Faith is the excuse we give ourselves to believe things without good reason

[Starboard Tack]

135. Have you ever served on a jury? Not a DU jury

Evidence is presented, you lean one way then the other. Eventually you decide, then you discuss with others who may not share your decision. In the end, you all choose one way over the other, by weighing the evidence and either submitting to persuasion or submitting others to your persuasive powers. Point is, you choose, then later, maybe, you choose differently.

Now you say that belief is a construct. I disagree. It is a state of mind, arrived at by gathering information and interpreting that information. We all interpret information in our own unique way. Sometimes, our interpretations are virtually indistinguishable, sometimes they are at odds with another's perception of reality. You say that your mother is religious. Does that make her delusional? I think not. She interprets life differently to you regarding religion. That's all. The choice lies in the interpretation, not the construction of the ideas based on empirical evidence. Faith, by definition, does not require empirical proof. That is why it is a choice.
And that is why the debate between two people who are convinced that their differing beliefs are true, is pointless.
It can be argued that lack of belief is not a choice. But to assert something as being absolute, either way, is not about belief, but rather a claim on knowledge. Belief is merely thinking something is true without knowledge or irrefutable evidence. If someone encourages me to play certain numbers in a lottery, because he "just knows" what's coming up, had a dream, whatever, I am not buying. I'll probably humor him rather than calling him delusional. If the numbers come up, I might rethink his powers of ESP and I might also think he may have inside info, but I would be open.
Nothing has indicated the presence of a deity in my life, but many things have indicated the possibility of extra-sensory experiences. I choose not to believe in god, as I have seen no evidence indicating the existence of any deity, beyond the human mind. I choose to believe in certain aspects of the so-called "paranormal", based on personal experience.