Zoom Rabbit Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 Well, here we are at the official Deleted *alternative religion* thread. This is where you get to say what you consider yourself to be in religious terms, whether it be atheist, ambivalent to it all, or a card-carrying believer in the Little People. No Klingons, though. They slew their gods--end of story. Religious discussions are notorious for becoming flame wars on the forums. However, they can be kept peaceful if the participants follow two simple rules: 1. Respect each other's opinions. 2. Be courteous. Now then. That means that when Billy the punk cyberterrorist blunders into the thread and says he believes in Satan, and that all the rest of us will be sacrificed to him...we simply shrug and say 'Whatever.' Everyone can believe whatever they want, even if it's nonsense. I've seen discussions of this type go well for the most part. We're all old enough to have a civil discussion on a bulletin board about this subject, I think. And if anyone isn't civil...well, see the *Heads taken* sidebar under my avatar? Enough said. Okay. As I said in Groovster's thread, I would classify myself as a 'secular christian mystic samurai.' Naturally, my beliefs don't entirely fall into one standard classification (having developed them myself over my lifetime as opposed to merely accepting a doctrine at face value,) so I've chosen four of them which highlight key points of my worldview. Secular: I see the atheist's point of view. I don't believe the universe is being run by a little man in a room somewhere. My thoughts on this are discussed more fully in the following sutra. Christian: My upbringing, where I come from...and the philosophy that I've found the most useful in my spiritual life. As a christian, though, I'm even more of a heretic than Martin Luther was. Mystic: I talk with God. You are free to think I'm utterly bonkers on this point. Samurai: I appreciate and value buddhist thought as much as christian, and don't find them in conflict. My soul is that of a warrior, and so I choose the samurai legacy to integrate into my life. I also find zen extremely useful, which had a shared history with the samurai. I suppose from someone else's point of view, I am a man of conflicting viewpoints. This is only because I'm using the standard words of others; the truth between secular and atheist is somewhere in between, and so I call upon both to resolve the mind upon my intended viewpoint. Further clarification is described in the following sutra (an inspired writing.) The Three Atheists Sutra Thus have I heard-- Once, a gentle hippy sat mediatating in the park. In the warm, springtime sun he basked alone for most of the morning, until three people interrupted his quiet solitude. A child, a young man and an old man stood before the hippy. They were together, and the child wanted to know what he was doing, sitting cross-legged on the grass with his eyes closed on such a lovely day. The hippy smiled. 'I'm meditating. That's a big word that means a lot of things to a lot of different people...but to me it means I'm trying to find God.' 'God.' The boy was skeptical. 'I'm not so sure I believe in God.' 'Why not?' said the hippy. 'I just don't think one guy made everything, that's all.' 'I don't think so either,' he winked. 'I don't think he was a guy, person, or even a being.' The child was confused by this. Now the younger man said, 'I'm afraid I don't believe in God, either, mister. Never mind what He was, how could any God create a world with so much suffering in it?' The hippy held up a finger and said gently, 'Grow up. The choice made on your behalf by God was not between pleasure and suffering, but between existance or nonexistance.' The younger man looked to the child and shrugged. Now it was the older man's turn to speak. 'I respect what you believe, but I must say that I really don't believe in a God myself.' 'Oh? Why is that?' 'I just don't think that any thing, mind or idea we might have of a God can actually be that thing. A thing that is by nature infinite cannot be a thing. The logic just doesn't work.' 'There is one thing that can be infinite,' smiled the hippy, 'and you are almost certain to misunderstand what I say here: it is no thing. As nonexistance, a totality without observer, no thing is that prerequesite for the existance of any thing which lies continuously behind the entire universe.' 'Huh?' grunted the older man. 'What the hell does that mean?' 'Beats me,' said the hippy. 'I almost had it all figured out when you guys interrupted me, and I lost my place. Now I have to start all over again...' The moral of this story: don't talk to hippies in the park. Om! Peace. So. What does everyone else consider themselves? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptdc Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 Originally posted by Zoom Rabbit Everyone can believe whatever they want, even if it's nonsense. Nonsense in this case is a matter of opinion, but of course I know I'm right. I'm athiest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shivermetimbers Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 I'm not really anything. Just kind of the, be a good person more or less and everything will be ok. Works pretty well. Except that I am sometimes very evil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernil Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 I'sa one of dem Lutheran kids. I believe in God. That's...basically it. See: Church for more details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Jones Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 i see religion as a kind of guide through/for life and for me that's a point where is no difference between religions. it's like languages are doing the same but are more or less different. so definition and interpretation mainly make out the difference between several religions/beliefs/whatsitcalled .. and i see the limitations coming with language, no matter how 'complex' they or the constructs out of it are. here i draw an analogy to religion too. no matter what it says, it never says enough. although i am a big "what/how/why-question", i dont need answers or proofs for everything. so i dont need a religion that 'answers' or 'proofs' everything. my guide through life is life itself. and on my way through life i find the answers/proofs i want the way i want. for me there is no "meaning of life". life just happens. it's a normal thing in what i call "reality". so religion is just not what i need. and i usually dont take what i dont need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reaper Girl Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 Originally posted by Zoom Rabbit The moral of this story: don't talk to hippies in the park. I figured that out on my own . I don't know WHAT I'm supposed to be. I learned about this a few summers ago. I have found it very useful for reflection and getting in touch with...um...am I scaring you yet? But I go here . And I was baptized, communionized, and confrimed. They teach us that there is only one God, and that practicing this in anyway, shape, or form for any reason is deliberatly going against God. So is divintation, so...I'm being bad . x10 ah, well. There's my two cents. If you wanna flame me for it, talk to my good friend here. PS...I refuse to be classified! (I marked "other" on my PSAT form! Power to the wierdos!