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Star Stuff

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Top 20 Reasons

Posted on: 02/03/2009 21:36

I know I just posted this in another thread, but thought it would be a good stand-alone thread.

Here's my top 10 (ok, 20) reasons for "belief".  Do you identifiy with any of these?

 

 

- Comfort.
 
- The promise of eternal life.
 
- Fear of death.
 
- Desire for fellowship with others (a social outlet).
 
- A sense of belonging.
 
- A sense of community.
 
- Emotional dissatisfaction with the logical implications of not having a god belief.
 
- Personal injustice or victimhood.
 
- Personal misfortune such as disability, injury, illness, or the misfortune of a loved one. (crutch syndrome).
(I know a guy who became a christian right after having a heart attack).
 
- Personal failure or crisis related to substance abuse, gambling, guilty conscience, imprisonment, etc.
 
- Personal dissatisfaction with one’s social, romantic, or vocational circumstances.
 
- Desire to reform one's morality or behavior.
 
- Desire for hope in divine reward.
 
- Fear of eternal damnation.
 
- Feelings of guilt or shame (the slick time-worn tools of christianity).
 
- Non thinking, or a lazyness in thinking, including a love for pat-answers.
 
- A failure of an education system.
 
- A desire (and need) for a certain "governance" in their lives.
 
- A certain child-like emotional trigger activated in the brain by a story in which they are loved by an authority figure or imaginary being.
 
- And probably number one: It just happens to be the religion that you were raised, inculcated, indoctrinated and brainwashed with.
 
 
 
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Witch's picture

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Posted on: 02/03/2009 21:48

Well Ok I'll bite lol.

Do I beliee for the following reasons...

- Comfort.
> yes I would say I find my faith comforting.
 
- The promise of eternal life.
> I would say yes, although in my faith system everyone goes to heaven eventually.
 
- Fear of death.
 > I don't have any particular fear of death. I'm not looking forward to a painful death though..
 
- Desire for fellowship with others (a social outlet).
> most definatly
 
- A sense of belonging.
> yes
 
- A sense of community.
>and yes, I think these last three are pretty much the same 
 
- Emotional dissatisfaction with the logical implications of not having a god belief.
> No. I don't think God is actually really too concerned about whether we believe or not.
 
- Personal injustice or victimhood.
> No.
 
- Personal misfortune such as disability, injury, illness, or the misfortune of a loved one. (crutch syndrome).
(I know a guy who became a christian right after having a heart attack).
>No, my life is way too good to use that crutch lol
 
- Personal failure or crisis related to substance abuse, gambling, guilty conscience, imprisonment, etc.
> I had a problem with WOW once...
 
- Personal dissatisfaction with one’s social, romantic, or vocational circumstances.
> nope
 
- Desire to reform one's morality or behavior.
>I would say probably yes, with the proviso that i don't believe in SIN or that God condemns
 
- Desire for hope in divine reward.
>Again I believe we all get there whether we believe or not, so that is not my reason to believe.
 
- Fear of eternal damnation.
> Don't believe in eternal damnation
 
- Feelings of guilt or shame (the slick time-worn tools of christianity).
> You ever been to a Witches Beltaine? Lol
 
- Non thinking, or a lazyness in thinking, including a love for pat-answers.
> I don't think most would characterize me as such.
 
- A failure of an education system.
> Nope, it shore dun teached me gud
 
- A desire (and need) for a certain "governance" in their lives.
> God isn't a "governor" as such in my belief system.
 
- A certain child-like emotional trigger activated in the brain by a story in which they are loved by an authority figure or imaginary being.
> Most definately. Oh, you were saying it laike it was a bad thing?
 

- And probably number one: It just happens to be the religion that you were raised, inculcated, indoctrinated and brainwashed with.

> hmmm, well I wasn't raised a Witch...

 

There is one you missed though. I choose believe because the fact that I believe I have a relationship with God, in which God and I speak and walk together in love and harmony, gives me no end of pleasure.

