I was making a good-humoured joke with the "Mr Fluids" thing, Steamin' Willie, referring to another thread. ;-) Don't take it in a bad way. I'm actually just referring humourously to all that nasty arguing on that other thread, whatever it was, that's all. I don't actually think of you as "Mr Fluids".

As for what you said there...

"How do you know I believe in myself?" - I think you believe in whatever you imagine your self to be.

"I might have low self esteem for all you know." - Yes, you might. In that case, that's the self you believe in, the one defined by your hypothetically low self esteem.

This is the universal human problem, in fact. People become the type of person that they (subconsciously) think they are. In my Dad's case, for example, although he was outwardly VERY confident and self-promoting, he inwardly expected people not to acknowledge his true worth and thus he unconsciously sabotaged virtually every situation he embarked upon. In my case, although I do think I'm valuable and worthy, I also expect others not to recognize it...and that has caused me a certain lack of self-confidence in a lot of situations...and so on.

We become what we believe we are. If we could change those negative core beliefs to something more positive, it would radically change what we are.

I think religion itself is a metaphor for the universal challenges we all experience in meeting life and attempting to deal with it. Life is difficult, but it also can be very beautiful...so we see both of those things reflected strongly in religious ideas.

josepp - I basically agree with what you said there. Yes, "People don't make up their beliefs, they are inculcated with them in childhood but it's not a voluntary process." Right on! As we move into adolescence and early adulthood, however, we may very well challenge a lot of those inculcated beliefs that were passed on to us...and it's good that we do. We may then make up some new ideas of our own to work with...hopefully. Most people's beliefs do come TO them from others. A few are independent enough to give birth to their own ideas and beliefs.