What do you believe?

[Nomad Jay]

These last few posts reminded me of something a fried used to say: "Belief is essential. We should all believe in something. I, for my part, believe in pudding. As in, I believe I'm going to have another serving." 

[re-animator]

These last few posts reminded me of something a fried used to say: "Belief is essential. We should all believe in something. I, for my part, believe in pudding. As in, I believe I'm going to have another serving." 

 

I like that, I now need to find a way to slip that quote into conversation.

[Irish Oisin]

"I concur - partly - with Vian. At least with the chocolate part. Sorry.. this is supposed to be a serious thread. *points fingers at Irish for bringing in the tacos*"

 

I started it so I'm trying to keep it light and airy...like the lettuce that adds freshness and crunch to the all knowing taco. I'm not saying there is ONE way of the taco, there's a few denominations; some people belief it is filled with beef, some with chicken and some with pork. The great taco sent us a burrito as a sign that he loved us, and it was good.

 

(That's weird, I clicked quote, but it isn't quoting. The Great Taco works in meaty ways)

 

[Sambalina]

This thread started out really interesting, and then I was really impressed and proud of how our community is handling a discussion so... notorious for ending VERY badly just about everywhere you come across it, and now? Now I'm just hungry.

 

I'd say I'm a spiritual atheist, but I'm not proud. I'll take a mexican sampler platter, some cake, and a bit of that chocolate covered bacon.

[Irish Oisin]

I think the greatest thing to take from this is how everyone just says how they feel and nobody is jumping all over them.

 

I'm 100% atheist, I believe in evolution, the big bang, science, quantum physics and most of all; people. I believe we have the capability to be wonderful, beautiful and fascinating creatures all by ourselves. I also believe we can believe different things and if your beliefs make you a good person then your beliefs work for you.

 

I really want tacos now seeing as I've started all of this. It has to wait, I have prawns waiting for me...Prawns in tacos? It's just WRONG!! WROOONNNNG!!!!! I won't do it!

[RisenPhoenix]

I say we all put aside our differences and have cake-based quesodillas that are folded in half to form taco shells.

[Pretzle]

I'm a Christian. Was 'sort of raised' that way but my parents rarely went to church. I strayed a bit into paganism in my teens but discovered what I now perceive as the truth (or Truth) when I was about 18. I got baptised last year (together with my then-fiancé-now-husband). God is extremely important to me, although sometimes I don't live it nearly as much as I'd like. At the moment we attend a baptist church although that's not really 'my branch' of Christianity, I'd prefer a bit more evangelical (Vineyard to be specific). 

 

I'm very interested in other monotheistic religions and even took a minor in the history of Judaism, Christianity and the Islam. 

 

The most important thing is respecting and loving other people. 

 

It's great to see that even a topic like this can exist without ending in drama here! 

[Irish Oisin]

I say we all put aside our differences and have cake-based quesodillas that are folded in half to form taco shells.

 

You had me at cake.

[Elder]

 I believe....what do I believe?  I believe in evolution over creation because it is what makes the most sense to me, but I think we all have some kind of spirit within us.  I am intrigued by quantum physics but I am not educated enough on the subject to give a good enough opinion.  

 

I also have my little fantasies of what I think will happen when I die.  I think that when I die my spirit will come back in the body of another person and I will continue to live in this world just traveling along a different path than my previous life.  I like this idea because I can come back and keep living.  Ultimately I would love to be immortal and live forever because the world is such a fascinating place and there is so much to see and learn and experience that I want to do it all! I would love to watch how our world evolves over the next billion years. 

 

So if anyone has figured out the secret to immortality...please let me know...mmmkay thanks!

 

P.s.  +5 for TACOS!  Mmmmm...maybe I can persuade my family to have turkey tacos for Easter dinner!  Yum Yum!

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

After due consideration, I would say that it is more likely we are descended from somethign Paleo than not, and choclate and bacon are awesome. 

 

This is a really good discussion, and part of why I like NF.  What I like is that we can share our beliefs without being offensive to each other.  As an anecdotal observation, I find people in my tradition sometimes take the "share the message" part of our faith without the "live up to the ethical expectations" part, which leads to a lot of people not liking Christians.  Christ said the greatest commandment was to love God fully and the second was to love others as ourself.  No one who follows those commands will be mean when they share their faith, and will in fact be nice to people period, whether talking about their faith or not. 

 

I'm curious to hear from others about your views of how your belief system addresses sharing your beleifs/convictions with others, and if there is an imperitive to persuade as well as share.

[MariahSnow]

This is a great thread.

