don't know the answers, we make up answers to explain what we don't know. I can do that about anything, but I will be wrong. Spirituality and death are no different and I don't see why it is so difficult for people to accept rational explanations for natural processes of life (or death).

Actually, the Christian beliefs teach that to have this mentality and to still believe in Christianity can run parallel with one another, and are not contradictory (not saying your own beliefs are wrong).

 

This is because Christians hold the belief that human beings were created and meant for a purpose of "worship," and as a result will pursue this in whatever means it manifests. Therefore, people will worship nature, deities, material possessions and substances, etc. Christians further believe that coming to a faith in Christianity is the culmination of this human tendency.

 

Yes, you can take it a couple steps backward and ask, "Isn't Christianity filling the hole that Christianity teaches exists?" Possibly.

I also find it funny how you said that people would attempt to believe in GOD (your definition of god). Lets just forget about nature worship, or multiple gods, etc.

I use the terms interchangeably. I will use "God" in one instance, "gods" in another, "deities" in another, etc. Look at my posts across this forum, I always interchange the hypothetical terminology. This is because we are most often not discussing the potentiality of the Christian definition of "God," but rather a hypothetical almighty deity or set of beings. Including nature worship, multiple gods, etc. So, whenever I say "God," insert other terms at your leisure. And for the Christian audience, whenever I say "deities," substitute "God" if you so choose.

Also you say people would attempt to believe in god because throughout history people have had god?

I don't remember saying that. If something I said came across as saying that, my apologies.

[Soündless]

i believe what i believe because i make my own conclusions on things. i believe christ lived, was an extrodinary humanitarian, but had no supernatural connections. i also think there is no god based on what i have experienced in my life.

[gwprod12]

The primary religions in practice in the world today are fundementally connected to death. Buddhists want to transcend material existence, or end their existence completely, depending on their school of thought. Christianity, likewise is about salvation and moving on.

 

It is natural to view death with uncertainty, as the only thing that is (reasonably) certain about death is that it comes to everyone.

 

It is also natural to be interested in magic, because magic is appealing to almost everyone. This is the allure of the new-age religions, as well as the JudeoChristianIslamic faiths. Even Buddhism has a kernel (or more) of magic in it's system, that appeals to those who ascribe to it. Magic appeals to people, because human beings are constructed with a yearning to exceed both their own limits and the limits of the universe (the first being logically impossible, the second being at best impractical).

 

For the purposes of this post, I am defining magic as an application of will to produce results through supernatural means (as opposed to magick, which is the application of will to produce results through natural means). This encompasses prayer, spells, divination, etc.

 

I do not believe in magic, as I do not give credence to any form of supernatural phenomena. But occult (read magick) powers (as long as I possessed them, or could) would not displease me.