Can We Choose To Believe In God?.

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Can We Choose To Believe In God?.

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Post by Miles »

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Assuming choice is possible, how does a person go about freely choosing to believe in god?

Is such a thing even possible? Doesn't there have to be an overwhelmingly convincing element that comes into play before such a belief can take place? And why would we settle on that particular element rather than some other element, which might not be convincing at all? Wouldn't picking that convincing element because that's what it is, be stacking the deck? And how would we become aware of such an element?



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Re: Can We Choose To Believe In God?.

Post #2

Post by Aetixintro »

[Replying to Miles in post #1]

You're right, Miles. I feel the choice of God comes down to psychiatry.
Healthy people become religious and (technically) insane become Atheist and non-believers. IMO.

Nowadays, religious people are also supported by science in believing in God, which makes the divide even more clear. Why? Maybe the health of the nervous system makes conviction more compelling. Maybe.

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Re: Can We Choose To Believe In God?.

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Post by DrNoGods »

[Replying to Aetixintro in post #2]
Healthy people become religious and (technically) insane become Atheist and non-believers. IMO.
This implies that atheists and non-believers are insane, in your opinion. What makes you think that? It is very easy to take the complete lack of evidence for the existence of any god being (of the thousands humans have invented) and conclude from this that gods most likely do not exist. There is nothing insane about drawing that conclusion ... just a rational conclusion that many people come to.
Nowadays, religious people are also supported by science in believing in God, which makes the divide even more clear.
What science supports the existence of gods of any kind? Care to share it with us? If there was such information, it might go a long way towards making some atheists consider changing their minds. But I doubt you can find any actual science that supports the existence of gods.
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Re: Can We Choose To Believe In God?.

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Post by Aetixintro »

[Replying to DrNoGods in post #3]

God is proven by radio-astronomy in combination with advanced radiology so that an output can be produced on pc-tablets and invoke immediate God-mind to mind communication. That's science. The mind communicating with the pc-tablet can be monitored by (f)MRI. Science implies God. God exists.

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Re: Can We Choose To Believe In God?.

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Post by otseng »

Aetixintro wrote: Sat Aug 14, 2021 5:10 pm Healthy people become religious and (technically) insane become Atheist and non-believers. IMO.
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Re: Can We Choose To Believe In God?.

Post #6

Post by OnceConvinced »

I once listened to some CDs by Tony Robbins, the self-help guru and one of his methods to change your mindset on something is to verbally chant mantras over and over again, eg "Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better." "I am beautiful, I am smart". Stuff like that.

The idea is that it fools your brain into believing it because your brain is picking up these audible messages over and over again. So you actually start to believe those things.

So I guess, if we follow Tony Robbins' advice then the trick would be to continually tell ourselves "God is real", or "Jesus loves me"... stuff like that... over and over again (out loud) and if we do it enough over a long period of time we can fool our brain into believing God is real.

So I guess the thing is you'd have to really want to be believe in a god to do this. And then it's a matter of beating it in to yourself/twisting your own arm behind your back, until you really do believe it.

I don't know about you, but I have absolutely no desire to do that.

On a side note, if you've ever been to church you'll hear people singing praise songs to God and you'll have similar mantras being repeated over and over in these songs. "God is great", "We are victorious", "The lord reigns" etc etc.

Perhaps this is a reason for singing songs of praise in church? Perhaps this is why going to Church is so important for many Christians? It helps them convince themselves God is real.

Society and its morals evolve and will continue to evolve. The bible however remains the same and just requires more and more apologetics and claims of "metaphors" and "symbolism" to justify it.

Prayer is like rubbing an old bottle and hoping that a genie will pop out and grant you three wishes.

There is much about this world that is mind boggling and impressive, but I see no need whatsoever to put it down to magical super powered beings.


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Re: Can We Choose To Believe In God?.

Post #7

Post by Wootah »

[Replying to OnceConvinced in post #6]

I tend to agree.

I think you will find most high performing athletes use self talk to achieve their goals.

But what's the problem? What would you prefer? What role does your self-talk play in your life?
Proverbs 18:17 The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.

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Re: Can We Choose To Believe In God?.

Post #8

Post by DrNoGods »

[Replying to Aetixintro in post #4]
God is proven by radio-astronomy in combination with advanced radiology so that an output can be produced on pc-tablets and invoke immediate God-mind to mind communication. That's science.


What is "God-mind to mind communication"? Do you have any links or references to this phenomenon? How do radio astronomy and radiology produce an output on a PC or tablet, and what is this output (images, audio, secret files, etc.)? This sounds not like science but a vague description of something similar to telepathy, or magic.
The mind communicating with the pc-tablet can be monitored by (f)MRI. Science implies God. God exists.
Certainly functional MRI exists, and brain waves can be studied by various other means as well, but this says nothing about whether or not gods exist. I don't see how you can conclude that because brain waves can be studied that this implies the existence of gods, and then further conclude that this is no only implied but a fact supported by science. To my knowledge no science has ever proven the existence of gods of any kind, but maybe you can provide some external links or references to support your rather large claim?
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The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.
Mark Twain

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Re: Can We Choose To Believe In God?.

Post #9

Post by DrNoGods »

[Replying to Miles in post #1]
Doesn't there have to be an overwhelmingly convincing element that comes into play before such a belief can take place?
Speaking only from observation of the many Christians I grew up with (relatives, schoolmates, teachers, etc.), I'd say the huge majority of them simply accepted what they were taught as kids and never questioned it as they got older. Nearly everyone in the geographical area practiced the same basic religion (mostly Baptists and Presbyterians, with a few Methodist, Lutheran, etc. tossed in) so it was easy to just blend in and go along with the conventions, and very few seemed to consider any convincing element or alternative. It was just assumed to be correct ... they were indoctrinated as children and accepted it as a given.
In human affairs the sources of success are ever to be found in the fountains of quick resolve and swift stroke; and it seems to be a law, inflexible and inexorable, that he who will not risk cannot win.
John Paul Jones, 1779

The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.
Mark Twain

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Re: Can We Choose To Believe In God?.

Post #10

Post by nobspeople »

Miles wrote: Sat Aug 14, 2021 4:11 pm .


Assuming choice is possible, how does a person go about freely choosing to believe in god?

Is such a thing even possible? Doesn't there have to be an overwhelmingly convincing element that comes into play before such a belief can take place? And why would we settle on that particular element rather than some other element, which might not be convincing at all? Wouldn't picking that convincing element because that's what it is, be stacking the deck? And how would we become aware of such an element?



.
You can believe in anything you want. You don't need data or proof to believe, just the desire.
Want to believe there are flying unicorns on Venus that crap rainbows while singing "Fair The Thee"? Do it. It might take some time, but you can convince yourself of, or believe in, anything you want, at any time or for any period of time.
When it comes to convincing, a person can convince themselves of anything they want, given enough time. Even without the time element, you can still believe in something a certain % of the time and still 'believe in it'.
While it may not make sense to others is immaterial to the one believing.
That said, you have to accept when someone tells you 'I believe in XYZ' that they're being truthful.
Have a great, potentially godless, day!

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