Your religion?

[Aya]

The Desert Fox Wrote:

Ayliana Wrote:I'm a Christian....

Hidden stuff:

Really? You've never struck me as the sort of person who'd be a Christian.

Well I tend to be more of a dieistic in my faith, and I certainly don't take the bible as literal truth.

[LOON_ATTIC]

Fuck yeah we're winning (agnosticism)

[Prince Rilian]

Most people who call themselves agnostic are atheists. So atheism is probably winning.

Most people who say they are agnostic mean, "I don't know if there are gods." If you don't know, that means you also don't believe.

[LOON_ATTIC]

Lol I actually agree with you now. I tend to laugh at people who try to use religion to prove anything.

Why isn't there a Dectrip/Inglip religion in the poll?

[The Desert Fox]

Prince Rilian Wrote:Most people who call themselves agnostic are atheists. So atheism is probably winning.

Most people who say they are agnostic mean, "I don't know if there are gods." If you don't know, that means you also don't believe.

Not really. Atheists flat-out think a god doesn't exist. Agnostics don't know and don't care, but can be swayed either way if substantial proof is provided.

[Prince Rilian]

The Desert Fox Wrote:

Prince Rilian Wrote:Most people who call themselves agnostic are atheists. So atheism is probably winning.

Most people who say they are agnostic mean, "I don't know if there are gods." If you don't know, that means you also don't believe.

Not really. Atheists flat-out think a god doesn't exist.

No. Wrong. Atheist means not believing.

[The Desert Fox]

Not believing in a god = thinking a god doesn't exist.

[Psychoqueen]

I used to consider myself Wiccan, but no longer.

[Prince Rilian]

The Desert Fox Wrote:Not believing in a god = thinking a god doesn't exist.

No.

I flipped a coin. Do you believe that it landed on heads? No, you don't. Do you think it didn't land on heads? No, you don't.

If I created a religion based on the belief that it landed on heads, you would be an "atheist" with respect to that claim. You'd also be agnostic.

[LOON_ATTIC]

*head explodes*

But Atheist wouldn't believe a god exists for shit...
Maybe otherwise if they actually saw one. Gahh I dunno. I think Atheist is when you're completely sure there is no god, but agnostic is when you don't really care but doubt there is a god. Why not?

[The Desert Fox]

Prince Rilian Wrote:

The Desert Fox Wrote:Not believing in a god = thinking a god doesn't exist.

No.

I flipped a coin. Do you believe that it landed on heads? No, you don't. Do you think it didn't land on heads? No, you don't.

If I created a religion based on the belief that it landed on heads, you would be an "atheist" with respect to that claim. You'd also be agnostic.

If I understand what you're saying (that's some nice headsploding logic there) then you would be an agnostic only if you took the logical approach, and thought "I don't know which side the coin landed on, so I'll remain indifferent there. I won't care what side the coin landed on, but I will believe that it landed on *whatever side the religion believes* if they can provide substantial proof".

[Prince Rilian]

The Desert Fox Wrote:

Prince Rilian Wrote:

The Desert Fox Wrote:Not believing in a god = thinking a god doesn't exist.

No.

I flipped a coin. Do you believe that it landed on heads? No, you don't. Do you think it didn't land on heads? No, you don't.

If I created a religion based on the belief that it landed on heads, you would be an "atheist" with respect to that claim. You'd also be agnostic.

If I understand what you're saying (that's some nice headsploding logic there) then you would be an agnostic only if you took the logical approach, and thought "I don't know which side the coin landed on, so I'll remain indifferent there. I won't care what side the coin landed on, but I will believe that it landed on *whatever side the religion believes* if they can provide substantial proof".

Sure, whatever. There's like 50 billion different conceptions of agnosticism. Some people just mean "I don't know" some people mean something more specific than that.

But since atheism means not holding the belief that a god or gods exist, most agnostics fall under the categorie of atheism. The only agnostics who don't are the ones who are, like, agnostic theists, who say, "I don't know that god exists, but I believe anyway," or some shit. To me that makes no fucking sense, but some people do claim that position.

[The Desert Fox]

'Kay, I see where you're coming from. Fair enough.

[యూజర్ పేరు]

An open letter to religious people: You are idiots and I hate you.

Before you go and get the wrong idea, this isn't about why religion is bad, or why it's wrong. Of course, it is bad, and it is wrong, but thats so blindingly obvious that it no longer needs to be said. Instead, this is a direct attack on you, the religious person. The argument? That your failure to reject religion indicates that you are colossally, irredeemably stupid.

Religion is fundamentally flawed in a staggering variety of ways, to the point that a curious child can bring down the entire framework of stupidity with an innocent question. Such questions include:
- Why is there evil?
- Who made God?
- Why should I trust you after the Santa Claus thing?
But you didn't ask those questions, did you? Or if you did, you accepted the pathetic rationalizations that were offered without further contemplation, am I correct? Perhaps you were afraid to ask, or even to think about it. Your comforting little worldview mattered more to you than the truth. But can this critical failure really be blamed on a fear of the consequences of religion being wrong? Is a godless world too terrible to contemplate?

