do religious people really believe?

[EGross]

I think that the requirement for extroadinary proof is not given in an impartial way, but is based on the speaker, listener, the relationship between them, and the level of evidence based on the prior criteria.

For example, when Oral Roberts said that god spoke to him and told him that god was going to "take me home" (kill him) unless he raised a specific amount of money for some godly project of his, a lot of people believed him. They respected and felt they knew him, and so they did not need any more evidence than that. Those who doubt that god would even care to speak to a scumbag like him wanted something more tangible. Maybe a taped message that god left on the answering machine would have been enough.

When your parent tells you that there is a guy named Santa, and you get up on christmas morning and see a load of presents under the tree with "from santa" on it, that's enough evidence for you. And the fact that you are being bribed into such a belief isn't hurting either.

Or when you student tells you that his dog ate his homework, or that his father was abducted by an alien which is why he was late, you may want more evidence. But if he has a black eye and his face is puffy and he tells you he was late because his father was in a bad mood after a night of drinking, what stands before you might be enough. And it could also be a lie (some shool bullies beat him up and he wants to get even with his dad), and you may want to get one more bit of verification before you ruin a family.

As rational people, we all have our lines. If someone tells me that he shook hands with the US President, and I know that the US President is in this country visiting, I'm ok with that. If someone tells me that he was out by the mount of olives and Jesus spoke to him, I will certainly require more than his word. Since there is a web cam there, I will ask the other person to find the footage and play it for me. I won't waste my time with something that exists outside of my experience as being a possibility.

We have a crackpot "prophet" here who claims that god told him where gold is hidden. When asked where he replied that god said that His people don't deserve it yet. And people believe him, like those who believed Oral Roberts. If you want us to beleive you, show us the gold!

Now, these may not seem like extroadinary requirements to you, but to the true believer they are extroadinary. One will define extroadinary based on the persons belief (or lack thereof) of the other person. The more he believes, the less is needed. The more absurd, based on ones life experience, the more proof is needed.

I would suggest that the true believers should applaud those who require extroadinary proof, because it will make the non-believers believe! (Not all, obviously. Some have a higher bar for "extroadinary"!) I mean, if god is having regular talks with you, ask him to make a public appearance or maybe write a note. How busy could he be, given that he apparently only talks to a handful of people anyhow. Or the person who claims that he can predict what will happen in 24 hours - just show me one simple thing, a winning lottry ticket. And if you cannot use your powers for persona gain, then buy it for me!

I will not only believe, but I will be your biggest fan and promoter!