Am I wrong and, if so, please tell me how?

Question

It would seem that the human mind can be formed to believe or even "know" nearly anything, regardless of how incredibly bizarre it may seem to others. Am I wrong when I say that the beliefs you feel are undoubtedly true can be just as much of an overwhelmingly powerful illusion of your own mind as those beliefs of others which you might feel are bizarre? What religion does not have a library of information to convince and prove its validity and either viciously or casually disprove other religions? What mind does not have a library of information or experiences to validate its behavior and beliefs? If a human mind can be set on any belief, have you questioned your own beliefs? Has your questioning driven you to seek answers from sources that validate and provide evidence for a belief? Do you feel resolve in your beliefs and somehow "know" that you have found the truth? Do you feel at peace now that you have done the research, the pondering and praying, coming to a conclusion and accepting a set of beliefs? What you believe now at this time, is bizarre in the eyes someone else who has also sorted out questions, turned to available sources for answers, pondered, prayed, attributed select experiences to be of a purposeful and divine source, and has allowed human thought and emotion to generate communication from a divine source. How can we then be sure of any belief or any source? Hinduism's Bhagavad-gita, Judaism's Tanach, Zoroastrianism's Zend Avesta, Jainism's Jain texts, Shintoism's Kojiki & Nihongi, Buddhism's Tripitaka and Dhammapada, Taoism's Tao Te Ching, Confucianism's The Analects, Mormonism's Book of Mormon, Christianity's The Bible, Islam's The Holy Qur'an, Sikhism's Adi Granth and on and on and on. We see no end to the many ways a human mind can bend and "know" for a surety that a set of beliefs is truth.

Answer 1

Arrrghhh my eyes hurt, cant read it!



Use PARAGRAPHS!

Answer 2

One problem with your theory is that you assume that all religious people have the same zeal or confidence in their religion. This is patently false. In fact it is common for members of various faiths to strongly disagree with individual tenants of their faith. It is true that some people try to justify their beliefs by quoting the Bible - authority by proxy - but that in and of itself doesn't convey their level of conviction. Some people would argue anything, just for the fun of argument. To say that "they" all "know" their religion to be correct, is a huge assumption, and not supported by any facts.



Mormons have a deep well of sources that validate their claims. They may be overly sensitive due to their long history of persecution, and the skepticism that surfaces due to their incredible claims. Most churches, however, quickly get to the point where "We just have to have faith." is the answer to every question.



One thing that has a strong bearing on the confidence that one might place on their faith or religion, is the richness of their spiritual experience. If there is no spiritual experience, then the religion will engender little more than the loyalty one might give a fraternity. If however, there is strong or significant level of spiritual activity, then they will be justified in a high degree of confidence. If a person has stood in the presence of God, then they are not likely to doubt the same.



Perhaps the greatest example of spiritual experience is the Joseph Smith story. This isn't some ancient third hand testimony of an uncorroborated series of events, but a well documented modern history that confounds even its skeptics. Virtually everything found in the New Testament, and disdained as fable by critics, is also found in early Mormon history. One example would be when Jesus, Peter, James and John hiked up a mountain and met angelic beings - prophets from an earlier era. More than once, Joseph Smith and those who were with him saw visions and experienced angelic visitation while they were together. There is no other compelling explanation, other than the one offered, that the experiences were real. It is no coincidence that Mormons are more cohesive and confident in their beliefs, far beyond most other Christian faiths.



If you want to learn about God, then talk to someone who has met him, rather than someone who has a theory about him. The degree of confidence is proportionate to the experience.

Answer 3

I agree that belief is an incredibly powerful force and that, having set off in a direction of belief, it is possible for the individual to reconstruct their view of reality in such a way that those beliefs are continuously reinforced. Within this context I do not see how you can find any confirmation or evidence that can be trusted for the validity of a belief system as you can never be sure that the apparent evidence is uncontaminated by your beliefs. However I think it is still possible to encounter situations that provide negative evidence, experiences that challenge those beliefs and cannot be reinterpreted within them.



