JUSTIFY, your beliefs

[Roland_Deschain]

No matter if your augnostic, christian, athiest, bhuddist. This is a thread built not to debate the facts, or the science, or religion itself, but a thread to debate your philosophy and why you hold the beliefs you do.

I encourage everyone to do the same, we are always debating this and that between believers and not, for a change let us share the value and perspective we obtain from our beliefs.

I will begin by saying I am an augnostic person, and here is why.



Oh trust me I have faith in something powerful and almighty, and I do not deny that the ability to use religion as a looking scope in an effort to keep humanity open minded to events, or powers we can not comprehend, is a very good thing indeed. Like I said I am not a disbeliever in any aspect that there is a god out there.
However I over the last few years I have done an incredible amount of researching sources of both sides. I find the idea that mankind, with its long history and vast amounts of time and numerous genres of religion, correctly nailed it on the head, to be hard to believe. Also in another aspect of the bible itself, I find it to be full of contradictions to what I should personally as a human should believe. I, for one, have a hard time believing that homosexuals, or people who have other religions, are doomed to hell. I know the new testament is all about forgiveness, but at the same time I don't think humanity has only been around 6-8,000 years, the great flood has had much disputed research in geography an it seems almost as a region of the world that had a heavy flood season and there was no world wide flood. There are a great many innacurate points and contradictions in the bible. And in general while religion has provided a lot of good throughout the world in different ways, it has also crippled different societies as well, such as the crusades, wars in the west and the east. I think religion provided a very strong power to the world by teaching the value of life, unconditional love, and providing one of the first strutures of moral fabric, and being used to enforce the first kind of morality sound enforcements of law, I find it not hard to believe that our many ancestor's would not have adapted something that worked so well for a race of people or country. As far as negative things it brings I belive its just like owning a gun, we should all be aloud to own them, as long as we don't abuse them. I find it dissappointing that so many people will use religion as a means of their own ends, almost as an excuse that people are afraid to fight agains't. With that being said I think our society is reaching the age where we should all be able to worship a god in our own way, no matter what god it is, because we are all looking to something higher. However I do not believe we should let it slow us down by any means, if we teach the idea of creationlism in schools, then we must equally teach the theory of evolution in a non biast way. I mean even stem cell research (which is amazing in my opinion) was held by by almost a decade because of religious sensitivity. I feel that if Americans or Europeans all come to the understanding that we have the one "true" god, then we will lose focus and concern on the rest of the world, and perhaps even look down upon them, not even intentionally, but instictually. I have never been an advocate of might=right either, its just like a government, they could have all of the might possible and still make mistakes. So in a nutshell I know you said that faith is just part of a religion, but I believe faith "is" religion. Faith is one of the main reasons that religion of all kinds thrive, the bible can not be proven as fiction, because of this reason. I think faith is a must for religion. When you speak about us having countless theories proven wrong, who is to say that religion will not be one of them? I mean you must accept that even those scrolls of the dead sea, were written by the hands of men, perhaps we are thinking of ourselves smarter then we are by holding on to such an age old tradition. It is also possible that we think ourselves too smart to acknowledge a religion, we are always disproving thungs as we go, and we are also proving things, who knows what will come. Perhaps one day my mind may change on the subject, but like I said, I am not an athiest. I just have a wider looking piece towards the possibilities of a god and the vast universe, I believe there to be other intelligent life forms among us, and maybe they even have their own religions. Anything is possible if you open your mind to it, so I try to stay as open minding as possible, even if that may means not subjecting myself to "one true god". However I also am not one of those people to question or take any sort of offense to people who do have their religions. I believe that athiesm as an idea can potentially be just as dangerous as religious extremists. I am an advocate of the idea that maybe one day, far into the future, the world can have peace, and we can be one world, and not one country. I do not think that hope or vision is possible with "one" religion, we must at least retain the freedom to believe in anything. I believe I have the potential to raise a family whose strengths depends on morals built from the mind and the heart of themselves, and not needing a book or system to help them to do that. I feel that if a childs morality is built strongly upon religion, and the pressures of the worlds teaching brings them to later not have faith, then the chances are that much greater they will lose some of those morals if they are not completely built from their own hearts.

 

[Roland_Deschain]

I'm Christian because when I was 13 my mother gave me a set of books called LEFT BEHIND. As I read the series, I learned of Christianity in small aspects, I learned of what Jesus and God does/did/is doing for us. I realized I wanted to know more about whatever this was that had me not only beyond interested, but in love(obviously not romantic) with this savior that gave his life so I wouldn't have to pay for my sins.

