In matters of faith, conviction is achieved through weighing and examining the dogmas of one’s religion or faith or beliefs. If these dogmas cannot be brought into harmony with one’s intuition, then it is impossible to be convinced of them. As the very word implies, conviction depends on a thorough personal examination of all the facts and there must not be a single question unanswered. Nothing must be brushed under the carpet of blind faith. If there are still questions that remain unanswered, then it is impossible to achieve conviction. It is impossible to say that one is convinced of a matter when there are still outstanding issues to be resolved.

Not only must the tenets of one’s beliefs answer all the questions of human existence, these answers must also be confirmed through one’s life experiences. So a combination of spiritual knowledge and the confirmation of this knowledge through one’s life experiences will not only bring conviction but strengthen it.

These are the absolute criteria by which conviction must be based. It is just not a question of accepting ready made opinions of others. It is more a question of being able to think through or live through these matters ourselves. After all, to base one’s entire life on a particular teaching is a serious matter and as such we should accord it the seriousness that is due to it.

Knowledge of the structure and Laws of Creation and the interpretation of the events in our lives in the light of this knowledge will gradually give us the conviction we need. As a result, we will come to voluntarily adjust ourselves to it as we become more and more convinced of the Wisdom of God through the experiencing of His Creation.