Religion specifics. Questions about a religion?

[Joshuamonkey]

Does religion without believing in any god or devil (statan) counts?

*sigh*

Im a Satanist...

You mean you follow Satan? Why would anyone want to do that?

[Lychee]

Im a Satanist...

You mean you follow Satan? Why would anyone want to do that?

Because they are sad and no one really likes them, or they think Satan will help them or something if they believe them : Z

[Antichrist_Online]

I'm assuming Kill Dragon means he's a member of the Church of Satan which actually has little to do with satan and only took the name for shock value.

[Joshuamonkey]

Anyone else have something to say about a religion?

[DELGRAD]

I would like to add something.
Couldn't vote. I do not have a religion. I do not have religion.
Your poll is one sided.

Hermi pretty much covered that in the second post.

Edit: I have read the rest of the thread and a couple other posts said the same thing.

[BarbaricAvatar]

I vote option "No, but i keep an open mind"

There's so many religions, one of them might actually be true.

[frenchfisher]

Yes, I'm representin' for John Wesley, yo. (=Methodism, which broke away from Anglicanism which imported the whole "the Pope sux" part of Protestantism which is a branch of Christianity)

I consider myself more religious than spiritual, though. I go to church more often than I pray on my own, for instance.

[fishfin]

I consider myself Christian and want to make a note about Christians.

Many people (especially in the West) say that they are Christian just because their grandparents were, they think that they will get special treatment because of it (like to try to get sympathy and reduce their sentence in court) or because it makes them feel better about them selves (why the mafia are Catholic). There is a HUGE difference between claiming to be a Christian and actually being one and I would assume that other religions have the same problem.

Another quick thing is that some definitions of religion say that it is anything that someone believes very strongly and dictates how they live, so Atheism could be considered a religion by some.

[formerly known as hf]

I vote option "No, but i keep an open mind"

There's so many religions, one of them might actually be true.

There are thousands of fantasy stories. Heck, what with the vast number of Discworld novels, one of them imight actually be true

?

[BarbaricAvatar]

You're right, some religions are based on books after all. Back when they were written, they may have been the social equivalent of one of Terry Prachett's (is that his name?) books. Some nutters maybe decided to take things one step too far and believed in works of fiction.

[Nakranoth]

Alright... just went through the whole thread to now... and have a few points to make...

Pie:
I must say, though, it sais somewere about guarding your heart and mind, and against things of the OCULT!!!

Let's go lookup a definition of that word, shall we?
"adj.
1. Of, relating to, or dealing with supernatural influences, agencies, or phenomena.
2. Beyond the realm of human comprehension; inscrutable.
3. Available only to the initiate; secret: occult lore. See synonyms at mysterious.
4. Hidden from view; concealed."
Let's see... Christianity... is related to the supernatural... check on that point... relates God as being beyond human comprehension... check there again... and in its early days used to be both hidden and knowable only to Christians... so in nature... check in both of those spots too... so to say Occult is forbidden in Christianity... or pretty much any other religion organized or not, is self-contradictory at the very basis of meanings.

JoshuaMonkey:
God is an unchanging being.

I'm most familiar with Christian views...and I think you were arguing this point from a Christian standpoint...
Now... By Christian tradition... the God of Moses was a vengeful, angry deity plaguing the lands with carnage and destruction to the non-believers and sinners... but all of the sudden, at the onset of the New Testament, we get a Vastly different image of a loving and caring force that watches over all of mankind... that means one of two things (If you can think of an alternate, please tell me)... A: God had a change of heart, or B: Christian tradition is sorely mistaken in either the Old Testament, the New Testament, or Both.

JoshuaMonkey:
its better that a religion doesn't rule the government.

So even if its a good religion that's ruling, another bad religion will come and rule.

Being in a world history course right now... the role of religion in government is pretty clear cut... Governments use religion as a tool to gain power. Or else, the Clergy use religion to gain power, and the government is at odds with it. You can take Any religion, regardless of notions of "good" and "evil" and pervert them to suit any needs you may have. So is it the religion that's bad? I'd say it's the bodies that house the religions that are bad, not the religion itself.

