What Is Your Religion?

[Retribution]

[quote name='Chabichou][COLOR=#004a6f']I just htink its silly for people to actually wonder wether their religion is correct if they believe in it. If you believe in your religion, you should be certain.[/COLOR][/quote]
I don't think there's really a way to be certain. There's so many religions being tossed around, where it's 'my way or the highway' kind of deal. You can be certain it's what you believe, and there's no way of changing that, but you can't be certain that your God exists, as far as someone saying their religion is correct.

I guess it's sort of like if you are on one side of a wall, and a book is on the other, and you are told there is something over there, you must guess as to what it is. They show you a very small section of it, for instance, a page of it. How could you be certain that it was a book, or just a page from a book you saw? You would have to guess, really, and hope you were right. You could extrapolate, and say that they probably wouldn't just tear a page from a book, therefore it must be the entire book. You could say that you were 'certain it was a page' or 'certain it is a book, with just a page of it being shown,' and that no matter what happened, your belief would not change. But you couldn't be [B]certain[/B], for one way or the other, if it were a torn out page, or just a book, unless you were presented more evidence to base a guess off of.

We will only figure out if God really exists for 'certain' if God provides some sort of revelation, to further base our faith in God's existance.

Besides, we're all humans. I can believe in Jesus, but that doesn't mean I don't doubt Him sometimes. I try to believe in His power, but if I pray and I feel He turned a deaf ear to me, I lose faith. If I pray, and I feel He heard me, I gain faith. Of course I will wonder if Christianity is the real way. I already said, I'm a human, loaded with self-doubts and insecurities. It's hard for me to grasp something that in my opinion, transends time, space, and thought. My feeble mind can't fathom such awesome power, so I wonder if it's possible. Eventually, I come around and conclude that it is, but I do have times of lost-faith.

[Annie]

[quote name='Chabichou][COLOR=#004a6f'] ..For me, I am absolutely sure the Islam is the only way for salvation...[/COLOR][/quote]

[color=darkslateblue]Here's where I find the [well, one] problem in religion. People so sure that their religion is [i]the way, the only right religion[/i]. That irritates me to no end. Every branch of religion will claim that their religion is perfect. Every one of them.

Who is anyone to say that their religion is right? I know won't; I really don't have a religion. And I'm not going to say that anyone's religion is right or wrong. No one can judge their religion and deem it to be the "right" one.

"The only way for salvation"? Excuse me, but salvation comes from your faith. Faith, in essence, does not have to be with a specific religion. You can have faith in anything; family, friends, music, even a piece of machinery. That doesn't suggest you worship it, right? No. Salvation is different for everyone. It very well can be religion, but it's too harsh to place religion [one religion] at the doorstep of salvation. I'm not saying it's too harsh to place Islamic in general. I'm saying any denomination of religion.[/color]

[James]

[QUOTE=wrist cutter]Jesus shows up at your door tomorrow. You're a little astounded because He's not exactly a regular visitor. He tells you who He is, performs a few miracles to prove it, and by the end of His visit you're fully convinced He is who He says He is.

Now unfortunately you didn't capture this encounter on video and no one else was around to see it. If Jesus left without a trace, your encounter with him is entirely unproveable.

So I guess this means it isn't true?[/quote]

[color=#811C3A]Honestly, in that situation, I think I'd tend to consider the person in question to be mentally unstable. lol

Fundamentally, I understand what you're saying. The problem, though, is that from your position, you're already making several assumptions about God. I'm unwilling to do that.

I guess it comes down to one simple element. If you base your belief in God on the Bible, then I will always fundamentally disagree, because I am accutely aware of many of the Bible's inaccuracies. So, if I view the Bible as being a highly unreliable piece of literature, then I'm unable to adhere to that particular view of God.

But having said that, as I mentioned earlier, I certainly don't discount the actual possibility of God. But I have very strong doubts about the whole "doesn't want to be seen" and so on -- these are all ways of explaining the issue away, as far as I'm concerned. I don't mean to say that this is a cynical attempt by you to do so, I just mean that it's kind of like an in-built failsafe of the religion itself.

So, this is why I wouldn't consider myself "religious". I'm just too aware of the history of various religions and the massive changes they've gone through at the hands of people with particular social interests. So religion itself has absolutely no appeal to me.

But God is another story. My feeling is that if God exists, he/she/it is not bound by any of these religions and is probably something entirely different from what we know and/or expect. So having said that, if I one day somehow discover that God exists (or does not exist), I really don't know how I will feel. Either way, I think there are tremendous possibilities.

