God Talk

[Seth]

Rules

1. No making fun of someone's beliefs just because they're different! Yours are sure to be different from almost everyone else's, too, so there's no reason to do this.

2. Feel free to question someone's beliefs, but try to keep it to clarification or for contrasting them against your own. Don't question their beliefs repeatedly to try to make them look silly. If their beliefs actually are silly, they'll probably look that way without much help.

Before I get involved, I thought I would mention something. Given that this is the "Smart Talk" area, I would have thought I could get away with not mentioning this - but I guess not.

Since everyone's views on religion and God or gods existing is different, it is common and expected courtesy to NOT TAKE WHAT OTHER PEOPLE SAY AS PERSONAL but please do listen to and respect others' opinions.

Based on the points you have brought up, they may come to conclusions that you do not agree with. This is fine and is not what I, at least, would consider against our rules. It is simply their opinion or their view of things based on the points you have supplied.

Given two things, I believe my annoyance and disappointment is completely justified.

One, this community's name is called M for Mature. You would expect it's members to be more mature than most of you have already shown.

Two, this is the one area on these forums where we ask that everyone be intelligible, have tact and manners - everywhere else you can post some joke that people might laugh at, but in here, it is expected that we are a group of grown men and women intelligently and civilly debating upon controversial topics.

If a petty topic such as religion, which comes up every day, is hard for you guys to handle, then this section could very well be doomed.

Please, everyone, show us that you can meet the small amount of expectation we have for this area. We really don't ask for much.

It should go without saying: if you have anything worthwhile to add, add it - but you need to back up your point too.

Saying "God does not exist" without justification is spam and spamming will get you banned. Saying "God is an asshole", like one of the people previously as quoted, will be classified as spam - however, since the poster later clarified and justified their statement, we'll allow it. Provided the justification is decently intelligent and not just bullcrap.

Now before you continue on with this discussion - or any discussion within Smart Talk, I hope you take what I have said to heart - because we will no longer tolerate immaturity, spamming, stupidity and disrespect in this area.

This is my favourite area of the community - let's keep it clean and smart.

k let talk god.

 

[Joey]

With those rules, there's pretty much no discussion to be had.

 

[Seth]

All I did was copy and past the rules from freeplays thread...From the old god talk thread..

 

[Serideth]

Let me get the ball rolling by saying religious fanatics are morons and arrogant atheists are no better.

Who cares what people believe, as long as no one shoves their "facts" in my face I don't mind.l

 

[NeilR]

I've simplified the rules somewhat to reflect the fact that we might share some users but we're not QJ v2.

I'm a non practicing Catholic. My belief is that the underlying idea of religion is a good one; a means to set an example of how to live your life. Religious literature should be thought of in that way and not as the definite words or the law as described by a deity.

 

[Blackout]

Here's my story.


I'm catholic. I've been baptized. Last time I went to church was 6 years ago (more or less) I don't pray or have ever read the bible for that matter. I believe in my religion and believe in the whole heaven/hell/ghosts/angels/demons thing. I just don't do the whole religious thing and all.

Bottom line, I'm a non practicing catholic.

 

[Serideth]

You can't be Catholic if you have not been baptized, but I get what you mean.

 

[Blackout]

You can't be Catholic if you have not been baptized, but I get what you mean.

Yeah that proves how much I know about the whole religion thing hehe.

 

[Robby]

Here's my story.


I'm catholic. I've been baptized. Last time I went to church was 6 years ago (more or less) I don't pray or have ever read the bible for that matter. I believe in my religion and believe in the whole heaven/hell/ghosts/angels/demons thing. I just don't do the whole religious thing and all.

Bottom line, I'm a non practicing catholic.

I'm the same, except the last time I went to church was about 5 years ago. I've read only a couple of pages of the bible only because the story I was reading in it was interesting., other than that I see no reason to read it.
I do believe in hell/heaven and all that stuff but its just I tend to not be a religious person going to church every week.

 

[TacticalPenguin]

I've read a decent chunk of the bible and learned a lot of the customs, rules, ideals, etc of christianity.... I agree with some of the core morals and ideas for living your life well etc, but I am undecided on the existence of a god of any sort. I don't see how the idea of "we don't know how we were made therefore man called god" works - if a bank is robbed, does the court system pick a random person and point at them? they prove the person did it, or at least make it appear so probable that a jury will come to agreement that the person did it - before any punishment. I don't see why we shouldn't try to PROVE the existence of a god before blindly believing in him. Sure, there are things science cannot explain - but look at how many are left now compared to 300 years ago.

I don't care much to argue, but one thing I absolutely hate is people pushing their religion on nonbelievers who know more about that religion than the one pushing it, or people who have absolutely no acceptance of the possibility that there might not be a god, people who cannot see other viewpoints. Aside from that, not much bothers me in the way of religion - I'll ridicule them all equally.

 

[ChurchedAtheist]

Im a diest, bordering agnostic. the thing that turned me away from god was, ironically, the church. the hateful bigots at the church I went failed at the very core beliefs of their religion (love and peace) but excelled at dogmatic hatred. If i had actually been at a semi tolerant church, i'd probably still believe.

