What is your religion?
- Thread starter Rick van Opbergen
- Start date
I was raised atheist.
However, as somebody said neither side can prove anything and nobody really knows for sure, so I would probably say I am an agnostic.
One thing I believe is that there is a reasonable explanation for everything, even for what we'd normally consider a Greater Power, we just may not be able to grasp it yet.
I don't believe you need religion or its commandments to be a good person, I think we have built-in mechanisam to distinguish right from wrong, and we have a free choice to do one or the other.
However, as somebody said neither side can prove anything and nobody really knows for sure, so I would probably say I am an agnostic.
One thing I believe is that there is a reasonable explanation for everything, even for what we'd normally consider a Greater Power, we just may not be able to grasp it yet.
I don't believe you need religion or its commandments to be a good person, I think we have built-in mechanisam to distinguish right from wrong, and we have a free choice to do one or the other.
HockeyBabe said:
Eh, we all lie a lot, don't worry about it. Sometimes it's just not kind or necessary to tell the truth, so we tell little lies to keep the peace. Suppose, for instance, that your best friend shows up with a hideous new hairstyle and an outfit that makes her look like a cross between a huge hairy insect and some mutant freak made of nothing but boobs, and wants to know what you think of it. What are you going to say? Of course you're going to lie. "Interesting effect," you'll say, or "Wow, what an incredible outfit," or something like that. You're not going to tell her that she looks like the boob that ate Las Vegas.
Or maybe you would, I dunno...
It's interesting though how people we'd actually gladly vote for would never do politics. :wink:
Looking at the poll I would have expected more Protestants ... as Canada being a predominantly Protestant country right? ... oh wait it seems Canada is 46% Roman Catholic, and 36% Protestant (CIA Yearbook) ... that clears alot.
Dex, it seems that you and I will have to agree to disagree on this topic. I am sorry for calling you closed-minded, my bad.
But I want ot relpy on one of the tings that you said,
But I want ot relpy on one of the tings that you said,
Regarding number four, I think that everyone has a purpose in this world. I think that it is naive to think that people do not. It is important that everyone believes that they have a purpose, hey, it is what everyone is always tyring to figure out. Whether it is ture or not, that is not the point, the point is that if no one thought they had a purpose in thier life, we would have a bunch of lazy bums. People need that something to reach for, to believe that they are the only one who can do it...I don't think that even you could honestly say that you disagree with me on this one. I bet that you think you have a purpose, maybe it is to raise two beautiful children, or to stand up for animal rights (these are just off the top of my head), but no matter what it is you think that there is a reason for you to be alive to live another day...
hollaback said:
Sure, I have no problem with that. If we agreed on everything, what would we have to talk about? And thanks for the apology; very gracious of you, so let's just put that behind us.
And on your main point, I'd agree on one level that we all have a purpose, but we'd probably disagree on the source of the purpose. I think we have to make our own purposes and create our own meanings. As I've said somewhere else, I think the meaning of life is to be found in our relationships with other people, in what we can do to, with, for, and sometimes in spite of, those we love best. That's all there is, as far as I can tell, so my family and friends I cherish beyond measure.
And how did you know I have two beautiful children?
Re: RE: What is your religion?
That's really far too small a sample to be significant, we'd need about a thousand responses before the results would mean anything, but I'm a little surprised that the total of the agnostic/atheist/no religion groups has fluctuated between about 45 and 50%. Seems way too high to me, I'd have guessed it at about 10% in the general population. I wouldn't put much stock in the CIA Yearbook though. I've read the bits of it that describe how Canada's government works, and it has almost nothing to do with how things really are.
Rick van Opbergen said:
That's really far too small a sample to be significant, we'd need about a thousand responses before the results would mean anything, but I'm a little surprised that the total of the agnostic/atheist/no religion groups has fluctuated between about 45 and 50%. Seems way too high to me, I'd have guessed it at about 10% in the general population. I wouldn't put much stock in the CIA Yearbook though. I've read the bits of it that describe how Canada's government works, and it has almost nothing to do with how things really are.
Re: RE: What is your religion?
That's the CIA in a nutshell. Why worry about the facts when a perfectly good manipulative fiction will do?
Dexter Sinister said:
That's the CIA in a nutshell. Why worry about the facts when a perfectly good manipulative fiction will do?
Yes I know that I need to have thousands of responses before I can get a good structure in this, but I was a bit influenced by a lesson of sociology I had ... it seems that Protestants more than Catholics have the chance to abandon their faith (if not they themselves, their children and grandchildren) ... for example, 100 years ago approximately 60% of all Dutchmen were Protestant and 40% Catholic ... nowadays, about 35% of all Dutch are Catholic (relatively stable), while only 25% of all Dutchmen are Protestant (large decrease) ... one of the reasons mentioned was the fact that not-so-religious Protestants, or "mainstream" (not Orthodox) Protestants are less focused on their own religious group compared to Roman Catholics ... thus you will find more people among mainstream Protestants who themselves, or else their offspring, abandon their faith and join the unaffiliated crowd, because they have no bond anymore with their religious group... I realize now that has little to do with the poll ... though it does make me wonder: what is the background of the people who voted for agnostic, or atheist?
If you think as I do that organized religion :roll: (raised protestant sort of)is the bane of most of the worlds problems George Carlin puts it best, language aside - at least as far as Christianity is concerned:
When it comes to bulls**t, big-time, major league bulls**t, you have to stand in awe of the all-time champion of false promises and exaggerated claims,religion. No contest. No contest. Religion. Religion easily has the greatest bulls**t story ever told. Think about it. Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever 'til the end of time!
