Good point. Poor wording on my part.

What I mean is that I can choose to belief something different based on information I'm exposed to. For example, in one of my post, I mentioned my belief that Iraq had WMDs, which changed when I gathered more information. At first, I held one belief. This belief then changed, and I subsequently held a different belief (Iraq didn't have WMDs). In other words, I gained more information, and I used this information to choose a new belief.

Thread is pointless. Causality.

/Thread

Your post was pointless.

You don`t choose what to believe in like you choose what you are going to wear. As simple as faith is, it runs very deep within us. It`s a matter of opening or closing your heart.
Look at St Thomas in the NT: he saw who Jesus was, yet he still doubted. Why?

1. Indeed. No disagreements here.

2. As I see it doesn't really matter if feelings affect beliefs or the other way around: You don't choose how to feel when faced with a scenario, and you don't choose what to believe when forced to make a judgement. In other words I don't think God has the right to blame you for having certain feelings over an issue or for having certain beliefs. After analyzing the situation the guts have made up their mind in any case, and you can't choose to ignore your guts, unless you want to live in denial. Sure, God could claim that they should have analyzed the situation better to achieve the 'correct' belief, but they did what they thought was right at the time.

Then you did not understand it. Read it again. Put down the crayons first, big guy.

There a difference between guts and being stubborn you have described the latter.

If someone chooses to be stubborn that's there fault because they have the ability to not be.

If you believe in fairies no other reason than you believe in them that's not guts that being stubborn or duillusional.

You confused the terms around to where your point its pretty incoherent. By the way why did you pretend that "guts" decisions is considered crediable by God? This assumes way to much to give and actually contradictions the whole idea of Christianity.

"
that we get to choose whether we want to follow him or not. This obviously leaves a lot of room for interpretations: Some think that following God's message (i.e. being a good person to your fellow human beings) is the most important part, others put close- or even equal value in believing that God himself actually does exist, or even that believing that he does exist is a must if you want to enter his kingdom after you have died; given that you have been acknowledged of his existence, of course."

I want to focus on this piece real quick.

Do you mean by get to choose? You mean like make conscience decision? Or God says it ok not believe in him?

Two:God's message is to do good but that isn't the most important part. That would be the remember Jesus atonement and that through Jesus we can see salvation. There is more to it but I want to keep it short.

Three: more then just believing in God.

Four: if you had knowledge of God's existence and you still rejected him that's not called guts that's called being stubborn. I believe you poorly use the word guts.

Really nothing left to respond to because most of it is just repeating yourself based incorrect data leaving to a false conclusion.

The gut thing is really a point of why would God be angry/doom them based on them doing something wrong based on there current understanding in which I covered with him before. If he saying a guy flat out ignores the evidence because it contradicts what they currently believe than that's being stubborn and is the reason fault as many have overcome this everyday in there lives. If he goes with the latter I have to say cry moar because that's not a good excuse.

Can someone explain to me why religion is such a huge debate in America right now? Here in Canada no one talks about religion. If someone is religious that's their business, and if someone isn't that's fine too, but it seems like everywhere on the internet Americans are having a huge blowout about religion.

While I do agree that people can choose to put forth an effort to obtain information to alter their beliefs, I don't think people choose which specific belief they will obtain (which is what I think the OP is saying). Yes, you can gain information willingly. But how your brain analyzes that information and how it draws conclusion on the world...I don't think we choose that. Your brain, if it's healthy, will try to make conclusions that it deems to be the most accurate of the world.