Religion

[blackangst1]

Originally posted by: ntdz
I'm not religious because I've been provided with exactly no evidence of any God, among other reasons.

And for me I'm religious because I have been provided positive evidence of God. And I'm one of the most realist/show-me-to-prove-it kinda guy you'll ever meet.

 

[DVK916]

Originally posted by: blackangst1

Originally posted by: ntdz
I'm not religious because I've been provided with exactly no evidence of any God, among other reasons.

And for me I'm religious because I have been provided positive evidence of God. And I'm one of the most realist/show-me-to-prove-it kinda guy you'll ever meet.

What evidence is this.

 

[Kadarin]

I am not religious, and believe that all religions are inventions of human culture. They are also all (all the monotheistic ones, that is) so arbitrary..

 

[ntdz]

Originally posted by: DVK916
I am an atheist since I am a free thinker. Free thinkers are all atheist.

I don't believe that for a second.

 

[Cerb]

I'm not, because I never was.

I was raised Catholic, and went to a Catholic school for k-6. I actually remember when I finally realized, walking down the hall in that school, that I had never believed one bit of it, and had just been going through the motions, because that's what I was told to do.

There are those whose beliefs I agree with, and who make Scientology look practically mainstream, but I have work on myself that needs doing before anything else.

 

[Moonbeam]

How can you not believe in God if you say you don't believe in Him. By picturing in your mind what you don't believe in, you create that thing. What you really don't believe in is what you have never named or thought about, no?

When you say you don't believe in God you know what you mean by God and that is your creation. To not believe in God is to create Him.

I don't believe this God you create with your disbelief exists.

 

[Polish3d]

Originally posted by: DVK916
I am an atheist since I am a free thinker. Free thinkers are all atheist.

What is a free thinker?


Also, your assertion is moronic. If anything, an open-minded person will be mature enough to claim, "they do not know."

Actually you seem like you'd make a fine religious zealot.

 

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: Uhtrinity

Originally posted by: totalcommand
I am agnostic in a way different from you guys.

I am not agnostic in that I don't know if there is a God or not.
I am agnostic in that I think it is impossible to really know if God exists or not, given what we think God is.

But since it is impossible to know, I take it on faith that "he" may exist. In my opinion he is everything in the universe: you, me that rock, God is in everything.

As you can see, I'm not part of any real religion.

I can agree with that, basically the Non-Omnipotent / Non-Omniscience / Non-Omnipresent god. My whole justification is that I don't believe a caring omnipotent god would allow the suffering that happens, whether random or at the hands of men. Unless of course we are so minuscle in the big picture

But not knowing what that Non-Omnipotent god, universe, etc. is makes me Agnostic.

Yeah, but totalcommand never said that he had to be a caring god.

 

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: ntdz

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: EatSpam

Originally posted by: ntdz
I'm not religious because I've been provided with exactly no evidence of any God, among other reasons.

Same here, plus religions seem like a big scam to me. They take your money and promise heaven/virgins/etc.

How is my religion "taking my money?"

They take your money and promise heaven/virgins/etc.

Sounds like government to me.

Maybe not yours, but people contribute to the Church to keep it afloat...

But one does not have to be involved with a church to be religious.

 

[CSMR]

Originally posted by: RichardE
If you are not religious, why?

If you are, why?

Lets try to keep this to answers just to this OP and not comment on each others post.

I believe there is such a thing as good. That makes me religious. I believe we do not posess it, but have sight of it through faith. That makes me Christian.

 

[5150Joker]

Originally posted by: Aimster
I'm a hardcore Muslim because Islam like all other religions is the path to destruction and ignorance.

Fixed.

 

[totalcommand]

Originally posted by: Excelsior

Originally posted by: Uhtrinity

Originally posted by: totalcommand
I am agnostic in a way different from you guys.

I am not agnostic in that I don't know if there is a God or not.
I am agnostic in that I think it is impossible to really know if God exists or not, given what we think God is.

But since it is impossible to know, I take it on faith that "he" may exist. In my opinion he is everything in the universe: you, me that rock, God is in everything.

As you can see, I'm not part of any real religion.

I can agree with that, basically the Non-Omnipotent / Non-Omniscience / Non-Omnipresent god. My whole justification is that I don't believe a caring omnipotent god would allow the suffering that happens, whether random or at the hands of men. Unless of course we are so minuscle in the big picture

But not knowing what that Non-Omnipotent god, universe, etc. is makes me Agnostic.

Yeah, but totalcommand never said that he had to be a caring god.

Exactly, he could be anything, even not an "intelligent" God. He could simply be the everythingness of this universe. I think that since we all may be connected in this way, that is why we must give value to one another and that is where our moral judgements come from. I don't believe that there is any book ala Bible out there for me that tells me what is right and wrong.

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
How can you not believe in God if you say you don't believe in Him. By picturing in your mind what you don't believe in, you create that thing. What you really don't believe in is what you have never named or thought about, no?

When you say you don't believe in God you know what you mean by God and that is your creation. To not believe in God is to create Him.

I don't believe this God you create with your disbelief exists.

