What do you believe?

[Irish Oisin]

I'm just wondering if there's many atheists on the forum?

 

I'm not looking to start an argument, if you believe in a god, or many gods and you're a good person, then all I care about is that you're a good person! I'm not the kinda atheist to be aggressive about it, I'm a friendly one!! 

 

The reason I ask is because I've always thought that the nerd population would have a higher atheist percentage, but I could be wrong!

[SpecialSundae]

I'm an atheist, although I tend to classify myself as an atheist Jew (i.e. I don't believe in any deity but I'll still show up at synagogue for cultural reasons and will be helping my mum lead the seder on Tuesday).

[Irish Oisin]

I still get involved in christian ceremonies from time to time i.e Weddings and Funerals, whenever it's called upon me, keeps family happy!

[ETFnerd]

agnostic... on second thought... i'm with r kelly... :-)

 

[Irish Oisin]

Well that's a healthy attitude towards your beliefs! Right on!

[terrormortus]

Hmmm. Technically the way I've always figured it is that I don't believe in anything.

 

I basically have no opinion. I was raised Catholic but there was never a lot of emphasis placed on it so I was left to form my own opinions. While I did go to a Catholic school I only took one thing away from it. My priest literally said to me that the bible was just a bunch of stories, they are supposed to teach us to be better people and we're not supposed to take them literally. In high school I looked into all sorts of religions, modern and primitive and had to agree with the statement. After listening/reading to debates between agnostics, atheists, and religious sorts I came to the conclusion that no one can actually prove anything definitely either.

 

So when it comes down to it, and I realize how rude this will sound, I don't care enough to form an opinion. I just decided to live my life according to my own principles and reap whatever rewards or consequences that happens because of that.

[Timmy M]

technically we're all atheists to some degree (you can't believe in all of the over 3700 deities that have existed) i was raised catholic but never believed any of it and stopped going to church last year (apart from christmas/easter for my mum and events like weddings and funerals) i've no problem with most christians (at least in the uk, what we see of other countries is that they're more... vigorous in their approach) and i can't believe in eternal damnation for a good person if they don't follow a certain religion and redemption for a bad person if they do.

i must say i prefer the idea of the older religions, where the gods are extensions of humanity and life (god/esses or love/sea/war/wisdom) that kind of following i can understand, monotheism (admit it the big three are essentially the same just from different viewpoints) on the other hand is so out the ball park it's daft (i give no offence so none of you may take it)

also science doesn't know everything but it knows that, religious people look at the world/universe and say 'how is this not proof of God?' i can't help but see that as an insult to the struggle and turmoil that is life and the effort that has been put in by previous life-forms that have inhabited and shaped this insignificant blip of a rock.

life is essentially simple, be good, be kind, to yourself, others and the world, be the best you can be and love till you drop

[Mordechaj]

I'm an atheist.

[JasontheKiwi]

It's a tough one eh. I do believe in God but I don't go to church. I was raised in the christian church (generally non-denominational ones, if such a thing exists) but have not been a regular goer for ten or so years. I do however attend a 'homegroup' twice a month, which basically is just a group of friends having a chat about stuff. It's got quite a range of people and is at times good, at other times frustrating. However my prob is that Yes I believe in God, and have seen lots of evidence that a God does exist, but I can not stand modern christian culture or the majority of it's teaching. I find that having to give up logical explanations of things for speculative bible and christian teaching difficult, almost impossible. I am comfortable to hold differing perspectives on issues closely and see the merit of both (such as creation vs evolution, they really can coexist, but lets not get into that) and having resigned from going to church often cringe at the jargonish, unfounded claims of believers who are on a rampage to 'save souls'. 

I think it is possible to have a relationship, or to understand and communicate with a real God, but think that Church and it's culture really has very little to do with it. A great book was 'Our religious brains', see here. 

[Vian]

I was raised Christian, forced to go to a church with people whom I didn't like, and who didn't like me. It was boring, and not phrased or presented in a way that mattered to me. When I turned 18, I stopped going, made a bunch of mistakes, and got into a situation that left me depressed, lonely, and directionless. I sought out a church that would be a little more relaxed, that fit my views better. My current pastor is a very laid back guy, he teaches at the local bible college and does sermons like he's teaching a class. He's funny, approachable, and casual, regularly makes jokes during service. 

 

I believe in an omnipresent, omnipowerful, omniscient God who created the world to love him, but realized that love was meaningless without free will, and so he gave us the ability to reject him. I believe in a God who wants a close, personal relationship with me, every day, and wants to hear about and help me with every tiny problem, and forgive me for every tiny sin if I just ask, and rejoice with me in every tiny triumph. I believe in a God who wants to be my best friend and encourage me to grow into the person He made me to be, and teach me to rely on him instead of my own strength through all the trials this broken world has to throw at me. I believe in a God who is unchanging, with the heart of a father, love that never falters, strength that never fails, and a sense of humor. And most of all, I believe in a God who loves every person on this planet the same, and longs with all his heart for each and every one of us to know him and have a close personal relationship with him. 

