Do you control what you believe?

[Aroura]

This seems to fall in the ball park whether or not we have free will. I am a follower of determinism, and In my opinion we don't. Our decisions and opinions are a by product of your up bringing, and your collective experiences. However, lack of free will does not negate choice. You, right now, can choose what you want to have for dinner, but everything that has happened to you up to this point has already dictated what you were going to choose long before you did it. So no, we can't really decide what we believe, but we can choose to question it, and questioning it will lead to new information that will expand upon the collective experience that dictates what you believe, and may in turn lead to you choosing a belief that differs from that with which you started.

This would make you a compatabalist, right? You believe in some admixture of determinism but also a touch of free-will, aka choice. I think a lot of people fall into this category.
But it confuses me a bit. I mean, if you aren't really technically even choosing what to have for dinner, how can you choose to question a belief?

At any rate, I don't think we choose belief or lack-of. I came to atheism very gradually at first, then all of a sudden near the end. Not quite an epiphany, just a quick realization. I didn't choose it, it just sort of happened to me.

I have studied books, videos, lectures, everything I can on determinism and free will, and due to the way my brain works I guess, have ended up a hard-determinist. I think ALL choice is an illusion.

I have to say accepting that thought was equally as difficult for me as discarding the notion of god. Both were a struggle, but I'm glad for both in the end. I think determinism, and even compatablisim, lead to a much more open minded and compassionate world view.

If you realize you didn't choose atheism, how far can you take it? Did the criminal choose to commit a crime, or was it a product of his culmative experience? I think if we start looking at crime more like an illness that (not a SIN, or a CHOICE to be a bad person), and treat it as such, we'd make much better progress in rehabilitating criminals.

Strangely, Determinism and the idea that all choice is an illusion turned me into a completely "bleeding heart liberal". I don't mind the label, I think more compassion for others can only be a good thing.

Boy, I really got off topic there a bit. Sorry.

But ok, no, I don't think anyone makes the choice to be an atheist, or anything else.