 

I honestly don't know what to call myself. I'm not really sure that there is a "God", like a being that created everything. But there has to be some kind of formula or fabric that makes the universe go 'round (Quarks? Higgs Boson?). Basically, I'm down with anyone who believes in God, gods, Chocolate Bacon Goddess, Spaghetti Monsters, nothing, etc, as long as they are peaceful and tolerant. There are so many different people who believe so many different things for so many different reasons. If you aren't willing to listen to everyone equally, then I'm not down with that. I'm really curious about all religions, people who follow those religions, and their reasons.

 

Also, the Bible is great. It has so much messed up family drama in it (and just plain bizarre stuff). I love it! It's like the Ancient Kardashians.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

This is a great thread.

 

I honestly don't know what to call myself. I'm not really sure that there is a "God", like a being that created everything. But there has to be some kind of formula or fabric that makes the universe go 'round (Quarks? Higgs Boson?). Basically, I'm down with anyone who believes in God, gods, Chocolate Bacon Goddess, Spaghetti Monsters, nothing, etc, as long as they are peaceful and tolerant. There are so many different people who believe so many different things for so many different reasons. If you aren't willing to listen to everyone equally, then I'm not down with that. I'm really curious about all religions, people who follow those religions, and their reasons.

 

Also, the Bible is great. It has so much messed up family drama in it (and just plain bizarre stuff). I love it! It's like the Ancient Kardashians.

The Chocolate Coverd Bacon deity is non-gender-specific IMHO.

 

Yes, the Bible has great Drama, and it far surpasses the Kardashians because the Bible has more violence.  For pure drama my favorite is First and Second Samuel (Often listed as I & II Samuel in Tables of contents).  The story of King David is amazing and entertaining regardless of one's view of the Bible.

[Irish Oisin]

The Kardashians could do with some violence. Shower of empty wastes of skin.

[Terinatum]

What happens when we believe what we feel, and know to be true, in each and every moment of consideration, desire for understanding, and motivation? It seems that, as we experience more of life that those beliefs either stay steady for us, evolve into a version of our belief or morph into a new way of believing and questioning. No matter what happens to our understanding, it is important to remember, we are subjective-thinking, community-oriented animals. We strive for understanding, if not in every aspect of our life, certainly in the unknown parts, the undiscovered sections of our existence. Therefore, if I can subjectively believe what I want, then, in order for our community to survive, I should be responsible for being respectful of your beliefs enough (if not plenty more) to ensure our relationship and our community does not crumble under the stress of needing to be connected to something and safe from the unknown.

Me? I have a desire to be secure in believing what happens after I die. I believe my brain needs to know. I think it came with the package. I have experienced many things that I hadn't thought possible. I have felt energy gather from doing Energy work and being part of a Ritual. I have felt myself be moved physically with intention and direction beyond my conscious decisions when I practice my Tai Chi. I feel a warmth and comfort when I pray that leads me to believe I'm am being cared for beyond my conscious ability. Whether all of these experiences are created in my mind or felt from an entity outside of me, I don't know. The only thing I believe with certainty is that we are connected to each other and the physical world around us by something I cannot truly describe, but subjectively have felt over and over again.

I hope you all have had similar experiences that support you in your religious beliefs, scientific curiosity, and during those moments of life that remind us how special we are.

Blessed Be

 

P.S. I'll be camped out in Switzerland, while you argue about all things Taco, eating chocolates and drinking ice cold milk! Have fun!!

[PrincessHeather]

What if we are all just living in a dream..? What if you are all creations in my own dream, and I haven't woken up from my dream yet? Does that mean I'm talking to myself, and arguing with myself over what I believe or do not believe..?

 

"Every time you fall asleep you die. Some one else wakes up in your body, thinking they are you.You are alone and trapped in your own mind. The world around you is your lie. Soon you will be nothing. Never again hear songs. Never again see colors. Never again be anyone."

[Elder]

"Every time you fall asleep you die. Some one else wakes up in your body, thinking they are you.You are alone and trapped in your own mind. The world around you is your lie. Soon you will be nothing. Never again hear songs. Never again see colors. Never again be anyone."

 

I am never going to sleep again! 

[PrincessHeather]

Well this just broke my brain!

 

This is definitely an entertaining thread...I like it.

 

I am never going to sleep again! 

 

Hahaha, you should watch the hilarious video that is from...

 

[I-Jo]

I believe I can fly..... 

[Raikas]

I believe I can fly..... 

Earworm!

Seriously though, I'm not a religious person, but I'm a little uncomfortable with the comments that imply that Catholics aren't Christians - they certainly are. Nothing wrong with thinking that your way is the right way (as long as you're not pushy about it) but don't change the definitions of major religions to suit your own purposes - that's not respectful.

