Religion IV

[kingfin66]

I am atheist. Not trying to push anyone's buttons, but I do not believe in god. The reasons why are that (1) I do not see the hand of god in the world (violence, racism, illness, etc.) and (2) I was not brainwashed from an early age like so many people/believers are. I suppose another reason would be that I see many Christians as being hypocrites. Actually, it is not fair to apply this only to Christians - most people are likely hypocrites in one way, shape or form.

I do not begrudge anybody for being a member of any organized religion. It is a free country.

I would be curious to know if you are willing to share, why you believe or do not believe.

[thaskalos]

I am not an atheist...but I can't accept the "Heavenly God" doctrine of the Abrahamic religions. While it's true that I can't disprove the existence of a heavenly God...I just take it on faith.

[Parkview_Pirate]

While I tend to look at organized religion as inherently evil, and more about control of people versus their salvation, each individual's faith has to be judged by a jury of one - themselves. Only in your heart do you know what you truly believe, though for some they struggle being honest about that.

Technically, I'm an agnostic, leaning towards atheism, because the world makes more sense to me that way, with rather flawed logic to come to a conclusion at either end of the spectrum. But kingfin, if you restrict your world view to negatives (violence, racism, illness, etc.), two out of three that originate from man, than that's an awfully narrow view of the world. What about rainbows, waterfalls and kittens?

I've met too many people over the years who are intelligent, unbiased, and righteous, and are believers in a Supreme Being not due to propaganda, but due to inner deduction or an "experience" of sorts, which I have not shared. It could simply be the case of my brain is not developed enough to perceive beyond the materialistic plane. Or, it could be that most humans have a brain that cannot conceive a Universe without the Big Shifter at the helm, replacing the father/mother/parent figures of their childhood with something bigger.

At the end of the day, the future of "free" religious thought may very well be coming to a close, as there's no shortage of Social Justice Warriors, clergy or government officials ready to promote their version of "the one true faith...."

[Tom]

I have no doubt there is a God, but I do not believe He sits around waiting for us to pray to hit a baseball, or win a football game, and anything.

I believe we are put here to prove ourselves, and we do that by ourselves.

I don't read the bible, never have, never will. I believe He gave us all we ever need to know anything we need to know - a conscience. We use it or ignore it at our own peril.

I know the world is full of bad stuff, but if it were all cookies and ice cream, why bother having a life to begin with? Why not just start out in heaven?

[kingfin66]

Same here. For every game winning hit, there is a pitcher that thew the pitch. Or perhaps there is a fielder who made an error. Why would god want one team to win and not the other? If there is a god, he/she certainly doesn't bet.

I suppose what I may be is spiritual. For me, that is focus more on self and those around us. It is more about connection with people and nature.

[kingfin66]

Originally Posted by Parkview_Pirate

While I tend to look at organized religion as inherently evil, and more about control of people versus their salvation, each individual's faith has to be judged by a jury of one - themselves. Only in your heart do you know what you truly believe, though for some they struggle being honest about that.

Technically, I'm an agnostic, leaning towards atheism, because the world makes more sense to me that way, with rather flawed logic to come to a conclusion at either end of the spectrum. But kingfin, if you restrict your world view to negatives (violence, racism, illness, etc.), two out of three that originate from man, than that's an awfully narrow view of the world. What about rainbows, waterfalls and kittens?

I've met too many people over the years who are intelligent, unbiased, and righteous, and are believers in a Supreme Being not due to propaganda, but due to inner deduction or an "experience" of sorts, which I have not shared. It could simply be the case of my brain is not developed enough to perceive beyond the materialistic plane. Or, it could be that most humans have a brain that cannot conceive a Universe without the Big Shifter at the helm, replacing the father/mother/parent figures of their childhood with something bigger.

At the end of the day, the future of "free" religious thought may very well be coming to a close, as there's no shortage of Social Justice Warriors, clergy or government officials ready to promote their version of "the one true faith...."

Good points, but I am probably much more positive than the post (or other posts) would let on. Yours is a very interesting and sharp post. Thanks for taking the time.