JoshuaMonkey:
HF, I am very glad that we have free religion but no one religion rules, and the government is Asthetic, whether the leaders are religious or not.

Stan:
America is STILL a democracy.

Unfortunately... you're both very correct and quite far from the truth on that note... in it's pure form, our country (Amereica) is quite free from monopolization of religion in Government... however, nearly all of the People in charge of the government are some form of Christian or another... and as we all know, it's the people involved in governments that screw them up... But I digress... You're also correct that the government isn't ruled by "religion" in the classical sense. It's no longer about Deities of some other dimension or providence... Today it's about Corporations... things that have bought the government, and drive the government. Why are we in the Middle-East? How about the East? Why are we stationing people all across the globe? One word. Economy.


Alright... that being said... I do not have "Religion." I don't subscribe to someone else's views, nor do I particularly believe in the divine... I do however have a set of beliefs that I personally developed, and in my personal opinion, the institutionalization of belief is the single fastest way to a life not lived.

[mtm21]

Yes, I used to strongly, strongly believe in the word of god. But I don't even go to church anymore over a stupid baptism that freaked me out...

[Zanthos]

Roman Catholic born, raised, practicing, will only marry another catholic so my kids will be catholic.

call me closed minded or whatever, I consider myself faithful.

but no, im not a religious nutjob who preaches the burning in hell of everyone else.

[Joshuamonkey]

I'm most familiar with Christian views...and I think you were arguing this point from a Christian standpoint...
Now... By Christian tradition... the God of Moses was a vengeful, angry deity plaguing the lands with carnage and destruction to the non-believers and sinners... but all of the sudden, at the onset of the New Testament, we get a Vastly different image of a loving and caring force that watches over all of mankind... that means one of two things (If you can think of an alternate, please tell me)... A: God had a change of heart, or B: Christian tradition is sorely mistaken in either the Old Testament, the New Testament, or Both.

B: It's true that many don't understand the Bible correctly, although I'm not sure what you mean by Christian tradition.
C: There is a reason for everything Heavenly Father does. Who knows what the world would be like today if those people weren't killed? Heavenly Father knows why.
D: Heavenly Father knows the past, present, and future of everything, and even more than that: he knows everything, meaning he knows all possibilities. All is as one time to him.
"2 And God spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, I am the Lord God Almighty, and endless is my name, for I am without beginning of days or end of years; and is not this endless?" That means it would be impossible for him to change, he is always eternal, always all knowing, always merciful, and always omnipotent.

You are very right about Christianity's hold on the Government. The main difference as you have mentioned is that the President is the (main/most noted) ruler of the country, as opposed to the pope or another important religious leader, and the government is trying to satisfy both all religions and no religions, which is either impossible or nearly impossible (In my opinion, impossible) but the status currently isn't horribly bad. (Plus, once
we take "God" out of the Constitution and the country, we're pretty much doomed anyway, and Happy Holidays to you.

One word. Economy.

Economy is important...but I think it also has something to do with liberty, security, and encouraging democracy...I bet a lot of the ones protesting to have the government force the gas prices to be lower are the same ones protesting to end the Iraq War or/and against oil drilling and the like.

[Pie]

oh GOD PLEAS NO!!!!

riligious fumes rising... can't resist.... must make a post....

4. Hidden from view; concealed."

exactly. it also sais in the bible that you shouldn't take secret rituals or vices (or something, but it's in there, believe me), but it also sais to keep your heart and mind pure, and to stay away from evil, "guard your heart from evil" yadda yadda...

and... christianity wasn't just known only to christians. Baptism used to be an initiation thingy into judayism. (the reason not many people converted (and why not many people knew about it) is that you had to also get circumsised... )

wichcraft has two strikes against it. Secret rituals, and... it's EVIL!!!!

anyway, why are we arguing this? pointless! As we all know, all points were coverd in the "religioun" thread, were I showed my brilliant smartness with whitty comebacks such as "ATHYISM SUCKS", along with many other religious people, wile all the athiests and scientologists people yelled "Christianity? MY ASS!" and egnostics stayed somewere in the middle with their "I just can't choos..."

let's not start that again, pleas?