"do we really choose to have faith in God's existence", you wonder. You suspect not.
One could choose to believe God exists, just as one could choose to believe the earth orbits the sun Speaking for myself, I do not know the earth orbits the sun, because I have not taken the time to conduct the necessary experiments. I have no doubt it does because I trust that the scientists have done their work. But for myself it is not properly called "knowledge" that the earth moves. Rather, I have chosen to trust the scientists on this point. Now one could do the same thing with God: believe God is, on the trust in others. And that is good enough for children. But it is really only the faith of parents and teachers alive in the children. But eventually one grows up, works through the proofs of God, and that knowledge is perfected. That God exists exists is /not/ an article of faith for those who can follow the proofs, just as "the earth orbits the sun" is /not/ an article of faith for those who have conducted the relevant experiments. Faced with a truth that can be known by reason or faith, a person has an option to convert it from an article of faith to a conclusion of reason. That said, there is a world of difference between "I believe X" and "I believe in X". The man for whom God's existence is not an article of faith but a certain conclusion of reason, has only begun. He knows God is and he knows it with the certainty he knows two is a prime number, and far greater certainty than he "knows" the earth orbits the sun (which is, after all, an empirical conclusion, and subject to correction by future facts). He knows God is. But does he believe in God? On Jan 18, 9:32 am, Lee <[email protected]> wrote: > So I have been away for a week(damn me am the only IT bod in the world > without Internet access at home,this is NOT the question) and when I > come back i see all sorts of rows and arguments and I guess what can > only be described as 'bad bood' > > Those of you who know me well enough by now know that one of my things > is the concept of 'free will' and it is something along these lines > that I want to ask you about. > > Choice of belifes. I was asked elswhere a while back on some Sikh > forum or other why I choose to belive that the entity we know as God > exists. After thinking about it for a while I realised that I > couldn't really answer this question in any way other then: > > 'Good question Agnostic Ji. > > Do we really choose to have faith in God's existance though? Can we > literaly choose what we wish to belive or not? > Lets try it, please try to choose to belive that God exists and let us > know what happens. > I suspect that I can no more choose not to belive in God than I have > chossen the opposite.' > > Am I right? Rather like one's sexual preferance, is it true that one > can choose to belive in God or not? > > Ian I'm look at you my friend.
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