The idea that Santa Claus isn't real is also unpleasant, and this provides a deterrent to disbelief. But not a significant one. God doesn't even bring people presents. In fact, in most religions he's a jerk. Plagues and laws and smiting and eternal torture. Is this really so attractive an idea that people cannot let go?

Perhaps disinterest is the only real problem. After all, if a man can't read Greek, that doesn't make him stupid. It simply means he doesn't care to read Greek.

But can a lack of interest in the fundamental nature of reality really be justified in this way? Maybe so. After all, it makes little difference in day-to-day living, whether God is up there or not. And yet, shouldn't the fact that God's existence has no major consequences itself raise a red flag? The idea that a being with immense power exists, but never tampers with the world in a noticeable way is an absurdly childish hypothetical scenario. It's "I'm not touching you" on a cosmic scale.

Granted, we used to see a lot more evidence of God's tampering than we do today. Lightning, disease, floods, butterflies, the sun. But even then, a bunch of inexplicable things hardly adds up to a big magical man who you can't see. And of course, all this "evidence" wilted and died with sufficient rational inquiry. The sun and stars turned out to be big nuclear furnaces, diseases and butterflies are now well-understood, and lightning is just electrical discharge. Indeed, from leopard spots to pregnancy to the shape of the earth, religion has been proven wrong again and again.

It would take an idiot not to see a pattern in this, and that's exactly what you are.

The icing on this pathetic cake is that you realize all other religions are wrong; you just have a blind spot toward your own. Perhaps you have a vague awareness that religion is stupid, but you never really gave it up because your thoughts are too disorganized to deal with it. If this is the case, and your mind is a dusty closet full of odds and ends, motivational phrases and vacation photos, I have nothing but contempt for you.

I refuse to respect religious beliefs, and I refuse to respect the people who hold them. Your willful ignorance is inexcusable and it disgusts me.

[LOON_ATTIC]

BobManPerson Wrote:An open letter to religious people: You are idiots and I hate you.

Before you go and get the wrong idea, this isn't about why religion is bad, or why it's wrong. Of course, it is bad, and it is wrong, but thats so blindingly obvious that it no longer needs to be said. Instead, this is a direct attack on you, the religious person. The argument? That your failure to reject religion indicates that you are colossally, irredeemably stupid.

Religion is fundamentally flawed in a staggering variety of ways, to the point that a curious child can bring down the entire framework of stupidity with an innocent question. Such questions include:
- Why is there evil?
- Who made God?
- Why should I trust you after the Santa Claus thing?
But you didn't ask those questions, did you? Or if you did, you accepted the pathetic rationalizations that were offered without further contemplation, am I correct? Perhaps you were afraid to ask, or even to think about it. Your comforting little worldview mattered more to you than the truth. But can this critical failure really be blamed on a fear of the consequences of religion being wrong? Is a godless world too terrible to contemplate?

The idea that Santa Claus isn't real is also unpleasant, and this provides a deterrent to disbelief. But not a significant one. God doesn't even bring people presents. In fact, in most religions he's a jerk. Plagues and laws and smiting and eternal torture. Is this really so attractive an idea that people cannot let go?

Perhaps disinterest is the only real problem. After all, if a man can't read Greek, that doesn't make him stupid. It simply means he doesn't care to read Greek.

But can a lack of interest in the fundamental nature of reality really be justified in this way? Maybe so. After all, it makes little difference in day-to-day living, whether God is up there or not. And yet, shouldn't the fact that God's existence has no major consequences itself raise a red flag? The idea that a being with immense power exists, but never tampers with the world in a noticeable way is an absurdly childish hypothetical scenario. It's "I'm not touching you" on a cosmic scale.

Granted, we used to see a lot more evidence of God's tampering than we do today. Lightning, disease, floods, butterflies, the sun. But even then, a bunch of inexplicable things hardly adds up to a big magical man who you can't see. And of course, all this "evidence" wilted and died with sufficient rational inquiry. The sun and stars turned out to be big nuclear furnaces, diseases and butterflies are now well-understood, and lightning is just electrical discharge. Indeed, from leopard spots to pregnancy to the shape of the earth, religion has been proven wrong again and again.

It would take an idiot not to see a pattern in this, and that's exactly what you are.

The icing on this pathetic cake is that you realize all other religions are wrong; you just have a blind spot toward your own. Perhaps you have a vague awareness that religion is stupid, but you never really gave it up because your thoughts are too disorganized to deal with it. If this is the case, and your mind is a dusty closet full of odds and ends, motivational phrases and vacation photos, I have nothing but contempt for you.

