Religion
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Warrior
Member # 3694
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written Sunday, February 1 2004 06:17
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I'm borderline atheist/agnostic. Though if I had religion I'd be Jewish, maybe Protestant. What I know of Humanism philosophy, I sometimes follow. If there is a God, and it wants me, it can figure out where to find me. Otherwise I'll find out when I'm dead. -------------------- And that was exactly the point of itself. Takes advantage of the easily offended. Posts: 137 | Registered: Monday, November 17 2003 08:00 |
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Shake Before Using
Member # 75
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written Sunday, February 1 2004 06:51
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Well, I'm Jewish by ethnicity only, although my religious beliefs are more like apathetic Judaism than anything else. Posts: 3234 | Registered: Thursday, October 4 2001 07:00 |
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Apprentice
Member # 3876
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written Sunday, February 1 2004 07:12
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If Archmage Alex needs any help on the afterlife explanation, I'll be happy to help out. I'm LDS as well _files/cool.gif) ------------------------------------------------- RM as of 11 days too, BTW. (Means Actively Involved for everyone else...) Posts: 3 | Registered: Friday, January 9 2004 08:00 |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 3801
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written Sunday, February 1 2004 07:21
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I agree with Smuggler. You don't have to be a religious fanatic Jesus freak who goes to church every day to be a good person (and maybe even get into Heaven, if it exists.) Being a good person is about having a kind, generous loving heart and caring for not just yourself but also others. If you act like a good person, you are one. This idea is probably linked to Karma somehow, but that's MHO. I think that true happiness is doing the the things you like to do, hopefully they're not bad things. -------------------- There is no knowledge that is not power. Take a chance at the Chance Forums! Posts: 323 | Registered: Thursday, December 18 2003 08:00 |
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Cartographer
Member # 1851
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written Sunday, February 1 2004 08:42
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... I can only hope people have forgotten what religion I belong to. And those that haven't? Well, I can only hope they won't bother typing anything. -------------------- Ah! My Homepage - In Finnish and English Geneforge - The Maps My Elfwood Gallery - Stories I've written in english The WALL - Forums in Finnish Waitingformedication. I could really use some. Posts: 1308 | Registered: Sunday, September 8 2002 07:00 |
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Agent
Member # 798
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written Sunday, February 1 2004 08:50
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I am Catholic. -------------------- Look Ma, I'm banned! Posts: 1046 | Registered: Friday, March 22 2002 08:00 |
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BANNED
Member # 4
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written Sunday, February 1 2004 08:52
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The irony of the Lord of All Evil being Catholic is astounding. -------------------- We're all amazed but not amused By all the things that you said you'd do. You're much concerned but not involved by Decisions that are made by you But we are sick and tired of hearing your song, Telling us how you are going to change right from wrong, 'Cause if you really want to hear our views, You haven't done nothin'. Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 2775
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written Sunday, February 1 2004 08:58
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I grew up with no religion, and when I was in the army I had "no preference" on my dogtags. Later in life I went to a Unitarian Universalist church for awhile. Their creed seems to be "everyone gets saved" and I liked that idea. Still later in life I was in addiction recovery, and one tenet of that is that addicts think they are God, or the drug of choice is, so they need to get the concept of some kind of higher power that doesn't want to kill you or make you suffer. Because if I believe everything is up to me, I'm planning my next relapse. I like reading the Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim daily thoughts on beliefnet.com. The Dalai Lama is big on simple kindness, and that's a pretty good guideline for me. -------------------- "I can't give you brains," said the Wizard of Oz to the Scarecrow, "but I can give you a diploma." - L. Frank Baum Posts: 381 | Registered: Sunday, March 16 2003 08:00 |
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Infiltrator
Member # 3441
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written Sunday, February 1 2004 09:28
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If you go to that link which TM so graciously provided, you will find an anti-catholic website. Their arguments, while interesting, are false. If anyone would like to hear the other side of the argument. I would be happy to provide you with it. -------------------- -WildKarrdeSmuggler ----------------------------------- Visit the Smuggler's Alliance Posts: 536 | Registered: Sunday, September 7 2003 07:00 |
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Post Navel Trauma ^_^
Member # 67
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written Sunday, February 1 2004 09:32
