Bainbo - I think you put it well about simply rattling through prayers. Belief in God and Jesus should never be about blind adherence to empty formulas. Jesus criticised the Pharisees because of their insistence on the observation of every tiny religious rule to the exclusion of having any charity in their hearts. In other words they were bogged down in the rule book and didn't live by the spirit of the religion any more. He also said the 10 commandments could be reduced to 2: "Love God with all your heart, and love your neighbour (everyone) as yourself" By following thse two, we could be sure we were doing God's will. I think the first one is important because there's another phrase "be true to yourself" which in my opinion, though it sounds like good advice, is misleading. becuase even the most sincere can eventually lie to themselves, or fool themselves, but you can't fool God.