Re: What is your religion?
 

i ones read something about god being seen as a close friend by christians in usa, while in most of europe he is seens as at best a distant trickster...

Re: What is your religion?
 

i would say that hole is more parent-figure shaped then god-shaped.

we go some 15 years without having to take responsibility for our own actions, instead thats our parents duty.

but when the time comes for this to change, it can be a big jump. as such it can be mentally beneficial to have a kind of omnipresent parent that will always be there for guidance, comfort and the required corrections.

Re: What is your religion?
 

As to the 'Everyone has a God-shaped hole in their lives' argument. Unless that was meant as a joke, I say: Bollocks.

Re: What is your religion?
 

As for my God-Shaped hole... it's happily filled with something called a wife.. and a family... and a life.

If your wife isn't filling whatever hole in your life.. chances are you probably aren't filling the right hole(s) for her either ;) :p

Re: What is your religion?
 

"Christian Buddhist" isn't on the list.

Nor is "anti-Islam", for that matter.

Re: What is your religion?
 

I'm a festivian. Festivus for the rest of us! lol

Re: What is your religion?
 

Neither is "Frisbeetarian".

Re: What is your religion?
 

Perhaps I should not be stirring this pot, but why should "Anti-Islam" be a religion?

Christians, Jews and Muslims all worship the same God. The God of Abraham. If it were to be added, souldn't it be "Anti-Judaism-Christian-Islam" or "Anti-Abrahamic"

I think what actually would fit better is "Anti-extremism" which would not single out entire religions. I personally think Christian extremism is just as if not more dangerous than Islamic extremism.

Can't we all just get along?

Re: What is your religion?
 

Re: What is your religion?
 

This is exatly how I see it! Never heart it beeing expressed by someone else in the exact same words I like to explain it in. ;-)
Cheers!

Re: What is your religion?
 

Uh, eh?
So how can one be christian without religious, again?

Re: What is your religion?
 

I prefer the term irreligious, since athiest in the U.S. have begun to proselytize as bad as any Mormon or Jehovah's Witness I've ever met.

Wtf, guys? Seriously... "Be careful when you fight the monsters, lest you become one."

Re: What is your religion?
 

Not nearly as much as you've been led to believe. As always (this pretty much applies to all those truisms you've heard about the US), the US is a big place, and generalizations about it like the one above aren't particularly useful for understanding it.

Sure, there are some parts of the US where your religious views (or anti-religious) are disproportionately important to people, but these places are generally not medium or large-sized cities and aren't really as common as some people seem to believe.

The odd thing about people calling atheism a "belief system" is that, for me, religion does not play any sort of meaningful role in my life. Other than occasionally being harassed by one of the crazier fundamentalist types or finding little Jesus pamphlets stuffed in among the metaphysical books at my old job, I just don't give a damn about religion or god. It's not really so much that I actively disbelieve, as that I actively just don't give a damn.

Religion is not important to me, and god is not important to me. TA-t3's analogy about stamp collecting is quite apt here.

Re: What is your religion?
 

I'll throw an exception in there. Salt Lake City... or really the entire state of Utah. I grew up as a mormon but have since disowned it.. and through school when kids would find out I'm not mormon they'd look at me as some kind of plague.

Growing up I find that a bunch of my "mormon" friends, or so I thought, would be friends for a short time trying to get me to "go" to church.. when they realized this wasn't going to happen - they simply stopped calling.

That isn't to say anything negative about Mormon's as a whole.. it's just that this state is so heavily filled with them that being anything but can really teach a guy to be severely pissed about all things religious. ( I spent a number of my teen years angrily arguing with everyone I could just to get a rise out of them and push their belief's. I've calmed down a bit since the Navy and realized it wasn't the "standard" ).

Re: What is your religion?
 

hmm, now im reminded of a youtube video or similar where two scientists answer questions from callers, and get a guy on the phone that wants to talk about creation.

this goes one quite calmly for maybe 10 mins, with things going back and forth but the scientists having the better arguments.

then the guy goes noticeably silent, suddenly yelling all kinds of profanity at them before hanging up...

Re: What is your religion?
 

