I am a Christian and as such I believe many of the things that one might identify as common Christian beliefs. However, as with other aspects of my life, the most I can say is that a given opinion is probably "true" given the information available to me. It should be noted that this post is partially inspired by Aleysha's post on baptism. Obviously, baptism is a hotly debated topic among Christians and I have an opinion on the topic and, so far as is possible, I have tried to base that opinion on careful reading of the Bible, study of the history of Christianity over the past 1900 or so years, and scientific knowledge about human psychology. In terms of a nonreligious issue, back when US President Obama was trying to get his healthcare bill passed I did a fair bit of reading on the bill, so far as was possible, from objective/nonpartisan sources. There are other threads for discussing politics and specific issues. For the purposes of this thread I would like to point out that for both baptism and healthcare the unknowns are rather significant. Thus, I have two questions:
1. Is uncertainty as it relates to religious belief qualitatively different from uncertainty as it relates to other kinds of beliefs?
2. How does one take account of uncertainty in evaluating one's own beliefs?
Religious Belief and Uncertainty
Moderator: Alyrium Denryle
Re: Religious Belief and Uncertainty
1. if the belief is non-evidence based, there is no difference.
If the the belief is evidence based, it may have to change to accommodate new evidence in the future.
2. for an evidence based belief you can make a judgement based on the quality, quantity and historical value of the evidence as well as the deductions - eg. historically, this stock has only gone up, but history is a poor indicator for stock value.
for a non-evidence based belief... well, you can do an experiment to try and turn it into an evidence based one with an associated value of uncertainty. I use that method in cooking all the time.
For something only weakly evidence based (political ideology, say) all you can do is examine the other arguments and make your mind up. educated guess in other words.
If the the belief is evidence based, it may have to change to accommodate new evidence in the future.
2. for an evidence based belief you can make a judgement based on the quality, quantity and historical value of the evidence as well as the deductions - eg. historically, this stock has only gone up, but history is a poor indicator for stock value.
for a non-evidence based belief... well, you can do an experiment to try and turn it into an evidence based one with an associated value of uncertainty. I use that method in cooking all the time.
For something only weakly evidence based (political ideology, say) all you can do is examine the other arguments and make your mind up. educated guess in other words.
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"Welcome to SDN, where we can't see the forest because walking into trees repeatedly feels good, bro." - Mr Coffee
"Welcome to SDN, where we can't see the forest because walking into trees repeatedly feels good, bro." - Mr Coffee
Re: Religious Belief and Uncertainty
As a former Christian I have noticed that when uncertainties stack up some things, a belief in God in this case, cannot stand up anymore. And these uncertainties grow exponentially once contradictions arise.
As for politic issues, I agree that the best thing is to delve deep into the material if you really want to know what it's about. And then it basically becomes following the line of arguments and rebuttals, and concessions that are made.
In that last part may lay the difference between politics and beliefs; in politics, meeting halfway can help resolve an issue. Beliefs are more yes/no and can't meet halfway that easily.
Personally I take account of uncertainties in evaluating my own belief by admitting that I don't know it, and resolving to find an answer I can live with, which can be difficult during the transition from belief to unbelief (again, in the case of believing in the Christian God).
As for politic issues, I agree that the best thing is to delve deep into the material if you really want to know what it's about. And then it basically becomes following the line of arguments and rebuttals, and concessions that are made.
In that last part may lay the difference between politics and beliefs; in politics, meeting halfway can help resolve an issue. Beliefs are more yes/no and can't meet halfway that easily.
Personally I take account of uncertainties in evaluating my own belief by admitting that I don't know it, and resolving to find an answer I can live with, which can be difficult during the transition from belief to unbelief (again, in the case of believing in the Christian God).