My mom told me more and more, and it just... it just felt right. That year, I did a prayer to become a born again Christian, or, at least I dedicated my faith to Jesus Christ and God.

Why? It is the unconditional love that Jesus and God has for us that had me first. I love the fact that God will always love you. The thing that really gets me with Christianity is the fact that God basically will always have your back. And, for me, he does.

Having faith, calms me when I'm worried. helps me sort problems. helps me with sadness and even anger. It keeps me in check, it keeps me on the straight path. It provides me with a set of morals. But most of all, a feeling of love and health.

I can't type out my feelings on the matter too well, but I hope I got some of my points across.

God is Love. and that's why I'm a Christian.

Yes you have made a lot of goods points across. And I find the love and devotion you have honorable.

I think the only difference between you and me is the aspect of celebrating one true god.

I find myself possible to contain the same faith that my death will not be the end, even if I don't share the same genre of belief.

I think that the possibilities that are out there are beyond my imagination which brings me likewise comfort in my life, and I feel that subjecting myself to only one belief, limits the possiblities of the unknown which I am capable of storing in my mind as possibilities.

I think that having beliefs gives people a lot of value and meaning if they truly have a reason for them, no matter what you believe. I hope that everyone can feel rewarded with whatever they hold.

 

[Sexy Beast]

I'm an atheist. And the reason being is simply that with all the mess that is going on in the world, if there truly was a god, then why hasn't there been some kind of divine judgement or something like that. I just don't see how there could actually be a god if all of these horrible things are happening.

Yeah, I understand that there might be some "bashing" of this, but you said to state why I believe in what I believe, so I did. I'm an atheist cause I do not think there is a god who could've created a world that he/she would see get destroyed.

 

[Roland_Deschain]

I'm an atheist. And the reason being is simply that with all the mess that is going on in the world, if there truly was a god, then why hasn't there been some kind of divine judgement or something like that. I just don't see how there could actually be a god if all of these horrible things are happening.

Yeah, I understand that there might be some "bashing" of this, but you said to state why I believe in what I believe, so I did. I'm an atheist cause I do not think there is a god who could've created a world that he/she would see get destroyed.

Ok but I do have one question for you.

Well first of all, just because you do not follow or partake in a specific religion, does not mean that you have to deny that the idea of something after death is not plausible.

Even if there isn't a loving god or a heaven or a hell, there still could be the possibilities of an indifferent god we know not about, reincarnation, or even an unknown power that turns the gears of the universe. As an augnostic I do not follow anything specific, but keep my mind optimistic towards the possiblities of something more.

I guess black and white my question is... Are you a non religious augnostic who holds the ideas of potential or possible wonder beyond comprehension or understanding , or are you an athiest who holds the idea that there is only what is layed before us, and it is our job to make the best of it.

I guess I would like to believe we were given the tools to make something, some way, or some how, and we must find a way to build it, that we must face our challenges, and our own weakness, before we will ever be able to gain the understanding of whatever is in the universe. Even if that means conquering our own doubts and closed minds. - However that is just my own feelings and opinions.

 

[Abstract Debauchery]

I'm an Atheist, but it wasn't easy getting there. I was raised as a Baptist... then a Pentecostal. My Mom jumped churches like kids jump rope. It was odd, but I had to go with it. I never had a choice. What I really wanted to do was stay at home and play video games, but that was never an option. So instead, I was dragged out to church, and I never really did like it.

When I was a kid, I was told that there was a god, and living in Louisiana... That's all I was told. Louisiana has been described as the belt buckle of Christianity, and for good reason. I have never once met an Atheist there. I'm not saying that don't exist, but I never met one personally. From an early age, I questioned the Bible. In Sunday School, I asked where Noah got penguins and polar bears to put on the ark. I then asked why he felt it not necessary to put dinosaurs on it.

I was kicked out of class that day, told that dinosaurs weren't real, and my Mom beat me to an inch of my life. I didn't get it at the time, all I did was ask a question. What was the harm in that? But that never stopped me from asking questions. It just made me ask more. And I never got the answers I was looking for. There was just so much that made no sense to me, and at the time, I never knew that simply saying, "I don't believe" was an option.

