Is "Belief" a choice?...lets talk about that.

[FireDragon76]

Augustine predestination?

Not necessarily.

 

[(° ͡ ͜ ͡ʖ ͡ °) (ᵔᴥᵔʋ)]

So how do you see Mark 9:23-24 in your line of thought? When it comes to believing a person can believe something yet at the same time have a measure of unbelief.

Awesome question! Let's take a look at the scripture.

Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” “ ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
Mark 9:21‭-‬24 NIV
http://bible.com/111/mrk.9.21-24.NIV

I highlighted the key points here. The issue at hand was not that the man did not believe that Jesus was Messiah, it was that he did not believe or have trust in His power. Many times as Christians, we have doubt. The man obviously had some faith in Christ or he would not have approached the Lord. On the other hand, his trust was not at the level it needed to be. He still had some doubts. Perhaps he was growing; but the fact is, he was struggling.

When the man said "I believe. Help me overcome my unbelief", he was basically saying, "I believe you are the Messiah, but I don't believe you are powerful enough to help my son. Prove it to me". Of course this upset Jesus because if you remember correctly, this strongly resembles the line of questioning Satan used on Jesus in the desert.

 

[Hieronymus]

(Isn't it actually the same question as: Is ignorance a choice?)

 

[Hieronymus]

(...or seeking truth in stead of personal happiness?)

False teachings, lack of good teachings...
One can be easily mislead in our world...

I can hardly blame unbelievers for their unbelief.
I remember how it was not to believe.
But life bestowed misery upon me, so i HAD TO seek truth.

But i was late, in my late 30s, and so i need help too to overcome my unbelief.
Still holding on to some of my own 'truths', it seems..
And i also want personal happiness.

So did i choose my own path in life?
Nope, "Life is what happens when you're making other plans."

 

[Razare]

Belief is a choice, within the context you can only believe something you are given via something... whether God or the Devil, or by the reasoning of your mind, or what God puts in your heart.

How can you believe something you were never given and is beyond your ability to conceive? You can't.

And even then revelation of God happens by understanding. You require understanding in order to believe God's word. Matthew 13 parable.

So when it says "God hardened Pharoh's heart"... it's really talking about spiritual laws put in place, which prevented Pharoh from having the ability to repent (change his mind and believe different) because he had already gone a certain course and could not change it at that point.

What is optional at any given moment is to yield to God, or yield to the kingdom of darkness. When you yield to God, this does not mean you gain all wisdom and knowledge instantaneously... it means you grow in wisdom and knowledge as you continue to submit to God. Even Jesus grew in wisdom.

This is the choice. The choice is not, "believe all biblical revelation" because that is impossible except for Jesus. The choice is, God vs. Devil, Truth vs. Lies, Life vs. Death... and you walk into a greater measure the farther you go following one or the other.

 

[Emmy]

Dear stevenfrancis. Belief is a choice, and it is important that we open the door and let Jesus in, when He stands at the door and knocks, to be let in. In Matthew 22: 35-40: Jesus tells us: " The first and great Commandment is:
Love God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. The second is like it: love thy neighbour as thyself." In verse 40 we are told: On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.
In Matthew 7: 7-10: we are told: " Ask and you shall receive," then thank God and ask for Love and Joy. Keep asking for love and joy, then thank God and share all love and joy with your neighbour. God sees our loving efforts, and God approves and Blesses us. The Holy Spirit will help and guide us, and Jesus our Saviour will lead us all the way:
JESUS IS THE WAY.
The Bible tells us: " Repent and be Born again," we give up our selfishness and unloving, and start loving and caring,
being kind and always friendly. We might stumble and forget at times, but then we ask God to forgive us, and carry on be loving and kind. Love is very catching, and a Christian`s weapon is love and joy, forgiveness and a helping hand on occasion. We will never find out loves strength, until we try to use it and let us be led by it.
I say this with love, stevenfrancis. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

 

[Emmy]

Dear Jason_delisle. We are free to choose, either with God, or without God. Jesus told us in Matthew 22: 35-40:
" The first and great Commandment is: " Love God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. The second is like it: love thy neighbour as thyself." Verse 40 tells us: On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." God is Love and God wants loving sons and daughters. In Matthew 7: 7-10: we are told: " Ask and you shall receive," we ask for Love and Joy, then thank God and share all love and joy with our neighbour. (our neighbour is all we know and all we meet, friends and not friends) We give up our selfish wishes and desires, and start loving and caring,-treating all as we would love to be treated. God sees our loving efforts, and God will approve and Bless us.
The Holy Spirit will help and guide us, and Jesus our Saviour will lead us all the way: JESUS IS THE WAY.
We might stumble and forget at times, but then we ask God to forgive us, and carry on loving and caring, be kind and forgiving. Love is very catching, and a Christian`s weapon is love and joy. Life will be as God wants life for us, loving and caring for each other, and be God`s loving men and women. God made us in His image, and that will be the way God wants us to be. We live in this imperfect world to learn to love and care for our Christian brothers and sister.
I say this with love, Jason. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

 

[Optimax]

Belief is a choice.

