"Belief and Truth"
My intent is not to change what you believe, but to present my opinions and ideas and leave the choice up to you. Determine for yourself what you believe then seek to understand why you believe it.
I will begin with two terms that have been tossed around so casually that they have almost completely lost their meaning; Belief and Truth. In my opinion, "Belief is truth." Note, I did not say belief is the Truth. I make this distinction between truth and The Truth because I think they are two separate entities. It is the difference between what an individual personally believes and what actually is that separates truth from "The Truth.
For example, when people believed the Earth was flat, did it affect the shape of the Earth? When people believed the Earth was the center of the universe, did it affect the position of the Earth in space relative to the other planets, the sun, and the rest of the Universe? No, the Earth is a sphere and it circles the sun and no matter what people believed to be truth, those beliefs had no affect on The Truth. If someone believes there is no god does that person's belief affect the existence of God in any way? No.
Another interesting aspect of belief is that an individual cannot believe something they know to be false. For example, astronauts cannot truly believe that the Earth is flat when they've seen the curvature of the Earth and watched the Earth spin below them. Neil Armstrong could not truly believe the moon was made of cheese when he walked on its surface and held the rocks of its surface in his hands. Billy Graham or Mother Teresa could not truly believe there is no God when they openly dedicated their lives in service to God.
Since you cannot believe something that you know to be false, then it stands to reason that if you believe in something then it is true . . . to you.
Although perspective defines individual truth, are there any global or universal beliefs that are shared by all people and therefore true for everyone? Perhaps, however, even some basic beliefs that many take for granted may not be believed by a select few. For example, try explaining color to someone who was born blind. For that matter, never having had the ability to see, a blind person might refute the existence of a mountain, the ocean, the moon, or the stars. These are easily verifiable facts to those with the ability to see them, but they can be believed to not exist by those who have never seen them. If a person born without sight believes that light does not exist, does that belief have any effect on the existence of light? No.
The Truth exists independently and it does not rely on the beliefs of people to exist.
Truth is an elusive thing and much of that which is called "truth" is simply believed to be true but not necessarily The Truth. Talk about a conundrum. If a person believes something to be the truth then it is the truth, for that person, however, it may not be The Truth. Take the news for example, how much of what is commonly called "news" is half truth, twisted, altered, bias, or just flat out lies? What is reported may be the truth then again it might not be. It would be near impossible to point out every newspaper retraction, news station mistake, or inaccurate magazine article, yet, when that incorrect information was reported, many who learned it believed it to be the truth until they were shown or told differently. If you believe it to be the truth, then to you, it is the truth. If you believe it to be a lie, then to you, it is a lie. Odd as it may be, a person can even speak the absolute truth while deceiving others and thus creating a lie without actually lying. They can spin the truth from a specific point of view to give the impression of something far from the truth. How can you define truth from lie if the only requirement for truth is belief?
Allow me give you a simple metaphor: If there was just a tiny amount of raw sewage or lethal poison in a gallon of clean drinking water, would you drink any of it? If just a small amount of what someone told you was confirmed lies would you believe anything you that person said without confirmation or even firsthand experiencing it for yourself? Deception and deceit are everywhere and defining truth is not something one person can do for another. Each person must evaluate every bit of information they receive and decide for themselves what they believe to be true. Only through personal experience can anyone know The Truth.
I am not saying that all beliefs are right, nor am I implying that What is right for you may or may not be right for me. This is not about right and wrong, but truth and belief. There is a difference between what is considered Right and what is True. Most people believe that they are interchangeable; the fact is they are not. The proof of this fact is in the various beliefs themselves and how they contradict each other. You can say, I believe what you are saying is wrong and you are free to do so, however if that is truly what you believe, then what makes what I have written wrong? As you are reading this, you must decide for yourself if you believe what I am saying to be true.
It is our environments, our lives, our circumstances, and our capabilities that provide us with what to believe, but it is our choice to believe it. Everything in life is a choice and everything we learn must be, for each of us, believed to be true or believed to be false. Only after you have chosen what to believe can you begin to define why you believe it. Every belief you have also has a reason why you believe it and it is that reason that holds all the conviction and strength of that belief. Without solid well thought out reasons your convictions will be weak and you will be easily swayed. I implore you, if you believe in something, research it, study it, and know it from every angle. Know the opinion of those who oppose your belief and be firm in the reasons why you believe it. Ignorance is not bliss, it is an excuse.
