Does belief in God influence one's character?

[quote]I mean....we are inheriting some characters/behaviours from parents. They almost remain constant through out our life. According to studies, genes also play an important role to have criminal attitude in persons....as told born criminals. It is difficult to change such persons. Such persons are prone to crimes. So, I am excluding such people. Let us talk about normal people.

Born criminals??? I hope you are not talking about certain tribes/communities in India who were legally labelled as Criminal Tribes by the British! There is no such thing as a born criminal, situations around them mainly dictate what they become. Mostly the people who are forced to committing crimes belong to such categories, they are caught in a vicious circle with no way out, their children with eyes and ears open see what is happening to their parents and their people and they too are forced to become a part of it all! But these are also exceptions, amongst such people as well, there is bound to be some who refuse to be a part of such happenings and choose to make himself an honest person.[/quote]

So, are you saying our genes have nothing to do with our character formation???
Even science has proved it. But don't ask me how :P

I f genes were the only force behind our character formation the world would be full of monkeys. NO? :laugh:

Ultimately, an individual consists of 'brain' and body. All beliefs, nature, habits, thoughts, faith, spirituality etc are contained in this part. Brain is like an individual's CPU. There is no spirituality other than what is contained in one's brain. Thoughts and feelings are affected by material and social conditions. Talking of spirituality in isolation is infructuous. Mental conditioning is all that matters.

Character can be formed not only by our genes it may be by the atmosphere where are grown, society and our mind.

Character can be formed not only by our genes it may be by the atmosphere where are grown, society and our mind.

But some characters and behaviours born along with us. Suppose, you take 2 kids of 1 month age...who does not know anything. They are so young that they can't learn from their surroundings. Can you say, both these kids, even if brought by same parents behave in the same way. Never.....
You can even consider twins. Soon after birth, one may like to wake full day and sleeps well at night without disturbing others. But the other may be just opposite. As they grow we can see many differences in them, even if they are born to same parents and are growing in same conditions. Likes and dislikes of both kids will also be different. One may intake food well, but parents may find it difficult to feed the other. One may be naughty while the other kid may be quiet. Why they differ in their character, even if born in same conditions and brought up by same people in same condition? It's because, both differ by characters and these variations are due to genes.

[quote]
So, are you saying our genes have nothing to do with our character formation???
Even science has proved it. But don't ask me how [/quote]

If genes were all that mattered, then like Sunil said, the world as we know it now would be totally different, it would be more like "The Planet of the Apes"

Yes, genes do influence the way we behave but not on what we want to become ourselves by choice and inclination.

Yes, genes is also one among those factors for our character formation.

sandhya, I am saying that genes only not involves in character, even atmpshere, society, mind, previous birth effects and the some things comes along with birth too.

sandhya, I am saying that genes only not involves in character, even atmpshere, society, mind, previous birth effects and the some things comes along with birth too.

Actually many ideas are there in my mind. But they are not coming out. Perhaps they may come out as discussion progress.
Yes Sarala, you are absolutely correct. But what I am saying is our character is influenced by our genes too(one factor among several factors, that's all). So even if some criminals are believing God, some genetic traits are prompting them to conduct crimes. But through proper education, good education, good contacts...etc can also help such persons to suppress such bad traits to some extend.Here also applying good principles taught in religions can help such persons very much.
Each and everyone of us are changing everyday. Isn't it?

The issue is whether belief in 'God' is of any help. As 'God' is hypothetical concept, belief or otherwise in that entity has nothing to do with character. I do not know whether any criminal is atheist. Noted journalist and author Khushwant singh is a non believer viz. agnostic and he is definitely of good character.

Can't belief in god provide a person with good morals and value of life? Can't he find role models from our epics? Can it help to bring discipline in a person? Of course it can. Many things are around us....but we often neglect them or never try to implement in our life. Each thing has a value....of course prayers too. They can give us a lot of peace, feeling of someone along with us to take care of us and a belief in our selves that we shouldn't do bad things. If implemented in life, we can get many positive things in our life. If implemented in a wrong way, they can bring many negative characteristics associated with it.

This is too big a subject that needs a detailed debate. May be your role models are different from mine. For me, the one who works with full devotion is my role model. Who doesn't tire while working is my role model, who doesn't spread corruption with his deeds is my role model. I only know there is some one who is watching over us, that is enough for me.

This is too big a subject that needs a detailed debate. May be your role models are different from mine. For me, the one who works with full devotion is my role model. Who doesn't tire while working is my role model, who doesn't spread corruption with his deeds is my role model. I only know there is some one who is watching over us, that is enough for me.

You are right Sunil....
But I haven't said that role models can be obtained from religions or religious books only. Have I told any where? I only said, many great men were part of religions and epics and we can learn many things from them.
Gandhiji and Lincoln are role models.......In sports, Sachin is a role model.... To singers, Lataji is a role model.....it differs from person to person according to one's taste and career.

@Sandhya

You have got it right and seems to have understood my perspective very well. Since it is more of a matter of belief and inner experience so I have refrained from making further comments on this issue. Each of us has a unique identity and views too are bound to be unique!

Many things are there in this world...that can't been seen or explained...but only be felt. :)
What to add more???
Many ideas are there in my mind, but I can't find words to make them appear before you. I don't know why. Perhaps some occasions are there, where we can't fit any explanations to make it more clear or prove it.

Gandhiji and Lincoln are role models.......In sports, Sachin is a role model.... To singers, Lataji is a role model.....it differs from person to person according to one's taste and career.
So they all worked hard to achieve the status of role models. That's what I mean.

Gandhiji and Lincoln are role models.......In sports, Sachin is a role model.... To singers, Lataji is a role model.....it differs from person to person according to one's taste and career.
So they all worked hard to achieve the status of role models. That's what I mean.

Lincoln is my role model. He for for justice. he ended slavery. He even waged a civil war for this. But this fight was not in any connected with God or spirituality. Lincoln might be religious or spiritual but that is unrelated to his fight against slavery.

Conclusion is that who ever worked in any capacity and reached there where he planed for is our role model. This is the work that makes you stand out.

Conclusion is that who ever worked in any capacity and reached there where he planed for is our role model. This is the work that makes you stand out.

Sunil, our discussion is not about role model. Then how can we conclude it with role model answer??????

Conclusion is that who ever worked in any capacity and reached there where he planed for is our role model. This is the work that makes you stand out.

Here the issue is whether Belief in God affects your character. 'Role model' is different issue. Now just see- who has more success- God or Satan. Most people are evil. Evil is more prevalent and success. So, 'Satan' and not 'God' is 'role model' of most.