In regard to what Chibachou said...I've heard that argument so many times. The thing is, I am not prepared to say "I don't know how these atoms got here, so I'm automatically going to assume that a supreme being put them here". You know? I understand how people reach that conclusion, but just because I don't know something, I don't feel the need to make an assumption and feel okay with that.

The fact is, I don't know. If I assume that the answer is always the generic "God", then I will not seek to understand anything else. By making that assumption, I am doing something that gives me instant gratification and that removes any need to further explore, in an attempt to ask a question and find an answer...rather than insert an answer into a question.

Does that make any sense? If you want to assume that God put those atoms there (however you choose to define "God"), then that's cool -- more power to you. Honestly, if that makes you happy or satisfied, then that's totally fine. I'm just saying that it doesn't satisfy me, because I don't know why those atoms are there. One day I might know, or I may never know. But I'm okay with never knowing, rather than assuming something that may not be correct.[/color]

[AzureWolf]

[quote name='James][color=#811C3A']I guess it comes down to one simple element. If you base your belief in God on the Bible, then I will always fundamentally disagree, because I am accutely aware of many of the Bible's inaccuracies. So, if I view the Bible as being a highly unreliable piece of literature, then I'm unable to adhere to that particular view of God.[/color][/quote][FONT=book antiqua][SIZE=2][COLOR=blue]Quick question for you, James. What do you think about the possibility that the Bible, being handed down for ages, was desecrated by man (just like the Shroud of Torren)? You know, people got lazy and less faithful, so they "adjusted" the Bible to suit their more lazy ways. I remember someone suggested this idea to me, and when I asked around, and was quite surprised at how many Christians actually prescribe to this possibility.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[James]

[quote name='AzureWolf][FONT=book antiqua][SIZE=2][COLOR=blue]Quick question for you, James. What do you think about the possibility that the Bible, being handed down for ages, was desecrated by man (just like the Shroud of Torren)? You know, people got lazy and less faithful, so they "adjusted" the Bible to suit their more lazy ways. I remember someone suggested this idea to me, and when I asked around, and was quite surprised at how many Christians actually consider this a possiblity.[/COLOR][/SIZE'][/FONT][/quote]

[color=#811C3A]Well, I know that various scriptures within the "original Bible" had references to things like cannibalism and so on. My understanding is that many of these elements were taken out and cleaned up as time went by.

In addition, various scriptures were left out (things like the Nostic texts; I hope I'm spelling that correctly).

I find these sorts of things interesting, because they don't just reflect what the Bible itself is (and how the modern version came about), but because these events also track religious progress and human history on a wider scale.

My feeling is that the changes made to the Bible were not a matter of laziness, so much as being a matter of making it far more palatable while also removing elements that created contradiction (for example, the one Nostic gospel that talked about the concept of Hell in [i]very[/i] different terms to the "mainstream" gospels).

I saw a documentary about the history of the Bible, which actually involved interviews and in-depth discussions with various Christian figures from around the world (including figures from various Churches). It was very interesting. Some of the things I've mentioned here were discussed heavily in that documentary.[/color]

[Annie]

[QUOTE=James][color=#811C3A]Well, I know that various scriptures within the "original Bible" had references to things like cannibalism and so on. My understanding is that many of these elements were taken out and cleaned up as time went by.

In addition, various scriptures were left out (things like the Nostic texts; I hope I'm spelling that correctly)..[/color][/QUOTE]

[color=darkslateblue][size=1]Now, I don't know anything about the Nostic texts. However, I do know that there are several books removed from the bible we are familiar with in modern day. I think five or six. These books are still applied in the Catholic bible, but not in other Christian bibles.

Why? The Christian's felt that they weren't necessary to their religion. I have not read these books. But I know of one. I don't remember the specific name, but it was female. If I find it, I'll let you know. The story of the book was about a woman who was made a spectical of by a General in some army. So, one night when this General called her into his tent, she beheaded him. She took his head and impaled it on a pole in front of the camp. Of course, she was killed.

Significance? Perhaps nothing. Perhaps it was stricken from the Bible because of a woman's power. This was very unacceptable, naturally. But what relevance is that, is what I want to know. Why, if it was stricken because it was unnecessary, was it written in the first place? Was it because the Bible is based only on the male gender?

This is an example of the sorts of questions that I want to know. But, probably won't ever find out because there is no proof of the matter, like James mentioned.[/color][/size]

[wrist cutter]

I actually agree with much of what you're saying James. I get your perspective.