It also bothered me that the fact that I was even questioning things like that meant that I could go to hell. It didn't make a damned lick of sense. I saw people in church that went around preaching about how this and that were bad, and then I would see those same people around town doing the same thing that they said was bad themselves.

Then I was told I had to be good because if I wasn't, I would go to hell. I had to be nice to others, do what I was told, and when I died I would go to heaven. My first thought was, "so I'm only being good for a reward and out of fear of punishment that I might burn forever."

My Aunt turned around and knocked the shit out of me. Didn't say two words to me, she just knocked the shit out me, told me to stop thinking like that because "it was going to get me in trouble", and sent me to my room without dinner.

Shit sucked.

Of course, I had religion beat into me (literally in some points) from the day I was born. It wasn't until middle school that the thought ran across my head, "what if god isn't real?"

SHIT BLEW MY MIND.

I didn't dare say shit though. My Mom would have thrown a fit. I kept it to myself, but I had no one to talk to about it. But that thought never left my mind. Just thinking about it made things make sense. I kept going to church with that thought in my head... and I was happy.

Everything made sense, everything was clear, and I loved it. When I was a Christian, I kept praying and getting nothing, I questioned and got beat. I was miserable, I wasn't fitting in anywhere. I was devastated because my family was broke, my parents were always fighting, and they eventually divorced and I had to move to Texas... where I was poor, and me and my Mother were always fighting. I prayed and prayed, but nothing happened.

Yet that one little thought, "what if god wasn't real"... it really did blow my mind. I felt like Neo when he first woke up in the real world. Hell, I even did my best Keanu impression... "woah". That's what it felt like, and the longer I held that thought in my head, the more I believed it.

I started reading more, about life, the universe, everything, and the more I read, the more it all seemed to confirm that thought in my head. And in the 9th grade, I came out to my Mom and my Step-Father about me being an Atheist, and they accepted me with welcome arms.

Well, at least I would like to say that. What actually happened is that for the longest time, my Mother refused to speak to me, and me and my Step-Father beat the shit out of each other because he didn't want a blasphemer living under his roof. He, of course, couldn't kick me out at the time, but he did so when I was 17.

I lived on the streets for a while, going to school, getting my shit taken care of, and doing what I had to do. I slept over at friends houses, went to homeless shelters, but in a way, I was happy. I stood up for myself and what I believed in. When I got something, it was my own efforts that got it for me. When I graduated, that was me doing it. When I got money, I only had myself to thank, and when I put food in my stomach, I didn't have to thank some divine entity for it.

And when I did wrong, I knew I was the one to blame. I held myself accountable for my own actions... and I was still happy for it.

Living under god made no sense to me. Logically speaking, I couldn't bring myself to believe in a giant invisible man in the sky as a kid. That's why I questioned it all the time. I was miserable living that way, and I really did hate it. But as I questioned it more, and then came to that realization, I was happy.

So now I live by this: I'm an Atheist, and I'm happy believing that there is no god. You should be okay with that. You're not an Atheist, you are happy believing that there is a god, and I'm okay with that. You can believe in whatever the hell you want to believe in. As long as you aren't shoving it down my throat, and as long as you aren't hurting anyone, I'm ofuckingkay with that. Because as it stands, no one has any right telling anyone else what they believe in is wrong.

Believe in what you think is right, what you think makes sense, and live your life the way you think it should be lived. At the end of the day, we're all just people. Just people by what they do and say, not what they believe in.

We'll all be okay.

 

[Sexy Beast]

Ok but I do have one question for you.

Well first of all, just because you do not follow or partake in a specific religion, does not mean that you have to deny that the idea of something after death is not plausible.

Even if there isn't a loving god or a heaven or a hell, there still could be the possibilities of an indifferent god we know not about, reincarnation, or even an unknown power that turns the gears of the universe. As an augnostic I do not follow anything specific, but keep my mind optimistic towards the possiblities of something more.

I guess black and white my question is... Are you a non religious augnostic who holds the ideas of potential or possible wonder beyond comprehension or understanding , or are you an athiest who holds the idea that there is only what is layed before us, and it is our job to make the best of it.

I guess I would like to believe we were given the tools to make something, some way, or some how, and we must find a way to build it, that we must face our challenges, and our own weakness, before we will ever be able to gain the understanding of whatever is in the universe. Even if that means conquering our own doubts and closed minds. - However that is just my own feelings and opinions.

