What religion are you?

College Confidential Community
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<p>jyancy,</p>

<p>you are a very committed person/atheist. I would go so far as to say, you are dogmatically anti-religious. You seem to have absolute certainty about your beliefs and opinions (atheism). There does not seem to be any room for error in your view: atheism is the only possible reasonable view. You also seem to be very judgmental and condescending in your opinions and quick to condemn those views you disagree with.</p>

<p>By the criteria of secweb.org (certainly a neutral web page) would you be considered religious too? The reason I feel I should ask is because you apparently do not need to believe in a god to be "religious" according to your posts, just display "religious qualities/tendencies,” whatever they may be and under varied and unrelated circumstances.</p>

<p>To this degree is "atheism" a religion for you as you apparently think it was for Stalin or Mao? According to your view, you would seem to be a very (secweb.org) religious person filled with the certainty of your beliefs, IMHO. Not even the Pope or the Dali Llama seem so certain and proud of their faith as you seem to be of yours: Nothing wrong with that though.</p>

<p>"Communist heaven would be sometime in the future when all people would be happy and equal under Communism rather than after death."</p>

<p>Sounds a lot like a dogmatic "progressive-scientific" outlook on steroids, not religious at all—although, we should all hope for a better future based on our beliefs, I would think. For instance, “we should all love one another more in the future,” hard to argue with or objectively prove but a wonderful hope nonetheless. After all, is that what "progressive" means by definition: the future will be better than the past based on progressive/scientific ideals?</p>

<p>Hmmmmmm, sounds very religious by your stated definition. Don’t feel alone, I understand that there was no praying in the Stalin, Mao or Hitler household either, and apparently they were, according to your confirmed view, religious…..no?</p>

<p>Perhaps, everyone is religious (if god is not required to be religious after all), it’s just that some of us are more up-front about it than others—say Catholics or Hindus.</p>

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<p>muslim but ..i still believe in different things..and to me religion is more about having morals than following these set rules..its just more about being a good person and respecting others for who they are..</p>

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<p>I'm Christian, Protestant, and quite devoutly Calvinist, and though I don't go to church (my parents are unequally yoked -- my father's non-denom, and my mother's atheist) I do study the Bible on my own.</p>

<p>So in respone to whoever posted those questions a few pages back, I do agree with some of Yackityack's views, but s/he has a distinctly more Arminian view. Here's my response:</p>

<ol>
<li>Explain why, when slavery is clearly wrong, the Bible clearly supports slavery. Answering this question entails refuting 1 Peter 2:18. NOTE: under no circumstances will I believe that slavery is an acceptable way to run a society.</li>
</ol>

<p>Slavery in Biblical times is not equivalent to slavery today. Historically, slavery was actually the lowest class of people in a society, and slaves could work their way up. In many societies, a slave was someone who had lost all of his or her property to debt, and had no other way of surviving. In other situations, a slave was a prisoner of war who was enslaved in order to acculturate them to the conquerer's way of life. Also common was the selling of younger sons or daughters as slaves by poor families who could not get by any other way. This is one reason a slave's master was seen as merciful.</p>

<ol>
<li>If heaven is a place where everyone is perfectly happy, then explain how I could be happy in heaven if I had loved ones in Hell.</li>
</ol>

<p>Perfect happiness in heaven is the state of being close to God. For example, I derive happiness from feeling close to God. That happiness is different from the opposite of feeling sad that my mother is atheist -- it's the opposite of the despair you feel from feeling far from God. One kind of happiness originates from God, the other originates from you.</p>

<ol>
<li>If your god wants us to worship him through our own free will, why does he threaten us with Hell? If you have someone threatening you with a punishment, it isn't free will.</li>
</ol>

<p>God certainly wants us to worship him of our free will, but unfortunately we are unable to. The first of the Five Points of Calvinism: Humans are totally depraved. We cannot do anything in our own will to save ourselves, we cannot decide to believe in God, because we are so unreparably corrupt. In terms of salvation, we are dead already, so God must choose us, rather than the other way around. (i.e. predestination)
This argument makes the assumption that we have free will in the state of our souls. We don't -- we can only exercise our wills over human issues, not divine issues</p>

