Belief Systems: Part 1- How Thought-Out Are Your Beliefs?

Think of what you're saying, 
You can get it wrong and still think that it's alright.
Think of what I'm saying,
We can work it out and get it straight or say goodnight.
We can work it out.
The Beatles


There is no tangible value to a belief system. Doing a thorough investigation, taking in all available information and perspective that you reasonably can, and coming to a conclusion on what we are, why we’re here, and how can we make the best of our lives- then constantly adapting your best answers as new information and perspectives arise- is not an activity that is directly valued in our society. If you are going to work for the church, it may help you, but even those jobs only really require knowledge of, “If there is a God, what does he want?” But generally speaking, no one really cares what you believe. And those that do don’t really care that much, they’re just willing to listen to it when they’re not doing something more important with their own lives- like, say, going to get their nails done, or watching a football game.

So it’s no mystery why there aren’t a whole lot of people spending a lot of time making sure that their beliefs about all the big questions are well-informed, thoughtful, consistent, etc. But for those who do spend the time, I doubt any would trade it back for hours of TV watching, or even reading intelligent, enjoyable fiction. There are feelings of clarity, understanding, and purpose that arise out of doing research into the meaning of life. These feelings better equip us to handle all issues (big, small, tangible, intangible), and also give us the tools to avoid the feelings of a life wasted, or emptiness. Additionally, it is my belief that the more people get a feel for what’s actually happening in this crazy world, and what it’s all about, there will be more tolerance, open-mindedness, compassion and goodness, and less of their opposites. Furthermore, it is perhaps the only way for a person to really feel the purpose of their life, rather than just being aware that they may or may not have one. And once you feel that, you can fully realize the value of your time here, and the need to make the most of it. 

Of course, you would have to share some of my beliefs to agree with that… and if you don’t agree with it already, well, this is certainly not the place to try to convince you. Actually, the purpose of this post is simply to shed light on the fact that most of us don’t have a well-informed belief system.

There are a lot of people in the world who “sort of” believe in God. They think there probably is one, but they’re not really sure. There are also a lot of people who don’t really think there’s a God, but of course can’t rule out the possibility.

Well, I think that’s fine, you don’t need to pick a side. In fact I don’t think a person can reasonably be 100% either way, for reasons I will get into in Part 2. But I will say that if you want to feel that you have purpose to your life, it may be important to really figure out what you do believe. If you were just religious as a kid, then became skeptical, but then also have these feelings of God inside you, so you just kind of hover in the middle ground, that’s not a personal belief system. That’s just subscribing to various degrees to other people’s belief systems. I think you either have to make the decision that “Yes, there is probably be a God, so I am going to live in accordance with that,” or “No, there’s probably not a God, so I need to find a reason to live in spite of that.” The important thing is, even if you somehow end up at 50/50 on the matter: develop your own values to live by, don’t just assign percentage likeliness to how right other people’s beliefs feel to you.

I see a lot of people who, to some degree or another, seem to say, “Well I don’t really think you can know, so I won’t commit to either, and basically am just gonna do whatever I want in life.” I personally think that those people are just being lazy. And that’s fine, because such issues aren’t as important to some people as they are to others. I would just ask that those people don’t try to claim that they are somehow making an informed decision.

An appropriate comparison can be made to our political views. There are people who really know a lot, people who do some investigation but aren’t exactly pursuing knowledge with a passion, and people who don’t really bother with anything more than a general overview of each side.

If someone doesn’t do a whole lot of reading about world affairs and politics, they may be comfortable saying, “I know both sides make a lot of good points, and I tend to lean towards thinking the democrats are probably better.” This person has the right to not care enough about politics to make a well-informed decision. But if you’re someone who knows that you are much better informed than that person, well, even if you agree with them, you’re not going to let them claim that they are making a well-informed decision. Nor will you hold their opinion as highly as someone who you know thoroughly researches the topic.

There are no definite right answers in politics, just as there are no definite right answers about the meaning and nature of life. But on both topics there are infinite degrees of well-informed opinions. And "I don't really know but am leaning this way" tends to fall on the low end.

So I say that unless you have done passionate investigative research into the science-religion debate (and I’m talking about reading entire books and thoroughly understanding the latest scientific evidence/viewpoints and how intelligent religion accounts for it- not just reading the Wikipedia summary of each belief system) don’t go around claiming that your belief system is just as well established as everyone else’s.