I wasn't really trying to debate here, but my point was just that God, if He is as Christianity says He is, will never be proven. Never; because in doing so would also be to tear down a lot of the core beliefs of Christianity at the same time. Either God doesn't exist, or He does and He can't be proven. That's how I see it, and I can't see how it could work that he ever could be proven. Not because it's too "difficult" to prove Him, but because of the repercussions of proving Him.

Again, I'm not speaking for all religions with this statement.

I can see how you'd think this is just a "scapegoat" philosophy - it's only a way for people to convince themselves of what they believe in. I'm not really going to be able to change that here, but I'm just saying people aren't trying to prove God because those who believe in Him also believe He's not something that can be proven on a universal basis.

[James]

[color=#811C3A]Cool. I think that with things like this, people's thought processes just work in such different ways, that it can be difficult to understand what the other side is saying. I suppose this is why religion itself can take on different roles for different people -- each person has their own priorities and their own motivations.

This is also probably why I wouldn't necessarily label myself as an agnostic. My understanding is that agnostics don't feel that it's possible to prove God, but at the same time, they don't deny God's existence (as an athiest would).

So, I'm not sure that I fit into either of those camps (athiest or agnostic). Therefore, I'm really not sure what term I'd use to accurately describe my own thought process.[/color]

[Break]

[quote name='wrist cutter][i']Right. And if anyone had proof, it wouldn't be a choice anymore. Again, it's like saying "I don't really wanna believe 2+2=4 today." But if 2+2=4 couldn't be proven, it would be up to the individual to believe. Why would they believe it in the first place? Somehow, 2+2=4 has gotta reveal itself to the individual.[/i][/quote]
[color=darkorchid]It isn't at all like saying "I don't want to believe that 2+2=4" because I study philosophy and 2+2 definately does =4. Mathematics is. God is and is not.

Oh and I'm agnostic, though I've prayed a few times before. I don't know why, nothing much came of it.[/color]

[Zidargh]

2 + 2 is only knowledge and truth because to the individual, there is no way of questioning it for they are not the ones who created the basic foundations of Mathematics. Therefore, this is only known as knowledge for everyone believes it.

Despite my interest in Philosophy, I only feel that belief can only be classified as truth and knowledge to the person that believes in the subject. Take religion for example, there is no solid evidence that God exists, people only go by their beliefs, and to them, God really does exist. Therefore, how can you show them that this specific religion is a load of BS? Because you don't have any solid evidence to back your opinions either.

I always pray, but I don't believe in a religion. I just like to think that we were created by something for a purpose, hopefully not something similar to that of a Sim/RTS game. ^_^

[Break]

[quote name='Zidargh']Take religion for example, there is no solid evidence that God exists, people only go by their beliefs, and to them, God really does exist. Therefore, how can you show them that this specific religion is a load of BS? Because you don't have any solid evidence to back your opinions either.[/quote]

[color=darkorchid]Gotta love the coherence theory.

I do that praying thing, even though I am not any religion in particular, though I am totally into the "what-goes-around-comes-around" theory.[/color]

[Annie]

[QUOTE=Rattlehead]Im kind of at a a point now where I have no real denominartion life has shaped me that way I seen too much to belive any religeon fully but I understand them differently to a conventional sense i.e. christianity is based on the right way to be as a human not to give yourself to a higher power or satanism (to make the best of what you have because no one else will do it for you)
or the main philosiphy of buddhism "Do no good just don't do harm"
and so on if you take the best parts of Each religeon (i.e. the ones that mean something to YOU then you dont need an actual denomination)[/QUOTE]

[color=darkslateblue][size=1]O_o Rattlehead, would you be as so kind as to use periods, commas, and capitalization of a new sentence. Let me see if I can sift through your post and understand what you were saying...

Actually, I cannot comment. I don't understand any of your post. Please construct it better, I really want to read it T_T[/color][/size]

[DBZgirl88]

[COLOR=#004a6f][COLOR=#004a6f][quote name='Zeta']Correct me if I am wrong here, but don't all religions basically worshio God? But with just different names like, God, Allah, etc. So aren't they all the same in the way that they all end with one who has created everything, but with different names? My apologies if I am incorrect, not up to date with all religions here.[/quote]Actually, "Allah" is merely the Arabic word for God, such as the french word "Dieu" means God. Christian Arabs for instance, also use the name "Allah".[/COLOR]

[QUOTE=Annie]Here's where I find the [well, one] problem in religion. People so sure that their religion is the way, the only right religion. That irritates me to no end. Every branch of religion will claim that their religion is perfect. Every one of them.

Who is anyone to say that their religion is right? I know won't; I really don't have a religion. And I'm not going to say that anyone's religion is right or wrong. No one can judge their religion and deem it to be the "right" one.

