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Nautikos - I'm always amazed when I see that sort of thing happen
posted by
gomedome
on March 2, 2007 at 6:44 PM
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Gome
boy, does that ever ring a bell! A very good friend of mine was kicked out of the house once, partly because he was a bit of a hell-raiser, but partly because he didn't want to 'believe'. (His wife had been 'born-again' for years.) After staying at my house for a couple of weeks, he went back to his wife and decided to get baptized.
And with the baptismal waters, a lot of good sense went down the drain, evolution was replaced by creationism, etc, etc.
We don't have much contact any longer...
posted by
Nautikos
on March 2, 2007 at 1:53 PM
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MandaLee - my question is a generalization of a human trait we know exists
but that we cannot possibly know the extent of.
Feigning a belief or allegiance is not limited to religious belief. Any situation where people are pressuring or attempting to influence other people will cause some to take the path of least resistence.
posted by
gomedome
on March 2, 2007 at 8:40 AM
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I agree with Ariala.
posted by
Amanda__
on March 2, 2007 at 8:24 AM
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Hi, I'm not faking it. Is that a question or generalization?
posted by
Amanda__
on March 2, 2007 at 8:22 AM
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Kripayne - thank you and a belated welcome to Blogit
I agree that we can never truly know the beliefs of anyone and especially those we meet online. In real life; influences such as peer, family or communal pressure may have some people professing beliefs that they do not fully hold. Blogging on the other hand, and especially in a competitive format such as this, has another set of influences that may obscure an individual's true beliefs.
posted by
gomedome
on March 2, 2007 at 6:27 AM
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I enjoy your blog
Of course, it's hard to ever truly know the heart of a person. People do things to draw attention to themselves or make their lives easier in all walks of life, whether that is religious, political, social, marital or work related. To disagree is one thing; to know that they are just full of crap as opposed to a sincerely held belief is to truly know the person. That's hard to do in this medium.
posted by
Kripayne
on March 1, 2007 at 11:05 PM
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Sorry to be confusing...What I meant to say is that God sees everything,
so if I'm fooling myself and everyone else in a crowd, I'm not fooling God. If I'm faking it, He sees it. On the other hand, if when I'm alone I worship God, read the Bible, pray, meditate and actually maintain a true relationship with God, God sees that, too. What I was getting at is that it's what we do when no one is looking that defines who we are, what we really believe and value. Hope that clarifies...
posted by
Ariala
on March 1, 2007 at 4:54 PM
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Thanks to God, I'm never alone anymore.
posted by
Jenasis
on March 1, 2007 at 4:42 PM
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Ciel - there is no doubt that the easiest way to deal with "true believers"
is to simply agree with them.
posted by
gomedome
on March 1, 2007 at 4:41 PM
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Ariala - okay, I gotta ask?
When you say this: " . . . it's what I do when I'm alone that counts most between me and God"
How could this count most, which implies your behaviour then is more important than at any other time?
posted by
gomedome
on March 1, 2007 at 4:37 PM
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another thought--Some of them are acting the part
to keep the 'True Believers' from bothering them.
posted by
Ciel
on March 1, 2007 at 4:27 PM
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I don't think god gets pissed at our human antics
I think God might laugh at us a lot because we think we can really fool anyone, or gets sad because we are fooling ourselves, or just feels pain because we hurt ourselves and each other... But that's the God I believe in, and It is not vengeful, pissy or angered by our ignorance and immaturity.
I have observed there is quite a different energy around one who really believes in the God they have embraced, from someone who is going through the motions because they think they have to, from someone who acts the part for personal advantage, from someone who acts it out to demonstrate what a good, wise person they are, that everyone could learn something from. In fact, I have noticed a difference in a single person from who they are in Church, when they are caught up in the immediate vibe, and running the Part of themselves that really believes, from who they are on the street on a working day, and running a business-as-usual Part.
posted by
Ciel
on March 1, 2007 at 4:25 PM
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cantey_1975 - that's a good point - in some regions of the world they don't
have any real choice but to go along with the majority.
posted by
gomedome
on March 1, 2007 at 4:21 PM
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I can only imagine what it must be like
living in Islamic dominated societies where such pressure must be 100 fold.
posted by
calmcantey75
on March 1, 2007 at 3:22 PM
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gomedome
I hope you are right, gomedome. I really don't want you dinged. I'm sold on The Bible as being right for me. That's where I get that stuff.
posted by
TAPS.
on March 1, 2007 at 1:58 PM
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TAPS- - where do you get that stuff from?
