Indecision?

It is appealing to have a something / someone who offers constant care and concern for your life and who is 'on call' in everytime of need to give hope, encouragement, the promise of a heaven, peace and love everlasting etc. and belief offers that.

Belief also demands that you dismiss doubts that arise from the often conflicting statements of religious teaching.

Someone mentioned Santa Claus. We encourage children to believe the story of a jolly man in a sleigh who travels the world bringing gifts...hopefully the ones requested in return for 'being good'...and leaves them at the end of the bed every Chrismas Eve when the child is sleeping.This is despite the fact we also teach the same children not to talk to strangers and the last thing we want is for a strange man to appear in their bedroom and ask them to sit on his lap!

Both are lovely ideas but we learn that reindeer do not fly and that Santa does not come down a chimney with a sack of toys...or through the cat-flap if there isn't a chimney

We have to question what we are told and if there are too many conflicting ideas then the decision is made to believe the story or not. I would say that agnostics have the doubt and also the wish to have what the story offers.