Poll: What's your religion?

[Joos]

I do believe in a higher being, but not a personal god as described in most dogma. The current crop of religions are too materialistic for me to make sense on a macro scale of existence.

 

[Novan Leon]

The first paragraph seems muddled, could you restate it?

My post wasn't in direct response to anyone in particular.

Basically, being an extremist can be right or wrong depending on whether your beliefs are correct or incorrect. There is no way that extremism can ruin a correct ideology, it merely measures your commitment to that ideology.

Believing in the "The Middle Path", do you commit yourself to this principle or do you follow "The Middle Path" in moderation? You see the dilemma?

 

[AntiAntagonist]

The first paragraph seems muddled, could you restate it?

My post wasn't in direct response to anyone in particular.

Basically, being an extremist can be right or wrong depending on whether your beliefs are correct or incorrect. There is no way that extremism can ruin a correct ideology, it merely measures your commitment to that ideology.

Believing in the "The Middle Path", do you commit yourself to this principle or do you follow "The Middle Path" in moderation? You see the dilemma?

I don't see the Middle Path and many other things as dichotomy. Essentially the Middle Path is a country road, and not a tight rope, or a four-lane highway.

I can understand the idea that being an extremist would mean that they are not truly representing an original ideology, however extremists can muddle perceptions and misrepresent the original intent of a religion.

Let's say Frisbeeism suddenly has a surge in violent followers, those followers don't really represent Frisbeeism well, but they claim to. This ends up misrepresenting the positive aspects of the movement in the first place. Basically it's bad for PR and development of the religion.

 

[wahi]

muslim. are there any more muslims here? just wondering....

 

[DaMunky89]

Atheist-Agnostic.

I.E. like a normal Atheist but more open minded. It's not "There is no god.", it's "I don't believe there is a god, and if there is I don't believe we could possibly know."

 

[Razzle Bathbone]

To be an extremist/fundamentalist in your incorrect beliefs is no different than being a moderate in your incorrect beliefs, both are equally incorrect. On the other hand, being an extremist/fundamentalist in your correct beliefs cannot possibly make you wrong. Besides, if you're right, what kind of sense does it make to doubt you're right?

"The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity"
-Yeats

If your belief system is perfect, then you cannot possibly be wrong in imposing it upon others. You can kill, rape, torture, terrorize... it's all to the good, after all, because your beliefs are correct. For example, if your victims are condemned to eternal torture in the afterlife, then any pain you might inflict upon them pales in comparison to what awaits them after death. If you force them to convert to your correct belief, they will be saved.

This is where extremism leads. Why should you doubt yourself? Becase there is always the possibility that you could be wrong. If you refuse to accept that you might be wrong, then there is no horror you cannot inflict upon the world. Doubt is your mind's immune system. Cultivate it, and keep it strong.

 

[Versuvius]

Oooh i like this thread XD. Im a Transhumanist. Basically: Sod your 'souls' and your spirits, the flesh is weak and should be replaced by metal, wires and microchips. Theres more to it than that, obviously. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transhumanism Have the wikipedia, LIES OF THE INTERNET...but accurate lies

 

[gamebrain89]

Sometimes I feel as if I am the only person on the whole wide Internets who hasn't yet read 'The Call of Cthulhu.'

No, your not, I've never had a chance to read it either.

The only time I really dislike missionaries is when they knock on the door a second time after I tell them I'm not interested and it never fails that they do it as i go back to what I was doing.

I agree with you there, we get mormons who do that. for the most part though, it tends to be accidental. We generally work in small groups, about 4 people, and sometimes we dont communicate very well, and houses get hit twice. Sorry about that.

 

[Alex_P]

Sometimes I feel as if I am the only person on the whole wide Internets who hasn't yet read 'The Call of Cthulhu.'

I don't think most people read it. They just get the stuff through osmosis. It is out of copyright, though, so you can read if you free if you're bored [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Call_of_Cthulhu].

-- Alex

 

[Versuvius]

That...i will agree with to a degree. It depends how fanatical about you are but its not OFFENSIVE itself. the people are. And its choice. So dont bash the religion bash the idiot zealots.

