a. Life came into being from simpler chemical element building blocks and progressively evolved over the past 4 billion years into the millions of species found today.

b. An infinitely complex and intelligent being, who has mysteriously existed from the beginning of time, created the entire known universe which is billions of light years in size, our solar system, all species and man.

a. Modern evidenced-based research by scientists using modern equipment and sophisticated tools such as gene sequencers and gene mapping tools, augmented by fossils located in geological stratus along with evidence with anatomical comparison of species and paralleled by their comparative development throughout their embryos.

b. Stories written down by unknown authors and scribes, most likely nomadic (goat herders), over 3000 years ago during the Bronze age, at a time when most people were illiterate, thought the world was flat positioned at the center of the universe.

a. You were created by a God who wants a personal relationship with you, watches over you and promises you an afterlife in a place of eternal bliss … where you can reunite with those you love. You can also make personal requests of him.

Your mind develops from birth and diminishes over health, sickness and disease to where the mind becomes feeble in old age, dementia, Alzheimer’s or neurological damage to where some people cannot even recognize their family members. In anesthesia or in a coma one loses all sensations. Your consciousness and your mind will deteriorate and will cease to exist after you die.

a. Go along with the predominant beliefs of your parents, grandparents or other authority members of your community, many of whom were born years before the internet and recent discoveries.

b. Actively question these beliefs and run the risk of being criticized, disowned or excommunicated from family and friend emotional support groups.

a. Stories from the Bible – Eve taken out of Adam’s rib, talking snakes, a flood over the entire world, prophets living 950 years, stopping the sun in the sky, parting of seas, turning rivers to blood, a prophet living inside a whale for three days, Solomon having seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines.

b. Wonders of our Natural world – Amazing pictures of galaxies with countless stars, the vastness of time as shown by the Grand Canyon, the life within our ecosystems, living within our food pyramid, the tree of life from single cells to multiple celled organisms, plant and animals, insects, worms, fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, to apes, watching videos of predators hunting their prey which vividly demonstrate the process of natural selection which brings survival of the fittest, the eloquence of the periodic table, the breadth, depth and exactingness of science and its technology we utilize daily.

a. The happiness you hope to experience after you are dead. In doing this, unfortunately you are postponing and waiting for your greatest exhilaration until after you die.

b. Maxing your enjoyment and happiness while you are alive today. A beautiful sunset, a rainbow after a rain, eating a delicious ice cream sundae, the wonder of a good workout, the pleasures of here and now.

a. A giant in the sky who listens your thoughts, who could punish you and your loved ones in Hell for eternity, who will read your mind and diminish your position in the after-life by even doubting Him? Your biggest worry can be hoping that you have chosen the right belief amongst the plethora of religions which are available.

b. Accepting that we are finite. Our beauty, abilities and complexity developed over time and decreases over time. As we age, we can easily see and feel the limited duration of our existence and we chose the more realistic description of ourselves over the alternative pretense of us being infinite and lasting forever. We can accept the challenges of our lives, here and now, and we attempt to deal our challenges with our resources, minds, attitudes, and love of our existence, by accepting ourselves as being finite, rather than looking for a make-believe solution to our problems which we hope that will happen to us after we are dead.

a. A belief system that comes from antiquity, which cannot be repeated, which cannot be measured from multiple observers of different beliefs and persuasions, which principles cannot be proven to be wrong by observations that are found which do not agree with the predictions of its ideas.

b. A belief system that proves that it works easily and repetitively to anyone and everyone at any time, which can be measured down to exceedingly minute exactingness, which demonstrates its utility with practical things we use and rely upon constantly

a. I will be perfect, filled with love and limitless joy, in a place of beauty.

b. Is there food in Heaven? Can I eat in Heaven? What if I ate too much in Heaven? Would I get fat in Heaven? Are there sewers in Heaven? Who cleans the sewers in Heaven? Wouldn’t the people who are lower in Heaven be envious of the people who are higher in Heaven? Is there sex in Heaven? Will there be attraction to other men or women in Heaven? What if I was not attracted to my marriage partner in Heaven forever? Forever is a very long time! If there were no challenges in Heaven, wouldn’t I get bored? Or is Heaven just like a computer screen saver that plays a pretty scene forever? If I can’t eat or have sex, or have emotions of envy or attraction in Heaven, am I the same person I was on Earth? How come Lucifer rebelled if he was close to God in Heaven?