There is no rational path from deism to theism

So, my stance is that there is a rational path from deism to theism. In layman's terms, there is a logical way for people to choose specific religions, starting from atheism (no belief) to deism (there is a higher power) to theism (Specific higher power) My main contention is this: Some people have no choice about which god they choose. In many cases, at times before the child even realizes they could choose, a specific religion is drilled into their brains. The extreme examples would be those of the Middle East, where your basically 'this religion' or dead. Islam is a Jewish nation, just like Iraq is Muslim, and the majority of the West is Christian. Funny thing is, even though all three of these major religions technically worship the same God, they persist in arguing, many time violently, about who's right. But that's off the subject. The main point is that, even in America, children are forced (sometimes unwittingly) to believe their parents faith. So, in theory, this does follow your model. A baby is really an Atheist, because they don't believe in anything. True they really can't because they have no concept of what anything is anyway, but still. Once they grow older, their parents start to 'brainwash' them into believing their faith. They'll have the children go to Sunday School, have them watch Veggie Tales or Adventures in Odyssey, using the same tactics other children shows use to teach. This makes the child believe, in the simplest terms, that there is a god. Finally, once the child is able to freely think and process information, they learn EXACTLY what they believe in. For instance, in the Catholic faith, they believe in Purgatory (the semi-hell to make up for your sins until they've been paid for and then you can go to heaven) whereas Mormons think that there is only a certain amount of spots left in Heaven, and you best get your reservation in now. Others that follow a Calvinist approach 'know' that there is an elect, or that God's already chosen who will go to heaven or hell even before they're born and can live out their life. As ridiculous as some of these seem to us, others see them as perfectly logical, because they've been made to think it's right by their own upbringing. This is one path that causes so many to go into a specific theistic belief: parental upbringing. Now then, let us assume a child (our child) has not been brainwashed and has gone through their life as an unwitting atheist (they don't realize they are, they just are). This person will most likely have friends, the majority of which follows under the above category of religion zombies. Their usual main goal is to convert, something they will try once they realize our child is a 'non-believer'. They know them well enough to relate their teachings into the personal life of our child. They will first make their god seem appealing, and then use the scare tactics, the favorite of which is 'burning in hell'. One of these two, if they work, will cause our child to turn to that faith, either out of fear or jubilation. After they've accepted this god, is when they learn the specifics. This is sometimes incorporated into the conversion process. The conversion won't work, unless our child's personal stances agree with the churches. There are several Christian churches, as stated above, with individual beliefs. Do these mean they are what's right with god? No. God didn't form the moron church, Joseph Smith did. Supposedly, Jesus started the Catholic Church, the predominant church for hundreds of years, before Martin Luther broke off and started the first Protestant (meaning protest) church. Since then, members have broken off continually, forming their own churches that 'are right' because the believe it. They don't even have to base it off the bible, as they have been known to omit certain passages and even entire books of the bible to suit their needs. From there, it's just a matter of taking your own personal beliefs, and matching them to a church. If that fails they'll form their own, which can say literally anything about god and state it as fact. Conservatives have a habit of joining Evangelical churches, because they believe Gays are going to hell, God is Pro-America and supports the war, and so on. Another rationale: people chose the religion that suits them most, not necessarily which is 'right'. The same process follows for independent conversion. Meaning they aren't converted by another, but just feel this magical connection to god. These usually occur after a life threatening situation, or in the midst of 'hard times'. Again, the conversion to a specific diesis usually is dependent on how much of the churches stances already match their own. But this situation falls under the 'leaps of faith' that you wish to ignore. So really, it isn't about which religion is right, because we never will know, and never could. This 'rational convergence' into a specific religion is not based off of either right or wrong, but which suits the person at the time. So, this stepping stone path to religion as you describe at the end of your argument, happens all the time, most often unknowingly. That is how one 'rationally' chooses a religion: by force or personal preference. COUNTER ARGUMENT TIME!!!!!