Do we choose what we believe?

[TheLightWithin]

My input. The Bible teaches that faith and belief are a choice, but suggest that God initiated true belief. Belief is portrayed as conscious decision. Jesus says, If I tell you, you believe not. Luke 22:67. So belief is matter of individual choice.

However, Bible says true belief is a gift from God, Ephesians 1:13. Believers are sealed by God's Spirit. We either have faith or lack of faith.

Intriguing. On one hand presented as a choice, on the other hand presented as a gift.

 

[TheLightWithin]

For those who don't think it's a choice, I'll just redirect you to this thread whenever I don't believe your argument. It's not my fault nor my choice to believe what you are telling me... or so I'm told.

That's why it's always good to try to figure out someone's thought process and content if you are trying to persuade them of something. Figure out what might be in the way of them accepting your argument. Do they lack knowledge you have? Do they have knowledge you lack? Is there faulty reasoning involved (people generally don't consciously opt for faulty reasoning, for one reason or another they think their reasoning is good)

This is helpful but double edged - we may get at how someone's incorrect thoughts and beliefs are preventing them from accepting our argument. But there is a risk we could uncover an error on either our own part or on the part of the source we are getting our information from. Then we have to reassess.

 

[Longfellow]

Your whole comment is so good, and this particular point is so good - it really explains what I recognize is true both of the world - this world that we know or sort-of know- and doubly or exponentially so of whatever may be true in the realm of G-d and the supernatural - hence I am convinced (involuntarily, I cannot see any reason to think otherwise) that nobody can really, truly, rationally, say they "know" the "truth" about any spiritual claim whatsoever. I know others will think differently, because somehow, for some reason, they think they can.

I think of our views as projections of reality in our minds, and like flat map projections of the earth's surface they can never perfectly represent it. Different projections are better for different purposes, and there is no single projection that is best for all purposes. Also it's interesting to me that the most useful projection for navigation has no north or south pole, but that doesn't mean the they don't exist.

 

[Aupmanyav]

What's a Merc? Some kind of unit of measurement maybe?

A Mercedes Benz Sedan.

 

[TheLightWithin]

A Mercedes Benz Sedan.

I see the reference now, but didn't make sense of it from the context