anon789 125 Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 Ah, well, I more or less agree with that! x) Religion is very powerful (in good ways), and there's plenty of evidence to support that. Link to comment
aloo 66 Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 I am atheist. I try to tolerate religion and acknowledge that people are just as entitled to have their beliefs as I am to have mine, however, I also find myself becoming militantly atheist if I see people using religion to discriminate against others. A few examples can be elements of the Muslim faith treating women as inferior sub humans, and Christians discriminating against the LGBT community. Fortunately it is only a relatively small proportion of those groups who treat people badly, and provided you're not a jackass (for religious reasons or otherwise), I'll be only too happy to be your friend. I have many religious friends and have no issue with their beliefs. Aloo anon789 1 Link to comment
Big Boss 207 Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 I am LDS but I do also believe in some practices of Bushido but that's not a religion so I also follow military philosophers. Link to comment
KozmoFox 5,644 Posted March 2, 2016 👮 Moderator Share Posted March 2, 2016 A very interesting religion I have come across and studied as part of my studies is Jainism. They strive to kill no living thing, including microorganisms. They cannot live unassisted, because they need lay people to wash their food, boil their water, sweep the floors, etc. so the monks do not have to do anything that could potentially kill another living thing. Its oddly noble. eru 1 Link to comment
Bobby_DL 35 Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 A very interesting religion I have come across and studied as part of my studies is Jainism. They strive to kill no living thing, including microorganisms. They cannot live unassisted, because they need lay people to wash their food, boil their water, sweep the floors, etc. so the monks do not have to do anything that could potentially kill another living thing. Its oddly noble. I can't walk here because I might kill a microorganisms, so I let other sweep the floor and kill those blasted microorganisms for me -_- Link to comment
PuppyDog230 102 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 I can't walk here because I might kill a microorganisms, so I let other sweep the floor and kill those blasted microorganisms for me -_- Religion! Link to comment
NeuroNonsense 17 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 I can't walk here because I might kill a microorganisms, so I let other sweep the floor and kill those blasted microorganisms for me -_- Religion! Really, though, this concept feels like it's in pretty stark contrast to the perversion of more major religions. You won't have Crusades or suicide attacks in the name of... Not killing anything at all. lol Link to comment
Rubic13 145 Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 I'm a Jehovah's Witness, though not the kind you might think of, I consider myself an Olive Branch Witness. I believe most of the basic tenets of the faith though I don't live the strict cut off from society lifestyle that true Witnesses do. I'm the kind of witness that is really approachable in that I'm actively engaged in society (as in watching and enjoying films that a true witness wouldn't even dream of viewing, playing graphic video games, and reading not just unapproved books but also books that challenge the faith and are deemed sacrilegious) most of my witnessing (going out into that world and testifying about Jehovah) is actually done in bars, strip clubs, and homeless shelters. With only one of my parents being a witness the compromise was to raise their children as Baptists. At the age of ten I was even baptized as a Baptist, though my Father always taught and spoke from the Witnesses point of view. One of the reasons my local elders tolerate my "odd" preaching and lifestyle habits is because I wasn't baptized in the faith and that I have been able to bring a few people "fully" into the church. Nothing like watching someone you brought to the faith getting baptized when you haven't been. Link to comment
LucyVersion2.0 1,218 Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 I'm an atheist. I was raised Catholic as a kid, and I was a practicing witch in the early 2000s, taught by my aunt. coloradowet 1 Link to comment
Axis 200 Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 I recently 'converted' to atheism even though that's not really a religion so much as a lack thereof. One day the idea popped into my head that it is not only possible, but exponentially more likely, that the Bible was just the writings of a society looking for answers that they didn't have, just like every other religion. I realized that the only reason most Christians believe is because their parents did, and that if they weren't raised in that religion they would see it like people see any religion they don't belong to: utterly and completely false. Link to comment
