THE ORIGINS OF BELIEF

By John Maerz BA LMT

     Why do we believe what we believe? Do you believe you are competent? Do you believe that the world is round? Do you believe that there is a God? What gives validity to one statement as opposed to another?

     In our mind we have “reasons” why we think something is true. They may come from one of two basic sources. If the reasons are rooted in what others have said about the subject we can say that our reasons are based on an external source(s); someone we might see as an authority that has had experience in a circumstance where we have not. In this event we trust that what another says about the world is true. Since we haven’t had the experience with the issue directly we tend to look to our elders and professionals for their assertion of validity. Essentially, we go on hearsay but we rationalize their validity because they have our trust in them. So, we believe that the world is round because others, whom we can depend upon to “tell the truth” have been around the world and say it is so. We believe that we are competent because we value and respect the opinion of others who have observed us and say it is so. We believe that there is a God because our clergyman has had “experience” that asserts that “fact.” Since we respect him or her we accept it as true. Webster cites the meaning of belief as “to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so.” That proof is our investment in the hearsay of the external world. If we have had the experience ourselves we have no need of the opinion of others. Normally, if we trust ourselves, we assert validity based on what has occurred within our own frame of perception. We believe we are competent because we have done something that meets our measure of what is competent. We believe that the world is round because we have been high enough in an aircraft to see the curve of the earth. We believe in God because we have participated in a direct experience. Conversely, direct experience allows us to assert validity based on the “fact” that we have “felt” the evidence ourselves internally. In this case the proof is the direct experience of what we assert as true. Please note that to have a sense of internal validation we must trust that our own experience is valid. This can be compromised if, as a child, we were constantly assaulted and contradicted by the external world every time we attempted to assert the validity of our own experience under the threat of withheld love, excommunication from the clan, punishment or any sort of unpleasant circumstance that would inhibit the acquiring of what we consider necessary for our security and survival. In extreme cases, it has been known that through some forms of brainwashing and torture we can contradict an individual’s belief in their own experience under threat of administered pain. Remember the movie 1984 where Winston was tortured into asserting that two plus two equal five? Sometimes the collusion in untruth is less painful than the prospect of pain or abandonment. But therein remains a question. Did he truly “believe” it or did he just “go along to get along?” No one can know except Winston. No one can know your truth but you.

     The point of this whole discourse is to show that belief doesn’t just happen. Belief is a choice. Whether that choice is made consciously or unconsciously; by collusion or coercion is not important. We examine the circumstances and we determine what constitutes truth in our life. Nevertheless, belief is still a choice; we are still responsible and we must be accountable to ourselves for it. Somewhere inside we always know our truth. Belief takes place because we invest in and accept the premises that it’s based on.