Anybody Here Religious?

[Desdinova]

This is such an odd topic for me, and my own personal view of religion and God is constantly changing. The fact that I grew up in a religious cult caused me to avoid confronting this subject for most of my adulthood.

The Bible, Religion, and God are all separate issues for me, but are all influenced by each other.

My personal view on The Bible is that it's a collection of stories, much like a children's book. The stories in it REFLECT what society was like at that period of time. The stories constantly get passed down to teach people lessons to learn from. IMO, that's why the old testament is referred to by Jesus, which is documented in the new testament.

The problem with the stories in the bible is that things get embellished. These stories probably started out somewhat different by the person who came up with them, but by the time this stuff was documented, it was modified. And no, I do not believe it is God's word. There's too many mistakes in the bible, and a perfect God wouldn't have allowed those mistakes to be recorded in his own book.

I DO however believe that much of the bible is useful. If we applied those teaching to society today and enforced them, feminism wouldn't exist. The Bible provides some good examples of how society functions well, as well as how it doesn't function well.

Religion (at least Christianity) is just a collection of businesses profiting from The Bible. It does not however mean that the people who subject themselves to religion are necessarily bad people for doing so. Some of them are fvcking nutcases, but many of them are not, and genuinely want to be good people. They just have no clue how to do it for themselves, so they use the bible (and their chosen religion) to tell them how.

As for God, I think there's something out there. I don't think it's necessarily a spiritual being, but possibly some sort of a force; kinda like how the moon affects the ocean and it's tides. I've had too much ironic and predictable circumstances happen in my life to boil it down to coincidence. It may have to do with my aura or possibly a collective aura. I don't know and can't explain it, but there's some sort of influence going on. The interesting thing is the influence goes both ways; I can influence it, and it can influence me.

Perhaps the people in biblical times realized this and tried to define it or have greater influence over it by naming it YHWH and creating prayer.

I'm not sure about this same force being behind intelligent design though. It may be or not. There's nothing that defines this influential force as being the same force that made the earth come to life. All of that part of it is mystery, and the only time I could possibly find out the answer is when I die... and that's if I'm given an answer at all. But why should the creation of the Earth consume me? It's here and I'm living on it. It's not going away anytime soon, unless some a55hole decides to destroy it with one huge explosion.

 

[glass half full]

In my own experience, I am Christian as of a couple of years ago. I have been so inclined after the Stroke I had six years ago. My marriage was hell, as I was only allowed to hang with her friends, who all treated me like ****. It all changed when she was pregnant with my girl, she knew I was "trapped", so to speak. Me and my mother agreed to keep my daughter in a Christian school, and I'm forever grateful we did. She has morals, and a very good head on her shoulders. At 13, her and i can talk as friends yet she respects me as her dad. Which is more than I can say for my slvt of a now ex-wife, and her equally empowered yet really screwed up friends, not to mention her stepsons. One may ask "why did you stay with this bytch"? In my state the kid must be 11 before the man has a chance. My girl knows I'm better for her anyway...long story

I went to the church she goes to school at a couple of weeks, the second of which God spoke to me through the pastor in his sermon. I was not looking for this, nor expecting it. But the message was clear- I need to be saved. I wept badly during that time, I had no idea why...so please never doubt the power of the Lord. And let's face it, the Bible has been around for way too long to be BS.

But there are limits, as in everything. That chick I came here discussing a couple of weeks ago, who said she would go out with me after the new year, has shut me out, and her jacka$$ man-friend who attends a wed. night meeting with his equally snooty wife, really put me in a spot of embarassment over my asking that gal out. I was ready to put a chair over his head, forcefully...my point is that guys with "I'm all that" issues can come to church too, and will step up and embarass any man who comes from out of town (my girl goes to school there, so I figured I had a right). Now he is kissing up to the minister. The guy is an ex-cop, and works for the City of ______ now, so he walks with a chip on each shoulder. He's a legend in his own mind. So yes, churches can attract all types, just like any other institution. People, are just that...people. I have chosen to "move on" to a different one. I have also considered praying alone and worshiping alone. I'm a decent guy and believe I should be treated with the same dignity as I treat them. But let's face it, some must just be walked away from. i'm still faithful, but I can pick my battles too.