[Waldo]

Well, I suppose I'm an atheiest, though I do beleive in something. However something is so vast our feeble minds can't possibly comprehend. Though that something both lacks and has infinite intellingence and it pointless to try to describe, since any description is ridiculously simpleton and way off the mark (god is a pathetically basic explanation). Any description implies meaning whereas something is meaningless. Something is both serious and a bunch of absolutely hilarious nonsense.

Now I do beleive somewhat in some pseudoscientific principles that may have some religion-like properties such as the branching multiverse, which solves the problem of uncertainty, everything that can happen does, however a new universe is created whenever outcomes cannot coexist in the same universe (which incidenteally seems to explain gravity quite well scientifically/mathematically). As well, that the time dimension and ego really skew our view of ourselves, that life on earth which shares a common DNA root is but one singular organism, individuals are but facets on the diamond. In that vein, immortality in the forward vector of time is gained through procreating (I exist to have children, and ensure that they do too, above all else, that is the meaning of life). And the general observation that ideas themselves seem have gravity and mass, both meme like properties and a propensity to cross between individuals and space uninhibited, which with some religious observation.

But these are just guesses and I'm probably wrong, it doesn't matter anyway, since in the end there is no meaning, only infinite entropy.

But again, I'm more atheist than anything.

[WizardTrip]

Seriously though, I'm not a religious person, but I'm a little uncomfortable with the comments that imply that Catholics aren't Christians - they certainly are. Nothing wrong with thinking that your way is the right way (as long as you're not pushy about it) but don't change the definitions of major religions to suit your own purposes - that's not respectful.

 

 

I was thinking the same thing, and although I'll say denominations certainly aren't what makes people Christians, Catholicism is definitely considered a Christian faith.

 

Wikipedia isn't the end all be all, but hey.....list of Christian denominations: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_denominations

 

EDIT: Clarification about denominations do not make people Christians, before it's misunderstood. I know some people who attend services (protestant service, catholic mass, what-have-you) within particular denominations fairly regularly, but would call themselves Agnostic, not Christian, and even others who attend out of habit, etc that simply don't believe.

[PrincessHeather]

Earworm!

Seriously though, I'm not a religious person, but I'm a little uncomfortable with the comments that imply that Catholics aren't Christians - they certainly are. Nothing wrong with thinking that your way is the right way (as long as you're not pushy about it) but don't change the definitions of major religions to suit your own purposes - that's not respectful.

I hope this isn't due to what I said about my own transition from being Catholic... I certainly agree that Catholics are Christians, which essentially the same fundamental beliefs. I think the main differences are in traditions/practices/specifics, but at the foundation they are worshipping the same God and believe in the teachings of Jesus. I'm more comfortable in a non-denominational, super modern style of service, but I appreciate the deeply rich traditions that I grew up with as well. I think the differences are similar to those in Judaism, reform/orthodox/etc. The core is the same, just different ways of expressing them. I think it is a bit unfortunate that "Christian" as a label has come to mean any kind of Protestant, when it certainly includes the Catholic faith, and several orthodox practices as well.

[chairohkey]

I guess I would be classified as a Jack Mormon, Grew up LDS, served a two year mission, married a fellow Mormon, majority of my social circle is LDS, but I no longer practice.

[FyreFlies]

I think the differences are similar to those in Judaism, reform/orthodox/etc. The core is the same, just different ways of expressing them.

 

I agree about the core part, and feel it can be applied to many, if not all, organized religions. Hinduism has one Godhead with a bunch of different gods that are specific to various .. I guess you can call them denominations. Same can be said about Buddhism or Taoism - where "the way" or the method can be seen as the grounding theme, master principle with minor differences.

 

In the end, saying anyone is or isn't Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Martian or Earthworm is wrong. How do you even judge that? You can't. People are different because they believe different things and practice different things. It's a beautiful thing and only gets ugly when you start trying to judge who is and isn't a believer.

[PrincessHeather]

Isn't the "core" the same for almost all organized religions? Hinduism has one Godhead with a bunch of different gods that are specific to various .. I guess you can call them denominations. Same can be said about Buddhism or Taoism - where "the way" or the method can be seen as the grounding theme, master principle with minor differences.

 

In the end, saying anyone is or isn't Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Martian or Earthworm is wrong. How do you even judge that? You can't. People are different because they believe different things and practice different things. It's a beautiful thing and only gets ugly when you start trying to judge who is and isn't a believer.

 

These are excellent points!