Is believing in God something to be proud of?

I would think that being proud of one’s belief would be against Christian tenets.

About Columbine girl – agreed.

I was frenetically Christian when that happened, and I still thought “What an idiot. You still swallowed lead. Where is your God now?”

I guess I was never meant to be a believer – things like that always made me angry, instead of proud.

But, Pride is one of those Mortal Sins, so there you go.

Pride in the belief in god is only one of the many problems we face today. Pride is supposed to goeth before the fall. Unfortunately it seems to feed on itself and makes people even more self righteous.

I’m proud of it

People who gloat over that I tend to find have the most insecurities. But their is nothing wrong with keeping your chin up on the matter.

Just because you don’t believe in god doesn’t make you a bad person. Look at GW Bush. He claims to believe in god and you just can’t get much worse as a human being than he is.
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There is a difference between being so-called religious and being spiritual…

Live your own life and come to your own conclusions.

Read the Desiderata

“_And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore, be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham,
drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy._”

Pride cometh before a fall.

I know a few people who believe in God and they don’t seem to show much actual pride in it. I also see tons of people who wear their Gods on their sleeves. It’s common to see pride in religious people, but I don’t think it’s a required thing. Energetic rallies can make a person feel proud about anything. If you hold the belief and it’s being passionately supported by those around you, why wouldn’t you share some pride? Even if humility is notedly the point.

It is neither something to be proud of or otherwise. It is what it is, and although I believe it is a misguided belief, people do have a right to it. You believe in a god(s)? Well I hope you’ll doubt it one day, but for now as long as you are a good person I really don’t care too much.

I feel like it’s common sense for someone to be proud of something they believe in, especially a controversial issue like this one. If you “believe in” something, that would imply you’re proud of it in the first place.

I think being proud of believing in a god (And this is an Atheist talking), would be lacking the humility that most religious faiths teach about. Humility has a lot more to teach than pride. The latter breeds complacency.

P.S. You should most certainly be proud that you believe in something that the majority of other humans are telling yo0u not to believe in.
Just don’t flaunt it!

Pride in a belief is a strange thing, regardless of the nature of the belief or its empiricality.

Consider:

> I believe that water falls from the sky as precipitation, and I am proud of this belief.

> I am proud to assert that I believe that there is life on other planets.

> I believe that I am not a primate. This makes me proud.

> I believe in God, and I am proud of this fact.

> I believe in evolution, and I am proud of it.

It just strikes me as odd. Perhaps there is more than one meaning for the word “proud”?

I think one should be as proud of one’s spiritual beliefs or lack thereof as one wants. It’s not really anybody else’s business.

no. faith is not a pride. it should be an honor.

I personally am not a christian, but I am sure having pride over your faith is opposite of what they preach…

I think there is something in the Bible about that actually…. maybe some one can find it?

@yoshiboshi The Bible says “do not throw your pearls before swine”, meaning belief is something you should treasure, and not allow unbelievers or those of other persuasions to touch your belief (such dirty creatures they are…).

Sure! Why not? People are proud of their cars, their botoxed lips, their trendy handbag, their golf score.

I think that having the courage of your convictions – whatever they may be – and being proud of that conviction (which is a little different than being proud of the actual belief) – is a good thing. In a world awash with shallow and material, a little pride in the spiritual or the ethical might serve us all well, as long as it’s tempered with tolerance and humility.

Pride in your relationship with a god or gods (goddess or goddesses) can be something that you feel in your heart and share with those closest to you, as a form of bonding and strengthening community and family…like a really good casserole…or it can be a bludgeon that you use to club others over the head with.

I know some very religious people who just warm my heart with their faith. I may not share that belief, but I’m just so happy for them that they use their beliefs the way that they do. I’d be proud, too, if I could take a thought, form it into a belief, and use it to warm hearts and build bridges, and the most skilled believers can do that (rare though they may be).

No, it’s not something to be proud of or not proud of, in my opinion but I can see how, when people feel discriminated against or prejudiced against because of their beliefs, they can begin to feel pride for getting through real or perceived persecution, so to speak.

