Religious Orientation

[headcase]

What religion are you? Or how would you otherwise classify yourself? And any other information or justification you might want to add. (Feel free to justify yourself, and/or choose atheism, but there's another thread argueing the existence of a god).

As for myself, I'm between religions. Agnosticism at the moment, I suppose. I can't shake that feeling that everything is too perfect to be accidental. But I can't imagine a sentient guy up in the clouds judging our every move. So I'll cling to the idea of an incomprehensible level of existence that saves me from any specification.

Buddhism, as limited as my understanding of it is, seems somewhat appealing, about as much as organised religion has been to me. This might be superficial or maybe something more. I'll see when I learn more about it.

[korn-dog666fuckamerica]

im agnostic, but im also taoist philosophilcally. organized religion is a load of shit

[blank stare]

I am pentecostal. You might notice by the way I talk about stuff sometimes.

[Steve_TPF]

Atheist. I was raised with religion but rejected it as I got older.

[nyar]

Goddess worshipping pagan. Eclectic, Alexandrian/Gardnarian, mostly solitary magus, but now practicing with a newly initiated Druidic Witch with whom I share a happy relationship with.

[blank stare]

Gardnarian?

[Wrench]

Gardnarian?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Gardner

link to Gardner's most famous book, Witchcraft Today


I'm an Athiest (Athiest?) with Satanic morals.

[NuraLorb]

Im Athiest. but id like to think there is some kind of after life as its hard to comprehend being dead, feeling nothing, not consciously existing.

[HellKrabb]

doubting christian.
inside I don't feel like I can really believe in God, but I am really good at making people, especially church people, think I am a Christian.
But I just can't put faith in somebody I can't see, or even see the effects of.
I don't know, I'm just kinda confused.

[behindthemask]

Originally Posted by blank stare

I am pentecostal. You might notice by the way I talk about stuff sometimes.

I don't mean to insult your religion but it sounds very fundamentalist. It's weird that you believe in that religion but yet you you visit bombshock. Anyways, I guess you could call me an agnostic, masquerading as a Christian.

[imajenius]

Define god? IMO, when people speak of "God" they think of a Christian god, but throughout history mankind has had many different interpretations on what it means to be a god. To me, if I can't prove it does exist and can prove it doesn't, then I can be no better then agnostic. I think being atheist is just as ignorant as blind belief. And from my understanding of Buddhism it has nothing to do with the afterlife, or a god or any spiritual afterlife for the most part. It is more about now and what you can acheive in life instead of thinking about death. Buddhists want to acheive enlightnement, is it real? I dont know, how can you prove it? But I do believe that if someone believes it enough that in there own mind they will reach it.

So if I'm asked if I believe in god, I answer agnostic but religion? Buddhist.

I would like to continue to discuss this because there is alot I could say on it.

[headcase]

Dawkins makes a similar point about agnosticism vs. atheism in "The God Delusion", but he points out that while agnosticism is based on uncertainty, you can still lean one way or the other. Just because you can't prove gods (non-)existance, doesn't mean you have to stand right on the fence. He uses the example of extra-terrestrial life. We can be nothing but agnostic on the issue itself, but we can still play the numbers game and have a bias towards the positive.

I'd have a read up about Buddhsim. While it doesn't have a diety it does still have some "spiritual" elements. The cycle of birth and rebirth on the path to enlightenment has a lot to do with the afterlife.

Although, we digress. Contineue any further arguement on the existance of god in the relevant thread. Feel free to reference or quote from this thread if needs be.

[Older than #s]

The last thing I would want do with my opinions is sway others. These are merely my opinions, and thats all they will ever be but...to believe that we as humans, as advanced as we have become, have even a basic understaning of how this universe came about(let alone Earth), to me, is incredibly vain. Its this vanity of our selves that allows us to continue to push our faith(or lack of it)on to others because scripture tells us to(the ultimate marketing scheme). We as people have the right to believe what we want to. I also believe that the more open we are the better we understand each other( I don't mean you and me I mean the human race as a whole). Look at how many wars have started over conflicting beliefs from religious to political. Take Yoga for example, it not about some limber guy folding himself into a pretzel, taking money for mantra, its about Krsna and serving Krsna. Religion now a days is about profit and gain and its a very lucrative industy. Is this what was indended? I remember a Time magazine cover a few months back and it read " Does God want you to be rich?" I thought God wanted blind servitude at least thats how it was written. To many confictions for me, plus I don't want to run around thinking I am better than others simply because I have faith in a particular religion infact I don't want to run thinking(or knowing)I am better than others for any reason. We were all born the same way and we all die eventually why not, while we are here, have just as much faith in humanity as some do for religion. I think it would bring positive change.

[headcase]

So... agnostic?

[Older than #s]

There is a difference between being religious and being spiritual. I try not to assume the positions of others just because of religious status quo. To much conflict initaited my men of the dark ages. Simple minded people need to lable things in order to define them. Its not easy to define spirituality. It is easy to define religious disposition. I do beleive there is a god I just don't know whether its a ball of energy or a white dude with a beard and a gown. :lol:

[Older than #s]

Take a look at Yoga. Not the limber dude twisting himself into a pretzel or the money for mantra crap. The spiritual side of it was pretty interesting to me. Still a lot of devotion to Krsna. Actually its all about servicing Krsna. The spiritual vs. material agenda still enlightening.

