Poll: Was your religion influenced?
- Thread starter KeithA45
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You know, seeing all this atheism and "I will believe to God if blah blah" I have to say it is pretty much a dick-move towards God.
Play the "I'm just not sure, yet" card instead of outright atheism.PersianLlama said:
It works.
More people than you think question their beliefs, and are accommodating when you say you're just unsure. If you DENY God, however, 'hoo-ee!'... Now you're an asshole.
Edit: Just a pithy suggestion, do what you wanna do dawg.
No I haven't stuck to the religion that I spent my childhood being told was right, however if you were to ask me if religion has affected my thinking and actions then I would be a huge liar. I myself am an agnostic who believes that more than likely there isn't a God but because of the bombardment of religious propaganda that I had thrown at me as a child I will never be able to believe that there isn't a small chance of a there being a higher being.
Huh, interesting and slightly related.
Where I work, i have access to a ton of News Papers... You know, ones that are perfectly good, some not even read, but I can either 'keep a few' (and give them to various people) or toss em in the garbage. One of hte articles I read in it. (Its USA Today. Sue me, its free *****
)
Had to deal with religion.
Apparently a religious survey that started in the 90s, Shows that Those who do not identifiy themselves as religious (athiest, agnostic, 'other') rose from 8% in 90, to 15% in 2008.
They said, aside from Cathalocism, and one other, those who don't allign themselves to none, is esscentially the '3rd' largest group in the U.S.
Which kinda suprised me. Quite Honestly, I would have expected that number to be closer to... 0.5%.
As for myself.
I was raised Luthern, But my family wasn't terribly 'religious', they basically introduced us to religion, but ultimately, Who has time for it? We'd rather be working earnign money, or being couch potatoes at work, then listen to some old guy preach about something he barely understands.
That said, others have said they were to 'skeptic' for religion... Well that fits me like a glove.
I'm always questioning everything.
Hell when I was 10, I asked some religious nut (Same age, went to a catholic school) 'how do you know it wasn't written by a crazy lunatic?'
Then theres the very existance of the Judism, (predates christanity) Budism (predates Judism), and various other religions that predate everything else.
Hell, I remember reading about some long dead country, who believed the after life was a dark void where you can't hear, see, smell, touch, interact or anything else with anyone. In some cave... I just can't accept that any organized religion is 'true' when there are religions that predate the very founding of other religions. It just don't make sense to me.
But that don't mean they don't contain any knowledge or wisdom within them.
Hell, The bible IMO is just a guide on how NOT to kill your selves as a society!
Where I work, i have access to a ton of News Papers... You know, ones that are perfectly good, some not even read, but I can either 'keep a few' (and give them to various people) or toss em in the garbage. One of hte articles I read in it. (Its USA Today. Sue me, its free *****
)Had to deal with religion.
Apparently a religious survey that started in the 90s, Shows that Those who do not identifiy themselves as religious (athiest, agnostic, 'other') rose from 8% in 90, to 15% in 2008.
They said, aside from Cathalocism, and one other, those who don't allign themselves to none, is esscentially the '3rd' largest group in the U.S.
Which kinda suprised me. Quite Honestly, I would have expected that number to be closer to... 0.5%.
As for myself.
I was raised Luthern, But my family wasn't terribly 'religious', they basically introduced us to religion, but ultimately, Who has time for it? We'd rather be working earnign money, or being couch potatoes at work, then listen to some old guy preach about something he barely understands.
That said, others have said they were to 'skeptic' for religion... Well that fits me like a glove.
I'm always questioning everything.
Hell when I was 10, I asked some religious nut (Same age, went to a catholic school) 'how do you know it wasn't written by a crazy lunatic?'
Then theres the very existance of the Judism, (predates christanity) Budism (predates Judism), and various other religions that predate everything else.
Hell, I remember reading about some long dead country, who believed the after life was a dark void where you can't hear, see, smell, touch, interact or anything else with anyone. In some cave... I just can't accept that any organized religion is 'true' when there are religions that predate the very founding of other religions. It just don't make sense to me.
But that don't mean they don't contain any knowledge or wisdom within them.
Hell, The bible IMO is just a guide on how NOT to kill your selves as a society!
Is this sarcasm or? Using a threat that its a dick move towards God on an Atheist doesn't make any sense...ph3onix said:
In my personal opinion I preach the Bill Maher card of I don't know. I certainly hate organized religion because it's just a business, and I don't believe a word of the bible. I'm fairly certain there isn't going to be an afterlife, but I don't know. If you say you know for sure what will happen when you die, you are lying, because I don't know and you don't have a mental capability that I do not.
