Are religions fine but the true evil known as belief?

[Sententia]

What is belief?

Belief
1: a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing
2: something believed; especially : a tenet or body of tenets held by a group
3: conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon especially when based on examination of evidence

I don't want to tip my hand too much but I will share a quote from the movie Unthinkable. Have you seen it? (You can watch it on netflix)

H: Youssef! Do you believe I can do this?
Agent Helen Brody: H., he believes it, he believes it!
H: Faith is not enough, he has to know it!
Agent Helen Brody: He knows it!
H: Knowing is not enough! He has to see it

Also consider:

H: We're on the losing side Helen.
We're afraid, they're not.
We doubt, they believe.
Helen: We have Values.
H: And our values have cost us how many lives? It's not about that guy out there, he's not the problem. You are.

What's more important then?

 

[elmarna]

a belief is a thought you act upon in which you make of importance and stand firm in it's concept.
for example-"I beleived it was wise to wear shorts today because it was 88 degrees.
Tonight I belive It is not a good idea as it has gotten cold.
DOES THIS HELP?

 

[science_is_my_god]

We can never learn anything new without believing it first. Even quantum physics and quantum mechanics are beliefs.

Now, a bit of philosophy:

If you believe that beliefs are evil, does that make your own belief evil?

 

[YmirGF]

It is my belief that any tip of the hat to evil is indicative of delusional thinking. In essence, saying that belief itself is evil is a slippery slope you would probably be better off not going down.

 

[science_is_my_god]

It is my belief that any tip of the hat to evil is indicative of delusional thinking. In essence, saying that belief itself is evil is a slippery slope you would probably be better off not going down.

You think delusional thinking in itself is the root of all evil?

Here I was thinking the root of all evil was human nature.

Maybe that's the one and only thing the Bible got right... we are ALL sinners.

 

[YmirGF]

You think delusional thinking in itself is the root of all evil?

Indeed. Defining acts as evil is projecting value judgment onto reality.

Here I was thinking the root of all evil was human nature.

I do not subscribe to the concept of evil, an iota.

Maybe that's the one and only thing the Bible got right... we are ALL sinners.

I do not believe in sin or evil, so this doesn't work for me.

 

[science_is_my_god]

I do not believe in sin or evil, so this doesn't work for me.

Correct. I also do not believe in these things. However, one can still look at this hypothetically and base social and psychological states of being on such a hypothetical presumption.

 

[YmirGF]

However, one can still look at this hypothetically and base social and psychological states of being on such a hypothetical presumption.

Thank you, Master of the Obvious. J/K
I think what disturbs me about going down that road is the concern that we are giving in to the delusion that these are useful terms. They don't tell us much about our experience beyond the age old taboos. My thought is to pitch the ideas altogether and look at reality with open eyes.

 

[science_is_my_god]

Thank you, Master of the Obvious. J/K
I think what disturbs me about going down that road is the concern that we are giving in to the delusion that these are useful terms. They don't tell us much about our experience beyond the age old taboos. My thought is to pitch the ideas altogether and look at reality with open eyes.

Perhaps the "useful term" in this situation would be to establish a hypothetical reason why we shouldn't just kill each other for the sake of our own individual survival. Society needs a certain fabric of order to it, and without it, you wouldn't be where you are today

 

[idav]

I think peoples intentions are good for the most part. A problem is knowing when your belief or opinion will do more harm than good. There is a right and wrong answer as long as we have all the facts. Another issue is when people ignore facts to hold onto their opinions and beliefs.

 

[Sententia]

Indeed. Defining acts as evil is projecting value judgment onto reality.

I do not subscribe to the concept of evil, an iota.

I do not believe in sin or evil, so this doesn't work for me.

You can classify acts as good acts or evil acts (Bad acts?) or perhaps as falling in somewhere in between good and bad. Consider a passage from Sam Harris:

Imagine that there are only two people living on earth: We can call them “Adam” and “Eve.” Clearly, we can ask how these two people might maximize their well-being. Are there wrong answers to this question? Of course. (Wrong answer #1: They could smash each other in the face with a large rock.)

--http://www.samharris.org/site/full_text/can-there-be-a-science-of-good-and-evil/

 

[Sententia]

We can never learn anything new without believing it first. Even quantum physics and quantum mechanics are beliefs.

Now, a bit of philosophy:

If you believe that beliefs are evil, does that make your own belief evil?

I guess belief not based in reason and evidence... but still those beliefs may not be evil...

Acting without absolute understanding and perfect reason while not likely possible might also be evil. (Failure to act)

Hmmm... I guess it's just too general. Lets say...

Living your life and judging morality based upon faith is evil when compared to living your life and judging morality based upon reason.

In cases where living based on faith is good then it is likely also based in reason which you could draw a pretty little venn diagram for. You would then also have to consider that some acts based upon a faith grounded life are not likely to be considered good or bad but in a reasoned life could be less good then other acts and therefore there is a system on which one can build and try to continually make better acts. (Not that all acts would easily be classifiable... at least not immediately or perhaps ever)

Is it fair to say that a good faith based system that leads to a life with very objectively and sound "good" benefits could only be improved via reason?

 

[Otherright]

Yes, you do believe in evil. It is neurologically impossible, if you have even been in the presence of other human beings at any point during the development of your mind, for you to disbelieve in the concept of evil.

Are you telling me that there is not one single act capable in the imaginations of man that you view as evil?

How do you define good or have you suspended belief in that as well?

 

[Quiddity]

If evil is nothing, then nothing is evil.

Without God, I couldn't possibly begin to measure it. Other then my own subjective feelings and reasoning.

Reasoning doesn't gurantee what is good. Neither is having God, but it's a start.

 

[Cain]

What is belief?



I don't want to tip my hand too much but I will share a quote from the movie Unthinkable. Have you seen it? (You can watch it on netflix)



Also consider:



What's more important then?

It is Faith that Becomes the Evil, not Belief.

 

[zenzero]

Friend Sententia,

What is belief?

Now everyone knows what the word *belief* means but still somewhere down the line one finds having being misled and the belief stands to be incorrect; WHY??
*BELIEF* is allowing the MIND to hold on to something taking that as STATIC/FIXED/TRUTH.
However what needs to be understood is that TRUTH is not fixed or static, it is dynamic and always changing/moving and so belief becomes a trap!
Watch the MIND itself!
Love & rgds

 

[crocusj]

If evil is nothing, then nothing is evil.

Without God, I couldn't possibly begin to measure it. Other then my own subjective feelings and reasoning.

Reasoning doesn't gurantee what is good. Neither is having God, but it's a start.

Certainly as a yardstick for evil your god is as good a place as any to start.

 

[Quiddity]

Certainly as a yardstick for evil your god is as good a place as any to start.

:troll:...