What is the single biggest factor that leads you to believe what you believe?

Question

This question is for the Christian, Athesit/Agnostic, Mormon, Muslim..EVERYONE!

Please tell me what was the most influential factor that led you to believe what you believe.

Possible answers: Science, the bible, family, friends etc..this is what I'm after!

and then how that happened.

Reason for my question: It won't make everyone agree..but it may promote understanding as to why we believe what we believe..the "WHY"

Serious answers only..behave yourself and only speak on the positive aspects of YOUR foundational beliefs.

Answer 1

When I was 15, I began questioning everyone around me as to why they believed this or that, and what did they believe. My religion was the only one that gave me satisfying answers to the why's and how's I asked. I still remain satisfied with the answers. I feel I have a purpose in life, know the meaning of why we are here, why does God permit suffering, what happens when we die, will the earth be destroyed, is the Bible really the word of God, the list is endless. Also, I have developed a close, personal relationship with the Universal Sovreign of the whole universe-I really couldn't ask for more.

Answer 2

I am Agnostic after being a Catholic for the first 18 years of my life. I studied world religions in college and on my own for a long time and decided that I believed in SOMETHING, a god or a higher power. But I no longer believed in Christianity. I took a good look at all the stories, Adam & Eve, Noah's Ark, Moses parting the Red Sea, virgin birth, etc. and common sense couldn't get me to believe in any of those stories. Additionally, I found that many, many of these stories are based on older Pagan religions and are not original Christian concepts.

So what was it that led me to be Agnostic? I questioned things. Questioning without fear and being open-minded. I told myself that it was ok to believe in something different than what I believed in when I was a Christian. I couldn't ignore the growing evidence of all the texts I studied and finally decided to put Christianity behind me. I am so, so much happier and at ease. I really feel relieved to be where I am today. Things make much more sense in life.

My parents are still Christians but accept that I'm not. We get along, we just avoid the religion issues in conversation!

Answer 3

No, i do no longer think the universe to be eternal. I stick to the great Bang thought which states it had a beginning up, the universe is increasing in length. The stable State thought by capacity of Hoyle pronounced that the universe became eternal, a view which has been progressively disproven over the years. Please do no longer use the 2d regulation of thermodynamics in terms of the universe, an Einstein follower might understand that the universe has been discovered to *no longer* be a closed gadget, thus the 2d regulation will no longer be able to be utilized. yet you will additionally understand that the Andromeda galaxy is heading our way, complete destruction is drawing close in around 5 billion years. yet this might have little or no result for us because of the fact our sunlight will die, we can be extinct besides. is that this extremely a layout suitable to be linked with a god as knowledgeable as what particular religions declare? Einstein's view on a god had no longer something to do with "God". He did no longer have confidence a author to be one that includes himself with the commonplace happenings persons mortals, he attributed himself without faith.

Answer 4

I am a Christian...through the years of my growing up...I was taught to believe...believing in something that you can not see...hear...touch...smell or taste...is hard to do...and I do under-stand this...believing is a feeling...an act of faith...!
I was born with a gift...I didn't understand why I had this gift... I just had it...for a lot of years I ran from that gift...because I didn't understand it...or why I had it...all I knew was...that gift was a part of me...and it scared me...to know what I knew...!
Then one night I prayed a prayer to God for wisdom... knowledge...and understanding about this thing that scared me...
This thing that I'm talking about is...knowledge...I knew things that I could not explain how I knew them...just that I knew them...and they were answers to things...that no one else could figure out... and it scared me to know these things as a young child...because people would ask me how I knew the answers... and all I could say was...I just knew it...!
God opened my eyes to the knowledge that I knew...and how I could use the knowledge to help others with it...
I'll just give you a little sample of what I know...I had a system analyzed by a 30 yr. Atomic Nuclear Physist...that worked for the government...and he told me that the system was 200 yrs. ahead of its time...and would take mankind out of the Atomic Nuclear Era...and place him into a Non-Nuclear Era...the problem is...if I bring it out...he said it would tople our economy...because our economy is built on a petroleum based economy...and it wouldn't be wise to bring it into the market place at that time...but...I will say this...if they keep raising the prices of everything...fuel and utilities...like they have been...I'm going to bring it out...and make it availible to everyone...it only has two moving parts...and will replace the internal combustion engines and the utility companies...and does not use any petroleum based products at all...I was warned that it may cost me my life...and I say this now to them...because I know their monitoring everything I do...and have done so in the past since they found out about it...I've lived a full life..."then so be it"...they don't scare me anymore...!
God opened my eyes to the understanding of the knowledge... and what its to be used for...I also have possible cures for Cancer...Aids...and any virus thats out there...and I will get it into the market place so that it can help everyone...if its my turn to die...then so be it...God will let it happen...if its not...God won't let it happen...that I know also...!
Faith is believing in God and yourself...!

And for those inquiring minds that read this...I just finished taking the Mensa I Q Test...and scored 30 out of 30 correct answers...

Answer 5

I was not always a Christian. I knew about Jesus and God, but didn't get invovled and was uninterested.
One day I was curious and decided to find out for myself.
I can tell you the reason I love Jesus so much, His sacrifice for me, His love and mercy. But in reading the Gospels, I saw something in Him that called to me. And it was His love, His mercy and His compassion on people, knowing what He knew, that He would be tortured, mocked and killed. When He never hurt a soul on this earth and in fact healed so many John said they could not write everything down He did.
Jesus is truly the Way, the Truth and the Life.
When I die and go to where I am going, it will not matter to me if everything I believed is incorrect, because I have believed in someone who changed my life.

Answer 6

My beliefs come primarily from the Bible, God's Word. That is the single most important factor, along with my personal experience of God's mercy and love. My family and church also played crucial roles.

Answer 7

It's different for the level of awareness the individual is currently at if they allow themselves to think on their own. Think about it as a new born you are someone has a clean slate to paint a picture of their view of reality on. Those people who are believing in anything really don't count in this question because thats to easy, they have been programmed to think the way someone else thinks they should believe. That's the lowest level one can be on, its obvious. Now after one breaks free of the religious programming for which you can include santa clause, easter bunny, tooth fairies, these things are practice programmings for the child. Now when one breaks those loops we get into another level of awareness and depending on the individual they start to search for truth, one may find or are presented with another idea, and then your logic and common sense abilities that you have unleashed now that you have gotton beyond the 1st level ponders the new idea. Now just like in everything else there are levels to everything that exist, searching for truth is no different, so that would suggest that , their are alot of steps one may have to take while on that search for the ultimate truth. Each step has lies and truth associated with it. Of course there are more lies than truth, each time a person comes across a more complex view of reality it may be enough for the individual to settle in that view or there may be somethings in that view that have one questioning it's validity, sounds cool but something just doesnt fit, so you keep looking, each view is designed to box you in, but if the individual has the potential to reach the highest level of truth, they are equipt with above average abilities or less filters blocking their memories. If one can get with the idea that this existence is a game played spirts then on can see the similarities of games we play as humans, the challenge here is to incarnate as a human with no memories or abilities of true self, to experience and eventually remember who and what you truly are, and some of us are equipt with less filters for different reasons to help guide us through the game. Each player or higherself needs something from each game piece and that game piece has it's mission, it's bit more complex than what I am saying here but it will offer you a different point of view I hope in relating to your question.

Answer 8

Christian, there are too many historical and scientific "FACTS" that do not disprove it. There is still an element of faith, but the circumstantial evidence is over whelming.

Answer 9

Common sense.