Poll: Are you religious?
- Thread starter Kilroy17
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Well, I for one put a lot of faith in science. I love science and always will. I like knowing what the four fundamental forces of the universe are, that energy equals mass times the speed of light squared, and that an object in it's current state will remain in that state until acted on by an outside force.
But in fact it is my utter trust in science that makes me continue to believe that something beyond our understanding could exist and have an influence on the universe. To put it simply, I don't know and probably never will know whether or not something "spiritual," be it a deity or the Force or whatever, exists. I don't have all the facts, and without all the facts, how can I simply outright deny that such a thing could exist? To do so would discredit my belief in science, because to do so would be utterly un-scientific. Atheism/anti-theism/whatever the proper term is is just as much a matter of faith as any religion in my eyes.
Long story short: I never put all my eggs in one basket. But I stopped going to church years ago, not because of a crisis of faith, but because it's just SO BORING!! It's like a lecture class with lame songs every 15 minutes.
But in fact it is my utter trust in science that makes me continue to believe that something beyond our understanding could exist and have an influence on the universe. To put it simply, I don't know and probably never will know whether or not something "spiritual," be it a deity or the Force or whatever, exists. I don't have all the facts, and without all the facts, how can I simply outright deny that such a thing could exist? To do so would discredit my belief in science, because to do so would be utterly un-scientific. Atheism/anti-theism/whatever the proper term is is just as much a matter of faith as any religion in my eyes.
Long story short: I never put all my eggs in one basket. But I stopped going to church years ago, not because of a crisis of faith, but because it's just SO BORING!! It's like a lecture class with lame songs every 15 minutes.
Yes. I feel many of us are misrepresented by loudmouths and r-tards though. Not all of us think being gay is autohell, for example. Indoctrination is a more accurate term for zealots that are what make up mainstream religion.
I am pretty amazed at the growth in atheism though (lol I misspelled that and my spell checker tried correcting it to Wheaties). I realize it's tres chic to call theories, speculation, and unproven scientific ideas factual even though again they're unproven, kind of like god to many of us, but to believe in god and to know god are no more the same than the theory of evolution and the FACT of evolution.
Aside from which who's to say evolution and creationism really must be mutually exclusive.
I'll stop here...
lol Wheaties
I am pretty amazed at the growth in atheism though (lol I misspelled that and my spell checker tried correcting it to Wheaties). I realize it's tres chic to call theories, speculation, and unproven scientific ideas factual even though again they're unproven, kind of like god to many of us, but to believe in god and to know god are no more the same than the theory of evolution and the FACT of evolution.
Aside from which who's to say evolution and creationism really must be mutually exclusive.
I'll stop here...
lol Wheaties
I was raised catholic went to catholic grade and high school I don't go to mass that often but sometimes I fit it into my schedule. Am I convinced? Not exactly, but I do hope one day I can get a little closer to knowing what it's all about.
And yet for me, science is all the reason I have to believe there may be a god. Funny, isn't it?Henkie36 said:
WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!!
There's no true bliss, when sorrow strikes those you love. :3 Even if heaven is where you go, it's hard to enjoy it when you leave your loved ones with the image of your body decimated in a car accident because you de-valued life.RobCoxxy said:Nope. I went to a Church of England Primary school, where they force religion onto you from your first year onwards. I just thought it sounded weird. Then I read up on science. And it explained everything a lot better than the vicar did.
To quote Doug Stanhope:
"They shouldn't teach you religion until you're eighteen years old, it'd be a whole different world. If they weren't pushing it into your head while it was still soft you'd never buy it."
If you really believe death leads to eternal bliss, why are you wearing a seatbelt?
Oh boy this can only go well.
But well, The way I see it - science hasn't answered half my questions. They can't disprove god and if there is a god then I'd rather be on his good side. Either way, it can't really go too wrong, I suppose I'm closer to agnostic but well, I guess I believe in god yeah. Not sure about all the bible nonsense and Christ crap though. No idea what that makes me.
But well, The way I see it - science hasn't answered half my questions. They can't disprove god and if there is a god then I'd rather be on his good side. Either way, it can't really go too wrong, I suppose I'm closer to agnostic but well, I guess I believe in god yeah. Not sure about all the bible nonsense and Christ crap though. No idea what that makes me.
