| Monte: Liquorice Years 09.12.2004 08:48 |
Who here is really really religious? I know I'm going to offend someone, and they're going to hate me because I'm a bitch. If you are, I dont care... but I'm an atheist. And i just realised (with Christmas coming up with "the birth of Jesus") that some people could be really religious. Please tell, so i know when to keep my opinions to myself. thank you |
| Bob The Shrek 09.12.2004 08:52 |
You are as entitled to your opinion as the people who believe in God - as long as it doesn't descend into yet another 'He does exist, no he doesn't, prove it' type argument. Chalk me up as a not sure about God but the bible is a loads of bollocks, supporter. |
| iGSM 09.12.2004 08:53 |
I'm Christian. That's about it. I'm not deeply religious but it fucks my tempo of life when my brother (the aetheist a.k.a. The Indecisive Fuckstick) tries to convert me. I was bought up believing in Pop, Kiddo and Spook and I certainly don't go around throwing Bibles at my brother. 'cause I do have about 9. Yeah..so other than that..boo Catholics. |
| agneepath! 11994 09.12.2004 08:57 |
Yep... Muslim |
| Mean Mistreater 09.12.2004 09:00 |
I don't know what I believe really. As a child I had to go to a Southern Baptist church, and I think it ruined my views on religion. Religion has never played a major role in my life, but on those occasions of a crisis I find myself turning to God for answers. But to each his own, and yes, I believe the Bible is HIGHLY misinterpreted...but what do I know...I can honestly say I've never read more than one page of it. I hate it when people throw out all these Bible verses. |
| Monte: Liquorice Years 09.12.2004 09:01 |
so, i've got 1 catholic; 1 muslim; 1 whos not sure; and an atheist (not including myself) sweet! |
| iGSM 09.12.2004 09:03 |
I thought of becoming a Sikh for a couple of months this year. You get to wear a turban, grow facial hair and eat people. But then I read that the longer you've been a Sikh the less you drink beer...until none at all. Like fuck. |
| iGSM 09.12.2004 09:04 |
I think you'll find you've got 1 Christian, 1 Muslim, 1 Atheist and 1 not too sure. No way I was baptised Catholic. My dad would have punched me to death. And then himself. |
| deleted user 09.12.2004 09:04 |
I'm a strong Christian, so you may just wanna keep your distance from me. |
| Mean Mistreater 09.12.2004 09:06 |
It's just too hard to say that I don't believe because "there must be more to life than this" :D you know what I mean? I would say I am spiritual rather than religious. I really appreciate mother nature, and I know there has to be something greater that creates all these miracles. |
| Monte: Liquorice Years 09.12.2004 09:07 |
I'll keep that in mind Miss James. Thanks for the warning! |
| iGSM 09.12.2004 09:13 |
Did you hear the one about Jesus? He died for our sins. Well mine at least. Anywho..that was the punchline. I would indeed go to Church except the Churches around me are Latter-Day Saint, Methodist etc, no pure Christian ones. Also before anyone points it out I'm aware Methodist, Presbyterian, Anglican, Protestant, Catholic etc. are all hybrids of Christianity. So shaddupa the hell up. Mind you Roger (the Roger Taylor from Queen, you know that band) is right. Religion tends to fuck people up. |
| deleted user 09.12.2004 09:18 |
Now you got and disappoint me by using that quote, iGSM. tsk tsk. I think it was Brandon who said "it isn't religion that tends to f*ck people up. It's the people that f*ck religion up." I agree with that... ...but I am going to leave this topic to avoid any nastiness. :^) |
| iGSM 09.12.2004 09:21 |
heh, true dat. *curses people with a plague of locusts* |
| Sonia Doris 09.12.2004 09:26 |
i worship myself... heheh :P seriously, i believe in god, i am catholic, but i don't agree with the way the church is...so i don't go to church much... i would rather prefer the before-constantine type of church. :D btw... dont tell that to my mom, please!!! :D |
| YourValentine 09.12.2004 09:28 |
I am an agnostic which means I do not deny the existence of a creator but I do not believe, either. The difference between an agnostic and an atheist is that the atheist denies the existence of God which is just as much a matter of belief in my opinion. I would not dream of keeping a distance from Alli, I am sure we agree on almost any ethical issue, only your ethics are based on religion and mine are not. Although I am not religious and do not belong to any church I think religion is important for any society providing the ethical backbone of the society. Fundamentalism should not be blamed on religion, it's the fault of people abusing religion for their personal or political advantage. For me it does not matter what other people believe, I respect all beliefs and religions. More important is that people don't hurt or disciminate others for their different views and respect the Human Rights of any other human being. |
| iGSM 09.12.2004 09:28 |
