beastie wrote:I think likely a variety of factors all contribute to belief in God. It has long been established that one of the most important factors is simply familial and cultural background. If you were raised to believe in God, chances are good you will continue to do so. Chances are also good that you will continue to believe in that god through whatever expression your family provided, be it Mormonism, catholicism, muslim, etc.
Right, no doubt it is cultural. Perhaps people were equating their own upbringing with mine and assumed I was raised in a religious environment. Perhaps those that left the Church think of their departure as a choice and therefore believe others can choose to make a choice to believe. That seems really strange to me. I wish someone that held that view would pipe up. There's been a few on this site that have stated this to me.
But that's certainly not the whole story. As you state, monekys, even within people who believe, there is a wide variety of spiritual experiences. My boyfriend is not really "wired" for religious belief in that despite his best efforts and his familial background, he did not have a powerful numinous event that helped him believe. He was one of those plodding along, banking on interpreting more mundane experiences in a way that resulted in strengthened belief. I was the opposite - I tended to have numinous experiences. I think even religions recognize these variances and reassure believers that it's ok - not everyone has the same "gift", and some have to rely on the "gifts" of others. But the fact that God either cannot or will not reliably communicate with anyone who seeks him is a strike against his existence, at least in terms of a theist framework, in my opinion.
Every now and then I meet an exmormon who just never believed, even as a child. I believe Blixa falls under this category. The best efforts of their family and culture can't trigger the belief - they always tended to look at it logically and it just didn't measure up. I used to feel somewhat inferior to these people because I wondered if my own "spiritual" tendencies led to more gullibility on my part, or more willingness to suspend reason. But as the years go on I become more convinced it's just a reflection of our different traits.
Well, like you, I've always had these strong spiritual experiences. Yet, early on I rejected a supernatural reason for them. I merely accepted I had them and wondered why. For years, and thankfully now there appear to be some answers. I too felt that perhaps I was flawed because other people seem to dismiss people as nutcases that embrace their numinous experiences. I've always felt fortunate to find such sublime beauty all about me and quite frankly feel sorry for those that don't. ;)
I strongly believe that religion is evolutionarily useful. It's a method of organizing extremely loyal tribal units, and that was always helpful in the ancestral environment. And people just end up with different talents that lend to the evolutionary purpose. People with the "talent" to "feel God" tend to end up leading others, organizing others, encouraging others to share that belief. I view it as somewhat similar to a talent to sing, or draw, or make money. In the end, they can all be seen to serve the same purpose - to make a place for oneself in a tribe and to gain enough attention to have more mating opportunities.
Oh, well that certainly seems reasonable.
I have just accepted that I have a "talent" for this, just like I have a talent for acting (and I often wonder if the two are related talents). I hope, in the future when I have more time and privacy when my kids are on their own, I hope to capitalize on that talent and learn to meditate to invoke the numinous state at will, which is really quite enjoyable and likely has health benefits as well.
I think we've discussed this before? I too have a love for theatre and that would be interesting to find if there is any relation. I do meditate at times and it is very beneficial for me and I enjoy reaching those transcendent states.
