What is your religion???

[Jung Rhee]

This is an interesting question, sounds like there are a lot of Christians in here. How many Koreans and other Asian Americans here are Christians??? if not what is your religion?
I am not a Christian by the way. :smile:

[yoMAMA]

I'm an atheist.

Not sure if that's a religion or not.

[Jung Rhee]

I'm an atheist.

Not sure if that's a religion or not.

Einstein, Sigmund Freud and Ayn Rand are all atheist.

[yoMAMA]

Einstein, Sigmund Freud and Ayn Rand are all atheist.

sweet!

I'm in good company :biggrin:

[AliBabaIncorporated]

In terms of what many of my relatives and I actually believe, I'm Catholic. But the cultural matrix they all grew up under, and I spent a decent chunk of my life in, was an Islamic one ...

What does that mean? No clue. I guess it's kinda like the joke about the Irish thugs going around Belfast at night, who run into a guy walking alone. "Catholic or Protestant?", they ask him. He quickly answers, "I'm a Jew." The head thug scratches his head for a while, itching for an excuse for a fight. Finally, he snarls: "Yeah, but are you a Catholic Jew, or a Protestant Jew?"

[Jung Rhee]

Islam and Catholic are very different. I wonder how Muslims viewed Chrisitians (or Buddhists) in a more liberal Muslim country like Malaysia. Speaking of Belfast, there was a BBC TV special on Belfast awhile back ago. The place is cold and misery and people are mean and hateful to each other, it is like the last place in Europe I would like to visit.

[deez nuts]

agnostic. but, i'm tinkering around with converting to judaism.

[kimpossible]

druidism

[yoMAMA]

druidism

never heard of it......

:wink:

[Yeahman]

What does that mean? No clue. I guess it's kinda like the joke about the Irish thugs going around Belfast at night, who run into a guy walking alone. "Catholic or Protestant?", they ask him. He quickly answers, "I'm a Jew." The head thug scratches his head for a while, itching for an excuse for a fight. Finally, he snarls: "Yeah, but are you a Catholic Jew, or a Protestant Jew?"
I heard a similar one. They ask "Catholic or Protestant?" and the guy replies "I'm atheist." They ask "Yeah, but is it the Catholic God or Protestant God that you don't believe in?"

Einstein, Sigmund Freud and Ayn Rand are all atheist.
Einstein was not atheist. He was more deist.


I'm Catholic.

[Jung Rhee]

What is a deist?
Are you against abortions and gay rights?

[nola]

I think Einstein was agnostic and believed god was in the form of nature or reason of something.

[kimpossible]

wait, i change my mind. i worship money.

[pikachupacabra]

i worship teh 80081E5

[kuilong]

I think Einstein was agnostic and believed god was in the form of nature or reason of something.

He's said to have had pantheistic leanings.

Are you against abortions and gay rights?

Since when have Catholics been required to be against gay rights?

[hooligan]

He's said to have had pantheistic leanings.

Since when have Catholics been required to be against gay rights?

The Pope?

None, closer to ancestor worship and Buddhism myself, although I have never formally learned either.

[Jung Rhee]

(off topic)
Kuilong,
Are you native American from the US, do you think US committed genocide against the Native Americans?

[nola]

Kuilong is not NA.

Of course the US did that! So did Canada.

[Keshikov]

I am nothing as of now, but I really like Budhism, and the ancient polytheist religions....

[YuheiCarreau]

Einstein, Sigmund Freud and Ayn Rand are all atheist.

Actually Einstein, Freud, and Rand are all corpses. They were atheists, although really that just means they didn't believe in Christianity. They each had their own religions - unified field theory, mother, and self :biggrin:

[Hiroshi2]

The religion that believes Jesus doesn't need my money.



So I feel very apprehensive about tithing at church. God can do whatever he wants without any money.

[tapestrybabe]

i'm korean and i attend korean-korean church...
but i feel i attend less for religious reasons tho...
and its more for the cultural aspect

and uh...
the korean lunch they have after service...
is always so damn good too...

LOL...

seriously tho, if i had to say what
my religion is...
i dont categorize myself
in any denomination...

my belief in god is personal...
i believe in my own way...
so i feel i shouldnt be put in a box...
of some type of cateogory...
telling me how to believe...

[Emperor_Mike]

Roman Catholic.

