Observation on Belief

Why do we believe what we believe?  I mean, do we truly put thought into our beliefs and/or superstitions, or are they simply that which was handed to us at some point in our lives and we accepted them?  I hear people speak of being 'brought up' Baptist or whatever else, and then find that their ingrained beliefs from that time frame remain - no matter what.

Why do we believe what we believe?

When I was in 1st grade, I heard a story teller who said that if you place your shoes in a particular place under the bed, you will have good dreams or (if you place them somewhere else) you will have bad dreams.  I took that to heart for years, until one day I realized I was doing it almost second nature.  Why?  Because I heard it that way and no one told me otherwise.

I had a grandmother who was tremendously superstitious.  I always found it kind of funny, but she was tied into folk tales and beliefs that she felt had to be maintained.  What I find interesting now is that she never once felt that they were contrary to or overcome by her faith in Christ.

I also had a professor in seminary that used to say that he was "a Christian, but not only."  It is much the same idea as many Hindus have - multiple belief systems are always at work.  But the question still keeps creeping up.

Why do we believe what we believe?
I had something of a crisis of faith a few weeks ago - I might write about that some time - but I found that I came to the conclusion that I did not believe a particular idea.  Not because one person said something or one book said something, but because in putting together a particular Bible study, I found that as I put together a variety of comments from various sources, I saw clearly that a particular belief just wasn't tenable.

And yet I sometimes still find myself placing my shoes in a particular way...

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