[Elastigirl]

I

I believe in an omnipresent, omnipowerful, omniscient God who created the world to love him, but realized that love was meaningless without free will, and so he gave us the ability to reject him. I believe in a God who wants a close, personal relationship with me, every day, and wants to hear about and help me with every tiny problem, and forgive me for every tiny sin if I just ask, and rejoice with me in every tiny triumph. I believe in a God who wants to be my best friend and encourage me to grow into the person He made me to be, and teach me to rely on him instead of my own strength through all the trials this broken world has to throw at me. I believe in a God who is unchanging, with the heart of a father, love that never falters, strength that never fails, and a sense of humor. And most of all, I believe in a God who loves every person on this planet the same, and longs with all his heart for each and every one of us to know him and have a close personal relationship with him. 

Ditto what Vian said.

[katpower]

I'm a pantheistic agnostic

[Red1263]

I'm Catholic

 

*places 2 cents on the NF counter*

[SeeGee]

I'm an Atheist, skeptic, and critical thinker.

[WordSmith]

Christ Consciousness. Google it. It's probably not what you think.

[Irish Oisin]

So far there seems to be a good mix of people here, and it's encouraging that we're able to just express our views without fear of ridicule.

 

A sign of a good community, brought together by fitness.

[notanartmajor]

I am a Christian, in fact I'm an associate pastor. I believe that the world is not what it should be, and that God, through Jesus and then through us, wants to make it better. We as a Church need to listen better in general, but slowly, some are turning their ears to hear.

[Rostov]

I'm an agnostic Humanist.  And by "agnostic" I mean the technical meaning - that we don't know if there are God(s), and very probably can't know - rather than the more commonly-understood definition of "I'm undecided/I don't know".

 

But reason and respect for others are things we can and do know about, and act upon.

[ColbyWan]

I'm a Christian personally. I was agnostic for a while, but the more I study science the more I begin to believe there is a creator again. I believe churches have lost the message of Love taught in the bible (glances at Westboro Baptist Church) and they are getting too caught in rules.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

I'm a Christian who doesn't believe in forcing my beliefs on others. I do, however, feel I should share what I believe with others, in hopes that they will eventually come to know the God I know.  Realistically, this can only happen if I am kind in how I share my faith and live consistently with my stated beliefs so that others can at least believe that I believe what I say.  Too many times Christians get in the way of God and try to force beliefs on others or judge others.  My opinon is people judge others so as not to have to look inward.  Christ's message was one of love, acceptance, forgiveness and service to others. 

[FyreFlies]

I'm an avid practicing Muslim.

[ceethegreat]

Catholic here :-)

[WizardTrip]

I'm a Christian, son of a preacher man (PK) *sing it....ya know you want to*, and lived 7 years overseas when my parents were missionaries (MK). Other than going to church on a regular basis, my parents never "forced" their ideas and beliefs on me and were always open for discussion if I didn't see or believe the same. Never judgmental.

 

Like others have said, I haven't necessarily liked the direction some churches have gone and don't necessarily side with some of the ideas either. I've gone to all kinds, from mega churches to churches that have their services in bars; and all kinds of denominations. Regardless of the type of church or message, I've always stayed with my core beliefs. I still believe in a Christian God even when we're at opposite ends and I don't like Him very much. I like to believe I have seen Him perform miracles (8 year old brother getting hit by a car and the doctors not giving him much time to live, but he's alive a well today!) and I like to believe He has chosen to ignore certain things (and the cause of anger I have towards Him from time to time).

 

Above all, with this community being so varied, it's always good to see everyone being able to have these types of discussions. Over the course of time I have been here, I have seen "Christian" threads pop up along with other threads that would be considered controversial in certain circles and everyone plays nice. *We won't include the short lived Men's Forum *

 

Kinda changes the whole "never discuss politics, sex, and religion" phrase.

[FyreFlies]

I like to believe I have seen Him perform miracles (8 year old brother getting hit by a car and the doctors not giving him much time to live, but he's alive a well today!)

 

Wow, amazing. That's so refreshing. I hope he's doing alright.

[WizardTrip]

Wow, amazing. That's so refreshing. I hope he's doing alright.

 

 

He's doing more than alright. He lost complete hearing in one of his ears (but you'd never know it) and broke an arm and maybe a leg IIRC. He went on to become the #1 basketball and volleyball player in our high school and broke a few records in the high jump. He is now married with 2 beautiful children and one on the way.

 

Also, he was the brother I could never beat in sports even though I played them too and the one that got all the girls. I wanted to clobber him for all this, but hey....still love my brother. I guess I made up for it by being the one with the good grades???