Religious views

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What is your religion (if any)?

Christianity
30
48%
Islam
6
10%
Judaism
2
3%
Hinduism
0
No votes
Buddhism
4
6%
Other
6
10%
Agnosticism
6
10%
Atheism
9
14%
 
Total votes : 63

Postby Mentally Hilarious on Sun Feb 19, 2006 8:30 am

Never prayed, never believed in a him/her/it/is (see the fun part?!).

I'm inspired by nature, just because it's awesome (the original meaning of the word).

Call me agnostic if it helps, I just rather think that I find the whole idea of religion to be so goddamn silly that I just don't care what kind of stories diffrent people find it comforting to believe in.

All religions are based on historic prejudice.
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Postby bullsfan009 on Tue Feb 21, 2006 3:05 pm

I love Jesus, and am inspired to try to love EVERYBODY by Him, so that technically makes me a Christian.

But at this point in my life & thoughts, I believe that people of ALL different beliefs can know God. But to me it's Jesus that makes that possible, through his sacrificial death for humanity's sins.

I heard a quote that helps me clairfy: "Jesus makes it possible for a sinful human to have meaningful relationship with a holy God."

Oh, and just in case people don't know what this is talking about, lemme explain:


GOD=HOLY, PURE, PERFECT
MAN=IMPERFECT, SINFUL

Jesus's role was to come to Earth and be the sacrifice to pay for everybody's sins, so that we humans could be able to be with God after we die.

You see, no sin or sinner can stand in God's presence b/c of who God is (perfect & holy etc). And it's always been the case that the punishment for sin is death (started by Adam & Eve according to the Bible).

The reason that Jesus was the one who paid the price is b/c he was pure & sinless, making the ideal sacrifice, and also him being God & Man at once allowed him to break the cycle of SIN=DEATH, because he was resurrected. And also, it showed the world how much God loves us all- that he was willing to have his son suffer immensely b/c of our screwups, not anything that Jesus did.

Jesus was scared, as any man would be. He was sweating blood, which is a real medical condition that happens to some people when they are dealing with EXTREME stress & anxiety. And Jesus also asked, [I'm paraphrasing]

"Lord, if there's any other way for this to be done, let this cup pass over your Son. But nevertheless God let your will be done, and not mine."

And after being beaten so badly that his own family didn't recognize him (this supposedly is GOD we're talking about! :crazyeyes: :shock: ), he did it! And to the Romans who were brutally beating & flogging him, and to all the people that mocked & spat on him as he was crucified between two thieves, he said,

"Forgive them Father...for they don't know what they're doing!"
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Postby H Rock on Tue Feb 21, 2006 3:32 pm

Great post.

But you forget to mention that the spiritual torment he went through. This a perfect, sinless Jesus, who took all the sin of the world, and Whose own father turned away from him.
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Postby J@3 on Tue Feb 21, 2006 4:33 pm

The thread is is called religious views I suppose.
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Postby cyanide on Tue Feb 21, 2006 4:41 pm

I guess I'm Christian in the way that I really value Jesus' message, but I'm more spiritual than anything.
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Postby [Q] on Tue Feb 21, 2006 7:59 pm

when I saw this thread start up, I tried my best to keep out of it, but here goes...

I oppose organized religion altogether. i think people are smart enough to think for themselves and organized religion is a way for a select few to brain-wash people by the masses (and take their money). children should not be subjected to religion and should be able to decide for themselves when they are older and are able to grasp all the concepts and ideas. i do not believe in the Bible and I think it is a work of fiction, written for entertainment or other purposes. i do not believe in the holiness of Jesus or that he ever existed. when i tell people that i choose not to have a religion they automatically assume i'm atheist, but i do believe in a god.

okay flame me now... but you asked for my stance on religion.
if you're interested, I'd be willing to elaborate.
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Postby bullsfan009 on Tue Feb 21, 2006 11:18 pm

Negative One wrote:But you forget to mention that the spiritual torment he went through. This a perfect, sinless Jesus, who took all the sin of the world, and Whose own father turned away from him.
That's right, I didn't think of that: "Father, why have you forsaken me?"

when I saw this thread start up, I tried my best to keep out of it, but here goes...

Qballer wrote:I oppose organized religion altogether. i think people are smart enough to think for themselves and organized religion is a way for a select few to brain-wash people by the masses (and take their money). children should not be subjected to religion and should be able to decide for themselves when they are older and are able to grasp all the concepts and ideas. i do not believe in the Bible and I think it is a work of fiction, written for entertainment or other purposes. i do not believe in the holiness of Jesus or that he ever existed. when i tell people that i choose not to have a religion they automatically assume i'm atheist, but i do believe in a god.

okay flame me now... but you asked for my stance on religion.
if you're interested, I'd be willing to elaborate.
No flaming here, but I would like for you to elaborate, if you want to talk. I understand where you come from about organized religion- more wars, abuse, and downright theft have come out of organized religions than just about anything else.

But I attribute that to the stupidity of people, not to the religion as it's supposed to be practiced, in its ideal state.

