What's your Religion?

Thanks for teaching me something new today,I wish your daughter well.

 

here we go.... lmao My grandparents' were Presbyterian. I went to Sunday school at their church for a few years and each time wished my mom came to pick me up. If my grandparents came I had to sit through another hour or 2 for their service. I remember starting school while still going to Sunday school. We were learning some things in school that contradicted what they were reading from the Bible on Sundays. Bible was hard to followed, no pictures, no evidence and required blind faith (or ignorance I suppose) to believe. The books at school had pictures, explanations, theories, and proof. lol So shortly thereafter everything I heard at Sunday school/church was a bunch of BS in my mind.

Ever since then I've been Atheist. To me, religion is mind control for the masses. I mean, how else to get people to come to the same place once a week, every week, and hand over money? Or strap bombs to themselves and blow people up in the name of their God?

That, and how many religions out their say "their" God is the "only" god, and you're wrong for believing in "your" God? Logic tells me they can't ALL be right! Which means they are all wrong. Not to mention all the bad things that happen in this world make it impossible for me to believe in one all-knowing, all-seeing entity that's watching out for us.

 

In all honesty though, I don't really give a f^&* what other people believe in as long as they don't push it on me. Guess that's why I hate Jehovah's witnesses and born-again christians. I mean, if it makes you feel good, then fine. But I don't come knocking on your door preaching the values of not believing in God do I? No? Then don't do the same to me!

Can't count the number of times a lady I went to school with tried to "save" me. lol Nice lady, had kids my age in college too, but we went round n round discussing religion on breaks betwen classes.

 

If you were just "starting school," then you were what - 5 or 6 years of age? What did you possibly learn in school at that very early age that in your young mind "contradicted" what you heard read from the Bible?

Just curious, and I certainly don't want to pursue something with you that your not comfortable with, but at 5 or 6 years of age boys are not usually attentive to things like that, especially ideas and concepts that some suggest must be seen as controversial or in direct conflict one with another.

Not to be argumentative but out of a real sense of inquiry and curiosity, at the age of 5 or 6 as you were just "starting school," while I can understand a young boys dismay at the lack of pictures in a book, how did you determine at that early age that there was "no evidence" available to support the Bible? And how did you come to believe that the Bible required little more than "blind faith" at that young age?

Are you suggesting that when an author includes "pictures, explanations," and "theories" in a book, then it follows that everything he or she presents adds up to "proof"?

Again, I am honestly wondering how a 5 or 6 year old boy, just "starting school," could come up with all these objections to the Bible, a book that he has neither studied for himself or has the least inkling of real understanding about.

It sounds, at least to me, that your supposed "atheism" is by no means well considered, and leans more on what you've heard from others than on what you've actually sorted out for yourself at any deep level. At least I don't believe that you sorted these things out at 5 or 6 years of age as you were "starting school," as you've related here. But I confess I could be wrong about that, and invite your correction if that is the case!

 

What do you get when you cross an Atheist with a Jehovah's Witness? Someone who knocks on your door for no reason.

 

Mrs. Garrison's boobs are disgusting.

*Please resume any intelligent discussion regarding religion.*

 

Well, I don't honestly remember when I stopped going to Sunday school. But I did have some basic science classes at school, encylopedias's at home, Popular Science magazines, and many other books that provided documented evidence. Pictures of cells under a microscrope, fossils, things like that that the Bible couldn't explain other than followers saying "it was faked". I've heard that so many times it makes me sick! How do you "fake" a fossil burried in the desert under tons of sand? Or embeded in a rock on some mountain? I'd like to know because that's a hell of a trick!

My main turning point was some reading about something like "John begat kate and kate begat Joe who was the son of John and begat Kate". I know I'm murdering the actual reading, but in my mind the first thought was something alone the lines of "how did Joe begat kate if he came after her?!? These people are on CRACK!" lol It didn't make sense to me. Maybe there was some inbreading that would make it make sense, but it didn't to me. My final thought was "it's a crock of shit". No offense to anyone. That was just my belief and growing up with people denying evolution. Believe what you want, but don't try to say evidence covering the globe was faked and none of the dinosaurs, etc existed before us beacuse it doesn't fit with your religion's beliefs. I'm a science and math and logic kinda guy. I need to see to believe. I stopped believing in santa clause, easter bunny, tooth fairy, etc at a very early age so believing in a God I can't see, feel, or hear is impossible for me.

It's one of those things were I can get any number of papers from different sources to prove science. I can look under a microsoft, through a telescope, look under rocks in the river, or whatever to prove something. How do I prove the Bible is right?

Seriously though, ever play a game of Telephone? How many times does the original message remain intact all the way to the end? The Bible was written how many 100's or 1000's of years ago in a language no one speaks, and has been translated how many times before it made it to the current version? Who knows what it originally said. Maybe the translators were off by a word or meaning. Look at stereo instructions or unassembled furniture directions! :lmao: Some of that stuff looks like it was made in China with the chinese instructions translated to English by the Mexicans packaging it for the US and the English is no where close to being accurate! And this in a day and age when we can throw the text into Google for a translation. I should be accurate now and it's not. So how could it be accurate over 1000's of years and translations of the Bible?

I will close by saying some of the shows I seen about researches uncovering what the believe are bits of Noah's Ark buried in ice and other shows like that intrigue me. But that's because there's some evidence there that leads me to think it could be true. Or at least parts of it.

 

lol That's exactly my thought! For all we know the Bible was originally written as the first sci-fi book, and here people are running their lives based on it. Are people 3,000 years from now going to be using "Star Trek" episodes as "historical records" and acting accordingly? I mean, how would they KNOW in 3,000 years that it was just a made up fantasy. Just as how we don't know what the Bible was originally penned as when it was written.

I guess I can't help it! I sit in front of a computer all day and can google something to get 100 different answers on something. If all 100 contradict 1, which one am I going to put more faith in?

But my real main beef with religion in general is the fact they don't recognize each other. Jesus Christ is our Saviour. Allah is waiting for me with honey and virgins. etc etc etc. And yet, NONE of them admit there could be more than 1 god/saviour/etc. So in a sense they all say everyone else is wrong. Which means none of them can be right.

 

This is the Desiderata. It offers life perspective, but I believe that all ties directly to faith. Its discussion of faith is particularly open-minded as I believe faith should be.



Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly, and listen to others,
even to the dull and ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be
greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career
however humble;
it is a real possession in the
changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you
to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit
to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore, be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham,
drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

 

I couldn't remember the title, but yeah. I think it makes a good point. I also liked Dogma when they said religion was supposed to be an "idea" instead of a "belief". Ideas can be changed as new evidence is provided or things change. Beliefs are a little harder to update.

 

What's that from?

 

It's the Desiderata. A poem with a confused history.