Im just curious as to what some of your personal beliefs are. That is for those of you who have nothing more.

Now I don't want people posting about their take on Christianity, or the way they percieve Judaism. What I want is for people who don't follow any religion to share what their beliefs are regarding God, life, death, etc...

Obviously, I'll give it a start.

I believe in God. Sort of. I will never tell anyone 'I believe in God' because I don't think I ever will believe that without a doubt a God exists. This is because there is no way for me to know, so I think its stupud to claim you know there is a God. It is equally stupid to claim you know there is no God.

Regarding God, if he does exist I don't think he cares about us. Its not that he 'doesn't care' but rather that he knows that our lives are meaningless so what we do or don't do doesn't really matter.

I don't think a heaven or hell exist. Tell me, why would a God create creatures, only to have them follow him or face an eternity of pain? That sounds pretty stupid. Thats like having a kid, knowing you will treat it like any other parent would treat their child if its a boy but if its a girl you will beat, molest and torture her. Some may say that he wants you to follow the right path, and heaven/hell are just two big reasons for following this path, but still, why create creatures so they can live freely for 80 or so years, then spend the rest of eternity in pain because the spent those 80 or so years living 'wrong'?

I also don't believe there is any sort of Devil or Satan, or whatever you want to call it. Some say good can't exist without evil, but I don't believe God is good. God is not evil either. God is neutral. I believe everything outside of our lives is neutral, no good, no evil.

I don't really believe anything in regards to what happens when we die, however there are a few thigns I hope. One being that we are in control of whether or not we live again [if we can ever live again]. I don't want to simply die and wake up alive again. I know I wouldn't know I died, but I want there to be something more to existance then life. I also hope there is more then just existance when it coems to death. While I believe everything will be neutral after we die, I hope we still have the ability to desire thigns and do things without living again. A few people have commented about how they would like death to be like the construct in The Matrix, and this is what Im getting at.

Thats just a bit of what I believe. So, what about you?

i believe in god, also believe he takes no active part in the progression of his creation, set it in motion and is allowing it to go as it goes.

i wouldn't say our lives are meaningles or that he thinks so, but rather that they're our lives. our lives to become something great or to fuck up.

i also believe we have a "soul" in a sense. explained better here http://www.consciousness.arizona.edu/hameroff/

there is no religious sense in my belief of god, my exploration of needing to why has led me from general relativity, to quantum physics, to superstrings, to m-theory, to timeless theory.

one thing i've found in my research is that most of the physicists that define our reality also have a belief in a god, or higher power. in the chaos we seem to experience lies an underlying order that is very elegant, intricate, and unbelievably simplistic.

i can't believe in accidents that come out perfectly.

there is a quest for a unified field theory, a theory of everything, that michiu kaku says will be as simple and easily understood as e=mc2, who hawking says if found then we will truly know the mind of god.

i believe in the Tao, even though i know nothing about the religion, nor follow its rituals, just its philosphies, thats the important part, isnt it

if you have quicktime check this out.

http://www.consciousness.arizona.edu/hameroff/movies/movie.html

I believe in god, and that he simply set some conditions in motion and let things go on their own from there. I also believe in an independent spirituality, meaning to follow your own path. I also believe that science is very importantin becoming closer to god. Afterall, you are studying and understand the concepts and interactions of the universe that God created.

I believe in the existence of a God. I don't believe in Satan or a Hell.

I don't think God has any desire to intervene in our lives. I think he wants us to succeed on our own. As such, I also don't pray. I can succeed on my own merits and hard work.

I do think there's more to our physical world than we perceive most of the time, and that some rituals might open you up to that world. Do I think these rituals are 'sinful' or wrong? No, of course not.

Over all, I think all religions lead to a one God, monotheistic, polytheistic, or otherwise. I also don't believe that God 'punishes' athiests. We all go our seperate path through life. If God didn't want people to be Athiests he wouldn't have allowed them to.

quote:Originally posted by SEN D-F:

I think its stupud to claim you know there is a God. It is equally stupid to claim you know there is no God.