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Don't worry. Nobody here takes Chick seriously. (And he's not just anti-Catholic, he's anti-everythig-that's-not-him) -------------------- Grammar wenches beware: This is the house that the malt that the rat that the cat that the dog that the cow that the maiden that the man that the priest that the cock that the farmer kept waked married kissed milked tossed worried killed ate lay in. My Website desperance.net - Leave your sanity at the door Posts: 1798 | Registered: Thursday, October 4 2001 07:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Sunday, February 1 2004 10:47
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Chick is one of the funnies cartoonists of our times, and he's even funnier because he doesn't mean to be. —Alorael, who would like to believe that getting into heaven is all about doing good deeds. But there's no evidence showing that that helps any more than human sacrifices. Maybe you need to break a certain number of sticks during your life to get in. God doesn't need to make sense... Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
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This Side Towards Enemy
Member # 3098
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written Sunday, February 1 2004 11:40
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I was raised in a vaguely Christian (Anglican) household. My mother attended Church quite a lot, if partly because we were good friends with the vicar at that time. However, there was a degree of doubt. My father was not confirmed until after his fortieth birthday. I was confirmed about four years ago, but since then probably haven't been to Church much more than a dozen times. Partly this was because the vicar went off to become a hospital chaplain and whilst I've no problem with his replacement, there's a sort of informal junta which runs most of the functions which I'm not too keen on. Partly, it was just general doubt. I'm still closer to Christianity than anything else since whilst I can't believe in a supreme being (the world just seems too arbitrary) and the Bible's been fiddled with far too much for me to consider it entirely accurate, I'd consider myself someone attempting to follow Jesus' teachings. Mind you, the blatantly silly religions, such as paganism and the Roman and Greek pantheons, are not worshipped in any great numbers nowaday and I think there's something to be said for the lifestyle any of the major religions exhibit. Although I still think organised religion is a really bad idea. -------------------- Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned I'll tell you my story, man Though I wish I'd never been born I'm loose at the seams, I've broken my dreams And my hand it shakes the pen Come on, come on now baby, Let the good times roll again Posts: 961 | Registered: Thursday, June 12 2003 07:00 |
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Guardian
Member # 3521
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written Sunday, February 1 2004 11:49
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I'm a Hindu, as I've mentioned several times in the past. I was born a Hindu, and admire most aspects of the religion, so I've never had any sort of impulse to convert or give it up. However, considering myself a Hindu does not, in my opinion, require me to believe all that has been written in every section of Hindu religious scripture. Although some take an "all or nothing" approach to religion, I prefer to pour all written in the scriptures into a sort of sieve, taking among my own beliefs only such statements and ideologies that ring true in my mind and heart. As such, I prefer to gloss over much that is written in the Vedas and Upanishads, especially archaic Hindu polytheistic ideas and the hierarchical and unfair caste system. Although the Vedas form the bulk of Hindu scripture, I believe in the much shorter Bhagavad Gita as being the strongest and purest representation of the religion's teachings. In contrast to the drawn-out, rambling, largely superfluous Vedas, the Gita is concise, clear, and delivers valuable moral teachings, focusing on the process to attaining moksha, or even-mindedness. As in modern Hinduism, God is portrayed as being a single, formless being, capable of taking any number of forms if necessary for the purpose of protecting humanity from evil. I believe in a modified version of reincarnation. One's personal spirit, or atman (mentioned by Syntyrael earlier) progresses through as many lives on Earth as necessary to attain even-mindedness. As all atman start out immature and inexperienced, with little moral grounding, they must learn and mature only with time on this earth. All atman are allowed to take a human form as their first, but if an atman lives out a human life filled with sin and degredation, it may be forced to take an animal form as its next. Although an atman cannot ascend to moksha while in animal form, valuable experience and insight is still gained. Living within the body of an animal also makes it far easier for an atman to live sinlessly, and thus all atman will eventually, by virtue of their progress, be allowed more opportunities to attain even-mindedness within the human form. There are, in my understanding, a large, finite number of atman, all at different stages in development and progress. Eventually, all atman will reach the even-minded state and ascend to join the essential, universal spirit, or Brahman. This Brahman is the modern Hindu version of God. Heaven is not any sort of land or domain, in my understanding, but the bliss of unity with Brahman and release from the arduous struggle required to attain this state. The idea of Hell is abhorrent to me, and as such I do not believe in its existence. -------------------- "Let a man find himself, in distinction from others, on top of two wheels with a chain- at least in a poor country like Russia- and his vanity begins to swell out like his tires. In America it takes an automobile to produce this effect."- Leon Trotsky Posts: 1798 | Registered: Sunday, October 5 2003 07:00 |
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Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!