This theory of mine presents a possible reason why debates are so intensely heated. You see, all beliefs on all sides are true for those that believe them. In a debate the only purpose is to attempt to change a person's beliefs and therefore changing what is perceived to be the truth. This is the premise that preachers and politicians live by. They spread their beliefs in an attempt to change the beliefs of others, in essence convincing others of what they perceive to be the truth.
There is an additional facet of belief that many do not know or understand. You see, what you believe is not completely your choice. You do have the choice to believe or disbelieve a given piece of information that is presented to you, however, you do not have the choice of what information is provided to you and what information is denied to you and therefore cannot believe or disbelieve any information you have no knowledge of.
Take for example the metaphor of a table of food, you can choose to eat or drink anything that is placed on the table or nothing at all. However, you are not given any choice concerning what is not placed on the table and have no knowledge of any food or drink not provided. Each of us has our own table and our own choices. Some are only provided bread and water while others are given massive feasts to pick and choose as they wish. We each have the choice of what we wish to eat and drink, but have no control over what is provided.
To complicate things further, where and when you are born and raised will determine what beliefs are provided to you. Your environment directly affects your belief system and provides the information that you then choose to believe or disbelieve. If, for example, you were not born where and when you were born and not raised where and how you were raised, but instead, you were born and raised a slave in ancient Egypt, or a priest in the Mayan Empire, or a mason in Nan Madol then I would venture to guess your belief system (religious and/or political) would not be what it is now. Even small changes like being born at the same time but in a different place, or to a different family would likely affect your beliefs. What if your family and location were the same but you were born one hundred or even a thousand years in the past?
The source of each and every bit of information you receive is from your environment and it is because you have no control over that environment prior to your birth or during your early childhood (and only a limited control in your adult life) that you are not given the choice of what to believe. Even what you are reading right now is a part of your environment and you must choose to believe or disbelieve what I have written. Once you are given a piece of information you must make the choice.
Ask yourself:
What do I believe, and more importantly, why do I believe it?
Defining "what" you believe is a personal choice that is derived from your environment and your life experience; where you live, what you're taught, and what you learn. These things change throughout your life and with each new experience and each new piece of information you receive there is an effect on "what you believe" and, by association, the reason why you believe it. If you truly believe something, then you must also have a reason why you believe it. Each of us must not only choose what to believe but also define why we believe it.
Let the war of belief rage on as we as a species attempt to define the truth.
My intent is not to change what you believe, but to present my opinions and ideas and leave the choice up to you. Determine for yourself what you believe then seek to understand why you believe it.
I will begin with two terms that have been tossed around so casually that they have almost completely lost their meaning; Belief and Truth. In my opinion, "Belief is truth." Note, I did not say belief is the Truth. I make this distinction between truth and The Truth because I think they are two separate entities. It is the difference between what an individual personally believes and what actually is that separates truth from "The Truth.
For example, when people believed the Earth was flat, did it affect the shape of the Earth? When people believed the Earth was the center of the universe, did it affect the position of the Earth in space relative to the other planets, the sun, and the rest of the Universe? No, the Earth is a sphere and it circles the sun and no matter what people believed to be truth, those beliefs had no affect on The Truth. If someone believes there is no god does that person's belief affect the existence of God in any way? No.
Another interesting aspect of belief is that an individual cannot believe something they know to be false. For example, astronauts cannot truly believe that the Earth is flat when they've seen the curvature of the Earth and watched the Earth spin below them. Neil Armstrong could not truly believe the moon was made of cheese when he walked on its surface and held the rocks of its surface in his hands. Billy Graham or Mother Teresa could not truly believe there is no God when they openly dedicated their lives in service to God.
Since you cannot believe something that you know to be false, then it stands to reason that if you believe in something then it is true . . . to you.
Although perspective defines individual truth, are there any global or universal beliefs that are shared by all people and therefore true for everyone? Perhaps, however, even some basic beliefs that many take for granted may not be believed by a select few. For example, try explaining color to someone who was born blind. For that matter, never having had the ability to see, a blind person might refute the existence of a mountain, the ocean, the moon, or the stars. These are easily verifiable facts to those with the ability to see them, but they can be believed to not exist by those who have never seen them. If a person born without sight believes that light does not exist, does that belief have any effect on the existence of light? No.
The Truth exists independently and it does not rely on the beliefs of people to exist.
