Belief And Non-Belief-Are They The Same?

by choosing life 8 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  choosing life

  After reading the frequent threads on atheism verses theism, I find that both are very passionate about one thing, their beliefs.

  Atheists may not believe in God, but they are firm believers in the abscence of a God and evolution.

  Theists, on the other hand, are just as firm in their belief in a God and usually creation. Some may work evolution in there also.

  Both sides, though, are passionate about the same thing, namely beliefs. Maybe the problem is not whether one believes in God or not, but the insistance that our personal beliefs are the correct ones. Nobody likes to have their cherished beliefs threatened.

  When you look at beliefs, they are just ideas that we have come to accept in our individual minds. It really doesn't matter what we believe in the larger scheme of things as far as to what is true. Just because we believe something does not make it true. There are some questions that we just don't have concrete answers for in this life.

  So maybe the real problem is that we allow our beliefs to handicap our ability to just experirence and enjoy life as we find it in the present time. Maybe we need to let go of the constant search for absolute answers on the troubling aspects of life. I think I have spent too much time already trying to find the answers to questions that are really not answerable at this time.
• 

  LtCmd.Lore

  Well you have to stick up for SOMETHING right?

  Even if it's the absence of something.

  Edited to add: Acctually I think we are just interested in being smart. When someone insults your beliefs of lack thereof it detracts from the person. Nobody wants to look dumb.
• 

  LtCmd.Lore

  You say it's impossible to know either way right?

  And yet you felt compelled to make a thread about that.

  If someone called you stupid/lazy for not even looking for answers. (Don't worry, I know that's not the case.) You would probably get just as aggressive trying to prove WHY you can't know either way. Even though you don't have a prefference for theism/atheism you still don't want to be made a fool.

  People stick up for themselves, that's instinct. There's nothing wrong with a good debate. Whether you are trying to prove god exists, trying to prove he doesn't exist, or trying to prove that it's unknowable.

  Lore
• 

  choosing life

  LtCmdLore,

  There are obviously things that one needs to make decisions on or stand up for at times. I was talking more about the questions that can't be answered at this time.

  I stated that I have done my share of searching for such answers. I feel that our beliefs often get in the way of just experiencing the here and now. Beliefs are also very devisive at times. After a while, it can become pointless.
• 

  JamesThomas

  Nice post, cl.

  Much of the heat of such arguments is we come to identify with our beliefs as what we are: I am Christian, I am atheist, etc. So it in a way it becomes a psychological life and death thing.

  Of course Reality is not dependant on beliefs, it's what IS, no matter what we think. This may be why many wise teachers of truth suggest to be still of all the minds interpritations and just silently be present in this moment of actuality and allow reality to wordlessly share what it will. Unfortunately we have come to believe (there we go again) that the beginning and end of intelligence and wisdom is our mind....even though the entire universe -- including the mind -- came into existence with no help from us.

  j
• 

  purplesofa

  yes, great post.

  I like life most when I am not trying to argue within myself about such things and just live.

  purps
• 

  the dreamer dreaming

  everyone has a Belief System, the trick is to become aware that all Belief Systems are created in gross ignorance and are little more than BS....and so none of them should be taken very seriously by anyone. Belief Systems are experiences, a subset of all experiences and along with raw perception and feelings, they make up everything we experience from a source that no one seems able to verify or define. see MATRIX (^_^)
• 

  trevor

  Belief and Non-belief are two sides of the same coin. They are both activities of the mind seeking to establish a substantial reality through the use of words. Belief is allowing ourselves to accept something that we have no evidence of. Just hope and illusion in place of experience.

  While we debate whether or not we believe in a certain school of thought, reality slips away unnoticed.

  James Thomas hits the mark again.

  trev
• 

  poppers

  Great thread idea, and great contributions by JamesThomas and Trevor. Beliefs and non-beliefs are viewpoints held within the mind and are the substance which provides a framework for self-identity. But something exists prior to anything which arises in the mind, underlies whatever is currently in the mind, and remains after mental activity abates. Rather than cementing one's idea of self with a collection of beliefs, find out what you really are when beliefs are seen for what they are: just mental activity. Discover the essence of what you are and then defending mental concepts of self against others who do likewise removes the foundation for conflict, both within oneself and with perceived others. All conflict is rooted in defense of contrary beliefs. My hope is that others will discover what awaits everyone in this very moment - peace and oneness. Some here at JWD have found this, but unfortunately most (here as well as everywhere else) will continue the battle of mental positions and miss the wholeness of the present moment in favor of remaining stuck in an identity which is based on fleeting thought forms.