<p>This was a fun thread to read! I’ll go along with it.
I am a Christian. I am proud of my faith. There have been times when I have questioned my faith and the Church, but I realize there is a God and I get past it. Personally, I don’t like the Christians, or any person for that matter, that shoves their beliefs down others’ throats. If you believe in God, then awesome. If you don’t, then awesome. We all can believe in what we want to believe in. I personally have been raised in the Catholic faith and continue to live the faith.</p>
<p>I’m sick of all these uneducated people making all these false claims that atheists just “guessed” things. Where the hell are they getting this information from? The Bible? Sorry to them, but that was fiction. And what makes these people rag on JUST Atheism and Atheists? If you ask me, they’re all just trying to act all, “I’m so cool, I hate Atheists!” Honestly, I think they’re all just lazy, and it’s easier for them just to bring down people of no religion who actually devote their effort into thinking for themselves than to actually get off their ass and devote time to thinking logically.</p>
<p>I can’t devote to one religion. Yeah, there may be a higher power but that doesn’t mean that Christianity is the ABSOLUTE right religion or Islam/Judaism/whatever are the absolute religion. They’re just ideas… </p>
<p>I can understand people believing in a god. I can’t understand them believing in a religion.</p>
<p>Read the Bible. –>Why? Because God wrote it. –>How do you know God wrote it? Because the Bible says so.</p>
<p>^Tautology!</p>
<p>@Grisam- I know how you feel, about choosing one particular religion. I personally believe that if one believes in anything from Islam to Christianity to Atheism, as long as they are doing so for the right reasons, they can live a good life and attain some portion of what we conceive “heaven” to be.</p>
<p>I personally am a Roman Catholic because that is what I was raised as. I do believe there is a God, just not one that humans will ever be able to comprehend, but I do not think that the Roman Catholic God exists in the form that many people believe.</p>
<p>The reason that I am religious is that I view it as a moral compass for my life and it helps me to be a valuable member of society. I do not take the bible literally and I do not expect others to.</p>
<p>Then again, I’m probably not the typical Christian :)</p>
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<p>That doesn’t mean we should, only that we can. So people believing that some things are wrong is not “awesome” within the context of your framework if what you believe doesn’t allow for that dissent. Such as your own framework as a Catholic.</p>
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<p>What would that be? What is “many people?” Does that include, for example, the Church, which you implicitly as a Catholic believe teaches definitively on issues of faith and morals?</p>
<p>^It’s incredible that you can find something to argue about in such benign statements. How contentious can someone be?</p>
<p>I’d like to believe that there is a higher power that possesses the answers to life, that can definitively state why certain aspects and “facts” are what they are. I feel that my life is compiled of assumptions and uncertainty. Nothing aside from thought itself can be definitively proven, and to acknowledge or believe that some alternative figure possesses that knowledge serves as a comforting factor. It maintains my sanity and provides me with hope, something that enables me to continue to function, even though that hope could insinuate nothing more than a false assumption.</p>
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<p>I simply do not cnsider them benign at all. I’m being completely honest here.</p>
<p>Your beliefs and actions are my business to me.</p>
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<p>@Baelor- You make some good points. I’m still finding myself a bit from a religious standpoint, and I do not believe that the Church is infallible or should be followed blindly. For instance, I struggle with the Church’s teachings on Euthanasia.</p>
<p>I also believe that too many people expect God to be a physical being or at least someone who answers the “prayer hotline” when they want him to. I personally just accept that I will never be able to comprehend the true nature of our higher power.</p>
<p>" I also believe that too many people expect God to be a physical being or at least someone who answers the “prayer hotline” when they want him to. I personally just accept that I will never be able to comprehend the true nature of our higher power. " </p>
<p>-I agree. I think God is too complicated for us unenlightened folks to understand.</p>
<p>As humans, many of us survive by the thought that there is a higher being who loves unconditionally, who died for our sins, presents salvation, promises us an afterlife without flaws, and forgives us for ours. Some have experiences – miracles, divine intervention, what have you – that they feel can only be explained by God. There are boundless other reasons.</p>
<p>For me, it’s about a connection I can’t quite articulate. I feel incredibly close to God and do not doubt his presence in my everyday life. For what it’s worth, I’m Quaker.</p>
<p>If it’s not painfully obvious, I didn’t read the whole thread.</p>
<p>Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb…</p>
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<p>Right, that complicates things. So you are baptized Catholic, but not in communion with the Church. Thanks for responding to me.</p>
<p>Baelor- Soo you’re going to misconstrue my statement and make me look like a terrible person for not blindly following the Catholic faith? Okay…</p>
<p>Hardly. I’m using technical terms here. Communion with th Church means believing its teachings. You do not. But you are baptized. Where is the problem?</p>
<p>When you decided my beliefs were your issue.
As I was saying, I do believe in the teachings of the Church. I have to argue with some teachings of the Church, but I do follow and believe in most of the teachings.</p>
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<p>Salvation of mankind is my issue. So everyone’s beliefs are my issue.</p>
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<p>You cannot disagree with some teachings of the Church vis-a-vis faith and morals yet at the same time agree that the Church teaches infallibly/definitively thereupon. Therefore, by disagreeing with the Church on euthanasia, you are stating that you do not believe the Church has the full authority it grants itself. How can you claim, then, that you are in communion with a body whose full legitimacy you do not recognize?</p>
<p>When did I disagree with euthanasia first of all?</p>
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<p>You have a really busy job :P</p>