Religion

Esque said:

No.
You'd have every orthodox member of each of them on your heels trying to kill you. Because while the book of faith is relatively the same, the practice is radically different. When it's existent, anyway.

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WHOOSH!

like most of tcod, atheist

I really dislike the 'I believe in god but all the religions have it wrong' reasoning, too

I prefer the 'sure, god, whatever, but it got distracted by something shiny a long time ago' sort.

i believe a mix of things. i was raised Anglican (sort of), and baptised when i was a baby, but now i'm a spiritualist/Shintoist/Buddhist and many others. i get something out of every religion, but i'm kinda floating. hare Krishna.

I was raised as a Catholic and basically forced into practicing the religion.
However, when I did have a say in the matter, I completely turned my back on it.
My mother knew better than to try telling me to attend church services since I was 15. ):
Now, I'm just unsure of what to believe in exactly, so I would consider myself agnostic. ^^ I believe in reincarnation, also.

I voted Christianity, but like Blastoise, a lazy one. I slip up and swear and say "Oh My God" a lot, so...

Mewtwo said:

I voted Christianity, but like Blastoise, a lazy one. I slip up and swear and say "Oh My God" a lot, so...

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if people actually read the Bible, most Christians would realize that saying "oh my God" is not taking the Lord's name in vain. "God damn you", perhaps, but "oh my God"? no. and I'm tired of hearing people telling me to stop "taking the Lord's name in vain" while they sin behind His back every day. so you shouldn't worry about it, either.

also why do people believe in reincarnation?

Mewtwo said:

I voted Christianity, but like Blastoise, a lazy one. I slip up and swear(edit note: like fuck and stuff) and say "Oh My God" a lot, so...

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That, however, Dezzuu...

Anyways, I really don't know why people believe in it. I see a valid point, and can see why they'd feel about it, but I don't believe in it.

Dezzuu said:

also why do people believe in reincarnation?

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it's an interesting concept :/ also I guess people don't want to think that there's ever going to be a point in time when they're *gasp* not around anymore.

I don't see valid points at all, I just see it as wishful thinking.

as for "swearing", as far as I can tell the Bible doesn't address what we see as "cursing" (e.g., fuck, shit, damn). it mentions that cursing people, rather than praising people, is a sin (I think) but it is my opinion that if anyone tells you that the Bible says you can't say "fuck", they are a liar. you're not supposed to speak evilly, but is swearing inherently evil? many moral and virtuous people swear, because it is just a way to relieve stress and, in some cases, a source of humor.

Leafpool: not really a justification to believe in something. I think lichdom is an interesting concept, and I sure as hell want to be a lich, but it just ain't gonna happen.

unless I become a *technolich*. FUCK YEAH

Dezzuu said:

Leafpool: not really a justification to believe in something.

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eh, true. people are shallow.

as for "swearing", as far as I can tell the Bible doesn't address what we see as "cursing" (e.g., fuck, shit, damn).

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well I mean apart from 'damn' for reasons you've already said, I'd have to agree, especially as words like fuck and shit are very new words. o.o

People believe in reincarnation because they think the idea that the soul or whatever lives on in the cycle of nature makes sense.

Of course, that's the hippie neo-pagan yay nature viewpoint, so yeah. I don't really know much about other forms of reincarnation and don't really agree with the idea of soul transmigration. But I think the idea that nature sustains its own life, on and on and on, is a lot more sensibile -- not to mention healthier -- than ascension to some supernatural heaven.

i'm sort of an atheist, sort of agnostic. depends how i'm feeling that day, my religious views change often.

i don't think about it often though, because to me it doesn't matter at all, just because if there is a god he created the universe billions of years ago so it doesn't really affect my life at all. also doesn't affect me because i don't think he's going to send me to hell just because i don't totally believe in him, because that would mean ghandi would go to hell and fuck that. if there is a god he's cool with me not caring whether or not he exists, if there isn't a god which there probably isn't then i didn't waste my life believing in something that didn't exist. it's like the opposite of pascal's wager

ultraviolet said:

well I mean apart from 'damn' for reasons you've already said, I'd have to agree, especially as words like fuck and shit are very new words. o.o

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well yeah but I mean you know taboo language in general.

