Quotes & Sayings About Questioning Your Beliefs

Just because you were born into something doesn't mean that it's right and it doesn't mean that it's true. The world's greatest men and women have always been those who questioned everything that ever was presented to them as truth. — Dan Pearce

We should, I think, proceed to enquire into what we mean by ideals - or rather, to examine, critically, the nature of those acts which to us appear to be outward manifestations of idealisms — John Okechukwu Munonye

I would argue that healthy doubt (questioning one's beliefs) is perhaps the best defense against unhealthy doubt (questioning God). When we know how to make a distinction between our ideas about God and God himself, our faith remains safe when one of those ideas is seriously challenged. — Rachel Held Evans

One of the greatest tragedies I can think of is for a person to die having never fully questioned the life he was born into. — Dan Pearce

Laughing at someone else is an excellent way of learning how to laugh at oneself; and questioning what seem to be the absurd beliefs of another group is a good way of recognizing the potential absurdity of many of one's own cherished beliefs. — Gore Vidal

Doubt is not an offense. Questioning is a step toward understanding. I am riven by beauty. I am humbled by grace. I strive to be kind, but not because I was told to. — Laurie Seidler

Her soul was soothed by his presence,
Her mind was soothed by his beliefs
Her heart was soothed by his love
And for the first time, she could see a future with someone who grabbed her by the hand and took her courageous being away from all that had her questioning life. — Nikki Rowe

If your beliefs are stressful and you question them, you come to see that they aren't true - whereas prior to questioning, you absolutely believe them. How can you live in joy when you're believing thoughts that bring on sadness, frustration, anger, alienation, and loneliness? — Byron Katie

In place of philosophy, which involves developing a system of belief based on questioning and reasoning, many of our modern leaders have embraced ideology, which is based on having a system of beliefs essentially stripped of the questions. — David Rothkopf

As a writer of philosophy, it's good to ask oneself, 'Will I still believe this a week from now, or months, or even years? — Criss Jami

Most of beliefs that are commonly known as scientific facts are based on various theories, which have never been validated. Many of them will never be.
Question your beliefs. Choose what promotes love and unity. — Raphael Zernoff

There is no better soporific and sedative than skepticism. — Friedrich Nietzsche

It is within my own heart that change must take place. It is the examination of my own soul and the questioning of my own beliefs that will bring healing. Judgment does not heal. I cannot save anyone through my condemnation of them. It is only through deep honesty with myself, and the examination of my own selfishness that I can begin to treat others as I would wish to be treated. — Karlyle Tomms

All people cross the line from childhood to adulthood with a secondhand opinion of who they are. Without any questioning, we take as truth whatever our parents and other influentials have said about us during our childhood, whether these messages are communicated verbally, physically, or silently. — Heyward Bruce Ewart III

So she went to mass every Sunday as a child, received communion, went to confession, and was confirmed, but because her mother never participated in any of this, Alice began questioning the validity of these beliefs at a young age. And without a satisfying answer from either her father or the Catholic Church, she never developed a true faith. — Lisa Genova

Before you wonder 'Am I doing things right?' ask yourself, 'Am I doing the right things? — Justin Bienvenue

Rather than constantly questioning and challenging our beliefs and being willing to think differently about the opportunities that are out there, we withdraw into what we've done before. And in a world that's rapidly changing, that's a formula for vulnerability. — John Hagel III

Ardent believers hide within the safety of their absolutes, for much more courage is needed to abandon their cozy security for the questioning of ones own beliefs. — Galen Watson

[T]he essence of belief is doubt, the essence of reality is questioning. The essence of Time is Flow, not Fix. The essence of faith is the knowledge that all flows and that everything must change. The growing man is Man Alive, and his "philosophy" must grow, must flow, with him ... the man too fixed today, unfixed tomorrow - and his body of beliefs is nothing but a series of fixations. — Thomas Wolfe

Is Wisdom derived from the accumulation of one's experiences, or rather one's thoughtful reflection upon what he has learned throughout the process? — Christopher Earle

Thinking is a tiring process; it is much easier to accept beliefs passively than to think them out, rigorously questioning their grounds by asking what are the consequences that follow from them. — L. Susan Stebbing

We are all blinded by our beliefs. Never stop questioning and realize only respectful discussions can free us from our delusions. — Jim Steele

Socrates was famously executed for his philosophical and political beliefs. I wondered what would happen if you had a similar character, who was so relentlessly questioning of everything? In a modern society, would we be any more or any less tolerant of that kind of character? — Samantha Harvey

For reasons I can't remember, my family eventually stopped attending church, and I started questioning the Catholic Church's beliefs. I dabbled a little, but nothing stuck. — Ann Hood

Regardless of your faith, you can never escape uncertainty. — Shannon L. Alder

I want you to ask yourself the entire time before you meet me, 'Is this really what I want? — Brad McKinniss

Questioning our own motives, and our own process, is critical to a skeptical and scientific outlook. We must realize that the default mode of human psychology is to grab onto comforting beliefs for purely emotional reasons, and then justify those beliefs to ourselves with post-hoc rationalizations. - Steven Novella — Steven Novella

It is not only the hostility of others that may prevent us from questioning the status quo. Our will to doubt can be just as powerfully sapped by an internal sense that societal conventions must have a sound basis, even if we are not sure exactly what this may be, because they have been adhered to by a great many people for a long time. It seems implausible that our society could be gravely mistaken in its beliefs, and at the same time, that we would be alone in noticing the fact. We stifle our doubts, and follow the flock, because we cannot conceive of ourselves as pioneers of hitherto unknown difficult truths. It is for help in overcoming our meekness that we can turn to the philosopher. — Alain De Botton