The title might be suggesting that this article is about the never ending discussion on presence of God. But no, I won't comment on anything which I myself don't know. This article is simply about, how people act on the basis of their belief (in existence of God to be precise).
First, let us see, what is belief? It means, Mental acceptance of and conviction in the truth, actuality, or validity of something.
This acceptance or conviction makes belief a very useful tool for development of mental strength. It helps us to increase our focus on goal and work harder to get it, because we have one thing defined in our mind on the basis of our belief. Lets use an example to understand this.
One child studying hard for his exams believes in his mind that if he gets good marks then he is sure to have a good future. He will have a positive feeling while working for his goal and in turn this will make him mentally more stable. Another child studying as hard as the first one, has no belief in his mind about what effect the outcome of his hard work will have on his future. He is doing it, just for the sake of it. Which child will be able to have a better focus towards his goal? Obviously the first one. I hope this explains how belief can act as a mental strength tool.
At the same time, a belief can also lead a person to act lethargic and disinterested towards a goal. Taking the same above example, if the child has a belief in his mind that exams has got nothing to do with his future and he can succeed even without doing well in exams, then he is easily distracted from his goal.
So, a belief can have a positive as well as negative impact depending on what kind of belief it is.
Taking this belief to a bigger scale, the same thing can happen to a group of people, community or a nation as well.
Now as the concept of belief is understood well, we will move to the concept of 'Belief in existence/non-existence of God.'
People always argument on this topic and judge each other on the basis of their belief. The worse part is that they make prejudices on this basis and assume illogical things about the other person, depending whether he is a theist or an atheist. But as it is well quoted,
"Your belief doesn't make you a better person, your behavior does."
It's quite true. Although it can be said that it is our belief which subconsciously drives our thoughts and then these thoughts turn into our actions. So somewhere deep down, our beliefs are driving our actions. But here I'm talking about belief in God. How can be a person be judged to be stupid or intelligent, good or bad, right or wrong, by knowing whether he is a theist or an atheist?
One thing which can not be understood is that, why a sense of superiority comes in a person on this basis. An atheist may think that a theist is inferior to him as he believes in destiny and believes that God is always there to protect him from the wrong. He may consider him as a weak person who is more dependent on God in his life than his own hard work. Conversely, a theist may think a person who doesn't believe in God cannot be a good person as he associates God with good things. I'm not saying that all theists and atheists think like this, but unfortunately, most of us are prone to falling into these prejudices.
All that we need to understand is that we should free ourselves from this judgment of people and respect everyone's beliefs. You may have the urge to explain to someone that whatever he believes is wrong and he should not be believing things that way. But if someone gets his strength by believing in God and uses this strength in working hard, helping others and being kind towards others, why should we even try try to convince him that there is no God. Considering the other side of the coin, if someone gets his strength by thinking that there is no God, and thinks that I must work hard myself to pursue my dreams, if I want to see a positive change in the world I must step forward and help others and believes in himself, then here also, why should we try to convince him in existence of God.
The point is that we should respect everyone's belief and shouldn't interfere them if their belief is assisting them in doing good. But if you see someone acting wrong and quoting his belief as an excuse, then yes, in this case you should correct the other person.
Remember, your belief can never be used as an excuse for your actions. Prejudices and judging other people on their belief/non-belief in God should be avoided. Good or Bad, you yourself are responsible for your actions.
Isn't it?
Belief
First, let us see, what is belief? It means, Mental acceptance of and conviction in the truth, actuality, or validity of something.
This acceptance or conviction makes belief a very useful tool for development of mental strength. It helps us to increase our focus on goal and work harder to get it, because we have one thing defined in our mind on the basis of our belief. Lets use an example to understand this.
One child studying hard for his exams believes in his mind that if he gets good marks then he is sure to have a good future. He will have a positive feeling while working for his goal and in turn this will make him mentally more stable. Another child studying as hard as the first one, has no belief in his mind about what effect the outcome of his hard work will have on his future. He is doing it, just for the sake of it. Which child will be able to have a better focus towards his goal? Obviously the first one. I hope this explains how belief can act as a mental strength tool.At the same time, a belief can also lead a person to act lethargic and disinterested towards a goal. Taking the same above example, if the child has a belief in his mind that exams has got nothing to do with his future and he can succeed even without doing well in exams, then he is easily distracted from his goal.
So, a belief can have a positive as well as negative impact depending on what kind of belief it is.
Taking this belief to a bigger scale, the same thing can happen to a group of people, community or a nation as well.
Now as the concept of belief is understood well, we will move to the concept of 'Belief in existence/non-existence of God.'
Theist or Atheist?
People always argument on this topic and judge each other on the basis of their belief. The worse part is that they make prejudices on this basis and assume illogical things about the other person, depending whether he is a theist or an atheist. But as it is well quoted,
"Your belief doesn't make you a better person, your behavior does."
It's quite true. Although it can be said that it is our belief which subconsciously drives our thoughts and then these thoughts turn into our actions. So somewhere deep down, our beliefs are driving our actions. But here I'm talking about belief in God. How can be a person be judged to be stupid or intelligent, good or bad, right or wrong, by knowing whether he is a theist or an atheist?
One thing which can not be understood is that, why a sense of superiority comes in a person on this basis. An atheist may think that a theist is inferior to him as he believes in destiny and believes that God is always there to protect him from the wrong. He may consider him as a weak person who is more dependent on God in his life than his own hard work. Conversely, a theist may think a person who doesn't believe in God cannot be a good person as he associates God with good things. I'm not saying that all theists and atheists think like this, but unfortunately, most of us are prone to falling into these prejudices.
All that we need to understand is that we should free ourselves from this judgment of people and respect everyone's beliefs. You may have the urge to explain to someone that whatever he believes is wrong and he should not be believing things that way. But if someone gets his strength by believing in God and uses this strength in working hard, helping others and being kind towards others, why should we even try try to convince him that there is no God. Considering the other side of the coin, if someone gets his strength by thinking that there is no God, and thinks that I must work hard myself to pursue my dreams, if I want to see a positive change in the world I must step forward and help others and believes in himself, then here also, why should we try to convince him in existence of God.
Question to Self
The point is that we should respect everyone's belief and shouldn't interfere them if their belief is assisting them in doing good. But if you see someone acting wrong and quoting his belief as an excuse, then yes, in this case you should correct the other person.
Remember, your belief can never be used as an excuse for your actions. Prejudices and judging other people on their belief/non-belief in God should be avoided. Good or Bad, you yourself are responsible for your actions.
Isn't it?
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