I'm Jewish, and so is my whole family, though we're not incredibly religious. Hell, I don't even keep kosher, so that shows how much restraint I have!
But while I'm not that religious, I still consider it a part of me. Being Jewish is important to me and I don't think I'll stop. I have a history behind me, good or bad, and I intend to continue the tradition of being Jewish.
Let me put it this way, if someone put a gun to my head and told me to convert or they'd kill me, I'd take the bullet. If I convert, they kill a Jew. If I die, they kill a human being.
Though to be honest, I'd probably be a complete hypocrite and convert right away to save my own hide. >_>;
But while I'm not that religious, I still consider it a part of me. Being Jewish is important to me and I don't think I'll stop. I have a history behind me, good or bad, and I intend to continue the tradition of being Jewish.
Let me put it this way, if someone put a gun to my head and told me to convert or they'd kill me, I'd take the bullet. If I convert, they kill a Jew. If I die, they kill a human being.
Though to be honest, I'd probably be a complete hypocrite and convert right away to save my own hide. >_>;
I was raised as a Christian until I was about 9 when I began to think a lot more logically and came to my own conclusion that there's no way in hell that God can exist. Very glad my family didn't get upset about me becoming an atheist though, but I've had 9 years of thinking of arguments against and flaws in Christianity, so if anyone tries to convert me I have a huge arsenal to use against them.
My parents were not Christians. My friends were non Christians. During the ages of 9-15 I explored various ideas and philosophies. At the age of 15, I became a Christian. So, with regard to the original post, I picked my beliefs anyway. 15 years on, I don't regret my choice.
Actually there are more Atheists/Agnostic people then Blacks and Mexicans. There are a lot of Atheists out there but because of the social norm (In the U.S.A) are afraid to speak out because of fear of ridicule.SinisterDeath said:
In Sweden 85% of people are Atheist.
I had to go to church growing up, and we had to prayer and sing hymns in assembly at primary school.
I hate being told what to do. I always go against what people tell me to do to piss them off, which is probably why I'm atheist.
I hate being told what to do. I always go against what people tell me to do to piss them off, which is probably why I'm atheist.
Yes, I did. I was taught to think for myself.
I was raised, as most Swedes are, a Lutheran Protestant (which in Sweden basically is code for "agnostic"). I'm quite interested in theology, as long as no one asks me to actually *believe* in anything. I was christened, I attended a four-week confirmation camp (which was brilliant fun, despite two one-hour religious lessons a day), I was confirmed, and one way or another I suppose I believe in a god of some description. I just don't think he/she/it/they has any bearing on my life or the world in general.
I don't think someone who demands worship deserves it, and someone who deserves it doesn't need it. And most of all, I don't think someone who's omnipotent and omniscient needs crazed people on Earth to step in to defend them. If I offend God, then I trust he'll go old-school and smite me; until then I'll just be me. As the old saying goes - "I don't mind God, it's his fan club I can't stand."
And of course the classic argument comes up. With great power comes great responsibility, with ultimate power comes ultimate responsibility, someone who is truly omnipotent has a duty to do what they can to right whatever wrongs they see, and someone who is truly omniscient will see them all.
Now look at the world.
If God exists, he's either not all-powerful, or he doesn't deserve to be worshipped. And religion is a really bad reason to kill people.
People matter; gods don't. They can take care of themselves.
I was raised, as most Swedes are, a Lutheran Protestant (which in Sweden basically is code for "agnostic"). I'm quite interested in theology, as long as no one asks me to actually *believe* in anything. I was christened, I attended a four-week confirmation camp (which was brilliant fun, despite two one-hour religious lessons a day), I was confirmed, and one way or another I suppose I believe in a god of some description. I just don't think he/she/it/they has any bearing on my life or the world in general.
I don't think someone who demands worship deserves it, and someone who deserves it doesn't need it. And most of all, I don't think someone who's omnipotent and omniscient needs crazed people on Earth to step in to defend them. If I offend God, then I trust he'll go old-school and smite me; until then I'll just be me. As the old saying goes - "I don't mind God, it's his fan club I can't stand."
And of course the classic argument comes up. With great power comes great responsibility, with ultimate power comes ultimate responsibility, someone who is truly omnipotent has a duty to do what they can to right whatever wrongs they see, and someone who is truly omniscient will see them all.
Now look at the world.
If God exists, he's either not all-powerful, or he doesn't deserve to be worshipped. And religion is a really bad reason to kill people.
People matter; gods don't. They can take care of themselves.