I refuse to respect religious beliefs, and I refuse to respect the people who hold them. Your willful ignorance is inexcusable and it disgusts me.

TL;DR

[NowhereWoman]

BobManPerson Wrote:An open letter to religious people: You are idiots and I hate you.

Before you go and get the wrong idea, this isn't about why religion is bad, or why it's wrong. Of course, it is bad, and it is wrong, but thats so blindingly obvious that it no longer needs to be said. Instead, this is a direct attack on you, the religious person. The argument? That your failure to reject religion indicates that you are colossally, irredeemably stupid.

Religion is fundamentally flawed in a staggering variety of ways, to the point that a curious child can bring down the entire framework of stupidity with an innocent question. Such questions include:
- Why is there evil?
- Who made God?
- Why should I trust you after the Santa Claus thing?
But you didn't ask those questions, did you? Or if you did, you accepted the pathetic rationalizations that were offered without further contemplation, am I correct? Perhaps you were afraid to ask, or even to think about it. Your comforting little worldview mattered more to you than the truth. But can this critical failure really be blamed on a fear of the consequences of religion being wrong? Is a godless world too terrible to contemplate?

The idea that Santa Claus isn't real is also unpleasant, and this provides a deterrent to disbelief. But not a significant one. God doesn't even bring people presents. In fact, in most religions he's a jerk. Plagues and laws and smiting and eternal torture. Is this really so attractive an idea that people cannot let go?

Perhaps disinterest is the only real problem. After all, if a man can't read Greek, that doesn't make him stupid. It simply means he doesn't care to read Greek.

But can a lack of interest in the fundamental nature of reality really be justified in this way? Maybe so. After all, it makes little difference in day-to-day living, whether God is up there or not. And yet, shouldn't the fact that God's existence has no major consequences itself raise a red flag? The idea that a being with immense power exists, but never tampers with the world in a noticeable way is an absurdly childish hypothetical scenario. It's "I'm not touching you" on a cosmic scale.

Granted, we used to see a lot more evidence of God's tampering than we do today. Lightning, disease, floods, butterflies, the sun. But even then, a bunch of inexplicable things hardly adds up to a big magical man who you can't see. And of course, all this "evidence" wilted and died with sufficient rational inquiry. The sun and stars turned out to be big nuclear furnaces, diseases and butterflies are now well-understood, and lightning is just electrical discharge. Indeed, from leopard spots to pregnancy to the shape of the earth, religion has been proven wrong again and again.

It would take an idiot not to see a pattern in this, and that's exactly what you are.

The icing on this pathetic cake is that you realize all other religions are wrong; you just have a blind spot toward your own. Perhaps you have a vague awareness that religion is stupid, but you never really gave it up because your thoughts are too disorganized to deal with it. If this is the case, and your mind is a dusty closet full of odds and ends, motivational phrases and vacation photos, I have nothing but contempt for you.

I refuse to respect religious beliefs, and I refuse to respect the people who hold them. Your willful ignorance is inexcusable and it disgusts me.

I actually agree with a lot of that....

But I consider myself an agnostic neo-pagan. But that will change. Right now in my life I take comfort in the idea of gods, goddesses, or just forces in general that I can connect to in order to make me feel better about my life. I take the Wiccan Rede as a guide for my life. "An it harm none, do what ye will." It's harmonious and in accord with my previous beliefs- we have free will, but the main moral should be to harm as little as possible.
I have a spiritual existence but I understand that I do not truly believe in gods or goddesses or ghosts or psychic powers. They're just things I like to indulge myself in once in a while. I see gods and goddesses as representative of how man sees the world and the forces of nature, not as actual beings with personalities.
What I believe and what I think and emotionally connect to are two separate things. My rational mind is atheist - I do not believe in gods or deities. I do however believe that humans have a spiritual side. Not necessarily that we tap into some spiritual plane. Maybe it's just a section of our brains that makes us feel like we are touching something divine. In that sense, religion makes a lot more sense. Is this feeling something we instinctively strive for? That's what I'm interested in.
My emotional mind knows that, just as music, drugs, reading, ANYTHING is a way to manipulate our emotions so we can function better as human beings, or at least to achieve our goals, religion and spirituality can be used as a tool that can make our lives better. Or to manipulate others and spread our control.
That's why I keep my beliefs or practices personal, and don't enforce anything, even atheism, on others. It's a personal and individual journey that only the person going through it can know. Like adolescence.

[NowhereWoman]

By the Way, Zherny, your avatar is amazing.

[aaaaaaasd]

BOBMAN MUST BE SACRIFICED

MORE BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD

[Elfy]

Yeah... I voted Apatheism, I don't know and I couldn't really care.

[Cilaos]

NowhereWoman Wrote:By the Way, Zherny, your avatar is amazing.

Thank ye, it's sooo....NAUGHTY!