WOTM: I Choose To Believe

[@ptgannon1]

Believing in Christianity isn't a choice, it's extortion. If a Mafia goon comes into your place of business and insists that you hand over your money or he will rearrange your knees with a baseball bat and burn your business to the ground, are you "choosing" to hand over your money? NO. You are being extorted. The extortion of Christianity (believe or burn) is eternal, and thus far worse than what the Mafia goon cooks up for you. It's a religion of FEAR, and fear is a huge impediment to critical thinking.

[@misterdeity]

What a great point!!! It's so good, I'm gonna pin it. I want everyone to see it! Thanks so much!

[@vinny142]

" The extortion of Christianity (believe or burn) " It's far worse; it's "pretend to believe or be cast out of your community". Sure, some people are actually afraid of hell, but way more have learned over the years that it's all boll*cks. The problem is that as a community they are all pretending to believe and they go to their churches and do the routines that show their community members that they are still part of the herd. During those ceremonies they spend a lot of time repeating just how utterly evil the nonbelievers are and how they will deal with those people, cast them out, hunt them down, make sure god will punish them.... the amount of hate towards nonbelievers is huge. Nonbelievers in a community of believers are justifiably afraid to admit that they don't believe because their community keeps telling them that they will be treated as human waste and will never see their families again. THAT is what they are afraid of. And the irony: most of the people who go to church to "pray" don't really believe it either. They just do it so they won't be cast out. Yes, they will aid in casting out nonbelievers _while being a nonbeliever_. There are organisations that help you recover from religion and that's not just getting rid of the nightmares of hell, but also to help you deal with the endless hate and contempt that the people around you will have once they find out.

[@martinelzen5127]

@@vinny142 I call the concept of hell blackmail, and think that only untrue religions would choose to resort to it.

[@shriggs55]

Yeah, fear and wishful thinking, fueled by preacher's propaganda.

[@stephenandrusyszyn3444]

The irony is that many Christians revel in calling themselves “God fearing”.

[@AronRa]

I have often said that I cannot choose to believe whatever I want. If I could, I'd be a Jedi.

[@misterdeity]

Me too!!! ❤️

[@misterdeity]

And may the force be with you!

[@AssassinoJake]

I'd see you more as a Grey jedi, less rules and you're allowed to openly love someone.

[@yourgodismean4526]

Hey Aron! How’s them snake babies?

[@dmosier]

I would be your Padawan 😊

[@CharlesPayet]

Somehow Ayyan decided to abandon intellectual honesty for an emotional crutch, while knowing exactly what she’s doing, and using it as a political weapon. Disgusting.

[@tombrower6544]

I was an evangelical Christian for 20 years but became a non-believer after years of biblical study led me, kicking and screaming, to the unavoidable conclusion that the Bible shows every sign of having originated in the minds of errant mortals, not the mind of God. I never chose to believe that the Bible isn't the Word of God; the evidence gradually convinced me.

[@superman9894]

I choose to believe I am immortal. I haven't been proven wrong yet!

[@misterdeity]

“Yet” is doing a lot of heavy lifting!!!

[@lisaboban]

Choose whatever you like. I don't care. Just don't force me to act like I believe it by passing laws based on your beliefs.

[@valivali8104]

Or use those beliefs to abuse other living beings.

[@c.k.8412]

I came to the conclusion years ago that an all knowing, all powerful and all loving god is just not possible. The world we live in with Dennis Prager's "immeasurable amount of suffering " precludes that possibility.

[@misterdeity]

I’m so with you!!! ❤

[@adrianthom2073]

I didn't choose to be an Atheist. I just am.

[@huffpappy]

I'm a Frisbeetarian. We believe when you die your soul goes up on the roof, and you can't get it down.

[@misterdeity]

That’s as good an explanation as any other.

[@huffpappy]

@@misterdeity That's why I "chose" to believe it.😆

[@tiltingwindmill]

Oh the crap that I'd lost on the roof as a kid, when my folks finally replaced their roof a 15 years ago... Yup, my orange Frisbee was up there - now baked to a crisp, looking more brown than orange, and so so brittle.

[@michaeleldredge4279]

If I could, I I would choose to believe that I enjoy exercise and prefer healthy food to unhealthy food. But alas, I can only choose to reject the truth of God in my unrighteousness. I can't do anything useful with my ability to choose what I believe.