[Faithless]

Roman Catholic.
Is that why you've got the bag over your head? :biggrin:

I haven't decided what religion I want to be mine.

What one accepts everyone (except the racists, homophobes, sexists, ageists, and all-the-other-negative-ists), and is racially balanced?

[DragonKnight]

Roman Catholic

[yuuteya]

all thats nothing

[yoMAMA]

Is that why you've got the bag over your head? :biggrin:

I haven't decided what religion I want to be mine.

What one accepts everyone (except the racists, homophobes, sexists, ageists, and all-the-other-negative-ists), and is racially balanced?

buddhism?

[kuilong]

The Pope?

The Pope, Cardinal Ratzinger, and other high-up Catholics are against same-sex marriage, but it's not a dogma. It doesn't mean good Catholics can't be for it.

Abortion is a different matter, of course.

buddhism?

Well, most people on YW are pro-choice, and Buddhism has classically not approved of abortion. The Dalai Lama doesn't, f'rinstance.

[Emperor_Mike]

Is that why you've got the bag over your head? :biggrin:

I haven't decided what religion I want to be mine.

What one accepts everyone (except the racists, homophobes, sexists, ageists, and all-the-other-negative-ists), and is racially balanced?

NO, that's not why I have a bag over my head. The bag is there because I'm a hideous, snaggle-toothed demon. People get scared. Easily. :biggrin:

Religion doesn't have to be black and white. Many of my Christian friends (Catholic, Methodist, etc.) are the most open-minded and wonderful people an individual can hope to meet. I'm Catholic and I'm very accepting. :smile:

But that's just me.

[Filiprish]

Raised Roman Catholic, born-again deist.

[Chu Chi]

I thought I was a Christian. But then I noticed that I wasn't doing what a Christian is supposed to do ("turn the other cheek", 10 commandments...) so I stopped calling myself one.

I felt like a phony because I was "faking the funk" like Nola says.

I have not yet found a religion where I can I can meet all the requirements. So in the meantime, I pay attention and ask people questions about their religion, and when I find an aspect I like and can faithfully meet, I just grab that peice of it an make it my own.

Slowly, Im starting to create my own religion.

Once I get the words, definitions and description down, I might add some rituals because I like candles and music.

And I need an outfit and a symbol

Im not going to pretend to be something Im not, because that is the worst religion to have.

CC

[Mr.Lum]

I was raised Muslim and Christian. My fathers family is mostly Muslim and my mothers is mostly Protestant Christian (Quaker, Lutheran). I am Christian with Islamic learnings. The way I see it, these two religions are integral to and inseparable from my identity. They cannot be removed. I have no interest in the flaky stuff I see from others usually, not to say I dislike them, just that they do not speak to me in anyway (new age stuff, buhdism, hinduism etc). I am very disilusioned with American Protestant Christianity, I find many of its leaders (both black and white) highly offensive and racialist in many ways and often simply full of shit. So I don't listen to Protestants anymore. I attend an Orthodox church where I am baptized but I find common ground with Islam on many things but I am not a Muslim.

[yuuteya]

Well, most people on YW are pro-choice, and Buddhism has classically not approved of abortion. The Dalai Lama doesn't, f'rinstance.

actually, no. outsiders who analyze buddhisms would see that there are professions of rules of discipline and recommeded/non-recommeded behavior. but there is no sin concept in the omniaxial sense (contrary to christian no-nos). when you read about buddhists disapproving of something (ie. some leader says no to abortion), that is a vocalized provisional that opens up to reveal a regulation. yet in the diamond world there are multiple centrisms in effect that simulataneously activate and affirm, and thus negate such pronouncements. in effect, its true, but they dont mean to say it, and becase of such, it is naturally said, intentionally, and thus becomes a rule for all to follow according to their capacities and interests. that is the choice.

[Grasshopper]

druidism

OK, so you worship trees.

wait, i change my mind. i worship money.

Ok, so you worship part of the tree after the tree has been visciously slaughtered, sawed into pulp and then mixed with water and other stuff and then flattened into little thin strips with pictures of dead people and numbers on it.

So you're a Druid with attitude that's all. :biggrin:

[nola]

Chu Chi, do I say "faking the funk"? :smile:

[Yeahman]

What is a deist?
One who believes in an impersonal god.

Are you against abortions and gay rights?
I'm against abortion. Not against gay rights.

