Believe

Short, simple thought. I was recalling a conversation with a coworker on the subject of religion, it basically got broken down to the belief in God (or some other higher all-powerful deity).

The statement "I believe in God" implies that one is religious, tries to be good, do good, etc. Or at least, that seems to be the commonly accepted understanding among [North American] society. But let's think about this a little bit deeper. In the case that one believes in [the existence of] God, one must also believe in the devil, right?

In this system, the devil is in direct opposition to God. It would therefore logically necessitate that the devil has no doubt of God's existence. And yet, for the devil to be in direct opposite to God, he would also have to oppose everything God does and wishes.

Having said that, the statement "I believe in God" says nothing about how I am as a person, or whether I'm even moral. In short, in the context of religious discussion, it's practically a meaningless statement. (Well, not really, but it's pretty close.)

Me: Are you religious?
Coworker: well, I believe in God
Me: So?