Religion, Why do you believe what you believe? Options

[Spectatrix]

Some discussion about Christianity has popped up in a few threads lately, so I thought I'd start this one. This is NOT a thread for bashing another person's beliefs.

Basically, I'm curious as to what people believe in terms of religion/spirituality and why. Looking at religions from an outside perspective, it seems to me that most would seem inspiring in some ways, but not necessarily true. What has led you to believe that your religion is true and that the stories (in the Bible, Koran, Torah, Baghavad Gita, etc. etc.) aren't just inspirational fiction?

What have you experienced or what research have you done that has convinced you one way or the other?

[TetraGrammaton C...]

aside from quoting kahlil gibran or something like that, i have always preferred the NPR broadcasts of "This I Believe..." which have been around since the 1950's. i think these things do more than inform you of someone else's beliefs. these broadcasts allow you to compare your beliefs to other's in a very transparent way.

This I believe at NPR
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4538138


This is the general website:
http://thisibelieve.org/index.php


This is one by Penn Jillette that I think is neat. (listen or read)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5015557


Here is the one that I like the most
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9436371
(Here is a link to the audio version of what is below).

ROBERT SIEGEL, host: Aside from being a commentator for this program, Brian McConnachie is also a loyal listener. And he's been listening carefully to one of our long-running series. It's the one entitled This I Believe. He wants to be part of it, but he has encountered a stumbling block.

BRIAN MCCONNACHIE: Before I begin with what I believe, I feel compelled to say I believe that the "this" should probably go after the "I believe" and not precede it. It makes it sound a bit arcane in origin. It makes it sound a bit 1950's biblical rewrite or we could lose the "this" entirely no one is going to be wondering what is believed here. It is redundant. It is pretentious. It is cleaner without it. I also believe that if I keep going on about this, some of the more strident and doctrinaire staff members from NPR will start plotting to drag me off into some soundproof room in the middle of the night and bring me to my senses. But, enough about the "this."

What I believe, what I really know is that if you are ever waiting in a closet to jump out and scare someone, that day for some reason that person is never going to open that closet door and you're just going to be stuck in there with the all the wool coats wondering why, in heavens name, you believed this was a good idea to begin with. However, I also believe, that if you stay in that closet long enough, beyond any reasonable amount of time, when that person eventually does open the closet, he or she will get the scare of their life. Major fright, hysterical screaming, so loud, in fact, that you really might want to rethink this whole jumping out of closets at people. And that is what I believe . . . most of the time . . . usually . . . and then a day will come along and WHAM, I won't believe a word of it. I find life is like that and unless your beliefs are limited to universals, like where North is, and even that gets relative, you had better prepare yourself, if you are even vaguely open-minded, for radical confusion where, in time, every notion you've ever believed will be legitimately stood on its head.

So, if you're still serious about hiding in the closet to scare people, that's fine. I am not here to judge you. What can I tell you? Be patient. Stay quiet. Bring something to read, a little flashlight. Bring a sandwich. And don't forget to listen, you want to be ready with your special scary face when that door finally opens. What you might want to do to give this act some meaning is imagine the person who is about to open the door represents reality coming to the closet of - well, we will call the closet what closets have always been - our triumph over chaos. And reality has come to our triumph over chaos to put on the overcoat of common belief and the very last thing reality expects is you. (and this is you as you, you get to play you, the everyman, the little guy) leaping out and scaring the living daylights out of them, but that's exactly what it needs. Reality has been playing pretty fast and loose with us over the years and it has never once been held accountable. So, pleasantly, I like what you are doing here, I think you're really on to something. I hope that this has been a part of the puzzle that you have been looking for and that we eventually rename this segment "That for which in vain we have so plaintively been looking for" or something equally as catchy.