This is a great question, IMHO! Pride of any sort is unaceptable in a Christian, since everything we have comes from God. We are specifically enjoined from being prideful, from having “the pride of life,” etc. We are told that we can’t even be proud of our faith or belief because even faith is a gift from God, “lest any man should boast.”

So my take on it is that we should always be happy to “share the reasons for the joy we have,” but only when someone asks, and that even our ability to believe comes from God and it would be unacceptable to be proud of that.

Sometimes, just sometimes, I wish we talked more about other religions besides Christianity – I’d want to hear from other believers. The world is not about Christians and atheists/agnostics only. PS: this isn’t directed at anyone in particular.

@FireMadeFlesh Well, I never said faith was something we should not treasure. Of course it is! But don’t be so proud of it that it leaves you haughty and big headed. Always question your beliefs, because you COULD be wrong. Don’t say “meh, I’m [insert religion here], but it’s not important”, and also don’t say “Yeah, I am [insert religion here], and my religion is always right and I am going to have a wonderful after life because I believe in it and it is the one right religion, and it is better than yours” or something along those lines lol.

I have personally chosen to stay out of religion because being in a religion has seemed to be more of something to be proud of than something to learn from :/

@FireMadeFlesh

You are, sadly, very close to the truth. That’s also one of the reasons I no longer place any stock in organized religion.

I am still at a loss as to why a person should be proud to believe in a whole system of unprovable statements and ceremonies.

I don’t care about a person’s religion as long as that person does not try to persuade me into his belief system. I really object when they try to change the law to be more in accordance with their particular set of beliefs. If you like your religion, keep it to yourself. If you are proud, be proud quietly.

@Ben_Dover I feel like the majority DOES believe in God. People believing in God does not bother me at all, I believe you should do and believe whatever makes you happy.

I do not believe in the God that “Christians” believe in. I do not believe in the bible. For the most part I believe there is something, but I don’t think it is a person or can even be given a name. I think it’s more something that is inside all of us… an energy. But then some days I think that sounds totally crazy. I don’t really know how to explain what I believe but I am ok with that. I know I am a good person and believing in a God or reading the bible would not make me any better. I still believe in being charitable, and honest. I still have a moral compass that gives me direction of what is right and wrong. I still feel love.

My main point is why are the reactions so different when a Christian says “I believe in God” and when another person says “I DON’T believe in God.” Why do Christians get an “amen!” when they say some profound thing about Jesus? When a non believer says something about why he/she is comfortable with not believing it’s a huge deal but in a negative way.

There is just so much commotion in the world that is caused by religion… If we could all just agree to disagree life would be a little better. Among other very important things, this is a reason why I will never, ever conform to an organized religious. They don’t practice what they preach.

Yeah, sure, they can be proud of their lack of critical thinking….Ha-haaa Ba Dum Chh…...just kidding.

There is a line that everyone should be at where they are not proud, but will have no problem inoccuously defending their belief.

@CaptainHarley has an interesting line on this – is belief voluntary?

Can I be proud of my breathing?

@krose1223 Sounds to me as if you may be hanging around with some legalistic people who call themselves “Christians” who have no idea what being a Christian is all about.

@CaptainHarley Who does – how can one Christian say that about another?

Incisive as always, @Simone_De_Beauvoir : ))

Allow me to rephrase: They call themselves “Christians,” but they seem to me to be far too legalistic and unschooled in what their faith is really all about for me to be able to think of them as Christians.

Better? : )

@CaptainHarley No. Because that’s just your opinion and is irrelevant (because it’s just an opinion, no one is an authority on this), don’t you think in deciding who’s a Christian and who isn’t? Would you want some random person to say they don’t believe you’re a proper Christian? It’s so subjective – shouldn’t every person that calls themselves a Christian be considered a Christian? no wonder there are a million denominations, how much energy is spent in telling each other who’s wrong and right.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir

I have had many, MANY people tell me I’m not a “proper Christain,” including my ex-wife! I have never told any individual that they weren’t “a proper Christian,” or anything that would indicate that’s what I thought… ever.

And, of course, I don’t feel as though my opinion is “irrelevat,” certainly not to me. : )

Bedtime for me. See you tomorrow sometime. : )

@CaptainHarley No, not that it’s irrelevant, in general – irrelevant to deciding who’s Christian and who isn’t because it bears no relevance when something can’t be objectively decided.