<ol>
<li>If Judas was willing to go to Hell for humanity, didn't he make more of a sacrifice than Jesus, who spent only three hours in pain? Shouldn't we then be worshipping Judas?</li>
</ol>

<p>As someone said earlier, Judas betrayed Jesus for the love of money (which is the root of all evil), not for the love of humanity.</p>

<ol>
<li>Explain why your "just and merciful" god sent bears to kill forty-two children who called his prophet Elisha "baldhead." (See 2 Kings 2:23-24).</li>
</ol>

<p>The God of the Old Testament -- the Jewish God, Yahweh/Adonai -- was a vengeful, jealous God who imposed many rules on his chosen people, the Jews. However, the Jews could only more or less please God in their time on earth; they could not join God in heaven. To do that, God sacrificed his only begotten son, because no amount of rule-following was sufficient to save his people.
Another view of "just and merciful": Humans deserve to die. As God said to Adam and Eve that they would surely die, they did, and so did humanity. We are dead within the total depravity of our sinful nature, dead because naturally there exists no good within us. You may ask, because I believe in double predestination (that some are predestined to heaven and others to hell) whether it's unfair or unjust that God chooses some but not others. I believe that if God sent a person to hell, it would be justice. If he decided to save someone, that is mercy.</p>

<ol>
<li>In view of Matthew 6:5-6, shouldn't prayer in public schools be discouraged? Support your answer with scripture quotes.</li>
</ol>

<p>Matthew 6:5-6 is telling us not to pray in order to be seen by other people to be praying. I go to a public school. I pray. No one sees me pray; I never fall to my knees and speak aloud. I pray in my "inner room, with [my] door closed, [and] pray to the Father who is there in the secret place."
Of course ,prayer in schools should be discouraged if it is only for other people to see the children praying.</p>

<ol>
<li>In the Genesis story, your god tells Adam and Eve that the day they eat from the tree of knowledge they will surely die (Gen 2:17). The devil tells them that they will not die, but that their eyes would be opened and they would know the difference between good and evil (Gen 3:5). Wasn't Satan telling the truth here? Is your god a liar? Justify your answer in light of Jeremiah 20:7 and Ezekiel 14:9.</li>
</ol>

<p>Humans did die, see my answer for #52. Satan therefore, lied in that humans would not die. Moreover, humans are unable to distinguish between good and evil -- how can you know what temptation is when you consistently succumb to it? You never know temptation is until you struggle to fight it.</p>

<ol>
<li>Is Jesus's three days in Hell really an ultimate sacrifice, when more than half of humanity going to spend eternity there (see question #11)?</li>
</ol>

<p>Jesus's three days in hell was not His ultimate sacrifice -- His ultimate sacrifice was His taking on and bearing all of the sins of the Elect in the past, present, and future. His pain came not from the nails in his wrists, but from the immense burden He was carrying. His three days in hell and then rising was how He conquered hell. See #52 again if you don't recall my views on humans in hell.</p>

<ol>
<li>If it was foretold that Jesus was to be crucified, and if he knew this, and if he was the son of your god, why did he do everything he could to avoid being crucified? (See, for instance, Matthew 26:39).</li>
</ol>

<p>Yackityack had the perfect answer for this one.</p>

<ol>
<li>Throughout the Bible, your god commands his followers to wage merciless war on unbelievers (Luke 22:36, Deuteronomy 13:8, Exodus 20:23-25, Deuteronomy 20:16, Matthew 10:34, Numbers 31:17-18, etc). If you are one of his followers, why aren't you out waging merciless war on unbelievers?</li>
</ol>

