Having the Will to Believe and Respecting the Believing of Others – A Justification of Faith in Religious Matters from The Will to Believe
PREFACE
This is an essay on believing. What is a belief, and how do we come to believe? Do you believe that God
exists? 'Do you believe in God?' is a question we all are asked by others and of ourselves at one time or
another. The answer is either 'yes', 'no', or 'I don't know'; a theist, an atheist, or an agnostic. The theist
believes in God; the atheist believes in not-God. Both believe. How do they know their belief is the true
belief? What makes a belief true?
This is an essay on William James's famous essay, The Will to Believe, and the lessons to be learned from
it. In his essay, James provides a justification for a believer's faith in God, and the basis for respecting
the religious believing of others. He provides lessons in the psychology of believing. He shows what it
means for a thing or proposition to be true. He shows how our psychological nature determines what
we believe when objective proof of a fact is lacking, and how we can, through believing, create a fact. In
the end, he argues that certain people, those who are strongly inclined to believe in God, ought to
summon the courage to believe. Summoning courage is an act of will — the will to believe.[1]
INTRODUCTION
Imagine a conversation that begins with these questions: Do you have religious faith? Do you believe the
teachings of your religion are true? Do you believe the teachings of other religions are false? Do you
believe that other religions' believers believe that the teachings of their religion are true and yours
false? Whose teachings are true? These questions will necessarily lead to a discussion about belief, the
truth of a belief, and faith. If you say you believe in God and the teachings of your particular religion,
why do you? How did you come to your beliefs? Is there objective evidence of the truth of your beliefs?
You can through your intellect and rational thought know that Abraham Lincoln existed, but what
evidence can you provide the skeptic of God's existence?
Ultimately your answer must come down to a 'leap of faith'. You choose to believe. You know God exists
because something inside of you, your very nature, tells you so...
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