Church of the Truest Religion

"It says Bridget of Kildare gave away all her moms butter and it magically reappeared. Am I expected to believe that?"

Yes, probably. Tho I wouldn't know what people hundreds of years ago really expect of you. Let's talk about Tests of Belief. Religions are often filled with them. A true believer is often distinguished by fullheartedly believing even the deep tests of belief. Did Krishna really move the mountain? Does the shrine really have the spirit attached? In the case of the shrine, belief in the spirit may enable further religious actions, some of which may be healthy. Belief in Krishna's story may boost belief in Krishna's divine power and resultant effects. But does religion NEED tests of belief?

What if a religion was based on neuroscience and incorporated dreams, subconscious communication, and the like? What if all the prescribed actions were based on logical reasons? It could resemble the practices of religions but without the tests of belief. Also, keep in mind that the concept, in your mind, of Bridgid of Kildare is now linked strongly to butter and, should neurons for butter be activated, so too will neurons for Bridgid (and vice versa). So there are more effects from divine stories than that stemming from whether the test of belief is passed (and by how much). You can also NOT believe the Bridgid story yet, through your words like here, continue spreading the story anyway.

So, in answer to your question, I would say whether you believe the story is not the important part of the story. You could. You could not. But the spiritual path is for shaping of the individual and this goal can be accomplished whether you believe the event true or not. At some point, you may have the option to give something to someone, think of Bridgid and the butter, and perhaps the triggered thought of Bridgid will have meaning. At that point, does it matter whether you believed it to be a historical event or not?

What makes a temple a sacred place?

You do.

It's you who considers a place sacred and communicates it through your actions and treatment of. When I treat my puppy as a sacred being, they are. When you treat your home as a sacred place, it is.

Because we want high quality divine output here, this temple is a sacred place. It is possible to have everywhere one is be a sacred place. It is possible to close your eyes, listen to music, and be in a sacred place; wherever you are.

Humans are often tainted by distant forces so this is about other beings... but when you make certain a sacred stream in your forest is the sacred stream, the birds will interact with it similarly, as will the other local beings. They will be respectful of the beautiful stone paths you make and what you weave in to the trees. They have no media corrupting them. Sometimes they see the emotional irreverence of distant humans; and that just makes them value your sacred stream the more. They are here and now and, for them, the world is a very small place, with you and the sacred stream a very powerful part of it. When you show, through your treatment that you are interacting with somethingsomewhere sacred, there need be no words. this communication trandscends species. Remember when birds leave shiny things in your path: you are making the sacred place for all of you.

So, is there possibility of including humans in a sacred place? Yes. But, for all but the most enlightened humans, it must be specifically delineated as 'Sacred'. Hence a Temple. Hence a Temple being sacred.

"I prayed for something and it happened. How does that work?"

Then you are one of those blessed with a reality in which fate may blatantly weave events. The more accepting you are of divine predetermination, the more it may permeate your reality. You don't need an explanation or functional model as much as acceptance. You could even believe in no predetermination and instead that deity(s) actively dictate events on the spot. Whatever your reason, or lack therof, divine occurences are acceptable in your reality. Your path is one of magic.

"So should I pray more?"

That is up to intricacies of your belief system. If your divinity involves belief in your subconscious, based on neurons, being involved, then yes prayer does activate neurons and is known to do so in an unusual hemisphere in an unusual place. So prayer IS something special. You could attribute many concepts to a prayer and subconsciously trigger the linked concepts upon praying the prayer regularly. Mantras such as Am Mani Padme Hum function similarly. These are healthy continuous prayers.

As far as praying for a specific thing and it happening, are you placing something into reality for reality to align to? Are you praying to an entity(s)? How vague can you be? Is divine love for your guiding force(s) appreciated? Prayer is a big world and alot of it is dependent on you. Should prayer be part of your spiritual path, it is a journey tailored to you for you to explore. Any external telling of 'how it works' is only a sharing of what that entity learned from their own journey; and only relavent to you if you wish for it to be.

Did/does Jesus exist and is the bible true?

That depends on you. If you are a good person whos actions result in good to our shared world should I help empower your strength of belief in Jesus... Then yes, Jesus very exists just as described and even more powerfully. But if you would use strengthened belief for overall harm, then no.