A Rather Religious Debate

[UchihaFanGirl]

1. What religion are you CURRENTLY following? If you don't have one, then why?
Supposedly I am Catholic. But I personally do not follow it. And because religion isn't a big issue to me.

2. Why do you follow that religion? Parents, personal reasons, etc?
Pretty much because my dads make me. But I dont pray at all. I believe in God but don't do anything religion related.

3. Do you ever feel that people often critisize you because of these beliefs?
No.

4. This one may spark a little bit of arguing: Do you believe that your religion is the one true religion? If so provide evidence.
I don't really care. So basically, no. Heh.

[ChibiHorsewoman]

[quote name='The13thMan][COLOR=DarkOrange][FONT=Century Gothic] It's fine to laugh at religion and make jokes about it privately or among friends. Lord knows i've got a sense of humor when it comes to such things. I never disagreed with anybody there. Where i do disagree is when a person makes a potentially offensive comment regarding religion to a person they barely know. It's a stupid move and therefore it shouldn't be done. It'd be like walking into a catholic church for the first time with a satan costume on, making crude jokes aboug God. It's stupid and pointless. I don't understand how you can disagree with me there. [/FONT'][/COLOR][/quote]

[color=#9933ff][font=lucida calligraphy] There's a big difference between actions and words. Making a comment about the Bible not being funny is a lot different than walking into a Catholic church not during a Halloween mass when the youth pastor says the kids can dress up for mass as the Devil.

One is just an offhand comment that wasn't made to be insulting and the other is being conciously disrespectful. I'm sure you're old enough to know the difference.[/color][/font]

[quote name='The13thMan][COLOR=DarkOrange][FONT=Century Gothic] I recall an instance where this dude on Jackass did that. A couple of people got pissed and punched at the guy. The guy was a moron for doing something like that....though, i still laughed. [/FONT'][/COLOR][/quote]

[color=#9933ff][font=lucida calligraphy]Well I'm sure that reguardless of religious beliefs we can all agree that Jackass is hardly the moral standard that anyone should live by. :rolleyes: [/color][/font]

[QUOTE=The13thMan][COLOR=DarkOrange][FONT=Century Gothic] Having a sense of humor and laughing at jokes about your religion is one thing. Taking an offensive comment silently and simply turning the other cheek is another.
[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[color=#9933ff][font=lucida calligraphy]Didn't Jesus say that if someone spits on one cheek offer him the other? I could be wrong since I haven't picked up my Bible in a while. I think the idea of this is to not take yourself or your religion too seriously. Faith is meant to be picked apart and examined or else it shows that it isn't very strong. If your beliefs can't stand up to scrutiny then they aren't that strong.

That's really all I have to say to this for right now.

[size=1]Jesus is coming! Look busy.[/size][/color][/font]

[The13thMan]

[QUOTE=ChibiHorsewoman][color=#9933ff][font=lucida calligraphy] There's a big difference between actions and words. Making a comment about the Bible not being funny is a lot different than walking into a Catholic church not during a Halloween mass when the youth pastor says the kids can dress up for mass as the Devil.

One is just an offhand comment that wasn't made to be insulting and the other is being conciously disrespectful. I'm sure you're old enough to know the difference.[/color][/font]



[color=#9933ff][font=lucida calligraphy]Well I'm sure that reguardless of religious beliefs we can all agree that Jackass is hardly the moral standard that anyone should live by. :rolleyes: [/color][/font]



[color=#9933ff][font=lucida calligraphy]Didn't Jesus say that if someone spits on one cheek offer him the other? I could be wrong since I haven't picked up my Bible in a while. I think the idea of this is to not take yourself or your religion too seriously. Faith is meant to be picked apart and examined or else it shows that it isn't very strong. If your beliefs can't stand up to scrutiny then they aren't that strong.

That's really all I have to say to this for right now.

[size=1]Jesus is coming! Look busy.[/size][/color][/font][/QUOTE][COLOR=DarkOrange][FONT=Century Gothic]Words can be just as damaging as actions. Both have the potential to do the same amount of harm. To say they're different is obvious and pointless.