I think Einstein was agnostic and believed god was in the form of nature or reason of something.
Then he wouldn't be agnostic.

buddhism?
How is Buddhism racially balanced? Christianity and Islam are far more racially balanced.

I attend an Orthodox church
Greek? Russian?
Aren't their liturgies in their native languages?

[yoMAMA]

How is Buddhism racially balanced? Christianity and Islam are far more racially balanced.

I think it depends on how you define "racially balanced".

So if that means a lot of followers with different skin colors...than no, Buddhism is not balanced.

But if you judge from a racial oppression standpoint, Buddhism is perhaps the most balanced religion on earth: it did not enslave people; commit genocide, religious persecution...etc in the name of Buddha or in the name of Buddhist scriptures to justify those crimes.

[Mr.Lum]

Greek? Russian?
Aren't their liturgies in their native languages?

Antiochian/Greek. Liturgy is in Greek, Syriac and Arabic. Most people dont speak it though, just follow the hymals. Services/sermons are in English though.

[kuilong]

Greek? Russian?
Aren't their liturgies in their native languages?

The Orthodox have a long tradition of vernacular liturgies. Many (most?) churches in the US have the liturgy at least partly in English.

[Shogun Empress]

I'm a Christian who voted for Bush...Twice.

[hooligan]

I'm Buddhist, I think, probably the closest thing that goes with my belief system.

I'm a Christian who voted for Bush...Twice.

Looks like you were scammed, twice.

[Shogun Empress]

I'm Buddhist, I think, probably the closest thing that goes with my belief system.



Looks like you were scammed, twice.Look at my choices. It was the best I could do.

[hooligan]

Look at my choices. It was the best I could do.

Good point. : \

[Shogun Empress]

Good point. : \I feel stupid for voting for Bush. I used to hype him up. It's like when you guys root for your favorite baseball player and he lets you down. That's what it feels like. Sammy Sosa is a good example. Bush corked America.

[hooligan]

I feel stupid for voting for Bush. I used to hype him up. It's like when you guys root for your favorite baseball player and he lets you down. That's what it feels like. Sammy Sosa is a good example. Bush corked America.
i..i... i'm speechless. i totally thought you were going to make a steroid analogy.

[Shogun Empress]

i..i... i'm speechless. i totally thought you were going to make a steroid analogy.
Why?

[Yeahman]

Antiochian/Greek. Liturgy is in Greek, Syriac and Arabic. Most people dont speak it though, just follow the hymals. Services/sermons are in English though.
I've always wanted to attend a Greek Orthodox liturgy but I thought it would be really weird for a Korean to attend. I've been to Jewish synagogue before and wasn't very comfortable. It's probably the first and last time they've ever seen an Asian in a yarmulka.

[Mekong Jewel]

I'm a polytheist.

[kuilong]

I've always wanted to attend a Greek Orthodox liturgy but I thought it would be really weird for a Korean to attend. I've been to Jewish synagogue before and wasn't very comfortable. It's probably the first and last time they've ever seen an Asian in a yarmulka.

The priest at a nearby Greek Orthodox church was Korean (he recently moved to San Jose). About fifteen years ago, he translated the Divine Liturgy into Korean -- I heard the Great Ektenia performed during his farewell party.

[hkRT]

Christian faith

[Chinasaur]

I wonder sometimes if the world would be better off without any religion, tho. I'm not stupid, I do realize that the Bible is the backbone of Canadian and American law. I'm just saying that, as much as religion brings people together, it can also be a very exclusionary and divisive thing.

Oh...and I'm Buddhist.

[nola]

We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another. -- Jonathan Swift

[AltimaGTR]

I'm a lil bit of Buddhist, but not enough to swear off eating meat/dairy products ;).

[Chris]

Praticing Buddhist

[Hiroshi2]

Baptist, but I go to a Presbyterian church. But it's a black church, and basically most of the stuff we do is basically what Baptist churches do, so yeah.



I went back and read my first post, LOL. I still don't tithe but maybe I will. I don't know. I'm still a little apprehensive about tithing, maybe because we have so many crooked preachers here in Birmingham.......................we got preachers down here that are preachers on Sunday and pimps Monday thru Saturday. They'll be at the club, pushing the big ol' Cadillac, shiny white shoes, pimp hat, all that....................and I know tithes be paying for that. That's why I say I have to go to a church where the pastor looks like he's just as broke as I am :)

[Fireblade]

I worship the religion of money... jk.
Non-practicing Christian, although I've been researching into faith-based Quakers. Been to one or two of the Friends meetings, but so far haven't made a decision to go in full time. We'll see.