Jesus is a historical person, and there's a lot of good evidence to support that. It is known that he was Jewish, many people believed that he performed miracles, many followed his teachings, and also it's a fact as facts go that he was crucified.

Whether he actually did perform miracles, and whether he rose from the dead are the questions that are not historical facts, and have to be accepted or rejected without scientific, historical evidence.

Why do you think that he never existed?
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Postby H Rock on Tue Feb 21, 2006 11:22 pm

That's right, I didn't think of that: "Father, why have you forsaken me?"

when I saw this thread start up, I tried my best to keep out of it, but here goes...


By the way, one thing about the Tthe Passion is that it never mentions the spiritual side of His suffering. I mean, with the physical side, others could have gone through the same.
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Postby Pera on Tue Feb 21, 2006 11:34 pm

im christian
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Postby Null17 on Wed Feb 22, 2006 12:31 am

Legally I'm Catholic but I don't really follow it closely. I'm more in touch with my faith now in the theological and philosophical sense due to the stuff I'm required to take in college but I still don't know much about the Bible nor go to church regularly (I used to but I'm just lazy now). Plus there are some stuff in Catholicism that I don't really agree on. So I'm kinda agnostic I guess.
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Postby Jona on Wed Feb 22, 2006 2:39 am

bullsfan009 wrote:
Negative One wrote:But you forget to mention that the spiritual torment he went through. This a perfect, sinless Jesus, who took all the sin of the world, and Whose own father turned away from him.
That's right, I didn't think of that: "Father, why have you forsaken me?"

when I saw this thread start up, I tried my best to keep out of it, but here goes...

Qballer wrote:I oppose organized religion altogether. i think people are smart enough to think for themselves and organized religion is a way for a select few to brain-wash people by the masses (and take their money). children should not be subjected to religion and should be able to decide for themselves when they are older and are able to grasp all the concepts and ideas. i do not believe in the Bible and I think it is a work of fiction, written for entertainment or other purposes. i do not believe in the holiness of Jesus or that he ever existed. when i tell people that i choose not to have a religion they automatically assume i'm atheist, but i do believe in a god.

okay flame me now... but you asked for my stance on religion.
if you're interested, I'd be willing to elaborate.
No flaming here, but I would like for you to elaborate, if you want to talk. I understand where you come from about organized religion- more wars, abuse, and downright theft have come out of organized religions than just about anything else.

But I attribute that to the stupidity of people, not to the religion as it's supposed to be practiced, in its ideal state.

Jesus is a historical person, and there's a lot of good evidence to support that. It is known that he was Jewish, many people believed that he performed miracles, many followed his teachings, and also it's a fact as facts go that he was crucified.

Whether he actually did perform miracles, and whether he rose from the dead are the questions that are not historical facts, and have to be accepted or rejected without scientific, historical evidence.

Why do you think that he never existed?


I understand were you come from Q, I basically believe the same as you do (except the existence of any deity, and the fact that Jesus DID exist).

First of all, I want to make clear that because of the historical evidence, I believe Jesus existed, I don't think there should be anymore doubt about that. He was a very intelligent man, WAY ahead of his time and with never-seen-before rhetorical atributes.

Faith, and faith alone is the only way of knowing if Jesus rose from the dead and did miracles. As a strong adherent to scientific empirism, I believe that is utter nonsense. But the fact is, we'll most probably never know for sure. That is the fun part, I think. :)

As Q proposed, organized religion is one of the most deceitful human inventions ever. There is absolutely NO WAY that religion should be mixed with the educational system. To mold those poor kids views since they are small, as Q said, it is practically brainwash. The Bible is a very valuable piece of historical evidence, but paradoxically, it also has a very low "fact-factor". Just imagine how many people took part on writing it, and just imagine the knowledge of these guys. It was basically non-existant.

Well, that's my rant for now.
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Postby cyanide on Wed Feb 22, 2006 3:36 am

Gotta agree with what Jona said above. In addition, the Bible shouldn't be viewed as something to believe in or take literally, but to understand the widsom and metaphorical messages it provides, which would really enrich anybody's life. The same goes for any other religion out there. Religion isn't something that I want to be label myself into, but rather to appreciate the universal truths that it acknowledges. There's a lot of good messages that can be found in Christianity, but there's also a lot of great spiritual resonance that can be found in Buddhism as well. There's no religion I want to be part of, but I want to learn through the wisdom and spiritual guidance of actual living people who sees the world and people through a higher level of meaning in life.
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Postby Colin on Wed Feb 22, 2006 6:27 am

I think some of the people in here are too eager to blame what people do on what religion they belong too. It's very common to hear the fact that the Osama's of the world don't represent said religion, yet the thigns that are more minor just get lumped in with the religion. I believe the religion is flawless, any problems come from poor interpretation.

I was going to post what Cy basically said about learning from religious works. The first thing that attracted me to Christianity was how one doesn't have to be Christian to get the message of it and learn from it. It had many things that can be 'life lessons' as opposed to 'religious lessons'.

