reason to believe that God exists. My first real talks about religion happened when I was about 12, because my grandfather liked to debate everything from politics to religion. He’s a really smart guy, so I listened to what he said and became interested in learning more about religion in order to make an educated decision one way or the other. I never took the things he said for face value, because I really wanted to know the real truth.
So I read the New Testament, the Old Testament, the I-Ching, and most of the other major and ancient religions. I even lived in Israel for a while to see all the sights, met the Pope, talked to the Dali Lama through email and listened to the preaching’s of every major religion from different speakers. The ones that impressed me the most weren’t trying to push their religious beliefs, and they did not act like fanatics who spoke in tongues, talked about blowing people up, discriminating against the non-believers or innocent people going to hell because they weren’t sure what to believe. Instead they used the teachings of their religion to help people and improve the lives of the followers, their community, their marriages, their families and their friendships. The ones I really listened to weren’t driven by money or getting their followers to believe in miracles; they were helping their followers create strong, happy families and avoid common problems that affect our personal lives and our careers. They did this by using stories and the teachings of their religion to paint the picture, inspire people, and help them develop into good citizens. They were trying to create a better world by leading people with their hearts and their minds, and there was a good reason for everything they said.