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Everyone has their own understanding of "truth", expressed through and enhanced by religious organisations, belief systems, individuality and society. Most of us, most of the time, hold onto these beliefs with a suffocating grip, shaking off doubt and using "evidence" to support each premise - especially regarding beliefs in god(s) and life after death.
Everyone believes they are right...they have the ultimate "truth".
What if we are ALL wrong? What if the truth about such matters - god and life after death - has not even been conceived by humanity?
I am interested in knowing if you think this is a possibility and how you feel about the possibility that what you believe may not be true.
Thank you so much! Any other thoughts/comments are welcome...obviously
What if we are ALL wrong? What if the truth about such matters - god and life after death - has not even been conceived by humanity?
I actually believe that this is the case.
IMO, religions are man's attempt to explain the Unseen in addition to those things they did not have a natural explanation for.
In my case, I follow the traditions of my people concerning the Unseen as it is my best way to express my belief in the "something", whatever that something is. This is why many, if not most, native people do not see a problem with all the divergent belief systems out there nor attempt to convert others to our way. The idea of an absolute "truth" make no sense to me. Belief, by its very nature, cannot be "Truth" because it is not based on hard-core emperical fact. Truth is garnered through knowledge. To date, we do not have true knowledge of the Unseen beyond anecdotal evidence or the ancient writings of men long dead.
Traditionally, the elders will say something like this: "That is the way the Creator gave to your people and this is the way the Creator given to our people." That is why it is said among NDN people that all these systems lead to the same Creator.
We probably are all wrong.
Last edited by Fullback32; 09-30-2010 at 02:50 PM..
Everyone has their own understanding of "truth", expressed through and enhanced by religious organisations, belief systems, individuality and society.
Everyone believes they are right...
No. That is not true. Some of us don't believe we're right. Some of us don't believe anything. Some of us don't know and we acknowledge that. We have no faith. Why "believe" in anything? We can't think of a reason to have faith. Why have faith? What good does it do (other than make you feel good)? Faith is a limitation, a weakness, it serves no purpose. In fact, it may result in the making of bad decisions. Emotional guessing. Hoping. Everything has an assigned probability between 0% and 100%. And we could be wrong in the probability we assign but we have to start somewhere in order to think and make decisions. As the quality of information increases the quality of our decisions increase. A "fact" is anything that we assign a very high probability.
Some examples
Probability I am alive > 99.99%
Probability the Lakers will win the NBA Championship this coming year ~ 70%
Probability there is a god < 2%
Probability the surgeon will be successful > 98%
See, some people could say "I have faith that the surgeon will do a good job" or "I have faith god exists" but those statements require the weakness of belief. No need to believe. Just accept a probability of being true.
Unfortunately, religious or spiritual people or theists (in their limited wisdom), assign a 100% probability that god exists. They are stating what they want the probability to be. This is a result of the brainwashing they received as a child or the psychological transition the made when "born again". That's why they are considered close minded and are ridiculed.
Very few people make rational decisions to say with certainty that god exists - that contradicts rational thinking in itself.
Everyone has their own understanding of "truth", expressed through and enhanced by religious organisations, belief systems, individuality and society. Most of us, most of the time, hold onto these beliefs with a suffocating grip, shaking off doubt and using "evidence" to support each premise - especially regarding beliefs in god(s) and life after death.
Everyone believes they are right...they have the ultimate "truth".
What if we are ALL wrong? What if the truth about such matters - god and life after death - has not even been conceived by humanity?
I am interested in knowing if you think this is a possibility and how you feel about the possibility that what you believe may not be true.
Thank you so much! Any other thoughts/comments are welcome...obviously
Truth: Everyone believes they are right and that they actually have the truth...but if they were being truly HONEST with themselves...they would fully admit that they really don't really KNOW ANYTHING WITH 100% CERTAINTY. They hope...but all it really is...is pure speculation.
I'm OK with not knowing...it will make it more interesting when I finally find out the truth. My motto is...Live for today and don't worry about tomorrow...because tomorrow may never come.
if they were being truly HONEST with themselves...they would fully admit that they really don't really KNOW ANYTHING WITH 100% CERTAINTY.
Unless they are brainwashed for example in which case they accept as fact that god exists as much as you and I accept as fact that we exist. There is no doubt in their mind.
Ask them this question "Is it possible, even remotely, one in a trillion to the trillionth power that god does not exist?" and they will reply "No".
