This misconception of non-belief

Misconception: Non-belief is a choice which can be reversed by wishing hard enough. 

This is patently false. Non-believers and atheists are simply not capable of flipping a switch and all of a sudden believing in god and heaven and miracles and all the rest of it. I can't FORCE myself to believe in something which doesn't make sense and for which there is no evidence. If I said I did believe, I would be lying to you and to myself. Don't cite examples of atheists who 'found chirst'. Please. Those people had an experience which they chose to attribute to Jesus rather than to what it was, a deeply moving experience which all humans are capable of and which had nothing to do with the god of Abraham or any other quasi-historical ancient superheroes.

What's more, you don't have information which is denied to me. By now it should be obvious that I have studied religion and faith and belief at great length, and thought about these things far more in depth than many of you have. I have read and heard every conceivable argument for faith, and none of it has caused me to think, 'that's it, that's the one, I believe!' I have studied the various religions at great length, more so than many 'believers' ever will because they don't want to read or think about anything which could shatter their faith, which I think is a cowardly way to go about living if you fall into that category.

The problem with faith is that you are brought up with these preconceived notions which fly in the face of everything we know about the nature of reality. If your starting point is the supernatural rather than the natural, it will lead and has led to copious amounts of confusion and nonsensical arguments. If you begin with myth, and hold it as true (probably because of childhood indoctrination, no matter how much or how little) you arrive at a terminal point of pseudo-intellectual chaos. If, however, your starting point is reality, using reason and logic, it will eventually become clear to you why the numinous is nothing more than wishful thinking and serves no purpose.