For example, my own journey as a Christian ended on the day that I realised that the relationship I had with my personal God was not what it should have been. Rather than experience God in a role that would provide a growing and healing experience, helping to overcome the influence of my sometimes negative past experiences, I found God was actually just occupying the complementary role to my own style of building close personal relationships, in such a way that He was actually helping to reinforce the negative aspects of this that I wanted to overcome.



The realisation of this told me that despite all I believed, the entire construction of this relationship was coming from within me and the only contributing material was my own past experiences. While I had grown to not expect any physical manifestations or events that would confirm God's existence, the realisation that within the psychological context of my own personal relationship with God there was STILL no evidence of positive external influence from a benign, wiser and caring being served to completely undermine the faith and beliefs I had developed. Effectively I had found God but even within the experiencing of a personal relationship, God as an affirmative, separate, and active influence was nowhere to be found.



It may be possible to construct a set of beliefs that are so consistent and densely packed that there is no escape, however my own experiences incline me towards the positive view that no matter how well constructed a set of beliefs is, it will always be possible for someone to encounter experiences that cannot be explained within those beliefs and which pose a fundamental challenge to the belief system itself.

Answer 4

Yes you're wrong. I'm a former Christian who broke free of the indoctrination and brain-washing. I have no problem questioning my beliefs. I just don't exclude religion from logic and reason like most do. My beliefs are based on falsifiable independently objective physical evidence and logical connections to conclusions. Religions do not have either of these.



@Tom1

Such as nothing we know of exists and subjective perception of reality? Quantum Physics blew my mind for about a month after I looked into it. It is definitely weird but also true at the same time. It does beg the question about the other dimensions though.

Answer 5

Except for the Bible and the Book of Mormon, I have not really read any of those books. I tried to read the english translation of the Koran, and found it sluggish reading. Also, the Bhagavad-gita. I would like to read the Tao Te Ching, however, one of these days.



I grew up Christian, but I didn't believe that any of the Catholic or Protestant (or Protestant-type) churches were Biblical. I knew nothing about the LDS church except taht they were Christian. When I talked to the MIssionaries and they started explaining what their church believes, I knew I had found the most Biblical church.



There is a verse in the Bible that explains why I believe in the Judaio/Christian God.



Psalms 139: 14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

Answer 6

I believe you are wrong in the Buddhist point of view. You think too much and you read too much. All these actions will drive you crazy.



In Buddhism, thoughts are not real, for example you may think you are a genius, a movie star, a billionaire, etc. You know that they are not true, the same as your other thoughts. You have read too much information and how do you know that they are truthful.



Please stop excessive thinking and reading but observe your body and mind (also known as Rupa and Nama, 5 Khandas or 5 Aggregates) by using Vipassana ( also known as Satipatthana, Insight Meditation), you will see the real truth of body and mind (Rupa and Nama). You will realize that:



1) Nature does not have self or other; it actually has only Rupa and Nama.



2) Rupa and Nama have the three characteristics of Ti-lakkhana, that are, impermanent, suffering and non-self or uncontrollable by oneself.



3) Rupa and Nama have its causes. Whenever the causes are changing, Rupa and Nama will also change. When the causes vanish, Rupa and Nama will vanish too.



4) Clinging in Rupa and Nama will cause suffering.



This is the "Knowing" of the Four Noble Truths (Ariya Sacca).



To the seekers of truth the Buddha says:



"Do not accept anything on (mere) hearsay -- (i.e., thinking that thus have we heard it for a long time). Do not accept anything by mere tradition -- (i.e., thinking that it has thus been handed down through many generations). Do not accept anything on account of mere rumors -- (i.e., by believing what others say without any investigation). Do not accept anything just because it accords with your scriptures. Do not accept anything by mere suppositions. Do not accept anything by mere inference. Do not accept anything by merely considering the reasons. Do not accept anything merely because it agrees with your pre-conceived notions. Do not accept anything merely because it seems acceptable -- (i.e., thinking that as the speaker seems to be a good person his words should be accepted). Do not accept anything thinking that the ascetic is respected by us (therefore it is right to accept his word).



"But when you know for yourselves -- these things are immoral, these things are blameworthy, these things are censured by the wise, these things, when performed and undertaken conduce to ruin and sorrow -- then indeed do you reject them.



