Once, my mom sent me to the store to get eggs, as she needed them to bake a cake—or that is what she told me. I have since learned that you can bake a cake without eggs, but I'm not sure that it would come close to tasting as good as my mom’s. I do know that there is no replacement for faith in being a child of God.
Hebrews 11:6 (ESV)
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.