<p>Just because people do things in the name of God doesn't mean that there is a God. I do appreciate a lot of things that religious people have done. But 90% of wars also have their basis in religion.</p>
<p>I'm an atheist. My entire family is atheist. My brother and I still had to go to Hebrew school until we were at least 14, which I now appreciate much more than I did then. My future kids are going to go to Hebrew school and they're going to become a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. If they believe in God, (or gods) that's their prerogative, but they're going to go for the cultural aspect of Judaism, just as how I've embraced my Jewish roots and fuse them into my life.</p>
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it just seems kinda obnoxious that God would want us to sacrifice things like our diet to show obedience. i think such traditions are more to show self-command....
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<p>I agree. If there is a god who sends good people to hell for eating meat on fridays (or the equivalent) then I want nothing to do with him.</p>
<p>I have no problem with someone who is religious and uses their belief in god to better their own life. I only have a problem when someone forces their religion on someone else. There is no way to prove which religion is "right" so accept your own as well as others. I also have a problem with people who uses their religious beliefs to demean other. For example right wing conservatives (Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly) who think that just because they traditional "christian" values they can bully the world.</p>