need help with religion

[atheist who found answer.]

hey dudes,

ive been visiting this site for quite a while previously, but i wanted to ask you guys what you think about religon

ive been raised an atheiest but dont see how there could be no god and i feel the need for spirituality


ive looked at several religions, hinduism, judaism, islam, christianity

here is my summary of each after studying them for a long time, and speaking with religious leaders of each


hinduism
no offense to anyone, but it sound really childish to me; it would be cool as a trading card game, but not really as a religion

judaism
judaism makes a good bit of sense to me, but there are still a lot of questions. also, i feel that it is a a very white religion. as an african american, i have yet to meet a non white jew, i may be wrong but it seems to be a very selective religion, i dont feel the feeling of brother hood

christianity
i like christianity, though i have found alot of contradicitons in the bible. i asked a local pastor about them, and was really dissapointed that he did not give me a straightforward answer. and with so many versions of the bible, i am not sure which one to follow. i dont really agree with the concept of jesus coming back to life as a ghost or spirit, so i suppose that i cant be a christian if i dont believe in that, however i really like the faithfulness shown by many christians

islam
i am really stuck on this one. in terms of the religion itself, i have yet to find a single thing that i do not like, and i havent found any contradictions in the koran. some of the things that didnt make sense to me were easily explained to me by the imam of a mosque in my city. unlike christianity, i was pleased taht through months of searching, i only found one version of the koran. although the translations differed a little, the arabic looked exactly the same. on the flip side, i dont agree with the actions of a lot of muslims across the world; i mean, its pretty hard to ignore. though nothing in the religion calls for that stuff, i am still a bit skeptical


so, i plan on making a decision within the next two to three weeks;

right now, its pretty much 10% christianity, 20%judaism, and 70% islam

id really like yalls opinions

peace

Jae edit: Not sure why you disabled BBCode, that's why your bolding didn't show up. Before now anyway.

[J@3]

Danger Will Robinson! Religion thread at the NLSC, daaaannnggeerr!!

[benji]

PROTIP: Stop caring about others' opinions (especially the fucking NLSC's...jeez why would you pick this place if you weren't a bot) or "faithfulness", believe what you believe, and get over the rest.

Also, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Jews

[JT_55]

Doesn't look like a bot, first time that username is used, first time these sentences are used in full. Unless this happens to be the first time the bot makes this.

atheistlookingforanswers, I suggest using a mathematical approach to your problem. Using something simiar to game theory...apply values for the pros/cons each choice you plan to make, and decide on a probability scale for which you think the pros/cons will affect your life positively/negatively, respectively. Now use your data and find out the value times the probability for which the event will happen. Compare your values, and then you can make your final choice.

Danger Will Robinson! Religion thread at the NLSC, daaaannnggeerr!!

Did something bad happen to the last one?

[benji]

You can't use game theory to decide what you believe in.

Oh, and the "similar to game theory" process you described, is known as decision making.

[JT_55]

lol...I thought that was the point.

[Indy]

This guy is a genius. I wonder what religion to choose, such a tough decision.... I know! I'll find a forum about a basketball video game that I've never posted at before and ask them which one is best in their general talk section!

[atheist who found answer.]

hey guys,

no, i am not a bot, lol

for those who say that it was dumb to ask the question here, i think that you may be correct, but after reading this forum for a while, ive grown attached to the diversity of the members; plus, i have grown quite fond of some of you (not gay) jackals humor, cyanides voice of reason, andrews careful caring of the forum, and heck, even mcdwayne's annoyingness (well, not sure about that one) lol

anyway, i just want your opinions on each of the religions; as some have mentioned, i have made pro and con lists, but want to know your pros and cons, even if you dont know much about them

bye

[benji]

But that's stupid and dishonest. You can only choose what you believe, our arguments about the pros and cons of various religions and their practices should have no say in what you choose to believe. This is not like choosing a candidate to support for President.

[Patr1ck]

You did not mention Catholicism or Buddhism.

Anyways, maybe you can do what Bruce Lee did with martial arts. Read about all of the religions and take the best parts of each and believe in that.

There's always wicca and paganism.

[benji]

And you did not mention Taoism and Shinto, STOP DISCRIMINATING! Oh no, I didn't mention Scientology! Or Environmentalism! Or...I give up...

[atheist who found answer.]

well, im not asking for you guys to make me a decision or anything; i just want your opinions

[benji]

Why do you care about our opinions? If we all concurred it was good to eat kittens, would that affect your decision on eating kittens? (Which, yes is a moral question equivalent to belief in the "grand question".)

[Gundy]

My opinion is that you should live according to what you feel is right in your heart. Don't let religion try and tell you what to think. A free-thinking mind is a terrible thing to waste. Being an atheist is not a bad thing.

