God and stuff

[Guest Angle-plex]

I used to be a catholic (No, I wasn't molested by any priests), but I don't know if I even believe in God anymore. After I got to the age of about 13, and started really looking into the bible, the whole thing just seemed kind of silly.

 

Today in my goverment class, we were watching a video about if prayer should be allowed in public schools. 90% of the people in my class are idiots, and you can't have a good debate with any of them, so I didn't speak up. One person, however, did. She went against the rest of the class and said that if she didn't believe in god, than she shouldn't have to pray. Basically the rest of my class, including some of my friends, kept making jokes about how she was "Going to hell" and such.

 

I wouldn't call myself an athiest, but I don't really consider myself a catholic anymore either. How do the rest of you feel about religion?

[Guest Incandenza]

Raised a baptist for the first ten years of my life, I fell out of religion around the same time my mother stopped taking my sister and me to church.

 

I just can't make that grand leap of faith it takes to have faith. I've felt this way for several years, now, so I'm happy with my beliefs (or lack thereof).

[Guest bob_barron]

I'm somewhat religious- I try to pray everyday and I do read the Bible a lot. I use it as a source of healing and comfort- it helps me in times of need

[Guest Kinetic]

The Bible is a really tremendous work of fiction and a great reference point of cultural literacy, but nothing more. God and heaven and all that are just effective ways of keeping people in line and helping them cope with the natural fear of their mortality. I've absolutely never, ever believed in God at any point. It's something that's never struck me as plausible and still doesn't. I've had a whole lot of Christian friends over the years and none of them have been able to give me any sort evidence that might change my mind. So until I see some concrete evidence, I'm a hardcore atheist.

[Guest the pinjockey]

I don't believe in anything involved in religion except that I do believe there is a God-like entity, but I don't think that entity has any effect on life. I believe in a god because of science. The law of conservation of matter states matter can not be created or destroyed only changed, so I believe there was an entity who kickstarted the whole process but does nothing involving the everyday operations. So I guess I believe in a watchmaker theory of God. But I do not like organized religions at all and I believe the bible is the first novel ever written.

[Guest Incandenza]

So until I see some concrete evidence, I'm a hardcore atheist.

That would make you an agnostic, actually. Were you an aethist, nothing would ever convince you, and you would debunk or shoot down any attempts to do so.

[Guest Kinetic]

Well, I like to humor people. In reality, nothing short of God actually appearing before me and saying, "Danny, this is God" would convince me.

[Guest Flyboy]

Eh... I was raised in the South and brought up in a Baptist church therefore it's "in my blood" to believe in God.

 

I believe in God to an extent, but there's things about the Bible and religion in general that just rubs me the wrong way. I keep all of this to myself, however, because if my grandmother and great-grandparents knew I thought this way it would break their hearts.

[Guest Angle-plex]

I'm actually ashamed to admit this, but George Carlin is the one who started this whole thing with me doubting God exists. He is a pretty convincing guy.

[Guest Kinetic]

I grew up in a pretty liberal (read: politically and religiously apathetic) household, so I've always been free to make decisions on these sorts of things as I've seen fit. I can't imagine actually being forced to go to church. The few times I've actually attended, I was bored out of my wits.

[Guest the pinjockey]

I did the whole church and sunday school thing til 8th grade just because I think my parents felt they needed to do it for some reason. I was bored as hell, my mom who went was bored as hell. And sunday school we just did as much pointless crap as possible, falling off chairs and for a trip we went to see Sister Act 2. It was a waste of about 500 hours of my life.

[Guest bob_barron]

I also grew up in a household where religion was not a big deal so I found God on my own I guess

[Guest Flyboy]

The few times I've actually attended, I was bored out of my wits.

You've never been to a Southern black church.

 

You'll see things.. that are... well, I can't explain them.

[Guest Angle-plex]

I went to Sunday School until 7th grade. What a waste of time that was.

[Guest Sandman9000]

I attended a Jesuit High School. During that time, I determined that my religious beliefs were those of an athiest. I never really determined that until I was asked to explain the way I felt spiritually. I had never been particularly religious, and had I been asked what religious I was before my "awakening," I most likely would have said Catholic, even though I did not pray nor attend church.