The satan costume thing was an extreme of the case, i was trying to prove a point. I know one is more disrespectful than the other. But both are disrespectful and therefore innapropriate.

Jesus said many things. In my personal opinion you can't really apply his teachings in an imperfect and evil world. I mean c'mon, if somebody did something horrible to you would you just let it slide? Do you honestly love your enemy? That's another thing Jesus preached. If you love your enemy then you are allowing your enemy to take advantage of you. Of course, it's not a bad idea to try to show compassion towards your enemies...but now i'm just going off on a tangent.

Examining one's religion for the purpose of knowledge and spiritual gain is one thing, to make an offhand and sarcastic comment towards one's religion is another. If i asked you why you thought god would let us suffer that's one thing. If i said god's a big kid with a magnifying glass torturing us, then that's another. Do you see the difference? You might not be offended by that particular statement but can you see how somebody might?

I think the main misunderstanding here is that people think that i over reacted to his original comment, when i didn't. All i did was tell him it was innapropriate. I don't even think the guy apologized or even said anything else past that.

If you guy want to joke around with some people about religion, just make sure whoever you're joking around with is alright with it!

Anyways, i'm sick and tired of this pointless argument. Hell, i can't even call it an argument. It's just people misunderstanding what i said and then scrutinizing me about it.
[/FONT][/COLOR]

[TheShinje]

[QUOTE=ChibiHorsewoman][color=#9933ff][font=lucida calligraphy]A sense of humor is the only thing that keeps an otherwise sane man from hanging himself- Voltaire

That said I think relgion is probably one of the most hilarious things to ever be discusssed. Especially when you're dealing with the religion I was raised in. I mean the Catholic church banned using forks in the middle ages. I think it was the three pronged ones because they represented that lovely pitchfork that Satan always carried around.[/font][/color][/QUOTE][color=crimson]This is, after all,[i] their [/i]depiction of him. [i]They[/i] put the fork in his hand, [i]they[/i] gave him horns...

Middle ages.....lmao.[/color] :p

[Aaryanna]

[COLOR=DarkOrchid]Seems like we?ve gone on a completely different tangent here. So I?ll put in my two cents on it. I do agree that joking about religion can be potentially offensive, and yet at the same time I can complete agree with finding things funny about it. The problem I see with worrying about offending someone is if you aren?t deliberately trying to annoy someone then on some level it?s pointless to try and pretend you don?t find something funny.

I may not be interested in religion at the moment, but based on what I did learn while I was more active, I am inclined to believe that God wouldn?t be upset over something as trivial as laughing at religion. I?m more inclined to believe that it?s the people who don?t have much of a sense of humor, mind you I?m talking about the more strict one?s who throw out the words sacrilegious left and right.

And out of all the comments in this thread I didn?t see any deliberate attempts to be mean or rude. In fact the only comment I saw in the thread that I thought was a bit mean was the: [I]I?d punch you in the face for what you said and the calling someone a little prick.[/I] o_O That just confused me as I didn?t see anything that I thought warranted that type of reaction.

Another thing, many people are religious so it?s easy for them to sit back and say they understand why others might be offended, but what about the person who truly doesn?t believe? That would be similar to getting angry over them laughing at say a fantasy book you like. Because to them, the idea of religion and that it?s a true tale is just that, a fantasy.

So isn?t it the religious person?s job to not take offense at their lack of knowledge or belief? Wouldn?t such a situation be a good time to try and clarify what you believe? Especially when their original comment wasn?t really meant to be offensive? [/COLOR]

[Aaryanna_Mom]

[quote name='The13thMan][COLOR=DarkOrange][FONT=Century Gothic]I think the main misunderstanding here is that people think that i over reacted to his original comment, when i didn't. All i did was tell him it was innapropriate. I don't even think the guy apologized or even said anything else past that. [/FONT'][/COLOR][/quote] Perhaps if you hadn?t added this: [QUOTE=The13thMan][COLOR=DarkOrange][FONT=Century Gothic]Edit: I went back and looked at Deathdude's post and i gotta say, i'm actually a bit angry now. Name calling is so ********** immature, man. In all honesty, i'd probalby punch you in the face for saying something like that to me in person. It's little pricks like you that don't belong in a place like OB. Grow a brain, buddy.
[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]People might not think you overreacted. And [I]you[/I] didn?t apologize either, so that?s kind of like the pot calling the kettle black.

