Religion

[Keranu]

What's everyone's religion here? I have basically been an atheist my whole life along with everyone else in my family except my mother, who is Baptist and our family only went to church for a little bit when we were all very young. For the past two years, I was always curious about religion since I didn't know much to anything about it, and I learned some of my answers for Christianity, even though I wasn't one but it's the main religion out here in America, so it seemed like the only religion I could really learn about. Around last March though, I wanted to know why there was such a big deal with Muslims and I learned about Islam and the more I read about it, the more it made sense to me and didn't disinterest me like the other religions. I still have no religion, but I do want to convert to Islam a little later in my life. I received a free Quran from a online friend recently and I thanked him greatly for it because the Quran is simply amazing with the stuff it speaks of. It even has some scientific information that science didn't even discover until much, much later, like how man is created. Post your religion and thoughts if you want.

[TJ]

I was raised Catholic, which of course means I'm now a full-blown Satanist.

I used to skip church to go to the arcade. I'm going straight to hell for videogames and it's gonna be worth every frickin' second of it.

Actually, although I was raised Catholic as a kid, it wasn't long until I realized it was for the birds and I pretty much feel that way about Christianity in general. I got to a point where I experienced, simultaneously, the best and worst year of my life at that time, and I realized that I not only reached goals and achieved good things without praying for them, but also made it through toughest times without asking for any divine influence to help. It was at that point that I knew for sure that I'd be without religion and honestly, I have not looked back nor regretted it since.

So I guess I'm an atheist, or maybe an agnostic at best. If I was going to get into any religion, I think I'd be interested in Buddhism, because it's really all about being the best self you can be. Unfortunately I think they also give up any desire for material posessions, and well, that kinda disqualifies me. So I guess I'm just gonna coast thru life on my own.

These are strictly my own views, though -- I'm not at all against anyone wishing to subscribe to whatever they wanna believe in. Whatever makes you happy and gets ya through the night, go ahead and get into it!

[Keranu]

I was raised Catholic, which of course means I'm now a full-blown Satanist.

!!!

I was like that for awhile, but maybe not quite as extreme. I always figured that religions were bullshit made up stories, but when I learned about Islam, I started to learn why believing in a religion gives you something to live for more and you can still be yourself.

[GUTS]

Raised baptist, but they were way too strict so I left when I was in my teens.  Now when I attend church it's usually a non-denominational one so I don't have to put up with any bullshit like "You're only going to heaven if you're baptised in WATER!  No sprinkling!" and all that legalistic crap.  I'm still pretty conservative, but the churches I grew up in took it too far in my opinion, I mean hell they had no problems with catholicism and all it's made up bullshit that isn't in the Bible, yet insisted that every single mormon on earth was going to hell.  I mean I totally agree that mormonism is f*cking retarded, but last I checked they believed Jesus was the son of God just like every other christian.

I think if I could have had a choice I would have been born a viking since their religion is so goddamn cool.

[Keranu]

Luckily when I went to Church, they weren't strict like that and my mom isn't strict at all. I believe Mormons are wacky as well, but they can believe in what they want to believe in and I won't stop them, even if they were special underwear to protect them from demons when they sleep.

By the way, Islam believes in Jesus as well and it's quite similar to how Christians believe in him too, only a little different.

[GUTS]

Yeah I have no problems with Islam, there's some cool stuff there.  It just needs to get pulled out of the stone age and get a facelift like Christianity has had to do to some extent.  I can't imagine why on earth a woman would want to convert to islam for example, hah.

[TJ]

I think if I could have had a choice I would have been born a viking since their religion is so goddamn cool.

No shit, huh?! That'd be the way to go. Of course, I don't see any reason we couldn't just decide to pray to Odin for victory and look forward to taking part in Ragnarok, until we are slain and cross that rainbow bridge to Valhalla.

Vikings frickin' rock.

Or I suppose I could just pray to Crom, like Conan the Barbarian.

