Explain why you believe as you do? Including Atheists

I was raised Lutheran but no longer believe. However, I think it’s a mystery if there’s an afterlife because I have experienced seeing a spirit as have my mom and aunt. If our souls do survive we will only know after we are dead.
 

Teacher Terry said:
I was raised Lutheran but no longer believe. However, I think it’s a mystery if there’s an afterlife because I have experienced seeing a spirit as have my mom and aunt. If our souls do survive we will only know after we are dead.
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I think this quote from Carl Sagan is relevant:

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

The question that follows is, lacking the extraordinary evidence, should you still believe?
 
I think religious belief is less about which propositions we agree with and more about our disposition toward the world and life which we all operate on. Whether one believes we are just bags of organic chemicals interacting with the rest of the physical world according to physical laws or if one believes our feelings and beliefs have significance that transcend natural law, what we believe at least effects our experience of the world and our life satisfaction.

When I was younger I used to think all belief should reflect that which we have the most reason to think is true based on the available evidence. Not any more. That kind of belief is only good where all the facts are known and there is no hurry. But life as it is lived is a different matter. There the outcomes are less easily knowable and there is rarely any luxury of time. Religious truth is more about what you actually trust when the way forward is uncertain.
 
MarkD said:
I think religious belief is less about which propositions we agree with and more about our disposition toward the world and life which we all operate on. Whether one believes we are just bags of organic chemicals interacting with the rest of the physical world according to physical laws or if one believes our feelings and beliefs have significance that transcend natural law, what we believe at least effects our experience of the world and our life satisfaction.

When I was younger I used to think all belief should reflect that which we have the most reason to think is true based on the available evidence. Not any more. That kind of belief is only good where all the facts are known and there is no hurry. But life as it is lived is a different matter. There the outcomes are less easily knowable and there is rarely any luxury of time. Religious truth is more about what you actually trust when the way forward is uncertain.
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I wouldn't argue with the idea of religion as a disposition toward the world. That makes it more of an aesthetic and I have a strong inclination to that idea.

Unfortunately, much, if not most, of what passes for common Christian belief is a set of propositions that are believed to be true. As such, I think they should be challenged. Hence my question as to whether it is ethical to hold such beliefs without sufficient evidence/argument.

As for other types of belief, such as moral/ethical views, I think those should at the very least be supported by some principles that one can justify with rational argument. I do not hold the view that without a god providing a moral foundation there can be no morality. That is simply to reduce morality to a set of facts, which again leads back to my original question about the morality of belief.
 
I think people can be moral without religion and act for the common good. In fact it’s been done frequently. People have slaughtered one another in the name of religion.

However, there’s something comforting in the rituals of religion and believing that you can just turn over your troubles to god. I think it’s one of the reasons people believe.
 
Marie5656 said:
Again, I am more open minded in my beliefs than most religions. I have several friends and family members in the LGBTQ community, who as we know, are not accepted among many religions. I had a Christian pastor tell me pretty much that my friends and family were sinners and I was wrong to support them. I walked out of that conversation and never looked back.

Now I am of the live and let live mindset.
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If God created man, then the LGBTQ people are part of his creation too. Period.
 
I was raised in an on and off church going family, but I have come to doubt the existence of a God. The universe is unknowably vast, so I feel no need or ability to make an absolute decision. I live in and thrive in a Judeo-Christian society, one whose understanding of morality and justice is based on historic religious ideals and principles, which I respect. In short I am an Agnostic, but I would NEVER argue that those who do believe should abandon their beliefs. Religion Is a great comfort to many and performs an important social function. I find myself a bit envious when I see a line of worshipers filing into a church or synagogue.
 
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ElCastor said:
I was raised in an on and off church going family, but I have come to doubt the existence of a God. The universe is unknowably vast, so I feel no need or ability to make an absolute decision on the existence of a God. I live in and thrive in a Judeo-Christian society, one whose understanding of morality and justice is based on historic religious ideals and principles, which I respect. In short I am an Agnostic, but I would NEVER argue that those who do believe should abandon their beliefs. Religion Is a great comfort to many and performs an important social function. I find myself a bit envious when I see a line of worshipers filing into a church or synagogue.
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My wife grew up in a High Episcopal church. She isn't a believer but she has fond memories of the pomp and circumstance and the swinging of the incense. We recently attended a funeral at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox in L.A. It was quite something to see.
 
God gave us a brain, each of us is unique and therefore why shouldn't we use it to question and reason about everything? I go through scripture and think about it, often I do not understand, so I reflect and seek answers. It is surely good to think about our eternal destiny.
 
Rose65 said:
How great is it to have a peaceful pleasant and informative discussion about this.
I have in the past joined Christian forums and been amazed at the vicious closed-minded arguments raging there, over every phrase in the Bible. I was just so disappointed. That's all I will say.