Any and every person can choose to believe anything.

Any and every person can choose not to believe anything.

 

[Emmy]

Dear Far Side Of The Moon. We cannot save ourselves, but God will always help. Jesus explains it very well in
Matthew 22: 35-40: " The first and great Commandment is: Love God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. The second is like it: love thy neighbour as thyself." In verse 40 we are told: On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. We start by asking God for Love and Joy, then thank God and share all love and joy with our neighbour. Matthew 7: 7-10: We keep asking and receiving, then thank God and share all love and joy with our neighbour. ( neighbour is all we know and all we meet, friends and not friends) We might stumble and forget at times, but then we ask God to forgive us and carry on loving and caring, be kind and always friendly. Love is very catching, and love always helps and love is our weapon. The Holy Spirit will help and guide us, and Jesus our Saviour will lead us all the way: JESUS IS THE WAY. Soon we will find that love changes us into the men and women which God wants us to be.
The Bible tells us to " Repent and be Born Again," we stop being selfish and start loving and caring, a Christian`s weapon is love and compassion, and we will be as God wants us to be. Let love change us, and we be the sons and daughters which God wants us to be. I say this with love, Far Side Of the Moon. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

 

[Emmy]

Dear Albion. Is Belief a choice? I would say YES. God gave us free will to choose and to follow. In Matthew 22: 35-40:
Jesus told us: " The first and great Commandment is: Love God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. The second is like it: love thy neighbour as thyself." In verse 40 we are told: " On these two Commandments
hang all the Law and the Prophets." God is Love, and God wants loving sons and daughters. In Matthew 7: 7-10: we read: " Ask and you shall receive," we ask God for Love and Joy, then thank God and share all Love and Joy with our neighbour. ( neighbour is all we know and all we meet, friends and not friends) We change from being selfish and unloving, to loving, care and forgive. We keep asking and believing, then thank God and share all with our neighbour.
Love is very catching, and a Christian`s weapon is love and care, and kindness. Let love try and change this imperfect world into a world where love rules our lives. It seems not easy, but it certainly is possible. Jesus died that we might live, and love and compassion are strong weapons. Let us try and show our Heavenly Father that we trust LOVE, and that we Love God with heart, soul and mind, and love our neighbour as we love ourselves. The time is overdue to show God how very much we Love God and love our neighbour. I say this with love, Albion. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

 

[LovebirdsFlying]

I can't speak for anyone else, but I voted yes. For me, belief absolutely is a choice. I weighed the options and made a decision about what I choose to believe. Did the Holy Spirit draw me to those conclusions? Oh, it's quite possible. I hope so, actually. But I didn't do it blindly, and I don't take anything as truth just because some preacher or Sunday School teacher said it.

 

[Emmy]

Dear Jason_delisle.Yes belief is a free choice, God is Love and to Love God is our choice. Let us look at the advantages: We Love God freely and have Life Abundant, we Love God and God Loves us, we Love God and ask for more Love in Matthew 7: 7-10: there we ask God for more Love and share it all with our neighbour. ( neighbour is all we know and all we meet, friends and not friends) The Holy Spirit will help and guide us, and Jesus our Saviour will lead us all the way: JESUS IS THE WAY.
Jesus told us in Matthew 22: 35-40: " The first and great Commandment is: " Love God with all thy heart, with all thy soul and with all thy mind. The second is like it: love thy neighbour as thyself." In verse 40 we are told: On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. Love God and love your neighbour. We Believe in God, and we know we have brothers and sisters, and one day we will be with God our Heavenly Father. We do not only believe in God, we also have chosen God to be our Heavenly Father: Belief is not only our choice, Belief is the Truth and the Way to our Heavenly Father. I say this with love, Jason. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

 

[Emmy]

Dear Jason_de lisle. We decide what to believe, we have free will. The Bible tells us " Repent," we have to give up our selfish wishes and desires, and start to be loving and caring, kind and always be friendly. Then we let Jesus know that we believe and want to follow God`s advice in all we say and do, we want to be obedient and always follow God`s advice.
Here is what we do: Matthew 7: 7-10: tells us: "Ask and you shall receive, we ask God for Love and Joy, then thank God and share all love and joy with our neighbour. We keep repeating this, and show God that we are ready to do His Will, we belief. The Holy Spirit will guide us, and Jesus our Saviour will lead us all the way: JESUS IS THE WAY.
We might stumble and forget at times, but then we ask God to forgive us, and carry on loving and caring, be kind and always friendly. God gives us free will, and God sees that we BELIEVE. God is our Heavenly Father, and God wants obedient sons and daughters. Love is very catching, and Love helps us to overcome all stumbling blocks. Show God that we believe, and God will keep Blessing us, love changes many things. I say this with love, Jason. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

 

[Grafted In]

Btw....everyone gets a like from me no matter what you post.

