Why do you believe in a religion?

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Forgive me if someone already suggested the book below; I didn’t have enough patience to scroll through. Don’t get thrown by the title. Trent explains it thoroughly, unfortunately too academically for me at times, like the part refuting multi-verses, but the basics of your question comprise the vast majority of the book, including the widely cited “problem of evil”. The answer to your massive logical leap part comes about 2/3 of the way through the book if memory serves? IDK, maybe it was halfway. Either way, the exhaustive explanation goes to back one of the posts I did read that said a supreme being is the most probable answer. This link goes to a used one in good condition, reflecting my own penury and parsimony lol, but you could just as easily get a new one or go to amazon for the kindle version. Hope it helps, either way. May the Holy Spirit guide you through your search for answers.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/an...MI_6CT25-D3gIV3bfACh0i5wgZEAQYAiABEgLQGPD_BwE
 
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Roguish said:
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mrsdizzyd:
Manifestations of various distinct aspects of one God, but they are not each a complete manifestation of the totality of God. That means there is conflict and division within God. If there is conflict and division then he does not qualify as the uncaused first cause.
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Mrs. Dizzy, with all due respect – and I mean that – you do not understand Hinduism. Not understanding it isn’t a crime, but it would really be gracious of you if you refrained from theologically analyzing the religion of a billion people in a three-line paragraph and dismissing it as some sort of obvious mistake. Thank you.
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I already addressed this. Note what I said earlier:
mrsdizzyd said:
Short surface answers (because this isn’t really on topic).
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And more to the point: I was asked for my opinion as to why I rejected various other faiths. I never claimed to be an expert. I’m sorry if you were offended, but this is the reason why I personally rejected Hinduism. I could not get past the polytheistic aspect of it (I do understand that Hinduism isnt technically polytheistic, but it is the shortest and easiest way to convey my particular issue with it). I in no way intended to be offensive by expressing that.

Generally speaking, when people reject something that rejection will turn on one specific aspect of a thing that is disqualifying. For someone who rejects Christianity they might not believe the resurrection is true or they might not believe Jesus was God or they might not believe Jesus fulfilled prophecy or even that the Christian conception of God is not monotheistic. Christians would argue them down and insist on each of their points being true. The reality is that if they believe exactly like we believed they’d probably be Christians.
 
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Because the thread title is about why one believes in the religion.
But the post was “why do you believe in God”.

My own “elevator testimony” for believing in the RCC is that (besides being convinced by competent apologetics) I find that the closer I cling to Jesus, diligent in prayer and Bible reading and sacraments, then I can be more forgiving, and patient and understanding of my own failures and those around me.
Trust me, I’m a better person that way…
 
Generally speaking believing in an organised religion helps constrain our wild imaginings and gives a coherent structure based on interpretation of scripture and the study of the lives of biblical characters etc. And of course we have the uniformity of worship in the sacraments. Our Catechism is also the repository of wisdom and instruction which aids cohesion.
This is the structure of the great ship we man which sees us through the storms and raging sea of life.

As far as belief is concerned I made little or no progress until I joined the Catholic Church. I have since found that I can detect the intricate path along which God had led me to where He desired me to be.
God is real. Have no doubt. He is our ultimate destination.
 
Where you see conflict and division they might see complementarity and harmony much as we also see it in creation. And of course, as in Christianity, there are many forms from simple folk to academic scholars, and sinners as well as saints.
 
Shakuhachi said:
Where you see conflict and division they might see complementarity and harmony much as we also see it in creation. And of course, as in Christianity, there are many forms from simple folk to academic scholars, and sinners as well as saints.
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Absolutely. I know several devout Hindus including one of my best friends on the planet. She is sincere in her belief. She definitely sees the deities as complementary and in harmony. She has no problem with the absence of a “creator God”. She sees no conflict with believing that all paths lead back to the same essential essence.

The things she loves most are the things that ultimately make Hinduism unworkable for me.
 
A more pertinent question in my case is, “Why did you believe?” Everything I ever believed was told to me by others who I assumed were people worthy of belief because they knew the truth. One day it occurred to me to ask “Why did they believe?” The answer I got was that they also believed what was told to them by their own "people worthy of belief ". In my case parents, nuns and priests, and eventually college theology professors. The same in their cases. In no case was belief ever justified by pure logic. That’s when I quit believing in 99% of all that religious stuff that was told to me.
 
Several of the 10 commandments because they make sense in a civilized society, and the basic very logical rule “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” That is more than enough to give me peace of mind that I’m an acceptable human being.
 
Obviously I’m a Catholic because I believe in the Church and the Catholic religion but what first attracted me to it was…God.

It’s sad that whatever people who believe seem to say is so easily dismissed by others. However, God’s will be done.
 
Because after years of research, study of the great philosophers, I choose to believe.
 
It’s pretty simple really. The Catholic Church radically changed my life for the better. Might have literally saved it.
 
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