That isn't what I posted. What I posted was that not one of these "believers" can honesty or logically know that what they believe about God, is true (and this goes for the atheists as well). That's not a vague generalization. That's a fact of the human condition.
No, nobody can know in the sense of being able to prove what they believe is true as a fact, but they can know in another sense.
Nevertheeless, your thought process and experiences prove nothing to anyone but you. Just as is true for any other "believer".
That's true, but I have no need to prove anything to anyone. I am only responsible for my own beliefs, as we all are.
"Special knowledge" is not really knowledge at all. It's just a theory being accepted as the truth: i.e., "believe in"
If that 'special knowledge' comes from God it is knowledge from God. That is a belief that is accepted as the truth.
C'mon, read that back to yourself a few times until you can actually SEE it.
I said: I am not "claiming certainty", I am saying that I am certain.
My saying 'I am certain' is not a claim, it is a belief. A belief is not a claim.
Claim: state or assert that something is the case, typically without providing evidence or proof.
claim means - Google Search
Claim: to say that something is
true or is a
fact,
although you cannot
prove it and other
people might not
believe it:
claim
Belief:
1. an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists.
"his
belief in the value of hard work"
2. trust, faith, or confidence in someone or something.
"a belief in democratic politics"
https://www.google.com/search
I make no claims. I only state what I believe. Baha'u'llah made the claims and I believe His claims.
Belief:
the
feeling of being
certain that something
exists or is
true:
His belief in
God gave him
hope during
difficult times.
Recent
scandals have
shaken many people's belief in (=
caused people to have
doubts about)
politicians.
belief
An acceptance that my belief is true is not a claim that it is true.
I believe that my belief is true. I never claimed that my belief is true.
As nouns the difference between claim and belief is that
claim is a demand of ownership made for something (eg claim ownership, claim victory) while belief is mental acceptance of a claim as truth regardless of supporting or contrary empirical evidence.
What is the difference between claim and belief? | WikiDiff
Baha'u'llah made a claim to be a Messenger of God so he claimed ownership of the title Messenger of God.
I am making no claims because I have nothing to claim.
Your self-imposed certainty is irrelevant. We humans lie to ourselves all the time bout all kinds of things, and most of the time we never realize we're doing it. You're not the exception.
If humans believe things that are not true, that doesn't mean they are lying to themselves. Lying implies deliberate conscious intent. Most of the time when people maintain false or unvalidated beliefs they are not consciously aware of it, since it is coming from their unconscious minds..
What does it mean when you lie to yourself?
We use self-deception, or self-denial,
when we allow ourselves to maintain false or unvalidated beliefs. Psychologically, lying to ourselves is an act of self-defense or -enhancement. Feb 23, 2022
In this article, we explore what deception could look like in relationships, why people do it, how it can erode trust, and how to rebuild the relationship.
www.verywellmind.com
It's why we need each other to point it out to us lest we become so delusionsal that we become a danger to ourselves and to others.
Let's say someone had a false belief about something, anything. Unless others have a way to know the belief is false it is only their personal opinion that it is false. Religious beliefs are unfalsifiable so you do not know they are false. As such, you cannot correct anyone who holds them.
Again, please read this a few times until you can actually SEE what you're saying. You are literally defining willful self-delusion.
Apparently you do not know the difference between a belief and a claim. See my response above.
I have a religious belief, that is all I have, and it is not willful self-delusion, not by any definition.
Unless you can prove that my belief is not in accordance with reality, it is not a self-delusion.
self-delusion: the action of
deluding oneself; failure to recognize reality.
Then why 'believe' it's so? Why not just be honest about it and simply hope that it's so because you want it to be?
Because that is not the truth, and I am not a liar. I believe it is so that Baha'u'llah was a Messenger of God and thus God exists, I do not hope it is so because I want it to be so. I believe it is so because of the evidence.
However, there are some things that I only hope are so, such as the promises of a glorious afterlife, because there is no evidence.
It's a statement of deliberate self-delusion, and you can't seem to see that.
Belief is an inner certitude that something is true, it is not self-delusion, and you can't seem to see that. The reason you cannot see that is because you have convinced yourself that
all belief is self-delusion and your bias prevents you from seeing that is not the case.
All I'm trying to ask, is why? Why not just choose faith instead of this deliberate self-delusion that has you "believing in" things that you can't possibly know or prove to be true?
What I believe cannot be proven true but that does not mean I cannot know it is true. I do not need proof because I have enough evidence.
I also have faith that it is true, and there is no contradiction, since I have faith that what I believe is true. I have to have faith since I cannot prove it is true.