Guy P Harrison's 50 reasons people give for believing in a god, part I

This was the book I began "the quest" with.  Sure, at first, I went to my (wonderful) local library, checked out some Bertrand Russel, CS Lewis, anything having to do with reasons for belief and non-belief.  But after seeing someone's recommendation of this book somewhere out in the blogosphere and looking into it on amazon, I returned my overwhelming heap of books and traded it in for this one.  I thought it would be a great way to tour the defenses people make for belief in their god, and Harrison's commentary on why these rationalizations fall short.  I usually read one or two reasons each morning.  In fact, it became my replacement for the morning "quiet time," which is kind of ironic.  I do recommend the book, for both believers and nonbelievers.  Harrison is, like so many other people, a friendly atheist.  He's not out to attack any religious people.  I heard him say in an interview that his intention in writing this was to make believers think through their belief, evaluate it, and question it.  As an atheist, his belief is that religion is harmful and his hope is that more people become free from religion, but he's not disrespectful toward religious people, nor is he forceful in trying to persuade readers.  His academic background is in history and anthropology and he has traveled extensively asking people why they believe in the god(s) they believe in.  In this book, he presents the top 50 answers he received, then politely uses data and logic to point out the weaknesses in many people's arguments for belief in their god.  

Many of the reasons fall into the following categories: a. the earth is so complex and beautiful that there has to be a creator, b. My faith is a good thing and it gives me great joy, c. My religious text, stories of miracles, and believers' testimonies proves that my god is real, d. I'm afraid of what would happen to me if I didn't believe (rejection among family and friends, sadness, and also the fear that if God is real I will go to hell for leaving him).  What's funny about all of the reasons people across the globe list in defense of their god(s) is that they vary little.  Hindus claim that it's obvious that their gods exist.  Muslims say their texts are sacred and prove the existence of Allah.  Christians say the comfort they feel when they pray proves the existence of their God.  The reasons believers give are pretty universal, yet the arguments are being made for completely conflicting deities, which makes it hard to believe any of the believers. 

I'm just posting the first 25 reasons Harrison heard most often for now, then in a few days I'll put up the second 25. I've bold-faced the ones that resonated with me the most when I was definitely a believer and added any thoughts of my own in italics.  Which ones do you think are valid?  Which ones do you think are flimsy?

1. My god is obvious.
2. Almost everybody on earth is religious.
3. Faith is a good thing.  I wanted very badly to believe this, but I had read about all the wars, all of the corrupt missionaries who invaded countries generations ago more greedy and power-hungry than caring about the fate of souls.
4. Archaeological discoveries prove that my god exists. They may prove that religions existed, but god?  No.
5. Only my god can make me feel significant.  My mom has asked me what I find purpose and significance in now and I've  reassured her that with or without belief in a deity, there is much right here on earth to take pleasure in.  Also much work to be done, if you're needing a sense of purpose.
6. Atheism is just another religion.
7. Evolution is bad.
8. Our world is too beautiful to be an accident.  I still have much to learn about evolution, but I have opened my mind up to it more over the last several months and I now see how beautiful it is.  It is the dynamic conclusion that generations of people committing their lives to uncovering cosmological and biological truths have very carefully reached.  In truth, there is beauty.  I really like this Carl Sagan quote on our use of Science: 
There is no other species on the Earth that does science. It is, so far, entirely a human invention, evolved by natural selection in the cerebral cortex for one simple reason: it works. It is not perfect. It can be misused. It is only a tool. But it is by far the best tool we have, self-correcting, ongoing, applicable to everything. It has two rules. First: there are no sacred truths; all assumptions must be critically examined; arguments from authority are worthless.  Second: whatever is inconsistent with the facts must be discarded or revised. We must understand the Cosmos as it is and not confuse how it is with how we wish it to be.
It's hard to open your heart to cosmological truths when you aren't allowed to accept certain findings.  
9. My god created the universe.
10. Believing in my god makes me happy.  I loved being a Christian.  I loved going to church.  I loved (and still love) my Christian friends.  I loved singing the songs.  I liked the way I felt after reading my Bible.  The peace I felt when praying.  But none of those statements indicate that any of it's true. 
11. Better safe than sorry.
12. A sacred book proves my god is real.
13. Divine justice proves my god is real. 
14. My god answers prayers.  The more I look back on this one, I theorize that by praying, we make ourselves conscious of what we need to change in our personal lives, then are more likely driven to help God help ourselves, resulting in results that appear to be from God, but are really just us.  Those bigger, completely out of control prayers we lift up with all of the desperation in the world, they appear to be a roll of the dice.  The funny thing is that the Biblical God cannot be manipulated.  It's his will that is to be done; not ours.  Because of that caveat, when even the most selfless of prayers go unanswered, you are not allowed to blame God.  You have to trust that his ways are best.  But from an outside perspective, it seems that prayer, though it may comfort you and make you feel a little bit in control, is ineffective.
15. I would rather worship my god than the devil.
16. My god heals sick people.
17. Anything is better than being an atheist.
18. My god made the human body.
19. My god sacrificed his only son for me.
20. Atheists are jerks who think they know everything.
21. I don't lose anything by believing in my god.
22. I didn't come from a monkey.
23. I don't want to go to hell. 
24. I feel my god when I pray.  I always had a hard time feeling the presence of God.  I may go into detail sometime on when I was sure I did, but looking back on some of those experiences, I think it had much more to do with my environment and my fervent desire to feel his presence. 
25. I need my god to protect me.