"As far as the decision for or against belief in God was concerned, most of the time he had little idea even what the issues were because no one had ever made the effort to discuss them with him. If he rejected Christianity, it was usually such a caricature of it that I would have rejected it myself, and if he accepted it, the chances were he knew equally little about what he was accepting." (F. Buechner "Listening to Your Life" p. 38)
I've never considered belief in God to be a choice. I suppose at a certain level I did choose to believe in God, though it wasn't presented that way to me. It is true that I have always believed. I have also been blessed to have grown up in a church that allowed me to ask questions and wasn't afraid to answer them.
Obviously as a priest I have had further opportunities to continue to grow in my belief. I try to the best of my ability to not be afraid of questions or challenges to my beliefs. I hope that if a person were searching or struggling with faith that I would be able to create the proper environment to work through those issues.
I haven't had many conversations with folks who have chosen against belief, either in walking away from what once was, or never having one to begin with. I'm not sure what I would say. Again I hope I could listen to their journey as well. And if it was God's purpose, open the door to a new way of believing.
Blessings,
Ed
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