The Nature of Religious Belief

[Philosophy Now]

Chris Bloor replies to ‘Cutting God in Half’ by Nicholas Maxwell.

https://philosophynow.org/issues/37/The_Nature_of_Religious_Belief

[Nick_A]

Chris Bloor wrote: "I am with those who ask the question, “What powers available to me might I use to scrutinise my own most deeply felt beliefs?” If I make use of the power of reason to disengage from my life, to weigh it against other possible lives, am I engaged in a project which is useful to living that life? These are the questions raised by Thomas Nagel in his book The View From Nowhere.

Belief is the purpose of secular religion while conscience is the goal of universal religion. Simone Weil wrote:

"The mysteries of faith are degraded if they are made into an object of affirmation and negation, when in reality they should be an object of contemplation."

From the perspective of the tripartite soul described by Plato, Reason is far weaker than the attraction of our appetites. Reason will gradually change to justify our appetites creating new beliefs. A sincere seeker of truth must consciously strive to get beyond the opinions or beliefs created from discursive thought so as to experience noesis (immediate intuition, apprehension, or mental 'seeing' of principles) wherein lies the transcendent truth of religion