-Nursery Rhyme

Belief is not a choice.

When I was a young boy I used to love to climb trees. A certain fearlessness comes with youth, and I would begin my vertical assent without any thought of consequence. One day however, my boldness got the better of me, and an over-confident step onto a branch that simply wasn't up to the task once again proved Sir Isaac Newton to be correct. I gained an appreciation for gravity that day. Although you can't actually see it, experiencing gravity sure makes you believe. Knowing what I know, I could not decide to not believe in gravity. What goes up must come down. The acumen of my life's experiences tells me this.

Most people claim to choose what they believe for a variety of reasons. Only a person's introspection can honestly ascertain why they claim to believe certain things. There are those who claim to believe that space aliens walk among us, even though they have never actually met, or even seen an extra terrestrial. I have a very close friend who is an otherwise bright guy, but is adamant about his belief in ghosts. Personally, I don't get it. There is nothing that suggests to me that once a person dies, their spirit will wander the earth, or hang out in my kitchen. Bigfoot, Psychics, Feng Shui, the list of invisible things that not only can't be proven, but have little rationale is growing every day along with people's fears.

Sometimes it gets even more extreme...There are conspiracy theorists who believe robot planes brought down the World Trade Center. Others apparently are convinced that we have never sent a man to the moon. There once was a man who believed he was getting instructions from a Labrador Retriever to kill people. People actually claim to believe this stuff. It would seem there are many people who claim to believe in something invisible, for no other reason other than to feel self important, and convince whoever is listening that they have the inside track on some special knowledge. Most people with ability to discern recognize that people who make these outrageous claims are either silly or suffering from hallucinations.

Then there is Religion.

For some reason, this belief in the invisible gets a free pass, simply because of the amount of people suffering from the same delusion. Indeed, claiming to have "faith" is widely considered to be admirable, provided your faith is in God, and not anything else that people can't see or experience. Regardless of what religion anyone prescribes to, almost without exception, every religion is based on the belief in an invisible, omnipotent force of creation, who is going to sit in judgment of us when we all die, and grant us immortality if we prescribe to the correct version of the holy written words. Amazingly, most people feel that they were fortunate enough to be born into a family that had the inside track on truth. Lucky them.

People seem to get angry when someone is amused by the premise of religion, or has the audacity to even question it. I'm sorry, but if you are trying to tell me that two thousand years ago a virgin gave birth to a man who could walk on water and whose corpse rolled a giant stone away from the entrance of a cave before he ascended into heaven, I personally find that not only unbelievable, but hysterical. The same goes for the concept of receiving 72 virgins when you die. I guess Allah is not only a pimp; he likes it when you murder people in his name. I'll also never understand why certain religions all dress the same. Are the Hassidim trying to tell me that God wants us to wear brimmed hats? What's with the wigs?

Joseph Smith and L. Ron Hubbard each started their own religions, both of which have massive followings. Many people think those who prescribe to those ideas are crazy for believing what they believe. Christians, Jews, and Muslims all feel that they have chosen the correct messenger of God, and it ain't Hubbard or Smith. But are Mormons' and Scientologists' beliefs any more unbelievable than a burning bush that gives life-coaching instructions? Or a massive flood that was survived only by one family, and two of every animal on Earth? Or even a fella who moved a mountain? Are the religious cults any different? What makes some people's beliefs any crazier than someone else's? Is it the amount of people who claim belief in an ideology? If there were enough people who believed that plant life was divine, and that God was an Oak Tree, that would seem believable. At least you can see an oak tree.

The most violent events done throughout history have all been in the name of religion. I am constantly told of a loving, merciful God, who all of the above religions claim to be doing the work of...even when they have to kill. Yet I am also told that very same God will banish me to an eternity in fiery hell should I not believe certain things, or act a certain way. Maybe I just don't understand the concepts of love or mercy. I have a hard time believing that I am more forgiving and less exclusionary than this alleged God character. I have never experienced enough hate to make someone suffer because they couldn't guess correctly, or because they were born into a family that believed something differently than I do. Now presuming I am wrong, and there actually is an invisible, omnipotent force of creation watching over me, and I was made so afraid of his wrath that I claimed to believe in something I don't...wouldn't this God fella know I was lying? Couldn't he understand that I was saying something I didn't feel was true because I was in fear? What if the other guys are right? What then?

Please understand that I have no problem with any person's beliefs, provided they are honest, and not born from a self righteous indignation, or a burning desire to be self important and tell other's how to live their lives. If a person doesn't believe in God, they have no control over that. They could say they do to avoid being judged, and make people around them feel more comfortable...but that wouldn't change how they truly feel. If you are of the mind to honestly believe in an invisible entity called God, I am happy for you. Just realize, that for the rest of the world, what you believe is no more rational than believing in anything else that you might think is crazy. It is you who is making the leap of faith. Don't tell me that I am crazy for not believing in an invisible, omnipotent force of creation. But if you are hedging your bets in this lifetime for what could be waiting for you after you die, because you are frightened of the stories you were told growing up, then perhaps you need to summon the courage to self examine.

Remember...belief is not a choice.