I like to think of religious belief as like any other belief. It is not only a belief, but a belief system. It doesn’t have to be but usually becomes one. This makes sense because most religions require a core belief in a deity or God. Religion is taking the concept of a god, applying extra trimmings to it, dumbing it down so that it can be comprehended by the complex human brain and it’s functioning. The concept of god is a concept that can’t really be explained or exist in reality because it is not subjected to the laws of physics, mathematics, nature, etc.. Most people believe what they do because they were conditioned to believe it. If a child is Santa Claus exist, he or she believes it. They also believe in fairies, monsters under the bed, etc. This is because the ability to think logically hasn’t fully developed and the child looks to his parents and elders to guide them and give them the information they need to survive. The parents should also be experienced and therefore can tell the child though actual knowledge what to do and what not to do, what to believe, and what not to believe.
When you believe in something you don't know it for certain hence, "I believe..." not "I know". You might just feel it in your soul. You might believe your husband or wife loves you, but what is the reality? But if there is no evidence of your belief being true, how can it be a ‘fact’? Facts have to be proven; you can’t just claim to ‘know’ your beliefs are facts. You have to provide evidence through study and then proving what you believe happened or exist. Until then, your beliefs are just that; beliefs. Scientifically, you beliefs are a ‘hypothesis’ you have failed to test and come through with consistent evidence to prove your 'belief' is a reality.
So we can say that there are YOUR BELEIFS and REALITY. What if your belief is wrong in reality? To you, it is right to believe your husband loves you, but in reality you could be wrong. I’ve met more than enough people that ‘believed’ they were loved but in reality weren’t or were completely conned. I think there are concepts in our minds, things we know, and things we think we know. Reality and fantasy are two different concepts in our minds. One is influenced by the laws of nature, the other can defy it. This is sort of like beliefs, they can exists, but if it’s impossible for them to exist in reality these beliefs have no real purpose in reality.
A parent that tells a child he/she is a failure, worthless, etc., that child will grow up believing it and having low self-esteem. Some abused children seek abusive partners later in life because they are so used to that lifestyle and system of beliefs that stemmed from it. They were convinced of it by a trusted parent so strongly that they built their lives around the belief that they are worthless. They commonly seek jobs they know are below their skills, relationships that are guaranteed to fail and explain to others why they are worthless and will never amount to anything with the greatest conviction. There is no need to prove that they are worthless with evidence because they BELIEVE that they are. In their reality no matter how much money they make they are worthless. However in actual reality, that person could be making 3 digit figures, helping others, raising his/her children with love, and be the most talented person in the city. Realization comes when this person realizes that they are unhappy with their lives or thoughts and feelings. Or possible if enough people convince them that they aren’t worthless and that they can handle a prestigious job, and are good enough parents, etc. Although someone’s worth can’t be tested so it isn’t the best example.
Many could have unwittingly put religion into this area of the brain that activates while fantasying or accessing the areas responsible in the brain. I’m not a neurosurgeon or even a doctor, but I know that if something makes sense, it is probably true. What if we find that the areas of the brain responsible for logical thinking, reason, facts or memories, etc. shut off or are in low activity in the areas of the brain that active belief? This isn’t science fiction stuff, it’s happening now. I saw a Dateline on television this week and they operated on a woman with obesity. They might have managed to end her overeating through stimulation of a certain area of her brain responsible for appetite. There is so much more in the show and so much more that no one bothers to notice. So can we agree that if religion is not a fact? Because a fact has to be provable right? Mathematics, Physics, and other absolute rules can’t be altered in reality yet theists let God break the rules. If this is the case how can anyone even begin to comprehend him?
Okay if you believe that your religion has protection from science, physics, history, fact, reason, etc. and that it exists in its own universe with many wormholes, black holes, etc. what makes you think that every other single human being should consider or even be capable of comprehending your beliefs? Let’s call your beliefs your ‘faith’. So your faith requires you to live a certain way, eat certain foods, pray, etc. This faith always stems out to influence your values and create even more beliefs. You start to put these beliefs up against each other in your head if there is cognitive dissonance. How can we see it from your eyes and why should we accept it just because you said so? As said before, people can be taken advantage of if they just believe anything they are told.