I cannot know there is no God for the same reason I cannot know there is no pink unicorn living down the street from me.

However, the chance of the existence of either is so incredibly small that I can get away with telling a (small) lie and saying I know neither exists.

What I don't get is all these people who seem to be picking and choosing the aspects of religion they do and do not like. If you're willing to believe part of a holy book, you're pretty much obligated to believe it all - it's a package deal.

"If you're willing to believe part of a holy book, you're pretty much obligated to believe it all - it's a package deal."

bullshit.

if a friend tells you he went to los angeles and fucked all the raiderettes, it's quite easy to pick and choose the parts i believe.

if i read by arthur c. clarke that mentions an alien invasion of earth, does that mean it happened or that the earth doesn't exist.

how do you think people choose a religion, they are either born into it without question, or upon questioning grasp a belief system that more conforms to their already held beliefs.

"As such, I also don't pray."

i find it amazing how religion, christianity mostly can have two ideals so drastically opposite, ask and ye shall receive, yet god helps those who help themselves.

I never claimed there's a god and I'll never claim there isn't.

I do not believe that there's a "power" that helps us, or a power that is responsible for our problems. To my mind we are the masters of our life.

I believe that all living creatures have soul.

And it's up to a person to decide what way to follow. But I don't like when somebody is trying to persuade that there is/there is no god/spirits/etc.

I cant find it in me to believe in god.

Honestly, I dont know if there is or isnt a god but I believe that such a being can not exist.

I was supposed to be raised to believe in god, become a christian, all of that crap but I never could. I followed my own beliefs.

All I can say is that I believe... I dont know

I dont believe in god as christianity or other religions do . I dont think such a being could exist simply because i dont see it happening in all realistic terms. le tme explain further.

i believe more that there exists in every reality a set of great minds behind the masterpiece. in this case, i dont believe there is a god, i think that there were some creators not just one but many, a race if you will that simply lived life after life trying to attain spiritual enlightenment and they have finally reached a point where they thought lets give it a try and make our own universe our own reality. yes this does go along with some physcists beliefs but that is also my goal to become a physicist. i think in order to find the truth you have to be able to understand whats at your doorstep.

They asked for some assistance because they aren't god and everyone needs help. look at physics, stars get help from each of the four forces to maintain there life until there time is up then the four forces once again paly a part. everybody needs help regardless if they need it or not.

They themselves believed they were spiritually ready for an undertaking. they enlisted the help of other races close to the level they were at to come and give some life to this reality.

i believe that also there is no afterlife as we perceive it, i simply take it that the soul/spirit is boundless living by means that we cannot perceive. SO essentially the afterlife is simply our souls or spirits continuing there eternal journey to become pure energy. yes i know its a mix of science and also religion, and its a bit off topic compared to the others but this is a personal belief.

I also feel that we are free to do as we wish, but it can only hurt you in teh long run, it could set you back a couple lifetimes in your journey or cut them off of yoru journey. just make sure that oyu live by a set of morals regardless. if your forced to kill someone dont, and if you die then i believe thay your furthered onyour path.

I dont think such a god can exist in any way shape or form i mean god was simply an idea that someone took and changed to a belief. yes an idea. This is also an idea but its what i believe. We all want to go somewhere and we think death is the end of it, but it isnt. You could take the phrase death is only the beginning from the egyptians who were around so much longer and may have been on to the truth as i see it.

thanx for the time

[This message has been edited by therealboogieman (edited 07-30-2003).]

God exists

Hell doesn't

reincarnate after death, unless your soul has remembered that it's god (or part of the whole), in which case what is known as 'heaven' ensues.

Life is crap because of the people who misunderstand what god is all about.

No sex before marriage my ass.

Don't hold on to your beliefs, coz they'll go stale and you'll forget why you believe them.

