Are You Religious?

[Hornlitz]

Basically, I'm with Andrew and J.B. here. I kind of gave up trying to do things on my own about week ago, and that has really helped. And now, I can't, and won't believe that God doesn't exist, because I know he does, and I've seen first hand things he's done, and it's been a blessing. But I'm not going to bash any of you for believing anything else.

[ManipulatorGeneral]

And now, I can't, and won't believe that God doesn't exist, because I know he does, and I've seen first hand things he's done, and it's been a blessing.

Something worth diving into, as it's immediately applicable and opens up further doors; this assuredly happened to me during the struggles I described in my introduction thread. I saw too many incidences of perfect timing, an inner and outward spiritual presence, and sheer jaw-dropping coincidence to entertain any doubts; the equivalent opposite moment is the concept defined in the Bible as permanent rejection of God. The difference in my life after this happened and I entirely committed my life to God, I would say, was the coming of complete peace, becoming worlds more patient, outgoing and optimistic, attaining a much clearer perception of reality and especially my understanding of events in a spiritual context (such as why X event happened, what I am supposed to take away from Y, etc.), and as Ben said, there was a certain moment where God's non-existence became incomprehensible to my mind; I even find further reasons to thusly believe each day.

Such conviction towards any type of belief is commonly detectable by mannerisms, attitude and depth of language; there is even a biblical guideline for this: "Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." (1 Peter 2:12) I have witnessed this in action on multiple occasions. When I was interviewed for an autistics discussion group about who or what I have for support, Dr. Adams could have been blind and still detected that I meant it when I said I was never alone; Christian friends of all walks of life think I'm rather "special" among them for possessing such understanding (which I certainly hope I do, but then again, I really know so little of what can be known); even an atheist friend (and a reasonably strong one at that, but still a nice guy) was puzzled that, in the face of what he felt was the better judgment of reason, I possessed a conviction that was "apparently unshakeable." I believe this happens only when somebody is a true born-again Christian, and thus it is comforting to know that all religious categories alike recognize I truly mean mine.

This is certainly something worthy of objective study, as many of us, wherever we stand, have met people who seem firm in their beliefs, and perhaps the firmest category is religious belief. There exist unconvincable Christians and unconvincable atheists alike, and there could be multiple scientific, spiritual or psychological reasons why this is the case; as a Christian, I hold that the cause is inwardly spiritual. I definitely hope for an agnostic/atheist perspective on this, as they're generally the minority in most locations (though not in France, Sweden and other European countries in particular).

Ultimately, it should be said that I am heartily enjoying this discussion; thanks for starting it, Tom. My plan for opening up religion was a small thread where anybody could explain their choice of belief in 100 words or less, then discuss later on after some time; that would also work, but I'm happy to witness this one taking off. Fire away!

[BitBuster]

I generally find that actions don't necessarily reflect on the veracity of beliefs or philosophies, whatever else people may claim. There are atheists who do wonderful things for other people, just as there are people of every denomination who do wonderful things for other people. The converse is true; people of all faiths commit horrible acts. This is pretty self-evident, but I mention it because I have never, based on someone's actions, been able to infer anything about their beliefs. I liken it to being unable to know someone's favorite colour or style of music just by the way they talk or act...there are stereotypes, but they're, of course, limited.

I'm an agnostic in more than just the realm of faith; there's nothing that I'm entirely sure of. I used to think that the only thing I was sure of was that there was nothing I was sure of, but I like to think that if I had a religious experience it would change my views.

For example, if I saw Jesus on the Sunday after the crucifixion, nail holes in his hands and all, I'm pretty sure I'd devote the rest of my life to his teachings (provided I was sure that it wasn't just a fancy magic trick). But this isn't the kind of experience you're talking about...

As an agnostic, I'm somewhat suspicious of people who claim to be absolutely certain about things. Maybe it does just come down to temperament (i.e. the ability to commit to either accepting or rejecting a certain idea). Maybe the ability to have faith is biological, like being born with a certain skin colour, or being born with other innate abilities or talents. I really don't know.

[geodave]

Well, I'm a skeptic, but not in the way most people think of skepticism. Like many other words, this has been obscured from its true meaning. Most people, when they hear "skeptic" they are really thinking "cynic". I am not a cynic. I believe that things (including supernatural things) can happen. I believe some things are true and some things are false. I just don't need to know if EVERYTHING is true or false. In fact, it has been proven logically that you cannot prove or disprove EVERYTHING with logic. This was a landmark proof that most people have never heard of. If you want your brain to hurt, read Godel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid.

It may seem counter-intuitive, but not having to know the truth about EVERYTHING allows me to believe in SOMETHING.

Tangential opinion: The "Skeptic" column in Scientific American is somewhere between skepticism and cynicism.

[BitBuster]

I'm both a skeptic and a cynic, leaning more towards skeptic.

How does the lack of truth about everything help you believe in something?

[PB_guy]

Lack of knowledge/understanding/comprehension is not equivalent to lack of truth.

[geodave]

^THIS. If I don't need a complete, overarching set of rules for EVERYTHING, then I can figure out which things are important, and decide what I believe about them. The rest doesn't really matter. Like evolution or global warming.

[James]

The rest doesn't really matter. Like evolution or global warming.

Those two things are among the most important ^_^

Also, I'd prefer to learn the truth (or at least as much of the truth as we can, or learn what is not the truth, or learn what is more likely to be true than not, etc.) than comfort myself with any falsehoods. For topics where we can't ascertain the truth, I would rather just acknowledge that fact rather than try to put substitute some random claim in because we want to. Knowledge is a reward in and of itself. But maybe that's just me.

[geodave]

How is evolution important? How does it impact your life right now? Forget about the religious people who say it does matter -- why does it matter to you?

Also, global warming may have an impact on the world, but does it really matter whether we caused it or not? We should be worried about what to do ABOUT it. BTW, global warming is an 8000 year phenomenon -- it's not just because of the industrial revolution.

[James]

How is evolution important? How does it impact your life right now? Forget about the religious people who say it does matter -- why does it matter to you?

Evolution is only the cornerstone theory that unifies all biology, and the knowledge that has powered some of mankind's most beneficial medical advances, and an amazingly useful piece of insight into our history and psychology...but it's not important.

Also, even if it weren't important, I'd still find it interesting, and even if it weren't interesting, I'd still not substitute some random claim in...