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Faith is believin' somethin' that ain't so.
(Mark Twain)
People all 'round the globe are exemplifying Twain's observation.
Muslims believe the Koran is 100% reliable. Hindus believe the Vedas are 100% reliable. Mormons believe the Book Of Mormon is 100% reliable. Jews believe the Talmud is 100% reliable. Christians believe the New Testament is 100% reliable. Buddhists believe Dharma is 100% reliable.
The thing is, religions that deal with paranormal activity (a.k.a. the supernatural) are beyond the scope of empirical evidence.
Every so often I get asked how I know that my religion is right. My answer is: I don't know if it's right. Then of course they want to know how it is that I believe in my religion when I don't know whether it's right.
That's a fair inquiry. Most of the people who ask me those kinds of questions are genuine; they're not trying to trip me up and make a fool out of me. They are honestly curious. So I tell them, in so many words, that though I don't know if my religion is right, my conscience tells me it is; in other words: I cannot shake the conviction that the religion I believe in is right.
Why does anybody believe what they believe? Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, Bahá'í, Hare Krishna, Jehovah's Witness, Mormon, Catholic, Baptist, Judaism, Voodoo, Wiccan, Jain, Druze, Native American, etc, etc, etc. The answer? Because it grips their heart-- the core of their being --which is very different than persuading someone with logic, and reasoning.
People brought into a religion by logic and reasoning can be taken away from it by logic and reasoning. But someone whose heart is gripped by their religion, is not so easily removed regardless of how strong the opposition's argument
I've heard it said, by more than one pundit, that voters typically select political candidates based upon how they feel about them; and then use thinking to defend their choices; which is doubtless whey there is so much debating in the sphere of religion. When people defend their religion, it's likely they're actually protecting their feelings about their religion; and of course we all know that emotions are incoherent.
For example: back in the early 1980s,I attended a special class called "How To Witness To Jehovah's Witnesses" taught by a lecturer who had been in that system for nearly three decades.
The former Witness didn't train us to hammer JWs in a debate because even if you best them scripture for scripture, they will not give up on the Watchtower Society. Their unflinching premise is that the Society is right even when it appears to be totally wrong. They are thoroughly convinced in their own hearts that the Society is the voice of God, while the oppositions' voices have no more validity than that of a squeaky little gerbil.
It's said that the pen is mightier than the sword. Well; it's been my personal observation that, in matters related to religion, the heart is mightier than the mind.
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