Christians see the world a certain way. We see the world as a place where God exists, and where he is in complete control. All the time. And that no matter what happens, Jesus loves me and he’ll take care of me.
Atheists see it a different way. I can’t speak for you because I’ve never been an atheist. But I do know that you believe there is no god.
Last week in his post, There be Dragons, Jason made this statement about belief:
The belief in something makes a person act differently. This can be both positive and negative. We’re fooling ourselves if we think differently. [...] human beliefs are seldom so simple and clear cut but the fact remains. Belief leads to action, positive and negative.
My life over the past 5 months has not gone the way I would have liked. It’s been like a big Where’s Waldo picture, and God is the Waldo. Atheists would say there is no Waldo. Christians say there is, it’s just a matter of finding him. Read the rest of this news item »
“Atheists don’t believe in anything” is an odd thing to say, when you think about it. It’s based on a twisted and confused understanding of what belief really is. Very simply put, in everyday conversation, ‘belief’ refers to a person’s convictions. They are matters of faith rather than ones where evidence or proof is thought to be evidence or even relevant. In matters of philosophy a ‘belief’ is ‘any fact of the matter or proposition which might be held to be true’, or what we think of as being true for everyone and everything, for example:
That kind of thing. Beliefs can be very specific or very general, trivial or serious. Beliefs can be suppositions (if the sun had come out it would have been a brighter day) or absolute statements of fact (If A is taller than B and B is taller than C then A is taller than C).
Philosophically ‘beliefs’ have truth value. They are capable of being true or false.
We have two distinct kinds of belief: The kind of beliefs that are either true or false and the kind of beliefs that are strongly held convictions. The latter include:
There is a distinction here that is sometimes lost when we discuss beliefs. How many times have you seen or heard the question “How can an atheist go through life believing in nothing?” or something similar? I’ve even seen it given as a statement and a condemnation. Atheist or rational beliefs are dismissed as having less value than theistic beliefs. Ultimately though, it is a failure of the person asking the question in understanding the difference between conviction and truth.
People of strong conviction even refer to their beliefs as truth, sometimes even capitalising it as Truth to give in added power. I know I’ve done it, I’ve considered some of my own convictions as so obvious and true that they must be true. Again though this is a confusion between the idea of belief inherent in truth and the belief inherent in a strongly held conviction. There being no way to prove (or disprove) the existence of God or gods, religion is a belief that falls firmly within the bounds of a conviction and is incapable of being true or false without further evidence. That isn’t to say that we cannot glean honest and good ideas from religion, just that the idea of proof isn’t relevant.
What meaning do we give to our lives without the firm convictions of religious belief? It isn’t as easy as taking the beliefs of a community (a church) or a family and adopting them. An atheist literally has to ascribe meaning to their own life and adopt those convictions that make sense. For me that gives the beliefs I have greater strength. I have challenged them myself in arriving at them (and continue to do so) so they are much stronger as a result. The values that I have and the beliefs that I hold have come about through questioning and evaluating them. I’m not saying that theists never do this. I just don’t think that they do it as often.
When someone says of an atheist that we don’t believe in anything they are failing to grasp the nature of belief. Both a theist and a non-theist share identical beliefs in things that have truth value but will differ in beliefs that are formed of conviction. We both have convictions and true beliefs but some people fail to grasp the difference and place them together. This doesn’t help anyone to discuss or understand the differences in their beliefs.
Posted in A Cacophony of Posts, Jason | 9 Comments »economictimes.indiatimes.com/Investors….
Investors should separate business from religion
Dharma Global Index, Shariah-compliant online trading platform or mutual funds following the rules of faith, religion-based investment is emerging as a niche segment for new-age investors.In fact, many banks and other financial companies seeking to target investors who put their money in these faith-based investment products and modules. Naresh Kumar Garg, CEO, Sahara Mutual Fund, believes this segment offers a wide scope for both asset management companies (AMCs) and other financial institutions.
“Today, faith-based investment is not restricted to capsules of Islamic banking or Christianity-related funds. There is a scope that such financial products can also meet the demand of Buddhists and other sects, which are very much there in the Indian scenario,” he says.
Posted in A Cacophony of Posts | 6 Comments »Read the rest of this news item »