What is bolded is right on the money. I believe in the "live for the moment" philosophy. Who knows, you might be right, and there might be a god somewhere out there, or there may not, but I still stand by what I said. And it's good that you bring up the topic of "reincarnation" because I firmly believe that we never really die, but moreso just be reborn in a different form - human or not. Probably a strange thing, but I truly believe that, and well yeah. xD

I respect that. But,

if we blame God for all the bad, shouldn't we thank God for all the good, too? Sometimes... bad things have to happen, it's far greater than we can understand. But I understand where you're coming from.

Yeah, I understand what you mean. There are times, where even I sort of trail to that side of things, but it isn't because of said god, but moreso of what happens, and just how it helps humanity and such. Now am I a person who gives of the notion that there could be some divine figure of some shape or form? Not entirely. I just don't find it plausible for there to be a single figure that oversees everything. I guess you can consider me saying that there must be a "team" of sorts overseeing different aspects of what goes on - earth of not.

Meh, probably doesn't make much sense, but yeah.

 

[Roland_Deschain]

What is bolded is right on the money. I believe in the "live for the moment" philosophy. Who knows, you might be right, and there might be a god somewhere out there, or there may not, but I still stand by what I said. And it's good that you bring up the topic of "reincarnation" because I firmly believe that we never really die, but moreso just be reborn in a different form - human or not. Probably a strange thing, but I truly believe that, and well yeah. xD

With the manner you explain it though, the whole "I may be right or wrong", and the ideals your have for life never really ending, somewhat makes me feel you are more like an augnostic as opposed to an athiest, because you still hold the view that you could be wrong or that there is more out there. Both are not religious, only difference is one has the open mind for possibility even if it can't be proven, even if they do not dedicate themselves to it.

 

[Dragon Mage]

Well, my reason for believing is rather humble. I am a Christian (Greek Orthodox) and this is why I believe.

Several years ago when we lost our dog, Rowdy (an Australian Shepherd) the house was miserably quiet without him. One night, before I fell asleep I made a very kid-styled prayer asking St. Francis -- that Patron Saint of Animals -- to send us another dog that needed a good home. I promised that dog would be loved to no end and would have a good life.

A month later, as we went on our trip to my grandmother's, we turned a corner and saw a little Westie in the middle of the road, eating french fries off the pavement. Her name is Sassy, and she's sitting next to me as I write this, 19 years later.

A few months later, it was clear that Sassy was bored. She had no one to play with, no pack to roughhouse with. So again, I asked St. Francis so send us a dog that needed a good loving home.

That Halloween, a black lab followed our hayride back to my house. Though we repeatedly returned her to her owners, she always came back to our garage. Finally, after the 5th or 6th time we returned her, the owner threw his hands up and said, "Ah, keep her." Sarah was a beloved pet and died three years ago.

After we got Sarah, the two-dog pack wasn't big enough, so I asked again for another dog to be sent to us. Shortly thereafter, my mom got a call in the middle of the night. A friend of my grandmother's, who works at an animal shelter, had just gotten a male Westie and no one wanted him. Snickers soon joined our family.

Two years ago, I was trying to do some work in the local Humane Society for my Girl Scouts and saw the kittens there. Needless to say, I wanted one. Badly. My mom said no. So again, I made a much more appropriate prayer asking St. Francis to send us a cat -- it didn't matter what kind of cat, just any cat that needs a home. Our house had a vacancy and it was cat-shaped. Exactly three weeks later, I discovered a 3-month old kitten had wandered into our garage and had been lingering there all day. His name is Hijinks, and I love him like mad. He's my handsome little man and is ridiculously spoiled.


In case you haven't figured it out, I believe because whenever I asked for an animal to be sent to my family so we could care for it and make it a part of the family, we've gotten one. Only one of them have actually been picked up from a shelter -- the rest we found, or they found us. There is a saying, "Once is coincidence, twice is happenstance, the third time is enemy action." In this case, divine action. It know it may sound like a naive little story, but whenever I asked for a pet, it was sent. Sometimes proof is not found in huge debates or grand-schemes or world evils. You can debate morality endlessly and not convince anyone.

The proof is in the little things that happen against all odds. I've had four wonderful pets in my life, and they were all sent to me upon request and I'm eternally grateful for that. This is why I believe.

 

[Will Graham]

I am an atheist because there is absolutely no solid scientific evidence for any form of deity that I am aware of. Nor is there any 'religious experience' that cannot be put down to biological facts or science. I know there is nothing that explicitly disproves 'God', but when given the choice of choosing to believe or disbelieve a concept when there is no evidence either way, disbelief is more sensible to me. Innocent till proven guilty etc.

