Is anyone else here practicing a religion without beliefs?

[SalixIncendium]

Have you ever seen me calling any of my views “beliefs,” or saying “I believe that ...”?

Not to my recollection.

I tend to shy away from using that term as well, as people tend to confuse the epistemology behind what I mean when I speak of my beliefs. Anything I believe has nothing to do with blind faith.

 

[MNoBody]

well, all beliefs are a product of ignorance, a best guess.
one does not Know, so a belief is formed in its place....
and in the context of this thread
belief = assumption

 

[Milton Platt]

I didn’t know, when I came to these forums, how much the discussions would be about beliefs. I wasn’t thinking of religion as being about beliefs, because mine is not about beliefs at all. I’m wondering now if I’m the only one in these forums practicing a religion without beliefs. If there are others besides me practicing a religion without beliefs, that is with no beliefs at all about anything, I would like to know.

How can you practice something without believing in it???

 

[Jim]

How can you practice something without believing in it???

See this post.

 

[Milton Platt]

A person who is doing what I’m thinking would be practicing something that they call “religion” without any views or ways of thinking attached to it that they think can not be wrong.

That is not the same thing as not believing in what you are practicing.

 

[Messianic Israelite]

You could have a religion without beliefs. Your belief in your religion is that they are no absolute beliefs, but it is quite ludicrous. The reason why people follow a - and I'll just narrow this down - Abrahamic religion is because they want to better themselves, please the Almighty, avoid eternal death thus making it to the afterlife. Sure you're welcome to have your religion with no beliefs but in the end I imagine it's going to be a fruitless affair, where you will be doubting constantly and never be able to build your strong foundation on anything. In the Beatitudes Yahshua said that only those who build their foundation upon the solid rock will withstand the elements of nature and time.

"...for he that doubteth is like the surge of the sea driven by the wind and tossed." James 1:6

 

[MNoBody]

isn't a belief what someone forms when they know nothing about some particular thing?
mostly guesses often very ...'educated'...but still guesses
if one knew, it would no longer be a belief then ... would it?

 

[Messianic Israelite]

isn't a belief what someone forms when they know nothing about some particular thing?
mostly guesses often very ...'educated'...but still guesses
if one knew, it would no longer be a belief then ... would it?

Hi MNoBody. Good afternoon. What I have found is that pretty much anything can be considered to be a belief because people can always ask for more proof. Even basic things like asking for your age. How do you prove that. Well you have a birth certificate, but that could have been falsified etc etc.

 

[metis]

I didn’t know, when I came to these forums, how much the discussions would be about beliefs. I wasn’t thinking of religion as being about beliefs, because mine is not about beliefs at all. I’m wondering now if I’m the only one in these forums practicing a religion without beliefs. If there are others besides me practicing a religion without beliefs, that is with no beliefs at all about anything, I would like to know.

I'm pretty much in the same boat. My old faith statement at the bottom of my posts used to read "Whatever created this universe/multiverse I'll call 'God' and pretty much just leave it at that". Of course, for purposes of discussion, I only rarely "just leave it at that".

However, I do have some what I call "leanings" based on "experiences" that I went through for three years that has led me to where I am now.

 

[MNoBody]

Hi MNoBody. Good afternoon. What I have found is that pretty much anything can be considered to be a belief because people can always ask for more proof. Even basic things like asking for your age. How do you prove that. Well you have a birth certificate, but that could have been falsified etc etc.

thanks for responding
nice to meet you

regarding the comment
that would bring up the"what is truth" question.
who gets to arbitrate and rule in that matter?
by whose authority?
how is that authority verified, how is that proven?

 

[Jim]

I’ll just repeat what I said earlier. A person who is doing what I’m thinking would be practicing something that they call “religion” without any views or ways of thinking attached to it that they think can not be wrong.

 

[Twilight Hue]

I didn’t know, when I came to these forums, how much the discussions would be about beliefs. I wasn’t thinking of religion as being about beliefs, because mine is not about beliefs at all. I’m wondering now if I’m the only one in these forums practicing a religion without beliefs. If there are others besides me practicing a religion without beliefs, that is with no beliefs at all about anything, I would like to know.

There are no official books or scriptures with my practice nor any kind of messiah or leader.

Very common, very basic employing the techniques of Zazen void of any belief as it applies to the practice itself.

