{"id":23124,"date":"2021-08-08T03:00:40","date_gmt":"2021-08-08T09:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?p=23124"},"modified":"2021-07-27T16:23:39","modified_gmt":"2021-07-27T22:23:39","slug":"can-you-choose-your-beliefs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/08\/can-you-choose-your-beliefs.html","title":{"rendered":"Can You Choose Your Beliefs?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Recently a Facebook friend asked a simple but deep question<\/a>: \u201cDo you think that belief is a choice? Can you really help whether or not you\u2019re convinced of something?\u201d<\/p>\n

This is an important question, particularly in light of last week\u2019s post on hacking your worldview<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As Pagans and polytheists, we understand that religion isn\u2019t about what you believe, it\u2019s about what you do, who you are, and whose you are. The idea that religion is all about which set of supernatural propositions you affirm and which you reject is a very modern, Western, and Protestant idea \u2013 and not a very helpful one either.<\/p>\n

Still, it matters what we believe. Last year I wrote on The Role of Belief in an Orthopraxic Religion<\/a> \u2013 I recommend reading that post, especially the section titled \u201cGood beliefs require humility.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, can you choose your beliefs? Not directly, and not easily. But there are steps you can take to change them.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

What is belief?<\/h2>\n

A belief is a conclusion reached in the absence of clear evidence. Unlike what skeptics claim, even the most fantastical beliefs aren\u2019t based on no evidence. The evidence may be insufficient or erroneous, but there\u2019s always a reason why people believe what they believe.<\/p>\n

For most people, for most beliefs, that reason is \u201cit\u2019s what I was taught as a child.\u201d For too many people, the reason is \u201cit\u2019s what I want to be true\u201d \u2013 which is often because it\u2019s what they were taught as a child. We get comfortable with what we\u2019re familiar with, even if believing it harms us.<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t simply choose a belief<\/h2>\n

A long time ago \u2013 in my pre-Pagan days \u2013 someone asked me to believe something that didn\u2019t make sense to me. He said I needed to \u201cmake a decision\u201d and to affirm his religious creed (he would have argued that it wasn\u2019t a creed, but that\u2019s what it was) despite my misgivings about it.<\/p>\n

He was asking me to lie.<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t believe his particular religious proposition because my evaluation of it \u2013 however perfunctory that evaluation may have been \u2013 told me it wasn\u2019t true. His insistence that \u201cyou need to just believe\u201d told me that he hadn\u2019t put a lot of thought into the matter.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The problem with \u201cchildlike faith\u201d<\/h2>\n

Some Christians like to talk about \u201cchildlike faith.\u201d Now, as a Pagan, it\u2019s not my job to tell Christians how to practice Christianity. But since Christianity is the 800 pound gorilla in Western religion and culture, I can\u2019t completely ignore it.<\/p>\n

The phrase \u201cchildlike faith\u201d isn\u2019t found in the Bible, and different Christians have different opinions as to what Jesus meant when He said \u201clike a child\u201d (or if He even said it, but that\u2019s another topic for another time, and likely, for another blog).<\/p>\n

As a Pagan and especially as a magic worker, I see the need for a childlike approach in some matters. Mainly, I appreciate the way children approach new things with an open-minded curiosity \u2013 and with a million questions. Children inherently believe in magic \u2013 it has to be \u201ceducated\u201d out of them. Children sometimes have past life memories<\/a> that defy \u201crational\u201d explanation\u2026 and then those memories start to fade as they move into adolescence.<\/p>\n

But for too many people \u2013 Christians to be sure, but also people of other religions \u2013 \u201cchildlike faith\u201d refers to a longing for a simpler time when they didn\u2019t have to wrestle with complicated questions of metaphysics, ethics, and such. A time when they just believed what they were told.<\/p>\n

Clearly, some people just choose to believe what they were taught, without reflection. If they\u2019re happy and living good lives, so be it.<\/p>\n