[Keranu]

Yeah I have no problems with Islam, there's some cool stuff there.  It just needs to get pulled out of the stone age and get a facelift like Christianity has had to do to some extent.  I can't imagine why on earth a woman would want to convert to islam for example, hah.

Haha, you don't actually have to dress the way typical Middle Eastern Muslims do. I'm not sure why they still do that exactly, maybe it's more of a traditional country life style thing instead of religion. I know for sure I'm not going to wear a turban every day, even though that might be pretty sweet at the same time.

[GUTS]

How could I forget about Crom, haha.

"Crom! I have never prayed to you before. I have no tongue for it. No one, not even you will remember if we were good men or bad. Why we fought or how we died. No... all that matters is that two stood against many. That's what's important. Valor pleases you Crom, so grant me one request... grant me revenge! And if you do not listen, then the HELL with you!"

They should make kids say that in school every morning.

[esteban]

I think if I could have had a choice I would have been born a viking since their religion is so goddamn cool.

No shit, huh?! That'd be the way to go. Of course, I don't see any reason we couldn't just decide to pray to Odin for victory and look forward to taking part in Ragnarok, until we are slain and cross that rainbow bridge to Valhalla.

Vikings frickin' rock.

Or I suppose I could just pray to Crom, like Conan the Barbarian.

Oh yeah. I'm intrigued by the Celtic mythos as well, they had some really spooky stuff (Samhain, human / animal sacrifice, etc.).

I'd be scared as hell if I was transported back in time and witnessed that stuff.

I pretty much had the same experiences as TJ: raised Roman Catholic, totally believed it and prayed every night as a kid. Then in 4th. grade, I started thinking about things.

My best friend was Presbyterian, so I got exposed to that. His dad was a minister (very kool -- if unstable -- dude). (Their youth group was awesome so I attended that through high school. It was all about having fun and doing community service.... no preaching.)

My mom's best friend was Jewish, so I had a blast hiding matzah crumbs and having "dreidel wars" with my psuedo-cousins.  

It wasn't until middle school that I had enough balls to disappoint my entire family by going aetheist. It was at this time that all my aunts and uncles and grandma were becoming BORN AGAIN christians (just as bad as roman catholics, methinks).

Highlight: My grandma would give me booklets and pamphlets that warned me of the dangers of Dungeons & Dragons (she tried to convince my parents not to let me play, thankfully they didn't listen to her), Iron Maiden (she thought the felt posters in my room were horrible... she didn't like DIO either), etc. etc.

THIS IS ALSO WHEN MY MOM BEFRIENDED the Jehova Witnesses and they'd come by twice a week, indefinitely (they still see her to this day, in fact). So I started reading Awake! and The Watchtower (weekly publications) and learning about JW's beliefs.

Then I started listening to Alan Watts with my dad (a public station played his old lectures on the radio) and I learned a lot about Buddhism and religion in general.

At the same time, like lots of other corny suburban kids, I got even more interested in Buddhism when Youth of Today disbanded and Ray Cappo started Shelter. Hari Krishnas and local Buddhist temples often offered free vegetarian food after some of the punk / hardcore shows I attended, so naturally I grabbed the yummy food.

This culminated in me switching to a vegan diet.

I still go to local Buddhist temples for their free vegan food. Well, you should give a donation of $5, but you don't have to. If you ever find yourself near Hacienda Heights (southern california) on a saturday, I'll tell you where you can get the BEST DAMN vegetarian food. Bless those monks! They don't proselytize either... that wouldn't be their way.

And since I'm nice to the Jehova's Witnesses and Mormons who go door-to-door in my neighborhood, I have short talks with them weekly (it's like a mini bible study, actually!)

I'm hardcore atheist, but the sociology of religion intrigues me. I'm hardcore "division of church and state" as well.