All you need to know is that life is a playground and you can do whatever you want coz it'll all help you get to that sweet sweet god nectar.

i believe in no afterlife, no god (usually i fink who knows), no meaning or pupos to life other than the instincts of all living beings, and i hate religion. i know that however despite my belief that the existance of god can never be proved but i will still remain mostly aheist and parcially agnostic. really my beliefs are quite restricted, but my mind remains open to anything really, rather than being blinded by this white light of ignorance every other human seems to posses. i beleive we are all the same decaying organic matter; made from the same simple materials and therfore have no purpose. we do not asign oxygen or H2O a purpose. any way thats my beliefs since you wanted to know them

[This message has been edited by icantthinkofaname (edited 08-01-2003).]

quote:Originally posted by Beany:

No sex before marriage my ass. Hey BeeNay Wassup?

What about the choice of ascetic behaviour?

The dry way.

Used by some buddhists too.

Or hinduists. BalaBodhi. quote:

Don't hold on to your beliefs, coz they'll go stale and you'll forget why you believe them. Right on, Beany http://www.totse.com/bbs/smile.gif (http://www.totse.com/bbs/smile.gif) don't hold, cultivate. quote:do whatever you want coz it'll all help you get to that sweet sweet god nectar. Including if you want to check the use of chastity, fasting, whatever else... Including if you want to check your birth religion before leaving it.

quote:Originally posted by Craftian:

I cannot know there is no God for the same reason I cannot know there is no pink unicorn living down the street from me.

However, the chance of the existence of either is so incredibly small that I can get away with telling a (small) lie and saying I know neither exists.

What I don't get is all these people who seem to be picking and choosing the aspects of religion they do and do not like. If you're willing to believe part of a holy book, you're pretty much obligated to believe it all - it's a package deal.

I don't believe we will ever know how the universe was created [not while living these lives anyways] and as of now we know next to nothing about it. GOD is just one theory into how the universe was created. Now, unicorns do not exist [on earth anyways]. They are simply made up. We KNOW this, so dismissing the fact that a pink unicorn lives down the street is easy. You don't KNOW a God [or Gods] do not exist. Now, there are things in our world that we cannot explain, things that seem to make no sense to us and this is simply on earth. So if such things can exist with us without us being able to understand or explain them even with the ability to study them, can't things exist outside of our world that we lack the capacity to understand? Such as a God[s]?

As for the fact that you have to either believe in a certain religion or not, well, thats just bullshit. People aren't neccessarilly picking things from religions. For example, if someone says they believe we're reincarnated after death, that doesn't means they took that from the Hindu beliefes. It simply means this is one thing they believe in.

And you can pick and choose from religions as you please. Just like there is no proof towards the existance of God [or lack thereof] there is no proof that any religion is right or not. So if you feel some parts are right and some aren't, thats your business and you're free to do it.

My view has always been that, even if it lacks divine personification, the universe is still damn fascinating. Exploring its mysteries and foibles strikes me as worship unto itself.

In regards to a personal ethical code, I follow the Principle of Non-Coercion. Not out of piety, but pragmatism.

quote:Originally posted by IzzyReele:

if a friend tells you he went to los angeles and fucked all the raiderettes, it's quite easy to pick and choose the parts i believe.

if i read by arthur c. clarke that mentions an alien invasion of earth, does that mean it happened or that the earth doesn't exist.

Neither your friend nor Arther C. Clarke claim to be the mouth of God and/or infallible. If they did, either they're liars and their story has no meaning, or they're prophets and their word is the absolute truth.

quote:how do you think people choose a religion, they are either born into it without question

Most people don't choose, they are born into it without question.

quote:i find it amazing how religion, christianity mostly can have two ideals so drastically opposite, ask and ye shall receive, yet god helps those who help themselves.

You know what I find amazing? That people not only swallow this tripe, but claim it makes sense.

quote:Originally posted by SEN D-F:

GOD is just one theory into how the universe was created.

A theory completely without evidence, I might add.

