With all of the recent discussion going on about different aspects of religion, I thought I should create a thread where you can detail and explain your beliefs. The purpose of this thread is to share your ideals and create a place for people to learn about different opinions on the subject. If there are any other questions that we should include to describe your beliefs, please let me know.
Rules -
Please be respectful. There is to be no judgment of any kind towards a person or their ideals. If you want, you may ask someone a question about their beliefs but do not question their actual beliefs. Ex. - Bad - How in the Hell can you believe in a God with some much evil the world? Good - How do you explain the evil in the world with the presence of God?
You may answer as many or as few questions as you like. You are not obligated to share everything if you do not wish to.
If you are not going to contribute, please do not post. You may, however, ask users questions without sharing your own ideals.
You may be as detailed or as vague as you want. You may explain your reasoning or leave it as just your belief.
1. Name of religion (if applicable):
2. Atheist, monotheis, polytheist or other spiritual existance (explain your idea of deities):
3. Origin of the Universe, world, and humans:
4. Morals and ethics (which ones do you apply to your life, where do they come from, and why do we follow them):
5. After-life (what happens after this life):
6. Why do you hold these ideals (What made you believe these ideas):
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2. Atheist, monotheis, polytheist or other spiritual existence (explain your idea of deities):
I am an atheist. However, my spiritual beliefs lie within our own minds or brains to be more specific. I believe a lot of what are reality exists only exists because our minds manifest these things. For example ghosts/spirits. I do believe these are real but not in the sense that most do. I believe they are real because our mind perceives them as being real. It is the same way you hear a sound but nobody else heard it. that does not make it any less exist, at least to you. The mind is a very powerful tool and we do not know what it is capable of.
3. Origin of the Universe, world, and humans:
As for the universe, I do not know. More than likely the Big bang theory. Our world would also have been created by such event. As for humans, I am a believer in evolution. I think that life somehow started on this planet through single-celled organisms and they have evolved or millions of years that have resulted in life as we know it now/
4. Morals and ethics (which ones do you apply to your life, where do they come from, and why do we follow them):
I feel that our morals and ethics have evolved into our culture. Personally, I think there are some universal morals that everyone should live by. Respect for one another, treat others as you would like to be treated, and overall being a good human being are some morals I live by. Of course with all of this is balance. I think most of us follow these universal norms because it is mutually beneficial for all of us. Being self-less really helps ourselves.
5. After-life (what happens after this life):
Here is where most of my spirituality lies as far as things that cannot be proven. I believe in reincarnation but not in the ways most people do. Due to my lack of belief in God, I believe reincarnation is done through the transfer of thoughts, memories, knowledge, or whatever else makes you you, into a new mind. When you die, your mind (brain to put it scientifically) transfers these into a new mind. All of these pasts travel with you and effect who you are now. I also believe that you can be reincarnated into any other living being with a brain. No plants. These past lives have a big influence on your current life but not enough to destroy free will. I think when you feel a certain connection with someone, a natural fear of something, or a gift to do something, this all comes from your past lives. As far as fate, I think that our minds set out a signal that draws certain people or events to you. However, we all have the choice to change this course to do whatever we feel like doing.
6. Why do you hold these ideals (What made you believe these ideas):
The main reason I believe this, like many people in their faiths, is I just feel it. I have been drawn to certain people and feel very comfortable with them for absolutely no reason. Other relationships that should be easier have problems and struggles. This idea is one of my leading causes. I also have always had a fear of things fluttering near my face. One time a bird flew right in front of me and I had a "vision" for lack of a better word of being eaten by this bird. I attribute this to a past life where this may have happened. I also think that certain abilities, while may be driven by some genes, are just easier for people. People are drawn towards certain fields and I believe this to be because of past lives. As far as lack of belief in a God, I just don't feel any sort of feeling when it comes to some ultimate being creating us. It is something that I have just never believed to be possible.
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2. Atheist, monotheis, polytheist or other spiritual existance (explain your idea of deities): Monotheistic
3. Origin of the Universe, world, and humans: God
4. Morals and ethics (which ones do you apply to your life, where do they come from, and why do we follow them): Few. I fast, I try to pray whenever I can, I'm good to people who deserve it..etc. Each has its explanation. Like, fasting teaches you patience and compassion with the poor. I do them because I can, and I believe in them, quite simply.
5. After-life (what happens after this life): Heaven and Hell
6. Why do you hold these ideals (What made you believe these ideas): Because a life without endgame content is pathetic.
6. Why do you hold these ideals (What made you believe these ideas): Because a life without endgame content is pathetic.
+1 for you Mephy - This is the one part about being an Atheist that I don't like. You know that once you die, that's it. There's nothing else. I'm don't consider myself an Atheist, nor a believer, but part of me wishes I would have been brought up differently so I could have it embedded in my mind that there would be some sort of endgame content for my life. Once in a blue moon I get those thoughts and those "what if's" about death, and it scares me shitless and makes me sick thinking that there is nothing after death.