[@HammerTime5150-m4i]

I choose to believe that Genesis improved when St Peter Gabriel went solo

[@misterdeity]

That’s heresy!!! But I’m not sure I can make a compelling counter argument. 😬🤫

[@SusanDerrick]

Funny!

[@JoeBorrello]

I choose to believe that I have free will. If I DO have free will then I’m right. If I do NOT have free will then I had no choice but to believe that I did.

[@malemd]

My disbelief in a supernatural entity watching over us was totally involuntary

[@DarinCo001]

In the 80s i *chose* to believe in Trickle-Down economics. But then later I woke up and realized that what was trickling down wasn't water or money, but Regan #1. In a similar timeline I realized that there was no invisible dragon in my garage, and I could go ahead and park my car in there. I became an apostate, and walked away from Jesus and never looked back, partly because I didn't want to be a pillar of salt ?

[@brunozeigerts6379]

'I choose to believe it'. Perfect description of religion... climate change denial... Religion is believing in something that isn't true because you want it to be true.. Atheism is accepting reality.

[@jamesheartney9546]

I don't have any beliefs about God because I've yet to see a definition of God that wasn't either hopelessly vague, or self-contradictory, or both. Without a serviceable definition, it's pointless to discuss whether or not God exists.

[@valivali8104]

Plus, every specific god has evidence that it can’t exist, starting from worshipers' own definitions which are as illogical and full of inner contradictions as married bachelor or circle with corners. Also, why would any thing which deserves title of god need or want that people believe in its existence and worship it?

[@docmatthy]

Nobody chooses to believe anything. Choose to believe that the Tooth Fairy is absolutely real! That's simply impossible.

[@ChixieMary]

I tried choosing to believe once. For over 7 years. We have a name for that. It's called hypocrisy. ❤ This video.

[@jrpence]

Professing belief and actually having a belief are different. To actually believe isn't a choice, if you've chosen then you've chosen to profess.

[@canwelook]

Yes, and "Profess" has 2 dictionary meanings: 1. Making a false claim 2. Asserting one's faith Six of one, half a dozen of the other.

[@heatherrocchi6232]

I used to say "I choose to believe," until I examined the claim more carefully. TY, B!

[@trishakoury-stoops2372]

I am a non believer and that’s cuz the facts tell it.. I choose to be a open about it and not ashamed

[@DonFearn]

I WANTED to believe! Everyone around me said they believed. I remember Mr Jones telling us all in Sunday School the things we were supposed to believe but I thought that when I became an adult everyone would chuckle about what they used to teach the kids . . . but they DIDN’T! They actually seemed to believe that weird stuff! Amazing. It was like there was this compartment in their brains that accepted stuff that anywhere else would be seen as totally bonkers. But I kept on trying to believe until right in the middle of the Bible Study I was teaching ( it was a Cursillo weekend retreat - imagine THAT! ) when I decided that I’d had enough. I told them all that I didn’t really believe any of the bullshit in the class ( politely, of course ) and left. I sent a letter to the church I had been attending ( also very polite ) and never looked back. To their credit, several of the people in the church remained my friends and I’m close to some of them still, over 40 years later.

[@DonFearn]

I did miss the singing at first but there are a LOT of other places and ways to make music!

[@chrispysaid]

Ayaan is doing the same thing that people who get too into fandoms do. They're playing pretend so they can gain the benefits of the fantasy. Cognitively they know the IP that the fandom surrounds is fictional, but they get invested in it like it's real because there's community, shared experience, lore engagement and revelations of different ways of viewing it (aka theorycrafting), and all it takes is suspending your disbelief to get sufficiently into the fantasy of it Ayaan isn't a Christian, she's in the Bible fandom

[@misterdeity]

I only released this video minutes ago and there are already so many great and truly thoughtful comments. There’s nothing more satisfying than realizing that your audience is filled with brilliant, insightful people. I’m often overwhelmed and always humbled!

[@chrispysaid]

@@misterdeity you flatter me sir 🥺👉👈

[@Queenread82]

I choose to believe I can dance. I think I can dance. I know I can dance. I can dance!!

[@kentjensen5216]

After I studied my way out of religion, and became an atheist, I have reflected on how I became a believer. What was the defining moment that showed me that god was real and existed. As I looked back upon my life, I realized that there was no such event. I was a third generation Mormon, who was taught that the Mormon church was true and that I understood such as truth from a very early age, for no other reason than everyone around me said it was true. I wanted a heavenly sign or burning bosom, but there was no moment of conversion, no Pauline conversion on the road to Damascus, no still small voice, no lightning, no thunder, nothing at all. Faith in the Mormon church and god was just something that was expected of me, as a member of a Mormon family, nothing more nothing less.

