Written August 13, 2002 while waiting for my computer to finish a task so I could do some work.

Why I Believe What I Do

Occasionally I think deep. Actually, I am usually looking deep when it comes to most things so I try to think deeper than what is right in front of me. This is one of those times. I ask myself a question that can be answered at a shallow level and then I try and answer it deep. The question I just asked myself is, "Why do you believe what you do?"

At first I thought that it was due to education. That in itself is half right. Unless I am educated about something I can't have a belief, can I? Well, actually I have lots of beliefs about things I can say I have never been taught or trained on. I believe that gravity holds me to terra firma. I took physics in school and was taught all about gravity and its effects. So I can say that my belief is based on education when it comes to gravity.

However, when it comes to my beliefs about what the best sport is, my belief is based upon experience. Now this may seem like a basic issue, and it is. Unless you look deeper and find that experience is based upon fact. I can factually say that I enjoy hockey more than any other sport. I can factually say that I like watching hockey more than any other sport. I can also factually say that hockey is the best sport for me. Therefore, my belief is that hockey is the best sport.

What do you believe? Do you believe that gravity is holding us to the earth? Do you agree with my belief that hockey is the best sport?

Whether you agree with me or not is irrelevant. Unless of course it is about something that is important. Hockey, although the best sport, is not as important as gravity, in certain situations anyway. If you don't agree that gravity will bring you down to earth, trying to fly by jumping off a building in an eagle mascot suit is going to hurt, if not kill you.

So think of the important things in life and make sure you are believing what is true. Blaise Pascal once said, "If you believe in God and turn out to be incorrect, you have lost nothing -- but if you don't believe in God and turn out to be incorrect, you will go to hell." In my opinion however, he is making a simple bet and this should not be the reason to believe in anything, especially something as important as eternal destiny.

It is not until I experience something that I can fully believe it. I can be told that Jesus is the way to eternal life but until there is a point in my life that Jesus becomes real to me, you might as well tell me that cheesebread is the way to heaven because I've eaten cheesebread and it is good.

So why do I believe in something as controversial as Jesus being the only way to heaven. First, I have experienced his love and peace in my life. Secondly, I've learned through education and study that the most accurate portrayal of Jesus is in the Bible so if what the Bible says about him is to believed, I need to believe it all. I can't just pick and choose what I want to believe. That is like saying gravity doesn't hold me down when I am wearing white socks.

So I studied what Jesus did, said and what he claimed to be. Then I came to the belief that he is who he said he is. Not because he said it, but because my experience shows me that he is real. Education can only take one so far. Experience needs to validate it. Otherwise it is just one's opinion.