What is your religion?

[TT]

I don't believe in any religion... in God maybe, but not in religion and what goes with it :? Not that much...

[Mr.T]

Atheist.

[dingo]

I also don't believe in any religion, or in god :wink: I really don't need something like this to get me through life, and the only thing it seems to cause is trouble :)

[saadie]

well .. im one of those whose got a religion .. but dont do anything to practice it .... so i kinda dont have a religion ....

@mrmojo77 yep be skared real skared :twisted: :P

edit :: lol nope we dont believe in petrol .. we only believe in car gods :D 8)

[Attie]

I don't believe in God. Most of Europe is catholic, and believe in Bible. But I have one question. Adam and Eva had two son. One of them is killed. How the other one had child? There were no women. So, the Bible is lurch for me here :)

[bmwmpower]

i think , people in big cities are more atheistic, they had no time to think about this
but every country is other

[jakaracman]

I only belive in myself.

[F3ckB9LL]

Boudhist for me ... the best religion :fadein:

[Lukasz]

DANISM... I practice it daily :wink:

[Attie]

I don't believe in God. Most of Europe is catholic, and believe in Bible. But I have one question. Adam and Eva had two son. One of them is killed. How the other one had child? There were no women. So, the Bible is lurch for me here :)

They pulled a "Junior" :D I haven't read the bible that much to remember that story, but I bet you can throw that question to some religious man and he will give you the answer, reading it from between the lines of the bible.

I'm really curious what can tell me a cleric :)

[Attie]

DANISM... I practice it daily :wink:

LOL :lol:

[na2o]

I'm proud to say that i'm a muslim

[saadie]

^^lol .. yeah thats what started all the wars .....
what i mean is everyone is proud of their religion .....

I'm not scared, I'm reliefed. :D I think religion has caused almost all the wars, if not directly, then indirectly.
But if the answers continue to be "non-believers", then it is possible to picture an average member of JW.
yeah yer right ..... thast y i only believe in car gods :mrgreen: :P :wink:

[mindgam3]

Atheist here. I don't see how so many different religions, all with different beliefs can all be right.

I believe that God (or gods depending on religion) is (are) not a being or person but a state of mind. If you need a religion to help you get through life then thats fine by me..... I don't believe in any of them though ;)

[ZfrkS62]

I used to be athiest, but i found myself questioning whether i truly believed we were on our own. i knew i didn't believe there was only one god so i started looking for religions that incorporated another deity. so i was surprised to find that my beliefs already fell along Pagan lines. I believe that there is a duality in nature that cannot be ignored, since everything has an opposite.

to each his own though :D

[TransAm]

DANISM... I practice it daily :wink:

Onaism? j/k :lol:

I am at best agnostic. Not the best place in the world to be living with my views, but I don't provoke the natives either. If it keeps 'em happy then it's up to them. I do however live my life by the 'do unto others' so I guess I take on board some of the key elements of the christian religion. It's just a shame 'an eye for an eye' doesn't wash so well (moreso in the UK) lol

According to the bible the earth is 6000 years old. According to science it's millions of years old and we all know how the universe was created. I guess I am very much an evolutionist (should really buy an evo then lol), although as for the 'big bang' it's possible a god or higher power of sorts kicked it all off.


O/T: but along the lines of Mojo's Finnish fanatics: Heard about the 'bible church of Kansas' website www.godhatesswedes.com ?

They are saying all the Swedes killed in the Tsunami were evil as they were in Thailand molesting kids. No word of what their however-many fellow US citizens were out in the region for though...must be the nice weather (sarcasm) surely not the sex industry? :roll:

[BADMIHAI]

Onaism?


Onanism forever! :lol:

I'm an atheist by belief. However, I still belong to the Orthodox Church because I didn't have much choice and never bothered to renounce it.

[TransAm]

/\ Thought it didn't look right the way I'd written it! Orthodox church? Are you from a russian/greek/... background, then bad?

[BADMIHAI]

Orthodox church? Are you from a russian/greek/... background, then bad?


Partly yes. :mrgreen:

[possessed_beaver]

personaly im a Jedi Knight...

and im on jabbasworld... ;)

[BADMIHAI]

personaly im a Jedi Knight...



