<p>i was baptized catholic, had my first communion as a lutheran and now i don't go to church at all</p>
<p>i'm not sure if my beliefs fit into any one religion, but i do consider myself very spiritual and deffinetly believe that there is a higher power</p>
<p>I think that religion is basically the most obsurd and pointless thing on this planet. wars are fought over some peoples beliefs because something about "their god saying they should become martyrs," People argue over this stuff WITHOUT ANY FACTS to back it up. people should keep their religion to themselves (which is why the country has a seperation of church and state). </p>
<p>Religion is your own personal feelings on something, not what you are told to believe and what not to believe cuz how do they know they are right (or even know that you are wrong)</p>
<p>I think religion for the few is based on their personal feelings. Religion is enforced upon most at such a young age when they are easily impressionable and when you dangle the carrot ("heaven") with the threat of the stick ("hell"), it isn't a surprise that most children follow in the religion of their parents.</p>
<p>I don't know how many of you have gone through really and I mean really, tough times ... but if you have there is just something about it that just screams out that there has to be a God. I grew up in a Christian home and church was just church many times, but when things got really bad..... I dont' even know if I can put this into words, but it is just that there is something inside that tugs at you and says that there is a Creator, a being of higher power. </p>
<p>"religion is basically the most obsurd and pointless thing on this planet"
- There are many more pointless things and absurd things we do on this planet. Although most people tend to focus on the negative aspects of faith and religion (which are generally due to human error, not the Supreme being's), there have been many good aspects to it. Plus, organized religion isn't as bad as many people think. For the most part, it is just a bunch of people with a common interest and belief coming together to learn, discuss and many times further their cause. Which, when you think about it, it's just what we do here on CC.</p>
<p>CC is definitely not a religion, we dont worship college admissions. Thats a terrible comparison. and relgion is completely pointless, personal views are everything and a supreme being is nothing.</p>
<p>farbdogg71: I am not sure what you meant by saying that wars are fought over some people's beliefs because "something about 'their god saying they should become martyrs.'" If you are referring to Muslim extremists and are criticizing Islam for creating such terrorists, you are deeply misinformed and ignorant. Islam does not teach individuals to become terrorists and wage war against our nation. Of course, it is the right of the US to protect itself against threats and fight a war if required, but this isn't necessarily a 'war of religions.' It's simply an extreme interpretation taken by Islamic terrorists.</p>
<p>It's interesting how you say that religion is the most "obsurd" and "pointless thing on this planet" when the vast majority of the world's population follows one religion or another. I don't think it's fair that you can make a "blanket statement" like that. People argue over religion with facts, if you think about it. Look, there were people who lived long ago called Jesus and Mohammed - that's undisputable. When they argue that there is a God out there - they use facts. For instance, are you suggesting that the intricate arrangement of DNA that composes our bodies is just a random accident? Or do you think that the creation of the universe was an accident? (To put things in perspective, as you probably already know, the earth is like a grain of sand on a beach) Clearly, there are facts that people use when they argue about religion - it's not just personal feelings; although, I will admit, that to a certain extent, personal feelings is what makes up a person's religion. But if you look at each religion, they ultimately teach about the same God and pretty much the same beliefs. There are only minor differences between many of the world's major religions.</p>
<p>my family thinks im catholic, but im really an agnostic, id like to say we cant know anything for sure, but that statement alone is based on the pretense that we can</p>
<p>only paradox in my belief that worries me lol</p>
<p>this smug certainty that religion is "absurd" and "pointless" coming from some of the atheists here smacks of the same close-mindedness that they accuse religion of possessing</p>
<p>what i find really interesting is that many (not all!) people of extreme views on either side ("extreme atheist" and "extreme christian" if you will) possess a sense of superiority (intellectual for the former, moral for the latter) over the other. I think both are equally despicable.</p>
<p>I think organized religion arose out of pure necessity. When unexplainable things happened, such as miracles or extreme tragedies, people sought to understand them with no success. What bugs us humans the most is not knowing WHY things happen, and for that reason, a belief in a higher, all powerful being developed. </p>
<p>Believing that a higher power controls things explains all the mysteries of the world, and it makes the tragedies of life easier to bear. </p>
<p>If anyone wants an intellectual yet easily understood look at Christianity, check out "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis. The religion is not about getting a happy feeling (although it does do this and there is a lot of hope in Christ), It's about finding God, understanding how and why we were created, and following the evidence/fulfilled prohecies to a messiah, and then acting on it.</p>
<p>Also, I do not think I am superior to anyone else. There is absolutely nothing I can do by myself that can put in me favor with God.</p>
<p>christianity is the worst of them all, worst than the extreme islamics. they have killed millions of people throughout the years because of their beliefs or looks. even today, people who claim they have good morals are the republican christians who show no tolerance for anythign what so ever. </p>
<p>jewish people are bad to, if they wouldnt claim themselves as the choosen people they wouldnt be looked at the way they are. doing that makes people feel less important and creates an unspoken anger.</p>
<p>in fact everyone is bad, which is why this country enforces seperation of church and state. people should come before religion. religion is fantasy and people are real.</p>
<p>I am also of the "Christmas-Easter" episcopalian variety, though I don't really even celebrate easter. I also consider myself agnostic; I haven't decided what I believe with regard to a higher power or not. I wonder if physics will solve the mystery of how the universe was formed in my life time. I think that another Einstein could answer that question and basically prove all of religion wrong...that would be interesting.</p>