1. Name of religion (if applicable):
None / Dont Know.
2. Atheist, monotheis, polytheist or other spiritual existance (explain your idea of deities):
Dont actually know, I / we never talk about beliefs here. Nobody really have a belief on something "greater".
3. Origin of the Universe, world, and humans:
Big bang theory. Bacteria level to Today. Evolution. Chaos Theory. Earth (Planet Tellus) have bin very very lucky to have this equation: Life other then bacteria.
4. Morals and ethics (which ones do you apply to your life, where do they come from, and why do we follow them):
Threat others the way you would like others to threat you. And. Respect life and the life will respect you. I follow because it feels right.
5. After-life (what happens after this life):
Total darkness, a.k. nothing. That is why you LIVE, you got 1 chance, dont blow it! Make it the best darn Life EVER.
6. Why do you hold these ideals (What made you believe these ideas):
Lack of evidence there is something after life, lack of knowledge, lack of disciplin from the world.
2: Monotheist. Bahais believe in one God. Bahais also believe in what we call progressive revelation. Progressive revelation is the idea that Manifestations such as Jesus, Muhammad, Krishna, Buddha, Abraham, Moses, Zoraster, the Bab, and Bahaullah all have come at different points in history to help and bring God's message for that time period. All of these Manifestations of God are equal and come from the same one God. Bahaullah is the founder of the Bahai Faith and taught that religion should be creating unity and not strife.
3: As Bahais we believe science and religion work hand in hand.
"If religious beliefs and opinions are found contrary to the standards of science, they are mere superstitions and imaginations; for the antithesis of knowledge is ignorance, and the child of ignorance is superstition. Unquestionably there must be agreement between true religion and science. If a question be found contrary to reason, faith and belief in it are impossible, and there is no outcome but wavering and vacillation" (Abdu'l-Baha)
I don't want to speak for all Bahais on how they believe the universe was created because much of the Bahai Faith is based around independent investigation of truth, but from the quote above from Abdu'l-Baha it is clear that a scientific explanation is likely the answer and that it in no way contradicts religion. As a Bahai I believe in evolution and think that ultimately scientific answers to the creation of the world and its creatures are valid; however, I do believe that what separates humans from the rest of the animals is that as humans we have a soul which was created at conception.
4: Morals and ethics in the Bahai Faith are similar to other religions but ultimately are to bring unity and peace to all of mankind. Here is a list of some of the main values/ethics.
*All of humanity is equal no matter what race, sex, or religion. The world is but one country and mankind it's citizens.
*Treat others better than how you expect others to treat you.
*Independent investigation of truth (Study religious teachings on our own and interpret how that applies to our own life)
*Everyone should have access to a good education and adequate necessities to survive. Nobody should eat with a golden spoon while someone has no spoon at all.
5: The after-life is viewed as a purely spiritual existence and not physical in any way. It is impossible for humans to fully comprehend what the after-life is like just like it is impossible for an insect to understand what a humans life is like. The idea of heaven and hell is very different in the Bahai Faith than most people in Western society tend to think of it. In the Bahai Faith the soul always has the opportunity to be progressing towards God. The more spiritual you are in this life the closer you are to God, but just because you may have made several mistakes in this world does not mean you are damned to some firey realm for all of eternity. Even in the after life your soul may progress and move nearer to God.
6: I was raised in a family where my mom is a Bahai and my dad a Christian. I grew up going to both a presbyterian church and to Bahai activities. I chose the Bahai Faith for many reasons. One was because I refused to believe that more than half of the world was going to a firey place called Hell because they did not pray to Jesus. Second was that I saw that all religions teach the same core values even though the laws may be different. For example all religions have a Golden Rule which teaches how to treat other people with respect. A third reason I became a Bahai is because of the loving and devout community. The fourth and most important reason I became a Bahai is because all of Bahaulla's teachings made incredible sense to me.
2. Atheist, monotheis, polytheist or other spiritual existance (explain your idea of deities):
Ehh, I don't like the term deity. I believe a creator exists. Or creators. I don't know if it's tangible or not but I believe we were created by something that is self-conscious. I am not interested in worshiping these guys.
3. Origin of the Universe, world, and humans:
I believe the creator was involved in humans existing, or at least being sentient, and they would not be possible as they are now otherwise. Beyond that, I don't know, and I don't care.
4. Morals and ethics (which ones do you apply to your life, where do they come from, and why do we follow them):
My goals are pretty simple: Improvement of life in my immediate range, and improvement of life of the world at large. Both are purely egoistical, see 5. for why I care about the world. Any modules of behavior I may have are based around concepts of negative/positive, suffering and pleasure, attempt to minimize the first and maximize the other. There's really not much else to it, but my approach to it differs from the one most people seem take.
5. After-life (what happens after this life):
We come back as a randomly chosen human with erased memory. We may or may not move on to a higher level if we pass a test, but short term, we're gonna sit on Earth for quite some time.