Guest Super C18 Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 On 2/19/2016 at 4:21 PM, aloo said: I am atheist. I try to tolerate religion and acknowledge that people are just as entitled to have their beliefs as I am to have mine, however, I also find myself becoming militantly atheist if I see people using religion to discriminate against others. A few examples can be elements of the Muslim faith treating women as inferior sub humans, and Christians discriminating against the LGBT community. Fortunately it is only a relatively small proportion of those groups who treat people badly, and provided you're not a jackass (for religious reasons or otherwise), I'll be only too happy to be your friend. I have many religious friends and have no issue with their beliefs. Aloo Totally understandable. I'm a Compassionate Christian who believes in Gay Marriage plus I don't shove religion down to peoples throats. I don't see Atheists as bad people and I don't see Religious People as good people. I see the goodness in people rather they are gay, african, canadian, atheist, or other race/religion I dislike those who abuse religion in the wrong way, dislike people who have cold hearts, and I dislike murders/killers/rapists/terrorists. Link to comment
Guest Super C18 Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 I'm a Compassionate Christian who believes in Gay Marriage plus I don't shove religion down to peoples throats. I don't see Atheists as bad people and I don't see Religious People as good people. I see the goodness in people rather they are gay, african, canadian, atheist, or other race/religion I dislike those who abuse religion in the wrong way, dislike people who have cold hearts, and I dislike murders/killers/rapists/terrorists. I was raised Catholic as a Child but then I switched religion when I was 18. I also believe in Science and Nature lol. Link to comment
Glace 134 Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 I'm actually an atheist, and like aloo, I don't hate or remotely dislike anyone with a religion. The strange thing is, I still practice Christian holidays (Christmas for the most part), and that's mostly due to my family being mostly Christian. I just roll with it and try to enjoy myself Link to comment
Ms. Tito 1,569 Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 (edited) My family is Catholic, but only by cultural association, my family doesn't really go to church. They're only Catholic because of Irish/Italian heritage. I personally don't believe in a god (unless you count comrade Josip Broz Tito of course). Edited February 13, 2020 by Ms. Tito (see edit history) Link to comment
BENAir01 601 Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 I’m Jewish. My mom is a convert from Unitarian and my dad is a 100% ashkenazi Jew. I’m not all that religious but I do love the culture that surrounds my religion. Link to comment
diokno44x 163 Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 Roman Catholic. My family is pretty religious, I'm devout, but not 100% pious Link to comment
randomkath 349 Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 (edited) On 2/13/2020 at 2:39 AM, Ms. Tito said: I personally don't believe in a god (unless you count comrade Josip Broz Tito of course). I know, right? I mean, that's a weird thing to say about an atheist communist autocrat, but it kinda makes sense. Fought off the Fascists, told Stalin to go fuck himself, and kept the ethnically divided peoples of yugoslavia from being at each other's throat for decades. Hard to think of another explanation. Dude was at least a demigod. 🤷♀️ As for the question at hand: I was raised Shia Muslim. I'm a murtadd these days. Many muslims thinks that's horrible and I will receive ample punishment in the afterlife. But hey, in this life, I get to put all the tasty things in my mouth. Beer, bacon, genitals. Totally worth it. I'm fascinated by religion and spirituality, with is completely different from believing in it. When prompted, I can type out a 10-page essay on how exactly I arrived where I am today, but suffice it to say: I'm not only an atheist, I'm also a naturalist. That is to say, I'm reasonably certain that this universe is governed by natural laws alone. The supernatural, in all probability, doesn't exist. Now, if my people* could please stop believing in astrology so damn much, my blood pressure would probably go down by, like, 20 mmHg or so. 😖 (*Lesbians. Yes, ladies, it's hogwash, nonesense, fairytales, make-believe, complete bullshit!) Edited March 12, 2020 by randomkath (see edit history) BENAir01, FullBladder85 and Ms. Tito 3 Link to comment
Ms. Tito 1,569 Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 15 hours ago, randomkath said: As for the question at hand: I was raised Shia Muslim. I'm a murtadd these days. Many muslims thinks that's horrible and I will receive ample punishment in the afterlife. But hey, in this life, I get to put all the tasty things in my mouth. Beer, bacon, genitals. Totally worth it. Lmao nice. Genitals are tasty. Link to comment
