What do you get from being a believer?

[Trailblazer]

This thread was inspired by the thread “What do you get from being atheist?”

The reason my question is interesting is because it seems to make a deep assumption, and that deep assumption is that there is "something useful, something good, something valuable or precious" in holding a belief (or beliefs) about deities.

I understand that having a belief in a loving deity, or a savior, or an afterlife in a heaven can feel comforting and precious. I can see how having a set of rules (positive and negative) can feel as if difficult questions have been answered for you. I can even see how those rules might help you feel more comfortable.

I would like to hear from believers. What do you get from being a believer?

I’ll go first. What I get is knowing that there is a God who knows more than I do and is wiser than I am, a God that hears my prayers, a God who assists me and guides me through life. I get knowing that there is an afterlife that is far better than this life, where I will see my loved ones again. I also get a set of laws from God to follow that keep me on the straight and narrow.

But belief in God is not all a bed of roses. As a believer I feel obligated to follow the teachings and laws of my religion rather than live according to my own desires. As a believer in my religion, I am compelled to make sacrifices for the good of others and humanity as a whole, which means giving up activities I might enjoy doing just for myself, since there is only so much time in a day.

 

[Quintessence]

I don't take well to the moniker "believer" (more of a practitioner or experiencer) but I get your meaning. A tale from today that exemplifies:

It struck suddenly. A pull, a tug. I had felt it many times before. ​

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Go. ​

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Go. ​

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So I did. I didn't question it, I just went. Before learning to attune to the flowing spirit, the gods, by whatever name one wants to call it, I wouldn't have just gone. I'd have second-guessed myself, questioned, doubted, dilly dallied. I'm done with that. I've been doing this for too long for that. I know. So I just went. ​

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Bundling up on winter's gear for warmth, this Druid set off on their bike to a sacred place. I was called to go, so I went. Peddled down to the lake, around the bend on the trail, to find a comfortable bench overlooking the waters. There, I sat. ​

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Watching. ​

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Listening.​

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Being. ​

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The glimmering shimmer of windblown waters in the afternoon sun.​

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The waterfowl congregating upon the lake with the occasional honk of splash.​

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I whispered blessings to the Spirits of Air and Fire, Earth and Water, in marvel at the wonder of this beautiful place and this beautiful land. ​

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I tuned in to the Spirits of Place, feeling rooted, feeling present, feeling content, feeling at peace. And I wished that peace upon the East, the South, the West, the North, within and without, above and below. ​

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There I sat. I do not know how long. ​

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Until, just as suddenly as I was called by the gods to come to this place today, I was called to bid my leave. ​

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This charmed life is what it means to honor the gods in one's lifepath. ​

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[Trailblazer]

I did not want to add to my OP, but I just thought of something else that I get from being a believer, faith the everything will work out eventually despite all the struggles I am presently going through!

 

[danieldemol]

I get comfort of believing things will turn out good in the next life regardless of the present difficulties, but do not have any God given laws to follow.

I obey only the rules of society and the dictates of inner reason and compassion.

 

[Trailblazer]

I get comfort of believing things will turn out good in the next life regardless of the present difficulties

I think they will turn out good for you.

 

[loverofhumanity]

This thread was inspired by the thread “What do you get from being atheist?”

The reason my question is interesting is because it seems to make a deep assumption, and that deep assumption is that there is "something useful, something good, something valuable or precious" in holding a belief (or beliefs) about deities.

I understand that having a belief in a loving deity, or a savior, or an afterlife in a heaven can feel comforting and precious. I can see how having a set of rules (positive and negative) can feel as if difficult questions have been answered for you. I can even see how those rules might help you feel more comfortable.

I would like to hear from believers. What do you get from being a believer?

I’ll go first. What I get is knowing that there is a God who knows more than I do and is wiser than I am, a God that hears my prayers, a God who assists me and guides me through life. I get knowing that there is an afterlife that is far better than this life, where I will see my loved ones again. I also get a set of laws from God to follow that keep me on the straight and narrow.

But belief in God is not all a bed of roses. As a believer I feel obligated to follow the teachings and laws of my religion rather than live according to my own desires. As a believer in my religion, I am compelled to make sacrifices for the good of others and humanity as a whole, which means giving up activities I might enjoy doing just for myself, since there is only so much time in a day.

As a believer I now know God loves me, only I don’t know why He has been so kind to me. He has given me inner peace, contentment, joy and happiness on a minute to minute basis. I often experience bliss and ecstasy. I am surrounded by beautiful people. I never pray to God asking for anything as He has already given me too much. And He knows what is best for me whether it be sweet or bitter. I follow the laws out of love and nothing I do I consider too great a sacrifice for a God Who is so, so loving. Have I been tested? Yes. I went through a very traumatic period of 6 suicide attempts. I know what the lowest depths of misery feel like. I know life is not a bed of roses. But meditating on God’s love it has made me so, so grateful that I experience joy and happiness daily that He would have considered one as lowly as myself to know Who Baha’u’llah is when all the world has gone astray. When the day comes that the world awakens, that will be a day of blissful joy for all mankind.

 

[RestlessSoul]

I get to stay clean and sober, one day at a time. Maybe other alcoholics and addicts can do that without God's help, but I know I can't. And because I'm clean and sober, I can be useful to others, whereas before I was a burden and a menace, who took without giving. So my life has been completely transformed, through the grace of a God of my own understanding.

 

[SalixIncendium]

I've gained a more comprehensive understanding of what people believe and why, and as a result can communicate with people more effectively and help those who seek it.

 

[1213]

I would like to hear from believers. What do you get from being a believer?