 

[Imitation Saccharin]

Hopefully every other douchebag who likes to shoot their mouths off read this guy.

Yes, going door to door to pester people into believing what you believe, interrupting whatever family things they're enjoying, is in no way the activity of an asshole.

Ugh. That lie is not my idea of noble. I'll take chaos and anarchy, thanks.
Plato took a dim view of human nature because of what happened to his mentor Socrates. Too bad he didn't seem to notice that it was the noble elite who did it. Perhaps he'd have less hate for the masses if he'd been able to see that more clearly.

That particular segment is actually ABOUT the elite. It was written in answer to the question "Who will watch the watchmen?"

The asnwer is you lie to them and tell them they're special, and they'll end up watching themselves.

 

[Snik]

To be an extremist/fundamentalist in your incorrect beliefs is no different than being a moderate in your incorrect beliefs, both are equally incorrect. On the other hand, being an extremist/fundamentalist in your correct beliefs cannot possibly make you wrong. Besides, if you're right, what kind of sense does it make to doubt you're right?

"The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity"
-Yeats

If your belief system is perfect, then you cannot possibly be wrong in imposing it upon others. You can kill, rape, torture, terrorize... it's all to the good, after all, because your beliefs are correct. For example, if your victims are condemned to eternal torture in the afterlife, then any pain you might inflict upon them pales in comparison to what awaits them after death. If you force them to convert to your correct belief, they will be saved.

This is where extremism leads. Why should you doubt yourself? Becase there is always the possibility that you could be wrong. If you refuse to accept that you might be wrong, then there is no horror you cannot inflict upon the world. Doubt is your mind's immune system. Cultivate it, and keep it strong.

You're making it sound like everyone who doesn't rape and pillage for their religeon, doubts it. A large part of my religeon is based on free choice. The basis for it is that everyone should be allowed to make mistakes as long as they realize that it was a mistake and try to change it. We absolutely cannot force anyone to do something against their will. Thats where the Spanish Inquisition screwed up. it was completely backwards from everything taught in the bible.

 

[Ares Tyr]

This is all news to me. From what I've heard and researched myself, the only "violent" sect of Buddhist were those of the Shaolin Temple in China, who developed fighting arts that because kung fu and almost every other martial art through out the Eastern Asian continent. And these were developed soley for self-defense and excersise.

I could be wrong, but any sect of Buddhist monks who conduct violent activities are more along the lines of extremists in my eyes, and are corrupting the very clear message of non-violence in the earliest Buddhist teachings.

I only read about it recently myself. I agree with you that those that try to represent Buddha and become violent are themselves extremists since they don't adhere to the Middle Path.
While I enjoy exploring Chinese/SouthEast Asia Buddhist practices I don't believe it the true path since "faith" & "worship" are used and stances seem to have been attributed to it that actually came from the society (LGBTa hate, etc).

If I'm understanding what you're saying, then I feel the same way.

Alot of lay Buddhists and the Tibetan Buddhists worship and pray to Buddha and the several bodhisattvas, and this to me, detracts from the original teachings. Siddhartha Guatama himself was a hindu originaly and stopped worshipping the Gods to find the truth of self-enlightement, so I don't think he would find it all that helpful to worship him (or other enlightened individuals) in return. You're supposed to be free of attachments, and they are attaching themselves to the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, and therefore, to me, its kind of contradictory.

As for me, I follow the very basic teachings and philosophies myself. I look to Buddha as a teacher if anything, nothing more.

 

[Wewt]

I'm not surprised that there are a lot of non religious people.

 

[AntiAntagonist]

If I'm understanding what you're saying, then I feel the same way.

Alot of lay Buddhists and the Tibetan Buddhists worship and pray to Buddha and the several bodhisattvas, and this to me, detracts from the original teachings. Siddhartha Guatama himself was a hindu originaly and stopped worshipping the Gods to find the truth of self-enlightement, so I don't think he would find it all that helpful to worship him (or other enlightened individuals) in return. You're supposed to be free of attachments, and they are attaching themselves to the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, and therefore, to me, its kind of contradictory.

