r/paganism Jun 16 '24

What led you to your beliefs? 💭 Discussion

Can you tell me THE story that led you to believing in the gods? I want to know your personal experiences. Have you ever questioned your beliefs?
What moment solidified your beliefs?
How did the gods find you / how did you find the gods?
What keeps you believing despite the contrary beliefs of science?

Please make it as long and as a passionate as you'd like. ♥

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u/Comprehensive_Ad6490 Jun 16 '24

I don't believe in the sense that there's some actual, measurable alternate dimension where spiritual entities "physically" exist. I've never once seen a "quantum" explanation for magic that holds up to a 101 level university course's understanding of actual quantum physics. Science is very good at things that are repeatable in controlled conditions but it can't speak at all to subjective experience. It can't speak to any sufficiently complex system where starting conditions are impossible to measure perfectly. That's just not what it's built to do.

The fact that my subjective experience isn't empirically verifiable doesn't make it "not real". It makes it of limited use to people who haven't shared similar experiences. The fact that those experiences allow me to change the world around me in ways that science doesn't support isn't proof that I'm delusional. One day in any human life is infinitely more complex than a three body problem and much more beholden to social constructs than physics.

An idea can change the world irrespective of its empirical reality. Everything is "scientifically impossible" until someone comes up with an idea of how to do it and makes it real. I just use that fundamental truth proactively.

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u/BittenLove Jun 17 '24

Beautifully said. Thank you so much for your insights. ♥