[yoMAMA]

I'm losing my religion.......

:p

[Hiroshi2]

I'm losing my religion.......

:p




........but you're finding your spirituality, right?




I'm sorry but I have to say this - athesits have to be the dumbest people around. I have a LOT more respect for people who are not of the same faith that I am, people who do not worship the same God as I do, but still have spirituality, still believe in God, know what I'm saying? At least those people have enough sense to know that there is a higher power. Even people who worship trees and shit.....................at least they know that God exists....................to be an atheist, to me basically means that you have to be one of the most arrogant, ignorant, idiotic people around. To say that there is NO God, to say that people and the stars/galaxies/planets, etc. came to be in a random form, even though almost everything in the universe is intelligently designed, is retarded, I'm sorry. I've found that a lot of atheists (not that we have too many here in the south, but still I have met quite a few) hate God and have personal vendettas against Him, because they disagree with him, or becuase they feel that they've suffered too much to ever believe in Him or whatever. But still..........................belief in a higher power is the only thing that makes sense to me, it's the only logical conclusion. I suppose people could sit up here and argue the case for why Christ, or Muhammad, or whoever, is the "real" God or the "real" faith, but that's not what I'm talking about here. I'm talking about the difference b/w faith and non-faith, between believing in God and believing there is no God. Saying that there is no God is the most foolish thing I have ever heard. Well no I take that back - a few days ago I heard about a "religion" I've never heard of before - "humanism", where people basically believe that human beings are our own God and that we control the universe? WTF?????? We don't even know shit about the universe, yet we're "God"? Now THAT's the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life.




Sorry if I stepped on any toes or whatever, but this is a religious thread, so it seemed appropriate. I had a deep religious discussion with somebody yesterday and it's gotten me all fired up, lol.

[achtungbaby]

Moved to Whatever

[AliBabaIncorporated]

we got preachers down here that are preachers on Sunday and pimps Monday thru Saturday.
The most successful preachers are always the ones who look like they have the option of engaging in sin and debauchery if they really wanted to. And I guess some of them actually do just that.

[ChinaLama]

But if you judge from a racial oppression standpoint, Buddhism is perhaps the most balanced religion on earth: it did not enslave people; commit genocide, religious persecution...etc in the name of Buddha or in the name of Buddhist scriptures to justify those crimes.

Looks like someone bought into the Dalai Lama/ Hollywood's myth. True, Tibet didn't have "slaves," it had "serfs" but come on. And there was an entire dynasty of rulers in India (I think the Gupta?) which was Buddhist. Buddhism often had state sponsorship in various countries, where monasteries would hold vast amounts of land.

Saying Buddhism in all areas was just this nice innocent philosophy where people got along and tried to be good people and there was no hierarchy, power, or exploitation by the religious establishment is ....

........but you're finding your spirituality, right?




I'm sorry but I have to say this - athesits have to be the dumbest people around. I have a LOT more respect for people who are not of the same faith that I am, people who do not worship the same God as I do, but still have spirituality, still believe in God, know what I'm saying? At least those people have enough sense to know that there is a higher power. Even people who worship trees and shit.....................at least they know that God exists....................to be an atheist, to me basically means that you have to be one of the most arrogant, ignorant, idiotic people around. To say that there is NO God, to say that people and the stars/galaxies/planets, etc. came to be in a random form, even though almost everything in the universe is intelligently designed, is retarded, I'm sorry. I've found that a lot of atheists (not that we have too many here in the south, but still I have met quite a few) hate God and have personal vendettas against Him, because they disagree with him, or becuase they feel that they've suffered too much to ever believe in Him or whatever. But still..........................belief in a higher power is the only thing that makes sense to me, it's the only logical conclusion. I suppose people could sit up here and argue the case for why Christ, or Muhammad, or whoever, is the "real" God or the "real" faith, but that's not what I'm talking about here. I'm talking about the difference b/w faith and non-faith, between believing in God and believing there is no God. Saying that there is no God is the most foolish thing I have ever heard. Well no I take that back - a few days ago I heard about a "religion" I've never heard of before - "humanism", where people basically believe that human beings are our own God and that we control the universe? WTF?????? We don't even know shit about the universe, yet we're "God"? Now THAT's the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life.




