Really, how do you decide?

by startingover 29 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  logic

  That's the crux of the problem.
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  Mad Sweeney

  Right now, I am of the opinion that the saying applies, people believe what they want to believe.

  That isn't just an opinion, you have a lot of evidence on your side. Tons of research has been done. People DO believe what they want to believe. They CAN change beliefs but it is really hard to do and it takes a particular mindset and effort, one that is willing to accept new facts even when they run contrary to current established beliefs.

  To put it in the context of this board, for most of us, when we were JWs, we would have (and many did) rejected information from Ray Franz, Barbara Anderson, Randy Watters, etc. without even considering its merits. We didn't WANT to believe we might be wrong. But when the time came that we were willing to accept that our JW beliefs may be wrong, we sought out information from those sources with an open mind. Because we were ready to believe something different, we were able to change our beliefs. Before that, though, none of that information got through to us.

  A great book on the dangerous power of belief, justification, and confirmation bias is "Mistakes Were Made, But Not By Me" written by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson. It only slightly touches on religion because people do it in ALL aspects of life, but any ex-JW can make the application to faith, too.
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  PSacramento

  How does one decide on which religion or even IF to believe?

  Will, lets toss aside the obvious way of personal revelation.

  We can analyse and debate, research and study which by the way we SHOULD do anyways or we can just choose what feels liek a better fit for us ( like most do).

  Fact is that the problem with research and study is that people tend to go in the direction that they want as opposed to the direct they they may need, so you have to be cautious in that regard.

  Study the bible one must not only study it by the time and history and the people who wrote, when one reads an opinion piece one needs to remember that is ALL it is, even if itis soemthing we agree with.

  Truly unbias research and study is virtually impossible, but if we study opposing view points with as much an open mind as we can, we can at least understand ( if not agree) we soem people choose A or B or C.

  For some people it just "clicks" for them and they find their home in a certain belief system, for others they need more than that.
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  Mad Sweeney

  In the same vein, I haven't read yet but they're on my list:

  "On Being Certain" by Robert Burton

  "Don't Believe Everything You Think" by Thomas Kida

  "A Mind of Its Own: How Your Brain Distorts and Deceives" by Cordelia Fine

  Beliefs are dangerous enough but when you add in certainty about your beliefs you're endangering your very freedom of mind.
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  startingover

  Thanks for the comments everyone.

  I am looking for facts. After 40+ years I discovered that I am a reality based person, not faith based. So directing me to pray or rely on spirit is not going to cut it for me. At this point I am just going with what works for me. But after dropping my faith based mentality, I discovered the whole big world of information out there that I totally ignored before. What I am confused about is whose information to trust. Take for instance Tec's comment about Christ-mythers. Tec, I think you want to believe, you have admitted that, so IMO you ignored the information until pushed into it by your husband and then you cherry picked the information you wanted to hear accepting only what backs up what you already believe.

  One person on this board who I think lays out facts unbiased like no one else is Leolaia. I have always wondered how she sifts through the mass of info to come to the things she presents. Whose info does she trust?

  I guess at this point in my life, I am attracted to believer-non believer debates out of the fascination of watching people on their journeys. I admit I get a good feeling when I see people coming to the same conclusions as myself, and I don't think it's because I want someone else on my side, it's just a little confirmation that I just may have the "truth".

  And the world goes round and round...
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  Finally-Free

  Really, how do you decide?

  I don't. I refuse to care anymore. Belief in God requires faith. So does belief in science. Unless I have the means to independently verify every claim ever made, on some level I have to put "faith" in the integrity and credibility and research of someone I've never met. I have to believe they are credible because people I've never met testify to the credibility of people they've never met. That doesn't cut it for me.

  I also spent the best years of my life pursuing "God" and have nothing to show for it, not even an acknowledgement of my existence from him. Does he exist? I don't know. I don't care. If he wants to shoot the shit sometime my phone number is listed. Otherwise, I don't have time.

  I do, however, have faith that Rocco will shred my last remaining livingroom curtain by the end of the day, and that I will soon be shopping for new ones.

  W
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  AGuest

  I get a good feeling when I see people coming to the same conclusions as myself, and I don't think it's because I want someone else on my side, it's just a little confirmation that I just may have the "truth".

  Take care, there, dear StartingOver (again, peace to you!). While I understand that some believe it is folly... perhaps even dangerous... to be out there on your own in your beliefs, I have learned... with great pain and loss [of time]... that following the "herd" can be folly, too. If nothing else, most of us here should have learned that lesson by now. If you need others to corroborate/confirm that what you believe is true, rather than being able to trust your own intellect and reasoning skills... I would say you might want to closely and seriously examine both... because what you may think is true most probably isn't.

  Again, peace to you!

  A slave of Christ,

  SA
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  agonus

  I would submit that the suggestion we quasi-intelligent entities are the only sentience in this vast universe seems somewhat arrogant... not to mention unrealistic...
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  agonus

  The Herd can't Splane anything... they'll just Lett 'em Pierce you
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  journey-on

  Believer vs non-believer is the stumper phrase. When you get past that and accept that each and every one of us is an expression (word) of the Divine, you become free.

  God is, to me, creator creating creation. First cause ( unknowable at our stage of human evolution ) that is a force, a power, that moves through Eternity affecting, rejecting, changing, absorbing, assimilating, evolving. There is purpose for each and every one of us in His purpose.

  Individually, we are both divine and self-driven. When our will works in conjunction with Divine Will, our life is purposeful and contributes to the power that drives all things....Love. If, on the other hand, we fail to align our free will with Divine Will, we live in chaos and outside His light.

  At some point, we are "judged" as to whether we will be allowed to continue to contribute in another lifestream or whether our contribution is negative or non-productive. (I think of the parable of the talents here.)