 

[Terra Branford]

I believe in my faith for a lot of reasons. The event in my life that had caused me to turn to Christianity probably won't sound so 'spectacular' to anyone else but myself so I'll leave that out. But it did make me into who I am today and gave me what I believe in.

Some reasons I believe in my beliefs? One reason is because of what God and Jesus Christ themselves, have said and done. Their love, guidance, and morals have always been right, to me at least. I believe because God and Jesus Christ will always love me (everyone of course! :3) and will always protect and guide me when I am in danger, in need or when I am lost, which He has always done in my life. What really got me, was "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself". I always felt after reading that, that God is loving. And as Cali said "I love the fact that God will always love you".

And therein sets my morals and my way of life, and my reasons for why.
I would have gone into a deeper depth of why and reasons, but it pretty late and my eyes are burning. xD

Dragon Mage:
That has happened to my family a zillion times! Though it drove my parents insane xD
I'm happy you provided homes for them!

 

[unadulteratedawesome]

When I was younger, I was fascinated by the whole religion thing. I didn't believe in any god(s), and I felt I was missing a bit of the human experience because I didn't. My parents didn't raise me as anything and wouldn't even reveal what they believed until I was much older, so I was on my own.

I tried out many different religions and worshiped in a lot of different places. Most importantly, I made sincere prayers to the deities of those religions when I was getting into them. I never heard anything back or had any sense that something heard me or any feeling of connection. Nothing. So they either ignored me, didn't hear it, or didn't exist.

I simply decided that if there is no evidence for the existence of god(s) (even a personal, subjective one), then the logical position regarding something with no evidence is to not believe in it. It's the same reason I don't believe in psychics or unicorns. Though I find all of the personal experiences that cause people to believe in a deity rather ridiculous (one person told me he believed in god because he walked into an invisible wall once...), I can't fault their insanity too much.

 

[Drachnon]

I'm an atheist, having never been converted to religion, I might take on a religion if any of them could show some evidence, not counting the easily debuinked stuff I normally see coming from them.
Also to comment on the reason previous posters have given for their believes. Getting a dog every time you pray for one might just be coincidence, it also poses some weird questions.
Assuming god really did answer your prayer why didn't he answer that of children who starved to death? Is he more concerned about god then humans? Christians I hear always seem to imply human are special to god so that wouldn't make sense.

Not to mention you make the fallacy of thinking that a low probability happening equals not possible therefore if it happens a miracle.

The same goes for the all loving god/jesus argument. They idea of an all loving and all powerful god brings implications with it that conflict with the reality around us. If you gave me all the power that most people attribute to god I could make a better world for humans to live in, its not even that hard.

So if you want me to believe just take the following test, give me evidence for your religion that is testable and doesn't contradict claims made by your own religion.

EDIT:
BTW atheism doesn't have or need justification. It makes no positive claims but is the starting position from which you go towards one of the religions.

 

[Donald Trump]

I'm an agnostic, but to be more accurate I don't really care. I'm not a spiritual person at all. I find it amusing that people get so worked up over something that can never be answered. I find religious people quite annoying a lot of the time, they normally believe in so much weird shit that I just find stupid. But I also find atheists annoying, equally stupid but far more smug. I find that a lot of atheists think that they're smart because they don't believe in god, because they're so scientific and rational etc etc, personally I think they're massive cunts. I find religious people far more endearing in theory because they actually believe in something, however that often changes when I meet one because they something that is completely untrue but they think it is a fact because they've read the bible. Like how Christians have always treated the Jews well.
Also a lot of Christians have absolutely no understanding of their religion. You'll quite often find protestants who think that being a good person will get them into heaven.

 

[ElvenAngel]

I'm Orthodox Christian (Greek Orthodox) but I'd have to say I'm not crazy religious. I don't attend service every Sunday, fast much or whenever it's called for, and sometimes I even miss the important services like Christmas or Easter. I have no issues with the services, it's the large, packed numbers of people that bother me, that's all.

Anyway, justifying my beliefs...I have to warn you, the reasons are a bit sappy and probably not really sophisticated. I could sum it up in saying it's a source of strength and comfort for me without being my SOLE source of those things.