I do agree that the potential for offending someone when it comes to religious jokes is a real issue, but at the same time, if no disrespect is intended then I really don?t see the problem. And to be frank I haven?t seen anything like that in this thread so far.

[vegeta rocker]

You know, it may be just me, but religions have always made it a point to preach forgiveness.

Not all religions are the same, but God has always held tolerance way up there.

So that's why I find it sad when someone threatens someone with violence over anything dealing with religion.

Because then they are spitting in the face of what they are supposed to hold so sacred.

Someone calls me a name or makes fun of my God what do I do?

I pray for them, and yeah I get angry but violence would not prove me right.

Anybody who fights or kills in the name of God is wrong.

I am not religious, but i am very spiritual.

In my opinion, religion just seems like a way to control people. I believe in God and i respect people in a religion, but it just isn't for me.

[Hanabishi Recca]

[quote name='Aaryanna][COLOR=DarkOrchid'] I do agree that joking about religion can be potentially offensive, and yet at the same time I can complete agree with finding things funny about it. [/COLOR][/quote]

Well, I think its offensive to some people because they take it seriously and to others it just the opposite (Or take it alittle less serious than the other). I (Personally) could find something offensive in this thread if I really wanted to. The thing is that I don't exactly care about what other people think (Thats another thing that has to do with it).

[quote name='The13thMan']If you love your enemy then you are allowing your enemy to take advantage of you.[/quote]

Jesus told us to love, not to be stupid. We (Christians) should have common sense and Spiritual sense we shouldn't be dumb as a log. Now, you should forgive and forget, and wait for fruit to apear that they actually did change their actions. But being stupid is not making a Christian look Christ-like. Thats making other people think that Christ is a idiot, even though he isn't.

Thats all for now, thanks for your time and such.

Dae

[Aaryanna_Mom]

[quote name='Hanabishi Recca']Well, I think its offensive to some people because they take it seriously and to others it just the opposite (Or take it alittle less serious than the other). I (Personally) could find something offensive in this thread if I really wanted to. The thing is that I don't exactly care about what other people think (Thats another thing that has to do with it).[/quote]The thing that?s ironic about the whole humor thing, is I use to be rather uptight and strict when it came to religion and it took having one of my older children moving out and then pretty much never speaking to me again for me to realize it. At that point I realized that taking religion too seriously in that respect is a big mistake. Mind you I?m not talking about deliberate attempts to provoke or make fun of religion or outright nasty attacks, but on the ones where they just poke fun at it in a more light hearted way. Believe me one of my oldest sons has a very interesting sense of humor when it comes to religion. Something that I'm only now appreciating. Anyway...

I?m secure enough in my belief in God that even if someone is making fun of it in a harmful way, it doesn?t really affect me. And unless they are coming to my home and constantly pushing their mockery in my face or finding other ways to cause harm to me, there isn?t any time that it should affect or bother me. In all honesty I feel bad for them that they even feel the need to mock or make fun of others due to their religious beliefs or for any other reason for that matter. And I think it?s equally as sad when those who are religious get all upset and actually attack others over religion.

So in the end, I think it's great that you don't let it get to you. ;)

[Hanabishi Recca]

[quote name='Aaryanna_Mom'] In all honesty I feel bad for them that they even feel the need to mock or make fun of others due to their religious beliefs or for any other reason for that matter. And I think it?s equally as sad when those who are religious get all upset and actually attack others over religion. [/quote]

Well, reading what you said changed my outlook a bit.