I surely agree when it comes to individual people.
But what really scares me is the amount of phrases like "gods own country", "god wants us to..." and so on that are used in a supposedly non-religious context, mostly politics. Especially the republican speeches and press releases are filled with these. Over here someone who claims he is chosen by god and knows what "his" will is, might be considered a dangerous fanatic. In the US such agitators get voted for by a huge percentage and not only despite they say things like that, but because they do.
That really scares me!

Re: What is your religion?
 

as a outsider i have gotten the impression that the so-called "bible belt" has a lot to say about the outcome of presidential elections.

and it seems the while most of europe have a continual struggle to get religion out of government, usa have one to keep religion out.

btw, i also heard that the least wanted us president would be one who was a declared atheist. even a radical muslim would be more accepted...

Re: What is your religion?
 

Considering the fact that the founding fathers of the United States where mostly atheists or deists and did their best to keep religion out of the government, it's really sad to see how it ended today. IIRC, the motto "in god we trust" became the official motto in 1956.

"this would be the best of all possible worlds, if there was no religion in it." -- Thomas Jefferson

Re: What is your religion?
 

Christian extremists are trying to bring back the Dark Ages.
Muslim extremists are trying to get into the twenty first century.

Christian extremists are frowned upon by mainstream Christians.
Muslim extremists are culled by mainstream muslims.

The problem with "getting along" is that it doesn't work very well if one side is convinced that "getting along" equals to you sticking your *rse in the air five times a day, lest you get knifed like a swine.

The only good muslim is an ex-muslim.

Re: What is your religion?
 

When I say this, I am dead serious: I'm a Pastafarian.

Yes, I worship the Flying Spaghetti Monster and was converted from Atheism.

I have a couple problems at my high school, though. I told a friend about the Gospel, and he began cursing at me, claiming that there's no proof that he exists and you can't believe in something that's invisible.

As another Pastafarian friend put it, "You're fighting an uphill battle. Some people just don't see the irony in the situation."

I lol'd.

Re: What is your religion?
 

Good point.

There is a difference between a strong atheist and a weak atheist.

Just like there are die-hard <fill in followers or a (sub-)religion> (e.g. Baptists).

You assume there is a god.

Re: What is your religion?
 

Yes, that happened with more cultures and religions. The Celtic Druids for example, or the original religions of Italy and Greece. Norway. The witches in Europe. All destroyed. Sometimes killed literally in the name of God, sometimes by converting & missionaries. And that is what it in the end boils down to: who owns the biggest piece of the pie.

You should look up the military inteventations of the USA past WWII. Both military and covert ops (e.g. CIA). Then study the effects of that, and then tell me the USA hasn't acted like a bully who owns the world. If you look at these effects, many people have died due to this. Not only Salvador Allende, but all the results of him taken out of power -- to name an example.

Re: What is your religion?
 

Well, he'd know if he were one...

Re: What is your religion?
 

Yes, ok, so equal problem.

:confused:

Great logic. You forgot Christianity and started to uncapitalize Muslim *claps*.

Suggestion: Stick in Belgium. You belong there, between the other intollerant Filip De Winter groupies.

Re: What is your religion?
 

Yeah, that whole nation is based upon fata morganas. Like the economy :p no fear, god is going to wipe that 15 zero long national debt! :rolleyes: :D

Re: What is your religion?
 

Oh, really? According to certain New Age theories we all are Gods. Why then, other people don't realize this?

Re: What is your religion?
 

And where did the ETs come from? And don't say, "a previous ET civilization"... :p

By definition, the being who makes the rules never cheats.

Re: What is your religion?
 

Look, all religions are the same under the mask. There is a reason there are more and more atheists now than ever. Let me explain...

Religion is simply a institutionalized morality. It is basically a bunch of people or a single person (Christ, Buddha, Muhammad, etc..) who make some rules that they believe will create the most social harmony. And what a shocker, the core rules are almost ALWAYS the same. Lets see, no killing, stealing, disrespect, be nice, etc.... The differences come in the superficial aspects (the mask), such as "no abortion or gays" or "women must cover their faces." Yes, these are important to their SPECIFIC social order, but taken out of context they make no sense. The core values are all that are important.

