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why is it important to "Believe"..?

sun rise

The world is on fire
Premium Member
To me, professing a belief is just about valueless. Walking the talk has meaning. Otherwise, it's just typically empty lip-service.

That can even be found in the BIble: Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will. enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who. does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
 

Nakosis

Non-Binary Physicalist
Premium Member
The bible says that one has to believe in order to be saved... Why..?

Why is believing important?

Also, do I believe other religions require you to believe things.... So what is it with believing?

I always thought what this meant was you have to believe in the teacher, in this case, Jesus, in order to be willing to follow what was taught. Until through the practice of what was taught, you possessed this knowledge for yourself.

Say for example I knew how you could become rich. You would first have to believe in me before you'd be willing to follow my instructions. Otherwise, you'd just ignore me to go on about your business.

A religion that requires you to believe some abstract idea likely has nothing to teach you.
 

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
The bible says that one has to believe in order to be saved... Why..?

Why is believing important?

Also, do I believe other religions require you to believe things.... So what is it with believing?

I don't see it is. It's important to practice what you preach not preach what you practice.

I'm not sure how you can be saved just by believing you are. Just because I believe I can fly that doesn't mean gravity will hold me up. Practice.
 

SigurdReginson

Grēne Mann
Premium Member
I find cutting unfounded belief from my life has made it much easier, honestly. Less cognitive dissonance, and more intellectual honesty.

Sometimes I learn things that change my world view, but that's nothing to fear... If anything, it's liberating. :)
 

ADigitalArtist

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
Christians with beliefs approaching sola fide territory often emphasize their belief in Christianity as a relationship where in order to get your gift you must accept it, and in order to accept it you have to understand the significance of what's being given to you.

As someone of a consequentialist nature this seems wildly inefficient to me. But when I say so it's usually made clear to me that it's less of a gift, more of a contract.
 

SalixIncendium

अग्निविलोवनन्दः
Staff member
Premium Member
The bible says that one has to believe in order to be saved... Why..?

Why is believing important?

Also, do I believe other religions require you to believe things.... So what is it with believing?

I see the necessity for belief as a system of control.

My religion requires no belief.
 

bobhikes

Nondetermined
Premium Member
The bible says that one has to believe in order to be saved... Why..?

Why is believing important?

Also, do I believe other religions require you to believe things.... So what is it with believing?

You have to believe to learn.
 

Brian2

Veteran Member
The bible says that one has to believe in order to be saved... Why..?

Why is believing important?

Also, do I believe other religions require you to believe things.... So what is it with believing?

1Tim 4:10 That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.

Our beliefs make it possible for us to be on the path we believe. Faith in Jesus puts us on the way that is Jesus, and all that means. The verse above however, and others, give me a hope that people who reject Jesus for whatever reason, still can be saved.
 

Cooky

Veteran Member
Christians with beliefs approaching sola fide territory often emphasize their belief in Christianity as a relationship where in order to get your gift you must accept it, and in order to accept it you have to understand the significance of what's being given to you.

As someone of a consequentialist nature this seems wildly inefficient to me. But when I say so it's usually made clear to me that it's less of a gift, more of a contract.

Do you suppose that at some point in ancient history "belief" was an avant-garde idea..?

If so, I wonder for what specific reasons it may have gained popularity... I wonder what a pre-belief age would have looked like in contrast at that time.

(I maybe should have put this in the philosophy section)
 
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Brickjectivity

Turned to Stone. Now I stretch daily.
Staff member
Premium Member
The bible says that one has to believe in order to be saved... Why..?
Translation error mostly.

Why is believing important?
Like most things it can be beneficial or deleterious. If you envision something and choose to believe in it then you can work towards it to make it happen. If you believe in someone you can enable them to be someone they otherwise couldn't be. On the bad side you can also use belief as a means of controlling other people, because a belief can act as a promise. You can tell people that they have been promised various things and so forth just like a con artist and then hook them with promises. You can make them believe that there are fences where there are none, and by that means you can coral people like animals. Belief can be good or can be bad for people

Also, do I believe other religions require you to believe things.... So what is it with believing?
Without it you have little reason to do anything other than what has already been done. When you get an idea you have to decide its worth trying or it disappears. Its not that belief is by itself so important but that you can't accomplish anything without it.
 

Cooky

Veteran Member
You have to believe to learn.

That's a very interesting comment.

I'm trying to imagine what belief would have felt like as a new concept. I wonder what it would have changed... Is it possible that "belief" coincides with the advent of learning in general with humans..? Where before it's recognition, there was only instinct-based exchanges between humans?
 
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Cooky

Veteran Member
It's a cognitive leap. It' can be useful for opening the mind to a higher power.

A cognitive leap... That makes sense to me now.

I wonder if there are more leaps. Or if belief is to remain unmatched in regards to present and future advancements, considering all the doors it may have opened academically and morally... If it's all it's cracked up to be (I think maybe it is).
 
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Cooky

Veteran Member
I see the necessity for belief as a system of control.

My religion requires no belief.

But what if we're not seeing belief in it's fullness... What I mean by that, is -- what if we could go back in time, and witness the advent of "belief" as a bramd new avant-garde idea... I wonder it could be viewed as an advancement... One that's much more useful and enlightening, compared to what existed before it.

...I suppose that will be hard to figure out.
 

Cooky

Veteran Member
Without it you have little reason to do anything other than what has already been done. When you get an idea you have to decide its worth trying or it disappears. Its not that belief is by itself so important but that you can't accomplish anything without it.

This is why I'm beginning to think that "belief" and civilization go hand in hand... Without "belief", there would have been no initial effort to be made in writing or hieroglyphics. Could it be that belief really was the foundation of civilization altogether that separated homosapiens from the previously, less advanced primate ancestors?
 

dybmh

דניאל יוסף בן מאיר הירש
A cognitive leap... That makes sense to me now.

I wonder if there are more leaps. Or if belief is to remain unmatched in regards to present and future advancements, considering all the doors it may have opened academically and morally... If it's all it's cracked up to be (I think maybe it is).

Yes, belief is very powerful, but it can be exploited as well. One way of understanding it can come from looking at the underlying mechanism behind the Master-Disciple relationship.

The Guru-Disciple Relationship

The article describes a feedback loop of shared belief resulting in psychological projection and transference between the master and the student. This mechanism can be applied to other religious beliefs including the belief in God. This explains how and why religious beliefs can be either beneficial or harmful. ( Potentially extremely beneficial or extremely harmful. ) The result depends on what is being projected and transferred from the believer onto God and/or onto themselves.
 

Heyo

Veteran Member
That's a very interesting comment.

I'm trying to imagine what belief would have felt like as a new concept. I wonder what it would have changed... Is it possible that "belief" coincides with the advent of learning in general with humans..? Where before it's recognition, there was only instinct-based exchanges between humans?
Michael Shermer has some ideas about the very first basics of belief and it is older than the genus homo:
 
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