Sorry if I stepped on any toes or whatever, but this is a religious thread, so it seemed appropriate. I had a deep religious discussion with somebody yesterday and it's gotten me all fired up, lol.

Ok, I wasn't gonna say anything and I respect deeply religious people for their convictions. But I happen to take the opposite view-- that the "logical" view is non-religious.

Maybe you met a few aggressive atheists that have really pissed you off, but for the most part, atheism is not ctiva propagation of belief in no God. Most atheists are really agnostics-- we simply say, we don't believe in God because we don't see the evidence for Him. In other words "not enough proof there is God" does not mean "there is proof that there is no God."

I don't agree with "Intelligent design." Because if design were so intelligent, why do human beings have an appendix? Even if it had some use in the past, why do we still have it today, when it's useless? If evolution is guided by an intelligence, wouldn't the appendix get evolved out? I guess you could say the beginning of life or universe is an act of intelligence, but who created the Creator? If we can believe that a Creator has always existed or sprang out of nowhere, then why do we even need a Creator to begin with? Why wouldn't the concept of a 'creator" simply be replaceable by random nature?

[AliBabaIncorporated]

Try Brian Victoria's "Zen At War":
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0742539261/qid=1121872123/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-5556880-8585461?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
A compelling history of the contradictory, often militaristic, role of Zen Buddhism, this book meticulously documents the close and previously unknown support of a supposedly peaceful religion for Japanese militarism throughout World War II. Drawing on the writings and speeches of leading Zen masters and scholars, Brian Victoria shows that Zen served as a powerful foundation for the fanatical and suicidal spirit displayed by the imperial Japanese military. At the same time, the author recounts the dramatic and tragic stories of the handful of Buddhist organizations and individuals that dared to oppose Japan's march to war. He follows this history up through recent apologies by several Zen sects for their support of the war and the way support for militarism was transformed into corporate Zen in postwar Japan. The second edition includes a substantive new chapter on the roots of Zen militarism and an epilogue that explores the potentially volatile mix of religion and war. With the increasing interest in Buddhism in the West, this book is as timely as it is certain to be controversial.

[ChinaLama]

sorry, also wanted to add (but can't seem to edit post or i'm just blind), belief that there are beings greater than human beings does not have to translate to "religion," in the sense of worshipping those beings. Humans are higher than ants but ants don't worship people. If there are beings superior to humans on earth, that doesn't mean they necessarily created humans or deserve or want to be worshipped, just as we don't expect worship from other creatures. Plus, why is it illogical to believe at least on earth, humans are the highest beings? After all, someone's gotta be on top-- atheists simply believe in a lower ceiling.

[robotic]

i feel it's hard for humans to determine the concept of fate, the purpose of events, or the paranormal. in this way, i can also say that our knowledge is really, very limited. because, despite unlocking a considerable number of keys, we maintain numbers (light years, distances etc.) to give us an estimated calculation - but are still wavering when it comes to cope with the idea of such vastness. no matter how much we discover, we are unable to give an "exact" number, an "exact" determination of anything. although i wouldn't classify having no faith in not having any belief in fate or the things that take place behind the curtain, i believe the concept of religion is just - that. we can only go about to a certain extent to prove whether or not God exists, but can we reach a consensus, come towards a conclusion?

[Hiroshi2]

Ok, I wasn't gonna say anything and I respect deeply religious people for their convictions. But I happen to take the opposite view-- that the "logical" view is non-religious.

Maybe you met a few aggressive atheists that have really pissed you off, but for the most part, atheism is not ctiva propagation of belief in no God. Most atheists are really agnostics-- we simply say, we don't believe in God because we don't see the evidence for Him. In other words "not enough proof there is God" does not mean "there is proof that there is no God."



While it's true that most atheists I"ve met were asses (and I truly believe that the reason for them being atheist was because they had trouble dealing with the fact that they might be accountable to God, or that anybody besides themselves has such a large amount of authority over them and the universe)......................that's not why I feel the way I feel.


