MovieChat Forums > The Remaining (2014) Discussion > Choosing to believe

Choosing to believe

posted 10 years ago by mmmm_Dean
6 replies | jump to latest

I don't think believing in anything is really a choice, you either do or you don't. I am not a believer and can't be, I would be lying to myself. It's a lovely thought, eternal life and being reunited with lived ones, but that's all it is to me- a lovely thought. I do think in general most believers think the way they do as a defense mechanism to the hard realities of life- mainly that we're not important, we do die for good, and the world and universe will go on existing just fine without us. It's nice to think that we're special and loved by some mystical being but there is no part of me that can think this is a fact. Atheists don't "hate god" as I have seen expressed by vehement believers in many forums, atheists don't say "there is no god so I'll rape, murder, etc." there are plenty of religious criminals, all they have to do is repent before they die and all is forgiven anyway. Most atheists have a strong moral code that is inherent in us- it's a survival instinct- humans by nature are social creatures that prefer community and acceptance- the way to have community and acceptance is to get along and live by rules set to keep the peace. It is my nature to be atheist as well as very moral, I literally can't harm a fly, I can't stand the thought if contributing to any pain and suffering in the world so I became a vegetarian at 14 years old, after my religious phase. I always see Christians and others complain about atheists attacking them, well I'm tired of being attacked by Christians, and I have been treated very poorly by them just because I'm atheist and not because I did anything wrong. It's okay to be an out and proud Christian in America but let someone know you're atheist and prepare to be attacked. Respect goes both ways. I can't help that my mind doesn't allow for belief in supernatural things, that's just how I'm wired.

Sorry for the rant, I forgot what I was even going to post originally. Decent movie though, however I would like to see what the afterlife might look like, nobody seems to want to go there in movie making unless it's a comedy.

[–] jlcurtis 10 years ago

Amen!
;-)

[–] CoolAznMan 10 years ago

I disagree with you on the part where you said believing is not a choice. It is a choice, but that doesn't mean it's a bad thing. It doesn't make sense when you said you're not a believer and you "can't" be. What do you mean you "can't" be? If you choose to believe, it doesn't mean you are lying to yourself, simply because you made that choice. You know what you are believing in. Everyone has that choice.
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"You either do or you don't."
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^Well that is true in some cases, but I don't agree with that, because that implies that you have no mind of your own. You believe...because you believe. Or vice versa.

That's my two cents. =]

[–] gunkulator 10 years ago

I think most Christians "choose" to believe in Christianity in the same sense that Muslims choose to be Islamic, Hindus choose Hinduism and Buddhists choose Buddhism. Simply put: children are indoctrinated at an early age to believe what their parents want them to believe. Frequently, there are cultural pressures that reinforce these "beliefs".

Conversions in adulthood occur but they are relatively rare. Despite the best efforts of whatever gods may be out there, most people stay with the beliefs they are brought up with.

[–] wayofthejeep 10 years ago

I am responding from a neutral point of view. (I have ambiguous beliefs, but do NOT subscribe to any one book or anyone church, and think all other books are wrong, thats dumb)

But I gotta say Atheists attack Christians 10000x more than vice versa. Everytime I see an article about anything even remotely religious, atheists FLOCK to troll and attack and tell Christians how stupid they are. I NEVER see any Christians flocking to a site to attack atheists. Furthermore, I have both sides on my facebook friend lists. My atheist friends constantly post memes mocking and attacking Christians. My Christian friends post inspiration memes like "Jesus loves you" "Dont worry, Have faith" etc. Yet the atheists claim they are the ones attacked.

I truly find comedy in a white male American atheist claiming to be "persecuted". There is no more privileged creature in the world than a white American male. For one to sip his Starbucks and type a message on his expensive laptop about how he is persecuted is pure irony. Hell, for the under 40 crowd, being an atheist is the IN thing. Hardly a targeted group.

I am not making a statement about belief here. I fully admit atheists might be right. But its the attitudes of atheists, as described above, that really annoy me.

[–] Obnoxiously-Adorable 9 years ago

People deal with the troubles in their lives in various ways. Some can deal. Some turn to drugs, legal or illegal. Some believe in religion. The belief in a higher power gives us something to blame when things go wrong and thank when things go right. We are just intelligent enough to have a very deep desire to not believe we are all alone out there but not intelligent enough to come up with something more tangible to believe in to explain things. We are our own worst enemies.

Having said that, we most certainly can choose what we believe in. Some have been raised their entire lives in a church and a belief system and think they believe, like the woman who'd just gotten married. It took a trauma for her to finally come around fully and accept the reality of God and his role in what was happening. That was faith. In fact, it's mostly during the worst times of our lives that we make a decision to believe or not. They covered that in the new groom's death too, when he believed during his rage-filled grief.

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[–] karenzkritterz 9 years ago

Darlin' you need to run for president!!! You've got my vote. And it's nice to hear that I'm not the only agnostic (I am a theist) that has been all but spat on by our loving brothers, the Christians. I thought it was my breath or something.