[@misterdeity]

Welcome, my fellow Formon!

[@originalhazelgreene]

The powerlessness of Christ compels me 😂🤣😂🤣

[@rachelmann7488]

When my son started Catholic school I thought I'd give reading the hours a try. A month of reading several psalms every day resulted in me having a dream in which people acted like god was REALLY real, not like people act who SAY god is real. That should have been the beginning of the end of me choosing to believe. But later I chose to believe in new agey things. Then Buddhism. I have finally realized you can't choose to believe. I now read tarot for fun and hold dear some realizations I had through Buddhism, but I don't believe in any of it, and my mind is at peace.

[@PeterLGଈ]

This is the way.

[@brunozeigerts6379]

'I played poker with Tarot cards. I got a full house and 4 people died.' (Stephen Wright)

[@DanTheMeek]

I LOVE "The powerlessness of Christ compells me." as an explanation of why I'm a non-believer, gotta remember that one.

[@misterdeity]

That really is what it comes down to for me. If Christians had the powers Jesus promised believers, and were able to perfom greater works than He - miracles, I’d likely be a believer.

[@DanTheMeek]

@@misterdeity Yeah thats what makes it great, its not just a fun play on a movie quote, its actually a concise and accurate description for many if not all of us non-believers.

[@biedl86]

I made myself a hoodie that says "I choose not to believe in doxastic voluntarism". Or in less fancy words: I choose to believe, that I cannot choose what I believe.

[@misterdeity]

That fucking brilliant. I want one!!! ❤️

[@seraphonica]

these people who choose to believe in Christianity are lauded and showered with praise and wealth as a result. they're more believers in cause and effect than Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

[@canwelook]

Aka grift

[@andrewanastasovski1609]

I chose to believe that I'm indestructible. I smashed my thumb last year, but I chose to ignore that piece of evidence, because it got better after a few weeks in a cast. I'm so powerful!

[@c.a.t.732]

In Buddhism, there is the expression "taking refuge" for those who embark upon that path. As a young seeker in the 70s, buffeted by life and bewildered by all the religious choices on offer, I "took refuge" in the Baha'i faith, which offered the seeming comfort that all the great religions were part of the same divine plan. 95% convinced, I took the 5% doubts I had and shoved them into a room in the corner of my mind and locked the door. It was only a crisis of faith many years later that caused that door to spring open and my belief to shatter. I imagine Ms. Ali is also seeking refuge in Christianity, from the forces that assail her life, and that she may also someday find herself confronted with a situation that may cause her faith to crumble. Or perhaps she may keep the door locked on her possible doubt and equivocations in a way I could not.

[@archivist17]

I choose to believe I enjoyed this.

[@misterdeity]

Good choice!

[@stenblann9784]

Religions need your grocery money more than you need it.

[@RustyWalker]

I chose to believe in pie. It's golden crust deliverethetheth.

[@stephenhelms9953]

I believe that IF life has meaning, it is that we should help one another. I can't support this logically. And I could be wrong

[@misterdeity]

If you are wrong, can you imagine a more lovely way to be so? ❤

[@stephenhelms9953]

@misterdeity thank you for saying that . Sometimes I feel defeated. Like I'm not really making a difference. And sometimes I feel that people take advantage and use my good, giving nature. You've given me some encouragement, and i appreciate it.

[@ptgraphix]

I chose reality! Thanks, Mr. Diety!

[@misterdeity]

Brilliant! I’m right there with you.

[@kellydalstok8900]

Mr. Diety suggests Brian is peddling slimming products.

[@trumansparks2338]

Sincere belief is an emergent property, over which you have no voluntary control. It is easy for me to imagine evidence that would convince me of the existence of God but having never encountered such evidence, I came to the realization that I don't believe. I didn't choose non-belief, it just happened. The idea that I could save myself from eternal damnation by accepting Jesus gift is a lie. I can't choose sincere belief. I have not rejected Jesus, I'm incapable of belief without evidence. The Christian "good news" is a lie because a person cannot simply decide to believe. It isn't possible.

[@davenchop]

mr deity.. top shelf

[@NastyLittleBagginses]

I choose to believe I'm a billionaire, but my bank refuses to share my beliefs just because there's no verifiable evidence to support my claims, leading me to a little bit of financial bankruptcy.

