# What makes them so SURE (religions) **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 29, 2002, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-them-so-sure-religions/116513 "2002-06-29T02:49:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Squish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Squish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squish)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2002, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-them-so-sure-religions/116513/41 "2002-07-02T23:36:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Screeme \* > **OK, either you completely ignored, misunderstood or put aside my entire post.** Well, I didn’t find much in your post to go on. You gave reasons that you said had nothing to do with your faith, but you didn’t respond to the OP at all. > [@](#): > > **Reality is a hard and bitter thing sometimes. Christians, just like everybody else in the world have to confront it. We don’t get a special shield against the bitterness because we have faith in God. How then does it work as a crutch?** “God has a plan for us(you/me).” “The Lord works in mysterious ways.” “Let go and let God.” These statements and many more give the believer comfort when horrible things happen: it’s all God’s mysterious plan. Many believers refer to an inner peace that comes from their faith in God; their faith then acts as a balm to a psyche that would naturally be disturbed by events around them. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2002, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-them-so-sure-religions/116513/42 "2002-07-03T00:02:22Z")
> [@](#): > > These statements and many more give the believer comfort when horrible things happen: it’s all God’s mysterious plan. Many believers refer to an inner peace that comes from their faith in God; their faith then acts as a balm to a psyche that would naturally be disturbed by events around them. People _choose_ to adopt a certain attitude, it does not automatically insert itself into them. Some people (relious or not) handle adversity better than other people. Every day, for each one of us, is a battle. We _chose_ to strike out in anger, or to not strike out in anger to an upsetting event. We _choose_ to become a basket case over a trauma, or we don’t. Circumstances can be desperate, but each one of us will react in a different way. And in each of these circumstances, we are responsible for how we react—no one makes the choice for us. Even in incidents where someone believes God “helped” them handle a difficulty, they still had to be receptive to that help. And, each of us has a set of beliefs, and a philosophy. Each one of us—no matter what our religious background. We rely on our set of beliefs and our own philosophy to get us through the tough times. Last time I checked, religious folk hadn’t cornered the market on handling adversity well. We all handle it in our own unique way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-them-so-sure-religions/116513.md?page=2)