*rings up Mrs Crazy Little Thing Called Sonia Reloaded* Hello? Mrs Crazy Little Thing Called Sonia Reloaded? Yes, your daughter has been disgracing the Pope? I know? Wow, did you hear? Mrs Rosestein is in hospital? Oh, my, Gaaaaawd! Can you believe that?!? I mean..uh..vote Quimby! Nyi. So in conclusion stay away from Churches offering 'free candy'. They're not talking about candy you put in your mouth. |
| iGSM 09.12.2004 09:29 |
Great post YV. Great post. |
| Sonia Doris 09.12.2004 09:31 |
iGSM wrote: *rings up Mrs Crazy Little Thing Called Sonia Reloaded* Hello? Mrs Crazy Little Thing Called Sonia Reloaded? Yes, your daughter has been disgracing the Pope? I know? Wow, did you hear? Mrs Rosestein is in hospital? Oh, my, Gaaaaawd! Can you believe that?!? I mean..uh..vote Quimby! Nyi. So in conclusion stay away from Churches offering 'free candy'. They're not talking about candy you put in your mouth.lol!!! and what if i ask for cookies??? :S |
| Monte: Liquorice Years 09.12.2004 09:33 |
that was really deep YV. cheers! ive been informed, you're important here (i wouldnt know) but cool! Im never going to remember all these people... and their beliefs. |
| iGSM 09.12.2004 09:33 |
Well that's better. Only just. They won't give you a tickling in the backside with a feather duster, if you catch my drift. |
| Lisser 09.12.2004 09:40 |
I believe in God and Jesus. I also believe in respecting others rights to believe in what they want to believe in and not badgering them for what they do or don't believe in. So believe that. I also agree with what YV said. |
| iGSM 09.12.2004 09:42 |
Correctum. I know that I don't go preaching my religion to my friends and what not. I think the Vicar outfit did scare them once though. |
| Sonia Doris 09.12.2004 09:57 |
did i mention i worship myslef? :P that's a good thing. everybody should do that. :D |
| Megamike The GREAT 09.12.2004 10:05 |
|
| Sonia Doris 09.12.2004 10:13 |
<font color=red>MegaMike</font> wrote: I have my OWN religion.. its called Prestonism.. I worship me.. and I am both God and Satan.. my religion has its advantages.. I have 354 Major religious holidays a year which forbids me from doing ANYTHING.. I can eat anything I wish, have all the adulterous sex I want as long as I say I am sorry afterwards.. And best of all.. I don't have to worry about anything.. SO.. BOW before me you puny mortals.. because when Judgement day comes... unless you have a good reason why I shouldnt, I will condem you to an eternity of hell.. yes... My singing for an eternity..well...i can put u as a god in my religion (for the uninformed sonism...:P) but you'll be the third: 1.me 2.the GOD himself Farouhk Bulsara 3. you who was aobtdusted by the god. heheh :P sonia |
| Megamike The GREAT 09.12.2004 10:17 |
Ok.. I will be A god in your religion as well.. BUT... in my Religion I am BOTH God and Satan.. remember that.. :) |
| Sonia Doris 09.12.2004 10:18 |
well my religion doesn't have satan, because i dont believe in absolute evil. so... |
| Megamike The GREAT 09.12.2004 10:49 |
I Didn't believe in that either until I met my Ex's Family.. and then they turned ME into PURE and ABSOLOUTE Evil.. |
| Mr.Jingles 09.12.2004 11:11 |
I was raised catholic, but thank God my parents are not very religious and never enforced religion on me. I however, consider myself christian but sincerely I prefer not to say that I belong to any particular christian group because all of them are screwed up in some way or another, and there's just too much hypocrisy going on especially coming from their religious leaders. Just look at all the morons who claim to be so christian and yet they think it's OK to go to another country and kill people, or to hate gays. |
| pma 09.12.2004 12:27 |
I believe in the holy vagina. My God is betta' than yours... |
| deleted user 09.12.2004 16:09 |
I went to Christian school for 8 years, which completely ruined that religion for me. The People at me school were very radical and elitist. I'm not too religious, but I do follow Scientology. I don't think it matters what religion a person is. It is just important to believe in something. Even if it isnt a conventional religion, just a personal set of principals and values that you have qualifies. Anyway, Many religions are basically the same or a least have similar principals (kindness, love, peace, etc.) |
| KillerQueen840 09.12.2004 16:37 |
I'm Catholic and I'm not ashamed to admit it, either. |
| Sonja 09.12.2004 16:43 |
My family is protestant but none of us does really practise religion anymore. I've always found it hard to believe in God and the Bible stories, even as a child. I don't believe in God as such, but I do believe that there is a major "power" that guides us...whatever it is, I can't tell... I know about the Zoroastrian beliefs (NOT because of Freddie but because my best friend is Parsi and Zoroastiran is the original Parsi religion before they went on to Islam). This religion seems the most friendly and most natural religion to me... they don't believe in God either. They believe in mainly 3 things: think good, do good and speak good. It's a very peaceful religon. I respect all kinds of religions and beliefs. Only thing I don't respect are extremists who fight and kill people for the sake of their religion. |