Maybe its in-secureity that makes people act that way. That would actually make sense because there are some things in my life that are similar to what has happend in your life (It wasn't anyone moving out or anything, but it was me finding that the problem was within me). Thinking about it more deeply and making my mind secure about my standings made my anger loosen on that subject.

[quote name='Aaryanna_Mom']So in the end, I think it's great that you don't let it get to you. ;)[/quote]

Like I said, its all about what you think about yourself. If you don't know your position with God (Or yourself even) then you are going to get angry about that subject.

It took me finalizing it into my mind and heart.

Thanks for your time and such.

Dae

[Tekkaman]

[QUOTE=Aaryanna_Mom]I?m secure enough in my belief in God that even if someone is making fun of it in a harmful way, it doesn?t really affect me. And unless they are coming to my home and constantly pushing their mockery in my face or finding other ways to cause harm to me, there isn?t any time that it should affect or bother me. In all honesty I feel bad for them that they even feel the need to mock or make fun of others due to their religious beliefs or for any other reason for that matter. And I think it?s equally as sad when those who are religious get all upset and actually attack others over religion.

So in the end, I think it's great that you don't let it get to you. ;)
[/QUOTE][font=Century Gothic][size=2][color=navy]I completely agree with you [color=darkred]Aaryanna_Mom,[/color] religion is a big deal towards the spiritual men and women in this world; but, if you can't take jokes at your own religion - or at religion period - and brush it off later - or at that very moment - you may need to strengthen up on your faith or / and your pride.[/color][/size][/font]

[font=Century Gothic][size=2][color=navy]...At least that's how I look at it, agreeing from [color=darkred]Aaryanna_Mom[/color]'s statement.[/color][/size][/font]

[Hanabishi Recca]

[QUOTE=Tekkaman][font=Century Gothic][size=2][color=navy]... if you can't take jokes at your own religion - or at religion period - and brush it off later - or at that very moment - you may need to strengthen up on your faith or / and your pride.
[/color][/size][/font][/QUOTE]

I don't think faith has anything to do with it. Having faith in God doesn't make someone less mad from a certain comment.

You have to be pateint and that takes a while for people (like me). So, if someone gets angry if someone makes a joke I think that thats okay. I think it all depends on if they really let it get to them (and blow up because of it).

[Guest Blair_vampire]

[B]What religion are you currently following? If you don't have one, then why?[/B]

I actually have no religion. I Believe religion is in fact an imaginated world that was made to amuse a subject's mind of the so called afterlife. Some may call me an Anti-Christ becuase i am truly against the christian/cathlioc religions. Mainly becuase their religion effects people all around the world, and most of the time not in a god way.
Also for the fact that they place themselves higher above all other religion communities, becuase they think that their religion is in fact the RIGHT one. I think Not. If I were to tell a christian the genesis of a pagan's religion, also noted as "before time was", they would think that the story of how the world began in a pagan's terms was absolutely fiction. When at the same time they are believeing a story were a man reincarnated the dead and rose from his grave. Now only the intellectual who has no limitations such as myself can say that the christian religion is just as fake as all the others. Why is it so hard to realize it? I'll tell you why, It's becuase the way the christian religion was designed! It is a sin to dis believe, it is a sin to love the same sex, it is a sin to use an imaginary man's name in vain, everything is a sin, this religion is sssoooo judgemental that people cant think for themselves anymore. It's Pathetic.

[mushrumluver]

[B]1. What religion are you CURRENTLY following? If you don't have one, then why?[/B]In terms of religion, I am a catholic by name but only by name. I really don't believe in the Bible for several reasons. One is has been edited and revised for many many times. Two some of the stories there are utmost impossible to happen. Like Blair_Vampire said, the christian believe that they have the right and superior religion. Believing in a religion for me is fine but condemning other because of difference in religion that is definetely not ok.

[B]2. Why do you follow that religion? Parents, personal reasons, etc?[/B]
For the second question, I don't follow any religion. I follow my own principles. They could be depicted from other religions but what the heck they are just principles and religions don't have the right to claim a principle as their own.

