Why is belief necessary?

But do you consider God a reality or a myth? I would say that He was with you all along.

Hi schraf,
I believe that somehow no matter how damaged someone can become we still have the means to rise above it. I did it. you did it too. I applaud you.

Thanks for your reply. Nor do I. I don't base my faith in God on "holes" in our scientific understanding of the universe. If I did, I wouldn't have any ground to stand on. Can you please explain why it is not? Well, that is all fine and dandy, but as I've already shown there is a spectrum of skepticism. On the left end you can accept nothing as true except the fact that you exist, and on the other end you can believe everything you hear and be some kind of conspiracy theorist. You obviously are not the perfect skeptic since you believe in certain things outside yourself. And I simply place my bar a little right of yours. What if the believer is a scientist? If I resented criticism to my beliefs I would not be debating you but rather stomp off in a huff. I enjoy this philosophical battling more than just about anything else! I can somewhat understand this, but then I can also somewhat understand your position since I've lost my faith and regained it during all my debating here. What I find distasteful is a smug self-assurance of the veracity of one's beliefs coupled with an inability to understand the opposing view, which is often exhibited by both sides.

Thanks for your reply. Oh no... I've just never known exactly what to think of the ego. I always picture it as sort of a sort of metaphysical waffle inside our heads that gets chewed up a bit when somebody hurts our feelings (seriously!). But as far as what it actually is I'm uncertain. I think that makes sense. I suppose you could say that the thinker is the brain and the thoughts it thinks are the picture of the real spiritual being. How's that for mucking about in uncertainty? Yes! That is what I was trying to say above.Get some sleep and come back tonight.

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But do you consider God a reality or a myth?

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Probably myth, but I don't really know.Nobody knows.

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I would say that He was with you all along.

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That may be true, but I did not once sense, feel, or otherwise experience anything that most people describe as "god/supernatural".I never have.It was me, teaching myself to love and accept and parent myself (corny but true). Just me, as far as I have ever sensed.So, my reason for bringing up the story was that I, too, had a major transformation, yet I had no faith at the time in any supernatural entity.

Coming back atcha!Thanks for the support.

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Oh no... I've just never known exactly what to think of the ego. I always picture it as sort of a sort of metaphysical waffle inside our heads that gets chewed up a bit when somebody hurts our feelings (seriously!). But as far as what it actually is I'm uncertain.

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As I understand it, in psychological terms the ego is part of Freud's psychoanalytic theory - it's one of the three components of the subconscious and unconscious personality, the other two being id and superego.The id is the instinctive, animalistic part of the human brain that controls the most basic (mostly biological, such as eating or drinking) urges and demands immediate satisfaction of wants and needs. The ego is the decision-making, rational part of the brain that considers both the id's wants and societal standards in deciding how to behave (it's basically there to keep the id from doing what it wants until such behavior is appropriate or acceptable). The superego is the moral part of personality.If you're asking about more common usage, I usually hear it used as a reference to arrogance or vanity, although I've heard it used in the place of "mind" once or twice before. I also think it's "I" in Latin, for what that's worth.

Just so everyone here knows, the only people in Psychology who take Freud's divisions of the psyche seriously are the Freudians.Most professional research and clinical Psychologists consider them ill-defined, quaint museum-pieces of no real explanitory value.They were an early way to try to account for human instinct (Id), conscience (Superego), and the self that mediates between the two (Ego).

Yeah, I forgot to mention that. Most of it is not taken seriously due to poor testability and a lack of evidence - as a matter of fact, many will tell you that, though in a historical perspective his views were very influential for quite a while, today Freud has a greater effect on literature and the arts than psychology.

The Freudian term is certainly one definition of it, but it gets used a lot as a more technical term for "I" or for the sense of being a conscious self, or the sense of being a person. And it's used by writers in English for Hindu and Buddhist references to the ordinary sense of self in much the same way as psychologists use it.lfen

Hangdawg and others reading this thread,Here is what dictionary.com offers: I'm most interested in the ordinary daily sense of self when people speak about themselves, or we think about our self. The sense of self for me is the pivotal point of understanding.My most significant criticism of near eastern religions and western thought is this sense of self has largely been taken for granted. One of the things that most impressed me about the Buddha was his examination of his stream of consciousness and his discovery that there is no permanent self. I think this is the key that unlocks our relationship to the divine. And this key makes belief unneccesary and instead uses direct experience and examination.The Christian contemplative tradition has produced writings that indicate a few Christians have awakened to this experiential "truth". I've started a thread to examine the possibility that Jesus might have been a Jew who had this experience but that Judaism and later gentiles couldn't understand his teachings on it and instead made of it an external religion of belief. As the evidence for Jesus ever living at all is very slim this can only be a hypothesis but except that it lacks centuries long institutional support it seems to me as likely as all the other theories (beliefs) put forward about the founder of Christianity.lfen

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People noticed a difference in me for the positive, just like those people who get "Born Again" tell about, yet I just did the work myself and gave myself the credit for a job well done.

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I think you hit the nail on the head!Those who wish to make significant changes in their life understand the need for change and are open to change.Even "Born Again" Christians don't make all the changes in their life until they are ready. They may thank God for the changes, but they still don't make changes until they were ready.IMO God didn't change them, they changed themselves because they were ready to change. Just like you can't help an alcoholic until they are ready.My husband and I prayed for years for help with our weight problem. Unfortunately nothing came of it. We were ready to change, but the diets from the doctors didn't help. We finally gave up on prayers.A few years ago I got fed up with the situation and did some investigation and study of my own. I finally came up with a plan that worked for me and my husband modified it to suit his needs. Our weight is now back in a safe zone and we are healthy.Oddly enough some of my Christian friends don't approve of our diet. We basically eat real food. They assume we have gone kosher, which we aren't. Kosher doesn't preclude "fake" food.IMPO when people understand what they need to change about themselves or their situation and are ready to make the change, they will change.

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A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.

I found that statement absolutely shocking. In fact, I think it surprised me more than even some of the dialog from our fundamentalist members.Why in the world would anyone care if you kept Kosher?

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Because they see Kosher as being under the Law and of course Christians are not bound by the Law etc.Kosher doesn't preclude "fake" food, just what the "fake" food is made of.

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A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.

It's a set of practices, that's all. Practices.You know, their reaction seems to me to be about as bizarre as folk getting upset if you adopted the Atkins diet or went sugar free.I'm sorry, but some folk just have way too much free time on their hands.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion