Why do people believe / have faith in religion and believe it's teachings?

reply to post by NathanNewZealand


WHY I BELIEVE

2 PETER 1:16
We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but WE were EYEWITNESSES of his majesty.
2 PETER 1:19
And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it,as to a light shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your heart.

Peter was with Jesus during his last years on this earth. He ate with him, traveled with him, was friends with him, slept on the ground with him, and saw all the miracles that Jesus did. Now, you say how do I know that peter wrote this. I guess I don't for certain....but I don't NEED to, because you see my spirit tells me this is true.

When a person becomes a believer there is spiritual enlightenment that happens. Your whole body changes and your surroundings change. Your heart begins to yearn to KNOW more,,,,,you NEED more........and once you turn your body, heart, mind, and soul over to him, well, he sends you a most wonderful friend, The Holy Spirit to help you grow in spiritual wisdom and be able to be one with the heavenly Father.

I also need to ponder on the fact that if Jesus was a lie, how has a lie kept living for over 2,000 years? Why do people we NEVER saw Jesus, NEVER heard him speak, NEVER traveled with him, NEVER saw him die, and NEVER saw him when he rose from the dead. How is it that we who were NEVER there believe in Christ.

Also, note that all his disciples, save for John, died terrible deaths. And ALL OF THEM NEVER DENIED THAT WHAT THEY WERE CLAIMING OF CHRIST WAS WRONG. Even though they could have saved their lives they laid it down for their convitctions. TextNot one of them said, "Oh, wait a minute here, I really didn't believe in this guy Jesus and what he was teaching." All just a big mistake" This can be proven by the Roman Archives and their historians by keeping records of their what they did with Christians. It wasn't real cool to claim to be a Christian back then.

I also might add that 300 years after the beginning of Jesus' personal ministry, the whole Roman world had deserted paganism and become Christian. The gospel itself was an invitation to BELIEVE in a crucified Jew not merely as a good man, not as a prophet, nor as a king, but as the Son of God. This claim to divinity could alone have defeated early Christianity but it still grew in numbers and was preached in the remotest countries of the then-known world. Under similar conditions, no other religion has been known to spread so rapidly.

But even more than all that I do KNOW this Jew that was crucified. I personally KNOW him as my Savior. He has put a song in my heart that only he and I can hear. When during my alone time with him there is a spiritual world where one is taken and secrets are told and knowledge is given. He picks my up and takes my by the hand into a blessedness of love and joy that can't be explained to someone who is not a Christian. Your heart is truly him as well as your mind, body and soul. It is truly the greatest story ever told and each Christian has their own story to tell. It is indeed joy unspeakable and full of glory. How do I know it is real? Because my spirit and heart KNOWS and can testify to it's existence/

Does this all make sense to you? I do not know. Maybe, I could have tried to explain it better, but all I can tell you is THAT IT IS REAL! I have been a Christian, follower of Christ, for over 30 years now, and he hasn't disappointed me yet. As sure as I know the sun will rise tomorrow I know that my heavenly Father will be my Divine Helper.

Psalm 121: I lift up my eye to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let my foot slip - He who watches over me will not slumber. Indeed he who watches over Israel will not slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over me - the Lord is my shade at my right hand; the sun will not harm me by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep me from all harm - he will watch over my life; the Lord will watch over my coming and going both now and forevermore.

There is SO much more that I could tell you about my 30 year relationship with God, and that is what it is a relationship, but there is not enough space to allow for all the experiences I personally can attest to. Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1)

Let me end this by saying I AM CERTAIN OF WHAT I DO NOT SEE!


Peace to you,
Grandma

Yes ,the brain can be a very powerful thing sometimes.
A person can beleive something with all their heart ,it still doesn't necessarily make it a fact does it?
Its well known that given enough emotive agenda a person can corellate all manner of irrational subjective interpretations into a working chain of non logic.

I think choosing one religious sect/cult's membership over another has more to do with how you introduced,indoctrinated or conditioned into it in the first place- a bit like choosing a football team.
I think a lot of people also mistake and confuse the postive values of spirituality with man made organised religious institutions.

[edit on 02/10/08 by karl 12]

reply to post by karl 12


karl:

I was 8 years old when I firsts knew that Jesus was real. No one told me of him. My family did not go to church. I always felt this presence with me and he helped guide me. He told me to go to church. I told my mom one Sunday that I was going to church. We lived in a small town and so I could walk and when I got to one it just felt right that this was the church I was to go to. Now, an 8 year old little girl walked into this church and sat down in the pew and listened to everything that was going on. I even got my two younger brothers to start going with me. I joined the Children's Choir and always believed.

As I grew up I kind of fell away from attending, but I always felt my friend there with me. I was the one who walked away, not him. Well, one day my world came crashing down. My son died before his 8th birthday. I had a 2 year old daughter to take care of or I am not sure I could have climbed out of a hole so deep. He came and tried to comfort me and I yelled at him out loud to leave me alone. I told him I was angry my heart was broken and my arms ached for my son. He told me he understood, that his heart had been broken too for his son. That is when I just fell down on my knees sobbing and choking on my tears and told him that I gave up that I was not going to fight him anymore. It was as if a hand was stroking my shoulder and a presence lifted me up and gave me such peace that is beyond all understanding. Now, you might say the doctor had her on drugs to help her with the death of her son, NOT SO, I say, I was not on any medication.

I know I can't make it real to you. I really wish I could. I would love for everyone to know what I know and to feel what I feel. I have come to the belief that we must all come to the Father in our own way. It is sad to think that there will be some who choose not to, for different reasons. How sad!
It is so simple but we make it so hard.


Peace to you,
Grandma

Grandma I don't disbeleive you beleive it - in fact I'd probably fight for your right to beleive whatever you wish (as long as it does not harm others or promote delusions of grandeur).

Thing is, I bet there are lots of people from other religions who are equaly sincere and genuinely convinced as you that 'they' are on the 'true' path and everyone else has it wrong.
I think it has a lot to do with selective (un)conscious subjective interpretation but thats just me sharing my opnion just as you shared yours.

This is an apt quote:

Most people's religion is what they want to believe, not what they do believe. ~Luther Burbank.

As is this:

Most men would kill the truth if truth would kill their religion. ~Lemuel K. Washburn

And this:
"A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything."
Frederick Nietzsche

reply to post by karl 12


Karl:

"For where your treasure be, there be your heart also"



Peace and Merry Christmas,
Grandma

Good Morning mom,

I just want to add a little note to the talk between you and Karl.

It is verses like these, that I feel are very gnostic in nature, that one could take to mean a deep spiritual meaning. There are teachings in the New Testament that I feel, were a part of Jesus's teachings that get over shadowed with the purpose of redemption from sins ect...

The power of the mind is beyond our imagination. Thoughts pocess more power then we have any idea of. We began....as thoughts to Thee. The light that always was, is within everything....mixed with this physical world.

Jesus taught things like 'seeing with one eye' so your body could be filled with light. This is a gnostic teaching....becoming ONE so you can 'connect'. Jesus showed many how to do this...few understood.

Even though few understood....the deeper teaching survived! My body is your body...my blood IS your blood....because we are ONE with Thee...I am of Thee just as you are of THEE....but without making the connection back to Thee...we continue to be a lost sheep from the flock.

The treasures in your heart are just as valuable as the Buddhist treasures contained with his or her heart. The desire for containing a pure treasure that no rust can destroy has many paths. Your path is just as rightly so as another, for Thee has made a way for all.

As long as its a path that stands for peace and love unto every neighbor, then there is merit....LOVE is the highest lesson, forgiving those for they do not know what they do....speaks volumes to me. The "I" might think that thing or action needs forgiven...but what THEE understands as needing forgiven might not be like our thoughts. Mabey these others who feel this ONE connection with the universe has a path in their own right as well. Mabey they learn exactly what they are needed to learn through a different path then others. Mabey their purpose is a little different then others.

Just some thoughts...
see ya soon,
Love me

reply to post by karl 12


Just thought this deserved to be repeated...

"Most men would kill the truth if truth would kill their religion. ~Lemuel K. Washburn"


Very nice point,
LV

Originally posted by Grandma
Karl:
"For where your treasure be, there be your heart also"
Peace and Merry Christmas,
Grandma

All the best Grandma~Happy holidays!

An old Cherokee chief was teaching his grandson about life...

"There are two wolves fighting inside a man's head" he said to the boy.

"One wolf represents anger,envy,greed,arrogance,self-pity,false pride,superiority,vindictiveness,malice and malevolence".

"The other wolf represents joy,peace,love,hope,serenity,humility,kindness,generosity,compassion,empathy and benevolence."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather,
"Which wolfs wins?"

The old chief simply replied,
"The one you feed the most."

Originally posted by LeoVirgo
Just thought this deserved to be repeated...
"Most men would kill the truth if truth would kill their religion. ~Lemuel K. Washburn"
Very nice point,
LV

LV thanks for the reply,it is a very nice (and brutally honest) quote and did deserve to be repeated.
Happy holidays to you!
Cheers Karl

Coming back to reply to the thread topic....

I have faith because of a feeling that there is something more then this life. All religions have a purpose for understanding our ancient cultures. Placing yourself in the mind set of that time and understanding why they believed what they believed is very beneficial. One can also see how religions evolve with ages. Each and every religion has evolved, taking on new cultures and a new time.

But, ultimately, my spirituality comes from everything around me. Seeing children learn, seeing myself learn through trials and errors, seeing mother nature working through orders, producing herself and then having that production return to her through death, watching the order of the stars and understanding, even our sun and moon show us something important. The sun, is the source of light...the moon is only a reflected light. There is only one light, then there are many reflected lights. As above, so below...most all religions work off of the oldest teachings. Learn them all, find the light within them all...

I only really began to grow spiritually when I let go of being of 'one' religion. All of gods manifestations then became my template to learn from.

Peace to all,
LV

reply to post by karl 12


Karl:

I had heard this story long ago. Thank you for reminding me of a very happy moment in my childhood. I hope I feed the right one.



Peace,
Grandma