| Goo 09.12.2004 16:43 |
I celebrate Christmas and Easter, but other than that, I'm not religious. I don't believe in God either, but I always respect other people's beliefs, and though I love religious discussions, I try to avoid religious debate. And I still have morals and ethics, it's just that I learn them through myself and others, rather than learning them through God and the Church. |
| SergeantPepperDG 09.12.2004 17:38 |
Woo! I'm a Jew! (hey, that kinda rhymes) I'm not very relgious though. I'm more into the cultural aspect of Judaism than the religious aspect. I wish I had been Bat Mitzvah-ed though. I WAS going to be, but we decided we didn't like the hebrew school I was going to. The only reason I wanted to go there in the first place was because two of my best friends went there. BIG mistake. I should have just stayed at the synogogoe that I had been going to since preschool. Jewish holidays are awesome. Especially when you get to miss school. The basic outline for all Jewish holidays is we were persecuted, we survived, we ate. That's about it. |
| KillerQueen840 09.12.2004 17:41 |
Right now in my Religion class we are studying The Hebrew Scriptures, we don't move on to the Christian Scriptures til next term, I think.. But Jewish holidays seem cool. 8-) |
| Mr.Jingles 09.12.2004 18:10 |
One thing that has indeed made religion look more foolish is the fact that some people follow it as a trend. Back in the 60s lots of young people got into Buddhism, and trascendental meditation through yoga just because people like Mia Farrow and The Beatles were following it. Today we can see the same thing going on with those who follow Kabbalah. Just look at Madonna, she claims to be a fully devoted woman to her new religion and just fired her manager for adultery. Now, Madonna firing his manager for adultery is like Snoop Dogg firing someone from his possee for smoking pot. So supossedely Kabbalah is a religion that follows morals and ethics while some of their new members happen to be Hollywood's most famous whores Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Britney Spears. Sure thing, when Kabbalah dissapears as a trend, these celebrities will totally forget or deny that they were involved into it. |
| Brimon 09.12.2004 19:35 |
I was brought up Catholic, and I would say that my religous upbringing was based purely on fear. It is a fear that was drilled into me as a child, and a fear that I still carry with me to this day. I do believe in God, but I do not believe in all the trappings and bullshit that go with religion. If Jesus was to repay us with a visit today, I believe he would be disgusted at what we have done in his name. |
| geeksandgeeks 09.12.2004 20:07 |
"Atheist who really doesn't give a shit what anyone else believes is going to happen after we're all dead and worm food as long as you are kind and reasonable in this life" here. |
| Saint Jiub 09.12.2004 22:10 |
I am somewhere between an atheist and an agnostic. I believe that being a good person is important, but that religion is not a necessary part of being a good person. If a benevolent God does exist, it seems strange he would sentence to Hell a good, but non-believing, person. When someone behaves well because of the threat of Hell, I do not think that person is necessarily a good person. |
| The Real Wizard 10.12.2004 02:00 |
<font color="lime">KillerQueen840 wrote: Right now in my Religion class we are studying The Hebrew Scriptures, we don't move on to the Christian Scriptures til next term, I think.. But Jewish holidays seem cool. 8-)Hmm, I wonder if they'll teach you what "midrash" is. Well, here's a preview... in short, midrash is the act of NT writers using references from OT scripture. It has nothing to do with "fulfulling prophecies" in the first century. That's all crap that came later on through doctrines, creeds, etc. Prophecy was all about speaking critically to the spirit of a certain time in history. Any trained minister or priest knows this. 'Tis a shame that most of them won't tell you that, but it's the truth. They all learned it. Whether or not they can admit that to you is another story. A huge portion of the NT is derived directly from the OT. Most of the NT writers were devoutly Jewish, and they completely cherished their scriptures... thus, they incorporated their sacred texts into their own work. Pretty simple concept, I think. One example: almost the entire gospel of Mark, if one reads carefully (and with unblinded and unbiased eyes, mind you), is a mix of midrashic writings and a direct chronology of the events of the Jewish liturgical year. Any faithful Jewish person will note the striking references. And so, it's highly unlikely that much or even most of it is historical, as