"The only way for salvation"? Excuse me, but salvation comes from your faith. Faith, in essence, does not have to be with a specific religion. You can have faith in anything; family, friends, music, even a piece of machinery. That doesn't suggest you worship it, right? No. Salvation is different for everyone. It very well can be religion, but it's too harsh to place religion [one religion] at the doorstep of salvation. I'm not saying it's too harsh to place Islamic in general. I'm saying any denomination of religion.[/QUOTE]But as I believe, the Holy books were sent down and they are the word of God. The first step is believing they are the word of God. I read the Quran and from reading it, their is quite enough evidence that it is not of this world. It is divine and truly is the word of God. There is even scientific evidence in the book. To me, that's proof that God exists, and has sent down this book. Ofcourse other people do not take it as proof and choose to believe other things, which is fine by me.

So if I believe in that, should I not follow the way of life God has asked me to live by following what the book says? It says I'll go to hell if I don't. So I stay humble and bow down to my lord, out of love and respect, and even fear; fear of his wrath and the fire he has created for the unbelievers and wrong-doers; fear of a fire so hot, it is [I]pitch black[/I].

Second of all, I can't say Islam belongs to me. It's not "my" religion. It is the way of life that I and other Muslims believe God has asked all human kind to follow. This is not just about belief. It's about what we believe God asks from us. In Islam, God rejects any other dieties to be associated with him. He tells us to [B]worship him only[/B]. If I start worshipping Jesus and calling him God's Son, I will make my lord angry. I would be disbeliever and will be punished.

This question of "what Religion is correct" is really kind of vague. Honestly, people even make up religions. If I start worshipping an apple for instance, and assume that apple created me, this "religion" is obviously false, right? The question should really be, "what is God asking from us"?

I reject what the Bible and Torah teach because they have been altered by men. God's message has been changed. For instance, one minute you hear that eating pork is prohibited, the next, you hear it's okay. That makes it inconsistent and also in a sense, incorrect, due to the alterations by men (in my opinion).

But really, why should you be angry when people think their religion is correct? Isn't that why we choose to follow our religion in the first place? I believe in the Quran. I believe that it is the word of God and I take the evidence I alrady mentioned before as proof. I have absolutley no doubt that it is simply made up by Mohammad (peace be upon him), so why is it not my place to believe my religion is correct? The quran even states that the Bible and Torah have been altered, so their teachings are wrong, and it is true that they have been altered. So I say to my self: "Okay, Islam must be the right path".[/COLOR]

[QuincyArcher]

I was raised as a Christian but hated the religion throughout my entire childhood, my mom is native Japanese (she moved here when she was 20) and my dad is from Georgia (very heavily christian area). when my parents split up my mom ditched the christian religion and so did i. following my mom, i align myself to the Bhuddist faith now.

[_Yume_]

[SIZE=3]I'm a Catholic. I'm not that into my religion. I don't obey all of our beliefs like having to not eat meat on Fridays when the Easter thing comes up or whatever. Catholics aren't supposed to curse but no one obeys that one anyways. [/SIZE]

[wrist cutter]

[quote name='_Yume_']I'm a Catholic. I'm not that into my religion. I don't obey all of our beliefs[/quote]

Then you aren't a Catholic.

[future girl]

To tell you the truth I stopped trying to define what it was I believed in a long time ago. I do believe in a higher being, but I don't get into it because after a long childhood of having religion forced down my throat I decided my relationship with God was too personal to just throw out there. I wouldn't call myself a Christian or anything else that specific, I don't think I'm much of an agnostic either. I just do my own thing as far as that goes, if that makes any sense at all.

And on a different note entirely, I skimmed through most of this thread so I'm not sure if anyone else gave it a shot and got it right, but I wanted to give a stab at guessing Azure Wolf's religion of choice. For some reason I've always had the impression that you were a Muslim....

[AzureWolf]

[quote name='Chabichou]Azurewolf, I'm guessing that you're Muslim too. I just have this gut feeling.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=anatema']And on a different note entirely, I skimmed through most of this thread so I'm not sure if anyone else gave it a shot and got it right, but I wanted to give a stab at guessing Azure Wolf's religion of choice. For some reason I've always had the impression that you were a Muslim....[/quote][FONT=book antiqua][SIZE=2][COLOR=blue]Hey, stop that! I didn't say everyone can go on and guess my religion out of the blue! I was just clarifying that I wasn't Christian like [STRIKE]everyone[/STRIKE] most believe. It's even more curious why the second religion of choice for me is Islam, what with me seeming to be Christian first.