[B]3. Do you ever feel that people often critisize you because of these beliefs?[/B]
Nah it is because that I keep these beliefs to myself and not let others know about it.

[B]4. This one may spark a little bit of arguing: Do you believe that your religion is the one true religion? If so provide evidence.[/B]
Like I said, there is no true religion. They are stories told by influencial people who made it real-like in a sense that it grabbed the attention of many people. It was a big thing in the past because it did showed them a way of life, but now I personally believed that all people are capable of thinking for themselves and what to do without anyone telling them what to think and do.

[Boo]

[quote name='Blair_vampire']this religion is sssoooo judgemental [/quote]
[size=1]:whoops:

You might want to learn a bit more about how Christians think about Christianity and how the apply the bible to their lives, before being as prejudice as you were.[/size]

[tachiKC]

I, personally do not believe in a god. If you look back at history, it is only in the latter part or so of human history that we as human beings were even able to contemplate something like religion. Before that, we as humans, and our cousins such as the neandertal were migratory, and had to move and hunt for our sustenance. It was not until we started to cultivate and grow crops in such places as the fertile crescent, or other areas that we could sit down and think, hmmmmmm, what happens when we die? Now I wasnt alive back 10s of thousands of years ago, but I would assume that our ancient ancestors also felt grief for the fallen, and that they too buried them, but thier beliefs of a all powerful god were probably not there, or if they were they were very limited. Heck, animals also feel grief, but they cannot express these beliefs because they do not have the capacity as humans to think and act on those feelings. Anyways, we as humans, once we were able to sit down and think, our ancestors probably started to ask WHY and WHAT? Why do we die? What happens to us when we die? As we moved around the globe and populated it, we as humans changed in both appearance and beliefs. The cradle of human life was in Africa, and if you look there today, there are thousands of religions. If you think about it, those peoples who had to live off of the land to survive have mostly animalistic or shamanistic views about god, often having many, and giving inanimate objects such as rocks or trees spirits. It is in organized societies where the idea of one god probably came into play. This was probably to make it easier for the masses to follow, and for those in power to control them. If you look now at the current relious setup, the four largest religions (I think, I may be wrong), Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, and Budhism all got to be as large as they are converting others to their cause. This applies especially to Christianity, who went the most out of its way to try and convert every single person that they could. Often those who didnt were put to death. The others are mostly concentrated in Asia and the middle east, and it is really only in the United States that others are participating in them. Europe and America are dominantly Christian societies, although as a whole America is a whole lot more diverse, as are large parts of South America and some of Australia. Africa has many many religions, and Asia is mostly either some form of Islam, Budhist, or Hindu. Now there are obvioulsly flaws on my part in there, as well as exceptions to any of the rules, but generally thats how things are. Anyways, if you honestly look at religion, it is responsible for 10s of millions of deaths over the centuries. People dying in the name of their god, people dying because they did not conform to the new religious views thrust upon them all fit in there. Christianity is responsible for far more deaths than anything that Hitler could come up with, as are Islam or any other of the major religions. But no one wants to talk about that. No one is squeaky clean. Horrible acts have been commited in the name of religion, but on the same side, some of the most kindhearted and generous. I am not trying to bash on any religion in particular, but to say that religion has always been a good thing is misguided at best and plain ignorant at worst.

And here are some of my two cents. For those who think that Christianity, or Islam, or whatever religion is "the one true religion" are fooling themselves. All you are doing are rehashing words that countless people before you have said and died believing in. Im not saying that religion is bad, I think that it is essential to the human race, but that no religion is special. There have been many religions before now, and many many more when we are all dead and gone. To say that your religion is "the best" is to be ignorant of those who believe in other religions, and to say that others will go to hell if they dont believe in some book or god or man or belief is stupid, as someone else looking at you with another religion probably has the same thoughts. The bible was written by a man. A man who put his own views into it. Did god go to him and say, "this is how I want you to write this"? Why him? What was special about him? Why did god not just tell everyone that that is what he thought? Wouldnt it have been easier and put an end to the controversy? Same thing goes for Islam. Muhammed (sorry about spelling) went into the desert and had a vision. So what? I could "go into the desert" and claim that I saw god and that he told me to do his bidding. Would you believe me? Probably not? Why? What is so wrong with me having a vision? What made Muhammed special? What makes the Pope all high and mighty? I find it interesting that Budha himself did not wish for his beliefs to become a religion but his followers did. Why? Power. And if you ask yourself, if god made everyone equal, why are woman still not able to become priests in the church?

