Why do I believe in God? What should I believe in? I have often asked myself these questions. It comes down to two things.
Firstly, it is better to believe than not to believe because when our lives are over there is no benefit in not believing (there is a future to look forward to after death). A fundamental motivation behind faith is that it holds the promise of everlasting life. Secondly, the faith I choose must be based on the premise that the majority of the world's population at any one time can hear and choose to believe if they so wish. As such the faith must have existed from the beginning of time and is spread across the entire world.
From this analysis, only two faiths meet the above criteria, Christianity and Islam. And that is what I believe in.
Christian and Islamic roots trace back to since the start of human history. Both religions share common beliefs and the twin golden commandments of the paramount importance of loving God and loving the neighbour. In every country across the world at least 1% of the population believe in either Christianity or Islam (and in most countries at least 5%). Whereas, in some countries less than 0.1% of the population believe in Buddhism, Hinduism, and other religions combined making these faiths insignificant.
Firstly, it is better to believe than not to believe because when our lives are over there is no benefit in not believing (there is a future to look forward to after death). A fundamental motivation behind faith is that it holds the promise of everlasting life. Secondly, the faith I choose must be based on the premise that the majority of the world's population at any one time can hear and choose to believe if they so wish. As such the faith must have existed from the beginning of time and is spread across the entire world.
From this analysis, only two faiths meet the above criteria, Christianity and Islam. And that is what I believe in.
Christian and Islamic roots trace back to since the start of human history. Both religions share common beliefs and the twin golden commandments of the paramount importance of loving God and loving the neighbour. In every country across the world at least 1% of the population believe in either Christianity or Islam (and in most countries at least 5%). Whereas, in some countries less than 0.1% of the population believe in Buddhism, Hinduism, and other religions combined making these faiths insignificant.
Third, I believe that God would not inflict large scale death on his people. None of the ten largest natural disasters took place in a country which is predominantly Christian (half of Haitians are voodoo).
Fourth, I see the evolution of scientific progress as empirically supporting the existence of God as it shows that there is so much that humans are yet to know (re: The Future).
Fifth, Jesus has always been the last point of call for me. When I don't have anything or anyone else to trust, I turn to Jesus. In times of distress and darkness, I cry out to Jesus.
Fourth, I see the evolution of scientific progress as empirically supporting the existence of God as it shows that there is so much that humans are yet to know (re: The Future).
Fifth, Jesus has always been the last point of call for me. When I don't have anything or anyone else to trust, I turn to Jesus. In times of distress and darkness, I cry out to Jesus.
I am of the opinion that we can put our trust in God based on the evidence to support the teachings of Biblical scripture and fulfilled prophecies. This being said, it is almost impossible to verify the accuracy of accounts in the scripture. The final conviction comes from faith.
When you get proof, you lose faith. You will ask question until you run out of questions. Will I be rich? When will I die? What if you knew what will happen tomorrow? Many of our weaknesses could be the best thing that happened. The key ingredient is faith.
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