 

[ZTIME]

If it's an objective approach that you seek, then you must start by reviewing the value of your soul. This will be the toughest of all pills to swallow. With the average life span of us males being 76 years, what is the value of the container of all of the deeds we have done (good or bad) in our lives? Did we do it all for nothing, or will the footprints that we have left survive for an eternity.

The fundamental belief of an all powerful creator is nothing new and should never be ignored. If science can explain the creation of the universe as the two nucleuses of atoms hitting together, who or what caused this to happen?

Religion is in and of it self not a hard topic. If you start with the belief of "one true god". There needs to be no face, no form, or statue, just a belief. And when you believe....the world opens up on a spiritual level.

In this forum, we see so much "red-pill" mentality that we fear what we perceive religion to be. we fear that by being religious we are conforming to the beliefs of a group that is trying to control us and work us for the "good ole 10% tithe. The "red-pill" teaches us to fight the system, to escape the flock, to embrace ourselves and win this "game of life". But when it's over....what have we won.

Scholars and kings have convoluted religion way before we were born. Christianity today is not what it was meant to be. The "King James Bible" was a group effort to bring all religion together. Books were deleted, verses were re-written, and languages confused. This is where religion became more about conforming to the system. Fighting in crusades for the good of the cross was conforming. Believing that any priest, pastor, or reverend can forgive you of your sins is conforming. But to live life with no belief in a god or afterlife in meaningless.

Search long and hard on this topic my brothers. You'll find that if you look hard enough, you'll find god lives inside of you. You can name him whatever you choose (Jesus, God, Alaha, Etc.), but embrace the fact that this belief is necessary to live a truly blessed life.

My own spiritual journey includes "the almighty", but is not conformed to Christianity. I study mainly in the Buddhist teachings. I try to walk a righteous path believing that my own footprints in this world will survive eternity. Thanks again for another great thread and be blessed.

The thought of the day.

 

[glass half full]

ZTIME, I am also concerned about the Bible being altered, sometime around 400 to 500 A.D. and I think once again around the 17th century...The Ethiopian Bible has all 88 books in it, but it supposedly cannot be directly translated into English. The present one here I believe has 66 in it. Some of these are available in separate print. They cover the part of Jesus' life that is not covered in the KJ or similar versions. I agree that many of the world's religions carry some of the same wisdom, some explained and practiced in different ways. I am concerned as to what has been changed in the Bible over the centuries, by whom, and especially, why.

 

[ZTIME]

ZTIME, I am also concerned about the Bible being altered, sometime around 400 to 500 A.D. and I think once again around the 17th century...The Ethiopian Bible has all 88 books in it, but it supposedly cannot be directly translated into English. The present one here I believe has 66 in it. Some of these are available in separate print. They cover the part of Jesus' life that is not covered in the KJ or similar versions. I agree that many of the world's religions carry some of the same wisdom, some explained and practiced in different ways. I am concerned as to what has been changed in the Bible over the centuries, by whom, and especially, why.

As far as "English" bibles go, I believe they were translated 3 times. "The great bible"(1535), "The Bishop's Bible"(1568), "The King James Version"(1611). There are other English translations of the bible, but these 3 are the most recognized.

Interestingly, The "King James" version was translated by a group of 47 scholars commissioned by "King James" to help quell the arguments of the "puritan" sanction of the church and to bring unity to the religion.

I'm not sure about the Ethiopian Bible, but even at 88 books it cannot be complete. All bibles are translated scrolls. There are way more than 88 scrolls. We've found the dead sea scrolls which alone have 200 books. (the book of Enoch....Yeah, that will f**k with your head). Then there's the Nag Hammadi books (here's some really good reading that kind of blows the old testament out of the water. "our real god isn't the god of Abraham???)