[Michael Helgeson]

Atheist.
Been that way since I was like 9.I have always felt the bible was a twisted book with a set of rules written by a bunch of old men in a time period that if the wind blew the wrong way or it rained,it was because of the gods,or god.I dont buy that shit.We now know why the wind blows.
We kno wwhy we have lightning,rain,floods,so on and so forth.
The bible was a great tool for fear,and still works on plenty of"GOD FEARING" people,bu tthats the whole point isnt it,if such a god was so holy,and caring and loving,why should you have to be a so called god fearing good christian.Why should you have to feel fear,be worried of erternal damnation in hell,or whatever.Its all make believe bs fear tatics to control people.There are soem good religeons out there I think,wether I really believe in them or not,but I still recognize the change for the good they can have on people.If  adrug abuser needs god as a crutch to kick meth,so be it.Not my say or care what the hell the doper believes.They were weak to begin with,otherwise they wouldnt have turned to drugs right?
Maybe Im just being harsh? ? ?
I dont know....I live in the bible belt area,but I didnt budge on my personal beliefs,even with all the red neck penticostal and baptist homing in on atheist like me,on a mission to save my poor soul from KMFDM,Time Killers,and Phantasm.I f*cking loved it when the Tall Man gave the priest the lecture in Phantasm 2.Kicked ass.If only the Tall Man was real........If only he was real and could be paid by the hour for that matter.....

[GUTS]

I just don't get athiesm, I mean even if I wasn't partial to Christianity I would still believe in some sort of higher being.

One of the main reasons I've never gotten totally away from Christianity is that I've always believed evolution is the biggest crock of shit since people believing the world is flat.  I mean the belief that over billions of years, with odds in the billions to one, that single celled organisms evolved into our perfectly ballanced and infinitely complex eco system is WAY more ridiculous than simply believing that some being beyond our comprehension created it all.  I'm not saying that you have to believe in the Bible's version, but its just crazy to me that so many educated people can believe in such a far fetched idea.

Plus athiests are usually total condescending asses (not you Steve, I totally respect you, I'm just talking in general from my experience in real life with people who proclaim athiesm) when you bring up religion, it's annoying.

[Keranu]

Just to let you guys know, Jehova witnesses are always at my door (my mom's friend was one and, well, you see) and Mormoms, mainly thank me for the Mormons because I am the idiot who always calls to get free stuff off of commercials and I couldn't pass on these Mormon movies. I have two of the same movies from the Mormons (one DVD and one recently VHS), along with another VHS tape, and I got a Free Book of Mormom from the Mormons and I enjoy talking to them when they ask for me and schedule dates. I feel sorry though, I really shouldn't waste their time since I have no interests in joining their religion at all, but hell they are hilarious and are kind enough to give me free crap.

[Keranu]

I agree with you GUTS, and this is a main reason why I became so interested in religion. I am what you would call a "believer" too, so naturally I hate skeptics and though I love what science can discover, I don't like it completely since science can only discover with so many senses and not deal with real spiritual stuff. This could be another reason why Islam sticks out so much to me because it is a religion of great spirituality and purity.

[Ninja Spirit]

I'm, Christian, but I really don't think I've shown it lately. This past August I went to church for the first time in 2 years.

When people ask what denomination I am, I'm not the kind of person who would use the words "Baptist", "Episcopalian", "Presbyterian", "Methodist", "Catholic", etc., I mean what difference does it make? You're worshipping the same God but some have their own way of doing it. Then again, all that goes back to the Reformation ages many centuries ago.

But there are some Christians that I have doubts to, these people on TV talking Bible Prophecy and setting dates. I remember when I was 12 years old, (It was June 8, 1994), one of those men on the religious TV network said that the Rapture was going to occur on June 9, as he's talking, he throws in random Bible  verse references to try to justify it. Considering it was the next day, I was worried sick all day and couldn't sleep. Then the next day, everytime I heard a noise outside like a airplane flying over the house I ran to the window. Hey I was that "Sunday School" kid that was so naive to believe anything.

What I really don't like is when they use that spiritual stuff to make a quick buck. I mean come on, those "church" informercials that come on at 2AM with that Miracle Spring water, & Prayer Cloth?
Sprinkle this water on yourself, say a few words and the next day you see a million dollars on your doorstep?