What is belief?
Blind acceptance or benefit of doubt? Or neither. Is it a state of existence arrived at after experiencing something that few would understand?
I guess it comes to all in any of the three ways mentioned above. The child who is told that God is great believes it blindly. After all, mommy told him that and he’s had no reason to suspect anything that she says, has he?
This blessed co existence with the supreme being is a hallmark of most childhoods. Prayers asking for better grades in class and that cool video game are what most would remember (even the current day Atheists). Some, who’ve had the misfortune of never getting their prayers answered proceed on the path of enlightened disbelief. After all, the simplest explanation for never getting a prayer answered is “Um…. Maybe no one is listening”. Therefore, no one exists. At least not up there, in the blue yonder. Besides, Armstrong went up there and landed on the moon. No reports of an old man pottering about in the stratosphere were ever received.
By the time most people reach this conclusion, its time to enter college where the chances of meeting like minded people multiply manifold. Technically, the chances get divided (because if you multiplied probabilities, you would arrive at a much smaller chance than you started out with) but let’s leave the semantics aside. The bottomline – fellow skeptics. And so the enlightened atheist proceeds towards an ever reinforcing belief that god does not exist with an ever increasing arsenal of arguments supporting his view.
But the problem with discussing the philosophy of creation and the creator is this. Discussions bring up counter arguments from others that could range from being reasonably logical to bordering on the surreal. On a topic as passionate as this, people usually bring out the heavy cavalry upfront and stick to their positions. There are many "Wow. I never thought of that" moments. Slowly but surely, doubt begins to creep in. Some yield in at this point and stop thinking. Some yield. Others refuse to bow before they are in the presence of divinity.
At this point, all budding philosophers need to earn. So, the workforce adds new productive members. Work is usually a place where such questions are looked upon with the same incredulity that would be extended to a martian asking for directions to the Andromeda Galaxy.
And so the debate settles down. Mostly due to lack of evidence on either sides. Evidence that can be measured, calibrated and repeated. Everyone gets busy with the task of paying for that new car or buying that cool pad. Till they turn 50 ;)
Bad boys, bad boys whatcha want
Whatcha gonna do when sheriff John Brown
come for you tell me whatcha gonna do.
- Will Smith
