What do you believe in?

[Guest NeoRogueShadows]

"What" Being what religion, if any.

[wrist cutter]

Because I'm such a loser conformist with religious rhetoric pounded in to me with a hammer since birth, I'm Christian. Did I mention you're all going to hell? I think I'm supposed to.

[Mako]

Yay for going to hell. :p

I'm muslim. Really. I am.

[conpiracymonki]

[b][size=1]I'm a Muslim too.
But I think everyone already knew about me..[/b][/size]

[amibasuki]

[FONT=arial]mine is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, aka the Mormon religion.

and yes, we are Christians.[/FONT]

[PiroMunkie]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by wrist cutter[/i]
[B]Did I mention you're all going to hell? I think I'm supposed to.[/B][/QUOTE][color=indigo]I am already half way there. I am just waiting for my English teacher to drive me the rest of the way there. She drives the bus to hell.

I do not believe in anything religious. There is no point. I make my own beliefs. I just believe in me.[/color]

[Turkey]

I started out as a generic Catholic, but I've developed my own beliefs, so I'm Christian, but nothing more specific.

Also, I believe that good people, no matter their beliefs, will be rewarded somehow.

[PiroMunkie]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Smoky Joe[/i]
[B]Also, I believe that good people, no matter their beliefs, will be rewarded somehow.[/B][/QUOTE][color=indigo]That is my only hope.

Yet something tells me I am screwed...[/color]

[Sara]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by wrist cutter [/i]
[B]Because I'm such a loser conformist with religious rhetoric pounded in to me with a hammer since birth, I'm Christian. Did I mention you're all going to hell? I think I'm supposed to. [/B][/QUOTE] [SIZE=1]That's about as close as I can get.

I don't know if I believe in anything.[/SIZE]

[Transtic Nerve]

God (or some being of supreme power) exists, do I NEED a religion?

[bra]

Well I am a catholic , I know it sounds boring but that is how I was raised. I was born in a small community of catholics and they would beat it into my head that it was the right way to go. But now with the priests and everything going on with the church, I don't really know if it IS the best religion... Oh well, guess that if you grow up learning one way, it's hard to do things in a different way later on in life..

[Charles]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Transtic Nerve [/i]
[B]God (or some being of supreme power) exists, do I NEED a religion? [/B][/QUOTE]

That sums up my views right there, heh.

I'm not disregarding the possibility of a supreme power, but religion is just an instrument to further ideological beliefs. I respect religious texts as literary masterpieces, but they were written by men, and as such, they are flawed. It's obvious that they're not founded on timeless truths. If they were, we would be encouraged to stone children, and all Christians would abstain from sex for the purpose of pleasure.

No, all religious texts are subject to historicity, they are flexible historical views that change with time. When the New Testament was written for instance, people were consumed with feelings of deep pessimism. They believed that the apocalypse was near, so rude children were readily executed and sex was frowned upon.

So, yeah, it's obvious why I can't claim to believe in one specific religion and I haven't even gotten into a rant about how the Church is just a business, lol. All religions are just stories and values that reflect their time period--nothing more. That's what I believe, anyway. I don't mean any disrespect to anyone else. I'm not exactly the authoritative voice on the subject.

[Valen]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by PiroMunkie [/i]
[B][color=indigo]I am already half way there. I am just waiting for my English teacher to drive me the rest of the way there. She drives the bus to hell.
[/color] [/B][/QUOTE]

Lmao! Too true...

But I'm Wiccan, yes, that [i]is[/i] a religion for some of you who don't know...

[Shy]

[size=1]I don't believe in god, I [i]can't[/i] believe in god. At least not the Christian/Catholic/Whatever/etc. "God". Doing so would give into the belief that I am going to suffer eternal punishment, regardless of what kind of person I am, because of a lifestyle choice.

