Grammar question, Believing in something

DrZoidberg said:

Here's a simple one:

Is the phrase "I believe in [insert noun]" always to be seen as religious devotion to [insert noun]. As opposed to saying "I have belief that [insert noun] is true".

I'm having a disagreement. I'm dead certain that belief in [insert noun] only has to do with ones conviction about the truth value of [insert noun], and any possible religious beliefs has to do with the context and can't be automatically assumed.

Am I correct?

Click to expand...

I'm joining you at the Church of Dead Certainty.

DrZoidberg said:

Here's a simple one:

Is the phrase "I believe in [insert noun]" always to be seen as religious devotion to [insert noun]. As opposed to saying "I have belief that [insert noun] is true".

I'm having a disagreement. I'm dead certain that belief in [insert noun] only has to do with ones conviction about the truth value of [insert noun], and any possible religious beliefs has to do with the context and can't be automatically assumed.

Am I correct?

Click to expand...

I believe in chewing your food before swallowing.

I have belief that the rumor is true.

I believe you have to define the word, "religious".

If it's something you have to continue to "do" then, even if it's not religious in the religiony sense, belief and believing could be said to have religious consequences.

I believe you are right. I will maintain with certainty that you are right.


Yeah. Could be that both you and the person you are having the debate with are right on different points.

insert shrug

What happens if you are wrong? Do you have to do his laundry?

I believe you are correct.



But I could be wrong.

This is one of the sources of endless argument. There seem to be two kinds of "belief" knocking around, one passive, based on experience and reasonable expectation, the other - from an atheist POV - a form of active wishful thinking.