Truth is an elusive thing and much of that which is called "truth" is simply believed to be true but not necessarily The Truth. Talk about a conundrum. If a person believes something to be the truth then it is the truth, for that person, however, it may not be The Truth. Take the news for example, how much of what is commonly called "news" is half truth, twisted, altered, bias, or just flat out lies? What is reported may be the truth then again it might not be. It would be near impossible to point out every newspaper retraction, news station mistake, or inaccurate magazine article, yet, when that incorrect information was reported, many who learned it believed it to be the truth until they were shown or told differently. If you believe it to be the truth, then to you, it is the truth. If you believe it to be a lie, then to you, it is a lie. Odd as it may be, a person can even speak the absolute truth while deceiving others and thus creating a lie without actually lying. They can spin the truth from a specific point of view to give the impression of something far from the truth. How can you define truth from lie if the only requirement for truth is belief?
Allow me give you a simple metaphor: If there was just a tiny amount of raw sewage or lethal poison in a gallon of clean drinking water, would you drink any of it? If just a small amount of what someone told you was confirmed lies would you believe anything you that person said without confirmation or even firsthand experiencing it for yourself? Deception and deceit are everywhere and defining truth is not something one person can do for another. Each person must evaluate every bit of information they receive and decide for themselves what they believe to be true. Only through personal experience can anyone know The Truth.
I am not saying that all beliefs are right, nor am I implying that What is right for you may or may not be right for me. This is not about right and wrong, but truth and belief. There is a difference between what is considered Right and what is True. Most people believe that they are interchangeable; the fact is they are not. The proof of this fact is in the various beliefs themselves and how they contradict each other. You can say, I believe what you are saying is wrong and you are free to do so, however if that is truly what you believe, then what makes what I have written wrong? As you are reading this, you must decide for yourself if you believe what I am saying to be true.
It is our environments, our lives, our circumstances, and our capabilities that provide us with what to believe, but it is our choice to believe it. Everything in life is a choice and everything we learn must be, for each of us, believed to be true or believed to be false. Only after you have chosen what to believe can you begin to define why you believe it. Every belief you have also has a reason why you believe it and it is that reason that holds all the conviction and strength of that belief. Without solid well thought out reasons your convictions will be weak and you will be easily swayed. I implore you, if you believe in something, research it, study it, and know it from every angle. Know the opinion of those who oppose your belief and be firm in the reasons why you believe it. Ignorance is not bliss, it is an excuse.
This theory of mine presents a possible reason why debates are so intensely heated. You see, all beliefs on all sides are true for those that believe them. In a debate the only purpose is to attempt to change a person's beliefs and therefore changing what is perceived to be the truth. This is the premise that preachers and politicians live by. They spread their beliefs in an attempt to change the beliefs of others, in essence convincing others of what they perceive to be the truth.
There is an additional facet of belief that many do not know or understand. You see, what you believe is not completely your choice. You do have the choice to believe or disbelieve a given piece of information that is presented to you, however, you do not have the choice of what information is provided to you and what information is denied to you and therefore cannot believe or disbelieve any information you have no knowledge of.
Take for example the metaphor of a table of food, you can choose to eat or drink anything that is placed on the table or nothing at all. However, you are not given any choice concerning what is not placed on the table and have no knowledge of any food or drink not provided. Each of us has our own table and our own choices. Some are only provided bread and water while others are given massive feasts to pick and choose as they wish. We each have the choice of what we wish to eat and drink, but have no control over what is provided.
To complicate things further, where and when you are born and raised will determine what beliefs are provided to you. Your environment directly affects your belief system and provides the information that you then choose to believe or disbelieve. If, for example, you were not born where and when you were born and not raised where and how you were raised, but instead, you were born and raised a slave in ancient Egypt, or a priest in the Mayan Empire, or a mason in Nan Madol then I would venture to guess your belief system (religious and/or political) would not be what it is now. Even small changes like being born at the same time but in a different place, or to a different family would likely affect your beliefs. What if your family and location were the same but you were born one hundred or even a thousand years in the past?
The source of each and every bit of information you receive is from your environment and it is because you have no control over that environment prior to your birth or during your early childhood (and only a limited control in your adult life) that you are not given the choice of what to believe. Even what you are reading right now is a part of your environment and you must choose to believe or disbelieve what I have written. Once you are given a piece of information you must make the choice.
Ask yourself:
What do I believe, and more importantly, why do I believe it?
Defining "what" you believe is a personal choice that is derived from your environment and your life experience; where you live, what you're taught, and what you learn. These things change throughout your life and with each new experience and each new piece of information you receive there is an effect on "what you believe" and, by association, the reason why you believe it. If you truly believe something, then you must also have a reason why you believe it. Each of us must not only choose what to believe but also define why we believe it.
Let the war of belief rage on as we as a species attempt to define the truth.
