Originally Posted by aloneagainor

True, we all decide for ourselves what to believe; the difference comes in how we go about deciding. Those following a religion or program or belief in God rely on that foundation as truth. That mode of thinking, those belief systems, provides answers and direction and grounding. And for many faith in that that method works! But those who have rejected religion and the concept of God have to seek answers elsewhere. In reliance on our own logic and reason, there is no text no program no cohesive community to guide/ direct/ instruct/ provide answers for us. Nor do we want one to do that for us.

Reminds me of an ongoing dispute I have with a Christian friend. When we're in awe of an adaptation of nature (pick a subject: The complexity of the eye, the variation in bird plumage, waterfalls, earthquakes! the brain! et al) I delve into exploring factors surrounding how and why it became the way it is, and he's ever-more convinced that no way could this have happened by chance, surely it's God's design.

A person (devout Christian) I work with, when faced with any and every question about why something is the way it is, reverts to his standard answer, "I don't know, it's a mystery." Vague speculation works for him, gets him out of having to reach any conclusive answer. Mysticism does provide that out, of turning over reasoning to faith in God. To be secular, to reject religion and the mystical, and by definition to undertake to live accordingly, requires independent reasoning of mind. It's a lot more work that way, but it's also one's life work. I think therein lies a primary difference in the manner in which one thinks, between life with a belief in a higher power and one without. It's about where we turn to find the answers.