How belief is a powerful tool to enlightenment

[ahdkaw]

This is really all about where one can potentially go after accepting Atheism as Truth. Frankly, once you've realised there is no God, religion gets quite dull and unimpressive. However, the great thing about religion is that it provides the ability to believe without proof, which, contrary to popular belief (<- there it is again), can be quite helpful in pursuing your own goals in life.

I'm sure everyone has heard of Discordia, a religion disguised as a joke disguised as a religion, which involves the non-worship of the completely made-up Greek Goddess of Chaos and Confusion, Eris. You can check my facts if you like, look into Greek Mythology and you will find the story of the Golden Apple (Kallisti - "To the prettiest/fairest one") which was the real cause of The Trojan Wars. All of this is completely made-up, you won't find it in the Greek Mythologies. Same with Aneris, her sister, and polar opposite. It is said that she and her sister created the universe, perhaps. Plus, every other religion in world stole their ideas from Discordia, you can see it in the symbolism. Disclaimer: In no way is any of this true.

But then if you look at The Hodge & The Podge, which are the two elements that make up the entire universe, you won't find them. Also, it is important that all Discordians either follow or not follow the great Dogma of Discordia, which is to not eat hotdog buns on a Friday. We Discordians (of which I do not count myself a part of in any way whatsoever) have our own calender, and it no makes no sense. Everyone is a Pope and there is a Pope Card that anyone can print off and fill-out for themselves, which is proof beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are wHoly.

Addendum: I refute all the claims of Discordia.

Edit reasons: Mispellings, grammar issues, and all that great stuff.

Introduction: I seriously doubt that any of that enlightened anyone. If anyone was, then please file a compliant at your appropriate local cabal headquarters, and it shall be dismissed upon receipt.

 

[ebbixx]

Introduction: I seriously doubt that any of that enlightened anyone. If anyone was, then please file a compliant at your appropriate local cabal headquarters, and it shall be dismissed upon receipt.

Must I be compliant in order to file a compliant? And if so, with what must I be compliant?

 

[ahdkaw]

Must I be compliant in order to file a compliant? And if so, with what must I be compliant?

There is no reason why you should be compliant in order to file a compliant, you are simply filing your compliance at your local headquarters. Once that has been completed just lay back and bask in your Enlightenment.

 

[Ozymandyus]

In all seriousness, belief/faith is an important tool needed for new discovery and understanding. It just has to be accompanied constantly by evidence gathering and adjustment.

 

[digitalbuddha48]

belief/faith is an important tool needed for new discovery and understanding. It just has to be accompanied constantly by evidence gathering and adjustment.

Faith = tool used by religions to blindly coerce and forcefully impose their own beliefs on said individual.

Pursuit of knowledge = the conscious decision by a sentient being to know and accept that an increase in knowledge means a greater understanding of the world we live in.

I realize the latter may be a stretch but I don't think you need faith for new discovery or understanding. May be seen as the same but I think hope is a better word for what you're talking about, I just associate faith with religion which is my bad .

 

[Eyeofpolyphemus]

I realize the latter may be a stretch but I don't think you need faith for new discovery or understanding. May be seen as the same but I think hope is a better word for what you're talking about, I just associate faith with religion which is my bad .

The only knowledgeyou will eve rgain that is self evident is your own existence--'I think, therefore I am." everything else is taken on faith that you are perceiving information correctly.

 

[ahdkaw]

The only knowledgeyou will eve rgain that is self evident is your own existence--'I think, therefore I am." everything else is taken on faith that you are perceiving information correctly.

If I started getting serious now, it would ruin my entire reputation!

But I never actually managed to get into the thread topic, I kinda got distracted halfway through by Eris and her discordant ways.

But belief (not faith) is definitely a powerful tool to Enlightment.

If you believe something to be true, it then gives you the impetus to discover whether that belief is valid. And if that belief proves to be invalid, then a new belief must come into play. (?)

 

[GoodKat]

If you believe something to be true, it then gives you the impetus to discover whether that belief is valid.

Belief should not be present until you have already determined what is valid.

 

[digitalbuddha48]

Can curiosity be considered the same as belief?

 

[Ozymandyus]

Can curiosity be considered the same as belief?

Not exactly... Curiousity leads to hypotheses which are something quite similar to belief. Without hypothetical frameworks of belief we have nothing to TEST - belief is the thing that inspires us to perform experiments. The problem lies in beliefs that divorce themselves from experimentation and confirmation and thus shun the clearly more valuable form of belief - knowledge.

 

[digitalbuddha48]

Not exactly... Curiousity leads to hypotheses which are something quite similar to belief. Without hypothetical frameworks of belief we have nothing to TEST - belief is the thing that inspires us to perform experiments. The problem lies in beliefs that divorce themselves from experimentation and confirmation and thus shun the clearly more valuable form of belief - knowledge.

This, me like. So you're saying that curiosity leads to belief, but belief can be separated into knowledge or blind faith? Clarify please if i got it wrong.

 

[Ozymandyus]

This, me like. So you're saying that curiosity leads to belief, but belief can be separated into knowledge or blind faith? Clarify please if i got it wrong.

Yup, basically. The distinction is really between false belief and true belief(knowledge), which is a continuum with many shades of gray. Curiosity can lead us to either, but the scientific process is the main procedure that we know leads us in the direction of true belief. Some beliefs are false and people refuse to let them be subjected to such processes or ignore the evidence which is purely blind ignorance. Some beliefs cannot be fully subjected to such processes, and therefore require faith.

Faith is a somewhat different thing than belief - it refers to things which cannot be proven or disproven. Sadly even our truest beliefs rely on some kind of faith. Certain assumptions must be made like the continuity of physical processes (that physical constants like gravity will remain the same) or the trust that we put in our senses portraying a real world to us. There are few such necessary assumptions and the 'faith' that they represent is very different from the unnecessary assumptions (that are usually made despite some indications to the contrary) that are called blind faith.

 

[digitalbuddha48]

Nicely written. Thou hath won thy over.

 

[digitalbuddha48]

Hey Ozy I found this video that addresses this very topic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qs3RKZjSzYg&feature=rec-HM-fresh+div

Pretty informative imo and it reaffirms what you were saying. Watch the whole thing though there's a little "lol" at the end (or you could just skip to the end )

 

[ahdkaw]

Good stuff both of you.

That caller held it together for nearly 10 minutes, I was stunned!

 

[digitalbuddha48]

That caller held it together for nearly 10 minutes, I was stunned!

I know right? I was so surprised at the end because he seemed so composed, but damn he got scary fast.

 

[Otokogoroshi]

I think I'm too sleep deprived to understand what's going on.

 

[digitalbuddha48]

I think I'm too sleep deprived to understand what's going on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qs3RKZjSzYg&feature=rec-HM-fresh+div

Watch this link, sums up this entire thread. The "funny" is at the very end of the vid. If you still miss it after you get some sleep we'll be glad to tell you what was so funny.