My view is simple, every human has the right to believe as they do, as long as it harms nobody else. How we each conduct ourselves is the important thing surely.
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Yes, that's a problem when there are those that don't understand why 2 ,000+ year old wrtings that have been tranlated through many languages cannot be taken literally.
 
oldlongwalker said:
Not sure what you mean. Of course a great many people believe falsehoods. The question is, should you always seek to believe only what can be shown to be true?
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Given the vastness of the universe and the secrets it is hiding, no. Except for our own mundane lives, the question of what is real, or true, and what is not is so far beyond any explanation I, a mere dilettante, can answer.
 
Mr. Ed said:
...This poses the question, why do people believe, is it because a belief suits you and comforts you?...
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Not at all. It is because I an otherwise mortal intelligent organic loving entity, greatly wish to eternally exist with an effective brain I've spent a lifetime filling with incredible experiences, memories, and in this telecom science era, much immensely fascinating information about our incredible universe, and NOT die eternally gone, dead non-existent forever. Mortality for many is an incredibly horrible tearful reality.

Whatever entity can offer eternal life so to me has all my attention and devotion, regardless whether or not that path is not likely, much less certain with proof. All the rest of the supposed benefit noise and dogmas created by religions are of minor interest at most. Would not be enough to sustain interest for mere moral or lifestyle reasons. I'm decades along on that narrow road and glad to be walking towards the narrow gate. That it be a gift from some magical god-like OOO entity or a race of science, physical based UIE's matters not. I choose to live as though Jesus was indeed an entity sent by a race of UIE's because for this person that has investigated, it makes logical sense if Earth is in fact the DNA biological zoo it seems to be.

The above noted, its also true the vast majority of humans looking back on their lives and how they have lived it, would have little reason to live any longer than they probably will, much less for eternity.
 
Why do I believe as I do? The simplest answer would be lived experience.

As a child I believed in the stories that I was told by adults - I believed that the British Empire was benevolent, that butter rubbed onto a burn would promote healing and that going swimming after eating lunch would lead to drowning. Time, education and experience as I grew up dispelled many of these 'truisms'.

By my late teens, besotted by all things scientific, I decided that the biblical stories I learned in Sunday School and scripture lessons were not to be believed. Instead of God creating all things including humanity, I decided that humankind had invented the idea of deities. Not an unreasonable point of view.

I maintained this line of thought until I was 33 years old. By this time I was a wife, a mother, a teacher and an angry feminist. I was also empty inside, devoid of any ability to cope with the sudden death of my father and the stillbirth of my sister's first baby. Something was missing deep inside me. That something was not belief, it was faith. These two words are very different concepts.

I experienced a conversion experience that was entirely private and very personal. The best explanation I can give is that it was a wake up call and an invitation to change. I was quite shocked and could not shake it off. The first call was followed up by a second one and this time I answered in the affirmative.

The woman of disbelief became a new person, one who was open to seeking new meanings in the scriptures, open to greater love of self and of others, and able to hold doubt in one hand and faith in the other. I was eager to learn more and rather timidly began attending a local church where I found a community where I could participate, learn more about living the christian life and contribute to the activities of the congregation. I began to grow in faith and my inner emptiness was filled with peace instead of anger, with love rather than harsh judgment of others.

I still attend that same congregation and I am proud of the ethos of love, inclusivity and compassion that drives us to be the heart and hands of Christ in this present time. I have never regretted answering the call to embark on a new journey of discovery nearly 50 years ago. I have discovered the "peace that passes all understanding" that comes with faith rather than mere belief.

I'm not sure that I have answered the OP's question but it was a profound one and deserves a profound answer.
 
Rose65 said:
God gave us a brain, each of us is unique and therefore why shouldn't we use it to question and reason about everything? I go through scripture and think about it, often I do not understand, so I reflect and seek answers. It is surely good to think about our eternal destiny.
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'Seek and you shall find'

Big big key
 

Explain why you believe as you do​


I firmly believe in The Bible

It's the only book where the prophecies are so pin point

I'm intrigued at the lack of studying that Book

Not so in the dark ages
Huss
Jerome
Wycliff
Luther
Many others
Proved burning that blessed book to no avail
It even promoted Christianity

Now?

Seems the old man of sin has found the key
Publish them
Put them in every home.....in quantity
It promotes indifference, neglect

Those that do read it without the aid of The Holy Spirit are easily confounded
I know that one
Too well

However, one doesn't have to be a biblical scholar to see the prophetic signs for things soon to come
 
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I have been on a lifelong quest to answer this question.
Repondering’s answer is just about as close to my belief as it gets and was so eloquently stated . I guess Buddhism is what resonates with me most. I view it as more of a philosophy than a religion though.
 
On a tangent, I would like to bring to the discussion the subject of context. I happen to be listening to a programme on BBC Sounds about the Knights Templars. I never knew that they were a military order that defended Christians who were being attacked and often killed while on pilgrimage to the Holy Lands.
I do not ever condone violence for any reason at all, but, it is worth reading about such situations to find out WHY things happened. Religion has caused so much conflict and always will. It is interesting to acquire knowledge about situations instead of just an emotive stance. I am as guilty as anyone of jumping to conclusions and not knowing facts.
I wish the world was peaceful but it is a vain hope.
 
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