6. Why do you hold these ideals (What made you believe these ideas):
Generally, I tried to think about how it would make the most sense for our world to exist, and what its purpose would be. My beliefs are tied to my interpretation of how the creator would act and why. I assume the creator to be somewhat similar to a creating human, and our world similar to an uber complex MMORPG. I also believe religious texts were not created at random, and originally were made to propel the moral advancement of humanity, and the creator may have communicated with us in the past, but I wouldn't single out any particular religion, and I believe all current existing religions are biased, warped, misinterpreted versions of what once was.
2. Atheist, monotheist, polytheist or other spiritual existance (explain your idea of deities): I don't believe in any deities. I just find it hard to believe in great spirits/forces. It's just hard, I can't click with it spiritually or logically.
3. Origin of the Universe, world, and humans: This is kinda hard for me to explain. I think the universe was created by natural means, but I can't exactly explain what created nature. Nature is all around us, yes, but what made nature is a question that is eluding me as of now.
4. Morals and ethics (which ones do you apply to your life, where do they come from, and why do we follow them): Okay, this will be fun.
- Treat everybody the way you would want to be treated. If you love someone, make them want to love you back.
- Hate is hardly necessary in this time and age. If you do have to hate, keep it limited to one entity.
- Don't be dishonest. Secrets should only be kept if it is protective of somebody else.
5. After-life (what happens after this life): I honestly think you're reincarnated into other human beings.
6. Why do you hold these ideals (What made you believe these ideas): A lot of speculation and a lot of personal experience. I believe that no one should be subjugated to anything, including greed.
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I hate the way you cling to ignorance and pass it off as innocence
No name, if anything I'm anti-religious as I see religion in general as being a large part of the world's problem.
2. Atheist, monotheis, polytheist or other spiritual existance (explain your idea of deities):
I believe God is the amorphic forces and laws of nature, that all of mans endeavors to describe what God is severely deficient guess work. I believe God is self revealing in all the creation around us, communicating using metaphoric examples of how things are and should be. I believe not one facet of humanity adequately describes God’s context, purpose, or plan.
3. Origin of the Universe, world, and humans:
None truly know, a big bang is as good a theory as any.
4. Morals and ethics (which ones do you apply to your life, where do they come from, and why do we follow them):
I believe in the law of reciprocity, you get what you give and that should give pause for thought as to how to act. The old adage live by the sword, die by the sword is would be an example of this.
5. After-life (what happens after this life):
We go somewhere; I've already posted on this re: a personal experience on another thread but no one personally knows fully and is living to tell us about it. I choose not to fear death anymore than I feared birth. The sun rises, the sun sets.
6. Why do you hold these ideals (What made you believe these ideas):
The only reason people who follow any religion is the result of men who claimed to have written the inspired word of God committing it to parchment or paper. Then a number of people believed these men and perpetuated their new found belief and passed their written text to each succeeding generation which has spread unto this day.
So many follow and I wonder how many stop to ask why? For most faiths, if physical proof existed, it was lost two thousand years ago. The vast majority never had first hand knowledge of key events, never had any verifiable evidence the emphatically proves what their religious text states. Yet people continue to go back the the text in doubt and present it to others as proof and so it continues. Most I think grasp onto a faith in an attempt to control the one moment in life they have no control over, death.
I believe in what can be verified and I consider what I think might be plausible but keep an open mind to other possibilities.
1. Name of religion (if applicable): Christianity, not the thing that Christianity has become. "Follower of Christ"
2. Atheist, monotheis, polytheist or other spiritual existance (explain your idea of deities): One God through The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit
3. Origin of the Universe, world, and humans: God
4. Morals and ethics (which ones do you apply to your life, where do they come from, and why do we follow them): Treat others the way you would want to be treated, they come from God.
5. After-life (what happens after this life): Believers in Jesus Christ go to Heaven, others go to Hell unless they accept Christ
6. Why do you hold these ideals (What made you believe these ideas): I can't even explain it... It is just this feeling deep down that I know He is always with me through good and bad
I don't know much about Islam. What sets it apart from other monotheist religions?
Muslims don't believe that Christ was crucified. They don't agree on calling him God, the son of God, humans the children of God, Mary the Mother of God, or any of those things. There a lot of differences. The major thing being that the Bible has been severely altered. The word of God has been severely altered. I don't know about that, really, I'm just telling you what Muslims, in general, think and say. They believe that the Jews were God's favorite people. He gave them 3 holy books, but they would not succumb, so he "vanquished" them, and they became God's least favorite. I don't know much about this situation (Judaism), so I won't talk anymore. Islam really just seems like the most reasonable, and ironically, the most peaceful religion to me.
I thought we weren't supposed to turn the thread into "this or that religion is the best/most reasonable/most peaceful"? No offense, but Islam is quite far from being the most reasonable or peaceful religion out there. Once again, this isn't meant to offend anyone, but let's get real here.
I, personally am not Islam. I am a Christian, but I'm sure Mephy agrees, most religions have become overdone.
