Superstition is defined as a belief in supernatural happenings or causalities; it is a belief that one event can lead to the cause of another event without any form of physical world linking the two happenings. Huston defines superstition as delusional, fallacious thinking or magical thinking. Some people believe so much in superstitions to an extent that their entire life is controlled by them; what they believe in dictates the occurrence of their lives. Superstition is associated with luck, death, health and catastrophes’ among other natural happenings to these people.
Superstition can be harmful in some cases and not harmful in other cases; this depends on the extent in which a person believes in superstitions. When a person believes that some superstitions bring good luck in life such winning a golf game when you play with a certain golf ball; then this type of superstition is not harmful. On the other hand, there are very harmful superstitions that cause harm to innocent lives; an example of such superstitions is killing of albino girls and using their body parts to make sacrifices. This is mostly done in Africa and most recently in Tanzania where hundreds of Albinos were killed because the people in that country believed that Albinos are cursed. Superstitions are a state of mind that dictates and influences how we think and act; in some cases you will find that people do very harmful deeds and associate them with superstition. Beliefs such as albinos are cursed are delusions that cannot be proven by anyone; therefore, most people’s state of mind is influenced by the environment around them and what they are made to believe is real.
Superstitions make a person a very delusional being for not only the most harmless self oriented delusions but also for the most horrific socially consequential delusions. Some people believe that if they tear or cut into pieces the picture of their mother, she dies. This is not the case in most situations but superstitions have made people believe that. Other people believe that catastrophes such as earth quakes and tsunamis are a punishment from God to mankind for their sins. Superstitions are used to justify why certain things happen to certain people; in most cases people with one delusion always find themselves in another one.
Religion is in some cases associated with superstition; the belief in a super natural being that most Christians have never seen is to some extent superstitious. There is a small difference between religion and superstition but not many Christians can tell the difference; most Christians blame natural calamities and other super natural occurrences on a supreme being. They believe that earthquake, tsunamis, floods and other happenings that lead of loss of life are all God’s will. These occurrences are perceived as punishment from God when he is not pleased with mankind; most Christians think that when this happens, they should repent and make offerings to God for forgiveness.
Some Muslims believe that if they die fighting Jihad, they automatically go to heaven; that is why they go to Mecca to fight Jihad. Most of these religious beliefs that people have are superstitions because those that do not follow these beliefs also lead a normal life without any consequences. Christians especially Catholics believe that using contraceptives is a sin because God wants humans to multiply and fill the earth; that is why a Nigerian man that has 12 children in this era of family planning says that it was God’s will for him to have 12 children. This is just a superstition that a supernatural power controls everything that happens; where as in actual sense people have the powers to control what happens in their lives. Some religions also prohibit parents from taking their children to hospital when they fall sick because their religion tells them that medicine cannot heal them. They believe that only God can heal them.
Conclusion
Because of our human nature and the fact that humans are prone to superstition; every human being has his or her superstition whether it is about luck or calamities. Most humans have superstitious thinking and a big part of their lives is controlled by the superstitions. It is however logical that people learn to differentiate delusions from reality. Life would not be the same without superstitions; we all need to credit various occurrences on something especially those that we have no control over. However, we should careful on the levels that we let these superstitions control our lives; these delusions can lead to obsessions, fatalism or psychosis if not controlled. Magical thinking may not be scientific but it helps us to cope with life’s absurdities and understand why various things occur. Huston states that superstitions tend to have their intended magical effects, these rituals produce an illusion of control and enhance self confidence; which in turn can improve our performance and indirectly affect our fate. Sometimes these delusions make us act stupid, ignorant and crazy when we hold on to the so much without a sense of control. PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH US TODAY AND GET AN AMAZING DISCOUNT!
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