Ultimately I'd say it's pretty simple. An empowering belief system allows you to experience what you want to experience and a disempowering belief system disallows you experiencing what you desire.

As such, what is empowering to one, may be disempowering to another. It is dependent upon where one is and also where one intends to go. After I broke my back, believing that I can't walk but I could definitely stand - and then doing so for 30 seconds unassisted, with my withered chicken legs quivering underneath me about to give way any moment - was an empowered belief and action that led forward to where I wanted. For the average person in completely different circumstances, having such a belief would have been utterly disempowering.

In some sense, most beliefs are disempowering. Because the beliefs serve as a mechanism for that which is formless, all potential, all powerful - to crystallize itself into a limited form and potential, excluding other possibilities.

That said, some belief (systems) are more disempowering than others. And it is pretty easy to tell which are which when you know what to look for - especially from the outside looking in.

For a quick example...3 possible beliefs.

"I don't know anything". "I don't know everything." "I know everything."

Those have varying levels of empowerment, from completely disempowering, to more empowered, to fully empowered.

But not in that order. The correct order of empowerment is:

1) "I don't know anything" 2) "I know everything" 3) "I don't know everything"

The reason the third one is the most empowering is because it leaves a person malleable and open to change - closer to the formless, all powerful. Whereas both the first two limit change.

That is important, because you are always growing and changing where you approach things from and where you are heading. If a belief (or belief system) is open to change, it supports you every step along the way. But if it is closed to change - it may support you at one point, but since you are always growing it will eventually become unsupportive and disempowering.

To understand beliefs, we must first understand that everything we do in life is to feel good/better (or less bad). Even this answer (or your question) is motivated by wanting to feel better one way or another.

The basis of all human doing or thinking is wanting to feel better (or less bad). Here are some examples of human behaviour.

• Someone who stands up and goes to the refrigerator to eat something is motivated by wanting to feel better in doing so. (Underlying belief: "if I get something to eat, I will allow myself to feel better.")
• Someone who buys a wonderful gift for his child does it, because he thinks that he will feel better...when he sees his child feeling better because of the gift. (Underlying belief: "when my child feels better, I will allow myself to feel better")
• Someone who kills or dies for his religion or his country is motivated by approval of others, or approval of god (Underlying belief: "if I kill/die for my religion or country, I will be worthy/better. If I refuse to die or kill for my country/religion, I will be unworthy in the eyes of god and society and therefore I cannot allow myself to feel good. So the solution is to kill or die in order to feel better/not bad")
• Someone who tries to provoke and assault belief systems of others could be motivated by wanting to get attention (Underlying belief: "If I provoke and assault their beliefs, I get their attention. And attention makes me feel worthy/better than my current powerless state")
• ...

So every human behaviour is motivated by beliefs. And the purpose of beliefs is to make us feel better. However often we have adopted beliefs from our parents, society or friends that don't serve us, but we still hold on to them, because we have another belief that says "If I let go of this belief and change it, I will feel even worse...or I will die!"

So let's assume you were not born in the western world, but in a terrorist camp in Afghanistan and you grew up there together with those terrorists.

Do you think that you would have the same beliefs you have now about god, spirituality, society, christmas, killing, science etc.?

Of course not!

So our circumstances determine our belief systems. But the point is that we have the power to change all beliefs that we have.

Why should we do that?

Because everything we do is to feel better. And if we change our beliefs, we can feel better.

I might believe that I need to get slapped in my face all day long in order to feel better (believe me, those people exist in a literal sense:). But I would probably realize that it really hurts to get slapped all day. So I thought that I would feel better, but I don't.

So what's the solution?

I could now change my belief about getting slapped. I could change my belief to "I don't need to get slapped in my face to feel better.". Now my behaviour would change and I would feel better.

But many people resist to change their beliefs. One of the main reasons is that those beliefs came from parents, friends and society and they believe that it would seperate them from society, thus they would feel unworthy, thus they would commit social suicide...

So if Christianity serves you and makes you feel good, it is good for you. Period. If you live a fulfilled and happy life because of christianity, it is good for you. If not, it is time to adopt another belief system.

The best belief system is to believe in truth with understanding,wisdom and a pure heart. And because you are growing and experiencing and enjoying new things,you can drop all belief that are not in truth anny more and cause division,over flow from the heart, judgement,conflict,war.Be merciful with other,and you shall be shown mercy.

So let there be light,Be the light that you can be,experience and enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxaC_pgWtCk