Can Belief create a God
@TheGreatandMightyL (54)
July 26, 2011 7:13am CST
The power of belief -
Lots of people highly rate the power of belief and its effects on the individual, from people that can walk over hot coals like its summer grass, the guy who can raise his body temperature so high he can swim in arctic conditions (max time 20 mins) there is a lot to be said for potential of the power of belief.
I heard someone state the other day that god/s are created when enough people believe in them and the more people that do the more powerful they become, and when people stop the weaker and weaker they become (similar sort of thing to clash of the titans, and true bloods demigod greek thing).
Following this form of logic, that means that in essence Santa and the Easter bunny are children s gods as all that belief and hope even going so far as prayer in some cases "oh please santa bring me this or that".
Taking this even further you could compare the effects of this "God Syndrome" in WW2, the blind faith the was invoked by Hitler - If you had his picture on the wall it would never fall down, A copy of Mine Kampf (forgive the spelling) was said to bring good luck etc - he survived copious assassination attempts mainly with blind luck and it wasnt with the combined efforts of the allies and their propaganda machine that the German will to fight was corroded.
I know this is a really far fetched theory (esp the hitler bit, was more for emphasis on the idea) with main wholes and loops BUT it kind of fits the purpose,
I am sorry if you have religious feelings about this conversation, please feel free to ignore it.
Does anyone have any thoughts or ideas on the whole concept of belief and its ability to effect the human mind and body?
1 person likes this
5 responses
@flowerfest08 (1677)
•
27 Jul 11
It’s called a “self-fulfilling prophecy,when something occurs because we believe it will,The mind is constructed so that it constantly seeks to bring into physical reality the things it thinks about most.
@TheGreatandMightyL (54)
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27 Jul 11
Hmm I am not sure I can agree with you on that one. I feel its in reverse and that the mind is constantly trying to make sense of the world through the stimuli we receive, of course we want to bring into reality what we really want but we have to draw the line somewhere and that's when we perceive that our reality wont permit such a action.
@bird123 (10643)
• United States
27 Jul 11
People see what they want to see. Also what a person believes is often what they become. On the other hand, beliefs are the starting point to discovery. Most scientific discoveries start with a belief something is true. The real problem comes when people value beliefs above facts. Beliefs point the direction by which we can search to discover the real truth. Does God exist?? You bet! Don't believe me. Search for the truth. God doesn't have to be a belief. Hmmm??? where to look??? Where to look?? It's a test of intelligence. God isn't what religion teaches. Discover for yourself. Never rely on your belief of whether God exists or not. Start on your road to discovery.
@TheGreatandMightyL (54)
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27 Jul 11
What you said there was the basis for my theory,
"what a person believes is often what they become."
This was from a tv show called true blood, this ancient Greek creature was created because they believed they were special and invincible so they became it.
In my eyes this is proven to be false but it made me think about the effects belief can have.
The thing is to always look for the answers ourselves if we want to be spoon fed it only can have negative results, Look at some of the cults in the US (I am sure they are rife in other countries but is more publicized there).
@SpikeTheLobster (6403)
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26 Jul 11
Absolutely. Just look at Scientology: created purely to show that it's possible to create a religion. That one really got out of hand.
Then there's the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (http://www.venganza.org), created by a guy who needed to prove a point to his local school about religious vs. scientific teaching.
Gods are merely expressions of ideals. As such, their importance cannot be underestimated.
@TheGreatandMightyL (54)
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26 Jul 11
Good Info there! haha good to know its not just me coming up with random theories
@knoodleknight18 (917)
• United States
26 Jul 11
The simple is no. I can believe in a six headed dragon all I want, I can get others to believe, draw one, build one, etc. But it won't make it any more real.
The not so simple answer is yes. As you mentioned with the more people believe the stronger a god gets. The belief in a god can effect reality through peoples actions and habits, thereby giving the god power. This doesn't poof into or out of existence any sort of magical beings. This does however cause "god" to have an effect on the world. If the belief weren't there then god wouldn't effect anyone. Since it is there; people are thus effected. Through this effect, god becomes a reality. No god is created or actually exists, but god does effect people. If people stop believing, god doesn't cease to exist. Rather god stops effecting people and is no longer a part of reality.
Think of it like words. Do words exist? Yes but only because we use them. Words are an expression of thought created through symbols and sounds. They aren't inherently real, but because we accept and use them they become real, but are a creation through idea. If we stop using them and remove all traces of them they cease to exist. God exists in a similar manner through actions taken in his name, representation, and things we build in his honor.
As for what people can do with belief is another matter. The human body is far more intricate than we have yet to realize even as much as we know about it. A few hundred years ago adrenaline would have seemed like a divine gift, now we understand it a release of hormone that affects the body in amazing ways. We are capable of amazing things that we don't yet understand, and whether or not they will ever be explained through science as we know it remains to be seen. But I do not think they are necessarily proof of any sort of god.
You might like Stan Lee's Superhuman on History if you haven't already seen it.
@TheGreatandMightyL (54)
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26 Jul 11
Wow nice answer and loads of food for thought,
It is true that blind belief no matter how strong will not "bring" things into reality, a prime example would be a king of Englands (I cant remember the name) famous attempt to make the tide turn back... He had absolute faith that he could do it and even wagered a large sum of money but it didn't work.
again great answer, I feel I will have to re read it a few times to get the full depth of the theory. :)
Thanks Ill give it a watch,
@nayanraut123 (4)
• Singapore
27 Jul 11
concept of God is derived from the concept of ancient oriental despotism. This is fear mongering and unworthy of freedom. -- Bertrand Russell
