Emperor Devon Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 What is your religion, or opinion about it? I'm curious as to other people's opinions about religion who don't in the U.S. I, myself, am a hardcore Atheist. I don not believe in any sort of god. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90SK Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 *sniff* I smell a hot thread. Lets try to keep it from bursting into flame. Religion is a very touchy subject. People are prone to violence when subjected to religious criticism. That’s why we have so many wars and terrorists these days... Ultimately, it seems that while religion is a wonderful thing: it causes so much pain. A strange parody, if you ask me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drazin Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 I am a Christian. I do not neccesarily have a denomination, but I guess I could be catagorized as a Baptist or Wesleyan. I do not really believe in organized religion, going to church and such. I live my life the way Christ would want me to as best I can. I try to be tolerant and compassionate. I don't drink alcohol to any extent. I may have a beer or mixed drink on occasion but not to the point of being drunk. I had a couple glasses of wine tonight while celebrating Passover as a matter of fact. I don't even sleep around anymore. Which kinda sucks, but I've had more than my share and I felt it was time to be a little more responsible. As for what I think of religions... I think they are a good thing. Some religious people can get a little too carried away and become zealots. Which causes more harm than good. Not to start a huge argument, but I refuse to believe in the cause of someones religion when they car bomb innocent people or take school kids hostage just to prove their point. Religion should honestly be embraced by the government. People that believe in an afterlife attained through good stewardship to their god tend to be less likely to break serious laws. If you were a true athiest then what prevents you from doing whatever you want whenever you want? Human law could not keep you in check, that much is certain. If I knew outright that when I am dead, I am dead... I'd live like there is no tomorrow. Ironic as it may be, I would do anything I wanted to on a whim. Experience everything regardless of some man made law saying I shouldnt. Religion is also a good way to build strong communities that help each other instead of trampling over one another to further your own goals. And believe it or not, but Star Wars itself was based on religion. I think George Lucas said that in an interview about Episode 1 or 2. That the Force is like God. And through faith and belief in the force you can work miracles. That the force is part of everyone, whether they embrace it or not. And like all things there is a good side and bad side of it. I know that is not word for word what he said but it was the general Idea that I took from the interview. Just as there are Christians, there are diametric opposites in Satan worshippers, Wiccans, Whatever. Its a balance that perpetuates life. Anyways, I know there are alot of religions out there and some of them I find really odd and absurd. But most believe in the same core fundamentals. So, in closing I think Religion is like everything else. Its a wonderful thing until it gets taken to extremes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChAiNz.2da Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 Normally, I'd avoid a thread like this like a disease, and I probably won't be here again... I'm not an atheist, nor a practicing "anything".. to be honest, religion has always been more of a curiosity to me than anything... BUT, before the wrong idea gets spread around about atheism & agnosticism (which curiously I seem to fall in said "category" *sigh* ) I'd ask you read this before equivalating atheism/agnosticism and such as being "evil"... http://www.infidels.org/news/atheism/intro.html As stated by C. Skye, this topic seems to start out innocently... but man my senses are tingling with that "feeling"... Blasting one's country (yet another dismal thread ) is ALOT different than blasting someone's way of belief and thinking... Please tread carefully in this thread... ps. this wasn't directed towards you Drazin, this is a pre-emptive response to the 'typical' statements that a topic like this is bound to surface.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingerhs Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 don't get me wrong, i probably sound like a bigot when i say what i'm about to say. i'm actually quite open-minded on most things, and my political views are for the most part quite seperate from my religious views, with one or two exceptions. anyway, with the warning tag out of the way, here it goes: I believe that the Bible is the Word of God. There is no second guessing, and there is no substitutes. I believe that Jesus the Christ is the Son of God and died and rose again for all of humanity approx. 2000 years ago. I guess this means you can call me a 'christian', but that title has since been scarred by other so-called 'christians'. Therefore, I simply refer to myself as a Disciple of Christ. I am one of those people that listen to nothing but Christian music, but I can still headbang and mosh with the best of them. Call it a contradiction, but its true. I believe that most of the world religions have very good intentions, and some of their teachings are even agreeable to an extent. However, I also believe that those religions are based on the fallible knowledge of man. Only one 'religion' is based on the infallible knowledge of the most supreme being. This supreme being has his words laid out in a book called the Bible, and those are the words I choose to follow. Thus, I prefer to simplify its meaning to the truth. As for denominations and other crap that heavily divide Christianity: grow up and read the Word. God laid everything out in the Bible, so read it and pay attention to it. You'll find that your conclusions aren't very different from everyone else's that read the same Word. As for my beliefs affecting politics: we need to keep it out of politics. Sure, some of the ideals are good like banning murder, stealing, and the like. However, the government is not God's government. There is nothing anywhere that gives us the right to force our views on everyone else. All this anit-gay marriage is a bunch of crap. The US isn't entirely Christian, so why do we bother trying to force it on all of them? I do, however, believe in the value of life, which is a concept that is universal to most accepted religions. whew, that was long rant. but sometimes things need a long explaination. if you care to question my beliefs, use the pm system. i don't wish to clutter this thread with open debate. i merely posted my beliefs, which is what the thread title asks for. lets keep debating to a minimum please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenocidal Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 Im officially a proud atheist (i used to be agnostic but now im not). I believe that religion is a double edged sword, but im tolerant as long as some person comes along and tells me to believe in a god or divine presence (and one time a lunatic kicked me because she said 'Christians are better than other people', to which i informed her that Albert Einstein was Jewish). The real problem with religion is not their ideals, but rather that they think that other religions are wrong. And then every religion has hipocrisy, like the holocaust (not hitlers (spits on the floor) holocaust, but the one that happened all throught the middle ages, because the Jews kill Christ, even tho Christ himself was Christian). And Drazin, what keeps me in line is the same thing that you would leave the line if you were an athiest. Thats the fact that if i had a killing spree is that id be put in jail, and since i have 1 life i dont wanna spend it rotting in a cell. So just believe in who or what you want and let everyone else live in peace, and hating someone because of they're beliefs is just wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenocidal Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 Hey stingerhs, whats your opinion on Islam since they believe actually in your God with a new name, another prophet and other differences? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tk102 Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 Sexism, racism, flames, killing presidents, and now a religion thread. Must be haze the moderators week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenocidal Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 its haze the moderators eve actually Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingerhs Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 Originally posted by Xenocidal Hey stingerhs, whats your opinion on Islam since they believe actually in your God with a new name, another prophet and other differences? i respect them as much as i respect anyone else. i don't know their teachings very well, but i'll just quote something from my previous post:I believe that most of the world religions have very good intentions, and some of their teachings are even agreeable to an extent. However, I also believe that those religions are based on the fallible knowledge of man. Only one 'religion' is based on the infallible knowledge of the most supreme being. This supreme being has his words laid out in a book called the Bible, and those are the words I choose to follow. Thus, I prefer to simplify its meaning to the truth. i realize that they believe in my God, but only one of our texts is his Word. otherwise, i have no other comments on Islam due to my lack of knowledge on that religion. edit: and tk, this was bound to happen. just look on the brightside: you can get a good work out with your fingers for something other than code. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedHawke Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 Originally posted by tk102 Sexism, racism, flames, killing presidents, and now a religion thread. Must be haze the moderators week. Agreed tk! Why do people post threads with questions like this? They are nothing but potential flame-bait. I'm sensing this one will end up as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Saturnine Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 I am an atheist, and I despise most of the religions, since they are nothing more than a form of self-deception, and a tool to control the gullible and weak minded. They also damage the intellect, and are especially harmful to small children, not to forget that they have severely slowed down the development of technology. However I tolerate the existence of religious people, as long as they keep their mouth shut, and honour the way of life and choices of others. They have no right to tell others what is right or wrong, but sadly there are always zealots who do not understand this, and when these zealots get a position of power, like George W. Bush has, they tend to cause lots of destruction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Source Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 I am a Christian with no religious intrest. Otherwords, I believe in the Christian way of life, but I do not believe that a religious sect can define my beliefs. As for people who are atheist, if people tell you that it's a bad choice to be atheist, then tell them they don't know what they are talking about. Religion is a difficult thing at times, and making any choice about: 1. Do I believe there is a creator?, 2. Does something greater than humanity exist?, 3. How can someone die for my sin?, is a very complex issue to decide if it is right for you. As a Christian, I was a Catholic between the ages of 1-19. At the moment I am in my upper 20s, and I have done alot of research. For the most part, I am having a hard time believing that my life was allready laid out for me. However, it is all subjective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hidden One Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 Well I was born Catholic and I'm living a Catholic life right now. I believe that created the world in 7 days and no "Big Bang" happened, but if it did, God must have created it. It's hard for someone that isn't Christian or any religion for that matter to believe but I have trust. But I would like to quote something I read out of a book: "I would rather live my life like there is a God than dying and figure out there isn't" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedi3112 Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 I only believe in science, so I don't think the earth was created by one man. Despite the big-ban theory not having been solidly proved, it is a highly possible theory, and there also isn't anything to undermine that theory. I also believe that mankind will cross unlimited borders, but that every border crossed will get you a new border (wich again can be crossed in time). I do think there is something mystycal out there, but I believe that it can be used by us. I don't mind people being religious, but I do mind them being blindly religious, like some of them that don't believe dino's ever walked the earth. I mean there is evidence of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emperor Devon Posted March 26, 2005 Author Share Posted March 26, 2005 Originally posted by The Hidden One Well I was born Catholic and I'm living a Catholic life right now. I believe that created the world in 7 days and no "Big Bang" happened, but if it did, God must have created it. It's hard for someone that isn't Christian or any religion for that matter to believe but I have trust. But I would like to quote something I read out of a book: "I would rather live my life like there is a God than dying and figure out there isn't" Okay... You think god created the world.... I have one question, though - what created god? Everything has a beginning. I apaologize if this may seem offensive, but I am an extreme Atheist and believe religion should not exist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingerhs Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 ^^^^ *sigh* does this mean that you posted this thread to question every person's religious beliefs?? you asked what our religious beliefs were, you didn't say anything about attacking them directly. if you were interested in everyone's beliefs, thats fine. questioning them to promote your own belief system is something else entirely. and to answer your question: according to the Bible, God is the beginning and the end. in other words, there is no real beginning for God. the concept of time is a human concept. trying to place a beginning on God is trying to place God within a time-frame, and thats impossible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drazin Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 *edit* I'm done with this thread. We'll see who is right and who is not sooner or later. Only I think some of you have way too much to lose if you are wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90SK Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 ^^^ You had a fine point, Drazin. I'll have to agree with your edit though. Religion is touchy: it breeds conflict, and it is an unwise thing to probe. For the good of everyone, I feel this thread should be locked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tk102 Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 That was all the incentive I needed to close this thread... This, and a couple of other threads have been on suicide-watch for awhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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