I grew up in a Catholic home, partly Christian family if that even exists. As I became more mature and aware of the stories, the "facts", the beginnings, etc., I came to a conclusion that Science is much more to my beliefs. I see myself as a factual person and though I do agree with the phrase, "just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it's not real", I don't believe in God and his wonders. Religions of the world each have elements in them that I think each person should follow, but to say that there are higher beings; divine matters that control our destiny and whatnot, it's a little out there.

Anyway, religion isn't for me but I respect those who have their faiths. All religions need to respect each other.

What do you think? What are your thoughts on the existence of faiths? Is it for you?

Reminds me of a quote from a book I am quite fond of, Domnei.

Demetrios said:
"It is no affair of mine. What am I that I am called upon to have prejudices concerning the universe? It is highly probable there are gods of some sort or another, but I do not so far flatter myself as to consider that any possible god would be at all interested in my opinion of him. In any event, I am Demetrios. Let the worst come, and in whatever baleful underworld I find myself imprisoned I shall maintain myself there in a manner not unworthy of Demetrios."

I find the claim that other gods most likely abound somewhat suspect, however, I suppose it can depend on your definition of "god".

I personally grew up in a house that had religious beliefs but did not go out of their way to go to Church.

I personally am not into ORGANIZED religions too much. I believe in god, I just don't care for the whole church scene too much.

Yeah, it does seem far-fetched...however, having been a drug addict for four years and in and out of jail before coming to my realization of God's existence is profound. He is

without a doubt real . I'll admit, at first it was awkward, but at the same time comforting. I've been a born again-Christian for about 7 years now and I can say that "religion" is

not about having a crutch, but it's about having reliability on God in the the same way as your dad; not just in this life, but the life to come.

Traduweise : I'll have to read up on Demetrios. That was very well put.

bchawk88 : Okay brother, the Underworld is what you want? I'm not understanding.

Religion is not for me, though I like to get my hands in it and question it when needed

Reasons why I am not religious:

- Following a group of people into the unknown with whatever agenda they got in mind. I don't know who was here thousands or millions of years ago, I don't know the people personally, all I know is our entire society is blinded and saturated with lies and deception. I have learned in life that you can trust very little in this world, and when truth is exposed its not necessarily a good thing its a bad thing because it stops the machine in its tracks and they will do anything to hunt you down and shut you up.

- Quotes are another reason why I do not follow religion. Real or not, I find them hard to believe and most importantly trust. Normal quotes are believable but in terms of supernatural beings your really walking a thin line of truth in quotation format.

- The amount of religions is another reason why I don't follow it. It says to me that religion is just a football game with a bunch of fans rooting for their favorite teams. They say they are better then the other, etc... in short I think the bigger picture here is the organization who made the teams think about that. They are the ones in control.

- Being religious can be the same as being racist when your using it as a tool to judge.

- If I decide to dig myself out of a hole who gets the credit? People instantly give the credit to god and I just don't get why people do it. If you take drugs thats not satans fault its your fault if you dig yourself out of a hole thats not gods fault thats your fault.



In short, religion to me has too many similarities to politics I ultimately think its a tool for control and deception no offense but that is how I see it.

The main issue I have with Christian churches is that a lot of the people that are active members of the church seem pretty judgmental. I am totally all for people believing in god, I just don't like what organized church has become over the years.

I've been to a few churches myself when I was really young, I felt so out of place in there lol Last time I went to a church I got yelled at by a priest for not saying something I was suppose to say after I ate christs skin and drank his blood. I guess I just wasnt paying attention was just going with the flow at the time and this is another reason why I dont follow it.

Eating his skin and drinking his blood... just got a bit weird I kinda felt like I was one of the people who murdered jesus and had just turned into a cannibal. I think it was a Catholic church.

tRIUNE : No, no, no. I don't believe in God or any of that, so I don't believe in the Underworld, Hell, Hel, Tartarus, or any name it has. I just don't have any particular faith. And that's not what the quote is saying. It's more like, "hey if I'm wrong about this, then what am I to do? I'm going to handle myself in a manner that I've always been."

I am a Christian, Eastern Orthodox to be exact (for those who want specifics, ROCOR jurisdiction). I am proud to call myself a Christian. I have been atheist, agnostic, practicing occultist, neo-pagan, and Southern Baptist. I studied Buddhism, Church of the Subgenius and even the Flying Spaghetti Monster (it was great with marinara sauce and garlic bread.)

The point is, I studied. I did not go into this blindly, nor was I led like a blind baa-ing sheep waiting to be sheared. The evidence - historical, textual and circumstantial - all pointed to Eastern Christianity. It wasn't a case of "rooting for the best team", more like rediscovering an ancient faith.

