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Could We Drop Some Beliefs if It Required Dropping Others?

Could We Drop Some Beliefs if It Required Dropping Others?

Last updated on: August 26, 2026 at 9:35 am by Larry Jordan

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Could We Drop Some Beliefs if It Required Dropping Others? 2026-08-26T09:35:22-05:00 Larry Jordan

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There are aspects of many religions that puzzle outsiders.

One said, "There sure is some crazy stuff in that religion!!" The other replied, "There sure is some crazy stuff in our religion too!!" Image by ChatGPT/AI-generated, in the public domain

One said, “There sure is some crazy stuff in that religion!!” The other replied, “There is some crazy stuff in our religion too!!” Image by ChatGPT/AI-generated, in the public domain

A few years ago, I attended a live performance of “The Book of Mormon,” an award-winning musical comedy that satirizes the religion of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For most, the musical was affectionate and funny. It was also irreverent and provocative. There are aspects of many religions that puzzle outsiders.

Later, I overheard a conversation between audience members. One said, “There sure is some crazy stuff in that religion!!” The other replied, “There sure is some crazy stuff in our religion too!!” Clearly, that was the point of the show for anyone who was paying attention.

“Now Try the Bible.”

My friend Josh Hatfield is a former Evangelical and former Mormon who writes as “The Outspoken Lamanite” on Substack and elsewhere. His perspective is unique, and his writing is direct and passionate.

Josh wrote a Substack article called “Christianity vs. Mormonism: By Their Own Logic.” He describes a Facebook group that used the Bible to expose LDS Mormon scripture. Josh is NOT a Mormon apologist. But he asked the logical follow-up question, “Now try the Bible.”

The temperature changed immediately. Somehow, people who found humor in others’ beliefs were NOT able to find humor in their own.

“The thing about people who live inside a system so airtight they’ve never once felt a draft —They don’t know what fresh air smells like. And they really don’t like it when you crack a window,” Josh says. He asks, “Have you met your own book? Aaron’s staff turns into a snake. Moses parts an entire sea. Elijah calls fire down from the sky. Jesus turns water into wine, walks on water, and crawls out of his own tomb.”

There Are Aspects of Many Religions that Puzzle Outsiders

“Florida man…” is a popular meme referring to the alleged preponderance of people doing irrational and ridiculous things in Florida.

I saw a Facebook post suggesting that many Bible stories could double as “Florida man…” memes, including the following:

Florida man charged with attempted murder after luring his son up a mountain
Florida man disappears for weekend, claims he died
Florida man eats apple in park, discovers he is naked
Florida man floods entire world
Florida man gets drunk, sleeps with his own daughters
Florida man gives birth, claims to be a virgin
Florida man swallowed by whale, lives in its belly for three days
Florida man talks to burning bush, finds tablets after “conversation” with God

The list went on and on. You get the idea. These stories would seem irrational and ridiculous if we were not raised in a particular tradition. There are aspects of many religions that puzzle outsiders.

Why Do We Believe Unbelievable Things?

For many years, people believed what someone told them, which was based on what someone told them, which (in turn) was based on what someone told them, and so on. They assumed (as I did) that, for Christians, there are two billion believers, there are 2,000 years of history, and there is a book about it. What could go wrong? A lot, it turns out.

Scholars tell us that the Gospels were written by anonymous authors, who were almost certainly NOT named Matthew, Mark, Luke or John and who were almost certainly NOT eyewitnesses. Knowing that “Mark” wrote 40 years (two generations), and that “John” wrote 80 years (four generations) after Jesus’ death, their accounts might NOT be reliable. In fact, a judge and jury might consider them to be hearsay.

In the last few hundred years, historians, scientists and theologians learned a lot about the modern world that we inhabit. At the same time, they learned a lot about the ancient world that Jesus inhabited. Modern scholars now have access to 2,000 years of cumulative knowledge in the arts and sciences that answers more questions (and questions more “answers”) than was ever possible in the past.

Still, as Josh Hatfield says, some people live inside a system so airtight they never felt a draft. Many Christians think that it is admirable to believe in unbelievable things, to have “faith” in things that cannot be proven. (Of course, we can believe in things that cannot be proven. But we cannot insist that they are true.) And some people tell me that if their beliefs are NOT correct, they would rather not know about it.

Are Our Beliefs Linked in Doctrinal Daisy Chains?

Worse, many people believe unbelievable things because beliefs can be linked in doctrinal daisy chains. One belief leads to another belief, which (in turn) leads to another belief, and so on. A chain is as strong as its weakest link, so if the chain breaks at any point, it all collapses.

For example, I encountered the question of whether humans have free will late in my deconstruction. I would have saved myself a lot of time if I had encountered it sooner. For most of us, free will is an interesting question with low stakes. But it has high stakes for Christians.

If we ask the questions casually, we might accept that we have free will. But if we ask the questions seriously, we might NOT be so sure. Experts who study the question conclude that most of our actions result from nature or nature, NOT from conscious decision-making.

Imagine that we do NOT have free will or, at least, we do not have as much free will as we think that we have. I wrote about free will here.

If we do NOT have free will, then we do not choose to sin.
If we do NOT choose to sin, then God does not need to make laws.
If God does NOT need to make laws, then God would not have exiled us for breaking laws or for being stained by original sin.
If God did NOT have exiled us for breaking laws or for being stained by original sin, then Jesus did not need to atone for us.
If Jesus did NOT need to atone for us, then a just and merciful God would not punish or reward us for our actions or beliefs.
If God will NOT punish or reward us for our actions or beliefs, then this life might be all there is.

Could We Drop Some Beliefs if It Meant Dropping Others?

Does Christianity look any different without free will? Yes, in fact, it looks totally unrecognizable. No laws, no original sin, no atonement. Also, no judgment, no afterlife, no punishment or reward. We find many daisy chains within Christianity (and other doctrinal religions).

For example, does Christianity look any different without souls? Yes, in fact, it looks totally different. If we do NOT have souls, then nature and nurture determine our actions and beliefs. And if we do NOT have souls, then there is nothing that survives our physical deaths.

Do you think that many Christians would stop believing that we have free will or that we have souls if it meant dropping these linked beliefs? Me, neither. Can you think of other doctrinal daisy chains in Christianity (and other doctrinal religions)? Me, too.

There are aspects of many religions that puzzle outsiders. Some people find humor in others’ beliefs, but NOT in their own beliefs. Also, some would rather NOT know if their beliefs were incorrect. Perhaps their beliefs are linked in doctrinal daisy chains.

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About Larry Jordan

Larry Jordan is a follower of Jesus with a Zen practice. He wrote “The Way,” informed by the Eastern religions, the mystics, and the quantum physicists. "The Way" won a 2024 Nautilus Book Award. You can read more about the author here.

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