Why do people believe what they believe?

[Sgt. Pepper]

"The one religion that is completely true is MY religion".

I have no problem in saying how liberating it was for me to break free from my Christian indoctrination. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

 

[Alien826]

It is interesting to note that before I came to this forum I was posting on other forums where I made friends with several men who were atheists.
Not a one of them was a dog lover. All of them were cat lovers.

But now, whenever I see men on dating sites, they are always dog lovers, never cat lovers. Go figure.

Hmmm. Maybe you should date some of each and report your conclusions as to which are better .... er ....

 

[firedragon]

Only God has the absolute truth, and we are not privy to it.

So you don't believe God revealed anything to human beings? Like the Qur'an and/or the Kithab al Akdhas?

Also, if God only knows the absolute truth, why are you claiming subjective truths are objective? That's a blatant contradiction.

 

[Alien826]

I had one cat that used to get under the covers but she is no longer with me.
Even if a cat got under the covers I'd be okay since i wear pajama bottoms!

I don't, which was the problem.

Princess is always by my side in my bed and she flexes her claws.
Carl has no claws because the previous owner had him declawed.

I strongly disapprove of declawing.

 

[firedragon]

To me, absolute truth means all truth.

So you are making a subjective opinion which is flawed as an objective truth.

Sorry mate. That's absurd.

 

[firedragon]

I am not claiming that subjective truths are objective.

That's exactly what you are doing. You just don't know that because your theology is doing the same thing trying to evangelize to the whole world hoping everyone joins your theology with the "all good" philosophy. But it's obviously contradictory.

 

[Tony B]

I have no problem in saying how liberating it was for me to break free from my Christian indoctrination. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

I'd be genuinely interested to hear why you think that, and why you think you were 'indoctrinated'? I'm going to predict that the people you may describe were not Christians by deed, as is always the case. Why do you think life is better without a relationship with God?

 

[ppp]

No, I don't think we do.

You seem to be trying to draw a parallel between human religious beliefs and pet preferences. No?

 

[Sgt. Pepper]

I had one cat that used to get under the covers but she is no longer with me.
Even if a cat got under the covers I'd be okay since i wear pajama bottoms!

Princess is always by my side in my bed and she flexes her claws.
Carl has no claws because the previous owner had him declawed.

I have both dogs and cats, and while I adore the dogs and consider them part of the family, I've always been a cat person. I have two dogs, five cats, three grand dogs, and four grand cats. I refer to my children's dogs and cats as my grand dogs and cats. And while I adore them all, I am especially fond of my black cat, and I consider her my familiar. I feel that she and I have a special bond and a spiritual connection. She stays close to me while I'm at home. I think of her as a spiritual guide to assist me while I practice divination and witchcraft, both of which I'm currently learning from my mentor and my coven.

 

[Trailblazer]

You seem to be trying to draw a parallel between human religious beliefs and pet preferences. No?

Only in the sense that both preferences are subjective.

 

[ppp]

Only in the sense that both preferences are subjective.

Are there non-subjective preferences?

 

[stvdv]

You will find people leaving all faiths, and some join others, so evidentially this isn't a true statement. These religions will not lead you to God, only one will, they are all in conflict with each other in some way or another, only one can be true.

"My Religion is the only Truth"
Equals Spiritual arrogance, Scriptures declare
(which is the biggest obstacle to reach God)

Hence

False

Arrogance is known to blind people
Hence you still misinterpret my reply

 

[Trailblazer]

Seriously, that's absurd, most people haven't even heard of it.

How many people do you think had heard of Jesus in the first centuries?

Throughout the first century the total number of Jews in the Christian movement probably never exceeded 1 000 and by the end of the century the Christian church was largely Gentile.

https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/

Whether or not people have heard of a religion has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not it is the truth from God.

Some guy claims he's a deity and writes some stuff, seriously? it's the oldest con trick in the book, how many examples would you like?

Baha'u'llah did not claim to be God, and he did not just write some stuff.
Jesus wrote nothing and there is absolutely no reason to believe that the Gospels represent the real Jesus who walked the earth.

AI Overview
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Bahá'u'lláh wrote almost 20,000 separate works, also known as Tablets, over a period of about 40 years. The Baháʼí World Centre in Haifa, Israel catalogs these writings, with most being authenticated copies.

Bahá'u'lláh's writings are primarily in Arabic, but also include Persian and a mix of both languages.

Crikey, it's difficult to know where to start on this level of ignorance, do some research on how the scripture was written and compiled at least.

I have some idea how the scripture was compiled and I know enough to know it was written by men who never knew Jesus.
At best, it was handed down by way of oral tradition, everyone knows this.

All the disciples bar one died terribly because of their faith, give me another example of this in your or any other faith? Christianity literally brought down the Roman Empire at the time etc etc. Christians have been persecuted and died for their faith throughout the ages, there's a reason for that.

Baha'is have been persecuted and died for their faith ever since the inception of the Faith, there's a reason for that.

Persecution of Baháʼís - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

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Some Baha'is who were martyred include:

• The Báb: The co-founder of the Baha'i faith who was executed in Persia in 1850. The Báb's execution is commemorated by a holy day observed by Baha'is around the world.
• Mona Mahmudnizhad: A martyr whose story is told in the play A Dress for Mona by Mark Perry and the song "Mona With the Children" by Doug Cameron.
• Mehrdad Badkoobeh: An Iranian Baha'i who was martyred during Iran's war with Iraq.
• Members of the National Spiritual Assemblies: The Iranian authorities executed three consecutive National Spiritual Assemblies after the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
• Other Baha'is executed in Iran: Over 200 Baha'is were executed in Iran between 1978 and 1998.