:laugh: :thumbsup:

I love you Moonbeam

 

[DVK916]

Originally posted by: Frackal

Originally posted by: DVK916
I am an atheist since I am a free thinker. Free thinkers are all atheist.

What is a free thinker?


Also, your assertion is moronic. If anything, an open-minded person will be mature enough to claim, "they do not know."

Actually you seem like you'd make a fine religious zealot.

free-think-er n. A person who forms opinions about religion on the basis of reason, independently of tradition, authority, or established belief. Freethinkers include atheists, agnostics and rationalists.

No one can be a freethinker who demands conformity to a bible, creed, or messiah. To the freethinker, revelation and faith are invalid, and orthodoxy is no guarantee of truth.

So a freethinker includes atheist, agnostic, and rationalist. Neither of which believe in a god. Sure I made a mistake when I said it was only atheist.


Also only a close minded person would be to blind to see that there isn't enough evidence of god to just accept there is one. An open minded person is someone who doesn't bleive in a god and includes atheist and agnostic.


A good site about what a freethinker is.

Freedom From Religion Foundation

 

[homercles337]

I am an atheist. Religions are nothing more than antiquated stories designed to control. Religion is also a manifestation of mans knowledge that death is inevitable.

In college i had a course on mythology as literature and found it amazing how many different stories there are for so many different things from creation to how the sun and moon travel across the sky. No synchrony at all. Does that mean that there are hundreds of "gods," each with their own plan or hundreds of cultures each with their own story?

 

[Harvey]

God created man in his own image, and man, being a gentleman, returned the compliment.

- Mark Twain

 

[Orignal Earl]

?We turn to God for help when our foundations are shaking, only to learn that it is God who is shaking them.? Charles C West

?Every evening I turn my worries over to God. He's going to be up all night anyway.? Mary C Crowley

?I am convinced that He (God) does not play dice.? Albert Einstein

God: The most popular scapegoat for our sins. ~Mark Twain

God is a sort of burglar. As a young man you knock him down; as an old man you try to conciliate him, because he may knock you down. ~H. Beerbohm-Tree

believe in the sun even though it is slow in rising. I believe in you without realizing. I believe in rain though there are no clouds in the sky. I believe in truth even though people lie. I believe in peace though sometimes I am violent. I believe in God even though he is silent.


One night I was walking back home across the field from the neighbors. The moon was out and a million stars were reflecting on the snow, it was perfectly quiet. I was thinking * God what a beautiful night*. I was almost home, one last hill to go over, when I noticed a dark shape in front of me. I couldn't make it out till I was about 10 feet away, thought it was a dog, but turned out to be the biggest lynx I had ever seen. He stood there looking at me, I was looking at it. He let out a snarl, I damn near ****** myself, he did take a ****** and walked off. As simple as that, I believe -Orignal Earl

edit- heh Harvey, I seen that same quote while I was putting together this one

 

[piasabird]

Well you can b a zealot for or against religion.

As for me I have seen all the proof I need to know that what I believe is true. Call me a Religious fanatic if you want to. Perhaps you have chosen not to accept the possibility that God exists and cannot feel his presence because you choose not to.
On the subject of religion, I suggest that religion is both a belief system and a set of acceptable social behavior for people living in a society. People of one faith or another can be described to live in a subset or a smaller Social Society and we all come together (SOMETIMES) to become the society of the country or the word we live in.

To me Religion does not restrict me, but it sets me free. Society in America (USA) often tries to tell you what you can think, what is normal and what is acceptable. I think many people have forsaken common sense and follow hollywood and anyone else because that gives them an excuse for their unacceptable behavior. When men call evil good and good evil, then they are just trying to find an excuse for their bad behavior.

If a man is addicted to alcohol or drugs or pornography, can you say he is truly free?

You are free to choose to become part of a religion or to believe in whatever you wish. However, I suggest you try as an experiment to read the Bible from one end to the other and have an open mind about it. There are lots of miracles in the Bible. If any of them are true then that means hundreds of people from time to time have witnessed these miracles. When the miracles occurred it is normally because men or women chose to have faith in God. It is only after a walk of faith that a miracle occurs.

I suggest that you have an open mind. Take a chance and experiment upon the words of the Bible and put the promises it has to the test and see if God does exist. If you have a closed mind, then perhaps you have chosen not to believe in God. Why would God help anyone who chooses not to even accept the possiblity that he might exist? I believe in the Bible. I believe in God because he created the earth. I love him because he loved me first.

 

[DVK916]

Originally posted by: piasabird
Well you can b a zealot for or against religion.

As for me I have seen all the proof I need to know that what I believe is true. Call me a Religious fanatic if you want to. Perhaps you have chosen not to accept the possibility that God exists and cannot feel his presence because you choose not to.
On the subject of religion, I suggest that religion is both a belief system and a set of acceptable social behavior for people living in a society. People of one faith or another can be described to live in a subset or a smaller Social Society and we all come together (SOMETIMES) to become the society of the country or the word we live in.