Religion can be manipulated to control the masses, but that is no reason to choose not to believe. A couple of years ago you found that which brings you closer to god, and you are blessed.

A hindu may choose a different path (although the Vedas are a lot like the old testament...scary close), A jew may find his path, and so can a scientologist.

The fact is that God is an entity and there are several paths you can take to get there. The world would be a better place if everyone understood that.

 

[zekko]

In my quest for going deeper into how our society is being overturn by feminism as well as the far left, I can't help but look deeper into Religion and it's overall affect on society.

I'm not sure if YOU are trying to associate feminism with religion here, but I have seen many manoshpere-type bloggers and posters do it. Check out the thread in the general forum on Bible verses, and go ahead and check out the Taliban for that matter. Religion and feminism couldn't be further apart.

The word "religion" has developed a negative stigma to it, unfortunately. I think in a lot of cases, people associate it with "organized religion". If you look at Christianity, for instance, many organized religions replace unpopular scriptures (like the "women should be submissive" ones) with something that has more mainstream appeal. "You go, girl! Come lead our Bible camp!". I don't see that as tainting the original or intended message of the Gospel, however.

 

[Atom Smasher]

The interesting thing about Christianity is that all other religions are about earning your way into heaven. Christianity states that there is absolutely no way to earn one's way into God's favor.

People often ask why God doesn't just overlook sin, why he requires a sacrifice ("The wages of sin is death").

If he did this, he would be positively evil.

Think of an earthly judge. You are in the courtroom watching the trial of a man who has seriously wronged you or someone in your family. The accused says, Yes, your honor, I am guilty as charged, but I give to the poor, I help older ladies, and he lists several good things that he has done in his life.

"Your honor, can't you just let this one slide? Clearly I'm no Hitler."

The judge says, "You know, you're right. You've done some good things. I'm going to let you off on this. Case dismissed."

You would be astonished and full of rage knowing that this person was not served with justice. You would consider the judge to be evil for not administering proper punishment.

In like manner, God would be evil if he swept the sin problem under the rug. He states that "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God", and that leaves him and us in quite a predicament. Because of the impossibility of our getting ourselves right with God (erasing our debt), He himself provided the perfect life and He himself took our punishment upon himself, so that those who accept his pardon HIS WAY will have their slate wiped clean. The sin debt has been paid.

God simply can't let sin go. That would make Him a monster. In his goodness he provided a way out for us, or for those of us who accept it with thanks.

The power in the name, "Jesus" is enormous. It will clear out a room, it will bring out hatred in many. The very name implies man's need to repent, and man rails against that. Man insists on earning his way into heaven (pride and self-righteousness) and it offends man to accept God's free gift, because acceptance carries with it admission of guilt.

I'm very happy to have settled my accounts with God. He alone dictates how we approach him, and I have reverence enough for Him to heed what he says. I understand that I can do absolutely nothing to earn my way into heaven or to earn His favor.

"Religion" is man's striving to earn this favor and connect with God on man's terms. Christianity is not "religion", but rather a relationship with man's creator, that relationship having been restored by accepting Jesus' role in taking the consequences of my own sin upon himself.

God says in the bible that absolutely no one will make it in by earning a place in heaven, "than no man may boast".

 

[sharkbeat]

That's very interesting to see that there's a good number of people here who actually believe in God. I was expecting the opposite.

The way I see religions is that religions are not God. Good religions or bad religions do not prove or disprove existence of God. Religions are institutions. The Roman Catholics, for example, is an institution. There's structure, and there's finances, and there's regulations, just like a company, except its members are fellow believers. Religions vs Science debates are always humorous to me. I also don't deal with Religions vs. Religions debates. Any religion that talks bad about other religions is equally bad, in my opinion.