 

That's my number one reason.

Star Stuff's picture

Star Stuff

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Posted on: 02/03/2009 22:31

As a companion to this thread, I'd like to highly recommend this book by Guy P. Harrison,  "50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God":

http://www.amazon.ca/Reasons-People-Give-Believing-God/dp/1591025672/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233714515&sr=1-1

This book is appealing as it is more like a friendly conversation, not a sledghammer approach.

Here is an audio interview with the author:

http://www.pointofinquiry.org/guy_p_harrison_50_reasons_people_give_for_believing_in_a_god/

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SG's picture

SG

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Posted on: 02/03/2009 22:57

- Comfort.
Yes I find comfort in meditating, praying, finding sanctuary... One usually does find comfort in finding balance and in peaceful moments and strong meaningful experiences.
 
- The promise of eternal life.
Nope. I do not believe life, as we know living, extends beyond our last breath.
 
- Fear of death.
No fear whatsoever. Dead is dead.
 
- Desire for fellowship with others (a social outlet).
Much of my religious activity is done in solitude.
 
 
- A sense of belonging.
One is born with a sense of belonging in simply being, society chips that away sometimes.
I cannot say I have ever done anything to "belong". Far too individual, weird, outside that spectrum of "normal" for belonging when one means "part of the crowd".
 
- A sense of community.
My community is made up of many people of many faiths (with and without diety) and those of no particular faith and no faith at all.
 
- Emotional dissatisfaction with the logical implications of not having a god belief.
 I do not think God needs me to believe in God, nor do I need to believe in God to have an emotionally satisfying life. Again, I know emotionally satisfied people with no deity belief and no faith system.
 
- Personal injustice or victimhood.
Do you mean believing to feel better about "stuff"? If so, no darn way. Belief in God never took the sting out of people's words or lightened the blows or made society seem easier.
 
- Personal misfortune such as disability, injury, illness, or the misfortune of a loved one. (crutch syndrome).
(I know a guy who became a christian right after having a heart attack).
 Nope, I was always religious.
 
- Personal failure or crisis related to substance abuse, gambling, guilty conscience, imprisonment, etc.
Nope the religious belief was there prior to substance abuse or being shamed and all that jazz.
 
- Personal dissatisfaction with one’s social, romantic, or vocational circumstances.
 Nope, religion never made me feel better about bad circumstances.
 
- Desire to reform one's morality or behavior.
Nope, I was religious before I realized I was gay. People told me God would "fix" me, but I always felt (deep down) there was nothing wrong with me.
 
- Desire for hope in divine reward.
Nope, I think the reward for a life well lived is in people's memories and being content when the time comes. I do not believe in pearly gates or that there is anything I can do to earn a ticket on the up elevator.
 
- Fear of eternal damnation.
Nope, I think damnation is in our own failings and realization we have wasted our life, hurt people...  (Tying the previous and this one together... I think we all decompose)
 
- Feelings of guilt or shame (the slick time-worn tools of christianity).
People tried to use those, but I was already religious.
 
- Non thinking, or a lazyness in thinking, including a love for pat-answers.
I think there are no pat answers. The universe and the things in it are too large for us to know much, in the grand scheme of things. When we realize the answer to one question, ten more crop up...
 
- A failure of an education system.
That is hilarious. School stayed out of faith stuff.
 
- A desire (and need) for a certain "governance" in their lives.
One makes one own choices and one lives with the ones one makes. No big fella in the sky telling me what to do and no church body telling me what the right way is.
 
- A certain child-like emotional trigger activated in the brain by a story in which they are loved by an authority figure or imaginary being.
Nope
 
- And probably number one: It just happens to be the religion that you were raised, inculcated, indoctrinated and brainwashed with.
 
Nope I was raised more with Judaism, and have been exposed to most world religions.
Neo's picture

Neo

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Posted on: 02/03/2009 23:02

None of the above.

 

Reason #21 - Enlightenment

 

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