Other Baha'is who were martyred include: Farhang Shah Bahrami, Saeed Masoudian, Gholamreza Alaei, Behrooz Mehregani, and Farhad Zahedi.

No, that isn't what that verse means.

The verse means what it says. Those who are not righteous will go away into everlasting punishment but the righteous gain eternal life.

Matthew 25:45-46 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Wait a minute? you just claimed it wasn't? You know that is the doctrine obviously, and what it means is that although we are all sinners Jesus paid our fine, as an act of love and sacrifice, but it's our choice to believe it or not. Good deeds are what we should do, but it does not save us, no-one who understands scripture properly would say otherwise.

The concept of being saved is not a Baha'i concept, since there is nothing to be saved from, since we do not believe in original sin.

AI Overview
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In the Baháʼí Faith, sin is defined as disobedience to God and the separation from God that results. Some examples of sins in the Baháʼí Faith include: Anger, Jealousy, Hypocrisy, Prejudice, and Failure to follow Baháʼí laws.

We are all sinners since nobody is perfectly obedient to God.

What Baha’is believe regarding how Adam brought sin into the world and how Christ saved us from that sin is explained below:

Question.—In verse 22 of chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians it is written: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” What is the meaning of these words?

Answer.—Know that there are two natures in man: the physical nature and the spiritual nature. The physical nature is inherited from Adam, and the spiritual nature is inherited from the Reality of the Word of God, which is the spirituality of Christ. The physical nature is born of Adam, but the spiritual nature is born from the bounty of the Holy Spirit. The first is the source of all imperfection; the second is the source of all perfection.

The Christ sacrificed Himself so that men might be freed from the imperfections of the physical nature and might become possessed of the virtues of the spiritual nature. This spiritual nature, which came into existence through the bounty of the Divine Reality, is the union of all perfections and appears through the breath of the Holy Spirit. It is the divine perfections; it is light, spirituality, guidance, exaltation, high aspiration, justice, love, grace, kindness to all, philanthropy, the essence of life. It is the reflection of the splendor of the Sun of Reality.

All sin comes from the demands of nature, and these demands, which arise from the physical qualities, are not sins with respect to the animals, while for man they are sin. The animal is the source of imperfections, such as anger, sensuality, jealousy, avarice, cruelty, pride: all these defects are found in animals but do not constitute sins. But in man they are sins.

Adam is the cause of man’s physical life; but the Reality of Christ—that is to say, the Word of God—is the cause of spiritual life. It is “a quickening spirit,” meaning that all the imperfections which come from the requirements of the physical life of man are transformed into human perfections by the teachings and education of that spirit. Therefore, Christ was a quickening spirit, and the cause of life in all mankind.
Adam was the cause of physical life, and as the physical world of man is the world of imperfections, and imperfections are the equivalent of death, Paul compared the physical imperfections to death.

Bahá'í Reference Library - Some Answered Questions, Pages 118-121

Try and construct an argument that resembles some truth at least.

I just did.

 

[LuisDantas]

I expect that most people are not believers as such; rather, they are taught from a very early age to behave according to certain expectations and be rewarded and punished accordingly, and learn to take advantage of the established system.

Whether those people truly believe is not a question that those systems encourage. Very often they instead rely on purposefully conflating belief with obedience and adherence.

 

[Trailblazer]

Are there non-subjective preferences?

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Yes, non-subjective preferences are possible:

Non-subjective
Means not based on personal beliefs or feelings, but rather on facts. For example, you might describe a measurement or analysis as non-subjective.

Subjective
Means based on personal perspective or preferences. For example, taste in art is a subjective matter.

So a religious preference could be based upon facts rather than personal beliefs or feelings.
My religious preference is based upon the facts associated with the Baha'i Faith.

 

[stvdv]

Baha'is have been persecuted and died for their faith ever since the inception of the Faith, there's a reason for that.

!! WINNER !!

The day "exclusive Religions" end their Spiritual arrogance, persecutions will start to diminish

Even common sense works here. What is gained by declaring "My faith is superior". I always wonder "Do they really believe that God needs them to declare this", besides their claim being blasphemy of the highest form

 

[ppp]

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Yes, non-subjective preferences are possible:

Non-subjective
Means not based on personal beliefs or feelings, but rather on facts. For example, you might describe a measurement or analysis as non-subjective.

Subjective
Means based on personal perspective or preferences. For example, taste in art is a subjective matter.

I was asking for you opinion on the matter. Is that the position that you personally hold? Is that the position that you understand? Is that the position for which you personally advocate?

 

[stvdv]

"The one religion that is completely true is MY religion".

My Religion also teaches:
Thou art That
Self Enquiry
Who Am I

 

[stvdv]

To me, absolute truth means all truth. Only God has all truth.

Being humble is the safest way to go

I do not believe that any holy book is the absolute truth. It is only part of the truth.

TRUE, that's a fact

And easy to prove even
Using the same holy book

 

[Willamena]

Regarding subjectivity, why do some people love cats and others love dogs, why do some people like rainy weather and others like sunny weather, and why do some people feel a need for a romantic relationship while others do not care about that at all?

It sounds more like you're talking about preferences, rather than subjectivity.

The list goes on. We all have different desires and preferences so why would that not apply to the religion we choose to believe in?

Subjectivity, as well as objectivity, apply equally to all observed topics.

It invariably applies to the religion we choose.