Belief versus Knowledge
It has been written that "
In all the world there are only two kinds of people –
those who know, and
those who do not know; and this
knowledge is the thing which
matters." However sweeping this statement may appear it is
little short of truth from the stand point of Religion in its real sense.
Knowledge has been defined as "
A clear perception of a truth or fact, erudition; skill from practice." Also "
to know, viz.; To perceive with certainty, to understand clearly, to have experience of."
On the other hand,
Belief is an "
Assent to anything proposed or declared, and its acceptance as fact by reason of the authority from whence it proceeds, apart from personal knowledge; faith; the whole body of tenets held by any faith; a creed; a conviction."
In regard to
religion it will doubtless at once be evident that a great deal could be said on the subject of
Belief, it being, one might almost say, the principle on which most, if not all, Religions are based. It will also be evident, though perhaps in a
lesser degree, that all these
various religious beliefs,
held by masses of people in all lands, must have
arisen in the beginning out of the Personal Experience of a few who had somehow
obtained a direct perception or knowledge of certain facts in regard to "
The Absolute", "
God", or at any rate
some Being or Beings of a distinctly higher order than themselves, and that
these revelations were then given out by them to others,
coloured to a certain extent by their own personality and
limited by the horizon of their own intellectual sphere. To what extent these "revelations" or "inspirations" can be relied upon and whether it is better to accept them as taught or to rely upon our own experience, are matters I shall endeavor to treat of in this brief essay.
The first thing that strikes one in attempting to deal with the subject – at any rate in the writer's own experience – is
how little we really know and how rapidly, if unchecked, our beliefs tend to accumulate.
The
beliefs accepted in our early childhood undoubtedly
have a strong influence upon our minds,
especially in early life, but apart from these, as soon as we begin to look around us and attempt to think for ourselves,
fresh beliefs rapidly creep in upon us. These
gain strength and to some extent, often to a great extent,
modify our ideas and
even dominate our actions.
Those who have a natural aptitude and desire for religion soon begin to read books and possibly to attend lectures on the subject. Something that one has heard or read strikes us as being original and fascinating, it seems to us this new idea must be true, and almost unconsciously we find ourselves believing it.
If the matter were allowed to rest there until we found time and inclination to go over these new ideas, carefully comparing them and trying to unite their utmost divergences so as to make them conform more of less with our own experience and outlook on life; well and good. But if, as is very liable to be the case, these new theories are lightly discussed and then forgotten for a time, there seems to be a tendency upon the subject re-arising or again being presented to us at some later period, for these ideas to be awakened more or less suddenly and for us to think "
Oh I know about that." While losing sight of the fact that it is not actual knowledge, but a bare belief that has lain dormant in our subconscious minds.
I think that anyone who has taken the trouble to examine his, or her, own mind in regard to their worldly knowledge on any matter, will agree that this knowledge is entirely based on experience, but when we turn our attention to religion we immediately feel either that actual knowledge is lacking.
Belief versus Knowledge
Originally Posted by jovipeorliohacokijo
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