Not just a theory, either - a way of life for many people.

quote:Now, unicorns do not exist [on earth anyways]. They are simply made up. We KNOW this, so dismissing the fact that a pink unicorn lives down the street is easy.

Well, on Earth, sure. The guy who told me about the unicorn said space aliens brought it.

You can't dismiss it.

quote:You don't KNOW a God [or Gods] do not exist.

As I said before, the chance he does is so insignificant as to be nonexistant.

quote:Now, there are things in our world that we cannot explain, things that seem to make no sense to us and this is simply on earth.

Not nearly as many as you seem to be making out. If we lived in the 16th century, maybe you'd have a point.

quote:can't things exist outside of our world that we lack the capacity to understand? Such as a God[s]?

Sure they can. And I admit that while there is a possibility God exists, I know he doesn't. That possibility is just so damn small, and will remain so until even the smallest shred of evidence is given to support his existence.

quote:For example, if someone says they believe we're reincarnated after death, that doesn't means they took that from the Hindu beliefes. It simply means this is one thing they believe in.

Sure, if that's the way it went. However, judging by most of the replies people seem to be going for modifications of a Judeo-Christian God.

Not to mention the fact that building a belief from the ground up is even more absurd than regular religion - at least they have a dogma to support them.

quote:So if you feel some parts are right and some aren't, thats your business and you're free to do it.

Yeah, you're free, but there is even less basis for such a practice. What the hell does what you feel have to do with anything? I can change what you feel with a dose of a few chemicals, does that mean the properties and inhabitants of the universe change?

Your born..

You live..

You die..

You rot....(that is unless you get cremated)

The end.

quote:A theory completely without evidence, I might add.

Not just a theory, either - a way of life for many people.

Any theory towards how the universe was created is going to be a theory without evidence.

quote:Well, on Earth, sure. The guy who told me about the unicorn said space aliens brought it.

You can't dismiss it.

I suppose that is somewhat true, however you still have the option of walking down the street to see this unicorn to prove to yourself whether or not it exists. With a God, you don't have that option.

quote:As I said before, the chance he does is so insignificant as to be nonexistant.

Why is that?

quote:Not nearly as many as you seem to be making out. If we lived in the 16th century, maybe you'd have a point.

Actually, there are still many many things on this earth that we cannot explain.

quote:Sure they can. And I admit that while there is a possibility God exists, I know he doesn't. That possibility is just so damn small, and will remain so until even the smallest shred of evidence is given to support his existence.

You say its possible a God exists, admit there is no evidence towards his existance or lack thereof, yet claim to know a God doesn't exist? That sounds pretty silly.

quote:Sure, if that's the way it went. However, judging by most of the replies people seem to be going for modifications of a Judeo-Christian God.

Not to mention the fact that building a belief from the ground up is even more absurd than regular religion - at least they have a dogma to support them.

Why is it more absurd then a 'regular religion'? A 'regular religion' had to start at next to nothing still. Just because soemthing is popular does not mean its anymore valid or closer to the truth then soemthing unpopular. And having a dogma to support them means fuck all. Anyone can go and write a hooly book of sorts for what they believe in, does doing that make it just as valid as Christianity? I can go write a holy book right now if I wanted to. WOuld that make my beliefe system a 'regular religion'? A holy book can be written by anyone at any time.

quote:Yeah, you're free, but there is even less basis for such a practice. What the hell does what you feel have to do with anything? I can change what you feel with a dose of a few chemicals, does that mean the properties and inhabitants of the universe change?

What I feel after taking 'a dose of a few chemicals' [some sort of drug] is caused by chemicals altering the way I think and perceve things. Note the word ALTERING.

I think people create their gods, for the most part.

That doesn't mean they are not real.

It's just more complicated than that.

There is alot of truth in religion,

but you have to read between the lines.

There is a difference between looking for

answers and thinking you already have em.