I'm sure you don't think Islamic people are peaceful, nor do you think all Catholic people know what they're talking about, but it's all because people have taken the word of the Bible (or other holy books) in the wrong way. This I BELIEVE is why you would argue that.
I don't mean to create more of an argument, rather I'm attempting to stop one from starting.
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Will be changed at some point, I'm too lazy right now.
Dunno, personally the fact that people misinterpret religions so much is what makes organized religions, as a class, harmful, and also useless. If it's not clear enough for large masses of people to follow it correctly, it shouldn't be endorsed...
2. Atheist, monotheis, polytheist or other spiritual existance (explain your idea of deities):
Perhaps God that watches over us, that we cannot explain.
3. Origin of the Universe, world, and humans:
it all has to start somewhere. but i believe in nature taking its course after some divine moment.
4. Morals and ethics (which ones do you apply to your life, where do they come from, and why do we follow them):
modern Christian morals; basically everything they teach you in pre-school.
5. After-life (what happens after this life):
hopefully someone explains everything, really well. this is probably the most important thing i care about that has to do with religion. i dunno about some people, but i can spend an eternity learning all the intricacies of the universe. maybe we get reincarnated after some time to relive again, id like that.
6. Why do you hold these ideals (What made you believe these ideas):
i want to unravel the mysteries of the universe, i dont think modern religious thinking helps in that matter. i remember when i read the bible, or was listening in sunday school, i had a lot of questions. these questions were either answered with some cryptic scripture, or left unanswered - not satisfying to me. that lead away from religion and into more a scientific state of mind.
i fear religion was created in an attempt to explain what was unexplainable at the time, just another way people can sleep at night.
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Remember the String of Ears
"to the worm in horseradish, the world is horseradish."
I thought we weren't supposed to turn the thread into "this or that religion is the best/most reasonable/most peaceful"? No offense, but Islam is quite far from being the most reasonable or peaceful religion out there. Once again, this isn't meant to offend anyone, but let's get real here.
Someone asked me a question. I answered that questions. Christianity: Inquisition and Crusades. Judaism: Current day Israel. Islam: Some douches in turbans claiming to be Muslims, but are the farthest thing from Islam, and every sane person knows that. Jamoose says that, and he frikkin lives in Israel, and isn't even a Muslim. A Christian....living in Israel....is telling you that Islam is the most peaceful religion ever. Forget what CNN tells you, or what your parents tell you, or what anyone tells you. YOU yourself should look at the facts, and YOU yourself should form an opinion. Nowhere in the Quran does it tell someone to smash a plane into a building, kill yourself to do anything, kill innocent civilians, or anything of that nature. The Old Testament does, and I'm fairly certain that there was mention of the fact that the rules mentioned in the Old Testament, are still the laws of God (I think I read this in Mark). The Torah tells Jews to take over the land between the Nile and the Euphrates. The Quran is the only holy book that doesn't contain such things. I have absolutely nothing against Christianity or Judaism. A lot of my friends are Christians, and I know plenty of Jewish people. I just oppose extremist doctrines that take scripture completely out of context.
Dude, I'm tired of discussing this, I swear. We discussed it in another thread, everybody saw the point me and Jamoose were trying to make, nobody had the "Islam is not the most peaceful religion ever" mentality..because they read and understood what we said. I a Muslim, and him a person who has read a good deal about it. I doubt you know anything related to Islam. Or Christianity and Judaism really..other what someone told you, or what the TV told you. No offense.
2. Atheist, monotheis, polytheist or other spiritual existance (explain your idea of deities):
Atheist
3. Origin of the Universe, world, and humans:
I believe in science, so I believe that we were created through chemical reactions and through the Big Bang. Before the Big Bang? I don't know. But I am willing to wait it out, because I am firm believer that just because science does not know the answer, does not mean it won't know the answer.
I believe humans were created through a process called evolution. There is too much proof for this for me to deny, so I believe in it.
The world was created with the creation of the Solar System. Just read a 5th Grade science text book for that because I don't want to go into that.
4. Morals and ethics (which ones do you apply to your life, where do they come from, and why do we follow them):
I believe in civilization, meaning that I believe in social darwinism. I believe that life is a fight for survival and that the best should win. Now keep in mind that this is coming from a guy who lives in a first world country and lives safely in Portland, Oregon, so my views would've been different if I lived in the Sub-Saharan Africa.
I believe that we strive for perfection, and that our constant failure to reach perfection is what keeps society running. Yet we cannot define what perfection is, as if someone knew what it was, then it was reachable. Our goal is invisible, invincible, and unknowable, but we still know that it's there (that's not me being religious). Yet we keep looking for it everywhere to hopefully (not) find it.
I also believe that the term "Dare to be Different" is total bullshit. Why would you want to be different? Life teaches us that the ones who can go with the crowd and live their lives are the ones who the most successful. To me, everyone should keep their main essence of personality, but change themselves to to fit in.