[@martinnyberg71]

I just got home from a performance of Bach’s H-moll Messe (b-minor mass, if you’re not german or swedish). During the concert it occurred to me (while also wondering, and finding a partial explanation in the concert pamphlet notes, why protestant Bach wrote a catholic mass) that, though the music and the liturgy sounds really old (it’s in freakin latin, with greek and hebrew loans!), it was in fact contemporary with Linnaeus et al. That is, the start of the modern world. The Enlightenment. The birth of democracy. They measured the distance to the sun and weighed the earth while Bach used every waking hour writing music to glorify a millennia-old patriarchal lie. Suddenly it was all beautifully dissonant. 😏

[@TilmanEnke]

I have never chosen to be religious. I only realized that I was supposed to b e believe in Christianity when it came up in German class rather than religion class when I was 12

[@karnobot9814]

I chose to believe I am a billionaire last month. Today I am homeless

[@ZenWithKen]

I was charged $750 for imaginary crutches on my last medical bill. I can't imagine what real crutches cost.

[@InigoMontoya-]

Imaginary crutches have greater utility. They can do most anything you can imagine. Real crutches are bound by physical laws, and thusly are relegated to mostly their intended usage.

[@81caspen]

4:05 My deconstruction, as with most people’s I expect, involved a few dozen little pieces. But the tectonic shift that I most clearly recall was when I saw what I was doing, mentally. I saw the process of choosing to believe, and it struck me how often I’d heard from believers trying to encourage me about how doubt comes to us all, but you just choose to persevere. And so then I asked myself, but in the event that it’s not real, what am I forcing myself to do this for? What is the charade in aid of? And a massive part of the *need* to believe just … sort of faded away.

[@PianoDentist]

You don't choose to believe anything. You become convinced by a proposition, then you are said to believe it to be true.

[@misterdeity]

Well said!

[@c.a.t.732]

"You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill I will choose a path that's clear, I will choose Freewill." Neil Peart, RIP

[@misterdeity]

You wouldn’t believe how many times I played that song on guitar when I was younger. The only song I played more was probably Hemispheres or La Villa Strangiato (sp?).

[@c.a.t.732]

@@misterdeity When I was young I was struggling to master five chord Cat Stevens songs!

[@Ikonicre_Moonshield]

Ayaan Hirsi Ali was an unimpressive thinker in the right wing of dutch politics. I've always been confused how she got taken so very seriously abroad, but her whole "I'm a christian now" thing kind of puts it full circle for me.

[@Wertbag99]

I think she started out speaking against female genital mutilation and the dangers of Islam, subjects that she was close to. She then gained a platform and used it to talk about lots of other subjects that she was not directly experienced with.

[@yinYangMountain]

“I choose to believe Jesus rose from the dead.” -Ayaan Hirsi Ali When I heard this from her, I had a Pascal's wager flashback. How so? Pascal’s initial suggestion is to simply practice Christianity (Catholicism, in his case), go through motions - as it were, regardless of whether the person believes the doctrine or not. Or, maybe she is seeking emotional refuge in what Dennett called ‘believe in belief.’ As a skeptic, having followed her previous philosophy, and seeing her polished intellectual answers, I’m unconvinced she believes Jesus literally rose from the dead.

[@josephbelisle5792]

People keep saying this woman is very intelligent. By this decision, it says she is not. She chose to have faith. Can I choose to fall in love? Can I choose to have a favorite food? Did I chose to be trans? No. No. And certainly no. I didnt chose to be an atheist. Decades of searching for god made me an atheist. I finally figured out it isnt anywhere and that there is no evidence for it anywhere. How do I chose to fool myself to think there is one? So far, nothing she has said explains her choice as anything other than fooling herself. I suppose I could do that. But I would lose all respect for myself by being so dishonest in the one relationship that matters the most. The one with myself.

[@misterdeity]

So well said!!! ❤❤❤

[@HoneyTone-TheSearchContinues]

So, she picked up religion to help cure her depression. How common. I suppose it’s good she got some help, but, fairy tales? I had a therapist once give me that same line about having a spiritual void when my marriage was breaking up. I took up ballroom dancing and concentrated on being a good dad. In addition to lifting me out of my navel-gazing, both of those activities have provided lifelong rewards and without any imaginary friend bs. And I didn’t have to pretend to be interested.

