Isn't The Bottom Line Of All Faith A Matter Of Belief?

[Audie]

I don't believe either. I'm 47 years old and I'm tying to, I feel like I'm supposed to. So far I've been finding that the opposite is true. It's really easy to not believe and it's incredibly hard to truly believe. I don't think it's supposed to be easy.

Ttying to believe=trying to fool yourself.

 

[Vee]

You either have it or you don't. I am not here to argue religion. I am trying to understand why it's so easy for many to believe and I don't.

Because faith is a believe in something you can't physically see and that's very hard to accept. It means that even though you can't see or touch or smell the object of your faith, you know in your heart that it is there.
As humans we are used to rely almost exclusively on our physical senses and believing in something that can't be perceived by those senses is almost against our own nature. To have faith one has, first of all, to become humble because without humility we will never accept that there might be far more out there than what see.

 

[Ponder This]

You either have it or you don't. I am not here to argue religion. I am trying to understand why it's so easy for many to believe and I don't.

I don't think faith is easy.
But isn't it easier to believe in something, then to not believe in anything at all?

 

[Aurelius]

You either have it or you don't. I am not here to argue religion. I am trying to understand why it's so easy for many to believe and I don't.

I too am trying to understand that. Especially since it isn't too apparent that humans gain anything believing in metaphysical propositions. Do they add anything to us we don't already have?

 

[Aurelius]

My friend Rival makes a superb point. The Bible says ¨ faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the word of God".

So, have an open mind, and just begin to read the Bible. I would suggest you begin with the Gospels, read slowly and think about what you read.

You may never have faith, but this is the only way to find it.

I agree that people should read the Bible. There is no better effective way of making an atheist in our strongly Judeo-Christian culture than reading the Bible and really accepting what the message conveys.

 

[Phaedrus]

Because faith is a believe in something you can't physically see and that's very hard to accept. It means that even though you can't see or touch or smell the object of your faith, you know in your heart that it is there.
As humans we are used to rely almost exclusively on our physical senses and believing in something that can't be perceived by those senses is almost against our own nature. To have faith one has, first of all, to become humble because without humility we will never accept that there might be far more out there than what see.

Ironically, the only reason people seem to rely upon faith is that for them it answers the question of their origin, because simply stating I don't know makes them too uncomfortable. Unfortunately, filling in the gaps of knowledge with a faith based answer is quite irrational.

 

[ChristineM]

(Hint: don't hold your breath...I've been here since 2011 and they STILL haven't arranged MY welcome party...)

You are not alone but i always say 'it's the thought that counts'

 

[Audie]

I don't think faith is easy.
But isn't it easier to believe in something, then to not believe in anything at all?

Is thete suupoeed to be someone who believes in nothing?

 

[ChristineM]

I don't think faith is easy.
But isn't it easier to believe in something, then to not believe in anything at all?

Nothing? Wow.

 

[Ponder This]

Is thete suupoeed to be someone who believes in nothing?

Is there?

 

[InChrist]

You either have it or you don't. I am not here to argue religion. I am trying to understand why it's so easy for many to believe and I don't.

I don't think there is much worth in religion, but when it comes to understanding God it seems that most of the time we as people are pretty self-satisfied. Yet, Jesus said....
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Matt. 7:7

and in Jeremiah 29:13 it says...
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

At least for me, until I got to the point of actually and sincerely seeking and wanting to know... I didn't know, didn't care, or didn't believe.

 

[Valjean]

I don't think faith is easy.
But isn't it easier to believe in something, then to not believe in anything at all?

What does ease have to do with anything? Easy doesn't equate with right. Reality, as any physicist will tell you, is mind-bogglingly counter intuitive.
Reality has nothing to do with personal comfort.

It's easy to believe what your parents tell you. It's easy to believe whatever folklore you're raised with; whatever your society believes. What's hard is fact gathering, critical analysis and testing. But that's how truth is uncovered.