5. After-life (what happens after this life):
When we die, we're dead. Get over it.
6. Why do you hold these ideals (What made you believe these ideas):
I went through a time in my life where I was heavily Christian and I believed the Bible cover to cover. Yet there was always something that kept me away from it. I couldn't put my finger on it for a long time, until I finally realized that it was the complete ignorance the religious community had on daily issues. Then I saw scientific naturalism, a belief that offered proof of what it says, and also changed its laws to stay congruent with reality, whether it be changing the Laws of Newton, Einstein, Darwin, or whatever. So it was a perfect match with me, as I am a thinker, and I believe religion eliminates free thinking and limits progression of technology in civilization.
Also, I don't think anyone understand why Islamic extremism has the reputation of being the most crazy. Islam is not an evil religion. In fact, it was the Muslims that preserved the knowledge of the Greeks and were probably one of the most advanced civilizations at the time, creating a numbering system that we still use today (1,2,3,4,... etc). However, extremists rose to power, and the Middle East has been put into a Dark Age that it has yet to emerge, creating extremism of Islam that caused 9/11, suicide bombings, and etc.
I agree that Islamic extremism is the most ridiculous and they should be taken care of quickly, but the actual religion of Islam is not evil.
In fact, Christianity is probably the most negative religion out there. Just look at the language it uses: DO NOT, DISGRACEFUL, ABOMINATION,... etc.
Does this make me hate religion still? Yes. I still think that Islam is wrong in the fact that it believes in a deity, but I wouldn't go as far as calling it evil.
I have found it very interEsting learning about the wide variety of different beliefs.
Again, please avoid any judgement comments. Such as, saying organized religion is useless. People who believe in organized religion would find this offensive.
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Rules -
2. Atheist, monotheis, polytheist or other spiritual existance (explain your idea of deities):
3. Origin of the Universe, world, and humans:
4. Morals and ethics (which ones do you apply to your life, where do they come from, and why do we follow them):
5. After-life (what happens after this life):
6. Why do you hold these ideals (What made you believe these ideas):
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There is no specific name or label for my beliefs
2. Atheist, monotheis, polytheist or other spiritual existence (explain your idea of deities):
I am an atheist. However, my spiritual beliefs lie within our own minds or brains to be more specific. I believe a lot of what are reality exists only exists because our minds manifest these things. For example ghosts/spirits. I do believe these are real but not in the sense that most do. I believe they are real because our mind perceives them as being real. It is the same way you hear a sound but nobody else heard it. that does not make it any less exist, at least to you. The mind is a very powerful tool and we do not know what it is capable of.
3. Origin of the Universe, world, and humans:
As for the universe, I do not know. More than likely the Big bang theory. Our world would also have been created by such event. As for humans, I am a believer in evolution. I think that life somehow started on this planet through single-celled organisms and they have evolved or millions of years that have resulted in life as we know it now/
4. Morals and ethics (which ones do you apply to your life, where do they come from, and why do we follow them):
I feel that our morals and ethics have evolved into our culture. Personally, I think there are some universal morals that everyone should live by. Respect for one another, treat others as you would like to be treated, and overall being a good human being are some morals I live by. Of course with all of this is balance. I think most of us follow these universal norms because it is mutually beneficial for all of us. Being self-less really helps ourselves.
5. After-life (what happens after this life):
Here is where most of my spirituality lies as far as things that cannot be proven. I believe in reincarnation but not in the ways most people do. Due to my lack of belief in God, I believe reincarnation is done through the transfer of thoughts, memories, knowledge, or whatever else makes you you, into a new mind. When you die, your mind (brain to put it scientifically) transfers these into a new mind. All of these pasts travel with you and effect who you are now. I also believe that you can be reincarnated into any other living being with a brain. No plants. These past lives have a big influence on your current life but not enough to destroy free will. I think when you feel a certain connection with someone, a natural fear of something, or a gift to do something, this all comes from your past lives. As far as fate, I think that our minds set out a signal that draws certain people or events to you. However, we all have the choice to change this course to do whatever we feel like doing.
6. Why do you hold these ideals (What made you believe these ideas):
The main reason I believe this, like many people in their faiths, is I just feel it. I have been drawn to certain people and feel very comfortable with them for absolutely no reason. Other relationships that should be easier have problems and struggles. This idea is one of my leading causes. I also have always had a fear of things fluttering near my face. One time a bird flew right in front of me and I had a "vision" for lack of a better word of being eaten by this bird. I attribute this to a past life where this may have happened. I also think that certain abilities, while may be driven by some genes, are just easier for people. People are drawn towards certain fields and I believe this to be because of past lives. As far as lack of belief in a God, I just don't feel any sort of feeling when it comes to some ultimate being creating us. It is something that I have just never believed to be possible.
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2. Atheist, monotheis, polytheist or other spiritual existance (explain your idea of deities): Monotheistic
3. Origin of the Universe, world, and humans: God
4. Morals and ethics (which ones do you apply to your life, where do they come from, and why do we follow them): Few. I fast, I try to pray whenever I can, I'm good to people who deserve it..etc. Each has its explanation. Like, fasting teaches you patience and compassion with the poor. I do them because I can, and I believe in them, quite simply.
