Believing doesn't make it so.

Great post. I couldn't agree more. Your belief is yours & yours alone. Without hard provable fact thats all it can be. I was in a discussion earlier with someone who finds it surprising that people are offended when they tell someone that their going to hell. This is using your BELIEF to degrade other people but they don't get that ( much as I tried to show them ). Here's the link. http://www.mylot.com/w/discussions/1265628.aspx Whats your opinion?

Heaven and hell are real or they are not real. It doesn't just apply to some, but all people. The Lord spoke of both places being very real and He cannot lie. Whether you want to believe in hell or not is not the issue...the issue is that it is very real and do you know where you will spend eternity? Jesus Christ is the only way to Eternal Life. God bless.

It is very true that we all create our own reality, for the most part, but there has to be an underlying reality. In the end, either there is a real burning pit of eternity called "hell" or there isn't. As far as determining what is true and what is not, I find logic the best tool for that. What good does it do for me to tell myself, such and such is true, but I never reason and investigate to see if it is. What good does it do me to believe such and such is the purpose and reality of what life is, if I have no idea why I believe that... All the universe, vast as it is, moves together, and this is because of one major natural law - gravity, or the law of attraction.. if everything went its own way according to their own perception of reality, well, everything would fall apart. Just like we see happening in and to the world today. - As a believer, if I am sick, according to my faith, will it be unto me.. If I am in deep trouble, my safety threatened, and I call to the Lord for help, according to my faith shall it be unto me. For He can throw me a rope, but if I cannot perceive of it, I can't grab it. But that doesn't change the reality of what is. - The central question facing man is "is there a God who created all that is and has a purpose He's working"? Or, did everything slowly, and completely on its own, evolve from nothing? We can observe things around us. We can observe and learn the natural laws which govern everything, to see which theory stand up within those natural laws. And we can reason and investigate. And no matter what my finding are. One is true, and one is not. And no amount of my opinion will change the reality whatsoever. :) blessings!

You could also use the reverse. Just because YOU believe in Hell, doesn't mean there is one. There are more and more people every day who realize the bible is just a series of morality tales and the quran is nothing more than the ravings of a crazy man. Atheism is on the rise, and about time, too!

I see your point, but I think we need to take it a step farther. One of the greatest enemies of our souls today is this concept of "relative truth". Just because it's true to me, doesn't make it true. Many people believe many things, often in the face of much contradictory evidence. You know, "don't confuse me with the facts". People today want to define their own truth. Fact is if its true, its true. If its not, its not. Got nothing to do with whether we believe in it or not. Has our collective ego gotten so huge that we really think we can make something true by believing in it? No matter how certain we are that we are right, the fact remains, its true because its true, not because we FIRMLY believe it to be true.

Can't really add to this, but yes beliefs are your own and no one else's. They are unto you and you can believe them or share them. Do not try to force it down others, let them believe and live the way they want to. I think its better to live this way instead of playing holy warrior and actually going out hurting or offending others needlessly.

I'm with you on this one. Particularly a comment you made on someone elses response that you are fully accepting of the fact that you may or may not be right. I also am fully aware that if I believe in something, it is only a belief which suits me and it may or may not be true. I don't like people going to extremes to convince others that they are right. I don't know why people can't just accept other people's choices and accept that their opinion might be right for them but they don't "know". For example, someone who is an Atheist might say they "know" there is no God, and a Catholic for instance might say they "know" there is a God. Well, I don't persaonlly see how either of them could know for certain. As you say, believing in something does not mean it is true just as not believing in something doesn't make it untrue. It's not only religion which we could do this with but it does seem to be the main thing. I could tell you there is a giraffe standing in my garden. You can choose to believe me or not. It's just one person's word. The chances of there being a giraffe in a suburban English garden are, of course, extremely low so you would maybe assume that it was not true. Of course that doesn't mean it's not there even if you say you "know" and, on the other hand, someone who knew me and thought I would not make up that kind of thing might say they "know" that it is true but, of course that doesn't mean it is.

As far as religion is concerned, really, there should be no forcing. But on the other hand, nobody should also stop anybody preaching or proclaiming what he believes or writing it anywhere allowed like here in mylot.

Believing something does not necessarily make it true. Long time ago people believed that the earth was flat. They also believed that the sun goes round the earth. But just because they believed that way, reality did not just follow their belief. Reality behaved in its own way irrespective of people's belief. Later on people just discovered the reality.

I, as a person, go against nearly every proscribed belief and belief system... my goal in my life is to be a full, complete, contented human being, and I find I can't do that by following a program. That puts me at a place where all blame and/or praise falls only to ME, and I can't step away from the responsibilities I have taken on voluntarily. I don't want a crutch, I don't want a scapegoat. I don't want fear to rule my life. I will make the most of what I have today... tomorrow will be what it is.