[@BeccaYoley]

Yep, there are healthy ways to improve depression that aren't based on a foundation of lies.

[@skepticusmaximus184]

And you can always identify a fairytale. They're the stories that end with happily ever after, aka 'heaven'.

[@nicosteffen364]

You can read tthe Bible or the Book of Origin written by the ORI! Yes i mean those from Stargate SG1! They are both equal in importance! Well, the one is full of fiction and the other is from a sience fiction show!

[@josephbelisle5792]

Um, how can you tell the difference? Ooooh, in the TV series they can actually do stuff. In real life there is nothing.

[@thephantom3593]

You have made me appreciate the profundity of the phrase ‘choosing to believe’. I’ve come across it in my life with many folk and always thought it interesting. But no, you have made me realise it is a key factor in self-deception. Thanks heaps.

[@misterdeity]

The easiest person to fool is yourself.

[@thephantom3593]

@@misterdeity Thumbs up :)

[@micbroc6435]

I’ve not chosen to believe that religion, any religion, is or is not true. I understand that the bible is nothing more than a collection of campfire stories designed and retold by those in power to remain in power. Much like a grift it has to refine its messaging from time to time.

[@zeemon9623]

I choose to believe that there is money in my bank account. There just is. I know that I know that I know that I know that I have money in my account right now.

[@KeithCooper-Albuquerque]

Thanks for another great video, Brian.

[@BertNielson]

Bri, sexiest man alive is fact, not belief. No need to choose there buddy.

[@misterdeity]

Is there anyone more honest and wonderful than you?

[@dakrontu]

Choosing to believe is a believer's nonsensical perspective on reality. It explains why they think people 'choose' to be atheists, or 'choose' to be gay, etc, because it enables them to say that such a 'free choice' was made on purpose out of refusal to obey God. The truth would come out if you asked them to tell you their favourite colour, and you suggested another colour, and asked them to 'choose' it as their favourite, just for 1 minute, as an experiment. Unless tipped off that this is a trap, they would scoff that you can't 'choose' your favourite colour, a colour is either your favourite or it isn't. QED. Let them get out of that one.

[@misterdeity]

I have actually asked believers that but used ice cream flavor instead of color. Forgive me… colour. Damn thing keeps autocorrecting!!!

[@Donald_McE]

Hey, if priests gave out nice fried hand-pies for communion I might consider embracing Catholicism.

[@eefaaf]

@@misterdeity If it us colour, wouldn't it be flavour too?

[@misterdeity]

@@eefaaf Hahahaha!!! ❤️

[@eefaaf]

@@misterdeity And then I manage to type us for is.... 🙄

[@rationalpear1816]

i chose to believe i could print my own US dollars. the local liquor store chose not to believe they were real dollars.

[@Marine_Veteran_Vegan_Gamer]

You're forced to believe by your grandmother's religion as a child. That wasn't your choice.

[@Marine_Veteran_Vegan_Gamer]

*in lol

[@guuspot923]

As a Dutchman, I thibk she's a sellout of the worst kind

[@alchobum]

As a child, I developed a fascination with ancient creatures from deep time. By the time I was a teenager (and had made a point of reading that book), it was clear: deep time, evolution, science, astronomy being used to see galaxies millions of light years away, there was no room in that vastness for just-so stories of myth and magic (except in video games and movies). Reality as it is: yes. Magical zombie people rising from the dead: no.

[@PaulTheSkeptic]

I don't even get what that means. How does one choose to believe in something? And if you were going to choose to believe in something, why not choose to believe you're a super happy billionaire who's married to the entire Victoria's Secret catalogue of models?

[@TomLeedsTheAtheist]

Mr. Diety, I love you and what you do aways but this one, this one is extra spectacular

[@misterdeity]

Thanks so much! You’re my new best friend. Call me! 📞

[@TomLeedsTheAtheist]

@@misterdeity I used to go to a lot of “atheist“ conventions, so we know a lot of the same people, I had always hoped to bump into you.

[@reverendatheist7026]

“I never met a vicar I didn’t like.” I was a minister for 14 years, saw them behind the scenes… I can make some introductions.

[@misterdeity]

LOL!!!

[@HarryNicNicholas]

i have a catholic priest for a neighbour, grumpiest man on the planet.

[@charliesmith6743]

Bravo!

[@InigoMontoya-]

I had an alcoholic ex-Priest from Ireland as a Psychology professor. He was a monumentally bad hire for that position- unless the college thought direct exposure to abnormality and illness was a good learning experience.