Damnation 247 Posted April 8, 2020 Share Posted April 8, 2020 I'm Christian. I don't share the beliefs but I haven't resigned from the church. What do I believe? That is a complicated thing. Agnostic is probably the closest actual term to represent my views. It still doesn't actually tell anything. First of all, I don't like the question "Do you believe in God". The perception of the god/divinity can differ a lot between two persons who say they do believe in it even inside of the same religion. The perception can also be very similar with two persons but the other one claims to be believing in god and the other one claims to be atheist. To put it simple, I think the universe is a god/divine power itself and the divinity is in everything that has been created by it. I mean, I could say I believe in some kind of divine power, some power that is out of our hands but I personally don't think it's anything conscious. BUT I (or anyone else) don't have the ability to rule out that there isn't anything more into it. scinosensation 1 Link to comment
Guest Skyde Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 I'm a proper Muslim. I fully believe in my religion and this is because as I have grown up I was able to go through logical proofs that brought me to this conclusion. Link to comment
Spurgle 471 Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 I was born Christian within the Church of England but I don’t follow Christian beliefs. I find most religious texts little more than spiritual propaganda or just a good story. I find it hard to believe in something I can’t see or can’t touch, so I guess agnostic is probably the closest fit. However, the world view of Heathen faiths such as old Celtic and Norse beliefs is appealing in some way. Maybe because they seem to view the world in a more realistic way than other faith systems. Link to comment
Palloren 239 Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 I was born a Protestant Christian and keep those beliefs to this day. Link to comment
Stanley79 636 Posted May 4, 2020 Share Posted May 4, 2020 I acknowledge the vast majority have very different experiences than mine and have very different thoughts on this subject. Baptized Episcopalian (Catholic mother and Presbyterian father). Age 11 got expelled from Sunday school for insisting on an answer as to way our Sunday-school teacher described a universe differing from that in public-school text books and children's newspapers. Age 14 +/- read a George Gamow teen book in which he described a big bang version in which the universe originated as a neutron. That book also described the microwave waves/photons released by the matter-energy decoupling. An adult and up-to-date book on the subject: Krauss Lawrence M, A Universe from Nothing. Age 16 drifted back to active church life under girl friend's influence. Age 17 (high-school senior) in a course in history of western thought, debate became a classroom tool. (We used formal debate rules and the teacher called us out on any violation of same. The rules came from the same developments leading to digital devices including this internet.) Discovered careful logic could shoot down various theological assertions.. Most theological reasoning foundational to modern forms of western religions contain subtle (or not) fallacies. Classes were small -- 3 periods with 20 students each. As far as I know, every last student converted to agnosticism. I was one of the last. (Our logic book was Langer, Susanne K, Introduction to Symbolic Logic, Dover. In college I covered the same material under courses titled Basic Concepts of Mathematics, Philosophical Logic, Boolean Algebra, Digital Logic 1 and Digital Logic 2. Each time, I informed my advisor I'd been there and done that. Each time my advisor responded with words to the effect of, "Good. Should be a slide course for you.") So I spent many years in agnostic, Unitarian-Universalist and secular-humanist circles. But one more thing bugged me. Most gods are in principle unobservable. In 1964 Penzias and Wilson detected the CMB (cosmic microwave background) predicted by Gamow (but at first unaware of the prediction). By late 1993 the COBE (COsmic Background Explorer) satellite had accumulated enough data to allow computing a CMB map. For understanding the cosmos, that made the big bang the only game in town. The steady-state view died. For all practical purposes the big bang became the first cause, prime mover, cause of all causes and highest energy for our universe. And it is observable. People who wish, may postulate an unobservable behind the big bang. My view provides little certain information about this god. Personally, I find it comfortable. Hey. It provides a framework for a truly unusual fantasy religion. Homakyusai 1 Link to comment
Homakyusai 103 Posted May 5, 2020 Share Posted May 5, 2020 I'm agnostic. I find religion, especially new religious movements (like neopaganism and New Age, not Scientology or the like) very interesting though. I wish I could find myself believing confidently in something more, though. A lot of the time it just feels like going through the motions, with no end goal or objectives beyond some fuzzy idea like "get into graduate school" or "lose weight". I was born into an unbelieving family, so I have some difficulty understanding the cultural background of a lot of religion (esp those far from my home country like Hinduism and Buddhism). Also this is the last place I'd expect a discussion on religion lol. It is cool, though. Link to comment
Recommended Posts