Why do you believe what you believe?

I love being at the beach.  I am happy to just watch the surf roll in and pull back, over and over.  The bigger the wave, the more I am enchanted.  I almost am temporarily hypnotized by the process, the power, the beauty, the renewal, the colors.  I love the water rolling in and there is a bit of sadness as the water recedes even though another wave one won’t come until this one is gone.  The ocean pushes the water in regularly and then pulls back.  There is (sometimes great) force in the pushing and then the pulling.

Why is our attention arrested in this constant process?  What draws us?  Is this a search for that greater truth, that larger thing than we think we know, the answers about our origins and our purpose?  We know, at least, that when we plug into those waves that our attention is temporarily not divided but, for that moment, totally concentrated.

The learning process is the similar to this surf play.  New ideas are presented to us when we are very young and we accept these concepts as valid, and we jump to accept these new ideas as truth.  As education continues, we encounter a plethora of new ideas, leaving us having to choose among conflicting ideas.  Sometimes, we see the words of an Einstein, a Newton, a Shakespeare or another great mind, making the former water recede and we think these new concepts are more sensible than our formerly views.  Always, another wave will come and we evaluate our perspective and wonder which is the more complete truth.  The rhythmic flow can be confusing with each new wave.

Some ideas in the face of life education remain unchanged but there is often a gentle storm in our minds because both make sense, but we know only one can be right.  One seems to have a broader, accepted consensus and we lean toward that until we read the Bible and what we want to believe seems to not be in the main stream of consensus.  We still believe but that undertow seems be at war with the incoming tsunami in this diverse, inviting world.  Being fully confident of the truth of things and pretty much convinced is like powerful pull that causes the water to recede, leaving us to anticipate that next big powerful wave.

Why is this?  Do we want to not be as a preschooler who accepts all that Mommie and Daddy have said is truth?  But believe is what we do at that early stage, moving joyfully to the next experience and maybe an ice cream cone.  We rest deeply in this stage and the confusion is soon settled in most cases.

Later, we see countless waves of thought and those whose lives are spent proving or disproving accepted concepts, theories, histories that are commonly accepted.  Some are Dawin evolutionists and some are creative scientists.  The truth is sought in “proofs” and “probabilities” throughout life, although some just accept as truth what they were taught as preschoolers, sixth graders, sophomores, graduate students.

Do we analyze why we believe this, confronting the possibility of change when we encounter some who seem wiser who is sharing a new view?  What keeps a person sound in a belief even when the new ideas seem to fit the criteria of abundance proofs and commonly acceptance?  What is that seed of deeper understanding when these new ideas seem to fail for us? Why?

Do we want a voice and want to be heard?  Are we seeking validation in who are and what we believe?  Are we wanting approval and esteem from others?  

What are humans and why are we?   That is why there is a Bible, in my opinion.  God created us in His image and the rest is a lifetime learning experience.  I believe that not a single being knows all the answers to the why’s.  I personally need refresher of why I believe the way I do as internal defense of the wisdom and truth in the Bible.