1/29/10

The "Gospel" and False-Belief


Here's a standard form of "sharing the gospel" that is used by Christians. "If you were to die and stand before God and he were to ask, 'why should I let you in', what would you say." What if, I asked a group of 34 students primed by reading Clifford's "Ethics of Belief" and James' "Will to Believe", you answered "because I believe X" and X was the correct answer ", but God still refused you entrance. What would that say about your belief? Here's their results:

14 students thought that they poor reasons for their belief. (A Clifford-like response)
10 students thought their belief was not *really* believed, perhaps made invalid by their actions or self-deception. (a proto-Jamesian response)
4 students thought that God was either lying or testing them about their answer.
4 students thought that their belief was based on selfish desires, like getting into heaven.
2 students thought that their belief was insufficient and that they should have believed more than just X.


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