opposed to being carefully crafted literature. Also in Mark, which is the earliest (canonical) gospel to be written, there is no physical resurrection. The King James version is just plain outdated and mostly conservative drivel, and there are several manuscripts to prove it. 16:8 is where it ends. Anyone get the drift of what is being suggested here? I'm sure plenty here will dislike the above paragraphs. Don't shoot the messenger. History cannot be changed, and biblical scholarship comes a lot closer to historical truth than blind faith devoted to possible past events. For some of us, this is fascinating stuff. But remember, this is just the factual and historical side of things. Religion shouldn't completely be about looking back and focusing on previous events, historically true or not. There are two kinds of truth: historical truth and spiritual truth. It doesn't matter if something happened or not - it's what you can get out of it and take with you into your daily life. This is the difference between "truth" and a "truth story", a concept that not enough people truly understand. Spiritual truth can be found within the context of a story, hence it being a "truth story", rather than historical truth. Religion should be about grabbing that spiritual truth, and moving forward with it, regardless of whether the event depicted in the story actually happened or not. If one's belief system only requires a few certain things to be historically true, that's not a strong belief system. It is fragile, weak, and stagnant. So, in summary: to me, it doesn't matter what one believes. It's what they *do* with whatever they believe. If one's belief system is purely based on a bunch of events, historical or not, what good are they doing for others than themselves? In my opinion, if your religion or belief system encourages you to be a loving, compassionate, understanding person, and you don't use your beliefs to divide yourself from others, then you're doing good work in this world, and we need more people like you. |
| KillerQueen840 10.12.2004 07:00 |
Well, we did learn quite a few different truths, religious truths, scientific truths, histoircal truths, etc. in the beginning of the year. I can see where you are going at...but a lot of that stuff in the NT did happen. There were many things in the OT that were exaggerated...like a lot of the events going on were really natural disasters but they simply exaggerated them...I mean..I guess it's no use to go into a debate or anything..it's not going to do anyone any good... |
| Fenderek 10.12.2004 07:20 |
Raised catholic but I'm better now... There's nothing worse than being raised with the overwhelming feeling of guilt- and that's pretty common in Polish Catholicism, very strict and narrow-minded... IMO, of course... Was baptised and everything, but never truly believed in Bible and especially in this church, in the institution. I guess the real church (can't find better word) is inside you and your feelings are the guidelines to find out WHO YOU ARE... It's like mixing new age with a lot of psychology- I don't want to rely on some guy with beard who may say you go to heaven or to hell or anywhere... I'd rather rely on myself and on my own feelings- I'm just trying do my best, trying the best I can to be myself. Can't go wrong with that one... it's like believing that my feelings is the true voice of my own God... Looking at the nature and us, humans- there has to be SOMETHING! But it's lack of modesty to say "that's the real reason" or "that's right and that's wrong"... Who am I to judge others and who am I to say that one way of living is better than another...? Vanity... I guess I believe we've got a great gift- few years in here which we can use in whatever way we want; we can waste the whole enrgy by sticking our noses into other ppl's lives (very Polish thing to do... :S ) or we can focus on our own lives trying to use them to the full... Wisely... Whatever that means... All in all- in Poland I'v eseen the worst examples of brain-washing, ppl who cared more about saying 10 "Hail may's" than caring about relatives or living their own lives... But I also saw few whom religion helped to go through every day with a smile and hope. Each of us has it's own way of doing it, of reaching happiness. tht's what I mean by "having own God"- what works for me and amkes me a better man doesn't have to work for others... That's why the bad starts when one person says that his idea is much better than the other or- even worse- that it is the only one that is right. I guess- that's one of the reasons why I left Poland loooong time ago... Even though it's a truly beautiful country... Can't imagine raising my own kids there... |
| The Real Wizard 11.12.2004 01:38 |