Most of these religious people are brainwashed or "hit bottom" and are now "born again" (a psychological survival mechanism - the option better than suicide).
Unless they are brainwashed for example in which case they accept as fact that god exists as much as you and I accept as fact that we exist. There is no doubt in their mind.
Ask them this question "Is it possible, even remotely, one in a trillion to the trillionth power that god does not exist?" and they will reply "No".
Most of these religious people are brainwashed or "hit bottom" and are now "born again" (a psychological survival mechanism - the option better than suicide).
Honestly....I would call that person a LIAR! They may pay lip service by claiming they know the truth....but in reality and if they are being completely honest with themselves they really don't...and they know that...no matter what they say.
Last edited by ChristyGrl; 09-30-2010 at 02:56 PM..
No. That is not true. Some of us don't believe we're right. Some of us don't believe anything. Some of us don't know and we acknowledge that. We have no faith. Why "believe" in anything? We can't think of a reason to have faith. Why have faith? What good does it do (other than make you feel good)? Faith is a limitation, a weakness, it serves no purpose. In fact, it may result in the making of bad decisions. Emotional guessing. Hoping. Everything has an assigned probability between 0% and 100%. And we could be wrong in the probability we assign but we have to start somewhere in order to think and make decisions. As the quality of information increases the quality of our decisions increase. A "fact" is anything that we assign a very high probability.
Some examples
Probability I am alive > 99.99%
Probability the Lakers will win the NBA Championship this coming year ~ 70%
Probability there is a god < 2%
Probability the surgeon will be successful > 98%
See, some people could say "I have faith that the surgeon will do a good job" or "I have faith god exists" but those statements require the weakness of belief. No need to believe. Just accept a probability of being true.
Unfortunately, religious or spiritual people or theists (in their limited wisdom), assign a 100% probability that god exists. They are stating what they want the probability to be. This is a result of the brainwashing they received as a child or the psychological transition the made when "born again". That's why they are considered close minded and are ridiculed.
Very few people make rational decisions to say with certainty that god exists - that contradicts rational thinking in itself.
Thank you. I understand your point.
Do you believe everything you have said is true? Or did you type your thoughts not 100% convinved of your own point of view?
Even in your not believing, Charles, you seem to believe an incredible amount!
What if everything you have written is untrue? For instance, you say "Faith is a limitation, a weakness, it serves no purpose." This is an opinion which you seem to hold very closely and although at the moment one may not be able to falsify it, this could change. How does it feel to know that the probability of what you believe (all of the above) to be absolutely true could be 0%? This is what I am exploring!
Thank you. I understand your point.
Do you believe everything you have said is true? Or did you type your thoughts not 100% convinved of your own point of view?
Even in your not believing, Charles, you seem to believe an incredible amount!
What if everything you have written is untrue? For instance, you say "Faith is a limitation, a weakness, it serves no purpose." This is an opinion which you seem to hold very closely and although at the moment one may not be able to falsify it, this could change. How does it feel to know that the probability of what you believe (all of the above) to be absolutely true could be 0%? This is what I am exploring!
Do you believe everything you have said is true? No, but it's probably true. I don't "believe" anything. Or did you type your thoughts not 100% convinved of your own point of view? I type my post not 100% convinced of my own point of view. [I could be wrong.]
What if everything you have written is untrue? Then I'll learn something.
How does it feel to know that the probability of what you believe (all of the above) to be absolutely true could be 0%? It feels good, though I don't think (the probability is very low) the probability could be 0%. Again, I don't believe anything. It isn't necessary.
Do you believe everything you have said is true? No, but it's probably true. I don't "believe" anything. Or did you type your thoughts not 100% convinved of your own point of view? I type my post not 100% convinced of my own point of view. [I could be wrong.]
What if everything you have written is untrue? Then I'll learn something.
How does it feel to know that the probability of what you believe (all of the above) to be absolutely true could be 0%? It feels good, though I don't think (the probability is very low) the probability could be 0%. Again, I don't believe anything. It isn't necessary.
We may not be smart enough to understand the truth. Our brains simply may not be wired to understand it. Brian Greene described in well in The Elegant Universe: "You can teach a Dog calculus from the time it's a puppy, but it will still never understand it. They're not wired to."
However, personally I'm not willing to make the leap and believe in something that hasn't a shred of evidence.
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