When people share what they believe, sometimes we don’t fully listen because we assume that they’re just repeating what they’ve been told. We think people just follow whatever religion they’re born into, and that assumption keeps us from considering whether what they believe might be true.

After all, if you were born in Saudi Arabia, isn’t it likely that you’d be a Muslim? If you were born in India, there’s a great chance that you’d be Hindu. If your parents are Jewish, you’re probably going to be Jewish too.

Is that how we should understand religion? When Christians say they’ve found “the truth,” are they just affirming what their family, geography, or upbringing conditioned them to believe?

Are beliefs conditioned rather than chosen? I think for many people we’d say yes. For some Catholics, attending midnight mass on Christmas Eve is similar to a Japanese person visiting a Shinto Shrine on New Year’s Day or a Jewish parent circumcising their son. It’s a religious tradition that’s deeply ingrained in their family, their culture, and their psyche. But faith in the Bible is more than that.

1. People have left their religion for Christ since the beginning

It’s hard to deny that our culture shapes us. We inherit assumptions and are raised in traditions. But people change their minds and adopt new beliefs all the time. In areas of faith, we call this conversion, and it’s surprisingly common.

Abraham originally worshipped a collection of gods, just as his father and his grandfather had done before him (Joshua 24:2), but he came to believe that there was only one true God who was worthy of worship. Rahab was in a life of prostitution and was committed to Canaanite religion when she turned to the God of Israel (James 2:25; Joshua 2:8-9). Ruth was raised in Moabite religion but put her trust in the God of the Bible even though it came at a great cost. And the apostle Paul was a devout Jew who converted to the Christian faith he had tried to wipe out (Philippians 3:4-8).

Conversion is a reality throughout the Bible.

2. We’re shaped by our culture—but not trapped by it

Not only do we see conversions in the Bible, but conversions across ethnic and religious lines have been a powerful feature of history for the last two thousand years. Christianity began in Jerusalem and was almost exclusively Jewish. But it quickly spread to Greeks and Romans. Rome and Alexandria became the new centres of Christianity, but it continued to spread. In the 20th century, Africa and South America became the new centres of Christian faith. People who had previously known various indigenous religions became convinced that Jesus is the Saviour of the world and gave their lives to Him. More recently, Christianity has witnessed the greatest growth in Asia, and it may not be long before there are more Christians in China than in any other country in the world—and that despite tight government measures to control its spread and prevent its growth.

3. God is still calling people to Himself today

Nobody accuses atheists who have been raised in atheist homes of not thinking for themselves. And yet that same claim is levelled against Christians. The truth is, most of us can point to ways that we’ve sifted through what we were taught, embracing some things and rejecting others.

According to the Bible, however, our home has more of an impact than we might think, and God has a hand in that. Acts 17:26-27 says:

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him.

God has placed you where you are so that you might seek Him and find Him. Amidst all of the conflicting views of what’s true and what God’s like, there’s a personal and all-powerful God working in your circumstances to draw you to Himself. Knowing your personality and your tendencies, He’s placed you in the country and family and relationships that would give you the best opportunity to know Him. In love, He stacked the deck to help you find Him.

You didn’t choose your birthplace, your family, or the traditions you grew up with. But you can choose what to believe now. Faith in Christ is never just a cultural inheritance—it’s an act of personal trust. If the God of the Bible is real, He’s not waiting for you to stumble across Him by chance. He’s already been at work—placing you, preparing you, and inviting you to Himself.

In awe of Him,

Paul