[@michaelbell3181]

I studied in an effort to become clergy, twice. Guess what happened, yep, I'm now an atheist.

[@stochasticstoic4810]

I believe in the power of prayer to turn one's head purple.

[@bengreen171]

when you choose to act against humanity, it certainly must help to think there's some mysterious authority telling you it's right.

[@Maryfs1]

I chose to believe in YOU Mr. Diety. Only you. ❤

[@misterdeity]

Awwww!!! ❤❤❤

[@MrMattSax]

The position that people can choose their beliefs, especially to believe in things that don’t map to reality, is a hard one to get past when it comes to Christianity and the like.

[@SaintKimbo]

But it's not a question of 'mapping to reality', it's a system of maintaining philosophical and moral boundaries using metaphors, unlike Atheism which simply has no boundaries for anything.

[@MrMattSax]

@@SaintKimbo fascinating! So even though the claims are fiction, by acting as if they are true, they provide a framework for living? I won’t say you’re wrong in that there does seem to be utility in the beliefs. You’re arguing for the “cultural christian” thing: that what is important is the profession of belief, the theater of it. Just ignore that it’s fantasy and don’t try to think about it, ya?

[@SaintKimbo]

@@MrMattSax You can't have it both ways, can you? You either have boundaries or you don't. Religions are, for a lot of people, in essence, systems that set moral and behavioural boundaries, the fact that you are obligated to believe in miraculous events to pursue those boundaries is a price most are willing to tolerate, because the opposite is unpopular and, sometimes, dangerous, both mentally and physically. Atheism is, basically, sugar coated Nihilism.

[@MrMattSax]

@@SaintKimbo “obligated to believe”? But one cannot force themselves to believe a thing that to them is unbelievable, correct? So you’re talking about professing belief. Pretending to believe. That seems disingenuous and dishonest. You don’t think that one cannot create bounties without the belief in magic? Just as the believer imagines the magical being who commands boundaries, couldn’t boundaries be generated from reality-based things and be just as valid? Couldn’t one’s desire for a better society, the well-being of themselves and others also generate boundaries? If the beliefs themselves are derived from something that is imagined, I don’t see what the difference is.

[@SaintKimbo]

@@MrMattSax "Ones desire for as better society" is completely subjective. Who gets to decide what a 'better society' is, and how are you going to deal with those that don't go along with the program? If you don't think that you are going to have to set up some arbitrary rules and police them, you are just fantasizing. Then you are back in the realm of religions, just without the miraculous fluff.

[@Max_Doubt]

If you believe in something that someone else disbelieves; and their rational justification for their view beats yours yet you stubbornly stick to your guns, you _are_ choosing to believe/disbelieve.

[@misterdeity]

You just described every Christian on the planet! If Ayaan could rationally explain to us how an all-loving, omnipotent Being creates a world filled with “an immeasurable amount of injustice and suffering” (Dennis Prager), or how a man could rise from the dead, I’d join her. She hasn’t. So far, she’s just expressed concern about the Woke, Islam, and Authoritarianism.

[@ShellacScrubber]

Doxastic voluntarism is a wonderful thing. I chose to believe that some cheap-ass burgers that used to make me puke, were delicious.So now I buy them all the time and save a fortune !!!!

[@johndemeritt3460]

"Overdraft protection" . . . Boy howdy! Am I glad I didn't have a mouth full just then! Oh, and about "trickle down" . . . the _BEST_ illustration of "trickle down" I've ever seen is the front cover of "Who's Next".

[@DAClub-uf3br]

You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill I will choose a path that's clear, I will choose Freewill

[@misterdeity]

I miss that amazing drummer!

[@stevewebber707]

Nice catch of her "I choose to believe". Personally, I choose to examine claims and ideologies, to see if there is sufficient evidence and reason to potentially accept them as probably true. That Christianity can influence intelligent people to forgo their reason to "choose to believe", demonstrates that it has the power to mislead people. That it has a tendency to mislead folks into unduly trusting sketchy authority figures, makes it's capacity to cause harm very real.

[@rodbrewster4629]

I choose to believe I could never choose to believe in ancient myths or modern myths.

