Religion

[nat]

"When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things."

f*ck that. I still buy action figures, eat sugary breakfast cereal, listen to loud annoying techno, watch cartoons, enjoy going to places like Toys 'R Us, play an obsessive amount of videogames, stay up late reading comics, blow things up with firecrackers, mix candy with soda (2 whole boxes of Nerds + 1 bottle Mountain Dew Code Red, baby), shoot things with BB guns, make prank phone calls, find weird bugs and other miscellaneous childish acts.


You and your quote can go to old fogey hell.
[/QUOTE]
That's because you're still a child.

Seriously, though, you're 19 right? I've changed a shitload since I was 19 (going on 26 now). You don't think it happens, but it does. Those things you list that you find so much joy in today start to slowly slip out of your life. You don't realize it's happening until you stop and realize, hey, it's been 5 years since I made a prank call. Or hey, it's been 8 years since I beat up my little brother for stealing the toy out of my cereal box. Or even-- hey, it's been 8 years since I beat up my little brother for ANY reason.

Yeah, I still play video games quite a bit, but that's part of my life and I imagine it always will be to some extent. I play a lot more now and can appreciate much more in the games than I did as a kid first playing the NES in 1987.

It's funny, your message made me realize how long it's been since I've blown anything up with some kind of fire cracker or explosive.

As far as religion goes, I'm with Joe all the way. I was raised by athiest parents, but I actually got into religion a little bit in middle school when I went out with this Mormon chick. I learned quite a bit about the religion, and that's kind of when I decided for myself that many religions are f*cked up and flawed to begin with. In high school, I dated and had a serious relationship (4 years or so) with a girl who was raised in a Christian family. I went to church with them often but her parents absolutely hated me because I wasn't Christian and thus wasn't "Godly." Chrisitianity was slightly less f*cked up than Mormonism, but in the end only reaffirmed what I'd already discovered.

[rag-time4]

I was raised Catholic and went to a Catholic high school.  I was never very religious and didn't really even think about it until I met someone who actually believed in the Adam and Eve story in the Bible.  I didn't say anything to him, but I just couldn't comprehend that someone, anyone, could actually hold that as actual truth!  That made me take a long hard look at religion as a whole, and I decided it was illogical.  I suppose I am an atheist since I don't believe in any gods, but I don't like that term since it sounds kind of abrasive.  When I asked I prefer to say that I'm not religious.

I think religion is mainly used for power and money these days.  Lots of people are religious because they were raised that way and cannot imagine things being any other way.  Others are religious because they simply want to believe in an afterlife and immortality (re: fear of death).  I do not think one needs religion to have morals.  The belief in gods has always seemed rather primitive, and most religions got their start back when there was little scientific understanding of, well, anything.  How the hell is man going to rationalize his creation in those days?  Believing in a higher power really is the only way such a simple mind can comprehend it.  But mankind is aging and learning more and more.  While we certainly don't know everything and never could, I think religion will be well on the decline for the next couple hundred years or so. 

I really like this quote: "When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things."  That's is just awesome.  Think of mankind as the child in this scenario.  When he was young we created religion.  Now that we are starting to mature, many are seeing differently and will continue to do so into the foreseeable future.

All religions are wrong.  If they weren't, why would there be so many?  Wouldn't god want everyone to believe in the correct way?  What makes YOUR religion the correct one and every other religion the wrong one (I'm not speaking to any specific forum member here)?  If you believe in the wrong religion, you are doing a disservice to god and he might smite you.  Are you absolutely CERTAIN that you believe in the correct religion?  Are you willing to take that risk?

Joe, my mom went to a Catholic high school too. She came out of that experience totally against organized religion in all forms. She was very upset by her teachers, who she felt didn't do a good job of answering her questions when she asked questions about Catholicism.

When I was first exploring religion and getting into Islam, I was dating a Catholic woman. I used to ask her questions here and there about her beliefs but I was never really impressed with her answers. It was really a case of her being raised into it and not really thinking critically about it too much.

I believe we should test all religions, ideas, and beliefs as much as we can, and accept whatever we find to be true.

When I was younger I used to agree with Karl Marx that "religion is the opiate of the masses," but when I discovered the Nation of Islam, I had to discard Marx' idea on religion as it was disproven, for me, by the fact that the Nation of Islam is centered about taking an already-opiated people and cleaning them up, and putting them in positions of leadership.