I also agree that mass religion isn't a great idea. There's nothing wrong with voicing your opinion, but many people see it as near sacrilegious if you go against the viewpoint of the minister. That's one of the reasons I don't attend church very often at all. I also go to different ones on those rare occaisions I do so I can get a different viewpoint. One of the problems that organized religion can cause is people feeling as though they are wrong for not taking sides in an argument. Chris Rock said this about politics (paraphrased): "No good person is one thing. A good person isn't just republican, or just democratic. Those people make up their minds before they hear the issue. A good person hears the facts and makes up their mind then." Not to turn Chris Rock into a spiritual teacher, but he makes a good point that can be adapted to religion. I can't get one viewpoint on any given religion and make up my mind about the whole damn thing. I don't have a problem with people not being Christian, but I have a problem with people turning away from it for no real reason beyond sterotypes. There are many cases where wll-known athiests (sorry, no names :oops: ) read the bible looking for what is wrong with it and trying to prove God doesn't exist, and then come out of reading it Christian.

I don't really have a good way to wrap this up so I'll just stop.
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Postby cyanide on Wed Feb 22, 2006 7:39 am

Colin brings up a good point about looking at several issues instead of making up one's mind on a specific position. I think what makes us very open minded and tolerant is accepting to look at other people's position and see their viewpoints and contrast it with one's own. If the other viewpoint sounds more "convincing" or holds a greater truth or even a part of it that would bring more acceptance is what makes us become more understanding individuals. Life isn't just about going out there and focusing on only our own world bubble. It's important to have a firm foundation and a grasp of our identity, but we need to be willing to understand the world to enrich our lives to the fullest.
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Postby AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy on Wed Feb 22, 2006 7:46 am

Point is, can someone be a true 'Christian' without believeing in 'God'?
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Postby cyanide on Wed Feb 22, 2006 7:52 am

Is there such thing as a 'true' Christian? ;) I believe in God, but not from the Bible's interpretation, and I respect Jesus as a moral teacher, and Jesus is a central figure in Christianity. I'm not exactly the conventional Christian, but if I start studying Islam, Buddhism, Taoism and Hinduism, I might not even be considered under any label.
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Postby Colin on Wed Feb 22, 2006 9:50 am

cyanide wrote:Is there such thing as a 'true' Christian? ;) I believe in God, but not from the Bible's interpretation, and I respect Jesus as a moral teacher, and Jesus is a central figure in Christianity. I'm not exactly the conventional Christian, but if I start studying Islam, Buddhism, Taoism and Hinduism, I might not even be considered under any label.

If I had the time and commitment I'd like to read through some of the Islamic, Buddhist, etc. religious works if only just to learn from them.

And in repsonse to Dweaver, you're not a 'Christian' if you do not believe in God. But you can have Christian morals and be a good samaritan and all that without calling yourself 'Christian.' Just as I said, you can learn those life lessons in the bible without being fully religious.
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Postby dada on Wed Feb 22, 2006 10:06 am

Jesus sleeps with me at night.
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Postby cyanide on Wed Feb 22, 2006 10:41 am

You sleep with Jesus?! :shock:
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Postby Jackal on Wed Feb 22, 2006 10:52 am

You can sleep with him as much as you want, as long as his hands stay off of you. That's my territory.
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Postby cyanide on Wed Feb 22, 2006 11:06 am

For some reason, there's such a strong correlation with what you said and with Michael Jackson :shake:
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Postby Nick on Wed Feb 22, 2006 11:31 am

dadamafia wrote:Jesus sleeps with me at night.

Well, i don't sleep with you every night...
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Postby Axel on Wed Feb 22, 2006 12:46 pm

Is there such thing as a 'true' Christian?


It's exceedingly ambiguous questions like that which keep me from believing.
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Postby Cable on Wed Feb 22, 2006 1:56 pm

how one doesn't have to be Christian to get the message of it and learn from it. It had many things that can be 'life lessons' as opposed to 'religious lessons'.

That's the most important thing to remember, I think. You don't necessarily have to believe in God or Jesus, but you should aknowledge that the 'Christian values' are something everyone should have. Those of you who are agnositcs or aethiests, do you still think that things like being compassionate, loving and respecting each other and trying to improve our world are important? I think that being religious is more of being a good person than believing in God.

As Q proposed, organized religion is one of the most deceitful human inventions ever. There is absolutely NO WAY that religion should be mixed with the educational system. To mold those poor kids views since they are small, as Q said, it is practically brainwash.

I've had religion in school since gr. 1 and will have it up until I graduate, but I don't think we were 'brainwashed'. The focus of religion courses is more being a good person than believing in God. They do teach that God exists, of course, but it's the message behind the Bible that is the most important thing.
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Postby Axel on Wed Feb 22, 2006 3:44 pm

I've had religion in school since gr. 1 and will have it up until I graduate, but I don't think we were 'brainwashed'. The focus of religion courses is more being a good person than believing in God. They do teach that God exists, of course, but it's the message behind the Bible that is the most important thing.


Is this a regular public school??
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