Biblical Heritage Center Blog

  Christianity and Judaism are mutually exclusive monotheistic religions , which means a person cannot belong to both religions at the same time. In addition to that, some Christian and Jewish religious institutions do not agree about what important beliefs mean within their own religions . Those “ polarizing beliefs ” are “ the elephants in the room ” – beliefs that most people usually avoid talking about .   However, there is another reason that people ignore these “ elephants .” They are “ Institutional Truths ” ( see my previous email for more info about this ), which means they are backed by the authority of powerful institutions.   Challenges to an Institutional Truth is viewed as a direct challenge to the institution’s claim that it is an authorized representative of God!   For most people, emotions are much more involved in belief discussions than logic or reason. That is another reason people choose to “ ignore the elephants. ” The bottom line is people have not

  Wars have been fought over beliefs about God. People have been tortured in Inquisitions because of beliefs about God. Others have been excommunicated because of beliefs about God. Billions of peoples have beliefs about the afterlife that are based on beliefs about God. So, what is a “ belief ”? According to Merriam-Webster online dictionary:   “ A belief is a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing .”   Trust is a feeling of confidence . Be sure to note that belief, trust, and confidence are all emotional states. Beliefs are the building blocks of religious belief systems and they are viewed as “ truths ” to believers.   In his book, Letters from an Astrophysicist, Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson discusses the difference between science and religion (p. 99):   “ Science follows evidence. When strong evidence supports an idea, the concept of belief, when invoked the way religious people use it, is unnecessary.   In other w