Now there are people who are pissed at religions, for good reasons. Religions create wars, they create divisions. This doesn't mean that God does not exist, however. We are just talking about "companies" waging war against each other, like Apple vs Microsoft vs Google. Their war has nothing to do with the microchips and the bits of data and information. In the end, regardless if you use iPhone or Android, you are moving electrons. But they certainly change the landscape in which people perceive them. Electrons are still electrons, just like God is still God, but hey if I use iPhone, I can do this and that, which Android can't. There are religions out there where they perceive God like a Cosmic Slot Machine, and there are also the puritans.

Religion is a social structure. Yes, it affects the way we deal with other men and women. Living in an Islamic society will be very different vs a Christian society.

For a long time, the Roman Catholics enforces monogamy and put sanctity in marriages, and there are good reasons for that. Human babies won't grow on their own. We are not turtles. We need the psychological development from a father and a mother. Moral codes are created so we can move in a certain direction as a society. When there are no moral codes, like the Western society is regressing toward, things will go all over the place. No man and woman will be responsible for their kids, we have the govt to take care of them. I have no idea what would ultimately happen when the entire society ditched families. I hope we will never get there.

 

[zekko]

"Religion" is man's striving to earn this favor and connect with God on man's terms. Christianity is not "religion", but rather a relationship with man's creator, that relationship having been restored by accepting Jesus' role in taking the consequences of my own sin upon himself.

You do a great job of explaining Christianity, but I disagree that Christianity is not a religion. A religion is a system of faith and beliefs, which Christianity certainly is. Christians like to define "religion" as a way to reach God so that they can then say that Christianity is not a religion. Trouble is that's a very, very narrow definition. I'm sure they do this because the word "religion" is so incredibly unpopular. But I think it's a copout. Own up to it.

As for religions causing wars, yeah well maybe, but I've always thought that humans are simply warlike and will find reasons to fight. religion or not.

 

[Atom Smasher]

You do a great job of explaining Christianity, but I disagree that Christianity is not a religion. A religion is a system of faith and beliefs, which Christianity certainly is. Christians like to define "religion" as a way to reach God so that they can then say that Christianity is not a religion. Trouble is that's a very, very narrow definition. I'm sure they do this because the word "religion" is so incredibly unpopular. But I think it's a copout. Own up to it.

As for religions causing wars, yeah well maybe, but I've always thought that humans are simply warlike and will find reasons to fight. religion or not.

Actually, "religion" is the safe word, the word used to avoid ruffling feathers. People are generally not offended by the word, "religion" but many (most in this day and age) are profoundly offended by the words, "Jesus" and "Christianity".

This is precisely because God himself presents himself as very "narrow", to use your word. Jesus called himself the narrow path to God because God, throughout human history, continually tells us that we approach him HIS way, and not ours.

This concept is clearly illustrated in the account of Cain and Abel. Abel approached God in the way that God required. Cain had a "better" idea and instead of offering God's required unblemished lamb, he gathered up his finest crops thinking that surely God would be pleased with his own idea of approaching Him.

Mankind loves relative morality and loves defining his own fictitious god that makes him feel good and safe.

The god of mankind's imagination accepts man unconditionally and allows him to earn his way into heaven. The God of the bible says that he is one God, that there is one way to reach him, and that he determines the hows and the whys. Mankind is offended by this and therefore needs to create "religion" in order to satisfy his innate desire to earn God's favor.

Therein lies the distinction. Ultimately we are playing with semantics, which is largely a fruitless distraction. The question for each of us is, what do we do with the information about God and Jesus as it's presented to us?

Unfortunately for mankind, he always seems to think he has a better way, because the curse of mankind is that he is his own god in his own mind.

Yes, anybody can kill and destroy and declare it's in the name of God, and many have. The question is whether they are doing their killing in the name of the God of the bible or in the name of their imaginary god who makes them feel justified and assuages their conscience.

