Opening Your Mind

[iChelsea]

One thing that has always been important to me is keeping an open mind.

As a person who attended a Catholic school for all of my life, I can remember a time in my life when Catholicism was a very real, and rational part of my life. I took a class my senior year, and it was about Philosphy and Theology, and it literally used Philosophy as a means to prove Theology. I was a person who had the rare chance of a very thorough and rational look at the Catholic lifestyle. The teacher used many analogies, statistics, and actual facts of life to strengthen his arguments.

Seeing Catholicism form the inside, I can see how rational people in that faith can be.

I have had a very recent spiritual chance, pursuing other ideas of faith and possibilities of explanation for the universe. It ALSO makes sense to me that God, knowing that God could do anything it wanted, created all of this into different personalities and facets of its being. What better way to KNOW all this stuff than to experience it? And when we die, we could re experience the revelation of God. What's better than remembering that you have everything, that you ARE everything?

Now I am very confused. I have always been one to keep an open mind, and I just don't know where I stand. I have seen how what you believe can define your reality, and how sometimes what can seem very rational at the time is NOT necessarily the truth. So HOW do I know what to believe? What can I trust, if I cannot trust my own logic?

Part of me says that it is entirely possible that a Satanic being is leading me astray from God. And that losing my faith keeps me from being saved.

Part of me shows how irrational theology is, that an all powerful all loving God would never create a universe in which, in order for his children to be saved, he had to torture and kill his only Son. He would never let his children suffer for eternity because their logic led them to a different belief of reality, because they didn't believe he existed. I am afraid that God is just like us, and if we reject him, he will reject us too.

Part of me says subjectivism DEFINES reality, and that if you believe in God, he DOES objectively exist, but if you don't believe in God he doesn't exist.

My open mind had caused me to lose myself, and I don't know where to turn.
If I can't trust myself, who CAN I trust

 

[CherryPoppinz]

I simply recognize it as unknowable, but I will say that it seems people do apply a lot of human characteristics to there supposedly intrinsically omnipotent god.

I just try and appreciate the entirety of existence for what it is, part of what makes it so awesome is the wonder behind it.

(i am not religious but i do consider myself spiritual)

 

[Harry Hood]

One thing that has always been important to me is keeping an open mind.

What better way to KNOW all this stuff than to experience it? ...you have everything, that you ARE everything?

I have seen how what you believe can define your reality, and how sometimes what can seem very rational at the time is NOT necessarily the truth. So HOW do I know what to believe? What can I trust, if I cannot trust my own logic?

...subjectivism DEFINES reality, and that if you believe in God, he DOES objectively exist, but if you don't believe in God he doesn't exist.

My open mind had caused me to lose myself, and I don't know where to turn.
If I can't trust myself, who CAN I trust

Keeping an open mind is one the most important things you can do. That's always a wonderful start.

I agree with you on experiencing life first hand is a noble endeavor. I also agree that everything is one and the same as well. You know what to believe through good logic. If you believe that you can't trust you own logic right now, then somewhere inside, truth seems to be prodding at your current beliefs.

I also believe that subjectivism and objectivism are one, that your make your own reality.
Since I believe the universe is one and the same (I should stop using "I", hah.) , then "God" does exist because if subjectivism and objectivism are also the same, it follows that if there is the subjective belief in God then he exists simply for that fact.

It seems to me that an open mind is not causing you to lose yourself but actually find yourself; yourself being the truth.

 

[KamMoye]

can't trust anyone

that's why there's faith

 

[Raw Evil]

can't trust anyone

that's why there's faith

Isn't faith the purest form of trust?

Having faith in a person means that you trust them to act in your best interests.

Having faith in a fact means that you trust that it is true.

Now I am very confused. I have always been one to keep an open mind, and I just don't know where I stand. I have seen how what you believe can define your reality, and how sometimes what can seem very rational at the time is NOT necessarily the truth. So HOW do I know what to believe? What can I trust, if I cannot trust my own logic?

Logic isn't a personal thing. It's a system used to prove (or disprove) arguments. It's as close to objective as humans currently know.

Logic is a very refined tool for sifting truth from knowledge.

Part of me says that it is entirely possible that a Satanic being is leading me astray from God. And that losing my faith keeps me from being saved.

This line of reasoning only holds water if you still have faith. I see what you mean, though. Remember that by choosing what you believe carefully, you're not simply throwing caution to the wind.

Part of me shows how irrational theology is, that an all powerful all loving God would never create a universe in which, in order for his children to be saved, he had to torture and kill his only Son. He would never let his children suffer for eternity because their logic led them to a different belief of reality, because they didn't believe he existed. I am afraid that God is just like us, and if we reject him, he will reject us too.

Question for you: If God is really like that - someone who would punish an action with a similar consequence, eye-for-an-eye style - would you still respect such a being? Would you consider that to be suitably moral behaviour for the "Father" persona to be demonstrating to His children?

Part of me says subjectivism DEFINES reality, and that if you believe in God, he DOES objectively exist, but if you don't believe in God he doesn't exist.

My open mind had caused me to lose myself, and I don't know where to turn.

Subjectivism can't define objective reality, because objectivity requires that something exists in a particular fashion regardless of the observer. Still, it will determine your attitude toward things.

If I can't trust myself, who CAN I trust

Precisely. Trust in other people doesn't make sense until you can trust your own judgement.