[BL00DY_R0AR]

im pretty much agnostic, though a very spiritual person. you can say i have my own personal beliefs. i do believe something is out there, you go somewhere after death.

Originally i was christian, but i was never very faithful of it. but as i began to learn more of christianity, i began to dislike it. how can god ban you to hell if you dont believe in him? maybe if he gave us some proof then alot more people would follow him. And there are so many different religions too, so how do we know which is the right one? no one will know until we die or we experience something while we are alive.

but me, i believe in spirits and ghosts. i do believe in a spiritual realm. or maybe id like to believe there is.

[Hollow Point]

I was raised Roman Catholic, but I don't hold every belief. I do believe in Sin, I do believe in God, and Heaven and Hell, so to speak. I do not believe God is a single being, rather more of a collective of moral rights and virtue.

[Steve_TPF]

Originally Posted by Hollow Point

I do not believe God is a single being, rather more of a collective of moral rights and virtue.

Unless there is some kind of conciousness attached to this I don't see how it could be "God". Please expand on this.

[Random]

Originally Posted by Steve_TPF

Unless there is some kind of conciousness attached to this I don't see how it could be "God". Please expand on this.

Personification.

To help the not-so-bright in ancient society understand the concepts that Christianity puts forward, the elders personified the concepts into "God".

So, if you believed in God and accepted God as your saviour (if you believed in the concepts and accepted them as the "good" thing to do), you will be saved (the world will be better and the elders won't kill you much). You also get comments like "God is love" et cetera, which make me lean towards the idea of God being a personification.

I just read through some random Bible verses, and they all seem to fit with the personificiation idea, though with some verses it is a rather abstract fit...

[Thelasttrueone]

The bible has been thoroughly revised since the supposed personification took place. Who knows what is dark age addition and what is the word of their supposed god.

[Mauler3050]

I would say I am more or less Buddhist. Not so much the Dharma as much as the Wisdom of it. I've come to the conclusion that as long as I live my life morally(I guess morality is in the eye of the beholder) and logically that if their is a deity of some sort, I should be fine. Maybe an ignorant stand point, who knows.

In my opinion the whole God of Abraham thing is bull. Not to offend, but I just think that if their is a deity of some sort, the God of Abraham is the farthest one from my mind. In the in the O.T. of the bible he is a short fused murderer. I not only don't believe in him, I would be scared as hell to go to heaven if he was real. I would probably like hell better.

I think that the Devil Tempts, but God Kills in the bible.

[GKoszegi]

Well I've never thought too much on it but I guess I would have to go with Buddhist/Taoist. Because I like the morals and teachings of Taoism but the reincarnation of Buddhism. If you are interested in that stuff I highly suggest the Tao of Pooh, that book pretty much convinced me to follow the Wu Wei. Also I like the Buddhist theory of infinite chances to reach Nirvana.

[bloodlusta]

I don't know. For me there could be a god or there may not be. But really I don't care. I can't beleve that a god or what ever that created the entire universe needs me to worship him. If you have faith thats great, im happy for you. Just don't tell me all about it, or try and make me live by your teachings.

[asdew]

I consider myself Buddhist, I sort of practice. I Try and lead a life of helping people, I meditate and i do believe in karma and reincarnation.

[Dr.Horrible]

I did not find anything whole that I enjoyed from any given religious sets and thus I created my own religion that reflects the ideals of what I believe but as well includes many of the things people might find in Tao, Wicca, and Pagan beliefs. I do not have a name for the Religion as it is currently kept sheltered for the moment as I live in an area full of ignorant rednecks who do not understand that a pentagram isn't a sign of the devil.

[jackduhammer]

I was raised catholic but when I was 9 I switch to atheist. religion equals bullshit

[Stephen Doubt]

Myself, I am a practitioner of the religion of Al Islam. I don't use the term follower, like many of my school mates, and even a lot of adults, because I just don't follow all of its strict rules.

I believe that there is a creator, and there are things we may or may not be able to understand or see. This includes Angels, Ghosts, Demons, things of that nature. However, I think that organized religions are used mainly to control people. Perhaps initially it was to set people on the right path, in the way that a parent tells a child a story to explain how they should behave, however I am quite certain it got out of hand.

Case in point, when the Prophet, Muhammad, died, there was a lot of argument as to who would lead the religion. This whole argument episode ended up with the splitting of the whole mass of Muslims into different sects. Sunni and Shi'aa being the initial two. And on and on.

For me, I actually could have lived without religion. I think when we all were children, before we knew anything about "God" we already knew what "God" was, and we already knew how to worship our creator.

Because sometimes religion can be a distraction. It can make your life very hectic if you don't know wha you're doing. But then, too much of anything can have a negative effect on you. And some have a lower tolerance than others.

But that's why I enjoy learning. When you learn about different concepts, you begin to form your own opinions about what you should believe, instead of relying on what you've learned from a single source since you were a child.

And that I think is what The Creator truly intends. I mean, the more yuo learn, the more you can help others, because you learn that others need help. And you can make a story in order to help them to learn, sort of like Aesop. But they might not go beyond the story, implement it as fact, and then the whole viscious cycle begins again, and here others will be, discussing the same subjects.

Alas.

[Stephen Doubt]

On second thought, I mistyped a phrase.

I intended to say, it's used to train people until they can carry themselves well, and if used for alternate purposes, can be used for control.