From my upbringing and my involvement in YoungLife as a teen.
*shrug*

So you believe because your parents introduced you and you based all spiritual experiences on that belief?

Not all. My experiences as a Sunday School teacher have solidified my belief.

i'm guessing that's when your friend died?



but your parents still had something to do with it, yes?
were you raised presbyterian, or do your parents believe something else?
and were your parents quite religious, or did you become more so as you grew up?

This is kind of an interesting question.  I believe in God for a great many reasons.  They are not sound reasons to believe in God but to me and my fragile human mind, they work.
first is my 'testimony' if you will.  I was basically an Atheist from the time I could have an idea of what God is and what God isn't.  I wasn't forceful in my beliefs, and I didn't mind that other people did believe in God.  It just wasn't my thing.  Despite being a self-proclaimed atheist, I went to a lot of ecumenical youth group things from middle school up to high school.  This was mostly a refuge from the Mormon people I hung out with every day, it was my time to have fun with kids my own age who weren't talking about Baptisms for the Dead or Young Women's / Young Men's activities.  When I was 16, the youth group was hosting a pancake dinner in honour of Mardi Gras to money for their summer mission trip.  Though I wasn't going on the week-long mission like they were, I decided to help out and came for a serving/cleaning up shift.  It was there, cleaning dishes in the fellowship of my most hilarious and loving friends, that I felt something, like a voice or just an intense feeling that told me that this is where I belong.  I interpreted that to mean with God, with Christians, etc.  Then later after some classes and discussions with the pastor at my church, I got baptised that summer.

Now, despite having been baptised Christian, it was hard for me to accept my new role as a Christian and I experienced a lot of doubt and uncertainty.  A lot of things were happening, I won't go in to the majority of them, but I kind of put God on the back burner for a while because I was moving to another country (though just for a year, it was scary anyway), feeling frustrated that just as I'd put down some roots here I'd have to break my ties, etc etc.  But when I got to New Zealand, I learned I learned a lot about people of all different backgrounds, and Western Civilization's hold on the planet, and a little bit about life and how liquid it is.  All of these new overwhelming ideas made me look back up to God and realise that He/She's still there, loving me and everyone like always.

Since then, I find God in the most unlikely places.  The beauty of a mathematical proof shows me that God is an intelligent writer.  A sunset over the mountains shows me that God is the most skilled of artists.  The intricacy of evolution proves to me  that God is an immaculate scientist.  God is everywhere for me.  these are some of the reasons why I believe in God.
because I can't help it, God is everywhere.

How do you know they made it up?


I'm not sure why that date is significant, but what I do know is that no matter how disgusting something is, it's not proof for or against God existing.

That's beautiful but it's circular. I don't want to be the one to destroy anyone's beliefs, but I also don't want to let the obvious slip by (especially here).

You felt a 'voice or just like an intense feeling' and you chalked it up to God existing? And because you were around Christians at the time, you made yet another leap to believing it was the Christian God.

Had you been around Muslims, would you be Muslim now? How about Hindu? Zoroastrian? Sikh? Jewish?

Or what if you'd had that same feeling when you were doing something arbitrary? Would you still chalk it up to a higher power or was your basis location-based?

My point here isn't to tear you down but shine some light on the logical loophole.

None of these things excludes God, so it's definitely possible you really felt God but it in no way proves God or solidifies your basis/foundation.