Meh. Ill stop. Ive rambled long enough. Feel free to tear that apart. Those are just my thoughts on the matter splashed with some facts. Im athiest btw. I was actually raised as a pretty strict catholic, but during highschool I just kind of came to the realization that I have now. I simply sat down and thought about things with an open mind and realized stuff about religion, life, and all that. I dont disrepect any religion at all, and to be honest wish that there were an afterlife, and hope, but until someone shows me definate proof, Ill remain a nonbeliever. Sorry that was so long.

[Horendithas]

[COLOR=DarkRed][quote name='tachiKC']Before that, we as humans, and our cousins such as the neandertal were migratory, and had to move and hunt for our sustenance. It was not until we started to cultivate and grow crops in such places as the fertile crescent, or other areas that we could sit down and think, hmmmmmm, what happens when we die? Now I wasnt alive back 10s of thousands of years ago, but I would assume that our ancient ancestors also felt grief for the fallen, and that they too buried them, but thier beliefs of a all powerful god were probably not there, or if they were they were very limited. [/quote]I never thought I?d see the day where I would defend religion, but you are making the very same mistake that religion often does. You are assuming that because we think things happened a certain way that it must indeed be true. You said it yourself, you were not alive back then and you have no way of truly knowing what these people really thought. Just as religion could be a sham, so could our beliefs as to what happened back in that time frame. In the end that whole stance is an assumption. They could have believed in a God and simply lacked the ability to record what they believed, or such records did not survive the passage of time.

This is the inherent danger to making assumptions based on written documents and finding bones or remains of a society. You don?t know how much of the document in question is actually true, or that the assumptions made about how they lived are true either. [quote name='tachiKC']Anyways, if you honestly look at religion, it is responsible for 10s of millions of deaths over the centuries. People dying in the name of their god, people dying because they did not conform to the new religious views thrust upon them all fit in there. Christianity is responsible for far more deaths than anything that Hitler could come up with, as are Islam or any other of the major religions. But no one wants to talk about that. No one is squeaky clean. Horrible acts have been commited in the name of religion, but on the same side, some of the most kindhearted and generous. I am not trying to bash on any religion in particular, but to say that religion has always been a good thing is misguided at best and plain ignorant at worst. Why? What is so wrong with me having a vision? What made Muhammed special? What makes the Pope all high and mighty? I find it interesting that Budha himself did not wish for his beliefs to become a religion but his followers did. Why? Power. And if you ask yourself, if god made everyone equal, why are woman still not able to become priests in the church?[/quote]Comparing religion to Hitler is a bit absurd. You can?t take centuries of deaths and compare them to the chaos of a single leader who was not around for centuries. After all if Hitler could have lived that long, it?s possible he might have killed just as many people as others did in the name of religion in the same time frame. Overall it?s just not a realistic comparison when you consider that Hitler didn?t have the same amount of time to impose what he wanted on the world.

It?s true that horrible acts have been committed in the name of religion, but you are forgetting that it is the person who is using religion as an excuse to do things that are not acceptable. Religion in that sense is nothing more than a tool, just as others use the government to pass laws to get what they want. Which is why politicians are against single line item veto options, as they want their ?pork? to be part of the regular law. The same is true of religion. People take a whole picture and then insert other things to make what they want acceptable.

Many of the things religion has supposedly done over the centuries have often been a case of greed, and desire for power and those in charge used religion to make it acceptable.

