Belief is a word of love, not thought. It comes from a Germanic root meaning to hold dear. Belief is an endearment. We are drawn to a certain way of imagining experience by its beauty. We become familiar with it and then feel loyal to it. People may try to show us how our belief is wrong or deluded, but we may be profoundly attached to it. We love life as we see it and don't want others to take that precious vision away from us.

Thomas Moore, The Soul's Religion