I think it depends on, what is believed. If you mean believing that God is real, I think it has led me to better understanding, which has helped me to manage many difficulties.

 

[danieldemol]

He would have considered one as lowly as myself to know Who Baha’u’llah is when all the world has gone astray.

All the world is not astray in my view. Large sections have ordered lawful societies. But I can see why certain religions have to present a faux humility to their leader only personality cult style whilst arrogantly polemicising the entire rest of human society as I see it.

 

[Muffled]

Freedom from sin and death. Eternal life without any evil present.

 

[JustGeorge]

I'm not sure if I get anything from it. Its so closely wrapped up in who I am that I wouldn't be 'me' without it.

So, maybe I 'get' me?

 

[GardenLady]

It seems to me that religion is, or should be, a set of statements about the nature of ultimate reality. Not earthly reality as much as spiritual reality. If my beliefs (mainstream Christianity) are correct, it is not so much what I get out of it, but that it is an acceptance of truth--of what is.

We all "see through a glass darkly" and my beliefs may not be the best assessment of ultimate reality. I respect the beliefs of others.

At the same time, I find peace and fulfillment in my faith and in my parish, whose motto is "go serve." Yesterday, we prepared dinner for 200 at the county mens' shelter.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Who is a believer? Are only those who believe in a deity are believers?
I am an athiest and not bereft of belief. I believe in existence of 'physical energy' as the starting point and at the time of "inflation" of the universe and I believe that all which exists today in the world is constituted by it only (whether humans, animals, vegetation, non-living substances, dark energy. dark matter, etc.). This is Advaita Hinduism (non-duality). We term this entity as 'Brahman'. I do not believe in existence of deities and souls.

What do I get from it? I get understanding of the universe. I get freedom from beliefs that have no evidence, like existence of God and son/prophets/messengers/manifestations/mahdis etc. I get freedom from the fear of death, since a living Aupmanyav is no different from a dead Aupmanyav (only that his body ha stopped functioning for some reason, old age, disease, accident; just like a car also may stop functioning). I have my own ethics and morals, and I am not obliged to follow rules set by random people 2000 or 1500 years ago. I can change them when necessary.

I did not want to add to my OP, but I just thought of something else that I get from being a believer, faith the everything will work out eventually despite all the struggles I am presently going through!

You have your faith and even then you have struggled in life. Did faith help you? Many a times things do not work out eventually your way, and then you have to accept them as they are. Those who do not depend on faith, also do that.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Yes. I went through a very traumatic period of 6 suicide attempts. I know what the lowest depths of misery feel like. I know life is not a bed of roses. But meditating on God’s love it has made me so, ..

I never had any such period. I always considered anything like that as foolishness. One has to face the problems head-on. I too have experienced difficult time because of unemployment. One can meditate even without a belief in any God, and get the benefits of meditation.

 

[RestlessSoul]

It seems to me that religion is, or should be, a set of statements about the nature of ultimate reality. Not earthly reality as much as spiritual reality. If my beliefs (mainstream Christianity) are correct, it is not so much what I get out of it, but that it is an acceptance of truth--of what is.

We all "see through a glass darkly" and my beliefs may not be the best assessment of ultimate reality. I respect the beliefs of others.

At the same time, I find peace and fulfillment in my faith and in my parish, whose motto is "go serve." Yesterday, we prepared dinner for 200 at the county mens' shelter.

Interestingly, your idea of what religion should be, comports almost exactly with what Albert Einstein thought the aims of physics should be (to provide a full description of reality). By no means all scientists share or shared this ambition of Einstein’s; it seems to me to be a natural impulse in philosophically minded people, and perhaps not that many scientists or theologians are philosophers. My personal take is that a full understanding of ultimate reality, material or spiritual, will always be beyond our human ken; but it’s in our nature to ponder the big questions, and God gave us brains to use.

I like the motto of your parish btw. Faith without works is dead, and in the end it’s what we do that counts, not what we think.

 

[ChieftheCef]

I'm beggining to be able to prove god, you and the point, but not you're god.

 

[Rational Agnostic]

This thread was inspired by the thread “What do you get from being atheist?”

The reason my question is interesting is because it seems to make a deep assumption, and that deep assumption is that there is "something useful, something good, something valuable or precious" in holding a belief (or beliefs) about deities.

I understand that having a belief in a loving deity, or a savior, or an afterlife in a heaven can feel comforting and precious. I can see how having a set of rules (positive and negative) can feel as if difficult questions have been answered for you. I can even see how those rules might help you feel more comfortable.

I would like to hear from believers. What do you get from being a believer?

I’ll go first. What I get is knowing that there is a God who knows more than I do and is wiser than I am, a God that hears my prayers, a God who assists me and guides me through life. I get knowing that there is an afterlife that is far better than this life, where I will see my loved ones again. I also get a set of laws from God to follow that keep me on the straight and narrow.

But belief in God is not all a bed of roses. As a believer I feel obligated to follow the teachings and laws of my religion rather than live according to my own desires. As a believer in my religion, I am compelled to make sacrifices for the good of others and humanity as a whole, which means giving up activities I might enjoy doing just for myself, since there is only so much time in a day.

Should we base our beliefs on what we get out of them or on what is true?

 

[Trailblazer]

Should we base our beliefs on what we get out of them or on what is true?

I think we should base our beliefs on what is true, not on what we get out of them.

 

[RestlessSoul]

Should we base our beliefs on what we get out of them or on what is true?

I think we should base our beliefs on what is true, not on what we get out of them.

Since we cannot know for sure what is true, the measure of our beliefs must be the practical value they bring to our lives. We can only speculate what is true; we can easily see what works.