Posted by Gremlin [12.255.181.7 - 12-255-181-7.client.attbi.com] on 12 July 2002 at 02.13.52 ZuluTime:

In Reply to: standardization remains to be seen posted by Andy on 12 July 2002 at 01.52.29 ZuluTime:

To believe is to pretend, for yourself, that a given thing is true, despite a lack of evidence for, or the existence of evidence against it. To assert is to state any given declaration, regardless its validity; the secondary factor to assertions is whether they're unfounded or baseless; if no evidence exists to support an assertion--that the universe is the creation of the Invisible Pink Unicorn--it's disregarded as a mistake, lie, psychosis, or whatever; if an assertion is supported by evidence, then it becomes something more useful.
     The real difference is that a belief doesn't have to be spoken. You can believe whatever you like, and we'll never know about it, until you assert that it's true.

Regarding christianity, I'll go ahead and disregard that for the moment. If you're starting from a pantheistic stance and working your way toward Yhvh being an existing deity, I'll wait to see how you came to that conclusion before arguing any minutia here.