I'm an old-folks baby so I have fairly old parents. My dad especially is always running around to doctors and stuff, taking some pretty strong meds for arthritis. Now, I don't pray often because I believe that just praying when you have nothing in particular to pray for isn't totally honest. I pray in a sense that I quietly talk to God and saints. So when I do, it's almost invariably asking Him to keep the people I love safe.

And to my everlasting gratitude, I think He listens. When I was in 6th grade, my dad had an allergic reaction to something, went pale and toppled over in a restaurant. And then he had a sort of heart-attack while on the floor. My mother went into hysterics and I froze up in panic. In that moment of horror, the one thing I thought was "Please God don't let my dad die here. Please keep him safe."

I think I begged a few dozen saints as well. I believe I thought of that with all the innocence and horror that a 11-year-old can muster under circumstances.

The doctors at the hospital said things looked bad. One of them was not at all hopeful. And yet my old man pulled through fine and he's been kicking ass as usual ever since. I'm sure, in my heart, that someone heard my begging and helped my dad recover. That is one of the scariest experiences of my life and it still gives me cold chills, but the thought that someone listened makes it better.

Now this kinda thing has happened once again, a mere 4 years ago. In 2009 Greece was swept by a particularly bad case of wildfires. Miles of forest and land were burned to cinders. People died, others lost their homes. I'd been left home alone for the week and the day that a wildfire (which turns out to have been arson) started near my area I was sleeping in. Now, in my sleep I heard someone screaming my name and I woke up with a jolt. I kept the shutters of my window and balcony shut to spare myself the overwhelming summer sun and so I had no idea what the heck was going on outside. But I could hear the phone blaring downstairs, which I would have otherwise missed. I stumbled downstairs and picked it up, to hear my dad in a blind panic (and my dad refuses to panic for anything less than a homicide) telling me that our suburb's pretty much on fire. I finally snap out and look out of the windows, to see faint signs of smoke.

To keep the long story short, I panicked a lot because as it turns out the fire was a mere 500 meters away from my house. When I disobeyed my parents orders to get the shit outta dodge and instead went to help hold back the fire, I kept praying for the wind to change direction and go back towards the areas already burned, keeping the damage to a minimum. I again believe someone listened, because the wind didn't just change direction, it died down. And we're talking about notorious, seasonal sea winds from the Aegean that never, ever let down, and make your life a bit miserable here in Attika if you have tents, umbrellas or potted plants or anything that can be knocked over or ruined by wind. And out of nowhere, these winds just died down to a feeble whimper of a breeze and stayed like that for the rest of the week. Dozens of houses and lives were saved, because the fire department said, if the wind hadn't died down when it did the fire would've circled up the local volunteers (myself included) and we'd all be dead, either roasted like chestnuts or suffocated like smoked rats.

On a much more personal level, I also find quite some solace in the idea that there's always someone listening for when you need that helping hand, material or not, for something beyond your abilities or when you're at the end of your line. It's a comfort when you're scared or worried. I always ask the Virgin Mary for help in keeping my clarity and focus during an exam.

The other, more worldly thing that keeps me believing is the attitude of most of the Orthodox Church. I always feel revolted when Evangelists bash on homosexuals or Catholics try to fight safe sex and the right for abortion--not so much their causes and beliefs, it's the ways they go about it all that sickens me. They're downright fanatical.

While I won't deny that there's the odd old goat here that preaches aggressively conservative, from my point of view those types are noticeably less in the Orthodox region I live in. The local priest for instance, who's a downright relic, is shockingly mild about homosexuals. He doesn't mind them, as long as they aren't provocative. And honestly, I can't blame him, I agree with that notion.

I could be wrong, since I don't really go head-diving into religious matters and the like, but most Orthodox priests I know are much more easy-going than others I've met and that welcoming and soothing feel I get from Orthodoxy keeps me believing.

 

[Dionysos]

I don’t put much care into labelling my beliefs. I’m simply open to the concept of a being / s, and do wish that one / some exist. I recognise the benefits of having faith in something, and I believe that any deity may potentially exist if people believe in them and have faith in them, thus both powering the deities they worship and themselves. Deities the world over are often various interpretations or aspects of the same concepts, so I’d be happy if something did exist, and it was all of them.

But… I look at the stars and the entire universe smiles back and says nothing. One could get lost and scared looking out at the stars if it wasn’t for the belief of something.

The belief doesn’t have to be a religion, though. I think the true power is what is in the mind, and therefore atheists can find themselves too (as Ringo’s post demonstrates). The most important thing is the belief in oneself, and searching for your own soul. If you need a deity to facilitate that process, then that’s fine, and if not then it is still possible through other means.

