RE: The need to believe?
July 17, 2017 at 8:28 pm
(This post was last modified: July 17, 2017 at 9:08 pm by Simon Moon.)
(July 10, 2017 at 8:45 pm)*Deidre* Wrote: I appreciate you sharing your thoughts, Simon. I don't know ''how to be'' like you describe yourself as being. I just don't. I want to, and there is some envy in me for atheists who never question, never waiver, never doubt their position. It seems like you never looked back at the faith you left behind. That's not everyone, we're all different.
I never said I "never question, never waiver, never doubt their position".
I am completely open to the possibility that a god or gods exist. All I require is demonstrable evidence, reasoned argument and valid and sound logic to support accepting the god claim as being true.
Quote:You're wrong in that I don't not care if my beliefs are true, and only that they make me feel good...rather, I view my beliefs as if there is comfort and peace from them, then maybe there is truth behind what is bringing that peace. Of course, this is why I'm at a cross roads because I've discovered that comfort doesn't equate to truth. And faith hasn't been bringing comfort, to be honest. Not like it once did before I left it and identified as an atheist, anyway. But, truth...while maybe not entirely comforting or comfortable, will most likely bring a sustainable peace. I don't want to ''use'' faith as an escape from discomfort or my own fears of relying on myself, and maybe I have been doing that for a while. I'm sorting this out, so we'll see.
I think it is great that you are sorting this out!
If you truly care whether your beliefs are true or not, ignore (temporarily) the actual claim you are examining, and look at the various methods that are available to examine various truth claims. One method is the obvious winner to discern truth from fiction, and that is using demonstrable evidence and valid and sound logic.
To repeat from my earlier post, there isn't anything that can't be believed on faith. Including many things you probably don't believe (that you may actually consider silly beliefs), that other people believe based on faith.
And just to clarify, when I say that I disbelieve claims that are not supported by evidence and valid and sound logic. I am not saying that I believe they are not true (don't exist), only that there is no warrant to believe they are true.
Disbelieving a claim is not the same as believing the claim is untrue.
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.
