So why do you think that way?

Did you grow up being told this is what you should believe, and so that's why you hold the beliefs you do? Or, did you grow up being told this is what you should believe and so NOW you are going to determine the beliefs you hold apart from your upbringing?

Your beliefs - or World View - influences everything about you. Everything. From where you live, to how you treat others,  your decision making, your friends, your enemies, your loves, the things you hate, the places you go, what determines right and wrong for you, if there even is right and wrong at all for you or others,  the things you invest in, the things you teach your children, or the things you won't teach your children, your identity, the way you view your worth, others' worth, your eternity...the very manner by which you determine what is true and what is not - is influenced by your World View.

So, with so much WEIGHT, on the filter of your life - have you ever considered WHY you believe what you believe? I mean, most people will tell you quite passionately what they believe, myself included. Passion about our beliefs is easy - but the reasoning behind that passion...well, truthfully - many will fumble for articulate words that define exactly why they hold to the beliefs that shape life as they live it. Try it. Ask someone - anyone - about something like...."How do you determine what is right and what is wrong for you - for your family?" Then ask - "Why do you believe that?" or ask it another way - ask.. "Why do you think that is right?" I bet they will pause and have to pull their thoughts together very carefully. We don't press one another for reasons behind who we are - and what we believe...it's too uncomfortable, isn't it?  - or it's just not fun, right? Can't we just talk about the Bills game (yeah, I'm not good at that topic), the weather, work, the kids, our husband's, a sale at the grocery store, our personal junk, or someone else's personal junk? It's too hard to get specific - for a lot of reasons. But I'm goin' there with you... I mean - it's just you and I, right? And you don't even have to answer me...You can even just shut down this ranting I'm in the midst of right now... I hope you don't, though. I hope you'll stay with me. Stay with me for a minute - even if it's just to see if I'm more wacked then you originally thought. You look great today, by the way. Love your hair! Please, stay with me for this...

I just want to go somewhere deep with you today, ok? I want you and I to take a moment to think...Do we know why we believe what we believe? I get we're passionate about our beliefs. Ask a vegetarian about the whole meat processing deal...woooweee - passion! Ask a homosexual about why she is the way she is....yup. Passion. Ask a mom about how she disciplines her babes...PASSION! Passion is a huge window into who we are - our ticking mechanism, but passion for our "issues" does not get to the core of why we believe the things we do.

SO I gotta ask you - just for a second - will you think with me about...why do you believe what you believe? Did some religious fanatic convince you that religion is weird? Did a family member tell you that if you reject what you have been told, you will in turn be rejected? Did you have some moment of "enlightenment", or did you read some text recommended by Oprah's Book Club that made you feel better about your circumstances? Maybe you did what I did at the age of 20, and out of some devastating moment determined - "I will believe what works for me..."

WHATEVER your reasons for embracing the beliefs you hold...can I just challenge you to consider your source of truth very critically. Because if it is TRUTH, it will indeed stand the test of fire. If your belief system cannot handle scrutiny - then you have just learned something very important about the source by which you base your life and your eternity.

Ask yourself these questions...come on! It will be interesting for you! Just think about these things...Certainty is nothing to be afraid of...right? If you're certain you're source of truth is right - ASK some hard questions.

1. What actually is your source of truth? You? A book? Is this book or your ideas based on one person's "enlightenment", or experience? Your own perhaps? How do you know this enlightenment is true? Why do you believe the book/ idea you have chosen to believe as true? What do you know about it's author(s) - it's validity? Here's a hard one...how do you actually define TRUE? what works? what is it that "works" about your belief? Will it always work? How can you be sure?

2. Is your belief system limited to only those who "get it"? Can anyone "get it" - or is your belief system only for those who are "enlightened". How do you treat those who don't believe what you believe? For example, is there just a community for "believers" that you get along with - or do your beliefs welcome everyone? Would I - a Christian - be welcome among you?

3.How is justice determined? How is right or wrong determined according to your belief system? What protects you - society - from evil? Do you even acknowledge evil, and if not - why not? Is it not prevalent? How do you explain the "bad things" that happen in this world? If you do acknowledge evil, how according to your belief system should it be dealt with? If you don't acknowledge evil, what do you do with the bad things that threaten you - your family - society - the world...including disease?