Is there a secret school somewhere that teaches people ways to bridge inconsistencies in their beliefs while they mildly insult those who aren't buying it? Excuse me if I am mistaking your intended sentiment when you say things such as this:
"If one is analytically working it out, he has already missed the bus." If your God did in fact create me as your beliefs contend, he created every facet and characteristic of me. He gave me my analytical brain, he isn't going to ding me for using it.
posted by
gomedome
on March 1, 2007 at 1:51 PM
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gomedome
Pascal promotes an analytical process for belief or non-belief which is all right for the non-belief part, but it just won't work for the belief part. God is spirit and and no amount of analytical processing will ever outwit his purpose. Only he can bestow the desire in the heart of man to know him. If one is analytically working it out, he has already missed the bus.
posted by
TAPS.
on March 1, 2007 at 1:39 PM
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First of all, this made me laugh out loud: " bible thumping in law"
Secondly, it's what I do when I'm alone that counts most between me and God...in other words, there is no "putting on" when we're alone...this is where true accountability comes in.
Good post.
posted by
Ariala
on March 1, 2007 at 1:38 PM
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Pat_B - not only have I heard of the saying, I can say that I'm living
proof that it can be true.
I'm speaking of in the business world however, I'm not referring to religious belief.
posted by
gomedome
on March 1, 2007 at 1:23 PM
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TAPS- that is always my comeback when Pascal's Wager is proposed to me
The big guy would know that I am faking it. Utilizing the same logic that would have someone suggesting that feiging belief will somehow please God which ultimately is the hedging of bets proposed in Pascal's wager; it has to be a safer bet to be honest about what one actually does believe. It never made any sense to me that a being who is supposed to be the epitome of alltruism would abide the disengenuous.
posted by
gomedome
on March 1, 2007 at 1:21 PM
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Xeno-x - I don't know if you can say that "they" are faking it without
using some qualifiers.
Though I don't doubt that there are some people that do not know to what degree they have deceived themselves.
posted by
gomedome
on March 1, 2007 at 1:13 PM
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Gome, you've got a point. Ever hear the term "fake it till you make it"?
posted by
Pat_B
on March 1, 2007 at 10:28 AM
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gomedome
What a very good post. Great title question. Speaking from my beliefs because I know yours are different, only God knows the difference because only he can see the heart. In the meantime though, some things are rather obvious to discerning people.
posted by
TAPS.
on March 1, 2007 at 10:21 AM
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Actually they don't believe
they're faking it
they think they believe
but they don't know they don't believe
so they keep on believing that they believe
and believe they are not faking it.
posted by
Xeno-x
on March 1, 2007 at 10:17 AM
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I'll tell you what the real problem is for people under orders ~ Sometimes, George Bush begins to look too much like God.
posted by
Jenasis
on March 1, 2007 at 10:13 AM
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~ too many, I should say.
posted by
Jenasis
on March 1, 2007 at 10:10 AM
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If you watch to many movies, you might learn how to fake lots of things. But, that's just entertainment ~ my major at the University, actually.
posted by
Jenasis
on March 1, 2007 at 10:10 AM
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TheDirector - I figure if the big guy is all knowing he would catch on to
those who are faking it.
. . . and would probably be a little pissed with them.
posted by
gomedome
on March 1, 2007 at 10:08 AM
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We preFer to BE REAL. (Your ComMenTs cut me off.)
posted by
Jenasis
on March 1, 2007 at 10:05 AM
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They are only fat headed while the ignorant are driving like maniacs. Burnt to a crisp, on the other side of the world. After the wreck, they try to conceal the evidence, but there are those of us who just don't enJoy faKing it. We preFer to BE
posted by
Jenasis
on March 1, 2007 at 10:04 AM
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