Zim: you sound sort of like an apatheist.

Cirrus said:

But I think the idea that nature sustains its own life, on and on and on, is a lot more sensibile -- not to mention healthier -- than ascension to some supernatural heaven.

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sure. but there's no reason to believe that the earth (or "nature", this odd deity that so many people are worshiping now) has any supernatural means of doing this, especially by recycling souls. especially since we don't know whether souls exist or not anyway.

Dezzuu said:

Zim: you sound sort of like an apatheist.

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too lazy to google that but based just on the name yeah that sounds about right

Dezzuu said:

sure. but there's no reason to believe that the earth (or "nature", this odd deity that so many people are worshiping now) has any supernatural means of doing this, especially by recycling souls. especially since we don't know whether souls exist or not anyway.

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...people have worshipped the earth/nature for thousands and thousands and thousands of years but okay (and for particular parts of nature, pretty much forever).

Most people who believe in nature "recycling" don't really believe in souls by the common definition. Of course we don't know whether souls exist or not, but... that's kind of not what belief is about, which it receives fair criticism for.

I'm well aware of the history of nature worship (and I am sort of hurt that you actually had to say that). I am also well aware that there is a large number of new age lunatics who are "worshiping" nature for many silly reasons, as of late, in civilized societies, when I really think we have moved past that.

allow me to clarify what I think, before I go on: I think we're born out of this earth and so we should certainly revere it (I am a staunch environmentalist) but worshiping *anything*, in my opinion, belittles ourselves and I see little point in it.

I'm not sure what you're saying after that, however. If not the common definition of the "soul" (which I'm not even too aware of myself!), what *do* you/they believe in? I'd like you to sort of explain where you're coming from.

Dezzuu said:

I'm well aware of the history of nature worship (and I am sort of hurt that you actually had to say that). I am also well aware that there is a large number of new age lunatics who are "worshiping" nature for many silly reasons, as of late, in civilized societies, when I really think we have moved past that.

allow me to clarify what I think, before I go on: I think we're born out of this earth and so we should certainly revere it (I am a staunch environmentalist) but worshiping *anything*, in my opinion, belittles ourselves and I see little point in it.

I'm not sure what you're saying after that, however. If not the common definition of the "soul" (which I'm not even too aware of myself!), what *do* you/they believe in? I'd like you to sort of explain where you're coming from.

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Well, it seemed as though you were implying this "odd deity" is some totally quaint new deity us new age lunatics thought up. What are the silly reasons? I personally think nature is the only thing worthy of "worship"; it's the only thing that quite obviously sustains us as opposed to the bizarre, impersonal omnipotent god most monotheist religions follow. I consider Abrahamic monotheism a regression from nature worship.

When I say worship, by the way, I don't mean Abrahamic worship. I guess a better word would be celebration, or reverence? I don't worship anything out of a feeling of inferiority or fear.

I guess my idea of a soul is... more similar to conscious energy (bear in mind that I'm a bit of an animist as well). In reincarnation it would work how the energy returns to the earth and has little to do with humanity anymore. One day it will return to sustain life. To be honest, I don't really care about what happens after death, it's not like it's something that will affect me or is of much consequence to me.

I'm not sure how to explain it because I think things like this are outside of human comprehension, and I'm not used to having to because I rarely discuss my beliefs outside of a neo-pagan context as nobody else actually gives a benevolent damn. I know my beliefs have little place here whatever I say so please just agree with me to firmly disagree and avoid insulting me.

reverence for nature is fine. I understand that.

I will continue to wonder why you hold these beliefs especially when you admit that they are "outside of human comprehension" and I will certainly disagree with you, but I have little intention to insult you.