Now that I have taken care of that, let me explain my past with religion. Both of my parents were brought up into strict Catholic families, and both of them wanted their children to be raised the exact same way. But they got divorced (which is a much more interesting story that most of you will never get to hear) and my mom was forced to raise her three kids alone. We never went to church very often, and when we did it was at a Baptist one. Yay for me.

-Shy[/size]

[Semjaza]

I'm Catholic, and I've gone to mostly Catholic schools. Strange thing is that they are what pushed me away from religion in the first place. I'm not really big on organized religions anymore.

It mostly came down to the fact that I wasn't happy with what I was getting from my religion. All the worst people I knew acted as if they were incredibly religious, but were horrible outside of any religious gathering. Simple stuff like that just started adding up, and other things as well... I just started questioning why I was doing what I was in the first place. Afterall, I was stuck into most of this, I had never really chosen it.

So I spent a lot of time looking through various religions and philosophies. For a while I just was stuck between atheism and agnosticism, but neither really fit what I thought. I looked into other forms of Christianity, but that didn't work either.

I knew various people, and I wound up looking into Muslim and Buddhism (possibly the closest to what I think as it is), but I never got that far. I also checked out LaVey's Satanism (not actual devil worship mind you, you'd have to know the difference between the two to understand), but it was too moronic and callous for me. I checked out various related sects and such, and while they were interesting, there was really no reason to waste my time on them.

So basically, I've taken different things and ideas and placed them together into something that makes sense to me. I believe in a god, but not in the traditional sense. A lot of my other beliefs are somewhat random.

So given all this, I respect any religion (unless there is some horrible extremity involved), even if I don't care for it. I tend to know a decent amount about the main ones (Old Testament stuff interests me a lot), and it makes stereotypical comments people make about religions without personal knowledge [i]very[/i] aggrivating. Take what you get though.

[James]

[color=#507AAC]Hm, this is an interesting topic. And it's been handled very well so far. Very interesting to read.

What are my beliefs? It's hard to say. After years of experiencing both mainstream religion and religious extremism (my grandparents are very strict Seventh Day Adventists, for example), I've formed a few conclusions about religion and life in general.

I guess first and foremost there is the question of whether or not I believe in God. That's the hardest question for me to answer. I do [i]not[/i] believe in the Christian version of God. I don't believe that God is some singular entity that gets involved in our every day lives and controls our destiny etc etc. That's just too far-fetched for me to believe, given all the other things I know and have experienced about life.

However, for me it's more acceptable to say that [i]nature[/i] is God. No predetermined path, no moral base...just a force that binds all things together. So in that sense, perhaps even the word "God" is inappropriate. I guess I say that because "nature" is too varied, complex and widespread to summarize as some kind of single being that looks like man. That idea of God (the idea of man being in God's image) is, in my opinion, an [i]incredibly human[/i] tale. And so I tend to dismiss it.

As for organized religion, my views somewhat reflect those of others here. I don't support organized religion myself for many reasons. The explanation of the world is [i]so[/i] factually flawed, if you're talking about the bible for example. The bible is so full of contradiction, factual inaccuracy and ancient myth that it's impossible to take it literally.

Also, I find that people tend to pick and choose. This is what I particularly dislike about people such as Jerry Falwell and other hard-line religious representatives. For instance, these people often condemn homosexuality and talk about how wrong it is. Yet, they fail to recognize the [i]many[/i] erroneous biological "facts" that the bible states. If I am to take comments over homosexuality and other biological issues literally, then I must also accept that the world is flat and held up on four pillars with a glass firmament enveloping the water-based sky.

Having said all of that, there is one summary I make about religion in general. I don't mind if people are religious. I don't have any problems with God or with the ten commandments or anything of that sort. But I take great exception to those who push [i]misinformation[/i] in an attempt to further an ideological perspective (particularly those who try to enforce a moral code on society). This is wrong and it is a [i]very[/i] human trait. I think if God exists, he'd frown on it.