Member # 919
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written Sunday, February 1 2004 13:35
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I think Brahman is close to my idea of God. I do believe in Hell, and in Satan, however; I believe that God and Satan are both all-powerful, and are basically fighting each other for control; God is the lord of order, of light, of general goodness, and Satan is the lord of chaos, darkness, and evil, in general. I also believe in a higher being, highest, you might say, whom I refer to as the Creator; he/she/it (doesn't matter) is omniscient and omnipresent, but is also neutral in this struggle. He may have some purpose, I don't know, but I think of all divine purposes as belonging to God or Satan. These two entities are... aspects, or divisions, of the Creator, and none of these are material. They exist on another plane, the "fifth dimension", as I call it. While they have no physical substance, they can control anything in our three-dimensional universe. All or most Christian beliefs fit into this idea, which is one of the reasons I call myself Christian; Jesus was a man who was controlled directly by God, rather than indirectly as most humans usually are. Miracles are acts of God done through humans, generally; acts of Satan are also done through humans, whether they are willing or not. We all have souls, which are basically little bits of the Creator; these, not our physical bodies, are what go to Heaven or Hell. These two fates would be states of mind, except that a mind sort of requires a body. So they're states of... existance, I guess you'd say. Once in Heaven, you are in total bliss, and would not want it otherwise. Hell is total agony, and no one wants to be in Hell, especially not if they're there. But if a soul in Hell repents, if they wish they could undo their evil deeds in the physical world and not only because they want to get out of Hell, then they will go to Heaven; in the end, I think, everyone will be in Heaven, Satan will pass out of existance, and everything will be good. That last belief is mainly caused by my optimism, I admit, but... if I can't prove it wrong, you know... -------------------- And though the musicians would die, the music would live on in the imaginations of all who heard it. -The Last Pendragon TEH CONSPIRACY IZ ALL Les forum de la chance. Incaseofemergency,breakglass. Posts: 3351 | Registered: Saturday, April 6 2002 08:00 |
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Warrior
Member # 3932
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written Sunday, February 1 2004 13:48
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Christian. Those who say you get into heaven on good deeds, I believe are wrong. God says that you must believe that Jesus died for your sins. You can save as many kitties out of trees and donate Trillions of dollors to charities, but w/out faith, you still burn in Hell. Remember, they dont serve breakfast in Hell... Afterthought: Hmmm... what a hungry afterlife... no food. -------------------- Clowns are baby eating murderers. My science teacher says so. Posts: 72 | Registered: Tuesday, January 27 2004 08:00 |
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BANNED
Member # 4
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written Sunday, February 1 2004 14:04
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Don't feed the troll. -------------------- We're all amazed but not amused By all the things that you said you'd do. You're much concerned but not involved by Decisions that are made by you But we are sick and tired of hearing your song, Telling us how you are going to change right from wrong, 'Cause if you really want to hear our views, You haven't done nothin'. Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 3801
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written Sunday, February 1 2004 14:16
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My idea of Buddhism and Hinduism is the same as standard, but I don't really have a verdict of the afterlife. I'm not sure about reincarnation or heaven and i can't really make up my mind either. As for hell, I agree with Stughalf. No one, no matter how bad they are, deserves to suffer that much. They should just work off their sins or something, but eternal suffering is beyond the prices of sin, IMHO. -------------------- There is no knowledge that is not power. Take a chance at the Chance Forums! Posts: 323 | Registered: Thursday, December 18 2003 08:00 |
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Infiltrator
Member # 3220
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written Sunday, February 1 2004 17:05
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I know a lot of people who are into paganism and it seems to work for them. But I went to an open circle with some friends of mine and I wondered if they knew how much like "regular" Christian church it was, except for being outside. -------------------- But I have never known or heard of anyone in real life who has said, "Yes! My goal in life is to be a brainless follower of obnoxious people!" Posts: 437 | Registered: Sunday, July 13 2003 07:00 |
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Apprentice
Member # 3940
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written Sunday, February 1 2004 18:52