But He loves you. He loves you, and He needs money! He always needs money! He's all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow just can't handle money! Religion takes in billions of dollars, they pay no taxes, and they always need a little more. Now, you talk about a good bulls**t story. Holy s**t!
_______________________________________________
I have a question for Hollabak. Do you as a Christian think that only the Christian God is the correct God and that all other religions are comprised of heathens?
When it comes to bulls**t, big-time, major league bulls**t, you have to stand in awe of the all-time champion of false promises and exaggerated claims,religion. No contest. No contest. Religion. Religion easily has the greatest bulls**t story ever told. Think about it. Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever 'til the end of time!
But He loves you. He loves you, and He needs money! He always needs money! He's all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow just can't handle money! Religion takes in billions of dollars, they pay no taxes, and they always need a little more. Now, you talk about a good bulls**t story. Holy s**t!
_______________________________________________
I have a question for Hollabak. Do you as a Christian think that only the Christian God is the correct God and that all other religions are comprised of heathens?
Zed, that is truly one of the funniest things I've ever read, made all the funnier for being so true. Thanks for the laugh.
Zed the way how you view on religion is in essence, the same way how religious people can look at a secular society. Sounds kind of philosophic, but let's evaluate: secular society has convinced people that they can control their own lives, and that you have to be rational when you observe things. In essence one can claim that secular society has putten the focus on the way you look, they way you consume, the way you abuse. Look good, is the message I hear among my fellow youngsters; earn money, is the philosophy of life; and - whispering - be selfish. I like secular society, besides these bad things. I like the fact I can believe what I want. I like it that I can drink alcohol, that I can go to a club and dance and not worry about consequences of a bad afterlife. It's a double feeling though.
Mutual respect is what we need here Zed. Sure, there are aspects in religion which make my elbrows frown; I also dislike it that there are people who are trapped in a religion; but some people are also trapped in a secular society. We don't have to be ignorant, or indifferent, about it. But the way you approach it is wrong Zed. Your personal views: fine. Asking Hollabak on his views on other religions: useless. Do you believe all religious people are heathens?
Mutual respect is what we need here Zed. Sure, there are aspects in religion which make my elbrows frown; I also dislike it that there are people who are trapped in a religion; but some people are also trapped in a secular society. We don't have to be ignorant, or indifferent, about it. But the way you approach it is wrong Zed. Your personal views: fine. Asking Hollabak on his views on other religions: useless. Do you believe all religious people are heathens?
I type this with the utmost respect for everyones opinions.
If somebody tells me I'm going to Hell because I don't believe in God that is a sign of disrespect - as far as I'm concerned(by the way I never said whether or not I was a believer). As for asking Hollabak what he/she thinks of the Christian religion compared to others I think it's a valid question. We know Hollabaks opinion of Atheists,they're all going to hell. Why not find out how he/she feels about other religions. I'm not trying to denegrate anyone's religion. Just curious about how religion works. I noticed you started the post wondering what religion everyone was. Why? What difference does it make if were not supposed to talk about it?
If somebody tells me I'm going to Hell because I don't believe in God that is a sign of disrespect - as far as I'm concerned(by the way I never said whether or not I was a believer). As for asking Hollabak what he/she thinks of the Christian religion compared to others I think it's a valid question. We know Hollabaks opinion of Atheists,they're all going to hell. Why not find out how he/she feels about other religions. I'm not trying to denegrate anyone's religion. Just curious about how religion works. I noticed you started the post wondering what religion everyone was. Why? What difference does it make if were not supposed to talk about it?
Dexter Sinister said:
yeah, but that's not what I'm talking about. I called someone long distance and I wasn't supposed to. I told her that it was someone else and weeks later she called the number and talked to the person and asked why he was letting me call him and all kinds of crap. I was really scared that she would never let me talk to this person again. (and my phone bill was about 1000 dollars including the 3 other phones.) Now this person that I called is my boyfriend and she's ok with that...those are the lies that I'm talking about.
Aw hockeybabe, don't sweat it. You apologized and she still loves ya, or you wouldn't still be there. It's not like you were dialing some dirty 900 number or just calling people you didn't know out of the blue.
Us mums are pretty forgiving you know.
Us mums are pretty forgiving you know.
Zed said:I type this with the utmost respect for everyones opinions.
If somebody tells me I'm going to Hell because I don't believe in God that is a sign of disrespect - as far as I'm concerned(by the way I never said whether or not I was a believer). As for asking Hollabak what he/she thinks of the Christian religion compared to others I think it's a valid question. We know Hollabaks opinion of Atheists,they're all going to hell. Why not find out how he/she feels about other religions. I'm not trying to denegrate anyone's religion. Just curious about how religion works. I noticed you started the post wondering what religion everyone was. Why? What difference does it make if were not supposed to talk about it?
These are good points. It most certainly is a valid question, albeit on a subject that makes people surprisingly twitchy. In a thread dedicated to religion, I personally have to say that anything goes on the subject.
Certainly. However it makes me wonder two things: 1) Is this the common line of thinking among religious people? 2) Is it also a sign of disrespect when someone says "Religion easily has the greatest bulls**t story ever told"?Zed said:
Now Hollaback apologizes for his (her?) statements. Why I opposed your question is that - but I don't know, so I could be totally wrong, and you will surely get my apologies if it's like that- in the context of your post, the question for Hollaback does not stem from a genuine interest, as it seems you have made your conclusion already about religion ("organized religion [...] the bane of most of the worlds problems").
You won't hear me saying we are not supposed to talk about it. I just think that you have to keep more things into consideration. As I said: "we don't have to be ignorant, or indifferent, about it".Zed said: