To hell with religion!

[Devil's Advocate]

Dragline, you seem to have missed the two huge posts I put up just before the one you've quoted here. (Hint : I mention in the post you've quoted that I've already given you your links and supporting stuff. You'll find your content there, to accept, refute or leave aside.) Afraid we're not on the same page here, literally : those two comments are on the previous page.

Can't really fault you for TLDRing my comments, seeing I was guilty of the same oversight some days back re your first post on this thread. I won't rush you, no need to read them or respond to them "now" unless it is convenient, but when you have time perhaps you could look those posts up.

[suomalainen]

Hmm. Definitely TLDR for much of this thread. At the risk of hijacking the thread, I have a question for true believers (note, I have once been one): it seems to me that religious belief is literally just that - a belief. In other words, it's an a priori choice to interpret your life's experiences in a certain manner. In other^2 words, religious belief is an assumption that becomes the premise for everything else. This leads me to believe that religious belief is nothing more than confirmation bias at work.

My fall from grace, if you will, was noticing how when stuff went well, it just affirmed the idea that god exists and loves me and is watching over me, etc. and when stuff didn't go well, I would explain away the discrepancy (for who has known the mind of god, etc). That just left me deeply unsatisfied.

I'd be eager to hear others' thoughts on how their belief got started and is sustained.

EDIT 10/23: question moved to its own thread.