I also don't believe that I'm here to earn brownie points with God. I'm here to live my life and be a loving, caring human being. I do this both for myself and for others. However, those who enforce their own agenda via the bible and such are (in my opinion) going to be judged harshly by their very own God. And that's the great irony of religious extremism, I think. If you accept that God will judge us all, I think he will judge creationists and other extremists [i]most[/i] harshly.

Anyway, that's all kind of beside the point.

I have a fairly basic thought about life generally. While I completely reject the factual inaccuracy of most biblical texts, I do believe that the most basic tenants of Christianity are beneficial to society and to myself personally. Being kind and forgiving to others and being tolerant are important. The problem is that many who preach Christianity often forget these basic principles that Jesus himself apparently posessed.

Like CWB, I tend to see organized religion as a process of business these days. And that, combined with some of the issues above (and the many others that exist) are what keep me from ever being interested in organized religion.

So, I suppose most people would call me an athiest. I don't know if that's really so true though. I guess I would mostly call myself agnostic...in the sense that I'm not at all closed to the idea of God. But I [i]do[/i] totally dismiss most organized religion and much of what it represents.[/color]

[Lady Asphyxia]

[color=darkred]I have no idea what I believe in, if anything. I was baptised as a Catholic, and religion was almost ignored in my life until 3rd grade when I was sent to a private Catholic school. Then came confirmation. However, I've recently found that I don't like the Catholic ideal's and beliefs, or the one god, or the idea of trying to be someone who was perfect. So, at the moment, I'm hovering on Atheist.[/color]

[Rain]

[color=blue][size=1]Let's see, I don't have a religion. My mum's a Catholic and my dad's Anglican, but neither of them go to church or practice their religions. I was never baptised. Apparently, when my brother was born, my mum went to get him baptised and the priest wouldn't do it because my mum wasn't married...so that kind of put her off religion. I'm glad I wasn't raised religiously, because I can make my own choices about what I believe. But even though I don't have a religion, I still believe there is some form of god. I just have no idea what it is. That probably sounds a bit weird, but I'm still trying to sort it all out ^_^. I also believe in re-incarnation.

There's a lot of things i could say about organised religion, but I'm not going to, because I always seem to get myself into an...uh, situation when I talk about religion. And I'm not sure how to write down what I believe without confusing you all. So I'll just say this. I can accept that a person is religious. But that doesn't mean I agree with their beliefs.[/size][/color]

[Spikey]

I'm Cristian. I do go to church, but not like my dad's side of the family.

I pretty much just believe in God, and Jesus. I do have some of my own beliefs though.

[Syn]

I dont believe in anything. God, satan all that stuff, never have done. I've had people tell me that i'll go to hell and god always loves you just let him into your heart, but I really dont give a damn. No offense to anyone but I just cant see it being real. :-/

[iggy]

Im baptist which is like another form of christianity, I do believe in God and Jesus and that whole scene.

[Valen]

[color=#33ooCC]I've only told this to a few people, and I only told them parts of it... but here's the whole story...

I used to believe in all that stuff, until I was about 8 or so, when I didn't really know about death and all. Well, my best friend at the time had given me a necklace, it was a penticle on a chain. She died a few days later in a car accident and I always, to this day, wear that necklace. When I was about 9 or 10, I went to church like normal, but it was time for confirmation. The preist at the time was heavily into the Catholic/Catacysm/whatever, and didn't welcome anything from any other religion into "his" church. I didn't know this at the time. He saw the penticle. I had it hid all the other times I went to church, but not that time. Well, he saw it. He thought it was a sign of the "devil." That was hell.

So him and a few of his damn priest people things took me in the back and did a "purification" ritual. First they burn the cross into your arm, then they stick needles into you hoping that this demonic spirit will leave you, but I didn't have a demonic spirit. When that stupid ritual didn't work, he went to the next conclusion... He then thought I was a witch... heh... they have some stupid people out there... I've been dunked many times for that in that damn holy water crapola... guys, all it is is water and a small amount of sea salt.