Do you know how the human body works? Or any animal's body works for that matter? It's so incredibly complex there is in my mind, NO WAY random nature could've created that. It just doesn't make sense to me - it had to be created by an intelligent being. The entire world, the entire universe is simply too large, too vast, and too complex for it to be created by random cells coming together or whatever. As a matter of fact, IMO it takes more faith to not believe in God than it does to believe in God, in some way, shape or form.


What evidence do you need that God exists (for the sake of keeping it simple, let's just refer to God in a general sense, not a specific God like the God that Christians worship, etc)? You believe air exists though you can't see it, smell it, taste it, hear it or touch it. Same thing with carbon monoxide, which can kill you in five minutes..........................God can kill you in an instant, yet people have no respect for the power of God.



As far as evolution (like you just mentioned in your last post)..........................you might as well not even mention that. I believe in microevolution (too much evidence to dispute that) but not macroevolution, which is the evolution that says that people came from monkeys (which brings up the point - why are monkeys still here?).



In the end................................I guess everybody believes whatever they believe based on faith, because none of us truly knows beyond a shadow of a doubt, with solid, tangible evidence, that God exists (or doesn't exist). So whatever you believe, you're stepping out on faith. However, that does not in my mind, invalidate any of my beliefs (which are of the Christian faith, in particular).



I just happen to think that most atheists have some serious issues which is the reason behind they're not believe in God - for example like I said before, they don't like the idea of being held accountable for sins in the afterlife (you can't convince me that Hitler could kill 6 million Jews, and then escape any and all punishment by putting a bullet in his head at the last minute, for example. No universe in which there was any kind of rules and regulations, where a just God existed would allow someone like him to go unpunished). Some atheists don't like the idea of a Higher Power, especially one that they can't see for themselves, governing their lives, or having authority over them. It's an arrogance thing, like "hey, I'm the man, can't nobody tell me what to do, blah blah". This is why you see more women than men in church. I wouldn't be surprised if in every faith there were slightly more women than men worshippers for this reason. IMO true wisdom (not intelligence, wisdom has nothing to do with intelligence) is recognizing that there is a God, and that you CAN be taken out at any moment, and that you DON'T have control over your life, and that God is the One who does. Those who believe otherwise are foolish IMO.




@ robotic -


That's my point exactly. In the end, you're putting faith in something - it's just that I happen to believe that God exists, and He sent Christ to live among us, die for our sins, and rise again. He offered eternal life, and those who reject it will burn in Hell.


I believe that what really seperates Christianity from other faiths is that Christianity is not really a call to join a certain church, or do a bunch of stuff....................those are secondary duties or secondary responsibilities as a Christian. The primary thing, the main thing is that you have a relationship with Christ. A real relationship, a spirtual connection with your Maker, just like any other relationship with any person, except you know He won't steer you wrong, unlike people which often do so all the time. You can talk to Him (through prayer) and voice your concerns, feelings, etc. And this is what Christ did when He walked the Earth as a human being in the flesh, opened up to people and shared his infinite wisdom with them. If it's done right, Christianity is not a religion - it's a relationship. A faith. A spiritual connection. Are there Christian churches and Christian people that are very religious? Of course.....................I've seen them too many times. But ultimately Christianity is about the one-on-one connection you have with Christ......................yes, the Bible calls Christians to fellowship (i.e. socialize and worship together and collectively) with other believers, but this is not essential to get into heaven, having that relationship with Christ is.



I don't agree with "Intelligent design." Because if design were so intelligent, why do human beings have an appendix? Even if it had some use in the past, why do we still have it today, when it's useless? If evolution is guided by an intelligence, wouldn't the appendix get evolved out? I guess you could say the beginning of life or universe is an act of intelligence, but who created the Creator? If we can believe that a Creator has always existed or sprang out of nowhere, then why do we even need a Creator to begin with? Why wouldn't the concept of a 'creator" simply be replaceable by random nature?




Like I said....................if we're not intelligently designed, then how do you think we perform even the most basic bodily funcitons everyday....................if shit came together randomly, then we probably wouldn't even be able to eat and digest food without all kinds of complex malfunctions. But our bodies are designed especially well in order to handle this and many more functions and purposes. I don't care how many millions of years the Earth has been around, human beings just don't come out with bodies and brains as efficient as ours. We really are just as complex (if not more so) than any engine or machine that we, as intelligent beings, create. I mean, after all, med school lasts a lot longer than training to be a mechanic for GM or even working at the airport on the planes, right? ;)

[ellenej]

I was always agnostic up until the last couple years. In fact I was like that bumper sticker, a MILITANT agnostic: I don't know and you don't either.

