Anybody Here Religious?

[Bible_Belt]

My ex-wife converted to Islam after we got divorced and she married a guy from Morocco. In the US, Muslims are in a minority and tend to be very cliquish. It's not unlike becoming a Jehova's Witness. It tends to alienate you from the people you knew before, but at the same time introduce you to a new set of friends and new stuff to do. She still calls me occasionally, which is supposed to be adultery, a married woman talking to a man.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all trace their roots back to Abraham. The Islam v Judaism conflict goes back to the inheritance rights of the sons of Noah.

I like the bible as a historical book. Most of the content of it does not require any supernatural forces to exist in order to be true. Like David and Goliath, for example, a little guy killing a big guy with a rock is more about physics and anatomy than it is theology. That story very likely happened, whether God exists or not.

And a lot of ideas from religion are still useful, whether or not you believe in the religion. I don't care if Jesus walked on water, but I believe in the idea, at least attributed to him, of trying to be nice to people. They end up being nice to you in response, and you get more from them than you would by being a d!ck. That's a lesson in human psychology that anyone can use, regardless of their beliefs.

 

[sharkbeat]

once I'm done with Islam I plan to study Christianity & and then Judaism on a deeper level and see what that is about.

Being a Christian (Catholic), I would exercise extreme critical thinking of studying any religion. Within a religion itself, there are plenty of conflicting ideas and thoughts. How many sects of Christianity are there? And how many of them actually get along? And even among the Catholics, there are differing opinions, and unfortunately, corruptions.

I stay in my religion because of its traditions. I value traditions, especially those that have historical roots and have stood against the test of time. Catholics have plenty of those, which I like. If you dig deeper in Catholic teachings, you will find a lot of hidden gems and wisdom that you don't normally find anywhere else, even if you attend the mass every Sunday.

If you believe in God, use religion as a tool to get your personal relationship with God closer. Note that I marked the word personal in bold. We shouldn't be judging other people, pointing out their mistakes and errors, or condemning them to hell for not believing the same thing you believe. Point to yourself, examine yourself, fix yourself.

Religious teachings are not absolutes. I cringe every time someone judge religions. They labeled the entire practitioners like we are mindless, clueless, drones in a hive. What's worse than atheists/agnostics judging religious people are religious people judging other religious people for their practices. It's like arguing whether going out with shoes or sandals. Completely irrelevant to the big picture, this universe, God's existence, and most importantly your own faith.

When you anchor your faith on a religion, then you get those people with shaky foundations who believe that Earth is 6000 years old. Atheists love them because they get to use them as examples how silly religions and/or God are.

 

[zekko]

When you anchor your faith on a religion, then you get those people with shaky foundations who believe that Earth is 6000 years old. Atheists love them because they get to use them as examples how silly religions and/or God are.

Belief in God is mainly a philosophical choice, which affects how you choose to live and view your life (and life in general). Religious texts like the Bible are not scientific manuals or history books, that's not their purpose.

 

[RangerMIke]

Belief in God is mainly a philosophical choice, which affects how you choose to live and view your life (and life in general). Religious texts like the Bible are not scientific manuals or history books, that's not their purpose.

I respectfully disagree. I do not think belief in God is a choice... it is a question of faith. I do not believe that I can wake up one day and say, "Oh gee, think I'll start believing in God!"

I think selecting a religion is a philosophical choice based on upbringing and significate emotional events that hasppen in your life.

That said, I really don't know if there is a God, that does not mean I do not believe in the exisitance of God. But based on human history, I seriously doubt the God really is an active participant in what goes on Earth. It makes no sence to create man, give him his natural state and behavior, then insist that we go againt the very nature created. It's like getting mad at a cat that refuses to bark. Therefor I really don't think God cares about religion.... go with whatever makes you happy and comfortable as long as you don't screw with other people and their comfort and happiness

The truth is that either everyone is right, or everyone is wrong. Because even an athiest is wrong, saying that you don't believe in something is a statement that is not based on fact, since they can't prove there is NO God, any more than the faithful prove there is one. All an atheist can say there is no evidence of the existance... you can not logically prove a negative.

 

[Atom Smasher]

Some thoughts as I read this thread:

There are many things in the bible that fascinate me. For example, 4,000 years ago the earth was described as a sphere, that the terminator between dark and light was curved, and that God hangs the earth on nothing.

As far as I can tell from my study of history, these statements would have been considered absurd as until relatively recently the earth was considered to be flat and supported on something unknown.

Looking to the future, the bible describes the antichrist setting up an idol in the temple that moves and talks. Again, until very recently this was a preposterous idea given man's knowledge at the time.

And as I type this, I think of the two witnesses who are killed in Revelation. They are going to be killed and the nations will rejoice and watch their bodies lying on the ground for three and a half days, and then will witness them rising back to life. The NATIONS will watch all this. Again, a preposterous thought until very recently (TV).

Up until the 20th century many men who knew scripture must have been deeply puzzled by the "impossible" statements of science and prophecies that would be considered utterly impossible given man's current understanding of science. But that's where faith comes in.

Consider also the re-establishment of Israel as a nation in 1948. After the dispersion who would have thought it would be even remotely possible that Israel would rise again as a cohesive nation, and with significant military muscle at that.

Many of these things serve to bolster my faith. When we read the scriptures we see that God values reason and he even tells Israel in the old testament to come and reason together with him. Faith in the God of the bible is not blind faith, but rather reasoned faith. But unless one knows what the scripture actually says, it is utterly impossible for him to attain that faith as God says in the bible that His scripture is the very vehicle by which one comes to faith.

Human argument, music, debating, introspection, etc. cannot bring a man to spiritual discernment. God is hidden from him as God says that if we diligently seek him in sincerity we WILL find him. No ifs, ands or buts... we WILL find Him. It happened to me and I was a skeptic. I started reading the bible in order to put it away as an implausible philosophy.

Consider that all current Christians were once unbelievers and scoffers. Upon becoming Christians life got HARDER, not easier. During times of intense persecution, including torture and death, they did not waiver in their faith. Every authentic Christian (and there are TONS of non-authentic ones) has been on both sides of the fence while the unbeliever has only his own perspective from one side. The believer has spent much of his life on that side, but has taken up residence on the other side.

What makes a man do a complete 180 and come to understand that he is a sinner and must settle his accounts with God after being a complete scoffer all his life? "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" Romans 10:17

I could talk to a person for a million years and try to convince him of God and he would never listen, and understandably so. But I have pointed several people to the scriptures and consequently watched their transformation because of that exposure.

Interestingly again, God declares "“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world”.

Just some interesting things that this thread has brought to mind.

 

[speed dawg]

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".

Outstanding answer. I don't think it can be worded any better. Especially the part about religion - I don't even like that word - it trivializes the truth.

ETA: Looking back, it appears I said the same thing about religion already in this thread, back in September. Oh well, at least I am consistent.

 

[Çharismo]

The God Delusion.

Originally posted by :- zekko

Belief in God is mainly a philosophical choice, which affects how you choose to live and view your life (and life in general). Religious texts like the Bible are not scientific manuals or history books, that's not their purpose.

Same thing with the Quran.

Check this out for those that might be interested in another view-point regarding religion.

The God Delusion