Questions about the idea of comfort in religous belief

[Samckeyes]

Im religous but I'm also a skeptic, I remember being young asking my parents about living forever cause I was terrified of the idea, and even now I am fine with the idea of just dying and be done forever.

I am not religous because I want to be or some kind of blind faith it just isn't. From a young age I became skeptical of the beliefs of my parents, who are Christians and have just recently became more open minded in their beliefs. But I think there is good in many religions not all.

Obviously there are religous people and non religous people, who arrive at their beliefs in an irrational way, like because a belief is comforting, or just studying a couple subjects and walk away fully accepting something. But you can't judge a world view on these types of terms, I think you have to look past all the fundementalism and so on, and try and really understand it for yourself. I scrutinize everything from as many point of views I can find, for instance, any question I have I will look for answers and not stop untill I have seen many responses from a range of different views. Another big part of this though in my opinion, is that it is best to look into everything like literature, history, arts, philosophy, anthropology, natural and social sciences, and so on, but also not to look at just any one or even just a couple, but to use everything at our disposal before we really settle down in any belief.

This Is just a little but I'll stop for now, but this idea of being religous because of the comfort is odd to me, anyone that is looking at world views to see which is comforting, to me is just as irrational as discounting anything before giving it an honest and open examination.

[Darias]

Im religous but I'm also a skeptic, I remember being young asking my parents about living forever cause I was terrified of the idea, and even now I am fine with the idea of just dying and be done forever.

I am not religous because I want to be or some kind of blind faith it just isn't. From a young age I became skeptical of the beliefs of my parents, who are Christians and have just recently became more open minded in their beliefs. But I think there is good in many religions not all.

Obviously there are religous people and non religous people, who arrive at their beliefs in an irrational way, like because a belief is comforting, or just studying a couple subjects and walk away fully accepting something. But you can't judge a world view on these types of terms, I think you have to look past all the fundementalism and so on, and try and really understand it for yourself. I scrutinize everything from as many point of views I can find, for instance, any question I have I will look for answers and not stop untill I have seen many responses from a range of different views. Another big part of this though in my opinion, is that it is best to look into everything like literature, history, arts, philosophy, anthropology, natural and social sciences, and so on, but also not to look at just any one or even just a couple, but to use everything at our disposal before we really settle down in any belief.

This Is just a little but I'll stop for now, but this idea of being religous because of the comfort is odd to me, anyone that is looking at world views to see which is comforting, to me is just as irrational as discounting anything before giving it an honest and open examination.

Yet there are many believers who are reasonable in their understanding of science and the natural world who use the argument that they retain their faith because it is comforting and it makes them feel like their faith makes them better people.

While it makes no logical sense to say that an unevidenced and therefore unjustified belief can be comforting, I think the perfect example is from the Matrix:

You know, I know this steak doesn't exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious. After nine years, you know what I realize? [Takes a bite of steak] ... Ignorance is bliss.

And you know there is some truth to that. While I certainly believe that knowledge is its own reward and that one can find great joy in learning and understanding -- knowledge is also a sobering thing. It might be depressing to know that a lot of people die just from not having clean drinking water, but then again, what is the benefit of happily thinking that god always provides? Awareness can spur action and make a difference while ignorance and false beliefs might create a state of inaction and contentment -- moreover, suffering for others.

I myself have to agree with Bertrand Russell.

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I used to be a Christian but I de-converted in 2011. For a time after that, I thought it sad that there probably wasn't a god around to watch over me or a heaven to go to after death. Now I see how silly that is given that nothing was lost but my perspective. It might also be sad to realize there is no proof of Santa, but the comfort that came with that belief was a lie, and I'm perfectly capable of living a happy life without that belief, as is anyone.

[EDIT] I just found this and had to put it in:



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And yes whether it is religion or politics or anything else we should base our views off of what is evidenced and true and not just what is comforting and familiar.

[ndf8th]

Is that not Sam Harris? He has a very comfortable belief in meditation.
He may think there is evidence for it but seen from my perspective
it can be an illusion or collective delusion. Mediation can be something
other than what Sam think it is.

i have no evidence for this but 55 years of talking to Buddhists
and trying to meditate tells me that they may be deluding themselves.

I used to be a Christian but I de-converted in 2011

Ah that surprises me because you joined already 2010 so your conversion
may be documented in all your posts? Or have I misunderstood?
English not my first language or even second.

I believed we where visited by Aliens in the UFOs from
say me 9 to me 30 or more. Very embarrassing when I realized
that the eye witness maybe be people being totally mistaken
what really did happen to them .

But I trusted their witness of having met real Aliens.
Gods are by definition supernatural so I where atheistic
to them always but Aliens where real physical beings
that came in big ships so why would anybody delude
themselves and get ridiculed for the rest of their life knowingly?

Little did I know.

Having left belief that recently what does it feel like
to be a true believer. I can only compare to my faith
in Alience but that was way back in time and memory fails me.