What's reasonable is to believe in what you have evidence for. There is empirical evidence for zebras, but there is none for unicorns, despite the folklore. So the reasonable thing would be to to believe in zebras, but withhold belief in unicorns pending tangible evidence.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

You either have it or you don't. I am not here to argue religion. I am trying to understand why it's so easy for many to believe and I don't.

I don't have "faith". I have experiences and personal realizations that I interpret in a way that makes sense to me. Maybe you should try to have spiritual experiences before trying to believe anything. Personally, I find beliefs don't matter much when it comes to following a path. Spirituality, as with life in general, is something to be experienced not merely believed.

 

[loverofhumanity]

You either have it or you don't. I am not here to argue religion. I am trying to understand why it's so easy for many to believe and I don't.

Welcome to the forum.

I think all of us are free thinkers. Just we all seem to choose to walk different paths and that’s fine.

 

[Ponder This]

What does ease have to do with anything? Easy doesn't equate with right. Reality, as any physicist will tell you, is mind-bogglingly counter intuitive.
Reality has nothing to do with personal comfort.

It's easy to believe what your parents tell you. It's easy to believe whatever folklore you're raised with; whatever your society believes. What's hard is fact gathering, critical analysis and testing. But that's how truth is uncovered.

What's reasonable is to believe in what you have evidence for. There is empirical evidence for zebras, but there is none for unicorns, despite the folklore. So the reasonable thing would be to to believe in zebras, but withhold belief in unicorns pending tangible evidence.

The OP is specifically asking about ease of believing. As you point out, fact gathering is hard (not easy).

 

[columbus]

To have faith one has, first of all, to become humble because without humility we will never accept that there might be far more out there than what see.

I see it as quite the opposite.

Being skeptical is recognizing just how limited humans are, including oneself. Recognizing that our perception and mental processes are skewed and unreliable. That's humility.

Religious beliefs strike me as forming firm conclusions based on really weak evidence, primarily hearsay from ancient prophets and personal experiences that are indistinguishable from delusion. Believing oneself capable of understanding anything important about the unknown, based on only that, strikes me as far less humble than skepticism.
Tom

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Ttying to believe=trying to fool yourself.

I suppose that was a poor choice of words. I'm not "trying" to believe any more than I'm "trying" to not believe. It would be more accurate to say that I feel like I'm supposed to try to figure it out one way or the other. I find the subject fascinating. The Bible, historical references, archaeological discoveries that correlate. Things not easily dismissed in my opinion and at the very least deserve the consideration of an open mind. Believer, non believer, matters not. Anyone on either end of the spectrum who believe or not believe without occasional doubt or question are fooling themselves imo.

 

[Audie]

I suppose that was a poor choice of words. I'm not "trying" to believe any more than I'm "trying" to not believe. It would be more accurate to say that I feel like I'm supposed to try to figure it out one way or the other. I find the subject fascinating. The Bible, historical references, archaeological discoveries that correlate. Things not easily dismissed in my opinion and at the very least deserve the consideration of an open mind. Believer, non believer, matters not. Anyone on either end of the spectrum who believe or not believe without occasional doubt or question are fooling themselves imo.

Supposed to? Like a duty or obligation?
What an odd thing, if that is it!

As for archaeology, (though that may not
be your word either) of course there are
correlations between the bible and actual
people / places / events. If history fascinates
a person, why not. I like history, geological as
well as human.

The bible is a sort of semi historical novel, with
a lot of magic realism mixed in.

The history in the bible sometimes is reasonably
accurate, other times total fantasy. So it is not
especially reliable, and needs to be cross referenced.

The supernatural parts such as a burning bush are of
course not verifiable. Other supernatural accounts such
as, obviously, the flood, not only cannot be verified, but rather,
all known relevant data as well as any sort of reasonable
calculations that might be made, indicate that the story
is just a story.

As for doubt or question- we do see fundies who are
hermetically sealed against any doubt or question;
for lo, such are the ruin of any fundamentalist's beliefs.

People of normal intellect will always have questions
and doubts, and not just religious ones.

What are you trying to figure out?

"is there some sort of god" is unanswerable
"is the entire bible true" is a lot easier to answer.