<p>atheist </p>
<p>(+10)</p>
<p>I consider myself an open-minded Atheist.</p>
<p>@goat4d: That's why I believe in Divine Intervention. I just can't buy the whole Adam & Eve and Noah stories. Atleast not literally. I believe God created life and the Universe, just not the way the Bible says it happened.</p>
<p>a rather open minded atheist. im also into universal unitarianism tho</p>
<p>Very atheist.</p>
<p>Like many of you, I was raised with mainstream Christianity. For the past few years, I've moved in a deist/agnostic direction. Right now, if I were to have to answer the 'belief in God' question, I would be unsure of my response. In the end, either believing in a atheist world-view, or a non-interventionist Deist view, end-up looking very similar. As far as it affects college, I don't think I would be happy in a traditionally religious setting, as I've attended secular institutions all my life.</p>
<p>I'm extremely atheist.</p>
<p>goat4d: That "argument by disbelief" is really very weak. I could explain to you how what you just described doesn't really mean anything, but instead, I'm going to recommend 2 books to you:</p>
<p>The first is The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins, which is considered by many to be one of the best-written books on evolutionary biology for laypersons.</p>
<p>Second is Climbing Mount Improbable, also by Dawkins, which addresses the argument you just made, among others.</p>
<p>In a nutshell, though, the argument you made makes little to no sense. Yes, life is complicated. However, it's much more of a stretch to say its origin was a designer than its origin being incremental changes based on a known and verified principle (natural selection). Also, life didn't "come from nothing". The Big Bang occurred, and through well-documented and researched processes (stellar evolution etc.) created the wide variety of atoms and stars and planets and galaxies etc. etc. etc. On Earth, it is unclear how the first life started, but there are a number of excellent theories involving the primordial seas that Earth was covered in early in its lifetime.</p>
<p>Since it takes entire books to properly cover the arguments, I'm not going to be able to suitably expound on them in a post of any reasonable length. The fact is, there are excellent explanations for many of the "arguments from incredulity" floating around out there. I really think that, if you are to be reasonable, saying "I think it's ridiculous that x could be created/evolve by y" obligates you to at least make yourself knowledgeable about the explanations for how that happens.</p>
<hr>
<p>Sorry to get a bit off topic, but while I won't argue with people's beliefs about things that can't reasonably be investigated, making up arbitrary statements of improbability and disbelief is something that riles me up.</p>
<p>My belief is that organized religion was created to keep people in line by feeding them BS and brainwashing them. That said, I do believe in some kind of 'god': the driving force behind the laws of nature and physics. But this god doesn't want your praise, and will not send you to "heaven" or "hell" (depending on your credit rating) after you die.</p>
<p>I really have trouble understanding how a rational person can believe that God -- a merciful and omnipotent entity -- created them for the sole purpose of worshipping him, and if they fail to do so they will burn in hell for eternity. (I realise that this does not apply to all religions.) Isn't it kind of arrogant to assume that this supreme being gives a damn what you do with your short and irrelevant existence? And isn't it kind of sad to believe that he does?</p>
<p>Landover Church is a parody of extreme "Christianity" that you all fell for lol Wiki things goodness</p>
<p>And to devious, that is not what Christianity is, all of you need to study things before you criticize them.</p>
<p>Actually, I wasn't talking about Christianity in particular. More like the main theme behind the Abrahamic faiths.</p>
<p>That's not to say there's nothing wrong with Christianity though. After all, there's nothing odd about believing that some guy with a healing touch and the ability to walk on water died for our sins, and then came back to life shortly thereafter, right? Oh, and he happens to be the son of God. And also God himself.</p>
<p>devious_</p>
<p>The Old Testament is a lot different from the New Testament.</p>
<p>I'm not a religious nut either. As I said before, a lot of things you are taught could contradict religion. But I still think that it is better to believe in religion than the oftentimes dull, prosaic, merciless world of today.</p>
<p>Raised catholic, now agnostic. I would say that my family is more "culturally catholic" than relgiously, too, like observing dietary rules during lent and observing certain saints' feast days, etc.</p>
<p>I once heard a quote, "There are no Catholic children, only people with Catholic parents."</p>
<p>I find creationists to be the most frustrating people in the world. I especially find creationist science majors frustrating.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Landover Church is a parody of extreme "Christianity" that you all fell for lol Wiki things goodness
[/quote]
Duh, that's why I laughed in my post.</p>
<p>Yeah, I don't believe in religion.</p>
<p>I'm an atheist</p>
<p>atheist, although several of my friends are christian ... which I don't mind at all :)</p>
<p>I'm not religious but I've always wondered why its a widely held belief that "new" religions couldn't possible be true and is a cult but one thats been around for thousands of years is somehow more valid. Isn't that how all religions started out?</p>
<p>^^Yes, that IS how all religions started out. Maintstream religions just happen to be the most successful cults. "Cult" didn't always have the negative connotation it does now. It actually comes from the Latin "cultus" meaning "care" and "adoration."</p>
<p>No Grumfrum. You are the antichrist. /endsarcasm</p>