Nobody has the answers.

well..i'll kinda share this. there was this novelist who wrote books and he had a character he named 'the shadow'. and the shadow was described as a dark guy hidden by a black overcoat and hat. you could never see his face.

so yeah...this author was writing novels for a long period of time in a rented apartment. then one day his landlord evicted him, so he was forced to leave and live elsewhere. very soon after he was evicted, people began to see a man resembling the shadow walking around the apartment complex.

so i've always considered the fact that if our human minds are strong enough to create apparitions over a short period of thought and time, then why couldn't we create our own afterlife in our minds throughout life.

like..if i believe i'm going to heaven..and i believe in a heaven and a god, then that's what happens to me after i die.

same with people who want to be reincarnated, or people who just want to quit existing, and what not.

cause basically i've considered the mind a very complex and advanced thing.

but yeah..sorry if thats confusing.

Maybe life is nothing more then a period of a state of conciousness. The beginning. When you're born [more like when you have your first thought or use your brain first even] a conciousness is created, and after death the counciousness remains, but without a body it is all that exists, so it'd be like you're existing only inside your own imagination. So whatever you believe or hope for, your mind would probably create for you as it knows this is what you most desire.

Just something I thought about after reading what nxyxf said.

[Edit:].....and maybe when we die, we don't 'find out all the answers' like a lot of people hope/believe as we're restricted to our own minds. We may think we have been given all the answers, as we may [for example] have met God and been told all the 'answers', but these would not truly be the asnwers, but rather something our minds have simply created. I guess it wouldn't matter though as we'd believe this is the truth and not question it, but still.

[This message has been edited by SEN D-F (edited 08-03-2003).]

I'm Catholic.

My belief system is very simple.

I think people send theirself to hell not god.. I try to live a virtous life. But im a natural asshole, and I have a fascination with the occult but its not god fault. We did take from the tree of knowledge.

quote:Originally posted by notxyourxfailure:

well..i'll kinda share this. there was this novelist who wrote books and he had a character he named 'the shadow'. and the shadow was described as a dark guy hidden by a black overcoat and hat. you could never see his face.

so yeah...this author was writing novels for a long period of time in a rented apartment. then one day his landlord evicted him, so he was forced to leave and live elsewhere. very soon after he was evicted, people began to see a man resembling the shadow walking around the apartment complex.



Behold the power of suggestion.

quote:

so i've always considered the fact that if our human minds are strong enough to create apparitions over a short period of thought and time, then why couldn't we create our own afterlife in our minds throughout life.



The people could have just been seeing shit after reading his work, you know.

"Hey, I'm writing this cool book about a guy called "the shadow". Wanna read some of it?"

quote:

like..if i believe i'm going to heaven..and i believe in a heaven and a god, then that's what happens to me after i die.

same with people who want to be reincarnated, or people who just want to quit existing, and what not.



I thought about that before, but then I noticed something. Something rather revealing and obvious at the same time. That being that reality is not subjective. If I jump out of an airplane and have steadfast faith that I won't fall, then in my mind I will not and in reality I will.

My mind will continue to deny reality and believe that it isn't falling all the way up to the point where it stops working because of the impact of slamming into the ground.

But we don't know what happens when we die. What if, like I said, we become nothing more then a consiousness without a body, and exist only in our minds? Then our reality would be subjective. While reality wouldn't change at all, we'd simply be existing only in our minds, so we'd never really experience the true 'reality' after death.

"Neither your friend nor Arther C. Clarke claim to be the mouth of God and/or infallible. If they did, either they're liars and their story has no meaning, or they're prophets and their word is the absolute truth."

when did god do this? near as i can tell he hasn't spoken to anybody. and i question the validity of those who say he did.

"As I said before, the chance he does is so insignificant as to be nonexistant."

you could say the same about your personal existance, murphy's law, if it can happen it will happen.

"There is a difference between looking for

answers and thinking you already have em."

so true.

We do know what happens after a person dies.