 

[MNoBody]

I’ll just repeat what I said earlier. A person who is doing what I’m thinking would be practicing something that they call “religion” without any views or ways of thinking attached to it that they think can not be wrong.

 

[Jim]

View attachment 38648

Do you believe what that says? Do you think that it could possibly be wrong?

 

[Milton Platt]

isn't a belief what someone forms when they know nothing about some particular thing?
mostly guesses often very ...'educated'...but still guesses
if one knew, it would no longer be a belief then ... would it?

All beliefs are tenative. Knowledge is a subset of belief. All beliefs are held because one has been persuaded by something. Not all people are equally critical or logical, and so some beliefs are held for untrue reasons and some are held for true reasons.

 

[izzy88]

A person who is doing what I’m thinking would be practicing something that they call “religion” without any views or ways of thinking attached to it that they think can not be wrong.

That isn't "religion without belief", it's simply religion without blind conviction. You seem to have an inaccurate understanding of what "belief" means.

I was an agnostic atheist for years and just recently became a practising Catholic, and I certainly hold beliefs, but that doesn't necessarily imply that I think they couldn't possibly be wrong. I would argue that someone who isn't even open to the possibility that their beliefs are wrong is delusional, practicing some kind of ignorant fideism.

The majority of religious people (in my experience) are open to varying degrees to the possibility that they could be wrong about what they believe. I have tons of doubts about my current beliefs, but that doesn't mean I don't have beliefs.

 

[Jim]

I certainly hold beliefs, but that doesn't necessarily imply that I think they couldn't possibly be wrong.

How is having beliefs different from having ideas, views, opinions or ways of thinking?

 

[izzy88]

How is having beliefs different from having ideas, views, opinions or ways of thinking?

Belief is an act, it's making a choice to place your confidence or trust in someone or something in the absence of certainty. When I say I believe in God, it means I think that God probably exists because I have confidence in the legitimacy of the philosophical arguments I've heard that support the existence of God. It means I also have confidence in various people I've read on the subject who argued for the existence of God. It means I also have confidence in my own ability to reason. Assenting to a proposition really has many aspects.

When you say you have an idea, or views, or opinions, you aren't necessarily placing confidence in anyone or anything. That's the key difference; belief implies a confidence or trust in certain people, certain arguments, certain books, certain ideas, etc. It involves faith. But to believe or to have faith does not signify that you don't think you could be wrong; on the contrary, to say you believe something implies a lack of certainty. If you were certain, you'd say that you know it's true rather than that you believe it's true.

 

[Jim]

Belief is an act, it's making a choice to place your confidence or trust in someone or something in the absence of certainty. When I say I believe in God, it means I think that God probably exists because I have confidence in the legitimacy of the philosophical arguments I've heard that support the existence of God. It means I also have confidence in various people I've read on the subject who argued for the existence of God. It means I also have confidence in my own ability to reason. Assenting to a proposition really has many aspects.

When you say you have an idea, or views, or opinions, you aren't necessarily placing confidence in anyone or anything. That's the key difference; belief implies a confidence or trust in certain people, certain arguments, certain books, certain ideas, etc. It involves faith. But to believe or to have faith does not signify that you don't think you could be wrong; on the contrary, to say you believe something implies a lack of certainty. If you were certain, you'd say that you know it's true rather than that you believe it's true.

However that may be, is there anything that you think can not not be wrong in your understanding of what the Bible says? For example, do you believe that Jesus is the son of God, and the Messiah promised to Israel? Do you think that there have not been any authentic prophets of God since the time of Jesus? Do you think that there is only one God? Do you think that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are three distinct persons and each one is God? If you believe any of those things, do you think you could be wrong about it, that maybe what think about it isn’t really true? Does it feel any different to you to think that you might be wrong about that, from thinking that what you think about some other things might not be true?

 

[izzy88]

However that may be, is there anything that you think can not not be wrong in your understanding of what the Bible says? For example, do you believe that Jesus is the son of God, and the Messiah promised to Israel? Do you think that there have not been any authentic prophets of God since the time of Jesus? Do you think that there is only one God? Do you think that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are three distinct persons and each one is God? If you believe any of those things, do you think you could be wrong about it, that maybe what think about it isn’t really true?

I do not hold any beliefs - religious or otherwise - that I think could not possibly be wrong. Literally everything I believe about everything could be wrong, because I cannot be certain about anything except for my own existence. Beyond the fact that I exist, everything I believe has some level of uncertainty.