5. After-life (what happens after this life): Heaven and Hell
6. Why do you hold these ideals (What made you believe these ideas): Because a life without endgame content is pathetic.
Rise and rise again, until lambs become lions
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+1 for you Mephy - This is the one part about being an Atheist that I don't like. You know that once you die, that's it. There's nothing else. I'm don't consider myself an Atheist, nor a believer, but part of me wishes I would have been brought up differently so I could have it embedded in my mind that there would be some sort of endgame content for my life. Once in a blue moon I get those thoughts and those "what if's" about death, and it scares me shitless and makes me sick thinking that there is nothing after death.
None / Dont Know.
2. Atheist, monotheis, polytheist or other spiritual existance (explain your idea of deities):
Dont actually know, I / we never talk about beliefs here. Nobody really have a belief on something "greater".
3. Origin of the Universe, world, and humans:
Big bang theory. Bacteria level to Today. Evolution. Chaos Theory. Earth (Planet Tellus) have bin very very lucky to have this equation: Life other then bacteria.
4. Morals and ethics (which ones do you apply to your life, where do they come from, and why do we follow them):
Threat others the way you would like others to threat you. And. Respect life and the life will respect you. I follow because it feels right.
5. After-life (what happens after this life):
Total darkness, a.k. nothing. That is why you LIVE, you got 1 chance, dont blow it! Make it the best darn Life EVER.
6. Why do you hold these ideals (What made you believe these ideas):
Lack of evidence there is something after life, lack of knowledge, lack of disciplin from the world.
Does these count?
Thank you.
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2: Monotheist. Bahais believe in one God. Bahais also believe in what we call progressive revelation. Progressive revelation is the idea that Manifestations such as Jesus, Muhammad, Krishna, Buddha, Abraham, Moses, Zoraster, the Bab, and Bahaullah all have come at different points in history to help and bring God's message for that time period. All of these Manifestations of God are equal and come from the same one God. Bahaullah is the founder of the Bahai Faith and taught that religion should be creating unity and not strife.
3: As Bahais we believe science and religion work hand in hand.
"If religious beliefs and opinions are found contrary to the standards of science, they are mere superstitions and imaginations; for the antithesis of knowledge is ignorance, and the child of ignorance is superstition. Unquestionably there must be agreement between true religion and science. If a question be found contrary to reason, faith and belief in it are impossible, and there is no outcome but wavering and vacillation" (Abdu'l-Baha)
I don't want to speak for all Bahais on how they believe the universe was created because much of the Bahai Faith is based around independent investigation of truth, but from the quote above from Abdu'l-Baha it is clear that a scientific explanation is likely the answer and that it in no way contradicts religion. As a Bahai I believe in evolution and think that ultimately scientific answers to the creation of the world and its creatures are valid; however, I do believe that what separates humans from the rest of the animals is that as humans we have a soul which was created at conception.
4: Morals and ethics in the Bahai Faith are similar to other religions but ultimately are to bring unity and peace to all of mankind. Here is a list of some of the main values/ethics.
*All of humanity is equal no matter what race, sex, or religion. The world is but one country and mankind it's citizens.
*Treat others better than how you expect others to treat you.
*Independent investigation of truth (Study religious teachings on our own and interpret how that applies to our own life)
*Everyone should have access to a good education and adequate necessities to survive. Nobody should eat with a golden spoon while someone has no spoon at all.
5: The after-life is viewed as a purely spiritual existence and not physical in any way. It is impossible for humans to fully comprehend what the after-life is like just like it is impossible for an insect to understand what a humans life is like. The idea of heaven and hell is very different in the Bahai Faith than most people in Western society tend to think of it. In the Bahai Faith the soul always has the opportunity to be progressing towards God. The more spiritual you are in this life the closer you are to God, but just because you may have made several mistakes in this world does not mean you are damned to some firey realm for all of eternity. Even in the after life your soul may progress and move nearer to God.
6: I was raised in a family where my mom is a Bahai and my dad a Christian. I grew up going to both a presbyterian church and to Bahai activities. I chose the Bahai Faith for many reasons. One was because I refused to believe that more than half of the world was going to a firey place called Hell because they did not pray to Jesus. Second was that I saw that all religions teach the same core values even though the laws may be different. For example all religions have a Golden Rule which teaches how to treat other people with respect. A third reason I became a Bahai is because of the loving and devout community. The fourth and most important reason I became a Bahai is because all of Bahaulla's teachings made incredible sense to me.
None, I really need to make one up.
2. Atheist, monotheis, polytheist or other spiritual existance (explain your idea of deities):
Ehh, I don't like the term deity. I believe a creator exists. Or creators. I don't know if it's tangible or not but I believe we were created by something that is self-conscious. I am not interested in worshiping these guys.
