A/N: This is a side-thingy for Gnothi Seauton. This is short and sort of clarifies some of my points in GS.

Big thanx to Nemonus for her help!

Belief

Written by Alya

Belief is a conclusion based on proof obtained by the senses; it is the conviction of the truth of a proposition; it is an individual's conscious confidence in an idea, value, material thing, or the factual existence of these. Believing is the understanding and application of faith with mannerism of supposed truth, induction, and deduction. Faith is a conclusion without proof obtained by the five senses, or believing in something or someone as it may concern ourselves.

What is knowledge? It could be one of many things. Personally, I don't think it matters what you know, but what you believe you know, and base conclusions upon that to form other opinions and beliefs. As such, there is no actual truth, merely an idea that is widely agreed upon to exist as fact. I "know" that there are sufficient keys on this keyboard to get my message across. I "know" my head will hurt if I bang it against my desk hard enough.

Ontologically (and, really, by all means of logic), only two things exist: ideas and our belief in them; nothing more. One's understanding may or may not matter - does a child understand their faith in their parents? No, but they continue to believe, because that is the basis of all knowledge as we know to be in a human being, even before comprehension. Does everyone understand how gravity works? No, but we all "know" that it is (or isn't, as the case may be) there, here; or wherever.

Religiously (and by other sciences and ways of belief), all of the above is not true. But by all means, isn't religion an idea? Is it not essentially a conclusion based upon that which our experiences have told us is (or is not) true? Is not a religion's factual (or otherwise) existence the topic of infinite debates, wars, arguments and fights all around the world?

The Holy Bible gives us proof. The Koran gives us proof. Heck, our ancestors give us proof. Many different things give many different ideas of a Way of living, of the purpose of existence, etc. Whether or not we choose to believe is another story. Humans, by nature, are judgemental, sinful, and -- above all else -- skeptical. This is not to say that all humans are bad, merely that many are less likely to believe the word(s) of a presumably unknown source than others. There are varying levels of this belief (religion), of course, but it's still there, all around us, every single day, swirling and reaching, speaking for itself, costing countless lives, condemning innocents and sinners, and ultimately commanding a majority of mankind to do its bidding.

Belief is the key to our past, to what may have been; it's the key to the present, and all that will or ever could be. That is, quite simply, humanity's way of life.