[Kitsunexus]

Seriously, though, you're 19 right?

2O.

[Necromancer]

Chrisitianity was slightly less f*cked up than Mormonism, but in the end only reaffirmed what I'd already discovered.

Pssst!  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (a.k.a. Mormons) is a branch of Christianity.  Keep it quiet; it's a secret. 

I fully understand what you're saying though (just replace 'Christianity' with 'Lutheran', 'Protestant', 'Baptist', or whatever).  It's difficult to keep a straight face when a member of one Christian church argues that his church is better than another.  "Uh, mine's better 'cause..... ah, we don't have to kneel during mass.  Yeah, that's it."

[nat]

She was baptist, although I won't pretend to understand the heirarchy or organizational relationships of popular religion.

The Mormons seemed quite a bit more f*cked up (that's the only way I can really describe it) than the baptists. I suppose the basis of the beliefs was the same/similar. But magic underwear? C'mon.

[guyjin]

Guyjin, great image. I believe that any real Truth is good enough to follow, even the stories of the Africans menioned in box 1. The fact that much of that Truth has been corrupted and confused later on doesn't make the original Truth any less True.

Any book can look wise and good and true when you willfuly ignore the parts that are foolish and evil and false.
Sort of like saying the SegaCD is a good system if you ignore the FMV crap.

[rag-time4]

Guyjin, great image. I believe that any real Truth is good enough to follow, even the stories of the Africans menioned in box 1. The fact that much of that Truth has been corrupted and confused later on doesn't make the original Truth any less True.

Any book can look wise and good and true when you willfuly ignore the parts that are foolish and evil and false.
Sort of like saying the SegaCD is a good system if you ignore the FMV crap.

It's not the "book" itself that "looks wise and good" to me, only the Truth in the book.

[Hobo Xiphas]

The evil tyranny of you?  What does Adam & Eve have to do with you & tryanny?

Learn Sumerian and you will understand everything

[GUTS]

Guyjin, great image. I believe that any real Truth is good enough to follow, even the stories of the Africans menioned in box 1. The fact that much of that Truth has been corrupted and confused later on doesn't make the original Truth any less True.

Any book can look wise and good and true when you willfuly ignore the parts that are foolish and evil and false.
Sort of like saying the SegaCD is a good system if you ignore the FMV crap.

Or saying that the SNES was a good system if you ignore all the horrible, shit games for retards.

[nat]

Guyjin, great image. I believe that any real Truth is good enough to follow, even the stories of the Africans menioned in box 1. The fact that much of that Truth has been corrupted and confused later on doesn't make the original Truth any less True.

Any book can look wise and good and true when you willfuly ignore the parts that are foolish and evil and false.
Sort of like saying the SegaCD is a good system if you ignore the FMV crap.

Or saying that the SNES was a good system if you ignore all the horrible, shit games for retards.

Hahaha..... We can always count on GUTS to diss the SNES at every opportunity.

[nodtveidt]

I am not an atheist, as the term atheism implies another set of beliefs. Rather, I'm an anti-theist patiently waiting for a post-theist society. 

That's not what atheist means, it's more or less what modern-day atheists have become. The word "atheism" means "no theism", or a lack of theistic beliefs. It's not a ruleset, it's not a religion. Although I do have to say that I too am awaiting a post-theist society...but that won't be the USA, there are too many zealots and charlatans left who are indoctrinating young children against their will into religion. All religious schools should be destroyed. Faith is a very personal thing, but religion is constantly being beaten into the heads of our youth; they grow up with whatever faith system was implanted into their heads during their childhood and rarely have a chance to develop one of their own. I personally oppose all organized religion, as history shows time and time again without exception that it is merely a tool that a corrupt person will use for their own personal gain against the naive masses of sheep who are looking for salvation and peace.

[Black Tiger]

Or saying that the SNES was a good system if you ignore all the horrible, shit games for retards.

Hahaha..... We can always count on GUTS to diss the SNES at every opportunity.

I seriously do this to enjoy the decent games for various consoles. Hardware is irrelevant, I'll try any half-decent game if it might be fun. Even if a system only has a game or two I like, its worthwhile to me. Of course, I'm talking mainly cheap retro consoles. The PS3 is still only an expensive bluray movie player to me.

