Belief?

We have all been asked about it, we have all thought about it and some of us still don’t know about it. It has brought people together and it has been the start of most of the wars in history. It is a broad term that crosses over into many aspects of life. Some think its dedicating yourself to a higher power. Some think it’s taking a stand for what you know to be true. I think a belief is the way a person view him or herself and the world around him or her. A belief is a big part of human interaction and how we get along with one another. No matter what you think or what you feel we all have a belief in something.

What is a belief? A belief is something you hold true to yourself no matter what anybody else says. Some people have even been known to die for their beliefs. If you look it up in the dictionary belief has 3 definitions. 1. A state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing, 2. Something believed; especially: a tenet or body of tenet held by a group, 3. Conviction of truth of some statement or reality of some being or phenomenon especially when based on examination of evidence. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/belief). Although it’s a technically accurate definition of belief it has a cold feeling to it. You can’t just define your belief by a dictionary definition. Belief means so many different things to so many different people. Cultures have been formed around a common belief and religions have been from around a common belief.

When traveling to different places around the world or even around our own country different beliefs can cause somewhat have a culture clash. This was no more evident than in the book Three Cups of Tea. The author of the book Greg Mortenson was attempting to climb the mountain K2 and found himself lost and stranded. When he was found and on his way back down the mountain he wasn’t pay attention and got lost again. He came across the little village of Korphe. The people of the town known as the Balti were very kind to Greg. I think it surprised Greg when the man at the gate took him inside the village “he escorted him through the gate with the hospitality that is unforgivable for the Balti not to extend” (Mortenson 24). I think this took Greg by surprise because back in the United States this would not happen in most situations. The Balti belief system tells them to be kind to strangers and the belief system that Mortenson comes from tells us to also be kind to strangers but people never act on this.

When belief systems come in contact with each other for the most part it never ends well and a lot of histories major wars started over beliefs. The Crusades was one of the biggest conflicts in history was fought over religious beliefs. It started in 1095 when Pope Urban II met an assembly of churchmen at Clermont, France. (history-world.org/crusades.htm) The war was fought buy the Christians of Europe namely France and England and the Muslims of the Middle East. It was fought for control of Jerusalem. When all was said in done there were 4 crusades that went to Jerusalem with the last one ending in 1270. (http://history-world.org/crusades.htm) Here you had two different religions, Christians and Muslims, were fighting over a city because it was the center to each of their beliefs and both felt it was important enough to kill and die for. I think the biggest clash of beliefs happened in the mid-20th century with the rise of Hitler. Hitler and the Nazi party came to power in January of 1933 and soon poisoned the minds of the people telling them that all the struggles that Germany was going through was the fault of the Jewish people. Out of this belief that was embedded in the German people came what Hitler called his final solution, we know it as the Holocaust. The Holocaust was Hitler’s solution to getting rid of the Jewish people by sending them to concentration camps where they were to be killed. Millions of Jewish people paid the ultimate price all because of one man’s belief that he spread to other people.

So what exactly is a belief? A belief can mean many things to many different people. There isn’t one explanation that can sum up the word. Is it good or is it bad? I don’t think it’s either of those things because anybody can believe anything it’s how people act on beliefs that make them what they are. So now ask yourself this question, what are your beliefs?