For those who have lived on both sides of the fence, religion is a man-made construct, designed to make him feel ok about the sin problem. For those who have thus far only lived on the unbelieving side, religion is anything he decides it to be.

 

[Epimanes]

I'm christian but not religious. Religion is about doing the right things to get to heaven (none of which anyone can measure up to so its impossible to ever be good enough) and christianity is about believing in what's already been done.

Epi

 

[Colossus]

The interesting thing about Christianity is that all other religions are about earning your way into heaven. Christianity states that there is absolutely no way to earn one's way into God's favor.

People often ask why God doesn't just overlook sin, why he requires a sacrifice ("The wages of sin is death").

If he did this, he would be positively evil.

Think of an earthly judge. You are in the courtroom watching the trial of a man who has seriously wronged you or someone in your family. The accused says, Yes, your honor, I am guilty as charged, but I give to the poor, I help older ladies, and he lists several good things that he has done in his life.

"Your honor, can't you just let this one slide? Clearly I'm no Hitler."

The judge says, "You know, you're right. You've done some good things. I'm going to let you off on this. Case dismissed."

You would be astonished and full of rage knowing that this person was not served with justice. You would consider the judge to be evil for not administering proper punishment.

In like manner, God would be evil if he swept the sin problem under the rug. He states that "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God", and that leaves him and us in quite a predicament. Because of the impossibility of our getting ourselves right with God (erasing our debt), He himself provided the perfect life and He himself took our punishment upon himself, so that those who accept his pardon HIS WAY will have their slate wiped clean. The sin debt has been paid.

God simply can't let sin go. That would make Him a monster. In his goodness he provided a way out for us, or for those of us who accept it with thanks.

The power in the name, "Jesus" is enormous. It will clear out a room, it will bring out hatred in many. The very name implies man's need to repent, and man rails against that. Man insists on earning his way into heaven (pride and self-righteousness) and it offends man to accept God's free gift, because acceptance carries with it admission of guilt.

I'm very happy to have settled my accounts with God. He alone dictates how we approach him, and I have reverence enough for Him to heed what he says. I understand that I can do absolutely nothing to earn my way into heaven or to earn His favor.

"Religion" is man's striving to earn this favor and connect with God on man's terms. Christianity is not "religion", but rather a relationship with man's creator, that relationship having been restored by accepting Jesus' role in taking the consequences of my own sin upon himself.

God says in the bible that absolutely no one will make it in by earning a place in heaven, "than no man may boast".

Amen, brother.

 

[Niterider450]

I am very religious I study The Bible a lot and go to Church often.

 

[VikingKing]

I can't buy any of that hocus pocus, feel it caused way too many human death via war, and I think it separates people to this day. You meet a great perfect chick and she's Jewish, you're Catholic, so your families will drive wedges between you two because of some antiquated beliefs from 2,000 years ago. Get biological and scientific, it's the future.

More people have been killed by atheists.

 

[mangotot]

In the country where I am residing, anti-religious is extremely fashionable. As an idiot and a sheep, I bought that and went around as a non-believer. But now I do believe in god and believe being kind and considerate to your fellow man is a good thing.

Sure religion has its flaws and there are extreme versions of it too but but on the whole, it has a spiritual purpose and is a good guy.

 

[RangerMIke]

Religion is a human construct designed to control people. It's a supposition to the nature of God. There are a thousand religions in the world all thinking their human interpretation is correct.

The only good thing I can say about religion is that it gives people a sense of discipline. Disciplined people tend to be happier. It also gives people a sense of control over their own mortality.

 

[VladPatton]

More people have been killed by atheists.

And nature will always win in the end.

 

[VladPatton]

Religion is a human construct designed to control people. It's a supposition to the nature of God. There are a thousand religions in the world all thinking their human interpretation is correct.

The only good thing I can say about religion is that it gives people a sense of discipline. Disciplined people tend to be happier. It also gives people a sense of control over their own mortality.

Well said.

 

[Çharismo]

God doesn't exist.