I think the big backlash in America against Judeo-Christian thought isn't a railing against Christianity, but rather a response to the shallow, ultra Americanized variant of Western Christianity that says "say a prayer, be good on Sunday mornings and listen to some sermon tell you that basically, you're ok and oh yeah, this is why it's ok to judge others." True Christian charity (love, agape in Greek) does not picket soldier's funerals and disrupt a grieving family. It does not beat and tie someone to a fence, leaving them to die because they are gay. It does not command one to vote for or against a particular party because some pastor says God is for that party. As St. Paul said, "Charity (love, agape) suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself,...is not easily provoked...beareth all things (1 Cor. 13: 4, 5 ,7) I quote this not to come across as a "Bible-thumper", I'm anything but, but because this what Christianity, my faith and my religion, mean to me. Christianity, the faith of those who follow Christ, is based around love. Not the word, the post-modern, text-speak "luv",the words used to get a date or to express the desires of our bodies, but the deep, soul-searing love that began in a cave in Jerusalem, sacrificed on a Tree in Golgatha, and moved throughout the world in a movement that set empires on fire...that's what my faith and religion is all about. Everyone here is my brother and sister...not because it sounds good and "spiritual", but because the God I have found engraved it on my soul.

Sorry for the mini-sermon, sorry if I offended.
Just my two cents..adjusted for inflation.

Personally I don't really believe in any religion. I've been raised as a catholic Christian by conservative parents but since I've always felt attracted to sciences i do not believe in creationism but in the Darwinian theory of evolution. On the other hand I think there might be some sort of higher power that doesn't necessarily need to be worshiped. For me personally the best example to try and explain myself is the Big Bang theory. As soon as it's proven and explained I will change my point of view but until then I think i'll go with the theory that some sort of higher force or power caused the big bang to happen. This isn't the only reason I believe there's a higher power. It's only an example.

Kisses,
Kitty

Cyprian : I don't think that Americans just all of a sudden rallied against religion, I feel that it has more to do with religion being so old and un-post-modernized. 2,000 years ago civilization was very different than it is today. Back then, there was no science, no large government, no corporations. As such, church was the main social order of the land. Nowadays we know a little more. Not only that, but we often working and when we aren't working, we're spending our time on leisurely activities (like Vizzed). There is no time for church.

This is why there is such a large number of religions nowadays. Certain religions are easier for different people. This is also why there are so many sub-groups and sects of Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, etc. People still feel a longing for a higher power or at least something beyond this life; it just doesn't match up with many of the old, rooted religions of yesteryear. Religion may be down but spirituality is at the highest level is very high.

I don't know if I am very religious anymore.

Cyprian : See now that is a point very well put. I respect that knowledge you have.

Personally, I don't believe in religion. However, I'd like to think that Heaven truly is a real actual place but there are no facts about it. I am curious though to wonder how the stories started with Adam and Eve as the first people and I really am curious to how our civilization started and everything. I focus more on science also.

hl54322 : Yeah, the origins of humankind, I think, are the roots of religion. If there is ever a solid discovery, it's either amplified chaos between faiths and science, or it's all settled.

I don't understand from some of these comments on how one is to choose either religion or science. They are compatible to each other. In fact, there are people in history that are motivated by religion to seek scientific discoveries. Studying in science is considered to be an act of worship and glorification of God and His power. People like William Kelvin, Michael Faraday, Albert Einstein, Max Planck, James Maxwell, Robert Boyle, etc, are some examples of this.

Religion is basically about who God is, and how one is made right with God. It is a part of the study of reality. The fact that there are many religions show that there is something inside of everyone that is crying out "there must be a God". The real question is which one is right. Religion is just how one can made right with that God. The question there is which God is true and how one can be made right with God.

I agree with you. But still do you ever think that there will be a discovery to the roots of mankind? I wonder if Adam and Eve truly were the first people to live and how did mankind start? Did God really create Adam and Eve? If he did, then he must be real but how is that even possible?

play4fun : Thank you for that. Though it's real enticing to come to agree with what you've just said, I think a lot of people will still look one way or the other, including myself. I just find science so much more thought provoking and peeking my interest much more than any faith and without any religion associated with it. Like I said though, if He is real, then what am I going to do but acknowledge it. Until proof, I stand firm.

Science is mearly speculation between what is and isn't possible against our current knowledge. It does not answer the question of our creator or a creator. If you knew all there is to know about life and beyond then you would not need science to check if it is possible or not.

And since God is supernatural, you cannot prove whether he exists or not with science because science does not dabble into supernatural things but pseudoscience does.

Although science cant prove gods existence, it seems to have done a good job contradicting the story of adam and eve / earths date of creation with dinosaurs. The time periods on dinosaurs date way back millions of years ago which means that the story of adam and eve and when earth is a major contradiction. 10,000 or so years up against millions to billions of years... that is a big difference there

I'm not saying either side is wrong, I like to keep my mind open to possibilities hence why I am not religious or a science freak but I love supernatural things most