All vital and brain functions cease, and since an operational brain is irrefuteably required for consciousness and thought, those aspects cease as well.

Their body is then cremated or rots in the ground and they cease to exist, just like they did a million years ago.

You simply revert back to nonexistence, the condition we all used to be in and must all inevitably return to.

"We do know what happens after a person dies."

oh great and wise enlightened one, why don't you condense your wisdom onto paper and share the wisdom you know so little of with the rest of us.

"Studies by Penrose and Hameroff (11,12) suggest that the force of quantum gravity acting on the mass of neurones within the brain may be responsible for the emergence of consciousness. The process is fundamentally related to the influence of quantum gravity on microtubule networks within the neurones. Loss of the weight at the time of man's death supports studies by Penrose and Hameroff; it shows that gravitational force is acting on the mass of living neurones stronger as on the mass of the same death ones."

http://www.directscientificexperience.com/pagine/spaceconsciusness.htm

"Roger Penrose, eminent physicist and winner of the prestigious Wolf Prize, states in his book The Emperor's New Mind that "we don't have a good definition of consciousness because we don't know what it is.""

http://www.ndeweb.com/words/word07.shtml

"This would make possible the evolution of selves continuing after death to higher levels of conscious existence."

http://www.kheper.net/cosmos/quantum_physics/quantum_mind.html

Studies by Penrose and Hameroff (12,13) suggest that the force of quantum gravity acting on the mass of neurones within the brain may be responsible for the emergence of consciousness. The process is fundamentally related to the influence of quantum gravity on microtubule networks within the neurones. The components of quantum gravity are described by Penrose as twistors (14). These are described by a branch of mathematics known as complex algebra and are otherwise known as objects that exist in complex or 'imaginary' space.

"Loss of the weight at the time of man’s death supports studies by Penrose and Hameroff; it shows that gravitational force is acting on the mass of living neurones stronger as on the mass of the same death ones. According Duncan experiment the weight difference between living and dead man is around 20 grams. Duncan carried out also experiment with fifteen dying dogs that did not show the weight difference"



in closing let me impart some wisdom upon you....

"After a review of the Penrose argument and various responses which have been made, we go further into the question of implications. Given some standard, usually unstated assumptions about the nature of mind and the world, the combination of the Godel theorem and strong AI leads to the conclusion that much of the world is not only unknown, but in principle unknowable. This contradicts the fundamental assumption of science that the world can be known by human reason."

"Wisdom begins in wonder.I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance."

Socrates

http://www.consciousness.arizona.edu/hameroff/movies/movie.html

quote:Originally posted by Dark_Magneto:

We do know what happens after a person dies......

You simply revert back to nonexistence, the condition we all used to be in and must all inevitably return to.

Since whn do we know this? Was I on the toilet when we discovered what happens in death or something?

quote:Originally posted by IzzyReele:

Loss of the weight at the time of man's death supports studies by Penrose and Hameroff; it shows that gravitational force is acting on the mass of living neurones stronger as on the mass of the same death ones."



quote:

"Loss of the weight at the time of man’s death supports studies by Penrose and Hameroff; it shows that gravitational force is acting on the mass of living neurones stronger as on the mass of the same death ones. According Duncan experiment the weight difference between living and dead man is around 20 grams. Duncan carried out also experiment with fifteen dying dogs that did not show the weight difference"



I remember reading about that a couple years back. It turns out that the machinery they were using to weigh the person was calibrated incorrrectly and the results dissapeared with the correct adjustment.

quote:

"Wisdom begins in wonder.I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance."

Socrates



Ignorance doesn't support a claim.

quote:Originally posted by SEN D-F:

Any theory towards how the universe was created is going to be a theory without evidence.

Says who? It is perfectly conceivable that we shall some day have evidence about the creation of the universe. In fact, I'd say we have a small amount now, from telescopes pointing at areas of the sky billions of light years away.

quote:I suppose that is somewhat true, however you still have the option of walking down the street to see this unicorn to prove to yourself whether or not it exists. With a God, you don't have that option.

