It really annoys me when non-religious people (usually complete atheists) delight in looking down upon those with beliefs....almost saying "oh you only believe because you are a poor deluded fool!" or "you are just controlled by the religion you are in". Well heres some news: some people choose to believe and they are neither foolish nor deluded. Why can't you all just grow up and realise the differences that exist, without putting people down?
Sure! Everyone chooses whether to believe or not to believe any particular thing. However, some people believe mainly because it makes them feel good about themselves, others, and existence and not so much because it has been proven to be true and accurate to any large extent. So much is taken on faith alone. People want to believe that there is some continuation to their existence beyond death, so they will tend to gravitate towards ideas that support that and discard those that do not. This is part of faith.
Others choose to start with doubt. These are the skeptics.
I can recall being a JW and believing that I knew the Truth, that the rest of the world was deluded, that I was right. I was wrong. I was the one deluded. How can one be sure at any given time that they do not hold all sorts of delusional and foolish beliefs? Well, no one can be logically completely certain. But I think the best way to try is to begin with doubt rather than faith.
Mankind began from a position of ignorance. How could he explain the universe he perceived without current knowledge of it? He guessed. He created gods. He created stories about how man came about. He created laws for what he thought was the best way to live and claimed the gods' authority, through him. It may have been to man's benefit, but it was still fantasy. As man's knowledge and invention increased, the realm of the gods shrank. No longer did the earth reside upon a turtle's back, but it hung in space upon nothing. Do we not now consider how silly man was to believe that the earth was flat, or was the center of the universe, or sat upon a turtle's back?
Quantum physics seems on the verge of explaining many previous unknowns, such as how miracles occur, as not the workings of any god so much as a natural function of consciousness and of the universe. The realm of the gods shrinks further.
I don't know if your response was with me in mind along with other, but if so, I meant no disrespect. My opinion is that people deep down feel like they need religion to explain away all those questions they have, to make them feel like everything's going to be okay, with the authority of God as a Father to his children. But, also in my opinion, this is just happy-making. Sort of like telling a child there are no monsters, when we all know there are plenty of them roaming our streets each day. I say tell the kid about the bad things, let him come to terms with it rather than just making stuff up to make him feel good. When he does come into contact with a real monster, he won't hopefully be frozen in fear and shock that monsters (horrible, evil people) really do exist, but will take up arms and fight it.
Anyhow, I digress horribly.