So, how does this make more atheists today? Well, in a country diverse as the USA, and in the Bay Area of San Fransisco, so many religions clash, that none is seen as an authority. Instead, we get our "Moral Order" from the government and ourselves, aka atheist. Of course, some of us want more guidance in our lives, so we turn to religion. Simple as that.

If anyone tells you a religion is better than another, and you should switch, ask yourself why. What better guidance can the alternative religion offer. If it is some ******** answer, then the person is simply trying to gain power.

(A example of a ******** answer is the Flying Spaghetti Monster example given previously. The "converter" said that it was impossible for the FSM to exist because it was invisible and stuff. He failed to see the irony of the Monster, which is you don't have to see to believe. Its simply a moral set, not some holy man or something...)

If any one the Founders of different religions were here today, I bet they would be SICK to the core to see us "killing in the name of."

Re: What is your religion?
 

I might call myself a religious atheist. That is, I think that there are many positive aspects of religion. I just think their main premise is wrong.

Someone said that in order to be a true atheist, you would have to be omnipotent. True, the same goes for you who don't believe in Santa. Have you checked everywhere to see whether Santa was there? No, you haven't.

If the above reasoning is correct about Santa, I am an agnostic about Santa and about God.

If the reasoning cited is a crock, which I believe it is, then I am an atheist.

By the way, here is another position to take, that of an "ignostic". An ignostic is someone who can't figure out who this God character is that everyone talks about. Since people have such different beliefs (and I myself believe in God if He is defined as pi or some other mathematical concept), the ignostic just can't figure out what is being discussed.

Re: What is your religion?
 

I was pleased to see that the vote before mine pushed the combined total of Linux + No Religion over 50% (now 46 of 90 votes). Way to keep it real, ITT!
Your sad devotion to that ancient religion has not helped you conjure up the stolen data tapes or given you clairvoyance enough to find the rebels' hidden fortress. But whatever gets you through the night is all right, all right.

Re: What is your religion?
 

this should probably lighten your day:
http://fashionablygeek.com/t-shirts/...s-go-together/

Re: What is your religion?
 

Now I understand why there is a bible reader in the maemo repositories...

Re: What is your religion?
 

There are turtles all the way down? :D

And thanks (as there is no "thanks" button in off-topid) to GA for the clarification - things are often more subtle than it may appear from outside.

Re: What is your religion?
 

no ****, sherlock...

the worriesome thing is when its only loaded with a digital version of the "king james" variant of the text...

Re: What is your religion?
 

I suggest you read that again.


:confused:

Glad you caught that. I can assure you it was not unintentional.

... says the one from the country where Fortuyn was shot in the head because the leftie loonie didn't like his political views.

... says the one from the country where Theo Van Gogh was knifed and gutted by a muslim mainstreamer because he didn't like the way Theo talked about his "prophet".

Dude, you really need a reality check.

Re: What is your religion?
 

Go try turn your booze into water.

Re: What is your religion?
 

I suggest you take another look at the rules of the alleged prophet Mohammed, about the killing, respecting and being nice parts. Also, Islam is not so much a religion as it is an ideology, and one with more than passing resemblances to other fascist ideologies.

Re: What is your religion?
 

iirc, what mohammed did was adapt old testament thinking to something acceptable by the various warrior honor cultures in and around the middle-eastern peninsula and the sahara desert.

much the same kind of warrior honor that one find in the old knights of europe, or the samurai of japan.

Re: What is your religion?
 

And what I heard is that odds are Mohammed never even existed, and that the Koran was originally a collection of simplified excerpts from the Bible and other Christian writings, adapted for the simple goat fuc^H^H^Hherding Arab nomads of the peninsula. A bunch of warlords then used these writings to justify their ways, but as usual with humans, things got out of hand.

Mind you, a non-existing Mohammed is somewhat of an improvement over a pedophile Mohammed.

Re: What is your religion?
 

i take it your not much fond of the latest wave of muslim immigrants/"invaders", karel ;)

i suspect the person existed, but that the claims of his exploits have been exaggerated over the centuries.