3. Origin of the Universe, world, and humans:
I believe the creator was involved in humans existing, or at least being sentient, and they would not be possible as they are now otherwise. Beyond that, I don't know, and I don't care.
4. Morals and ethics (which ones do you apply to your life, where do they come from, and why do we follow them):
My goals are pretty simple: Improvement of life in my immediate range, and improvement of life of the world at large. Both are purely egoistical, see 5. for why I care about the world. Any modules of behavior I may have are based around concepts of negative/positive, suffering and pleasure, attempt to minimize the first and maximize the other. There's really not much else to it, but my approach to it differs from the one most people seem take.
5. After-life (what happens after this life):
We come back as a randomly chosen human with erased memory. We may or may not move on to a higher level if we pass a test, but short term, we're gonna sit on Earth for quite some time.
6. Why do you hold these ideals (What made you believe these ideas):
Generally, I tried to think about how it would make the most sense for our world to exist, and what its purpose would be. My beliefs are tied to my interpretation of how the creator would act and why. I assume the creator to be somewhat similar to a creating human, and our world similar to an uber complex MMORPG. I also believe religious texts were not created at random, and originally were made to propel the moral advancement of humanity, and the creator may have communicated with us in the past, but I wouldn't single out any particular religion, and I believe all current existing religions are biased, warped, misinterpreted versions of what once was.
2. Atheist, monotheist, polytheist or other spiritual existance (explain your idea of deities): I don't believe in any deities. I just find it hard to believe in great spirits/forces. It's just hard, I can't click with it spiritually or logically.
3. Origin of the Universe, world, and humans: This is kinda hard for me to explain. I think the universe was created by natural means, but I can't exactly explain what created nature. Nature is all around us, yes, but what made nature is a question that is eluding me as of now.
4. Morals and ethics (which ones do you apply to your life, where do they come from, and why do we follow them): Okay, this will be fun.
- Treat everybody the way you would want to be treated. If you love someone, make them want to love you back.
- Hate is hardly necessary in this time and age. If you do have to hate, keep it limited to one entity.
- Don't be dishonest. Secrets should only be kept if it is protective of somebody else.
5. After-life (what happens after this life): I honestly think you're reincarnated into other human beings.
6. Why do you hold these ideals (What made you believe these ideas): A lot of speculation and a lot of personal experience. I believe that no one should be subjugated to anything, including greed.
I hate the way you cling to ignorance and pass it off as innocence
4. Morals and ethics (which ones do you apply to your life, where do they come from, and why do we follow them):
5. After-life (what happens after this life):
6. Why do you hold these ideals (What made you believe these ideas):
2. Atheist, monotheis, polytheist or other spiritual existance (explain your idea of deities): One God through The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit
3. Origin of the Universe, world, and humans: God
4. Morals and ethics (which ones do you apply to your life, where do they come from, and why do we follow them): Treat others the way you would want to be treated, they come from God.
5. After-life (what happens after this life): Believers in Jesus Christ go to Heaven, others go to Hell unless they accept Christ
6. Why do you hold these ideals (What made you believe these ideas): I can't even explain it... It is just this feeling deep down that I know He is always with me through good and bad
Muslims don't believe that Christ was crucified. They don't agree on calling him God, the son of God, humans the children of God, Mary the Mother of God, or any of those things. There a lot of differences. The major thing being that the Bible has been severely altered. The word of God has been severely altered. I don't know about that, really, I'm just telling you what Muslims, in general, think and say. They believe that the Jews were God's favorite people. He gave them 3 holy books, but they would not succumb, so he "vanquished" them, and they became God's least favorite. I don't know much about this situation (Judaism), so I won't talk anymore. Islam really just seems like the most reasonable, and ironically, the most peaceful religion to me.
Rise and rise again, until lambs become lions
I'm sure you don't think Islamic people are peaceful, nor do you think all Catholic people know what they're talking about, but it's all because people have taken the word of the Bible (or other holy books) in the wrong way. This I BELIEVE is why you would argue that.
I don't mean to create more of an argument, rather I'm attempting to stop one from starting.
none really, but i was raised Christian.
2. Atheist, monotheis, polytheist or other spiritual existance (explain your idea of deities):
Perhaps God that watches over us, that we cannot explain.
3. Origin of the Universe, world, and humans:
it all has to start somewhere. but i believe in nature taking its course after some divine moment.
4. Morals and ethics (which ones do you apply to your life, where do they come from, and why do we follow them):
modern Christian morals; basically everything they teach you in pre-school.
5. After-life (what happens after this life):
hopefully someone explains everything, really well. this is probably the most important thing i care about that has to do with religion. i dunno about some people, but i can spend an eternity learning all the intricacies of the universe. maybe we get reincarnated after some time to relive again, id like that.
