Do you believe; and why?

[fredtoast]

(05-08-2019, 05:41 PM)Lucidus Wrote: You honestly believe a person is better off not knowing that their partner is cheating on them? The cheating person is violating a trust and being dishonest among other things. Even worse there could be very real consequences if the cheater contracts an STD and transmits it to the unknowing partner. I see no situation in which the person being cheated on would not be in a better position knowing the truth. Once they know the truth, then they have options other than "ignorance is bliss". Having one's eyes opened to the truth seems to me to be far more empowering and allows the person the opportunity to seek a more fruitful situation.

We are getting side tracked with marital indiscretion, but I can see a situation where a person who was cheated on was not damaged at all by the cheating, and knowledge of the cheating would just make them suffer terribly.  Let's just drop that example because it does not fit what we are talking about.

(05-08-2019, 05:41 PM)Lucidus Wrote: As to your last paragraph; I'm speaking to those in this forum who have access to information and can discuss the topic with knowledge of the arguments for and against believing. It is those types of people, in general, that I am most perplexed by; those who have had access to education, information and discussions such as this. Why they still choose to believe in what I find intriguing and enjoy discussing.

It's not at all hard to imagine why people in 3rd world countries who are uneducated, downtrodden and suffering daily would believe in almost anything to alleviate the pressures of their existence. In situations where hope in the face of desperation is all one has available to them, then yes my friend, it's understandable why they would cling to the notion of reward after the suffering ends. 

So tell me about the bad consequences of believing in a higher power?  I guess some people stop trying to help themselves and just depend on prayer to save them, but that is kind of rare.  Other than that I don't see any harm.

My example of third world living conditions were extreme, but the fact is that even in countries like the United Sates people suffer horribly when they lose loved ones.  Even highly educated people suffer from the loss.  Even very smart people get lonely when the only person they love in the world dies and is gone forever.  Even the most logical parent will be crushed by the death of their child.

So how exactly are people harmed by their belief in an afterlife where they will see their loved ones again.