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Why People Believe What They Believe

By Arlene F. Harder, MA, MFT

Page Three of Three Pages

I'm reminded of a story Lynne Fearman, a lovely woman who comes every once-in-awhile to give me a soothing massage, tells of her childhood. The daughter of Jehovah's Witnesses, she often went with her mother door-to-door distributing literature and proselytizing her faith. When she was a teenager, she happened to meet another girl who was also knocking on doors in an attempt to gain converts. This girl was a member of the Worldwide Church of God, a sect that also believed in strict interpretation of scripture. They got to talking and soon, sitting on a curb and using their Bibles, they started debating the merits of their beliefs in what she referred to as a "scriptural battle."

The other girl would use a verse to demonstrate that Lynne was wrong and Lynne would point to another verse giving a different point of view, whereupon the girl will counter with another verse to refute Lynne's and Lynne would oppose that verse with still another one. At the end of two hours they decided they were both right—if "right" was determined by the interpretation of scriptural verses. They both came to the conclusion that you can find support in the Bible for any point of view if you took hard enough. Want justification for revenge and conflict? There is support for an eye for an eye. Want to emphasize peace? Turn the other cheek.

And that day Lynne lost her faith, since she had been taught that her religion was based on believing there was only one right way to understand scripture.

While I am most familiar with competing interpretations of the New Testament, I have been told that two rabbis can give three opinions on any part of the Torah. Many scholars of Eastern religions claim to be the "correct" interpreters of their holy writ. And there are thousands of self-styled prophets, philosophers, channelers, mediums, and leaders of utopian sects, each carefully selecting supportive documents for his or her point of view.

The Ego Gets in the Act

We're generally so convinced of the rightness of our position that it's almost impossible for us to be objective in examining the degree to which our beliefs (or our resistance to spiritual awareness) are driven by ego.

One of the reasons I believe we're generally so convinced of the rightness of our religious and spiritual beliefs is because of what I think of as our "roll-top desks." It's our ego's way of dealing with internal inconsistency. Let me explain.

In old-fashioned desks (and in newer models as well) there are lots of little cubbyholes and drawers into which we can separate our papers, pencils, keys, checkbook, bills, etc. But there always seems to be one that is used for whatever doesn't fit anyplace else. Since it's a roll-top desk, we can close the cover and not be reminded of that little compartment. We can create the illusion that everything has a specific place and fits together nicely. And in a way we're right. There is a drawer for "other stuff." Our sorting system has a place for "other stuff.".

Well, our minds are like that, too. We have a place where we shove stuff that doesn't fit—namely any beliefs that contradict our core beliefs and firmly held beliefs that are inconsistent with known facts. What happens, I surmise, is that our ego has such a need to be right that it convinces us that an incongruent belief does, in fact, make sense. If we give it any thought at all, we simply decide it is something "we have to take on faith." So we deal with such matters by shoving them into the drawer for everything that doesn't fit our worldview, but which we nevertheless say we believe.

Thus, it is possible for someone to believe that "God is love" and also believe it's okay to slaughter innocent people in His name. It is possible to be fervently pro-life and yet favor the death penalty. It is possible to believe in a strict, literal interpretation of the Bible and also claim Jesus didn't really change water into wine ("that was just an error in translation") in order not to appear to endorse alcohol.

And believers in creationism are like a friend of mine who accepts scientific research when it bolsters her beliefs, but dismisses scientific findings that refute her beliefs. For example, carbon dating of the recently found crypt supposedly belonging to a disciple of Jesus is welcomed. But she disregards scientific measurements of the age of fossils or sedimentary rock by saying the scientists "must not be reading their measurements correctly." The drawer in her roll-top desk is tightly closed and locked.

It is interesting that the goal of most religious and spiritual practice is to conquer the ego and yet the is the ego that can keep us most attached to our beliefs. Once I had a conversation with a friend who is a strong fundamentalist. When I asked what it would mean if he ever discovered his beliefs were not the one and only set of correct beliefs, he took a deep breath, stepped back from me for a moment, and replied, "Well, then my whole existence would be negated." In other words, his ego is so closely aligned with his beliefs that he dare not question or stretch his understanding of other faiths because it would jeopardize his sense of self.

We Are All Unconscious, to One Degree or Another, of Our Motives for Believing or Disbelieving

I hope that, after reading this article, you don't come to the conclusion that I don't think anyone really knows why they believe what they do. There are many who have given their beliefs a great deal of thought and have concluded that whatever form they follow is the best form for them at that particular time in their lives. However, there are many who have blindly accepted their faith without any conscious evaluation of whether it makes sense, of whether it is hogwash or holy.

My purpose in writing this and several other articles in this section is to encourage you to live your faith and follow your beliefs with an open mind and an open heart. Sort the wheat from the chaff. As I say in To What Should You Surrender?

If you believe there is truth in the religion to which you subscribe, then by all means find that truth. Live the religious life and life it fully. If you choose to be a spiritual seeker, then by all means seek with all your heart and all the passion you can muster.

© Copyright 2003, Arlene F. Harder, MA, MFT — Page One