I see that a lot of times hear.
There will be one or more on either side of a discussion and someone will click on 'like' on posts in both sides.
That's confusing for me.
That's one of the reasons ( yet not even close to being my main reasons) that I am struggling to get my account at facebook closed.... not just eactivated.
I had one lady who I was a facebook friend with. Everything anyone posted anywhere on facebook she'd post 'like' and so every day my page was filled up with her likes.
I don't get it, particularly when opposing views were 'liked' all the way through the thread.

 

[(° ͡ ͜ ͡ʖ ͡ °) (ᵔᴥᵔʋ)]

I see that a lot of times hear.
There will be one or more on either side of a discussion and someone will click on 'like' on posts in both sides.
That's confusing for me.
That's one of the reasons ( yet not even close to being my main reasons) that I am struggling to get my account at facebook closed.... not just eactivated.
I had one lady who I was a facebook friend with. Everything anyone posted anywhere on facebook she'd post 'like' and so every day my page was filled up with her likes.
I don't get it, particularly when opposing views were 'liked' all the way through the thread.

Lol...I had to like it. I am evil sometimes. [emoji48]

 

[samir]

So if belief is not a choice, the simple act of believing in Jesus is really not that simple. So how can a Christian truly convince and unbeliever to believe?.

If belief is not a choice, he can't and there is no point of evangelizing since no one can choose to believe.

 

[Open Heart]

If belief is not a choice, he can't and there is no point of evangelizing since no one can choose to believe.

But if someone does have the capacity to believe, they still need to be exposed. You can't know if someone can or can't believe until you give them the chance.

 

[Emmy]

Dear Jason_delisle. I grew up believing that Jesus we a good man, and I loved Jesus very much. When after years, and circumstances, I was told that Jesus was God-Son I did not believe it. After years when a neighbour invited me to church, I heard again that Jesus was God-Son. I just could not believe it. I loved God, however, and a number of Christians started praying for me, and gradually (very gradually) the Truth changed me. I now do believe that Jesus
is our Saviour and also God`s Son. I believe in the Trinity and follow my Saviour wholeheartedly.
I believed at first that Jesus was a good Man, but Now I Believe that Jesus is My Saviour. I thank God with all my heart, and I also believe that to pray helps us without doubt. I say this with love, Jason_delisle. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

 

[Emmy]

Dear delisle. Yes, belief is a choice. God will never force us, and Jesus told us: " On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." The two Commandments are: " The first and great Commandment is:
Love God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. The second is like it: love thy neighbour as thyself." ( Matthew 22: 40 God Loves us and wants our best. We live on this Earth to learn to love truly and with all our beings. What does God want us to learn?" To love God first of all, and to love our neighbour as ourselves."
Matthew 7: 7-10: tells " Ask and you shall receive." We ask God for Love and Joy, then thank God and share all love and joy with our neighbour. Love is very catching, and our God wants loving sons and daughters. We keep loving and caring, and gradually be the sons and daughters which our Heavenly Father wants. To Love is a our choice, and God wants love from us. We have much time on earth to become more and more Loving and caring.
Heaven is our home one day, and we have a God who is All Love. Our Belief is to Love God and love each other,
and to follow this is our CHOICE. I say this with love, delisle. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

 

[rstrats]

Emmy,
re: "Yes, belief is a choice."

Perhaps you can help. I have never been able to consciously choose any of the beliefs that I have and I would like to be able to do that. If you think that you can consciously choose to believe things, I wonder if you might explain how you do it. What do you do at the last moment to instantly change your one state of belief to another? What is it that you do that would allow you to say, "OK, at this moment I do not believe that 'x' exists or is true, but I choose to believe that 'x' exists or is true and now instantly at this new moment I do believe that 'x' exists or is true"?

Maybe you could use something like leprechauns to demonstrate your ability and technique. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, a leprechaun is "fairy peculiar to Ireland, who appeared in the form of an old man of minute stature, wearing a cocked hat and a leather apron" and who stores a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow and if ever captured has to grant 3 wishes. So, assuming that you don't already have a belief in them, how about right now, while you are reading this, choose to believe - be convinced without a doubt - that they exist. Now that you believe in leprechauns, my question is, how did you do it? How did you make the instantaneous transition from lack of belief to belief?