<p>I am, but not a physical war. You can't fight darkness with artillery. You fight it with a candle. The Bible tells us to be as a city on a hill; I believe (and this isn't a tenet of my religion, just a personal belief) that the best way to evangelize is to set a good example; unfortunately, many people don't share this belief and unknowingly work in the opposite direction.</p>

<p>Hope that helps! If you have any questions, feel free to PM me anytime or ask on the thread.</p>

<p>~ M</p>

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<p>Someone asked earlier "where was God when September 11th happened?" remember that God gave mankind free will, but in any event, God was "in" the tens of thousands of people around the nation who donated blood to provide relief for the disaster.</p>

<p>God was in the thousands of people who donated for the Tsunami catastrophe.</p>

<p>Another interesting concept that an atheist brought up (not on these boards, however) was the fact that what if Hinduism was the "actual, true" religion of this world, then what would happen to all those who believed in monotheism? Would they be at fault? </p>

<p>Or look at it the other way. Christianity/Islam/Judaisim are the true religions, while the Hindus have done nothing wrong but simply 'believe' in the faith that they were brought up in. </p>

<p>If anyone wants to further explain/provide a justification for this analogy I'd appreciate it since it has made me wonder 'why'.</p>

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<p>yeah umm to me..i dont think there is a right religion..i just think having good morals and being a good person ..like i said b4..praying 5 times a day doesnt make u a good person..its who u r inside and who u r with others....i think w/e religion u r..if in your heart..you're really a good person..then ull end up in a good place..w/e the religion be....i know all religions say that their religion is correct but i mean ehh..religion..i think as long as we believe in the higher power..its all good..we just believe in the higher power in different forms..thats all</p>

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<p>"Fault" -- hmm... sometimes, when we say that someone is at fault, we mean that that person has made a concious decision to break the rules. But other times, we cannot help but be at fault; we are blamed for something we cannot control, and that is fault as well. We cannot control it any more than we can control our need to eat or breathe; there are few if any people who have no desire to avoid work or love of money or physical attractions. Some argue that "it's natural" -- but Christianity is an entirely unnatural state.</p>

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<p>Tears,</p>

<p>Yeah, I agree. We monotheists have it 'out of our control' as you say.</p>

<p>Just a question, but do you prayers ever get <em>answered</em> by the Almighty?</p>

<p>I mean, I'm getting slightly more religious now, (not in the whole book stuff but only in terms of prayer--that's it), to establish a higher connection with God, because I feel so saddened and disheartened inside, that He is my only hope.</p>

<p>He serves as a relief to me when I need to escape myself and enter a realm of absolute serenity.</p>

<p>Tell me, has God answered your prayers?</p>

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<p>you know..it has for me....even when i think i dont deserve it..things are just happening to me latley that makes me really believe..</p>

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<p>i came across this stuff when i was trying to look up stuff and even though its onesided it still has some interesting points. im an agnostic and i dont like any of the religions currently out there but i still believe in god. i was curious what christians had to say about the stuff on the bottom=></p>

<p>Top Ten Signs that You're a Christian</p>

<p>10 - You vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of your god.
9 - You feel insulted and "dehumanized" when scientists say that people evolved from lesser life forms, but you have no problem with the Biblical claim that we were created from dirt.</p>

<p>8 - You laugh at polytheists, but you have no problem believing in a Trinity god.</p>

<p>7 - Your face turns purple when you hear of the "atrocities" attributed to Allah, but you don't even flinch when hearing about how God/Jehovah slaughtered all the babies of Egypt in "Exodus" and ordered the elimination of entire ethnic groups in "Joshua" -- including women, children, and trees!</p>

<p>6 - You laugh at Hindu beliefs that deify humans, and Greek claims about gods sleeping with women, but you have no problem believing that the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary, who then gave birth to a man-god who got killed, came back to life and then ascended into the sky.</p>

<p>5 - You are willing to spend your life looking for little loop-holes in the scientifically established age of the Earth (4.55 billion years), but you find nothing wrong with believing dates recorded by pre-historic tribesmen sitting in their tents and guessing that the Earth is a couple of generations old.</p>