I don't know if anyone is going to read my reply but I thought I'd share my few cents that I have.

Interesting topic and a lot of good replies.

I actually come from a Muslim background and the weird thing is that growing up we are taught how to read the Quran in Arabic (which is the language it's written in) but we are never explained what we are reading or what it means. Ass backwards I know. I basically know how to read a completely different language but don't understand anything about it. So growing up I just went a long with everything until I came to the US and was exposed to the diversity especially in South Florida.

My eyes naturally slowly started to open up after dealing with a lot of setbacks and of course dealing with my own trials and tribulations so in the past year I started to research on my own and study Islam a little bit more which is the religion I have been born in. I'm at a point in my life that I believe there is no God and that humans have been fed with a desire to want to believe in a higher being/diety thanks to conditioning. Religion no matter which one it is...is mindless brain-washing and is no different than a cult but rather a cult that has stood the test of time.

I understand that the purpose of religion is peace and to attain peace by connecting or having a relationship with the omnipresent, the master and creator of the universe... the all mighty God but the real question is has God ever talked to you? If he created this universe why does so much chaos exist? Is there really a heaven & hell? Why "test" us like this when you already know who is going to fail & pass? Of course you also have fanaticism and extremists who pollute the message of religion, take things out of context and basically wreak havoc on this Earth by spreading lies that give religion a bad name.

Interestingly enough the Torah, Bible & the Quran -- the 3 major religions share a lot of similarities as well for example, things like fasting & praying which I believe is another form of meditation (chants/mantras) is discussed in all three of the cults *cough* religions and is just one of the many things that they agree on which can help a person attain spiritual enlightenment. Of course all 3 of the religions also had there prophets which brought messages & performed miracles. I don't doubt that these prophets existed because history about there lives exist and that they were highly charismatic, charming, kind, noble, etc...maybe even borderline psychotic (hearing voices like Schizophrenics do and believing that it's God talking to them) and they have left there mark in the world but the scriptures/books that we have now and follow are all outdated, filled with errors, and certain things that are discussed for example like polygamy don't pertain to the society we live in.

There aren't any tribal/clan wars and most people in the world aren't nomadic settlers. Our cultures & ideas aren't based of oral stories that are being passed down from generation to generation (if you do a little bit of research you will find out that most of the culture that used to exist especially around Arabia almost 1500 - 1600 years ago required that you have oral & memorization skills) hence, there exist a lot of "stories" in all 3 of the books which forewarn humanity about the consequences that are in store for them or to be patient because God will take care of everything. Story of Joseph in the Torah, Bible & Quran just to name a few. Besides Hinduism (that I can think of) which has more than 330 million gods that they worship most of the religions are monotheistic (Belief in one true god) but originally were paganistic and polytheistic.

However, what I do believe in is that we can attain higher consciousness through meditation, study, research and constant questioning about the world that we live in rather than believing in what is constantly being fed to us. So to sum all this up I don't believe that there is a God and everything thus so far is and has been created by man however, once I'm done with Islam I plan to study Christianity & and then Judaism on a deeper level and see what that is about.

 

[( . )( . )]

I can't buy any of that hocus pocus, feel it caused way too many human death via war

I wouldn't bet on it.

Communism, the end game of what every cultural Marxist SJW faggot is campaigning for in every Western country as we speak has an estimated death toll of 94 million <---Let that sink in for a minute. Obviously cultural Marxism is the new religion now for the atomized mouthbreathing hivemind so technically you're still correct but you get my point.

The breakdown of the number of deaths given by Courtois is as follows:
65 million in the People's Republic of China
20 million in the Soviet Union
2 million in Cambodia
2 million in North Korea
1.7 million in Ethiopia
1.5 million in Afghanistan
1 million in the Communist states of Eastern Europe
1 million in Vietnam
150,000 in Latin America mainly Cuba
10,000 deaths "resulting from actions of the international Communist movement and Communist parties not in power.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Book_of_Communism