As for me, I can\u2019t imagine anything more dishonest.<\/p>\n

Socrates said \u201cthe unexamined life is not worth living.\u201d I say the unexamined belief is not worth believing. In the words of Terence McKenna \u201cif it\u2019s real, it can take the pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

You can choose which evidence you examine<\/h2>\n

If there\u2019s enough evidence for or against something, belief is no longer necessary \u2013 you have proof. But for everything else, there is evidence that either supports or refutes a particular belief, even though it\u2019s inconclusive.<\/p>\n

There is no conclusive proof that Gods exist. But there is evidence: the stories of our ancestors, the temples they built, and the rites they performed. More importantly, there is the evidence of our own experiences. I\u2019ve experienced the Morrigan first-hand so many times I can\u2019t not<\/em> believe in Her reality and Her divinity.<\/p>\n

Some beliefs require choosing to ignore certain evidence. If you\u2019re a Young Earth Creationist, you must ignore the findings of geology, astronomy, and biology, not to mention the oral history of the aboriginal Australians, which goes back at least 10,000 years<\/a> and likely much longer.<\/p>\n

If you aren\u2019t happy with some of your beliefs, or if they don\u2019t seem right to you, examine the evidence for and against them. See if there is evidence you haven\u2019t been aware of, or evidence you\u2019ve been ignoring.<\/p>\n

You can choose your criteria for evaluation<\/h2>\n

For too many people, the criteria for evaluation is \u201cdoes it confirm what I want to be true?\u201d<\/p>\n

Does it contradict the findings of science? Science doesn\u2019t have all the answers. Some questions \u2013 particularly in the realm of religion, philosophy, and ethics \u2013 are beyond the bounds of science. But the answers science has are very reliable. If you believe something that contradicts science, it\u2019s probably wrong.<\/p>\n

History is notoriously incomplete. Can you imagine if some future historian was working on our current period and all that was left were tapes from Fox News? We\u2019ve all heard \u201chistory is written by the winners\u201d but mainly, history is written by those in power. Even history written by professional historians is written from their point of view, which can never be completely neutral. Minority viewpoints are usually missing from official accounts. History (which includes history contained in scriptures) is often helpful, but it\u2019s nothing to wager your soul on.<\/p>\n

For me, once we establish that a belief isn\u2019t categorically wrong, whether or not I believe it comes down to two questions. One, is it the most likely explanation, given my foundational assumptions as an animist and a polytheist? Two \u2013 and most importantly \u2013 is it helpful?<\/p>\n

Does a belief inspire us to live virtuous lives? Does it help us deal with life\u2019s hardships, and its uncertainties? Does it help us to form and maintain respectful, reciprocal relationships with our neighbors \u2013 all our neighbors?<\/p>\n

If so, then I\u2019m inclined to believe it. If it inspires fear, hatred, and conflict, I\u2019m inclined to deny it.<\/p>\n

And if it\u2019s clearly true then I am ethically obligated to believe it, even if it\u2019s uncomfortable, even if it\u2019s inconvenient, even if it\u2019s painful.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re struggling to abandon beliefs you find harmful, ask yourself what criteria you\u2019re using to evaluate them.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

You always choose your actions<\/h2>\n

Ultimately, what you believe is your business. How you interact with others is everyone\u2019s business.<\/p>\n

If you believe something very different from me, we can still be friends and even co-religionists \u2013 at least up to a point. As I like to say, there is no creedal test to dance the Maypole (will we get to dance the Maypole next year? I certainly hope so).<\/p>\n

It matters what we believe, but religion is far more than belief. Who are your people? Who are your Gods? How do you relate to them, to the land where you live, and to the other persons \u2013 human and other-than-human \u2013 who share it with you? \u201cReligion\u201d comes from the Latin word religare<\/em>, meaning \u201cto bind together.\u201d We are bound together by so much more than belief.<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t choose your beliefs. But you can choose the evidence you examine and your criteria for examining it. And you always choose your actions.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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