False Beliefs

There is a myth going around that says it is impossible to answer the question of whether any of the currently worshiped gods actually exist.  This couldn’t be further from the truth.  Of course, we can answer this.  Here’s how:

1. Everyone knows that we get most of our beliefs from the society we get born into.  That’s why most people don’t worship Zeus today.  But if we were born say 4 or 5 thousand years ago, in all probability we would be asking Zeus for a little help in making our lives better.  We also know that if we were born in a different country to different parents we would be praying to Allah instead of Jesus or the other way around.  The bottom line in all of this is that our beliefs generally don’t come from us honestly looking to find the truth about things.  It comes from others who were here on earth long before we were.  For the most part, our beliefs get passed on to us so the truth is we really don’t have a lot of beliefs that go against the grain of today’s current flavor of what most around us believe.
2. It is difficult for anyone to conclude that beliefs widely held by those around us could be false or that if we have non-mainstream ideas those ideas might be superior to the ones held by so many others.  It might seem a little presumptuous to conclude that your ideas are right and the majority’s ideas are wrong.  But when it comes to believing in gods, ghosts or fairies, the fact one is able to extrapolate back and trace the origins of such beliefs to superstitions, you would have the superior understanding over those who believe in black magic, Zeus, Allah or Jesus.  Also, the fact is that widely held beliefs are always in a transition away from yesterday’s beliefs to today’s beliefs to tomorrow’s beliefs.