I believe

When I was in my pree-teen/early-teen years, I was kind of a religious nut. It's somewhat unfortunate, because I'm pretty sure I missed out on some good pop culture during that time when I was up to my eyeballs in Only Pure and Approved Evangelical Christian Godly Media. Uh. I mean, I didn't believe in evolution. I believe every word of the Bible was literally true. I was thinking about that time, and this song, which was pretty much me:

"I Believe" by Wes King

I believe
In six days and a rest
God is good
I do confess
I believe
In Adam and Eve
In a tree and a garden
In a snake and a thief

Chorus:
I believe, I believe
I believe in the Word of God
I believe, I believe
'Cause He made me believe

I believe Noah
Built an ark of wood
120 years
No one understood
I believe Elijah never died
Called fire from heaven
On a mountainside

I remember when I first started doubting some of that song. Like, "six days? That's not very long..."
I also remember the song "Affirmation," by Savage Garden (did I have some pretty questionable musical taste?) Also, this post is getting long:

I believe the sun should never set upon an argument
I believe we place our happiness in other people's hands
I believe that junk food tastes so good because it's bad for you
I believe your parents did the best job they knew how to do
I believe that beauty magazines promote low self esteem
I believe I'm loved when I'm completely by myself alone

I believe in Karma what you give is what you get returned
I believe you can't appreciate real love 'til you've been burned
I believe the grass is no more greener on the other side
I believe you don't know what you've got until you say goodbye

I believe you can't control or choose your sexuality
I believe that trust is more important than monogamy
I believe your most attractive features are your heart and soul
I believe that family is worth more than money or gold
I believe the struggle for financial freedom is unfair
I believe the only ones who disagree are millionaires

I believe in Karma what you give is what you get returned
I believe you can't appreciate real love 'til you've been burned
I believe the grass is no more greener on the other side
I believe you don't know what you've got until you say goodbye

I believe forgiveness is the key to your own unhappiness
I believe that wedded bliss negates the need to be undressed
I believe that God does not endorse tv evangelists
I believe in love surviving death into eternity

I believe in Karma what you give is what you get returned
I believe you can't appreciate real love 'til you've been burned
I believe the grass is no more greener on the other side
I believe you don't know what you've got until you say goodbye(Repeat 2)
Until you say goodbye

This song made me really uncomfortable at one point, but I've gotten over that. Why am I posting all this? I've been thinking about my own personal affirmations, maybe because I'm really not sure what they are anymore. Here are some. Maybe I will have more someday:

I believe that whoever or whatever God is, God is not male or female or the exclusive property of any religion.

I believe that all human beings bear a responsibility to each other and to all living things on this planet, and however we may be capable of living up to that responsibility, we should.

I believe that people are capable of causing the greatest possible evil and the greatest possible good, and it's mostly up to us which we do.

I believe that change is inevitable and often good.

Like Savage Garden, I believe that we can't (entirely) chose our sexuality, and we should be allowed to make safe, adult decisions about our sexualities.

I believe that women should have equal rights as men, including the rights to chose our employment and be paid equally, chose what we want to do with out bodies, and chose when and how we want to have sex.

I believe that hard work is one of the most rewarding things a person can do, but that work is not the whole point of existence.

I believe that being thin is not worth a world in which chocolate is not available.

I believe in the power of education to change the world, and the enduring beauty of books (regardless of what format they eventually take).

I am sure I have more beliefs, but I'm already amazed by how many I've thought of. Enough for now!