I am not an atheist, as the term atheism implies another set of beliefs. Rather, I'm an anti-theist patiently waiting for a post-theist society. 

That's not what atheist means, it's more or less what modern-day atheists have become. The word "atheism" means "no theism", or a lack of theistic beliefs.

This is why I don't label myself or identify myself under someone else's beliefs.

It's not a ruleset, it's not a religion.

Try telling that to people who call themselves atheists and congregate with fellow atheists and are confrontational to people who don't identify themselves by the same title... -or people with various learned beliefs who label those of us who don't practice any standardized beliefs/religion/etc as such.

[Keranu]

*Sigh*

I'm not talking about us as individuals, I'm talking about mankind as a whole.  I guess this is not a good place for comprehension.

I understand the concept of God, Adam and Eve and the Bible.  The problem is that I don't believe in blind faith.  That's retarded.

I really enjoy reading comments like these from non-religious people because most of the time it agrees with Islam   . Islam is not a religion of blind faith, but a religion of rationality and thought. The Quran tells us to use logic when reading it and frequently asks mankind to reflect their thoughts on various subjects.

All religions are wrong.  If they weren't, why would there be so many?

I'll answer this from an Islamic perspective. There are so many different religions because a lot of them are man made. In Islam, we believe the religion has been around since Adam (peace be upon him) and passed down from generation to generation with a prophet sent to every nation. Through time and ignorance, mankind has corrupted the message which led it to different religions. When god sent the final messenger, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), his final revelation was revealed in the form of the Quran and the message has been kept intact for over 1,400 years. Even if you were to destory every Quran on the planet, the message would still exist thanks to the thousands of Muslims who have remembered the entire Quran.

Wouldn't god want everyone to believe in the correct way?

How is anyone to say how god works? To answer your question though, many religions preach how this life is but a trial, so of course there are going to be those who don't believe in the religion and it's all god's plan. We are told in the Quran that there are people out there who simply won't listen or understand a word you say because that's just the way they are and I can't agree with this enough as I have talked to several people who have words going in one ear and straight out the other. You also have to keep in mind the shaitan's (satan) duty is to mislead people the best he can - what a tricky bastard!

What makes YOUR religion the correct one and every other religion the wrong one (I'm not speaking to any specific forum member here)?

Religion is about faith, not fact. Islam is correct to me because I personally believe it, but I am not going to go around telling non-Muslims they are wrong because they don't accept Islam. I care more about people's respect than faith.

If you believe in the wrong religion, you are doing a disservice to god and he might smite you.

Not necessarily true. You don't have to be a Muslim to enter jannah (paradise) from an Islampic perspective. "Islam" is Arabic for "submission to god" and by that definition, you're technically a Muslim if you just believe in one god. We are told that Christians and Jews are able to enter Jannah (paradise) as well the Sabians and as far as I know, anyone who just believes in one god, are allowed to enter as well. Children are automatically accepted.

Sadly, even though the Holy Qur'An is still presented in its original Arabic, there are many sects and divisions within the Arab-speaking Muslim community (which is forbidden by the Qur'An, by the way...).

Yes this is most unfortunate . I'm sure Muhammad (pbuh) would've greatly disapproved of the way the following caliphs behaved.

I think just about everyone here will bear witness that you set a great example on how people can get along together peacefully and treat one another with respect.

I think there is a misconception that different religions hate each other. We are not taught "hate" in Islam (and I'm sure several other religions as well) period. Jews and Christians are "People of the Book" and believe in much of the same as I do, so they are practically brothers to me, but I consider mankind as a whole as a brotherhood in humanity. By the way, people need to quit hating on Mormons because despite whatever they choose to believe in, they will remain to be friendlier people than most are and that's what counts.

[ceti alpha]

Well said Keranu. It's really too bad that many people actually believe that Islam is about hatred. 

[Keranu]

It's not a ruleset, it's not a religion.

Try telling that to people who call themselves atheists and congregate with fellow atheists and are confrontational to people who don't identify themselves by the same title... -or people with various learned beliefs who label those of us who don't practice any standardized beliefs/religion/etc as such.

I can't agree with that enough. I have no problem with atheists, but there are plenty I've seen and talked to who have treated their view as a dogmatic belief making them no better than a religious person enforcing his views on people. Heck just look them up YouTube!