Why do people believe what they believe?

I have trouble figuring out people's beliefs. There are so many contradictions. For example, Western religion believes in a God
who created the universe. A being who is all powerful. This is plausible. Many religous scientists will look at facts from nature and tie them into proof for a creator, and many of the points can be
used as such in a valid way. However, when push comes to shove, There holy book will have the final say. There facts nature is providing do not contradict a creator, but they do contradict some of the facts in their holy book. This tells me that the ultimate core beliefs which
form an image of 'their' god are irrational. This is not to say that god doesn't exist. A supreme being is by definition above all OPINIONS and the WORDS of EXPERTS written in some book. God will not stand or fall by being contained completely within some book, an IDOL.
If god created the universe, you should be able to learn of HIM from the universe. HE is the universe.As far as atheistic evolution is concerned, it seems very improbable to me. Entropy being the biggest stumbling block. If I am to believe that a person has a solid faith in evolution, I need something demostrated. If a soceity asserts a belief in atheistic evolution they cannot continue building gravestones and and Constructing lasting Momentos for themselves so future generations will remember them. Atheistic Evolution teaches that death is the natural end. We'll, if it really is, we should not be decieving ourselves by pretending that gravestones and pictures of a loved one somehow keeps them alive. OUR memory of them may be kept alive, the the momument does nothing to keep the INDIVIDUAL himself alive. All his thoughts, his hopes, his experience, are ANNILIATED. So as long as we build momuments and carry on the family name, I will believe that the majority of people still believe in life after death. You can't have it both ways.[This message has been edited by Cman, 03-31-2004]

I do not know why all living things eventually die, I only known from common experience that it appears that they do. Besides which in regards to my question, it's totally irrelevant. What I was asking is,why do people who believe in physical death, that is when you're body dies "you' yourself are annialated, continue to erect gravestones in cemeteries and build lasting memorials. Simple question.

"Furthermore, don't you think that if one believed that death was the ultimate end, they'd have all the more reason to erect rememberances of those who'd gone before?"No I don't. Think about it. How does a gravestone keep a person alive? Why not just remember them without a momument? A person who does this believes a momument and the deceased are somehow connected.
The momument serves the purpose of deluding the rememberer into thinking that his loved one will last forever. Because a monument is a fixed external idol. If you were to say, I don't believe in life after death, but I want to remember my loved ones, that's fine. However, a monument is not required to do this. It serves another purpose. When you lose someone you love, you don't need a slab of stone to remember them. The fact that you loved them is sufficient to accomplish this. When I want to think about my deceased grandmother, I don't need to go to a special spot to remember her, but it might comfort a person to know that a lasting momument for her exists. Why? People generally don't like using logic in the subjective.You also asked why religous people erect monuments when they 'know'
they're going to see their loved ones again. That's a good question.
I can only conclude that they don't really believe they will. Sounds strange doesn't it? They don't really believe in life after death, but pseudo life after death. They're vision of immortality is based in people. Since all religions of today have emotional foundations, where 'truth' is learned from powerful authorities, their vision of life after death will be wrong, whether there is life after death or not. I don't think religion really BELIEVES in life after death. Rather, it HOPES.