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoom Rabbit Posted January 19, 2004 Author Share Posted January 19, 2004 Orca: I've studied the occult as well, and don't see where it conflicts with what religions are talking about. Wherever I see prohibition against *magick* I also see the meddling hands of humans getting into the mix. Religious doctrine in the east, for example, studies these matters more openly... Ray: Interesting. I, too, think of religions as languages. For example, I could say 'black,' 'noir,' 'negro,' or 'schwarz'...but really, I'm only talking about one color. Consequently, I could say either 'trinity,' 'trimurti,' 'sambon' or the 'three precious ones,' but really what I'm talking about is one thing. Okay, three things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Groovy Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 What do you sing in a church that worships corn? "A Maise-ing Grace"? *runs out of the room dodging tomatoes, eggs, and various projectiles* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamNMax Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 I don't like to talk about my religoin much, since I always get yelled at by other people, saying that I'm wrong. I pretty much ride the same train as Shivermetimbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Jones Posted January 19, 2004 Share Posted January 19, 2004 Originally posted by Zoom Rabbit Ray: Interesting. I, too, think of religions as languages. For example, I could say 'black,' 'noir,' 'negro,' or 'schwarz'...but really, I'm only talking about one color. Consequently, I could say either 'trinity,' 'trimurti,' 'sambon' or the 'three precious ones,' but really what I'm talking about is one thing. and here's the limitation: speaking of the color black (no matter which language) we're using our knowledge and experiences concerning color and black. basicly those will be the same because basicly we have similar experiences with "colors" and "black". so we can say language needs existing information to produce more information. .. speaking of trinity reminds me immediatly of that guy on the left in my sig pic. you would have to explain your meaning for it to me. BUT.. it'll always be that guy for me. i'll just gain another load of knowledge somehow connected to "ahh. zoom talks about trinity again!" to start at level 1.. HOW would you explain the color black to me? you would have to explain "color" first. or not? and i dont mean that we find a translation or physical/ whatever description for it. that is the point where 'languages' dont work. everything that's build upon languages wont work here. can there be communication without a language? would there be a color "black" without a color "black"? what would black be without being "black"? what would "black" look like if it would be "white"? so what's basicly trinity? what are you talking about. that one guy in my sig pic? .. and at the end, isnt atheism just another religion? and after all isnt what you may call 'god' just what i may call the 'blahblahblah-phenomenon'? doesnt it all just depends to a certain level and combination of knowledge and experience? doesnt that all just result in a big 'theory' that some call "faith" others "theory" but all 'believe' in it somehow and for certain reasons? what am i talking about? questions? or that one guy in my sig pic? and is that groovy who slept in while running out the door? samnmax: is being wrong wrong? or just not right or right yet? and is being right right, or just not wrong or wrong yet?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guybrush122 Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 I am a punk cyber terrorist. I believe in satan. You will all be sacrificed to him. I also enjoy eating toast and listening to Celine Dion. Heh, right. Used to be athiest (I'm an angry child), but now I'm agnostic: don't know if there's a God. Not really sure. I'm just gonna live by my own moral standards, and hope that, if there is a God, it's good enough for him or her. I like to think that God (if he or she exists) wouldn't condem us to an eternity of torment, insomnia, burning, and torture because we, say, didn't know the right religion to believe in. Or perhaps, stole some panties from K-Mart (ahem), or coveted something of our neighbors (and/or corespondents...heh). *smells the fresh air* ...nice day to run into walls. *bang* Ah, wall, I've missed you so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Jones Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 panties? k-mart? *runs* .... *hits guybrush122 and slams him against the wall* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guybrush122 Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 *tsk tsk tsk* Ray...you forgot to get naked and cry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Jones Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 *location: kmart* .. *ray, naked and crying, jumps into a pile-o-pantees* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guybrush122 Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Oooh, good use of the ™ ! Hmmm...but what of the wall? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Jones Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 over at the wall-mart,... pile-o-tapestries..... .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinkie Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Ve are here to view the tapestries, this is a castle is it not? There are tapestries? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alia Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Late, as usual. I'm a Lutheran. *hits tapestry-covered wall* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reaper Girl Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 GUYBRUSH! (you're back!) *attempts to hug* GET BACK HERE! Hey...wait...isn't this about religions This is where free Theology discussion oft goes anyway, so... *slams Guybrush into tapestry-covered wall* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshi Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Hindu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acrylic Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 Roman Catholic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muskawo Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 I would consider myself to be Christian, but I don't really relate to most chirstians I know very well at all. I used to go to church and I went to a christian school, but most "full on" christians I meet are very judgemental and have no sense of humour about the world. I believe in a higher power... and the christian beliefs are pretty close to what I beleive in most of the time. Most Christians wouldn't call me one though, I don't think. Basically, I've been in some tight situations before... and it just couldn't have been luck or coincedence that got me through.That's why I believe in God. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinkie Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 Oh, and I'm Methodist, in your face! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guybrush122 Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Originally posted by Orca Wail GUYBRUSH! (you're back!) *attempts to hug* GET BACK HERE! Woohoo! I was missed! I feel so significant.... Furthermore... *slams Guybrush into tapestry-covered wall* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reaper Girl Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Whaa? Whats with that face?...YOU PERV!!!!! *calls on secret hidden smelly undead army* ATTACK! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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