Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Faith after doubt: Why your beliefs stopped working & what to do about it

#11
Syne Offline
(Oct 4, 2021 09:21 PM)Magical Realist Wrote:
(Oct 3, 2021 10:42 PM)Syne Wrote: Just like the theists who made many of the earliest scientific advancements, the consistency and order of the world is more remarkable the more you understand.

At some point you have to just accept consistency and order as given aspects of reality. The world may be thought to derive its order from God, but where does God's order come from? It's given and assumed right? Just like the atheist sees the order of the world as given and assumed. No matter what our cosmological view, there is always a self-existent substrate of order.

In a universe in which entropy is always increasing, you can't just accept consistency and order as a given unless you're done with scientific investigation. God's order comes from reason, no matter how arbitrary some people present or see it. Order is not without cause.
Reply
#12
Leigha Offline
I’ve read that the universe merely has the “appearance” of order, but that it’s really in disorder. Maybe how we are defining order (or perceive it) might be more of the issue?

Having said that, for many theists (myself included), I’d say that belief in God isn’t an abstraction or some arbitrary choice; there is a desire within me to believe that a higher power is a supreme creator. I think you have to desire to believe it, before you can actually believe it. I remember you posting a while back MR, that you no longer felt the need to believe and that freed you. (I’m paraphrasing) Do you remember that?

When I left faith for a few years, there was a void that I can’t explain, an emptiness that not believing, seemed like it required more effort. More effort to convince myself that somehow this ordered/disordered universe that seems to exist in perfect proportions and follows incredible laws of physics, is all just random.
Reply
#13
Magical Realist Offline
Quote:I think you have to desire to believe it, before you can actually believe it. I remember you posting a while back MR, that you no longer felt the need to believe and that freed you. (I’m paraphrasing) Do you remember that?

That sounds like me. Giving up religion and God freed me from the narrow and moralizing mindset of the religious mindset. No sin, no wrathful punishment, and no hell. All my reasons for condemning others and myself faded away, though vestiges of that inner critic still survive. I could open myself up to the beauty and positivity of the universe itself, which is how I remain spiritual. I find reasons in the everyday to be inspired and to have hope of more beyond this world. That's freedom enough for me.
Reply
#14
Leigha Offline
Rereading the OP...I don't think that doubt by itself means you're questioning everything about your belief system. It's healthy to have doubts, to question. To wonder if what you've been holding true is of your own perception, or are you merely following handed down faith beliefs as to not disappoint your parents, friends, etc.?

Sometimes, people follow traditions and rituals without questioning...do I actually believe this? It's not a bad thing to question why we believe, what we believe. I'd say the same holds true for why people may leave certain beliefs - if they are doing so at the urging of others, and they are afraid of not fitting in or whatever, that can be problematic because you're conforming to others' beliefs, and not finding your own way.
Reply


Possibly Related Threads…
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Research Working women feel unsupported by Christian congregations + God & risk-taking C C 1 130 Dec 15, 2023 12:44 AM
Last Post: Syne
  Article s religious faith compatible with scientific thinking? C C 1 118 Nov 16, 2023 08:41 PM
Last Post: Magical Realist
  Research Study examines how religious faith bolsters family hope and unity C C 2 134 Oct 25, 2023 05:45 PM
Last Post: Magical Realist
  Article Why every society has supernatural beliefs C C 0 65 Apr 4, 2023 09:56 PM
Last Post: C C
  Witchcraft beliefs are widespread, highly variable around the world, study finds C C 0 102 Nov 25, 2022 07:09 PM
Last Post: C C
  People with paranormal beliefs spooked by science and the COVID-19 vaccine C C 2 156 Oct 27, 2022 04:32 AM
Last Post: Kornee
  The powerful role of magical beliefs in our everyday thinking C C 1 95 Jul 22, 2022 09:06 PM
Last Post: Magical Realist
  Experts express doubt Anne Frank was betrayed by... + Backlash made Samsung remove... C C 0 62 Jan 22, 2022 08:05 PM
Last Post: C C
  Ancient animistic beliefs live on in our intimacy with tech C C 0 131 Mar 10, 2020 01:18 AM
Last Post: C C
  Religiously unaffiliated vary in political beliefs: More purple than blue C C 11 446 Feb 22, 2020 11:23 PM
Last Post: Syne



Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)