"When you know for yourselves -- these things are moral, these things are blameless, these things are praised by the wise, these things, when performed and undertaken, conduce to well-being and happiness -- then do you live acting accordingly."

Answer 7

You are not wrong in having all this questions and doubts. However life is very simple, my questions have been answered because I know what my purpose is in this amazing life. Do you know why you are in this life? Do you believe that there is only ONE GOD? Yes, there are many religions and they are all just confusing, because they ask you to worship so many gods, statues, animals. But we are here to seek the truth and to submit to the Lord of the worlds. I believe that there is a hell and a heaven and I choose where I want to go, I believe that we will be judged. Yes I have found the truth because my religion is the same religion that Adam, Moses, Abraham, Noa, Ismael, Issac, Jacob, Jesus, and all the Prophets that came in to this world believed in : WORSHIP ONE GOD. Mohamed was the last of the Prophets. I do feel at peace because -once more... I know my purpose in this life. The rest does not matter because my soul, my heart and mind are peace. I hope that I have have answered your question, I sincerely wish you find what you are looking and good luck in all your endeavors.

Answer 8

Pyrrhic Skepticism:

The only thing that we can know with certainty is that we are conscious.

We can't know anything about the external (physical & nonphysical) world

with any certainty.



Cartesian Skepticism:

"Cogito Ergo Sum" == I think, therefore I exist.



Science is the most reliable means of gaining knowledge that we have;

but even science is not certain. It's always provisional, subject to new

ideas and corrections of old ones, as new data comes in.



So, if we can never know anything with total certainty, the question becomes, what is a reasonable belief to hold? By what means do we come to those beliefs? And how well justified are we in holding them?



That applies to religion as well as anything else.



The classic formula in epistemology is K=JTB:



Knowledge is: Justified, True Belief.



Even if something that you believe happens to be true, that might not be considered "knowledge" unless you were rationally justified in holding that belief in the first place.



Otherwise your true belief is just a lucky guess; which does not count as knowledge.



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ADD / FWIW:



My own journey was from Christian to atheist to pantheist to polytheistic pagan (Wicca). I'm home now, for about 25 years. So, yes: my beliefs have been under constant examination and reexamination for my entire adult life since about the age of fifteen. (Which is when I left Christianity. Some might object that that is not yet adulthood, which is perhaps true. But I was already taking college classes, so I was certainly capable of examining my beliefs.)



What convinced me of the reality of my religious worldview and the Gods that I worship is that I did indeed have many experiences that strongly impacted me; such that it became easier to believe than it was to disbelieve. I had a huge amount of skepticism heading onto a spiritual pathway after ten years as an atheist. But the Gods proved their reality to me in many ways, including "miraculous" occurrences such as "amazing coincidences" (synchronicity) -- things that were just mathematically so highly improbable that they could not just be random chance or "selective awareness."



.

Answer 9

Okay, knowing something is believing something and being right. .



Finding a correct world view is based on how the world view's claims align with reality.

http://www.everystudent.com/features/isthere.html

http://www.reasons.org/fulfilled-prophecy-evidence-reliability-bible



Those links basically show why I believe apart from my life experiences.



Believe it or don't. Just keep looking for truth rather than what you want to be true and you'll find out what is most credible.



God bless!

Answer 10

Boy that was a long and confusing post/rant. It is hard to figure out what your main question was.

You asked how can we be sure? God tells us what has happened in the Bible.

Answer 11

My head bobbed 3 times reading that. To early for a wall of words lol

Answer 12

All we know is what we are: humans. Our understanding of G-d, as you so wordily put it, is fractured. We as Christians have the word of Jesus, substantiated by His life, to know the truth. The rest, as you say, have deluded themselves into other beliefs with scant basis except charismatic founders, for the most part. None but Jesus told the absolute truth.

Answer 13

Wow ~ the deep philosophical musings of a shirtless guy in front of his truck!



You're wrong because you failed to distinguish between self-deception and absolute truth. There is such a thing you know. All of the things you listed are demonstrably false ~ except for Biblical Christianity.

Answer 14

So you think you can comprehend bizarre do you? Well think again! Read into quantum physics and it will change your understanding of weird completely.

Answer 15

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. 'ShuutokuTentei'

Answer 16

I'm sorry I'm not about to read that novel...