<p>4 - You believe that the entire population of this planet with the exception of those who share your beliefs -- though excluding those in all rival sects -- will spend Eternity in an infinite Hell of Suffering. And yet you consider your religion the most "tolerant" and "loving".</p>

<p>3 - While modern science, history, geology, biology, and physics have failed to convince you otherwise, some idiot rolling around on the floor speaking in "tongues" may be all the evidence you need to prove Christianity.</p>

<p>2 - You define 0.01% as a "high success rate" when it comes to answered prayers. You consider that to be evidence that prayer works. And you think that the remaining 99.99% FAILURE was simply the will of God.</p>

<p>1 - You actually know a lot less than many Atheists and Agnostics do about the Bible, Christianity, and church history -- but still call yourself a Christian.</p>

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<h1>1 seems to imply that Christians aren't know-it-alls, but that's just my take.</h1>

<h1>2 when you hope something happens, and it doesn't, do you give up on hope?</h1>

<h1>3 you are, I assume, referring to Esperanto.</h1>

<p>etc. etc.</p>

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<p>"if Hinduism was the "actual, true" religion of this world, then what would happen to all those who believed in monotheism? Would they be at fault?"</p>

<p>NO,because in Hinduism,u are free to worship whoever u want,whether multiple gods or a single god.All other gods are regarded as manifestations of the Supreme Being</p>

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<p>There are two sides to Hinduism (as the cliche goes)....</p>

<p>1) the modern-age hinduism (aka rituals, rites, worship, fasts, a bazillion deities and all that crap)
2) the ancient hinduism (belief system of karma [action], dharma [duty] upaasana [devotion] and kama [lust])</p>

<p>The latter is now being reinvented as the newage hinduism. All religions are liable to corruption and hinduism is no exception. Akash's views above are pretty orthodox in the sense that he talks about freedom to worship. In the ancient hinduism, there is no place for a deity except Brahma (the ONE God). Later, two more were added and a tripartite was formed (Braham the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver and Shiva the Destroyer). This is where the "good" hinduism ends and the evil (IMO) hinduism of rites, rituals and 4564894 gods begins. <a href="http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.sacred-texts.com/hin&lt;/a> is a great place (Especially the Upnishads section).</p>

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<p>Agnostic. I don't think it really matters whether god exists or not and I don't find one option any more likely than another. </p>

<p>I think that the existence of god and religion have little to do with each other. If god exists, I don't think that god would be anything more mystical than the way the planets rotate or the ideas inside our head. I believe that if god exists, it is a natural force. It cannot be prayed to (you can pray, but it only benefits your psyche), it cannot and does not judge right and wrong, it does not have any human or even earthly characteristics, and it cannot make requests or write a book (the bible). </p>

<p>If a god doesn't exists, then there is no ultimate mover and we're all a bunch of space dust, and nothing is really different. Moreover, I think the concept of "god" is one that falls short of the absolute truth. I think that whether there is something that moves us or not, humans probably don't have the ability to grasp the universal situation. I think that what we think of as "god" may really be more like infinity... like electricity... I don't know and I don't think anybody really does. </p>

<p>But I think religion is just like anything else. Most of what we value in life is an allusion, (money, oil, gem) so why not have one allusion that makes people feel good and gives them a sense of unity. I don't think it's a waste of time. Holy wars are no more justified than wars over oil, but they are also no less justified. </p>

<p>We shouldn't all agree because diversity in opinion can only cause growth.... in my opinion. People should believe in whatever makes them feel secure and happy. It really doesn't matter.</p>

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<p>^squashed314, very well said, I agree completely</p>

<p>I believe in a healthy mixture of deism, pantheism, and agnosticism</p>

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<p>Whether or not you choose to believe me, God has answered all of my prayers and given me everything I've asked for. He's given me strength in difficult situations when I ask for it, for faith when I doubted, for confidence when I was unsure, for direction and advice when I'm confused, for a peaceful heart when I was angry, for a humble heart when I felt my pride insulted. </p>

<p>But what I feel that I need to keep in mind is that prayer is ideally submissive rather than petitionary, so I'm working on that.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Whether or not you choose to believe me, God has answered all of my prayers and given me everything I've asked for.