So when he finally saw that THAT didn't work, he gave up. he threw all kinds of religious things at me... then exiled me from the church. I really don't care either.

So I took up the Wiccan religion, and so far it's been pretty good. Their beliefs are much easier to follow, well with the many gods and goddesses, they're very lenient on if you go against the religion in any way, they're a bunch of good people.

Well, I'll stop boring you with my story on why I became Wiccan.

-Valen[/color]

[Transtic Nerve]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Kenji [/i]
[B]I dont believe in anything. God, satan all that stuff, never have done. I've had people tell me that i'll go to hell and god always loves you just let him into your heart, but I really dont give a damn. No offense to anyone but I just cant see it being real. :-/ [/B][/QUOTE]

You're right... you can't see it. Thats pretty much the whole point of it all. It's just something you don't know exists that you choose to exist and choose to believe exists. thats the whole backbone to faith. I'm not preaching to you lol, I'd be the last to do that. I'm just saying that pretty much everyone thinks what you just said... maybe not exactly how you say it. It's all faith, no one has any proof god exists, they just believe it. I don't think anyone can say God is real, for they have no proof. They may BELIEVE in him, but they can't factually say he's real. Thats why he's a faith, not a fact.

[wrist cutter]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Transtic Nerve [/i]
[B]It's all faith, no one has any proof god exists, they just believe it. I don't think anyone can say God is real, for they have no proof. They may BELIEVE in him, but they can't factually say he's real. Thats why he's a faith, not a fact.[/B][/QUOTE]

Well that's where it gets sort of tricky. Because for many people, such as myself, God is real...

HOWEVER, since there's no proof other than personal experiences, and those don't count, one cannot prove it... so it's kind of like your own reality. Like you said, that's kind of what defines faith...

[Dan L]

I'm Christian.. but I have my doubts sometimes.. it's a very normal thing, and there's a scriptural reason why we have those doubts, but I won't go into that.

I'm also a worship leader.. meaning sometimes I "lead worship" (logical, eh?) which is essentially singing songs in praise, and everyone else follows your lead (kind of like a music gig, but the focus isn't actually put on the musicians). Otherwise, without "leaders" of any sort, worship would be all over the place and would end up going nowhere fast.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Shyguy [/i]
[B][size=1]I don't believe in god, I [i]can't[/i] believe in god. At least not the Christian/Catholic/Whatever/etc. "God". Doing so would give into the belief that I am going to suffer eternal punishment, regardless of what kind of person I am, because of a lifestyle choice.

-Shy[/size] [/B][/QUOTE]

Not really. That's a very common opinion. it's also logically drawn from scripture. But at the same time it's taught that we all live sinful lives, whether it's little things or big things, and the "big" things are really no bigger than the little things.

My logic goes something like this:

Even vicars have done things wrong sometimes. If they deny it, then they're doing even more wrong.

Everything you could do wrong is not considered any worse by God than what a "better" person may have done.

No matter what your choice of lifestyle, you're always able to be accepted.


I know what you're saying, Shy.. it's a [i]very[/i] common belief among Christians that homosexuals are doomed to hell.. but that's because they only focus on the fact that they consider it a sin, rather than the fact that the sins are forgiven. I'm not gonna preach saying "you're living a life of sin", because that's not for me to decide. All I'm gonna say is that I believe strongly that anyone-- even someone as bad as Adolf Hitler, could have been, and maybe even has been forgiven for what they've done. I don't think you're anywhere near that bad, so no matter how you choose to live, you can never be denied your right to acceptance.


[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by amibasuki [/i]
[B] mine is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, aka the Mormon religion.

and yes, we are Christians. [/b][/quote]

apparently that's debatable.. but I have no opinion on it cos I don't actually understand the mormon religion.. (meaning "my mind is open- feel free to inform it as you will")

I'm intrigued though.. what is the actual apparent difference?..