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Bravo Chief of the smugglers alliance, thats the spirit of a true human that all the gods like! Posts: 5 | Registered: Thursday, January 29 2004 08:00 |
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Lifecrafter
Member # 3320
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written Sunday, February 1 2004 19:44
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I am a mixture of several religions, though I call myself a Liberal Christian. My beliefs to me are the ones that are the most sensible from several religions. To me, any person who walks around always condemning others and calling their self a Christian is just as close to Hell as murderer or a rapist. I don't know the philosphy of most of the religions out there and don't know the names for more than half of them. I grew up in a Conservative Christian home and went to a church that I eventually left when I was fifteen or sixteen because I didn't share their beliefs and because they condemned people a lot of the time. I believe that there is no true religion. Religion is whatever you believe in and if it makes you happy, then so be it. I find it impossible to conform to all the beliefs of just one religion, but that is just me. -------------------- Mrs. Peacock: "Everything all right?" Colonel Mustard: "Yep. Two Corpses. Everything's fine." "Keep your wits about you, the game is afoot!!" - Sherlock Holmes Posts: 935 | Registered: Friday, August 8 2003 07:00 |
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Shaper
Member # 3442
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written Monday, February 2 2004 02:22
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I'm not religious at all, although I often wonder about the afterlife and all kinds of philosophical stuff. I'd like to believe that you get into heaven by acting good and being a good person, but it seems that that's almost impossible. For me anyway! My mum says that all you need to do is be forgiven by everyone you've hurt or offended. -------------------- Thus endeth this post. Go to: Random Stupidity Posts: 2864 | Registered: Monday, September 8 2003 07:00 |
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Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!
Member # 919
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written Monday, February 2 2004 04:25
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Uh, I doubt that. What if someone you hurt or offend is insane? You can't rely on other people... I'm getting sick of that "religion is what you want it to be" attitude... don't call yourself Christian if you believe that, MSW, because you're really agnostic. Syntyrael: Work it off? I think they should suffer until they repent, at which time they can go to Heaven, where they will stay infinitely. Eternal suffering does seem a bit harsh, doesn't it? I personally don't believe it's really eternal. Pharaun: What about those who call themselves Christians, and have faith and all that, but end up murdering people "for God", and stealing, and the like? I think they're a little less deserving of Heaven than a good, kind, faithless agnostic or atheist. -------------------- And though the musicians would die, the music would live on in the imaginations of all who heard it. -The Last Pendragon TEH CONSPIRACY IZ ALL Les forum de la chance. Incaseofemergency,breakglass. Posts: 3351 | Registered: Saturday, April 6 2002 08:00 |
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Shaper
Member # 22
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written Monday, February 2 2004 07:58
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I'd say suffering *at all* is a little harsh - what happened to the God of "general goodness", David? Also, I'd identify your beliefs closer to the Cathars then with Hinduism. The Cathars were a group in southern France who were wiped out by the Crusades, who had beliefs remarkably similar to your's - albeit a little more sophisticated and a little less black and white. -------------------- KazeArctica: "Imagine...wangs everywhere...and tentacles. Nothing but wangs and tentacles! And no pants!" Posts: 2862 | Registered: Tuesday, October 2 2001 07:00 |
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Shaper
Member # 517
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written Monday, February 2 2004 11:23
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A little thought for you: if people can get to heaven without the Christian faith, why did Jesus need to die? And if Jesus didn't need to die, why does almost everything in the Bible point to His death being the single most important event in history? -E- -------------------- Let them eat cake! Polaris Boards: The System is Up. Perennially. Posts: 2314 | Registered: Tuesday, January 15 2002 08:00 |
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Shaper
Member # 73
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written Monday, February 2 2004 11:25
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Because the Bible wants you to think it is, obviously. That doesn't mean it's true. The Bible is infallable because it says so. Circular logic is funny. -------------------- My BoE graphics archive is finally getting started! Yay! I hope you like my graphics.My BoE Graphics An absurdly fun Flash game- Refridgerator Raid! --------- The Lyceum- A board for BoE. Yes it is. Really. Stop staring at me! Stop it, I say! Oh, sorry... Posts: 2957 | Registered: Thursday, October 4 2001 07:00 |