I think that you're right that peopel will say things and convice themselves certaint hings have happened even though they haven't, it's human nature, and most will deny what has happened in the face of troubled times, or to get what they want. If you have ever seen "There will be blood" you will know what i'm talking about. the guyw ho claims to be a prophet and then denys it at the end for the propsect of money.
the difference is i could never deny what i know to be true. too many thing have indeed happened that testify of the truthfulness of it. you may not believe me but you don't have to believe something for it to be true.
There is no cause to believe. To do so would be dishonest with myself and anyone who was influenced by my belief.
I beleve 3x3 is 9 because there are 3 groups of 3 and I count them out there is 9. I can illustrate this, draw it, explain it and speak to it and prove it.
You believe god talked to you because why.... Millions of people think gods talk to them or that they have seen heaven or hell. Millions more still believe in ghosts, demons and other fairy tales. I could how a seminar on speaking with dead and discussing ghosts and demons and charge $50 a head and fill a stadium with people to see the show. (I believe people already do this on various levels) Does that make it true?
This gets back to the definition of true. I don't have to believe in god for god to be true. All the words are there and logically its correct. However God has never proven to be true. Thus whether I believe in him or not will not make him true. God speaking to people... not proven... ghosts... demons.... leprechauns.... Not proven. Not true.
You can believe it and it will make it true for you, your life and possible the decisions you make. You give the idea and notion power. You create and allow the influence it has. You subject yourself to the conditioning that will allow you to interpret other events based on your belief. Its just your truth and that is enough for most people. Entire congregations make it their truth. Truth for them. There are 1000s of various versions of truths for them out there. Lots of prophets with lots of supernatural ideas. Lots of different gods talking to lots of different people. You say some god you have met face to face. Another will say he has met a different god face to face and you both know your different gods and your different religions to be the one truth.
It doesn't bother me that you believe in god no more then it bothers me that my friend believes in the luck of the four leaf clover. I had a friend who told me she could go astral and she kicked her friends butt in the astral plane. I don't really talk to her anymore but hey... thats her thing. She believes in the astral plane complete with silver cord and all.
Religion existed before all these new age prophets and even before jesus. Much of the holidays attributed to christianity and adhered to in the US originally had nothing to do with it. The story of jesus to me is a witty rewrite of earlier stories and makes for some great quotes and light reading. Supernatural belief is just silly. Some lady paid 180k for a house which she believed was haunted. She took out a seperate mortgage to pay for ghost hunters which then needed a priest to get rid of the demon haunting it. Eventually they succeeded but she still felt the evil presence and sold the house for 150k.... No demons... No ghosts... but there are people who get paid to hunt these ideas of the mind. Bad Memes... hehe.