An intelligent person's thoughts on beliefs...

Today's memory verse: "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." -- John 20:31 Ok...I need to talk about what has been on my mind yesterday and today. I read a Facebook friend's post about "How to keep your child from becoming an atheist." It was really a slam against closed-minded Christians...well against any Christians at all, and suggested that believing in God was the same as being stupid and ignorant. I read it and instantly wanted to defend my own beliefs and defend God...but, fortunately, I caught myself before I did anything stupid. First of all, when someone says insulting things about your beliefs, they most likely are LOOKING to get you riled up so you WILL argue with them. And, secondly, God is God...he doesn't need me to defend him! He knows full well how some people feel about him, and he can take care of himself. In this country, we have the right to believe anything we want. Atheists have the right NOT to believe... I have friends of many different faiths, and some friend's who are Atheists as well. I am always interested to hear what and how they believe, or not. I have spent hours talking with these friends, not because I want to change their minds or beliefs, but because I am earnestly interested. It does open your eyes as to the power of God... I could go on and on about this topic...but I won't. I guess my reason for writing this morning is to reassure myself that not all Christians are "mindless sheep" who would rather live in ignorance than use their minds to think. I believe God gave me a brain and curiosity and intelligence, and I use it to question God...search for answers and learn from others. I have found that when I do engage in study, of the Bible, of other belief systems, in science...my faith in a loving and caring and powerful God is strengthened even more! "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. (Psalm 46:1-3, 7 NIV)