4. How do you view eternity? Is God distant or personal?  Does your God have any concern for where you are - who you are - and where you will be one day? What makes you think so? WhoWhat shaped this view of God for you? A book? Who wrote it? An experience? How is it that  your experience/idea is correct about God?

5. Let's talk eternity...According to your beliefs, is there hope for your peace? For the world's peace? Is there a circular reasoning that keeps people coming and going in a loop of pass/fail until we get it right? Or is there a final destination for all souls? What is that destination and how does one get there? Is it seemingly possible, or is it a never ending effort of trying to achieve it?

6. What is the purpose for "good deeds" in your belief system? What defines a selfless act toward humanity verses a selfish deed that determines your "good standing"? If your belief system is all about earning favor, or good standing with God and humanity - or even possibly earning heaven - how does your belief system determine what is actually an unselfish deed? Wouldn't all deeds be selfish? What is your motivation apart from self?

7. What does your belief system do with Jesus - the Biblical God, the self proclaimed Savior of the World - the self proclaimed "way, truth, and life? He is a pivotal point in ALL belief systems. Either your belief system acknowledges Him  -as a prophet, or a teacher - who provides sign posts toward "good living", or you believe He is who He claimed to be and you follow Him, or you believe He is who He claimed to be, but you don't think He knows you, or maybe - you think He was a lunatic, or you are just not sure what to make of Him.What does your belief system say of Jesus and who- WHAT PERSON- determined this opinion of the God of the Bible that you now hold? What do you know about the person who has influenced your thinking, their credibility?  Who is telling you who God is?

Have you thought about these things? Maybe not at all...Too much work when you have too much else to think about...Or maybe you think only about the things you are passionate about that fall under the umbrella of your world view, because that's all that really matters???... Things like:

1. Homosexuality. -  God is a God of love. It can't be wrong to love whomever you choose.
2. Abortion - It is a woman's choice to do what she wants with her body.
3. Creation - However the world was created - the source of the universe was not a personal God.
4. Humanity - People are messed up, and religion has never fixed the issues of the world.
5. Eternity - No one can determine where a soul ends up or even if there is a soul.

All of these statements are rooted in passion, not in Truth. Follow any of your beliefs on any of these issues and you will only wander around a hoola-hoop of reasoning - a hoola-hoop that is around you. I'm not being mean - I'm just stating something you probably already know, right? What you believe, quite possibly, is for you - your benefit.

I just want you to know one thing before I let you go...Thank you for enduring my questions. I love deep stuff with you!!!

Man cannot disprove the God of The Bible. We can postulate, argue, and disagree on thousands upon thousands of issues....we can brainstorm and calculate as to what we believe is the cause of this life,what we believe is the source of life, and the hope for humanity, what we believe is right for us today, where we go, what we do, whom we love or don't, but  while we draw these defining lines with passion, we cannot escape one FACT...man has never been able to disprove the God of the Bible.

Any statement we make apart from God is rooted in one thing...SELF.

If you consider why you believe these things, at the very core of each issue you will find the pride of life that each of us are guilty of. "I believe it for me." This is not truth. This is passion.

Every belief that is rooted in The God of The Bible - HIS BOOK - is not rooted in self. NOT ONE.Think about it - Go ahead. Spend some time rummaging through what you know about the Bible, and then go and read it...I promise! Because it is true! not even our personal salvation, according to the Bible, is for "self" - but for the love of God - and the love of others. ANY situation of self that is told of in the Bible - is an example of self-destruction.

Every world view - but Christianity - is works based and geared toward self. ONLY the God of  The Bible - gave His Son so that we wouldn't have to work our way to Him for ourselves - ONLY THE GOD OF THE BIBLE - gave His Son - so that we could be in relationship to Him and so that we could but could live life through Him - not for our sakes - but for the world He loves....wow.

"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." I John 4:9-11

I'm fired up today. Fired up with passion based on TRUTH...truth that does not depend on my passion - but rather TRUTH  that can hold the weight of reality.