Beliefs

[AKA Hiro Stratus]

Out of curiousity, what are your beliefs? If you practice a religion you can just say that. If you have some views that deter from some of your religion's beliefs or maybe for example you're a christian and you believe in chrisianity but you don't believe the made up, assumed, and misintrepetted crap that most christians believe in- well that state where the differences lie. If I remember correctly most people here are athesists, agnostics, or pagans. Me? I don't practice anything but I believe in Falun Dafa 100%. Also I believe in Taoism, Buddhism, and Christianity. The layman probably considers that absurd and doesn't make sense but it does in my own weird convoluted way. To me it makes perfect sense though.

[Valkysas]

Re: Beliefs

atheist all the way. I dont mind people of other religions, as long as they dont try converting me, or make their beliefs the basis of laws I'm expected to follow, which essentially forces me to follow their religion's teachings (it's illegal to deny the existence of god in michigan, for example).

[The Toecutter]

Re: Beliefs

I don't have any religious beliefs per se, but I understand that I know not what comes after death(or what doesn't) and many things are possible. So long as one's religious beliefs aren't being legislated and allowed to influence my lifestyle choies, I have no problem with them. However, that just isn't the case, and thus I have a problem with many views.

I don't need a big brother pushing me around or a nanny to wipe my ass. But when religious beliefs are legislated in a society, members of the society get just that.

[gray]

Re: Beliefs

nudist



and i will be forcing my laws on the people when i'm in power valk. better just get ready for it.

[AKA Hiro Stratus]

Re: Beliefs

wow, what a weird law.

[The Toecutter]

Re: Beliefs

and i will be forcing my laws on the people when i'm in power valk. better just get ready for it.

It would be more efficient just to shoot you.

[gray]

Re: Beliefs

my nudity will save me

[The Toecutter]

Re: Beliefs

My nudity will destroy you.

[Ryner]

Re: Beliefs

When I build my own society, I will eliminate all religion in the name of peace and unity.

[Valkysas]

Re: Beliefs

*waits for lordbob to reply)

[The Dark Jester]

Re: Beliefs

Im looking into satanism.

[Fushigi na Renamon]

Re: Beliefs

I've believed a lot of things over the years.

I grew up in an atheist family. When I was a teenager, some high school friends took me to youth group. We viewed a play about how people make it into heaven or end up in hell. I was like 14 years old and it freaked me out, so I became a Christian. I went to church for two years and then quit because I was sick of hearing them go "Do this or go to hell!" all the time, and it wasn't everything I had thought it would be. It was boring, and far from fulfilling for me.

Please note that this is my own personal experience. I am friends with many Christians, and that's the right thing for them, and they're happy. We appreciate and acknowledge each others' views and have no problems getting along.

I do believe that there is a higher power, but I don't think that people should have to go to a church to acknowledge it.

Over the past year or two, I've been reading up on taoism. I really like its principles and I try to apply them in daily life, but I wouldn't call myself a taoist. I just follow the basic guidelines and it's made my life more relaxing.

I took a Reiki class in April, and have my level 1 certificate. Now that I've done that, I usually feel that things work out the way the universe intends, as corny as that might sound. I also believe in karma, so I try to be good most of the time. MOST of the time. >.>

[Czechs Mex]

Re: Beliefs

I'm a proponent of scientific thought over blind faith, so I find it difficult to accept any religion that is not grounded in drawing conclusions from observable evidence. "Faith" is fundamentally at odds with science in that regard, because it is asking for a belief in something that, true or untrue, cannot be empirically measured.

However... if you take a religious text as an account of that religion's history and beliefs, you can now at least start providing evidence in favor of (or against) the statements in that text. For all the people arguing for/against a certain religion, I think that's where either person's most convincing case lies.

Personally, my everyday actions are not dependent upon the existance or non-existance of god, anyway, so I do not concern myself with unraveling the mysteries of religion. Just be good to people, and life will be fine.

[AKA Hiro Stratus]

Re: Beliefs

When I build my own society, I will eliminate all religion in the name of peace and unity.

Hey, why not just move to China? Falun Dafa amassed 100's of millions practitioners in just a few short years- so in the name of "peace and unity" this "evil cult" with it's horrible principles of "truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance" was banned.

"According to incomplete statistics, within the past five years beginning on July 20, 1999, more than 2959 practitioners have been verified as being tortured to death in over 30 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. However, according to the government's official internal statistics, the actual number of practitioners who died after being arrested had reached 1,600 by the end of 2001. In addition, there are at least 6,000 Falun Gong practitioners who have been illegally sentenced to prison. Over 100,000 practitioners have been sentenced to forced labor camps. Thousands of practitioners have been forcefully sent to psychiatric hospitals to be tortured with injections that are damaging to the central nervous system. Large groups of Falun Gong practitioners have been forcefully sent to local brainwashing classes, where they have been subjected to both physical and mental torture. Many more practitioners have been severely beaten and had large sums of money extorted from them by so-called "law-enforcement officials." When large numbers of Falun Gong practitioners are beaten to death, injured, and their families are broken up, when they have to leave home and go from place to place because of the persecution, millions of Falun Gong practitioners' families, relatives, good friends and colleagues are also implicated and brainwashed to varying degrees.

So in your ever peaceful community without religion, how will you deal with your insubordinants- people like the Falun Gong? Kill in the name of peace? Or do you have a better more peaceful solution? Like let's say you somehow conviently have a place to put all the practitioners which was just as nice as your community- then you just have to tear them away from their friends and family. But then I guess another problem is going to arise because you see the Falun Gong believe that their practice is salvation for people- and being the compassionate people they are they will absolutely under no circumstances allow your government to deny people the chance to learn and practice which if you're like any other radical who wants to ban religion all together you will either propagandize the information about the practice- or not allow there to be any information. So I'm afraid you'll have to take violent measures to stop the Falun Gong, unless of course you allowed your people to have access to accurate information about it. Well anyways.....yeah.

[Geno Blue]

Re: Beliefs

but torture and killing is wrong