Do people believe because they are determined to do so?

Comments

Cassandra said…
Believe what? Religious beliefs?
October 30, 2009 at 6:50 PM
h2ovapor said…
It depends. Belief is a choice, so the short answer is yes.

I usually believe because something makes sense to me & fits with all the other things I understand to be true.

The more I learn about Adventism, Ellen White, Religious history & Christianity itself, the more sense everything makes.

I feel sad that you've had the opposite experience. I feel like my parent's skepticism of EGW & reluctance to stress it to me at home & my lack of it at SDA schools made me confused because I only had part of the puzzle pieces.

I never attended a revelation seminar until I moved to Colorado. I never knew the history of our church until I took Adventist Heritage. I never watched 3ABN until I moved to Colorado.

I feel like my life is better than it ever had been, my life makes more sense than it ever has before.

I get along with Olin better than I ever have (I used to have a lot of anger & yell at him a lot & afterward be unable to remember why). It's all probably more due to my slowly developing personal relationship with Jesus & only enhanced by the additional knowledge that I've gained that helps put all the puzzle pieces together for me.
October 31, 2009 at 7:18 AM
Ann said…
@ Cassandra. It could be any kind of belief, but I seem to see the steadfast determination more often when it comes to people's belief in religion or politics. Neither side of the argument can see what the other is saying because they are determined to stand by their own viewpoint.

@Alilia. I am glad that you feel your life has improved and you have grown as a person. I won't deny the effect that your religious experiences have had on you. I think that many religious and spiritual traditions provide a mirror whereby we can see ourselves for how we truly are, and these traditions also teach practices for improving our characters. (e.g. prayer, charity) Christianity has shaped me for the better in many ways and it continues to shape me. I just can't be sold out to a belief system anymore because I have seen and experienced positive changes apart from Christianity.
October 31, 2009 at 10:47 AM
h2ovapor said…
How is it that you use the words traditions & belief systems interchangeably? I see them as being 2 very different things...
October 31, 2009 at 2:28 PM
Ann said…
Yes, they are very different things. I still practice some Christian traditions, which I see as beneficial...but I no longer have a belief system which I am determined to defend.
October 31, 2009 at 4:39 PM
Cassandra said…
I think everyone has a belief system of some sort. For some people, it's an organized belief system like Christianity or Buddhism or Hindu. For others, it's a conglomeration of beliefs accumulated over a lifetime.

I just think people need to be careful to defend their beliefs because they believe they have the truth rather than defend their beliefs because they belong to an organization. Does that make sense? I defend the Bible because I believe it's true, not because I'm a Christian and that's what we're supposed to believe.
October 31, 2009 at 4:58 PM
Ann said…
@Cassandra, I believe everyone does have a belief system...but some of us cling more tightly and determinedly to that belief system. Also what that belief system consists of varies greatly from person to person. I really have no belief system right now pertaining to the nature of God. I simply make no claims about the matter.
October 31, 2009 at 5:29 PM
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