[Donatello]

GOD IS DEAD

HE IS IN YOUR MEATLOAF DINNER


... SO ARE THE KITTENS BENJI MENTIONED

[Dro]

I've been raised as a Muslim. The philosophy and teachings of the religion make complete sense to me. However, what has turned me off lately is all the minor aspects of the religion, which there are a LOT of. My advice, if you are to delve more deeply into Islam, is to make sure you understand the major themes and concepts of the religion before you consider all the minor aspects. Being a Shiite, we believe that the current leader of Islam is in "hiding" until the "time is right", when he is supposed to reappear and, along with Jesus, spread the true word of God throughout the world. However, until He appears, we look to the educated scholars/experts of Islam for advice in our every day life.

Or, at least, I used to...there are hundreds of thousands of these "experts", many of whom have political agendas, and they're all hellbent upon enforcing the miniscule details of Shiite Islam that I was talking about earlier. Some examples of these minor aspects: whether women should or should not wear headscarfs, the proper way to cut meat, and whether or not masturbation is permitted. At my mosque, these are the types of things our local Imam lectures about for hours, and I just can't stand it.

What I really can't stand about the Islam that the Imams preach is all the limitations. No drinking, no premarital sex, etc. At this point in my life, I prefer to follow the spiritual teachings and the life lessons the Koran and Muhammad's life provides. Maybe I'll become more devout as I mature...who knows.

But my biggest piece of advice, if you're serious about exploring Islam, is to not lot a bunch of uncivilized, barbaric maniancs turn you away. Extremist Islam breeds in places where hope among the populace is lost; extremists use Islam as a tool to achieve their political agendas. Islam itself has nothing to do with the actions of the extremists.

[benji]

That was probably one of the smarter posts on one's religion this forum has ever seen. Still, I can't help but think, nay know, I can go through it changing specifics (Islam, Imam, headscarfs, no drinking, etc.) to ones for other belief systems and it would all still apply.

Which only reinforces my point to the OP, Dro doesn't believe the aspects/interpretations of Islam he does because he weighed the pros and cons and listened to others, but because he knows what he feels.

Which is why I think this whole enterprise is stupid and seems more like an attempt at trolling.

[The X]

seems like you're having as much trouble with religion as I am of finding a favourite NBA team....it's not easy if you're not born into it....I myself am unaligned to any religion....I'm not an Atheist or anything like that, I just was never brought up in a religious environment....my heritage is Scottish....I'm marrying a Catholic girl in 2 months....if & when we have kids, they'll be raised Catholic....doesn't bother me....to each his own I guess....

[el badman]

well, im not asking for you guys to make me a decision or anything; i just want your opinions

If you're looking for "tips" here, maybe you're just not ready to actually adhere to any religion...It's not like you NEED to believe in some kind of higher authority, well maybe you do, but there's nothing wrong with not being "anything" either way.

[atheist who found answer.]

hmmm, well dro, id like to thank you for your opinions

as for the minor aspects, i was a bit turned off as well but the one thing that i really really like about islam is that everything has a reason behind it

at first i was concerned that women were suppressed in the religion such as how they have to wear the headscarf, and you cant date, but the imam explained to me how by wearing the hijab, its actually giving women respect, because instead of judging them on their looks, men ccan judge them based upon their character and personality; and as for the dating, i understand how that can lead to premarital sex, and single motherhood, which is oppressive towards the child, because they never meet their father, and often go down wrong paths

i also like the feeling of brotherhood too

yet still, i am scared about being muslim because of what people will say, especially living in america, thats about the only reason thats holding me back

[benji]

This is so stupid, I can't take it anymore. You just don't get it.

Islam or any other religion probably doesn't deserve you. Except maybe Scientology. Or the "man-made climate change" fanatics.

[atheist who found answer.]

i honestly dont see what i am doing wrong; i trust you guys and am asking you guys your opinions yet you shun me

[JT_55]

benji, why don't you just let him be? atheistlookingforanswers probably believes in asking complete strangers in internet forums about their opinions, so if he believes in choosing a religion like the way you choose Presidential candidates, well that's obvoiusly what he believes in. Either that or you were right about "this enterprise".

EDIT: Okay, what have we ever done to gain your trust, atheist?

[J@3]

at first i was concerned that women were suppressed in the religion such as how they have to wear the headscarf, and you cant date

I'm not a Muslim but alot of Muslim girls I know don't wear a head scarf and they definitely do date...

[benji]

JT_55, why don't you just let me be? Benji believes in informing people they're "doing it wrong".

He feels the need to be spirtual, so he wants a pro/con list of religions and their practices, from a forum that has no evidence to make people think it has any sort of knowledge, but is unsure about the one he likes the most because other people might say things about him.

This is not how you find out what you believe. This is how you decide to join the chess club or the debate club, not the most important part of your existence.

I am not shunning you, I am giving you my opinion, that you fail at "getting" religion. Peer pressure is not part of it.