Why Do You Believe?
Do you believe in God? Are you Atheist, Islamic, Hindu, Christian or a skeptic? Everyone has some sort of belief. But have you ever very seriously asked yourself why you believe what you believe?
Do you hold your beliefs to be true because you were raised and taught to believe what you do by other people? Is that a good reason to hold a belief?
Some people might be afraid to question their beliefs, because doing so could break apart their family; some, simply because they are afraid to admit they are doing something wrong in their life or their family is doing something wrong. Whatever the reasons, I challenge you to examine the real source of your beliefs. Shouldn't you take the time to make sure you believe what you do for the right reasons?
Think about belief in the context of truth. Truth is the state or character of being true. It is actual existence of something. It is honesty, integrity or truthfulness. It can be defined as all of these things. Most people choose to believe what they do, because they think that their beliefs are true. But if they were to examine this supposed truth more closely, they might find that it is a false truth-that it is merely something they accept as proof without ever having sought out the verification that the thing they believe is in fact true.
Take a moment and ponder existence. You are alive. You will live a short while. And one day you will die. You will cease to exist. You will have no thoughts. You will experience no feelings-Nothing. You won't be.
Or will you?
Many people believe you can have existence after your death in this life. But unfortunately, most people disagree on the details of how to achieve this. But what is more important: gaining eternal life after your death in this life or gaining the favor of other people in this life only to lose eternal life and suffer anything bad that goes along with that loss? Shouldn't the real goal be to find the truth? What if there is a god that rules all of existence? Wouldn't you want to do what that god says, especially if that god is loving and amazing?
Why not start right now by examining what you believe and why you believe it. The world can be deceptive and persuasive, so you need to use all the discernment you can. Research different beliefs and history. Challenge the beliefs you have and see if they hold up to scrutiny. Do you believe in the bible? Test your religion against the bible-the book your religion probably claims to follow. Do they actually practice what it teaches? Or does the bible specifically warn against practices you are in fact participating in? If you believe another book or creed, can it be proven valid or invalid?
Put your heart into it. Pray to whatever power controls the universe to help you find the right path. You owe it to yourself and to others. Where do you want to be when you die? Do you want your friends and family and others to have eternal life? Can't you spare the time to seek the truth? Seek it in whatever way you can, but seek it honestly and sincerely and allow truth to form your beliefs. Don't allow your beliefs to form truth.
Your eternal life depends on it.