sistant. If the person has also come to the conclusion that his will is "free" and not determined, then he will realize a commitment to this religion is necessary. From this point on, his choices will see his free time occupied with the stuff of the God and the religion he chose, seeking to prepare for the afterlife during this one.
Conversely, a person who has through the same investigation concluded there is no afterlife will spend his time in this life investing in what will bear a return in this life, whether career, education, or recreation. In fact, even if a person believes in God, such a belief may have no effect on his personal choices if that god is impersonal. C. S. Lewis, in Miracles , describes how people can believe in a God of beauty, truth, and goodness, and be happy, cordial, and unperturbed. But mention a God of miracles, a God Who Intervenes in people's lives with His own will, such as He did with Joseph of Nazareth, and people suddenly turn icy. Thus, not only whether a person believes in an afterlife, but what a person believes about the afterlife, will have an effect on that person's choices.
A belief in God centered on Jesus Christ as the perfect revelation of that God ("He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." ) will most strongly impact the individual and his choices for personal development. This is because belief in Jesus as Lord and acceptance of Him as Savior results in the Holy Spirit dwelling in him (1 Cor. 6:19.) This Holy Spirit will then guide that person according to perfect wisdom and knowledge. That person will then make perfect choices insofar as he listens to and aligns his choices with the will of God that the Holy Spirit reveals. One effect that the person can count on is that he will be led to testify to what God has done for him, and witness to the salvation that is through Jesus Christ. In this way, he will begin to change the world, much as the apostles did (Acts 17:6).
Thus,...