Also? and I?m putting on my moderator cap here. You need to do something about your poor spelling in your posts as they are littered with misspelled words. Please use something like Word to double check your spelling or if you don?t have word, get a hotmail account as it?s free and it has a spellchecker. Another good idea would be to break up your posts into paragraphs to make it easier to read. Right now the main bulk if it just runs together and it makes it harder to follow what you are trying to say. I always type up my posts in word and then simply copy and paste them. A quick look at the rules will explain why I am asking you to do this:
[INDENT][SIZE=1][b]Incoherent/Sloppy Posts:[/b] At OtakuBoards, we greatly emphasize the concept of having clear, easy to read posts. This includes correct use of spelling, grammar and punctuation. If a member is posting with very poor quality, they will be asked to clean up their future posts. If the member persists in posting poorly, they will be banned from the site.[/SIZE][/INDENT]
So please work on that as it?s required for all members to put more effort into their posts.
[/COLOR]

[ChibiHorsewoman]

[color=#9933ff][font=lucida calligraphy]I just want to jump back in here and say one thing that I really remember from taking a beginning Wicca class a few years ago that really stuck with me. When we were learning about the time line in religions one night the guy teaching the class stopped on the part in the timeline around when Jesus was born. He said: Everyone may not agree that Jesus exists or follow that religion. But there was obviously something signifigant enough in this era to have changed the timeline.

He said this because of the fact that when you do history timelines things everything goes from BCE to CE (Before Common Era to Common Era) and it's just stuck in my head.

Yea I guess that was a tad random. But I had to put it in this thread on religious debates.[/color][/font]

[Sara]

[quote name='The13thMan][COLOR=DarkOrange][FONT=Century Gothic]Sense of humor is not appropriate when discussing one's religion.[/FONT'][/COLOR][/quote][color=#b0000b][size=1]I would argue that a sense of humor is [i]crucial[/i] for such a discussion.[/color][/size]

[inactive]

[B]1. What religion are you CURRENTLY following? If you don't have one, then why?[/B]

I'm a Christian. I'm not a strict follower of any specific denomination, but I am Protestant. For the first part of my life I attened (and was baptized at) a United church, but my family switched to a Mennonite church when I was still quite young.

[B]2. Why do you follow that religion? Parents, personal reasons, etc?[/B]

Well, I was raised as a Christian by my parents, but as I grew older, and actually started understanding more about the Christian faith, and forming my own views, it became more about what [I]I[/I] believed, and less about what my parents taught me (although I'm still grateful for the rearing my parents gave me, and I baisically agree with everything they taught me). I was lucky to grow up in a largely Mennonite environment (since I'm in the German Bilingual program at school), but I suppose that did make me a bit sheltered. I can imagine that some of you (maybe) are thinking that I was brainwashed into the whole Christianity thing, since I was "raised" that way, and maybe that was true when I was a kid, but certainly not now. If I didn't agree with the Christian teachings, I would have dropped Christianity long ago. Actually, my views are different than other Christians', in some ways. I REALLY like science. I find it absolutely fascinating, and it bothers me when other Christians avoid and frown upon it, for I believe that science was as much the invention of God (almost a tool for him, really) as everything else in this universe. If he created everything, then he also created the science that makes those things work, and do the things they do. Science is an undeniable element in our world, and so (in my opinion) is God.

[B]3. Do you ever feel that people often critisize you because of these beliefs?[/B]

No, I don't. And this is probably because (as I mentioned above) I've always gone to school with Christians, and just about all my friends have been Christians, so, yes, I've been very sheltered. I prefer to think of it as lucky, though.

[B]4. This one may spark a little bit of arguing: Do you believe that your religion is the one true religion? If so provide evidence.[/B]

Hmmm... Well, I think anyone with a really strong faith in their religion will believe that theirs is the "one true religion". But I'm not here to convert anybody, nor do I think I CAN. I respect other religions, even if I don't quite agree with them. But, yeah... I believe in the Christian teachings, so I guess I do believe that it's the "true religion"...

So that's just a very brief overview of what I believe. Of course, there's a whole lot that I haven't included, which makes up a huge part of who I am today, but I'm not here to write an autobiography. :p