As for me, I follow the very basic teachings and philosophies myself. I look to Buddha as a teacher if anything, nothing more.

I personally don't mind having various Buddhas, but the worshipping/praying aspect detracts from the pursuit, much as you mentioned. Although I see those various worshiping icons serving another purpose: looking at various aspects of life and components of character.
Example:
A person may be utterly non-violent and less than studious. If they were to concentrate/meditate on the aspects of Guan Yu they might develop their own vigor/strength and desire to learn.

 

[gamebrain89]

Hopefully every other douchebag who likes to shoot their mouths off read this guy.

Yes, going door to door to pester people into believing what you believe, interrupting whatever family things they're enjoying, is in no way the activity of an asshole.

Obviously you didn't bother to read the rest of my post, and you have no understanding of our activity. we are in no way "pestering people into believing what we believe". Since thats what you believe, you have never actually spoken to a Witness, so you have no right to talk about what we do. We are simply there to share an interesting scriptual thought. and as I said, if your not interested, simply politely say so.
and people really dont mind being visited door to door, or else a buddy of mine who is a door to door salesman for kirby vacuums wouldn't make almost 10 grand a month.

But judging from your tone, you really dont give a flying fart in space about understanding anything about witnesses correctly, so im done with this topic.

 

[Imitation Saccharin]

Obviously you didn't bother to read the rest of my post, and you have no understanding of our activity. we are in no way "pestering people into believing what we believe".

Let's go through the check list!

Do you or do you not go to people's homes uninvited?
Do you or do you not go to people's homes and ask them to look at your scripture?

You can fancy it up with nice words, but at the end of the day you have all the signs.

Now you can pretend you're just like "My god, this whole Smith thing is amazing!"

and people really dont mind being visited door to door, or else a buddy of mine who is a door to door salesman for kirby vacuums wouldn't make almost 10 grand a month.

And everyone loves getting penis extension spam!
Want to know WHY we have so much spam? Because the business model of a spammer is that although millions will be annoyed, 1 out of every million or so will be stupid enough to purchase his bullshit-o-matic. And if he sells every millionth try, he still makes a healthy profit.

Further more, this is anecdotal evidence and would be inadmissible as even an arguement to any sane individual, as your friend could simply be surrounded by sa....I mean nice people. Also he could be fictitious.

But judging from your tone, you really dont give a flying fart in space about understanding anything about witnesses correctly, so im done with this topic.

How's that doctrine on black people and polygamy coming? Still a glaring mistake in the history of your dogma? Muwahaha!

Oh, oh, riddle me this! If mankind and God are co-eternal, how are we not just really weak Gods our self?

 

[Ares Tyr]

If I'm understanding what you're saying, then I feel the same way.

Alot of lay Buddhists and the Tibetan Buddhists worship and pray to Buddha and the several bodhisattvas, and this to me, detracts from the original teachings. Siddhartha Guatama himself was a hindu originaly and stopped worshipping the Gods to find the truth of self-enlightement, so I don't think he would find it all that helpful to worship him (or other enlightened individuals) in return. You're supposed to be free of attachments, and they are attaching themselves to the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, and therefore, to me, its kind of contradictory.

As for me, I follow the very basic teachings and philosophies myself. I look to Buddha as a teacher if anything, nothing more.

I personally don't mind having various Buddhas, but the worshipping/praying aspect detracts from the pursuit, much as you mentioned. Although I see those various worshiping icons serving another purpose: looking at various aspects of life and components of character.
Example:
A person may be utterly non-violent and less than studious. If they were to concentrate/meditate on the aspects of Guan Yu they might develop their own vigor/strength and desire to learn.

Yes, I see where you are coming from and agree. But there's the difference between praying to Buddhas and concentrating on them. I might concentrate on the aspects I admire in an individual Buddha, but I would not consider them a God of any sort or someone I should 'pray' to for guidance and help. But I can concentrate and meditate on them in order to embody the aspects of them I admire, yes. When it becomes prayer and worship, it becomes corrupted I suppose.