I'm not saying you are wrong, though (but neither am I saying you are right). :p[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[DBZgirl88]

[COLOR=#004a6f][QUOTE=AzureWolf][FONT=book antiqua][SIZE=2][COLOR=blue]Hey, stop that! I didn't say everyone can go on and guess my religion out of the blue! I was just clarifying that I wasn't Christian like [STRIKE]everyone[/STRIKE] most believe. It's even more curious why the second religion of choice for me is Islam, what with me seeming to be Christian first.

I'm not saying you are wrong, though (but neither am I saying you are right). :p[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]Coincidence isn't it though, that two people had the same guess huh? Makes ya think doesn't it? :smirk: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH![/COLOR]

[Dan L]

Now then, Now then..
I don't have time right now to look through this entire thread at all that has been said, so I'm just going to have to say my opinion and come back later. :-p

I'm a Christian, but I believe that being a Christian is much more than a set of principles and a timetabled weekly set of events which keep you right with God. I believe that God set Jesus to die for our sins on the cross, and the reason for that isn't just because we are extremely bad people, but that God is and extremely good God.

I believe that the world around us is messed up and that the human race ias a whole is full of the most insecure and wounded beings conceivable. But behind the insecurities, and the things we put on to cover them up, people are made in the image of God. Everyone is basically good, but the world is a messed up place and far too often people are taken in by it and do atrocious things.

I believe in the Devil as ultimately the source of evil, but I don't believe that he necessarily causes all evil, he merely uses it. All kinds of people and things contribute towards the evil in the world, because ultimately this world is falling ever increasingly into evil as one evil prompts another in return, and very rarely do people break the loop.

That's a very simplified version of what I believe- but essentially I believe that God didn't just send Jesus to the cross to die for our sins, but to die to give us life in a world which is in a falling orbit around death.

I don't just think he wants us to feel guilty, be sorry, and get a second chance- because quite frankly we're going to mess up however many chances we get. He wants to draw out the good things he's already put in us and clean up the mess that the world around us has put in us (where that aspect of the world around us is our own creation that we just can't get away from). I believe he wants us to live and not to just edge increasingly closer to death.

There's more but unfortunately dinner's ready and I dunno if I'll get a chance to come back on later..

[Morpheus]

I have a standing of a group of my friends: I simply don't care. I don't think god exists, but I don't care. I don't see a reason for religion.

[Frankie]

I am putting this down once and only once. I have no religion... I follow no religion... I have yet to find one that i actualy beleive. I am unsure what you might call me for this but I guess it doesnt matter. Anyways Like I said... this is the only time im going to say it.

[Guest Alchemist]

I am a no religonist. the only thing that seperates me from an atheist is that i beleive there is a form of higher being but does not and can not control anything. I am an evolutionist all the way. there is nothing wrong with religon just not for me. I have had to keep my no religion in the closet cause my family is southern black baptist. It is to dangerous right now for me to announce to my family. My grandmother will start speaking in tones. But religoust people RIGHT ON. it is commendable to believe in religon, it is also commendable to be no religon and atheist.

[Guest Cole-Fu]

[QUOTE]However when it comes to groups like Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses who actually come to my house and try and covert me then that annoys me more than a little. [/QUOTE]

What I do to stop them is rather innovative really. Check this out. Weh nthe ycome riding down the street on there little bicycles I pull out a guitar, strum a few chords and sing " I love Jesus Hallelujah to the lamb!" To get them to go away, thinking I am a morman or a Jehova's witness. One time they came up to my house and one of there bikes ran into my car. Boy I was pissed, I went out there and was all " Boy you bess getcha *** offa here."

[QUOTE]Correct me if I am wrong here, but don't all religions basically worshio God? But with just different names like, God, Allah, etc. So aren't they all the same in the way that they all end with one who has created everything, but with different names? My apologies if I am incorrect, not up to date with all religions here.[/QUOTE]

Correct, but every religion is too ignorant to relize that god is all of those.

Annie this is Revolver. What up homes im sizzlin fro mthe home skillit G. Lol

[Shugo54]

[COLOR=Navy][FONT=Book Antiqua]hmmmmm, well I created my own religion. well it's not a religion it's just a new way of believing in stuff. My religion bases itself on Nature and Animals. It also has reincarnation. The main philosophy behing it is that" Every action has a positive and negative Effect" so basically everything you do is good and bad. I have 5 Animal Deities and 2 gods/goddese's.the sun god and the moon godess. my religion (which has no name) is a mix of everything I have liked about religions. It's my oen way of thinking. each religion has it's flaws and good points so i decided to make one that I will like to follow.[/FONT][/COLOR]