 

My personal beliefs is that religion is a crutch that people do use in order to get by in their day to day lives. Some people need coffee in order to feel awake in the morning. Some people depend on illegal drugs in order to function. Others need to feel that there is a higher power looking over them in order to ensure themselves that they will be o.k. I do not feel that way. I do not believe that I need to feel that there is a higher power above me in order to live a full human life. The Jesuits and others at my high school obviously didn't feel the same way and tried to convert me, but I'm an athiest to this day.

 

Might that change in the future? Possibly. But I consider myself an athiest, and I'm not sure anything short of a near-death experience could change it, if even that.

[Guest Kinetic]

The few times I've actually attended, I was bored out of my wits.

You've never been to a Southern black church.

 

You'll see things.. that are... well, I can't explain them.

I've seen representations on TV and in movies, so I have an idea. If not for the whole God thing, it seems like a pretty swell happening.

[Guest Angle-plex]

I love debating this with people who believe in god. I just bust out the "If there is a god, who created him" on them, and they get confused.

[Guest the pinjockey]

I have no problem with people who believe in religion and god having a hand in their lives and everything. I just despise the bible thumpers more than anyone in the world. Most of them I have ever ran into are hypocrites or they are so strict that every moment you spend near them they tell you you are sinning it is ridiculous.

[Guest Insanityman]

Atheist here, I adore debating with religious people. So many flaws are in religion as a whole so I decided that science makes more sense than anything esle.

[Guest Incandenza]

There's also the ol' "What makes your religion the right one?" We all know the one true religion can be found in the Book of Mormon, but it's fun to see all the other Christian sects get all riled up.

[Guest Youth N Asia]

My deal with religion.

 

I'd like to believe there is a God and Heaven and whatnot. I live a clean life, I am good to people as a whole...so if there is all that good stuff, I shouldn't have anything to worry about.

 

Technicaly I'm Protostant, that's my dad's side of the family...but I don't do the religion/church thing. And I stay out of religious conversations cause I know absolutly nothing about any of it.

[Guest LooseCannon]

I too went to a Jesuit high school, and am a pretty hardcore atheist. I actually think the whole god idea is kind've preposterous and I harbor quiet contempt for those who believe in it. Though I generally remain poite about it.

[Guest KingOfOldSchool]

Atheist, raised as a non-devout catholic.

 

I have my reasons. Among which is my belief that religion is an easy out. I also see the idea of a higher being as simply not plausible and silly. I have no problem with any people who do believe in a religion, or at the very least, I don't say anything, unless they're of the annoying Bible Thumper kind who feel the need to flaunt their religion in your face and try to make you see the light.

[Guest Flyboy]

It's not surprising to me that almost 50% of the board is athiest or something to that extent.

[Guest SP-1]

Well, I suppose this could spell the beginning of the end for my tenure here but it ain't in my nature to hide who I am.

 

I am a devout Christian. As I tried to make clear in the Religion and Pornography thread, I don't buy alot of the BS that the church puts out, I go an investigate things biblically and form my own views in prayer and contemplation with God after gathering different views and interperetations, generally. Chances are I'm not ging to spoon feed you the BS most Christians will simply because I'm a relational Christian more than a Rules and Regulations kinda guy.

 

And no, this is not an invitation for half the board to come snarling after me. I don't mind intelligent, non-hostile discussion about things but I'm not going to entertain flames.

 

As I'm sure is fairly clear, I struggle with sin, it's a part of who I am as a human being on Earth. I curse for various reasons, as stated in the thread mentioned above I struggle with pornography and lust, etc. Though I think I'm starting to emerge from that particular battle, thankfully.

 

But yes. SP is a Jesus Freak and proud of it.

[Guest El Satanico]

I'm basically an athiest. I'm more anti Organized Religion than anything.

 

I don't believe in God, but I have no problem with those who choose to believe in such things other than the hardcore believe or burn bible thumpers.

 

I find the whole concept of God and Heaven to be silly and totally insane sounding. God is a mystical being who sprinkles some fairy dust around and poof there's a universe. Heaven is a magical plain that doesn't exist in our world and can only be reached by the spirits of the dead. You'd have to be certifiable to honestly believe a story like that.

