Of course. *shrugs* If it works, then it works.
Though I really don't like religion...

why bother if you don't like it?
if you're genuinely curious, that's one thing, but pretending to be something you're not is a really shitty thing to do to others.  if you can't be yourself round someone you're interested in, then you're definitely starting things off on the wrong foot.

moral lectures aside...
from how i understand it, usually bible studies are people reading passages, scriptures, etc and discussing what they've read.


it seems increasingly apparent to me that the foundations of religion are based onnnnn....emotion.
and i might as well say it: it's not possible, thus far, to prove whether god exists as anything other than a concept or feeling.
when one asks a theist - at least, from my experience thus far - what is sort of their 'smoking gun' for god, it's always based on something tied to sentiment.
even when it includes growing up with it.


emotion and logic aren't always natural enemies, but in the case for faith, i think looking at things from a strictly logical perspective is the best way to 'prove' one way or the other.  feelings are based on the individual; logic is based on truth.

Just FYI, the point of this thread is to identify the source of your belief.

If you can imagine your belief in God as a tree of reasons, what are the roots?

For instance, here are my roots for my old beliefs:



In no way were they simple. On the contrary, they were complicated and not based on any kind of facts or deep thought about the WHY of it all.

For me, it just was and that was all. Never mind the fact that I was a horrible Sunday-Christian, I felt that no matter what I did, it would always be forgivable later on. It was the classic emotional crutch.

So once again - what's the source of your beliefs?

Mine was obviously my family.

Are you sure?

I believe the reason I believe is that God orchestrated my upbringing (my family, the friends I had to choose from, that yearbook entry which changed my attitude towards men/boys, the communities I became a part of, the art I was exposed to--including books and songs--etc.) to lead me to clue in to my need for Him in my life. In a way, you could say He's sheltered me from forces that were beyond the strength of my belief at that time, in order to cultivate my faith and allow it to grow. I don't know why He allows some to stray beyond that shelter--some for a time, some forever. I don't believe God could ever prove His existence to me; I'm not God so I can never know anything for certain. But He's given me enough clues that it would be spiteful of me not to believe in Him. He's absolutely spoiled me by giving me an intact family, intelligence beyond average (or at least the ability to be clever and perform well on tests), creative abilities that give me fulfillment in visual art and music, a husband who really cares about me and stuck with me through my trip to insanity and back, four well-behaved children including twins (a total surprise considering they don't run in either family). I've bolstered my belief by reading The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith, Mere Christianity, and now I'm working on Timothy Keller's The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism, and this summer I plan to tackle Josh McDowell's Evidence that Demands a Verdict. I just can't get enough of reading about Christian apologetics. I want to please my God who's spoiled me like a favorite daughter and prepare myself so I can give an answer for the reason for the hope that I have should the opportunity arise, because I know that's what would please him best (I'm a people-pleaser, can you tell?). I believe that others can clue in to God's existence if they look for it, much as we believe in gravity--even though we can't be 100% certain that it's there and always will be there because we can't control it and set or bend the rules for it--because so many things point to its existence. And I feel that's all I can ramble on for now.

Do you equally value all your creations? If you made 100 "Self-Portrait" tiles, each one portraying a little bit of who you are, would you enjoy each of them equally? I think you would respect each one equally, because each one of them needs to belong to make the set complete, but I'm sure you'd have a few favorites.

I think you answered your own question. We do, deep down, collectively KNOW there is a God and observe little evidences of God (Romans 1:20). The problem is, we can believe anything we choose to--and Satan makes sure that it is plenty appealing NOT to believe in God. However, belief doesn't make something true.
Which brings up the question, possibly for another forum: What DOES make something true? What is truth, really? And how do we know it exists? Or don't we?