6. Why do you hold these ideals (What made you believe these ideas):
i want to unravel the mysteries of the universe, i dont think modern religious thinking helps in that matter. i remember when i read the bible, or was listening in sunday school, i had a lot of questions. these questions were either answered with some cryptic scripture, or left unanswered - not satisfying to me. that lead away from religion and into more a scientific state of mind.
i fear religion was created in an attempt to explain what was unexplainable at the time, just another way people can sleep at night.
"to the worm in horseradish, the world is horseradish."
Someone asked me a question. I answered that questions. Christianity: Inquisition and Crusades. Judaism: Current day Israel. Islam: Some douches in turbans claiming to be Muslims, but are the farthest thing from Islam, and every sane person knows that. Jamoose says that, and he frikkin lives in Israel, and isn't even a Muslim. A Christian....living in Israel....is telling you that Islam is the most peaceful religion ever. Forget what CNN tells you, or what your parents tell you, or what anyone tells you. YOU yourself should look at the facts, and YOU yourself should form an opinion. Nowhere in the Quran does it tell someone to smash a plane into a building, kill yourself to do anything, kill innocent civilians, or anything of that nature. The Old Testament does, and I'm fairly certain that there was mention of the fact that the rules mentioned in the Old Testament, are still the laws of God (I think I read this in Mark). The Torah tells Jews to take over the land between the Nile and the Euphrates. The Quran is the only holy book that doesn't contain such things. I have absolutely nothing against Christianity or Judaism. A lot of my friends are Christians, and I know plenty of Jewish people. I just oppose extremist doctrines that take scripture completely out of context.
Dude, I'm tired of discussing this, I swear. We discussed it in another thread, everybody saw the point me and Jamoose were trying to make, nobody had the "Islam is not the most peaceful religion ever" mentality..because they read and understood what we said. I a Muslim, and him a person who has read a good deal about it. I doubt you know anything related to Islam. Or Christianity and Judaism really..other what someone told you, or what the TV told you. No offense.
Rise and rise again, until lambs become lions
Scientific Naturalism
2. Atheist, monotheis, polytheist or other spiritual existance (explain your idea of deities):
Atheist
3. Origin of the Universe, world, and humans:
I believe in science, so I believe that we were created through chemical reactions and through the Big Bang. Before the Big Bang? I don't know. But I am willing to wait it out, because I am firm believer that just because science does not know the answer, does not mean it won't know the answer.
I believe humans were created through a process called evolution. There is too much proof for this for me to deny, so I believe in it.
The world was created with the creation of the Solar System. Just read a 5th Grade science text book for that because I don't want to go into that.
4. Morals and ethics (which ones do you apply to your life, where do they come from, and why do we follow them):
I believe in civilization, meaning that I believe in social darwinism. I believe that life is a fight for survival and that the best should win. Now keep in mind that this is coming from a guy who lives in a first world country and lives safely in Portland, Oregon, so my views would've been different if I lived in the Sub-Saharan Africa.
I believe that we strive for perfection, and that our constant failure to reach perfection is what keeps society running. Yet we cannot define what perfection is, as if someone knew what it was, then it was reachable. Our goal is invisible, invincible, and unknowable, but we still know that it's there (that's not me being religious). Yet we keep looking for it everywhere to hopefully (not) find it.
I also believe that the term "Dare to be Different" is total bullshit. Why would you want to be different? Life teaches us that the ones who can go with the crowd and live their lives are the ones who the most successful. To me, everyone should keep their main essence of personality, but change themselves to to fit in.
5. After-life (what happens after this life):
When we die, we're dead. Get over it.
6. Why do you hold these ideals (What made you believe these ideas):
I went through a time in my life where I was heavily Christian and I believed the Bible cover to cover. Yet there was always something that kept me away from it. I couldn't put my finger on it for a long time, until I finally realized that it was the complete ignorance the religious community had on daily issues. Then I saw scientific naturalism, a belief that offered proof of what it says, and also changed its laws to stay congruent with reality, whether it be changing the Laws of Newton, Einstein, Darwin, or whatever. So it was a perfect match with me, as I am a thinker, and I believe religion eliminates free thinking and limits progression of technology in civilization.
Also, I don't think anyone understand why Islamic extremism has the reputation of being the most crazy. Islam is not an evil religion. In fact, it was the Muslims that preserved the knowledge of the Greeks and were probably one of the most advanced civilizations at the time, creating a numbering system that we still use today (1,2,3,4,... etc). However, extremists rose to power, and the Middle East has been put into a Dark Age that it has yet to emerge, creating extremism of Islam that caused 9/11, suicide bombings, and etc.
I agree that Islamic extremism is the most ridiculous and they should be taken care of quickly, but the actual religion of Islam is not evil.
In fact, Christianity is probably the most negative religion out there. Just look at the language it uses: DO NOT, DISGRACEFUL, ABOMINATION,... etc.
Does this make me hate religion still? Yes. I still think that Islam is wrong in the fact that it believes in a deity, but I wouldn't go as far as calling it evil.
Again, please avoid any judgement comments. Such as, saying organized religion is useless. People who believe in organized religion would find this offensive.
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