Beliefs should be questioned, like all other issues
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Editor,
Occasionally there are letters-to-the-editor with supernatural claims about life-after-death and even that a god installed Trump as President. Such is the cherished American goal of freedom of individual thought.
However, there are other viewpoints. To live effectively in this modern world it is proper and prudent to examine many differing claims/theories on any subject and put them to some critical-thinking tests. Evidence that the claim fits reality is important. The results do not only affect the direction of an individual, but also of communities, nations, and perhaps even the survival of humankind.
We readily examine and critique virtually all areas of human endeavors - from how to shoot a rocket into space to mapping the neuroscience of what “thinking” is. We study past experiences, make hypotheses, gather evidence, and eventually allow some claims to fall away as insufficient because better explanations emerge.
However, in areas of religious beliefs, this effective inductive learning process is stifled because religious proponents who prefer deductive reasoning refuse to acknowledge counter-explanations which challenge their authoritarian mode. Today there is massive knowledge about the history of mankind including how hundreds of gods have been used to serve the social and political purposes of any given time period. Today’s 2018 gods serve similar human-made purposes.
To be effective decision-makers, it is essential that humans examine wide ranges of information and give serious consideration to alternative explanations. Rational decisions require examining information from scientists (biologists to cosmologists). We should answer common-sense questions asked by everyday citizens: Why really does someone live after an accident while others die? Why do gods seem to be so “human-like?”
The stance that “you can’t question my beliefs” is a grave and stifling error. Of course we should question each other’s beliefs - just as we question all other issues. It is important to weed out errors and deceptions. Hopefully, questioning leads toward better understanding of what truly is our real existence, our past, and our potential future.
Especially in a democracy we must be willing to identify and discard false claims and be accurately informed if our votes are to be meaningful. Gene Johnson Polson
