It has to be. You can't believe something and at the same time not believe the same something. There has to an instant when the one state of mind changes to the other.
If a belief can be engendered by simply choosing to have it, then thick air/evidence is not necessary - prudent in some cases maybe - but not necessary.
How do you know when you have enough evidence? And what is the state of your mind at that moment with regard to the issue at hand?
If you know the truth about something it's too late to choose to believe it because you alredy do.
Not to get drawn into your revolving circle of definitions, but...
You’re assuming that belief is a binary switch that flips in a single instant. But Scripture never defines belief as an instantaneous mental event. It defines belief as assent to truth when confronted with it. The moment of assent may be brief, but the process is not a magical flip, it’s the mind responding to truth.
You also keep assuming that choosing to believe means “creating conviction out of thin air.” That isn’t what anyone is claiming. Belief responds to truth, evidence, testimony, and the illumination of the Spirit. Choosing to believe simply means choosing to accept truth when it is presented, not inventing truth where none exists.
As for “how much evidence” is needed, that varies by person and by issue. But the state of mind at the moment of belief is simple: the person accepts the truth of the matter. That acceptance is the act of belief. It isn’t a performance, and it isn’t instantaneous imagination, it’s assent.
And again, no one can choose to believe in leprechauns because there is no truth to respond to. Belief responds to truth, not fantasy.
What goalpost has been changed?
How does scripture define it? I define it as a conviction that someone or something does or doesn't exist or that a certain proposition is or isn't true.
You’re asking what goalpost changed. You shifted from asking for a demonstration of choosing belief to asking for a definition of belief itself. Those are not the same question.
As for how Scripture defines belief: It does so consistently, it presents belief as
assent to truth when confronted with it. Abraham “believed God.” The Samaritans “believed His word.” The jailer “believed on the Lord Jesus Christ.” In every case, belief is accepting the truth of what God has said. It is not defined as an instantaneous mental flip, nor as conjuring conviction out of thin air.
Your definition, “a conviction that something is or isn’t true”, is fine as far as it goes, but it doesn’t address the question you originally asked. The issue isn’t the definition of belief; the issue is whether a person can accept truth when it is presented. Scripture says they can, and it commands them to do so.
