The Unquestioned Conviction (or Long Live Mayo)

Ever since I can remember, I've always disliked mustard.  We all develop our own tastes, and those tastes change as we grow.  But for years I would send back a burger if it had mustard on it.  When mom would order me something, she'd check to make sure there was no mustard, or at the very least have it substituted for something else.  "No, he won't eat mustard," she'd say.  I don't even remember making a decision on the subject; I've just always avoided it.  I even ate the All-American hotdog with ketchup – which amounts to sacrilege, I know.

Then one day I thought, Why don't I like mustard, exactly?  My brain sent back an inconclusive response.  Unknown – You just have always not liked mustard.  So I tried it.

And it wasn't bad.

I now will occasionally eat things with mustard, and I'm also overcoming my irrational antipathy for mushrooms.  And that's exactly my point: what amounted to my belief that "mustard sucks" wasn't based on rationality.  At one time I may have tried it and didn't enjoy the taste, and that's fair.  Most decisions like that are based primarily on emotional response, not reason.  But I held fast to that childhood belief until my early adult life, until I (for whatever reason) decided to question my belief.

So it goes with other beliefs, chiefly the belief in what one would call "god".  Many people have had it engrained in their brains since childhood that such a thing exists, with such-and-such properties.  Those with said belief cling to it all through childhood and sometimes well into adulthood, never once re-evaluating the conclusion they came to so long ago.  Of course, it makes such matters easier to hold if one is told that the very act of questioning them will result in undesirable outcomes.

When I'm asked why I don't believe in God, I usually respond with the statement that there's no good evidence to warrant such a conviction.  Then more importantly, I put the question to my inquirer: Why do you believe in God?  I find it's better if my theistic interviewer describes what they call "God", and provides their reasons for believing in such a thing.  Belief isn't subject to will; we believe things because we are convinced of them.  Our belief is the outcome of our brains processing information and then spitting out a result: we either accept it or reject it.  Thus, we cannot and do not "choose" our beliefs.  I didn't choose to become an atheist.  I lack theism because I've not been convinced of theistic claims nor been persuaded by theistic arguments.  And that's not because I don't want to – it's because I simply have not been convinced on the issue.  I don't believe it!

More often then not, I find that my religious inquisitor has held their theistic beliefs since childhood, in the same fashion as I once did my mustard-phobia.  They just haven't taken the time to say, "Hold on a second…why do I believe what I believe?  What has led me to draw this conclusion I hold so strongly?"  This applies to all beliefs, not just religious ones.  Our beliefs inform our actions, and our actions affect others, including ourselves.  If your religious convictions lead you to make noticeable decisions – i.e., your doing something because of your beliefs – I hope that you recall my anecdote about mustard, and take a moment to question your beliefs with an honest, open mind.

Question everything.

-STA