![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
miriam_eWhat does it mean to believe?
It seems to be that you take some statement as accurate -- that it fits the facts. I think this is different from "to believe in something", because that generally involves a suspension of critical thought. Believing in something is generally done regardless of the facts, instead of to align with the facts.
Interesting, the subtleties of a deceptively simple word. At first glance they appear to mean the same thing, but they are more like opposites.
It seems to be that you take some statement as accurate -- that it fits the facts. I think this is different from "to believe in something", because that generally involves a suspension of critical thought. Believing in something is generally done regardless of the facts, instead of to align with the facts.
Interesting, the subtleties of a deceptively simple word. At first glance they appear to mean the same thing, but they are more like opposites.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Re: My favorite belief
Date: 2005-05-30 01:12 pm (UTC)Aussies must have missed the McGuffy Reader, a 19th century textbook that assured little Americans, "in Adam's fall we sinnèd all."
Jesus died for our sins. (It sounds like it should mean something, but is oddly nonsensical.)
Well, actually there's quite a bit of theological scholarship on that point, and there are various theories: Jesus took our place and received the judgment that we had coming to us (substitutionary atonement); Jesus paid with his life a ransom to the devil (or just "sin" if you aren't a big fan of Old Scratch), to whom all humankind had been sold by the Fall; Jesus took all our sins onto himself and then washed them away via his death and resurrection, thereby cleansing us; and several more I've forgotten.
But remember, theology has been called "faith in search of understanding." If you start with the premise that Jesus saved us through his death and resurrection, then it's natural to ask how that works. If you start with a different premise it sounds like gobbledegook. The Wikipedia article on atonement is a fair place to start if you're curious, but alas it isn't as nuanced as most of wikipedia's articles on religion. If you want nuance, try the Catholic Encyclopedia's article on atonement, which is so nuanced I'm not entirely convinced it says anything at all.