I couldn't choose to believe in God anymore than I could choose to believe the world is flat. Sure, I could say I believed, go to church, whatever, but that wouldn't change the fact that I didn't (if I didn't).
It might be a decision, but it is not a conscious decision of "choice" in the same sense of how choosing one item of clothing over another is a choice. You listen to the arguments presented, and if they make sense you believe. Different people have different senses of what is "rational". To the Christian, the arguments for God are rational, and they believe them; to the atheist, they aren't, and they disbelieve them.
Saying people choose to believe is like saying people "choose" their favourite colour. People don't choose their favourite colour; they look at the colours and the one that they like the most is their favourite. Their preference may change over time, but I couldn't choose to like pink more than I like blue.
It might be a decision, but it is not a conscious decision of "choice" in the same sense of how choosing one item of clothing over another is a choice. You listen to the arguments presented, and if they make sense you believe. Different people have different senses of what is "rational". To the Christian, the arguments for God are rational, and they believe them; to the atheist, they aren't, and they disbelieve them.
Saying people choose to believe is like saying people "choose" their favourite colour. People don't choose their favourite colour; they look at the colours and the one that they like the most is their favourite. Their preference may change over time, but I couldn't choose to like pink more than I like blue.
