RE: In your opinion what causes christians to believe in Jesus
May 9, 2025 at 9:45 am
(This post was last modified: May 9, 2025 at 9:48 am by John 6IX Breezy.)
(May 9, 2025 at 8:47 am)Alan V Wrote: However, that story can't be a "predictive mental model" (as he claimed) unless it also has roots in the real world.
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People believe in Christianity, not "for the same reasons anybody believes anything" as John claimed, but because they reject the evidence against the Christian story.
Of course all of this is obvious to atheists who prioritize evidence, just not to Christians like John.
There are two conversations here, the cognitive structure and it's external validity, with prediction bridging the two.
When I talked about predictive mental models, I meant explanations and expectations about reality. The brain doesn't care about representing the truth of reality, it cares about functioning in it. And all of your beliefs serve a function, whether it is instrumental, symbolic, social, and so on.
Now, regarding evidence: Evidence doesn't exist in a one-to-one relationship with truth. It never points to a single definite conclusion. Instead, it points in all directions, and can support multiple overlapping theories. It requires argumentation and interpretation to make a case for one exclusive view.
