...as to how people find God when they previously did not believe.

Faith in God is subjective to the person. No one else can fully understand another's experiences and believe or understand God in the same manner.

"You have your beliefs and experiences and I have mine. I don't want to take anything away from your beliefs and, in turn please respect mine."

I would repeat this phrase to anyone who tried to prove to me that God exists or that their method of worship is "true." This would usually halt the conversation and we would both move on.

In my ignorant and youthful arrogance, I believed that people with religion were wrong. No God existed and belief in such, presented a weakness in character. God existed for those who were afraid to question, afraid to be wrong (going to "hell"), or in my young opinion did not believe enough in themselves to pull out or outlast whatever crisis it was that had befallen them.

Now that I'm older and wiser =), I find myself with a better understanding as to why religion is so important. Life is dreadful without hope of salvation. Believing that God will pull you through is a lot easier than doing it by yourself. God is the warm center that all people of religion can bask in (as long as the conscious is clear). Remain "good" and God will provide salvation in either this life or the afterlife. Incentive in it's greatest form.

I understand better and acknowledge that this is a very powerful tool to aid one as they go through life. Every time one is faced with adversity, it's a test of faith, and every stroke of luck is a reward for one's continued belief. Good times all around.

But what about those, like myself, who have trouble believing. Am I weak for not embracing a God that may not exist? Or am I weak for questioning the faith of billions of people in all walks of life? Or am I simply too weak within my own crisis at present to foresee a positive end?

I don't know, but I do know how people are 'born again'. And it makes perfect sense. Life is taking a downward turn (or has been going down for a long stretch) and suddenly, a belief (new or renewed) in God changes things for the better or simply creates a different outlook reminding one that things aren't so bad. But that's not where things end, this new/renewed faith comes with a support group of such positivity that is so infectious that one would think non-believers are crazy or even sad to not be apart of this.

And perhaps they're right. Maybe we are sad or crazy, but that doesn't make me wrong. There are things that occur that I will never be able to fully understand, God, Astral Physics, Time Warps, Women... but what I do know, I embrace.

I believe that people have a want to be good, but are jaded by life and it's challenges. People choose to guard themselves against others and be skeptical of their intentions. Being part of a religious community allows people to be nice without worry of being taken advantage of... I can totally understand that.

But, I believe people could also find goodness in others without such a platform. Perhaps that's just my idealist mentality. Perhaps, I'm the one deluding myself.

If there is one universal truth among human beings, it's that we lack the intellectual capacity to know and understand everything there is to know and understand, God included. People claim to know, and in their own minds probably do...

...but I remain skeptical.