I did walk down the street. The guy who lived there said the unicorn was out at the moment. Funny, every time I went looking for him the guy said he was out...

quote:Why is that?

Because of the complete lack of evidence of his existence.

quote:Actually, there are still many many things on this earth that we cannot explain.

Yeah? Mention some, then.

quote:You say its possible a God exists, admit there is no evidence towards his existance or lack thereof, yet claim to know a God doesn't exist? That sounds pretty silly.

It's a timesaver. It's much easier to say "God doesn't exist." than "The chances of God's existence are so incredibly small that they can be ignored with little fear of being incorrect."

quote:Just because soemthing is popular does not mean its anymore valid or closer to the truth then soemthing unpopular...A holy book can be written by anyone at any time.

Sure, I know that. But these religions and holy books claim divine inspiration, they're straight from the mouth of God, dontchaknow. I don't see anybody here claiming that their beliefs were given to them by a deity.

quote:What I feel after taking 'a dose of a few chemicals' [some sort of drug] is caused by chemicals altering the way I think and perceve things. Note the word ALTERING.

Actually, I was suggesting that I adjust the balance of chemicals in his brain. I don't think you can call this drugging.

Considering that the state of your mind is constantly altering anyhow, and that your mood can change by doing something as simple as running a couple of blocks, I think that's irrelevant. You can't say with certainty what a normal state for a person's brain is, and that state will have changed in a short while anyways. Besides, the original poster said that he believed something because that's the way he felt. My point was that your feelings have nothing to do with the existence of the universe.

quote:Originally posted by IzzyReele:

when did god do this? near as i can tell he hasn't spoken to anybody. and i question the validity of those who say he did.

I'm assuming a Judeo-Christian God here.

Moses (the burning bush thing)

All the disciples (as Jesus is an aspect of God according to some traditions)

Job

Jonah

A helluva lot of other prophets that I can't be bothered to remember right now.

quote:you could say the same about your personal existance, murphy's law, if it can happen it will happen.

Murphy's Law is hardly scientific.

quote:

"There is a difference between looking for

answers and thinking you already have em."

so true.

Hey, if I heard anything half-plausible to support the existence of God, I'd check it out. I'm not actively looking because I don't think there's much point.

Don't you people realize this is all utter bullshit, and that we imagined it all in our own minds just to give a meaning to life.

Well not exactly a meaning of life, but maybe more like somthing to discuss while we are alive. Without it there would be nothing.

I guess what I am trying to say is that God doesnt exist. WE made him up just to create order for the people. Without religion there would be chaos.

quote:Originally posted by 80proofgatorade:

Without religion there would be chaos.

Only because some people need a crutch.

quote:Originally posted by IzzyReele:

"If you're willing to believe part of a holy book, you're pretty much obligated to believe it all - it's a package deal."

bullshit.

if a friend tells you he went to los angeles and fucked all the raiderettes, it's quite easy to pick and choose the parts i believe.

if i read by arthur c. clarke that mentions an alien invasion of earth, does that mean it happened or that the earth doesn't exist.

how do you think people choose a religion, they are either born into it without question, or upon questioning grasp a belief system that more conforms to their already held beliefs.

"As such, I also don't pray."

i find it amazing how religion, christianity mostly can have two ideals so drastically opposite, ask and ye shall receive, yet god helps those who help themselves.

What was said was that if you believe part of a HOLY BOOK then you are obligated to believe it all. He/she didn't say that if you believe part of ANYTHING that you are obligated to believe it all. I believe this person is right. Religion is not a buffet. You don't take what you want. If you want a custom religion, make up your own.

And since I'm posting, I will share my personal beliefs. I consider myself an athiest because a lot of people that I know that consider themselves agnostics claim that because they feel like they will be forgiven if there is a god. I believe in the chance of there being a god, but I don't think it would have an interest in punishing its creations for doing what it made them able to do.