 

It would be like some toothless fat guy with a shirt that doesn't cover his stomach running up to you and asking if you Believe in a magical flying frog who lives in Lake Michigan and sends those who behave to a magical place somewhere between Minnesota and Canada that only dead spirits can find.

[Guest DrTom]

I was raised, baptized, and confirmed as a Catholic, and went to Catholic school for twelve years. The education was great, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. It didn't take long after high school, though, for me to drift toward agnosticism (it probably started in high school, really), and eventually, I became a full-fledged, devout atheist.

 

So, I don't believe in God, have no use for religion, and I think the Bible is an interesting work of derivative mythology, but nothing more.

[Guest The Metal Maniac]

Angle-Plex - You must argue with some people who don't know their religon very well...The standard reply to "Who created God?" is simply God. He didn't NEED to be created; He just always existed, because He's God.

 

And hey, that makes about as much sense as any other scientific theory on the matter. All they seem to have is the Big Bang theory, which always inspires me to ask where exactly that thing that blew up came from...

 

And Satanico, it's not really the same thing. There's a difference between "Believe this thing I just made up that has no bearing on anything" or "Believe this thing that explains why there's a universe and people and everything else."

 

Anyway, this may be suprising, considering what I just said, but I'm not very religous. I was raised Roman Catholic, but I guess I just haven't ever had anything move me enough to believe in God. It was always just "Go to Church", without any real reason, other then I had to. I think that there may be a God, but that organized religon is not the way.

 

I never really thought about it until we started doing confessions at my church again, but I realized then that the relationship between a man and his God is one between them - there doesn't need to be some sort of middle-man who's going to sit there and make me confess all my sins, especially where those are the types of things that are CLEARLY to be judged by God, and the priest has no say in the matter, other then to just tell me that God forgives me. I dunno, I never once caught the priest calling up God to make sure I was forgiven, but whatever.

 

I also think that transubstantiation (Did I spell that right?) is kinda silly, now that I know more about it. (For the unaware, this just means that Catholic dogma holds that when they bless the wafers and wine in church, they physically become the body and blood of Christ). When I was younger, I made the logical assumption that it was purely symbolic. Christ said "This is my body" and didn't mean it on a literal plane - he merely meant something along the lines of "I'm being sacrificed for you like this bread is" so on and so forth. So we do the same thing in remberance, understand that it's just bread.

 

But then I hear that the Church says that when you eat that wafer, you're eating the actual flesh of Christ himself, because it changed, and I think "That's just silly." It's pretty obvious that it's bread - and while I may entertain the thought that something I cannot see may be the reason for existence because I have no rock-solid evidence for another reason, you can't stick a pile of shit in front of me and call it ice cream. I have a problem with that.

 

I think I'm actually a Lutherian in spirit (If I recall correctly, they're a catholic sect which holds the same beliefs I stated above), but I don't go to church as it is, so I'm not gonna switch sides because I'd get killed by my parents anyway. They don't even know I only go to church if they're with me...I never go if it's avoidable.

 

But yeah...I'm essentially a lazy Catholic who disagrees with a few of the major ideals of his sect. That makes me...whatever.

[Guest El Satanico]

So if Fat toothless guy also says that the universe was created by the Magical Flying Frog who lives in Lake Michigan and awards the dead with trips to and an invisible place near the Minnesota/Canada border then it's not insane?

 

oook

 

 

Now excuse while i go write a insane story about a creator of the universe that will be worshiped 400 years from now.

[Guest Edwin MacPhisto]

Raised Catholic, sorta, by a dad who never really cared too much about religion and a mom who made me go to church, get confirmed, the whole nine yards.

 

Haven't been to church in about five years, and never really got into the religious thing. I think I believe in God, just because it'd be nice. Not really sure, though.

 

One thing I admire, though, is Jesus Christ. I can understand people who don't like Christian dogma, but you've got to have some respect for the man himself. Regardless of he could really do miracles, regardless of if he really was the Son of God, he believed it enough to get himself NAILED TO A BIG-ASS CROSS SOLELY ON THE BELIEF THAT HE WAS SACRIFICING HIMSELF FOR THE GOOD OF MANKIND.

 

Granted, just dying in a horrible fashion doesn't make you a saint (or shouldn't), but that is just too hardcore for words. This is bigger than Ripley going all plummetty into the lava in Alien 3, and that's saying a lot.