I disagree, perhaps not too surprisingly, but that’s a topic for later discussion. This old fart is sleepy!

Pride… the only vice that appears in both the book of Proverbs as What the Lord Hateth, AND in the common lists of Seven Deadly Sins.

“Pride in the name of Love”

….Early morning, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride
In the name of love
What more in the name of love…

I love God and you can choose not or whatever it does not bother me. I have no care what so ever. I will not point fingers at you and you should not do it at me. It is a free country. I love the Lord God and His son Jesus and yes I am proud of my faith and my belief, this is me and you are you and you too, can be proud it has no bearing on me. Have a wonderful evening.

@naconasong How do you reconcile being proud (having pride) of your faith when Pride is listed in the book of Proverbs as one of the eight things that the Lord Hateth?

@krose1223 I agree that God is an energy and is the energy that makes up each of us. Actually, when you get down to it, we are all of us God.
I also do not belong to any organized religions. And the bible itself is merely a version. It says so right on the cover. But there is one thing inside of it that they apparently couldn’t alter.
God is Lovingkindness. That says it all. There is no hell. God is to col to have a place like that.
Most of the christian organized religions, like most of all organized religions are designed to control their followers. Use them and take as much of their money as humanly possible.

@Ben_Dover

Uh… the Bible most people use ( especially most fundamentalists, for some reason ) is called “The King James Version” because the king of England, King James, commissioned a new translation in 1604. James gave the translators instructions intended to guarantee that the new version would conform to the ecclesiology and reflect the episcopal structure of the Church of England and its beliefs about an ordained clergy. The translation was by 47 scholars, all of whom were members of the Church of England. This was the third English translation of the Bible and illustrates how it has been changed over the years by ( sometimes ) well-meaning translators.

My 2 cents….
I believe in God whole heartedly. Does that make me better than you or anyone who doesn’t believe in God? No. Do I think I am wiser or more informed than you? No. Am I proud that I believe in God? No. (However, I am not ashamed of it either.) Pride should come from something that you have worked at or something that you have done. Side note, pride might not be the best choice of words, I think it would be more appropriate to say that a person feels successful or accomplished in what they have done or achieved I believe that God blessed me with my faith, I didn’t earn it or work for it. For me to be proud of it would fly in the face of what I believe. And truth be told, even when I do achieve something that I could be ‘proud’ of, I really feel that the credit goes to God, not me, because I believe that whatever I have been able to achieve has been through the grace of God not my own abilities. I just have to say, after reading what I wrote, you might get the impression that I am (or that I think I am) a ‘picture perfect’ example of Godliness. I’m not. I am flawed, I don’t always make the ‘right choices’, etc. The only thing that I have never questioned in my heart is whether there is a God, however, I have questioned just about everything else that is associated with believing in God.

what ever is comfortable for you… As long as situation doesn’t colonize your brain with constant sacrifice and with a mindset on distant rewards.

I believe in a God and the bible; as a spiritual woman. Amen :)

I’m tempted to respond to the comments rather than the initial question. I believe that whatever you believe in, you should not be ashamed of, but as to whether or not you should be proud, that is the question.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pride shows that there is a healthy form of pride and an unhealthy form of pride.

The Bible itself has the two forms of pride, healthy and unhealthy. [All references will be NIV translation]

Unhealthy pride is found in many places. I believe 2 Chronicles 26:16 is where “pride comes before the fall” concept came from, because that exact wording is not found in the bible. We also have Isaiah 13:11, Daniel 5:20, Job 33:17 as a few good examples.

The healthy pride is kind of alluded to in Jeremiah 48:29, and clearly marked in 2 Corinthians 8:24, Galatians 6:4, and James 1:10.

I think that Christians have become ashamed because of the many things that atheist like to point out, such as the Salem Witch Hunts, the Ku Klux Klan, the Nazi’s, etc all of who claim to be Christians or believe in the bible. So understandably most want to distance themselves from those violent acts. But ultimately again whatever it is that you believe in, you should not be ashamed of and should therefore have a healthy pride, not a conceit or vanity, but a humble, reasonable, self-respect, or pride.