Poll: Was your religion influenced?

[ssgt splatter]

I don't believe in god but I do believe in an afterlife.
I'll believe in god if December 23, 2012 is really the end of the world

its the 21 silly the 23rd is the alternate date

and it will happen but its wont be any god's doing

=)

No i'm pretty sure the Mayan calender said Dec. 23

 

[cannot_aim]

Nope I dropped all religion and havent looked back

 

[Aqualung]

I grew up with a lightly Christian family. Sure, we'd go to church for Christmas every year, but that was it. God and religion isn't really discussed in our house. Over the years, I've just come to create my own spiritualistic beliefs, rather than follow an institutionalized religion. I believe in whatever comforts me or I just find generally 'cool' and appealing.

I still go to church every Christmas eve though. One, because my dad does, and I don't want him going alone, and two, because, even if it's not my religion, I'm still celebrating the holiday and fell I should, in a way, pay my respects. I find a lot of my friends simply dub themselves as athiests though, because they're not sure what to believe in. Not that they believe in science, or nothing at all. They just aren't taught religiously and don't know what title to place over themselves.

 

[awmperry]

Naah. If there was a god who went around fixing everything in sight then human progress would halt overnight. People would become dependant on this god for everything and anything, then start asking the unreasonable before long (please kill my enemies.) Didn't you ever read Gulivers travels? What happened when he helped the little people? He had the best motives, but his actions resulted in the little people demanding more and more from him.

Also remember that chaos, conflict, pain, death, suffering, and danger are all tests. Whether you are atheist, Christian, or Buddhist, you have to admit that those things are what temper life. Think about it - how would life evolve without it? How would people learn how to deal with life if they didn't suffer? And just desirable would a perfect existance be?

All true, of course. Adversity is a major factor in human development, on both microscopic and macroscopic levels.

The question is, then, why he should intervene in anything. A caring parent might allow a child to get a tiny bit too close to a fire so they learn that fire is hot - but letting the kid fall in and burn to death would be indefensible. And yet that's what God allows, if he exists and is omnipotent. Look at the Crusades, the World Wars, the Arab-Israeli conflict, Northern Rock, the cancellation of Firefly... That's letting the kid fall into the fire. That doesn't temper, that destroys.

A genuinely omnipotent, omniscient and praiseworthy god would know where to draw the line, and no amount of mysterious ways gets him off the hook for that. ;-)


As for 2012, by the way, the Mayans never said anything about it being the end of the world - just the end of an era, rather like we'd celebrate the Millennium (In 2001, of course, because we can count. Or, I suppose, technically 1994, since the year 0 was misaligned...).

 

[maximilian]

The latter brosef. I grew up then had a look around. TAKE NOTE INSANE ATHEISTS: I didn't bash what you don't believe.

 

[maximilian]

'tis true: this statement is also free of maximilian's usual bigotry towards Catholics also. You might wanna bookmark it.

I assume you are referring to my stolid reformed theology in a post on reformed Christian theology? I don't give a toss if I'm called bigot. It's a word with so little currency.

People like Lily Allen write a song smashing anyone who she terms "close minded" and a "bigot" and then writes a song whoring blood diamonds and cussing each other. Whatever.

 

[Dys]

My parents have always been very laid back about religon, only really having a (negative) opinion of it when something bad happened (rapist priests, holy wars, gold churches next to slums etc).
For the most part I share their beleif, if it isn't hurting anyone and I don't have to do anything, I don't care.

 

[Soigieoto]

I was taught a light christian background, my family isn't really religious.

I'm agnostic now though so i guess thats a No.

 

[Lavi]

My parents are atheists, and yet I want to join a religion (not sure which or when, but sometime during my life). I left their ideas behind me as I grew older and realized all the religious stereotyping I'd been taught was wrong (religious people are stupid, God is an old man sitting in the clouds pointing fingers, etc). Pfft, ironically I have the same problem as the reverse of my situation. If I ever try to join a religion, my family will pull a giant WTF out of their collective ass. Pfft, once I move out I'll probably join some religion, only requirement is it fits what I already think (many do, which made me realize I was never an atheist in the first place).

As for whether we all stick with the beliefs of our parents? It's up to us and there really isn't gonna be a pattern no matter what a poll says. 6 billion humans, you wanna catch em all ;o?

 

[CapnGod]

I was raised a christian, but looking back, I never was. Unfortunately, I was baptized. I'm actually contemplating contacting a local church to see if they'll do me the favor of excommunicating me so I can be done with that.

 

[Klagermeister]

Well, I stayed with Christianity, as it made the most sense.

Also, the Bible is the most reliable when it comes to religious books.
Think about it: would you rather believe hundreds of people writing psalms over hundreds of years...
Or would you rather believe one guy who claimed to see an angel one day?

 

[Lavi]

the escapist is filled predominately with free thinkers, and a few people who got tricked into jeebusdom. of course, under god in the pledge of alegiance and religious references on the dollar bill are infringements on the constitution, so they should be taken out regardless of influence.

So... religious people don't think? GENIUS, you'll make a good free thinker thinking like that, keeping to some stupid stereotypes atheists create about religious people. If there's anything that pisses me off more than fundamental religious people, is fundamental atheist people.

You don't get TRICKED into religion -.- You're not helping people choose their way of living by making them feel less of a person for it.

 

[Captain Blackout]

I'm not answering unless I get to answer both.

 

[pnonma]

I was a fundamentalist Baptist for many years, until I started actually paying attention to the parts of the Bible that most people don't notice. I'm happy to say that the Bible is the reason I dropped religion from my life.
Seeing Christian and Judaic dogma from an outsider's perspective makes for an interesting time. The all-knowing god of the universe has an understanding of science that would embarrass an elementary school student. The all-loving lord of creation has morals that would put the worst dictators in human history to shame. The more I read the bible, the more I notice that it was likely not inspired by a divine being to a bunch of cattle-sacrificing primitives, but that it was written by the cattle-sacrificing primitives themselves.
The fear and guilt that my particular brand of Christianity was based upon could only go so far to control me. I have seen the truth, and the truth has set me free.
I'm not opposed to the notion that there may be something beyond our understanding, but I refuse to believe anything on poor evidence. New information is always welcome, and I will take whatever new stuff I find to heart.
I don't mind defending what I have to say, I can provide scriptural reference for my claims and logical debate for my conclusions. My email address is my username at gmail dot com.