Religion

[Porygon]

Another atheist.

 

[Tarvos]

...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).

The fact that people worship something or believe something doesn't make it true. Many children believe in Santa Claus (or your local variety tale of gift-giving, such as Sinterklaas where I live) but that doesn't ensure the existence of Joulupukki.

 

[Minish]

The fact that people worship something or believe something doesn't make it true. Many children believe in Santa Claus (or your local variety tale of gift-giving, such as Sinterklaas where I live) but that doesn't ensure the existence of Joulupukki.

Not scientifically, perhaps. But one of the reasons I hate proselytism is because everyone needs different beliefs -- like the natural world, only diversity can save religion. My beliefs aren't necessarily right for you, and vice versa. If it can inspire and sustain someone, then that's more important than what is or isn't staring them in the face.

To me, Christianity isn't truth, and to Christians, it is truth. But even if I died and realised that religion is a lot less surreal than I had thought and I was going to heaven, I wouldn't regret my life of an alternative belief.

 

[Elliekat]

On the nature-worship thing:
I'm not going to argue for Chrisianity with anyone, since I believe everyone can believe what they want and it's not my place to change it unless you're willing for me to. But I do think we should definitely respect and hold nature in high regard- not necessarily worship per se, but definitely respect, because God is in every part of nature.

I'm sorry if that made no sense, sometimes it doesn't make sense to me.

 

[Vladimir Putin's LJ]

We should respect it because God is in it and not because we need it to survive?

 

[Elliekat]

Well, that too. I just don't think that the only place God is in is a church, I think he/she/whatever you believe is in nature too, and therefore it should be respected and not just taken for granted.

 

[Blastoise Fortooate]

I see what you're saying, Ellie, but by that logic we should respect molten hot magma since God is in that. >:I So, yeah, woot, go whatever deity you do(n't) believe in for making the outsidy parts of the planet pretty.~

 

[Autumn]

Respect the oil spill, God's there too!

 

[Green]

and hitler, because he's god's child!

(i'm crossing the line but w/e)

 

[Tailsy]

and hitler, because he's god's child!

(i'm crossing the line but w/e)

Dammit, we almost had a good argument there! You just had to, didn't you?

 

[Autumn]

(i'm crossing the line but w/e)

God is in the line, too!

 

[Barubu]

God is in the swan-thingy,too!

 

[Karkat Vantas]

Technically I'm Catholic but I disagree with the church on everything. My main beef is that people assume that religion is the main factor in getting into heaven; by that logic you could be the nicest person in the world, but if you're Muslim, you're going to hell. That is incredibly stupid.

I do believe in some type of deity starting the universe; I find it hard to imagine that the Big Bang could have occurred naturally. That being said, I don't really think that said deity did anything of note after that. That would make me a deist, correct?

 

[Elliekat]

Technically I'm Catholic but I disagree with the church on everything. My main beef is that people assume that religion is the main factor in getting into heaven; by that logic you could be the nicest person in the world, but if you're Muslim, you're going to hell. That is incredibly stupid.

This is basically how I feel on a lot of things. Except I'm not Catholic, actually, I have no idea what "kind" of Christian I'm supposed to be now. Why does it matter, anyway?

 

[Tarvos]

Not scientifically, perhaps. But one of the reasons I hate proselytism is because everyone needs different beliefs -- like the natural world, only diversity can save religion. My beliefs aren't necessarily right for you, and vice versa. If it can inspire and sustain someone, then that's more important than what is or isn't staring them in the face.

We don't need different beliefs for the sake of having diversity, that's nonsense. We don't need to have ten colours of cars for the sake of having them either. We need beliefs that are correct, or, in case there are not enough facts, a theory that is supported by evidence. Make up as many of these as you will - but a belief without evidence is like a limp man without crutches. Creativity for new ideas is only useful when you don't know what you're dealing with. If you don't need it, having a different belief for the sake of it is just pointless rebellious guff.

 

[Minish]

We don't need different beliefs for the sake of having diversity, that's nonsense. We don't need to have ten colours of cars for the sake of having them either. We need beliefs that are correct, or, in case there are not enough facts, a theory that is supported by evidence. Make up as many of these as you will - but a belief without evidence is like a limp man without crutches. Creativity for new ideas is only useful when you don't know what you're dealing with. If you don't need it, having a different belief for the sake of it is just pointless rebellious guff.

That's... not really what I'm saying. Differing beliefs occur naturally, I'm saying that it's unfair to condemn those which you disagree with because a world in which everyone believed the same about divinity would be a very dull world indeed. I don't have a different belief because I'm trying to be ~rebellious~, I have a different belief because I don't like/agree with yours.

The belief with the most scientific evidence behind it isn't going to be the one that necessarily wins me over. I'm trying to find something that suits me and makes me happy. If it turns out that life is black-and-white, true-and-false and not as comfortably abstract as I think it is now, then I won't regret a life in which I had much prettier delusions one tiny bit.

Acting like faith should be like maths is just totally missing the point.

 

[Zuu]

if religion originated in order to explain our existence and our surroundings, why would you try to cling onto these beliefs when we now have science to explain everything accurately? what upsets me the most isn't the fact that you're being intellectually dishonest with yourself, it's the fact that you can actually force yourself to believe these things when I can't. I don't understand it.

and I don't understand deluding yourself to be happy, either.

Kammington: roughly, that makes you a deist, yeah. I might say there are a few other prerequisites but I've found deists to have fairly varied beliefs.

 

[Minish]

Well, it's not like I'm a firm believer who refuses to see anything else. I guess technically I'm strictly agnostic, but I always had these odd little random beliefs ever since I was little and suddenly discovered that there was a name for them...

I'm not forcing myself to believe anything, and I understand how science can explain pretty much everything around us. But to be cliché, I believe there genuinely is something "more" out there. I don't know what that more is but what I believe now feels about right.

 

[opaltiger]

I find it hard to imagine that the Big Bang could have occurred naturally.

Why?

 

[Sage Noctowl]

This is turning from a "What religion are you?" to an argument about religion.

I think Kammington is wondering how a giant singularity of matter occurred in one place and spontaneously burst, creating time and space as well as a spread of energy.

Also, religion is just an alternate belief than some beliefs of science. The universe is not completely perfect, it can't be described by a set of beliefs, or scientific laws, or anything. Each is just an attempt at explaining it.

In many instances, science and religion can coincide with each other. Science deals with the tangible, while religion deals with the intangible. Therefore, why can't they coexist with each other?
(I probably contradicted myself a couple of times there.)

To expand on my beliefs more, I'm an 'old-earth' 'theistic evolutionist' scientific protestant Christian (I think that's it)