Hit the Pause Button... Have you ever stopped to consider whether the religious beliefs you hold are actually true? How do we form our beliefs anyway, and what responsibility do we have in ensuring they're legitimateI? It's essential to take a moment to evaluate what we believe -and why we believe it.
Welcome to the podcast! Today we’re diving into a crucial topic that affects each of us –confirming the truth of our beliefs.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
Hitting the Pause Button⏸️. Have you ever stopped to consider whether the religious beliefs you hold are actually true? It’s essential to take a moment to evaluate what we believe and why.
Formation of Beliefs🌱: How do we form our beliefs, and what responsibility do we have in ensuring they are legitimate? Our beliefs often originate from various influences, and it’s up to you to examine yours critically.
Understanding Truth 🌟: Let’s clarify what truth means. Truth corresponds to reality – it’s what’s real. Believing in something means accepting it as true, but just because you believe in something doesn’t guarantee that it’s true or make it true.
INFLUENCES ON BELIEFS:
Geographic Location 🗺️: Where we are born and raised can significantly shape our religious beliefs.
Family Upbringing 👨👩👧👦: Most of us inherit our family’s religious or non-religious beliefs. Hopefully someone up the family tree investigated them before passing them down!
Authority Figures: We often trust what authority figures say, whether parents, teachers, or religious leaders or people with Ph.D’s 🎓.
Education🏫 📖: School and universities play a role influencing our beliefs.
Social life 👥 Our friends and who we hang out with influence our beliefs.
Social media📱💻 🖥️ Platforms like Instragram, YouTube, TikTok, SnapChat and the others influence what we believe.
Need to Satisfy Someone Else: Some beliefs stem from external pressures rather than from personal conviction and freedom of choice.
Emotions: 😊😢 Feel doesn’t always equal real. Just because something might “feel right” doesn’t mean it is.
Mystical Experiences. 🔮 👻 💭 Extraordinary experiences can happen but they shouldn’t be the sole basis for truth.
TAKING CHARGE OF WHAT YOU BELIEVE: 💪
Critical Thinking🧠: It’s essential to critically evaluate our beliefs using logic, evidence, and different ways of knowing truth, including science and reason.
Personal Responsibility🧾: Ultimately, each of us is responsible for ensuring the truthfulness of what we believe.
I hope this episode encourages you to reflect on your beliefs and to pursue truth earnestly. Remember, the pursuit of truth is part of your faith journey – which requires thoughtful consideration of what you believe and a commitment to discovering what is genuinely true
Thanks for stopping by!
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-Dr. Sharon
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