Number 2--Religion

It's the last day of classes and finals begin next week. I wisely arranged my classes so that I would not have any finals this term, so I am feeling pretty good about my situation. I have to write two papers, but they are not due until the 22nd, so now, instead of outlining or working on those papers, I am going to write a blog post.

I have been thinking a lot about religion lately. I haven't exactly been having doubts about my current religion. Actually, I quite enjoy it. The problem that I've been having is that in church, I hear people say all the time "...and I know that [such and such]". As a stickler for words, I have always had a problem when people say that they know something as unknowable as whether there is a God, whether Jesus Christ atoned for our sins, whether a certain person is a prophet of God on the Earth today, etc.

If all these people had only said 'believe' instead of 'know', then I may not have come to this place of questioning. After all, I believe those same things. The problem is that I wouldn't say that I know those things. At least, not all of them. Hence, the questioning:

1. Is there something wrong with me?
2. Do I even believe these people who stand up in church and say 'know'?
3. Though I have never professed to know these things, are they things that I should know before proceeding further with my religious devotion?

My answers:

1. No, of course not.
2. No, I don't.
3. Yes. Even if I don't believe that other people truly know one thing or another, I should do my best to define what I know and to flesh out my beliefs.

I will post more later as I think about this more and bounce my ideas off other people.