When I was about 12 years old I decided it was time to make up my own mind about the existence of a supreme being or not.
The conversation in my head went something like this:
Choices:
Yes there is a God.
No there isn't a God.
Possible Scenarios:
God exists but he has no preference of one religion over another.
God exists and there is one right religion.
God does not exist and nothing matters.
Further look at each possible scenario:
If God exists but he has no preference over religions then I'm safe as long as I pick one and follow it to the best of my ability. And Whoopie! I could get into heaven!
If God exists and there is only one right religion then I have about a one in 20 (that's all the religious groups I could think of at the time) chance of picking the right one and being saved. If I picked well, I'll see those shining pearly gates and if I picked wrong I'll at least be warm.
If God does not exist, then life and death are all that is and I don't have to worry about being good or bad I can just be whatever I want to be. It doesn't matter in the end 'cause I'll just be a lump of rotting flesh in a grave at the end one way or another.
Conclusion:
If there is no God, then it does not matter what I do in life. There will be no judgement day. But on the chance that there is, it would be wise to live a life that could be judged well. Even if in the end it turned out that God wasn't real, then at least my life will have been productive and helpful to others still alive and it won't have mattered anyway that I made choices based on a foundation of religious ideals.
If there is one right religion and I managed to pick it, then hurray for me, but if I choose wrong, then at least I had a chance. Same as winning the lotto.. you can't win if you don't buy a ticket and try except here my odds are slightly better.
So, in conclusion at the age of 12 I decided that I didn't have enough information to decide for certain which statement was true, but the evidence clearly told me that having faith in God, any God, is the only answer that's potentially win win.
Since that time I've managed to explore the different faiths and find what I believe to be truths about how it all works. So I have found my faith and it is strong.
My beliefs cannot be packaged into any of the major religions. My belief system is based on the experiences and truths that have given shape to my life. I'm gonna add a new faith to the mix...
Myism
There we go. I'm a Myist. Everything I believe about God and religion is fully accepted in My faith. Glad we got that settled!
* Originally posted February 12, 2006