Despite being brought up by Christians with morals quite out of place (though in good ways, not particularly overbearing ways) with the norm of today, my parents stopped going to church after we had two family deaths within a few months of each other, and therefore so did me and my sister. Perhaps stopping going to church did me a bit of good (though obviously the deaths were not at all). I wasn’t being led into a religion just because of the family I belonged to anymore. Times have been very dark and my mind irrational and unfocused at times, that is true, and on a personal level I would probably have benefited from having a strong belief in something for the salvation of my own often feeble mind, but I’ve always been accepting of the differences of people and their rights to be who they want to be, and perhaps stopping going to church has influenced it or allowed it to develop in me more than it would have if I was being told that there was only one true God every Sunday and that everyone else on the planet was wrong, etc. I’ve also had the honour of meeting people from a wide variety of different backgrounds and religions, and have also been very lucky to have travelled a bit.

Now, after having done this I cannot simply go back to being a pure Christian. I cannot denounce or belittle the faith of others for my own. I’d much rather accept the lot of them as different channels to the same purpose, or as different streams of thought flowing into the same cosmic ocean.

As for my own salvation and the therapeutic benefits that religion or belief gives to the mind and soul? I’m still searching, I guess, though admittedly I’m not looking very far. I’m getting myself out of the darkness and I’ve been making considerable progress (ish) with confidence and my sense of purpose on this Earth. It’s a belief in yourself that matters more than anything, and if you need a deity to find that, then that’s good to have. I can’t choose one deity, so I count them all as good as each other. If there really is a deity who likes people, then I’m sure he / she / they would understand why I can’t blindly wriggle my finger up and down a list and choose one out the lot of them and reject the rest. After all, we’re all born in different parts of the globe, and our cultures dictate the religion we are brought into as children. It is nobody’s fault, so we shouldn’t be made to feel guilty for things beyond our control.

 

[Dee]

I'm one of those on-the-fencers. Technically an agnostic but that is only a label. I was raised Seventh Day Adventist/ Christian (after my parents divorced) and like others here I was dragged to church even though I did not want to. I think even from a young age, being surrounded by Jesus and God and being taught the bible that it never really sunk in. And after my parents divorced, things just hit the fan. Then when my mom remarried and my step dad started showing his true colors, I began to wonder how people like that, a Christian and a Catholic could ever believe in such a thing when one of them (my step dad the Catholic) was such a horrible person. My mom, on the other hand, is a wonderful woman and yet I cannot share her views.

Although I do pray at times (not expecting anything back), I prefer not to claim that God exists or that God does not exist because frankly I cannot know. It's not that I don't want to know, it's that right now in this world of mine and with my reality I cannot convince myself--without a doubt--that there is/are a higher being(s). If there is a God(s), saying that I believe would be a lie and I find doing that to be extremely disrespectful. So instead of saying I'm sure there's not a God or I'm sure there isn't, I stand in the middle.

 

[Roland_Deschain]

I'm an agnostic, but to be more accurate I don't really care. I'm not a spiritual person at all. I find it amusing that people get so worked up over something that can never be answered. I find religious people quite annoying a lot of the time, they normally believe in so much weird shit that I just find stupid. But I also find atheists annoying, equally stupid but far more smug. I find that a lot of atheists think that they're smart because they don't believe in god, because they're so scientific and rational etc etc, personally I think they're massive cunts. I find religious people far more endearing in theory because they actually believe in something, however that often changes when I meet one because they something that is completely untrue but they think it is a fact because they've read the bible. Like how Christians have always treated the Jews well.
Also a lot of Christians have absolutely no understanding of their religion. You'll quite often find protestants who think that being a good person will get them into heaven.

I find this statement rather humorous for at times I have felt the same exact way. I am not saying that goes for every athiest... but in general there seem to be many more smug athiests then believers.

I am also not saying it is a horrible thing to be smug about something you believe in, its just not necisarry. This is one of the reasons I remain on the fence because I believe it is the easiest way to avoid a conflict of intrests when it comes to dealing with both people, voting, allowing my children to choose for themselves and any other things that involve the two sides.

As far as I am concerned if I raised my kid to believe there is not god, then it is the same as raising him to believe there is one. I would not be letting my child choose for himself, but rather shoving my own beliefs down his throat.