<font color="lime">KillerQueen840 wrote: Well, we did learn quite a few different truths, religious truths, scientific truths, histoircal truths, etc. in the beginning of the year. I can see where you are going at...but a lot of that stuff in the NT did happen. There were many things in the OT that were exaggerated...like a lot of the events going on were really natural disasters but they simply exaggerated them...I mean..I guess it's no use to go into a debate or anything..it's not going to do anyone any good...Debate is good! Debate doesn't have to mean arguing; it's an exchange of thoughts at a decent pace. On this topic in particular though, both parties have to be at the same starting point. As long as your words on historical truth aren't based on faith as traditionalists see it fit, then you'll have a good chat with a budding theologian such as myself. That's often the problem when speaking about religion, as such debates quickly become a matter of faith vs. history, rather than working to integrate the two properly. The physical and metaphysical are two very different things, and if only one person understands this, the discussion will go nowhere. So with that in mind, yes, certainly some of the events of the NT did happen in some capacity. I have no doubts. But to me, questions are more important than answers. I like it when there are several possibilities of something... the non-literalistic approach - keeping the horizons open. |
| Yogurt 11.12.2004 09:40 |
I am a Christian. But I'm not the type that will not be friends with other people because they are not. That bugs me to realize that people's friendships are being turned down because of their religion. I let them be themselves. |
| KillerQueen840 11.12.2004 13:00 |
"So with that in mind, yes, certainly some of the events of the NT did happen in some capacity. I have no doubts. But to me, questions are more important than answers. I like it when there are several possibilities of something... the non-literalistic approach - keeping the horizons open." Yes, I can agree on you with that..I think that asking yourself more and more questions will get you further than doing nothing but waiting for all the answers. |
| -fatty- 2850 11.12.2004 13:05 |
I believe in Santa and I'm more than willing to kill anyone who doesn't. fatty. |
| OrAnGe SoDa 11.12.2004 13:33 |
i am catholic...:) |
| KillerQueen840 11.12.2004 13:40 |
Linda Of The Valley wrote:Cos a lot of people (and I'm not saying anyone from this website..I'm just saying some people in general) give Catholics bad reputations cos of some of the scandlism that went on in some Churches and stuff...also I have some Catholic friends that are like going Atheist just cos it's "in." Which I don't have anything against..I respect people no matter what their faith is.<font color="lime">KillerQueen840 wrote: I'm Catholic and I'm not ashamed to admit it, either.And why would you be? |
| KillerQueen840 11.12.2004 14:12 |
I don't know any Catholics that hate Protestants..but I believe you..anyhow there is basically only one difference between Catholics and Protestants. My whole dad's side is Protestant. But anyhow, there are always going to be hate between people's differences..whether is be age, gender, race, faith, etc. :-( |
| The Real Wizard 11.12.2004 22:30 |
<font color="lime">KillerQueen840 wrote: I think that asking yourself more and more questions will get you further than doing nothing but waiting for all the answers.Good stuff. :) You're one of those folks I referred to above as "we need more people like you". I won't voice my opinion about (traditional) Catholics here, because I'll surely be cut to shreds. Quite surprisingly, there has been little reaction to my previous comments. Perhaps they were just over most people's heads. It's pathetic... what usually passes for religious education these days is downright pitiful. Most people don't have a clue, which would be a fair enough reason to suggest why my words are over people's heads. In most circles, we teach science, national and international history, and evolution, but we stay far away from historical spiritual ancestory. Such a shame. |
| dragonzflame 12.12.2004 18:37 |
I hesitate to pigeonhole myself but what I believe is very heavily based on Wicca and Witchcraft. I read a book about it when I was about 15 and it all made so much more sense to me than just about anything else - reincarnation, God is energy and therefore in everything, which also means that all religions are equal since the Wiccan Lord and Lady are just facets of one thing - but I like to give myself the freedom to accept other things as possible as well. It's a bit hard to grow up outside of any religion and then just suddenly believe new stuff. Having said that, on the odd occasions I tried magick and spells they did work which helped my faith in it all a lot. |
| Pluto 12.12.2004 19:57 |
i go to a catholic school and because of that everyone thinks that im super into God and stuff but really i dont care much about it. Right now my brother and I are inbetween and I have my own beliefs that if you are a good person and try to do something with your life then you are going to heaven or wherever you think you go when you die. |