Faith as human instinct

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   janesixposted 12 years ago

   Is belief in a higher power a human instinct? Is spirituality an inate part of our make up?

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      A Troubled Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Only if one believes delusions are human instincts.

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         janesixposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I am sorry you dont have a soul. It must be hard for you

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            A Troubled Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Souls have never been shown to exist.

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      kessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Men follow instict instead of faith, that instict has been conviently labelled faith, so in a manner of speaking you are right

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      couturepopcafeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I think some feeling or sense that there is something bigger, grander, more perfect, innately wonderful is indeed an instinct we cannot explain. Having faith in ones own instincts is key to meeting life on your own terms. IMO, spiritual (for lack of a better word) connections happen often in our lives when we have a close life connection to another. The spirit expects a lot but too often we ignore what it tells us. We ignore our instincts. Knowing yourself, being able to hear your inner self, goes a long way to connecting to the universe.

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      Jesus was a hippyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I can safely say that faith is not any part of my instincts. It is quite the opposite in fact. Everybody is different though.

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   jacharlessposted 12 years ago

   Jane,
   I do not believe faith is in the area of instinct.
   Instinct is the senses of survival, mostly emotion but also primal knowledge.
   Faith is the power to create, by using the Breath of Life* -genetically built into every human.
   
   *Breath: Om, Ki, Chi, Ruach, Pneuma meaning spirit/life force.
   
   James.

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      janesixposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Dont know how i missed this post. Thats exactly what im talking about.

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         Mark Knowlesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Evolution has favored belief without evidence. The primal human that believed it was a lion when it was the wind in the grass tended to live longer and be more likely to breed than the primal human who guessed the other way.
         
         Nothing complicated about it. Ki or Chi has absolutely nothing to do with faith.

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            jomineposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Exactly. And it is the unraveling of the natural mysteries that prompted man to create more and more imaginary beings to "believe in", for he want everything to look like him, with super powers.

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      janesixposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      James, i suspect that we evolved specifically for chi to flow through our nervous system, but im not sure what you mean by the power to create. Can you elaborate on that?

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   knolyourselfposted 12 years ago

   Would say belief in a higher power is not instinct,
   and spirituality is an inate part of our make up, if one would believe we are spiritual beings.

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   Mauvebeateposted 12 years ago

   Most people have an incorrect definition of faith. If you talk to most religious people they'll tell you they have 'faith' because they 'believe'. Some people will even be clever and quote you Romans 10:17, that faith comes by hearing, so you need to 'hear' them when they preach at you. I always respond to this quote by saying, "Thanks for telling me how to get it, but what is it exactly?" They generally don't understand the question and repeat how to get it, or repeat their 'testimony' that they have it, whatever it is. They might be wise to get to know their Bible a little better if they want to claim to live by it. In Hebrews 11:1 is the definition, and I have yet to 'hear' anyone quote it to me who is preaching at me about their 'faith'.
   
   Faith is the evidence of that which is not seen. A good example is the human heart. I personnaly have never seen my heart. But I know I have one. I'm alive. I feel it thumping in my chest. I hear my blood singing through my ears when it's quiet. There is evidence that I have a heart, even though I've not seen it. I have faith that it's there.
   
   People who claim to me that they have faith that God exists had better be prepared to back up their faith claim with evidence. Otherwise, it's not faith. It's blind wishing.

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   pisean282311posted 12 years ago

   can be...faith does help in survival game to some extent...make belief entities like god etc make humans adapt to situation more easily...

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   ptosisposted 12 years ago

   Belief is instinctive because without it humans would not be able to plan and only be reactive. As in, "I believe that if I sharpen this stick into a point and wait for a animal to poke it with - I'll eat tonight."
   
   Let's say that a whole group of people were unknowing involved in a social experimentation that was unethical. How to get a whole bunch of people to do things that they would not normally put up with?
   
   A mass job hiring process - but isn't. Sort of like SAW -  except without the actual dead bodies - not excluding a side of beef that was Hollywood-up to make it look like a human carcass.
   
   It would start with the "no cell phone rule" (plus cell-phone jamming) and little things that are not scary by themselves but put together will give you and most people an instinctive defense reaction that your mind might not be conscious of but will actually make you physically sick from stress and mentally unstable from the dichotomy of what is being said to you and what is reality.
   
   Imagine - You and a group of 60 people bussed onto a compound and treated to a seminar with good looking food that smells bad, Chair backs with cartoon jokes about abortion, a motivational speaker that degrades anybody in the audience who questions the speaker and a overnighter that include roaches, bed bugs and ominous distinct screaming. The next day you notice stuff that you didn't notice yesterday. No fire alarms, no land lines, no clocks and all the pictures on the wall are slightly askew and have some disturbing elements in the composition.
   
   You instinct would tell you something is wrong and your faith is trying to form a coherent reason to describe the current dangerous situation that you are in. The kafkaesque atmosphere is making you paranoid along with the others and the job-hunting group begins to accuse each other of being a secret cohort of the psychological experiment.
   
   If people didn't have faith in each other - it would turn into a utter chaos of violence.
   
   Yes, faith in others in a social contract is instinctive as a form of survival based on a shared set of beliefs.

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