[/quote]

Ditto.</p>

<p>That's why I believe.</p>

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<p>My response to:</p>

<p>Top Ten Signs that You're a Christian
10 - You vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of your god.</p>

<p>You may be surprised to learn that the Old Testament does not actually deny the existence of other gods or deities, but only says that their is one supreme God who we should worship above all others.</p>

<p>9 - You feel insulted and "dehumanized" when scientists say that people evolved from lesser life forms, but you have no problem with the Biblical claim that we were created from dirt.</p>

<p>I believe in evolution, and I believe we were created from primordial sludge, which can be said to be mud/dirt. My beliefs are best known as "theistic evolution" -- that evolution occurs, and that it is guided by the hand of God.</p>

<p>I'll address the rest later, g2g home.</p>

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<p>you rock squashed, you rock. ditto everything you said man. i think people like frozen-tears who are on an extreme end are just like you said squashed, because i think theres too many problems with organized religion, that people just lost the whole idea of God. the bible was written by man, and that is no question, but men are corrupt and they only write to serve their own purposes like to be immortalized in time or for a sense of belonging and purpose or whatever goes on in their head. you cant truly know God if you only believe in the God that other humans wrote about- they know as much about God as you and me and their bible is as believable as the ancient egyptian gods. i think there was life before the bible was written by men because life existed even before jesus was born, because dinosaurs did exist at one time (if you still think dinosaurs are fake, you have some serious issues going on up there) i think frozen-tears only believes that God answered all her prayers because she has lost site of what god is because god really is a natural force in my mind which could care less about your little problems in life, and really all frozen chooses to do is focus on good moments and forget about the bad. yes we exist because of god, but god will not interfere with us once we're here- what happens here all depends on us until the moment when we are one with god again.</p>

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<p>Wahooza, you haven't seen extreme yet. And your beliefs are wholly deist -- that God exists but does not interfere in our lives. You can't argue the facts of deism using the Bible, because the Bible doesn't relate to deism anyway. It's like arguing English semantics using a French dictionary.</p>

<p>Yes, it is true that the Bible is not literally written by a corporeal hand of God. However, all Scripture is God-breathed, inspired by God. Some even believe that God dictated the words of the Bible to the writers in a revelation, while others simply believe that the Holy Spirit gave the writers the idea or concept and left it to the writer to put it into words. I'm not sure which it is, but I personally believe it's somewhere in between.</p>

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<p>"i think there was life before the bible was written by men because life existed even before jesus was born, because dinosaurs did exist at one time (if you still think dinosaurs are fake, you have some serious issues going on up there)"</p>

<p>I don't see what this has anything to do with the topic. Besides, life did exist before Jesus was born; if it didn't, who was there for him to teach? He wasn't the first life on earth. Christians on the extreme end -- the Bible literalists -- do believe that Earth is somewhere around 6,000 years old, but I believe that it's more like 4.5 billion years old. </p>

<p>Adding to my previous post about the Bible: it also makes sense to me that the writers of the Bible, especially of the Old Testment (which was actually "preserved " in oral tradition, which is one reason I don't believe it's totally reliable) could not understand the concepts that we understand today, and could not understand the concepts that God understood. For instance, they probably could not even imagine the idea of such a huge universe, or the idea of 13.7 billion years. So they had to break it down to Creation in 6 days, because that was something they could understand.</p>

<p>The New Testament, of course, was all written down to begin with, and is far more reliable; in fact, we pretty much know who wrote each of the books and when. For instance, most of the epistles attributed to Paul can actually be traced directly to Paul, and some of the writers -- such as Simon Peter, were of the original disciples who had traveled with the Christ the entire time.</p>