So if you have no proof that your belief exist in reality you can’t expect other people that do live in reality to believe it. If you believe your beliefs of God is not held to “man’s” ideals or comprehension then he is simply that; Beyond man’s comprehension. So why would I bother praying and worshiping to an incomprehensible God with incomprehensible standards, ideals, structure, or existence? You might say you believe but remember why should I believe you? The battered woman might choose to keep going back because she ‘believes’ her husband lovers her. But don’t we all look at her sadly and just can’t comprehend why she keeps going back? Because her belief that her husband loves her so much is strong enough to make her take the punishment, rationalize away the doubts, downplays the REALITY of his behavior. It’s the same with religious belief.
We have doubts, concerns, and issues, like that the bible is so full of hatred for homosexuals, his endlessly slaying of innocent people, or the outright silliness of the Jonah and the whale, Noah’s Ark, etc. Once in a while these beliefs come in contact with common sense. Maybe you were reading a bible story your kid and they unwittingly said, “The bible’s like a fairy tale!” to you one night. Perhaps in that moment for a second, you think about it and realize that the bible is quite like fables or old stories and fairy tales. What stops you from seeing it that way? Is it because of all of the evidence? You might try to think of all of the evidence but you come up dry. “Didn’t they find the Ark or something?” you might think. “But it just can’t be… I just can’t be wrong about this…” As the doubt mounts and starts to extend on to other things… But now there is noticeable cognitive dissonance. Our brains work to keep all of our beliefs in sync., or cognitive dissonance. At the mere thought of losing family members, church friends, feeling ousted by society many don’t even prod at the little bit of doubt, but some do. Sometimes our own hopes, beliefs, and desires get in the way of our perception of the reality of things. We are blind to truths that others can see so clearly. We fail to apply that concept of reason and common sense that one belief because it is so important to us, our society, and our world.
Our reality gets affected and influenced by many things. Because of brain chemistry, schizophrenics can believe that everyone is against them, that FBI agents are out to get them, that he/she is Jesus Christ. I have personally seen one in a mental hospital go berserk. He sometimes admitted he was mentally ill and knew he wasn’t Jesus Christ, but it was obvious in his eyes that he didn’t believe it. The doctors must have worked to make him accept that he was mentally ill and was not Jesus, but he still could not ‘believe’ it. Perhaps something in his rational mind realized that things just didn’t make sense, or perhaps once in a while he came to his rational self or gave into accept ‘reality’. I wonder if this was better for him, I wonder if such confusion was worth it. However the purpose of our society and most individuals is to get you to reach the same ideals they have set for you, usually not more than they have to offer or share. If your beliefs are unacceptable or out of sync with the society you live you are ostracized by that society.
There must have been times in people’s lives when they tried to rationalize or explain their beliefs. Such as the batter woman and her husband being a good man. If people ask her about her bruises she might deny they exist or that her husband even hit her. If some people still persist she might admit to it but rationalize that she deserves it. If they pursue and the husband gets wind and beats her, she may even blame the concerned people. At this point I imagine most people would back off or say ‘to hell with her’. If someone did attempt to further convince her that her husband is a jerk she might even go on the attack him.
As soon as we are born impressions are made upon us by anything and everything we can comprehend and take in with our senses. The brain is very complex however more and more is being discovered about it. No single person can be the same so how can one single person’s perception of reality be the same? It’s physically impossible to be identical with someone because we each have a different perception or consciousness. We become bias, This is why If in your reality you believe in things even though they have no evidence or proof and in fact makes no sense logically, that’s fine. However, I choose to apply logic and reason in my reality or my ‘perception’ of reality. I think this makes me safer because all of my beliefs are up for being thought on and reasoned with. I don’t need to learn how to live my life because I know what I feel and I know that what makes me happy doesn’t make another person happy. I can see how millions lived before me, what they did and how it went.
You might not want to believe that everything you thought you knew wasn’t really true. Many women are too fearful of what she will lose if she investigates a bit and finds out he was cheating. Maybe it is better to forget about that doubt or concern and put it in the back of your head. s revealed as untrue. To us in reality we don’t understand why this woman keeps going back and taking the abuse. I understand you, because I was you.
All I did was ask a single question that placed my belief in God and religion in the same mind field of logic, reason, and common sense as I did with every other belief, concept, decision, etc. As I moved my belief along the fields of human history, psychology, physics, etc. it took more and more damage. Eventually it just clicked and a ‘knew’ that God doesn’t exist in reality. I never stopped and never looked back.
After I had stopped keeping my ‘belief’ in God and the bible. They went together as a pair like identical twins. There was God and religion, never God or religion
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