 

[Blackout]

I've read a decent chunk of the bible and learned a lot of the customs, rules, ideals, etc of christianity.... I agree with some of the core morals and ideas for living your life well etc, but I am undecided on the existence of a god of any sort. I don't see how the idea of "we don't know how we were made therefore man called god" works - if a bank is robbed, does the court system pick a random person and point at them? they prove the person did it, or at least make it appear so probable that a jury will come to agreement that the person did it - before any punishment. I don't see why we shouldn't try to PROVE the existence of a god before blindly believing in him. Sure, there are things science cannot explain - but look at how many are left now compared to 300 years ago.

I don't care much to argue, but one thing I absolutely hate is people pushing their religion on nonbelievers who know more about that religion than the one pushing it, or people who have absolutely no acceptance of the possibility that there might not be a god, people who cannot see other viewpoints. Aside from that, not much bothers me in the way of religion - I'll ridicule them all equally.

Same goes for scientologists. It's unbelieveably amazing how many people I've run into that believe in that (which I don't mind) and try to convince me that there is no god (which pisses me off). Beliefs are beliefs, I never understood the point of persuading others to believe something is existant or non-existant. Especially those youtube videos I've run across at times. The scientologist videos with a billion comments of religion flaming.

 

[Muratcan]

I'm a non practicing Catholic. My belief is that the underlying idea of religion is a good one; a means to set an example of how to live your life. Religious literature should be thought of in that way and not as the definite words or the law as described by a deity.

I am a Muslim and my beliefs are the same.

 

[TacticalPenguin]

Same goes for scientologists. It's unbelieveably amazing how many people I've run into that believe in that (which I don't mind) and try to convince me that there is no god (which pisses me off). Beliefs are beliefs, I never understood the point of persuading others to believe something is existant or non-existant. Especially those youtube videos I've run across at times. The scientologist videos with a billion comments of religion flaming.

If people want to believe the religious teachings of scientology, that's fine - it's the rest of the stupid crap attached to scientology that makes people mad. They make people pay their way up through the ranks and don't give that money back to the church as a whole to help its members - but it is tax-exempt, and gets out of a lot of stuff that normally would be considered criminal.

 

[madsoul]

i gues some of you already know my standpoint.

i can belive in thinks if they seams possible and realistic enough to be true, but the question about if there is a god and if we live on after death in another life is questions that are to far fetched to belive in. i have been raised by agnostic people so therefor no one has made me consider the existence of god at all. god for me is mythological old science from times when humans didnt have the answers to all the great mysteries in the world. we could only build up a truth upon our imagination. its pretty stunning that the whole "god" belife still exists until today, now when we know so so much more about the universe and that so many myths has gotten real scientific answers.

i personally cant for even a sec understand how people still build there lives upon religion. it makes no sense for me. other then that its wishfull thinking. sure, thats allways good, but il rather know the truth then basing me life on something i dont know exists at all.

and another thing, life after death. in my opinion im just flesh and bones with an amazingly complex brain that still is as unknown to us still as the universe itself. we still dont know a half of how it works. i belive that when my brain dies, myself will die. since "me" is all in my brain. its all electrical impulses.
i dont belive in a soul. when i die i belive it will be as if i was born but backwards (without the whole birth sequence lol). i mean, did i exists before i was born? no. and i hate when people who belive i afterlife says "dont you feel depressed knowing that there is nothing after your dead?", ofcourse not. i would use my life to the fullest and have as much fun as i can before i die. il rather belive that "its the end" then going around thinking "oh, i have another chance. i can make things better later."

 

[Ciaran]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7681914.stm
Bendy-buses with the slogan "There's probably no God" could soon be running on the streets of London.

An odd idea but I like it. Wonder how many people will be "outraged" at it.

 

[Nimsical]

Religion
When you get to it, religions are only a list of protective rules that were created against celibacy, rage, and anything "inhuman".
Please, do note that I'm quoting inhuman because it's definition changes from time to time, which is exactly why different versions of the same basic rules were still valid to vulnerable minds when they were created.
Religion, I can never believe in.

But what about God?
One of the only characters that exists in all the stories. The one that we supposedly are supposed -- no, have to fear.
It doesn't matter how scientific you look at it or how deep you let your so called soul free, it doesn't. You can't define such a superior existence, that's thinking that it even has a chance to exist.

So what should I believe in now?
We do not matter. It's our subconscious that needs to be able to decapitate at night.
So do whatever you have to do, follow someone else if you have to. Take every moment of your life and see if it'll change if you believe in the great Almighty, and then you'd realize that whether all the rumors are true or not it doesn't matter -- it's that one moment of doubt that tells you what the whole concept of God is. Because we're all insecure.


For the record:
I'm a 17 year old Agnostic.

 

[ChurchedAtheist]

An odd idea but I like it. Wonder how many people will be "outraged" at it.

in london? probably not many. from what I've heard the actively religious is about 2%

 

[TacticalPenguin]

in london? probably not many. from what I've heard the actively religious is about 2%

But don't you know the minority has more rights than the majority ever will?

 

[mohaas05]

I could be considered a "lazy" Catholic. I don't regularly go to Church, and I don't strictly adhere to its standards. But I do agree with the ideals of it and I do occasionally participate in religious events.