[@MinaOmega]

I choose to allow things that work with reality to help me make up my mind about certain situations. That is a choice I make. And it seems like a choice that a lot of people are refusing to make as of lately. And by lately I mean the last 8 years. I choose to let reality color my opinion of life. It just so happens that reality points to there being no such Christian God. Or Buddha. Or Jewish God. Or Allah. Or Ra

[@sheilbwright7649]

What I believe has changed dramatically over time (not atheism as a school child I thought religion was nonsense) as I have read more on a topic , listened to experts on that topic, and thought more about that topic. Now how am I going to change to believe Christianity? I have read the bible a great foundation for atheism so what book is going to make the bible look good? Apart from losing all critical reasoning, which expert is going to convince me to change my mind?

[@misterdeity]

Josh McDowell? LOL!!!

[@pineapplepenumbra]

I figure that the only thing that could get me to believe in christianity (a belief system that I despised as soon as I was old enough to understand the nonsense preached in church) would be some kind of serious cognitive decline.

[@billirwin3558]

You are correct misterdeity. I can "choose" to eat a cheese sandwich. I cannot "choose" not to live in reality. That thing is in your face 24/7. But your mind can pretend reality does not exist. And in the end, isn't god only in the mind of the believer.

[@misterdeity]

I would be more impressed if belief was in the eye of the beholder. But that mofu won’t show up!!! 😊

[@BorlandC452]

Ultimately, I don't really care what a person believes, as long as they keep it like that... personal. If it helps you great, but don't pester others with it and don't force others to follow it. I entertain ideas that I know have no evidence, but along with that, I don't apply any real seriousness to it. If someone expresses their skepticism of it, my reaction is "Yeah I know, but it's interesting to think about..."

[@misterdeity]

Well said!

[@mattfoley6082]

"I choose to believe x" is a weasel way of saying "I choose to pretend I don't have doubts about x."

[@misterdeity]

Well said!

[@istvansipos9940]

that was offensive. To weasels, that is.

[@anitareasontobelieve378]

I have no chosen to be live or not. In was told the Church of Christ was the only correct church as a child. So when I was a child I believed it until my parents couldn't ask questions so I met with the preacher and he told me, against the Bible's words to reason together to basically sit down and shut up smart men dis the thinking for ke. He demolished me. He hugged me was waaayy toooo looongg. I left. Dad asked me if I was OK and and to survive, as an already abused child in the church, I said I was OK bc I knew my parents couldn't handle anything they didn't see and I was already their scapegoat bc mom lost three babies before I was adopted. The y love what they want me to be ...not me. I'm very sick the won't even have LP me make sure my inheritance passes to my kids if I die but fore them. I did not choose to not believe them. They all made it so I couldn't!!!

[@misterdeity]

WOW! That’s deeply moving. Thanks for sharing.

[@bubbahargo]

I believe I'll have another beer.

[@misterdeity]

@@bubbahargo But do you choose to believe it?

[@PaulTheSkeptic]

Bob!!!

[@orlandoborras1922]

I don’t think that belief is typically something we consciously choose, like flipping a switch. Beliefs are often shaped by evidence, experiences, upbringing, and emotions. We can be exposed to new information that changes our perspective, but the process of coming to believe in something feels more like a gradual shift rather than an active decision. If you’re not convinced by something, no amount of effort to “choose” belief is going to make it genuine.

[@Dwayne_Bearup]

Belief rises to fill a need in the absence of knowledge.

[@bradjohnston9800]

When you are asked to believe something it suggests that there’s a choice. But as you pointed out choosing to believe is not the same as believing.

[@81caspen]

3:23 Actual LOL at “powerlessness of Christ”. Startled people in line.

[@misterdeity]

Ha!!! 😂

[@unclefisherman0]

I choose to believe I'd be a KZbinr someday... 🤞🏽

[@misterdeity]

You can do it!!!

[@CafeteriaCatholic]

I follow you if it happens.

[@jamesmskipper]

The Spirit of Christmas. The Spirit of God.

[@mgfinley4986]

Belief and faith provide a robust defense against fact, logic and reason. Opinion is subject to change when confronted with fact, logic and reason. Belief and faith are mighty armor against ratiocination.

[@jenniferhunter4074]

It's just placebo effect. Ayaan wasn't self-aware to notice that she was engaging in some pro-social and mind/spirit healthy activity. It's no different from cleaning up your room and then, feeling good about yourself. Ayaan incorrectly attributed it to a specific religion but she could have had that "come to Jesus" moment for anything. It's fascinating what we can do if we are good enough at lying to ourselves and expecting a specific result. That and nocebo are two observed conditions in clinical studies of people. Ayaan just did a placebo on herself and attributed it to Christianity.