[TJDave]

I’m an antitheist. Not particularly militant about it unless you get in my face. A persons right to profess their beliefs ends when they invade my solitude.

[thaskalos]

IMO...it is very possible for a person to be deeply "spiritual" without abiding by any of the doctrines of the world's organized religions. My "spiritual practice" of choice is the act of 'self-observation'...whereby I try to observe myself as I go about my day-to-day life...as if I were another person, instead of being myself. It's as if I am sitting in a theater seat, watching myself and my reactions to life, as if my life were unfolding on the theater screen. This allows me to see how I really am and how I react to life's different situations...without the usual "excuses" that we often give ourselves to explain our rather questionable behavior.

So much of our life is spent in a state of inattention, IMO...and I feel that we should all be more aware of who we really are...and what we think, and do, in our lives. Too often...we aren't really who we think we are.

[boxcar]

Originally Posted by Tom

I believe we are put here to prove ourselves, and we do that by ourselves.

Wow! Talk about being a day late and a dollar short! That ship sailed a long time ago.

I know the world is full of bad stuff, but if it were all cookies and ice cream, why bother having a life to begin with? Why not just start out in heaven?

Wouldn't the better question be: Why is "the world full of bad stuff"? And then ask about Self: Since I'm in the world, am I "full of bad stuff", personally, or are just other people?

[Tom]

Originally Posted by boxcar

Wow! Talk about being a day late and a dollar short! That ship sailed a long time ago.

Wouldn't the better question be: Why is "the world full of bad stuff"? And then ask about Self: Since I'm in the world, am I "full of bad stuff", personally, or are just other people?

How can you thing God will judge us on our worth if He continually intervenes in our lives and aids our choices?

Like I said, we were given a conscience to tell us who is bad and what is bad.

When I meet my Maker, I have to account for those choices.
Me, alone, no priest, no lawyer. I have to keep track of what is right and wrong every day, not just get "born again" at the end.

[Greyfox]

Originally Posted by kingfin66

I would be curious to know if you are willing to share, why you believe or do not believe.

I'd be curious to know why you opened this Religious IV thread when Religion III opened just a few days ago?
I believe it is redundant and should be merged with Religion III.
Otherwise are we going to have posters starting V, VI, ...LXII every time they have a new twist to add in this area?
It's Redundant at this time. Perhaps a few thousand posts from now is when it should be opened.

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by Greyfox

I'd be curious to know why you opened this Religious IV thread when Religion III opened just a few days ago?
I believe it is redundant and should be merged with Religion III.
Otherwise are we going to have posters starting V, VI, ...LXII every time they have a new twist to add in this area?
It's Redundant at this time. Perhaps a few thousand posts from now is when it should be opened.

Perhaps this thread should be renamed something other than Religion IV...to distance itself from the other religion threads here. IMO...the other religion threads took a sudden turn into the "logical flow of time"...which carried the conversation far away from where religion rightly belongs. Maybe this thread will succeed in staying on a more focused path than what the other threads wandered to.

[Greyfox]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

Perhaps this thread should be renamed something other than Religion IV...

That makes a lot of sense.

[hcap]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

Perhaps this thread should be renamed something other than Religion IV...to distance itself from the other religion threads here. IMO...the other religion threads took a sudden turn into the "logical flow of time"...which carried the conversation far away from where religion rightly belongs. Maybe this thread will succeed in staying on a more focused path than what the other threads wandered to.

Boxcar will not drop his obsession with his contrary version of time. When he brought up the rapture , I joked it was coming next Wednesday at noon, and he started right in on what I meant by "next"

Maybe he won't pay attention to IV much?

It could be titled alternatively, "Not Boxcar's Views"

Which many of us posting on those threads have tied to discuss since I

[boxcar]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

Perhaps this thread should be renamed something other than Religion IV...to distance itself from the other religion threads here. IMO...the other religion threads took a sudden turn into the "logical flow of time"...which carried the conversation far away from where religion rightly belongs. Maybe this thread will succeed in staying on a more focused path than what the other threads wandered to.

How 'bout anti-Christianity or antitheism? After all, a lot of people are very comfortable with deism, pantheism, etc.