I disagree that the logical choice is creationism. I think the logical choice is evolution. It just makes more sense to me rather than a creator who waved a magic wand and poof, created man and the animals and the world. The bible has not explained dinosaurs or cavemen, or things we know for certain existed. And then there's the question of, who created the creator? That is why I completely disagree that atheists are stupid, or illogical. But if there is no God, there is no meaning to life. And I can't tolerate that idea.

But I found some faith in me in the past couple years because of some things that have happened in my life, and I can't describe why I know believe in God, but I just do. And with certainty. It's just something I feel in my heart.

Being a Christian doesn't mean being a right wing nutcase, though. And that's another reason I shied away from religion for so long. I started going to the Unitarian church as a stepping stone, and now go to the Methodist church. I was converted to Methodism when my pastor stepped up and said "If anybody, EVER, stands where I stand now, and tells you they know EVERYTHING, be afraid" and the first sermon I heard was about tolerance for other religions, that all we have to do is look back through history and learn from our mistakes.

[Anaestacia]

I understand that there are the believers and non-believers. Someone really close to me was a believer once, but changed drastically in the course of time where we knew each other. It took me a long long time to try and understand where it all went. This ability to believe. Or where it all came from. The ability to reject faith (in a higher being/s).

I've met people who disagree so vehemently with Catholicism because of its past sins, the religious wars, its manipulations and the injustices of the clergy that go on today too. I can see where the disgust for such a religion may stem from, and I don't believe creationism is the solution either. It may instill a faith but it's a blind faith born of ignorance (the type that leaves no room for questions). Despite being a believer, I still believe people should have a choice to decide. A place like a school should, imo, remain spiritually neutral. Parents can take their children to alternative schools like sunday school, or place them in private christian schools if they are so concerned.

Atheism may seem like arrogance on a superficial level but in the context where I saw it so close on a first hand basis with someone I cared about, it was a lot more than that. Often it's a fight against any kind of spriritual oppression, OR, they simply know what they don't believe in and are not sure what they actually do believe in. I certainly agree that there are people who discard religion because they do not want to take responsibility. To blanket all atheists or agnostics with it though doesn't seem right to me. There are those who are very consciously sidestepping it because there is simply no good reason to adhere to any one teaching. No evidence of anything. They place their faith in people, in their the intelligence and compassion of themselves and others. There is no room for the concept of higher beings, or a God.

I can see where they're coming from (when I squint). Though many times I wonder how dark the world would be if I could not take that leap of blind faith. At the same time, too much of that kind of faith seems more like poison in the sense that it may breed complacency and ignorance in whatever searches for "truth" a person may undertake in his or her life.

[Everglaze]

I'm a newly converted Christian since 2004. Before that, I certified myself as Agnostic, not Atheist.

[LaiSteve66]

I'm an agnostic.

[tkat]

I was always agnostic up until the last couple years. In fact I was like that bumper sticker, a MILITANT agnostic: I don't know and you don't either.

I disagree that the logical choice is creationism. I think the logical choice is evolution. It just makes more sense to me rather than a creator who waved a magic wand and poof, created man and the animals and the world. The bible has not explained dinosaurs or cavemen, or things we know for certain existed. And then there's the question of, who created the creator? That is why I completely disagree that atheists are stupid, or illogical. But if there is no God, there is no meaning to life. And I can't tolerate that idea.

But I found some faith in me in the past couple years because of some things that have happened in my life, and I can't describe why I know believe in God, but I just do. And with certainty. It's just something I feel in my heart.

Being a Christian doesn't mean being a right wing nutcase, though. And that's another reason I shied away from religion for so long. I started going to the Unitarian church as a stepping stone, and now go to the Methodist church. I was converted to Methodism when my pastor stepped up and said "If anybody, EVER, stands where I stand now, and tells you they know EVERYTHING, be afraid" and the first sermon I heard was about tolerance for other religions, that all we have to do is look back through history and learn from our mistakes.

Wow, replace several of the words and this would be part of the thoughts going through my mind.

I was a lifelong agnostic until I became a Christian several years ago. Still questioning and learning though, which I imagine is a life-long commitment! =)