[@c.a.t.732]

Yeah, I've heard conversion stories about Krishna, Islam, this or that guru, etc. etc.. They're all different yet all the same.

[@mrthebillman]

I have Chosen to believe the Ford Mustang has special powers over mortal men!

[@misterdeity]

One of my band mates back in the ‘70s had a ragtop ‘68 Camaro - Black! That car definitely had special powers!!!

[@InigoMontoya-]

Unless you are talking about mobility in snow. The Mustang is notoriously bad as a winter car.

[@BubbaF0wpend]

I choose to believe I can last more than 1 minute. Never quite works out that way, though. My wife is grateful.

[@misterdeity]

LLOL!!!

[@skidmo]

Man Bri - you really went Big Time with your Sledgehammer, bringing the Red Rain onto the apologist's Mercy Street, where, in their minds We Do What We're Told from That Voice Again. Don't Give Up, Brian. Oh, and This Is The Picture (Excellent Birds). Let's just call that evolution.

[@misterdeity]

Well done! LOL!!!

[@woodsonchem]

I've chosen to bake bread and make pizza from scratch every week.

[@InigoMontoya-]

The Carb, the Crumb, and the Holy Yeast- Abread.

[@Klukkluk-pr5rk]

I choose to believe my own eyes, logic, judgment, intelligence. Indeed I despise people who tell about the locks in hell or the desires of God

[@misterdeity]

I’ve that callback so much! Well done!!! ❤

[@macmac1022]

When did you make that choice? I dont make any choices on my beliefs, I am either convinced or I am not.

[@Klukkluk-pr5rk]

@@macmac1022 i made that choice when I realized that my judgment is reliable, let's say second half of my teens. You never encountered someone who cannot decide if the sun is up before someone else says so?

[@macmac1022]

@@Klukkluk-pr5rk So it was not that you were convinced or not, you consciously said to yourself I choose to believe my own eyes, logic, judgment, intelligence?

[@Klukkluk-pr5rk]

@@macmac1022 Actually it was more like "No, that's really bullshit". You know, when I was younger, I doubted, I didn't dare to go against "authorities".

[@BeccaYoley]

One can only choose to pretend to believe.

[@InigoMontoya-]

Rare serious moment: Her life as a Muslim, and her experience as an ex-Muslim could very well have been a parade of constant trauma, leading to CPTSD. She may be looking for the safety of the in-group, as well as unconsciously seeking relationships/situations in which to relive traumatic events of her past. She probably needs therapy WAY more than another religion.

[@misterdeity]

Exactly! And instead of providing that therapy, her therapist said, “squirrel!!!” I spoke to a therapist friend about this, and she thought her therapist had done something unethical at least.

[@InigoMontoya-]

@@misterdeityI should have specified that she needs competent therapy.

[@jemarcatubig3171]

i chose that when somebody asks what my favourite snack is, i say "fruits". because deep inside we know we want something unhealthy...

[@Simon.the.Likeable]

In the English language, the plural of "fruit" is "fruit" because the plural form is a collective noun. On the other hand, you may be an American.

[@InigoMontoya-]

@@Simon.the.Likeable,”fruits” is acceptable, if talking about different kinds of fruits, as the OP may have been doing.

[@Simon.the.Likeable]

@@InigoMontoya- According to Fowler's Modern English Usage, Revised Edition, point (3) under the heading of collective nouns: "Collective nouns that stand for a group of inanimate objects are always treated as singular." Thanks anyway.

[@jursamaj]

@@Simon.the.Likeable No book defines English usage. At best, they can report usage. And in that regard, Fowler is wrong, because people *do* use words like "fruits".

[@Simon.the.Likeable]

@@jursamaj That is why I mentioned Americans. The Revised Fowler's also mentions them. The entry "gotten" is most amusing.

[@George4943]

I choose to believe "I'm me" in a Cartesian way today. I'm not the same person I was yesterday by one day's experience. I'm not the same person I will be tomorrow.

[@guyjperson]

Oh No! I'm sorry to hear that Ms. Ali started smoking that shit. I hadn't even heard about Douglas Murray. I'm gonna have to verify that.

[@guyjperson]

I've done some research now, certainly not comprehensive. The latest thing I could find was that Murray is a bet-hedging agnostic who finds many of the tenets of Christianity to be worthwhile.