Agnostic Theist here. I like to believe in a higher power, knowing that even if there is no one sitting on a cloud watching us, the belief itself already serves a major purpose: giving people hope and something to trust in times of crisis.
As for the mythos surrounding Christian beliefs, like all the magic stuff around Jesus - why shouldn't it be alright to follow a great person - in this case a philosopher - in their ways without them being some sort of magical figure? Isn't the fact that he apparently taught a pretty good message in a hostile environment enough to think he was a great guy?
As for the mythos surrounding Christian beliefs, like all the magic stuff around Jesus - why shouldn't it be alright to follow a great person - in this case a philosopher - in their ways without them being some sort of magical figure? Isn't the fact that he apparently taught a pretty good message in a hostile environment enough to think he was a great guy?
Well this poll is very restrictive i.e. yes/no/maybe. Very logical but religion isn't a logical topic so its misleading to try an analyse it in a logical way.
For example I greatly appreciate the religious aesthetic, I own a bible, I (sometimes) go to church, I pray sometimes also. As a modern man of science and reason however I find no compelling evidence for the existence of God as an independent force.
So a Christian would say that I am an atheist and an atheist would say that I'm religious.
For me religion/God is about morality and aesthetics (even morality is an aspect of aesthetics in my opinion) and not about the supernatural.
For example I greatly appreciate the religious aesthetic, I own a bible, I (sometimes) go to church, I pray sometimes also. As a modern man of science and reason however I find no compelling evidence for the existence of God as an independent force.
So a Christian would say that I am an atheist and an atheist would say that I'm religious.
For me religion/God is about morality and aesthetics (even morality is an aspect of aesthetics in my opinion) and not about the supernatural.
No, I'm not religious, and I've never understood how anyone else could be. And I'm vastly more moral than anyone of faith.
I have a question.
Why is any of this important? Why is knowing what we evolved from, or what created us such a big deal?
I have a new religion, it's called "fuckitallism"
In this religion we worship nothing, we don't have to pay tithes, we don't have to pray, we don't have to worry about sinning or doing good deeds, we don't have to study books or go to special schools, we don't have to gather in special buildings, we don't have to compete, we don't have to go soul winning, we don't have to do anything; we are not atheists, we are not agnostics, we are not buddhists, hindu's, creationists, or evolutionists, we are people who don't fucking care....if asked about our religion, we just utter the sacred phrase, "fuck it all, i don't care."
If you suddenly feel the need to say, "this guy is right, why the hell should I care about this pointless shit?" Congratulation, you are now a convert; next Mass is never, no need for tithes, and the dress code is whatever the fuck you feel like wearing.
Why is any of this important? Why is knowing what we evolved from, or what created us such a big deal?
I have a new religion, it's called "fuckitallism"
In this religion we worship nothing, we don't have to pay tithes, we don't have to pray, we don't have to worry about sinning or doing good deeds, we don't have to study books or go to special schools, we don't have to gather in special buildings, we don't have to compete, we don't have to go soul winning, we don't have to do anything; we are not atheists, we are not agnostics, we are not buddhists, hindu's, creationists, or evolutionists, we are people who don't fucking care....if asked about our religion, we just utter the sacred phrase, "fuck it all, i don't care."
If you suddenly feel the need to say, "this guy is right, why the hell should I care about this pointless shit?" Congratulation, you are now a convert; next Mass is never, no need for tithes, and the dress code is whatever the fuck you feel like wearing.
I'm not religious, I can see the value of religion, with the moral codes and all that, but that's a little depressing isn't it, that most people believe we NEED religion to be good, people are essentially saying "I don't murder and steal because a big man in the clouds said I shouldn't" (No offense to the religious). I also have a problem with the whole "if you fail to believe in me you will suffer for all time" system, I quote somebody, I don't remember who, but here it is "And the Lord did love his creation so, that he decided to damn a large majority of it to an enternity in Hell" because if there is a God, only one precise religion get's heaven, everyone else is a heretic no matter what lives they led, and if they don't I'm the type of person who would turn to God and tell him he's too damn lenient.