To me Religion does not restrict me, but it sets me free. Society in America (USA) often tries to tell you what you can think, what is normal and what is acceptable. I think many people have forsaken common sense and follow hollywood and anyone else because that gives them an excuse for their unacceptable behavior. When men call evil good and good evil, then they are just trying to find an excuse for their bad behavior.

If a man is addicted to alcohol or drugs or pornography, can you say he is truly free?

You are free to choose to become part of a religion or to believe in whatever you wish. However, I suggest you try as an experiment to read the Bible from one end to the other and have an open mind about it. There are lots of miracles in the Bible. If any of them are true then that means hundreds of people from time to time have witnessed these miracles. When the miracles occurred it is normally because men or women chose to have faith in God. It is only after a walk of faith that a miracle occurs.

I suggest that you have an open mind. Take a chance and experiment upon the words of the Bible and put the promises it has to the test and see if God does exist. If you have a closed mind, then perhaps you have chosen not to believe in God. Why would God help anyone who chooses not to even accept the possiblity that he might exist? I believe in the Bible. I believe in God because he created the earth. I love him because he loved me first.

You can't be a zealot atheist. Speaking the truth doesn't make you a zealot.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I am an atheist.
I do not think there is a god.

I do not claim to know for certain that there is no god.
I do not think it is possible to disprove that a god exists, however, I place the burden of proof on those who say that a god does exist.

It's easy to prove that something does exist, but nearly impossible to prove that it does not.

 

[homercles337]

Originally posted by: BurnItDwn
It's easy to prove that something does exist, but nearly impossible to prove that it does not.

Yes, but it is not "nearly" impossible, it is impossible.

 

[Todd33]

Originally posted by: ntdz
I'm not religious because I've been provided with exactly no evidence of any God, among other reasons.

Ya, basically that. No evidence, no need and the human history of con men.

 

[CycloWizard]

Originally posted by: DVK916

free-think-er n. A person who forms opinions about religion on the basis of reason, independently of tradition, authority, or established belief. Freethinkers include atheists, agnostics and rationalists.

No one can be a freethinker who demands conformity to a bible, creed, or messiah. To the freethinker, revelation and faith are invalid, and orthodoxy is no guarantee of truth.

So a freethinker includes atheist, agnostic, and rationalist. Neither of which believe in a god. Sure I made a mistake when I said it was only atheist.


Also only a close minded person would be to blind to see that there isn't enough evidence of god to just accept there is one. An open minded person is someone who doesn't bleive in a god and includes atheist and agnostic.


A good site about what a freethinker is.

Freedom From Religion Foundation

So you define what you are through the logical fallacy of begging the question? Sounds like you've thought about this a lot. :roll:

Originally posted by: DVK916
You can't be a zealot atheist. Speaking the truth doesn't make you a zealot.

You ARE a zealot athiest.

I wouldn't cross the street to save a burning theist life.
When a theist dies, the world as a whole is elevated.

 

[Orignal Earl]

Originally posted by: piasabird
I suggest that religion is both a belief system and a set of acceptable social behavior for people living in a society.

To me Religion does not restrict me, but it sets me free. Society in America (USA) often tries to tell you what you can think, what is normal and what is acceptable. I think many people have forsaken common sense and follow hollywood and anyone else because that gives them an excuse for their unacceptable behavior. When men call evil good and good evil, then they are just trying to find an excuse for their bad behavior.

I suggest you try as an experiment to read the Bible from one end to the other and have an open mind about it.

I suggest that you have an open mind. Take a chance and experiment upon the words of the Bible and put the promises it has to the test and see if God does exist. If you have a closed mind, then perhaps you have chosen not to believe in God. Why would God help anyone who chooses not to even accept the possiblity that he might exist? I believe in the Bible. I believe in God because he created the earth. I love him because he loved me first.

Originally posted by: piasabird
Send in the drones.

If they crave the life of a lunatic fringe, lets just give up and bomb them.

The only thing saving them is that they have oil.

We could just drop persistent nerve gas or a biological agent that just sticks to everything.

All we have to do is use some cruise missles.

Originally posted by: piasabird
I think this is one more reason not to let muslims immigrate to other countries. They are a very dangerous group of people. I dont doubt that there are some peaceful people that call themselves muslims, but I would not trust any Muslim at this point. I think that we should pull out all troops out of Saudia Arabia and all of the countries in the middle east. This is one instance in which I think Reagan had the right idea. These people are too ignorant to deal with. This was my suggestion when I saw the war with Iraq starting to come to a boil. I cant see the middle east worth saving or fighting for. Just let whatever factions that wants to control whatever resources they have control it. We can deal with them in the business world and just froget politics. I think they are too stupid to have normal relations with.

This is my personal opinion. It may not be plitically correct. However, I do think it is based on sound advice after looking at the historical problems with any country that allows muslims to live within their border. If you study the history of Spain, you will know exactly what I am talking about.

I think one of the reason alot of people get turned off by religion is all the hypocrisy they see.

 

[themusgrat]

People contribute to the government to keep it going. I'm a Christian, because I have seen all the evidence in the world of God. His creation points to an intelligent maker.

EDIT: People are turned off because of all the hypocrisy. That is our fault. But you cannot accurately judge God by His creation, no?