I'd better not piss you off in that case. You might send your imaginary army of ninjas to slice me. :mrgreen:

[Blip]

^^lol .. yeah thats what started all the wars .....
what i mean is everyone is proud of their religion .....

being proud of a relegion is not what causes wars... what does is being disrespectful to other religions. :|

[Wutputt]

My religion is petrolism :D

Seriously, I'm raised a bit catholic. But I never really believed and I don't practise it. So you can call me an atheist ;)

[bloeb]

DANISM... I practice it daily :wink:

Onaism? j/k :lol:



:lol: that's not quite what I meant

I dont believe in any religion or god, I just try to do what I think is right.. so I live by my own beliefs

[topgeartom]

Although i would say i am a definite atheist, you have to admit there is a lot of funky shit that goes on that cant always be explained - whch leads me to think there might be something else 'on the other side'

when my grandma died (before i was born) my mother said that she was lying in the bed saying "its ok i can see you now George"(a relation who had already died many years earlier) and "im on my way" and such things. It seems even more funky when from what i can find out - my grandma never believed in any of that sort of stuff particularily, and wasnt one to joke about such things)

[mindgam3]

DANISM... I practice it daily :wink:

Onaism? j/k :lol:

I am at best agnostic. Not the best place in the world to be living with my views, but I don't provoke the natives either. If it keeps 'em happy then it's up to them. I do however live my life by the 'do unto others' so I guess I take on board some of the key elements of the christian religion. It's just a shame 'an eye for an eye' doesn't wash so well (moreso in the UK) lol

According to the bible the earth is 6000 years old. According to science it's millions of years old and we all know how the universe was created. I guess I am very much an evolutionist (should really buy an evo then lol), although as for the 'big bang' it's possible a god or higher power of sorts kicked it all off.


O/T: but along the lines of Mojo's Finnish fanatics: Heard about the 'bible church of Kansas' website www.godhatesswedes.com ?

They are saying all the Swedes killed in the Tsunami were evil as they were in Thailand molesting kids. No word of what their however-many fellow US citizens were out in the region for though...must be the nice weather (sarcasm) surely not the sex industry? :roll:

I prefer the theory which says we and the universe are just one big computer simulation run by other people of some sort..... just like "The Sims" but more advanced ;)

[sndr]

No Religion or God for me

[JiggaStyles09]

wow i have to say that i am suprised at how many people dont really believe in god or whatever. i am pretty much in the same boat, i was raised catholic but i have never truely believed in it and now i guess i would consider myself an anthiest. i however dont dislike religion or anything. if thats what what you believe or makes you happy then all the power too you.

but i dont like it when someone asks you about religion or god and looks down upon you or like you are a bad person for not believing.

[zr2man99]

I am of Christian belief, but I do not belong to any church in particular. I was baptised Catholic, but I never really followed it.

[Chaos in 1983!]

I was baptised and raised Catholic, I went to catholic school as well and I wear a crucifix around my neck...but...I hardly go to mass, and I'm a very skeptical person. I do believe in god, but not in the textual biblical sense...

[takata]

Atheist

[cooperluke]

I don't believe in God. Most of Europe is catholic, and believe in Bible. But I have one question. Adam and Eva had two son. One of them is killed. How the other one had child? There were no women. So, the Bible is lurch for me here


Quite simple... Adam and Eve where the first two humans, but you don't read anywhere in the Bible that they were the only ones to be created by God.
So, let's imagine that in the beginning, God created Adam and Eve, and after them created another couple.

Quite simple, isn't it?

Carlos Bruno

[cooperluke]

Oh, and I am Baptist. :)

[Toronto]

Jewish

[ZfrkS62]

its interesting to see how many people were baptised catholic. i think i was too, but seeing as how i don't remember it, it doesn't really mean much. I mean, what's the point of doing something like this to a 2 year old? it's not like they know what you're doig. to them, you're just trying to drown them :lol: but seriously, i think it's a little asenine to baptise someone into a religion when that person doesn't have any comprehension as to what is going on.

[abbor]

I'm officially a protestant, but I don't believe in God...

The only time I go to church is at christmas time..

[SFDMALEX]

I believe that God (or gods depending on religion) is (are) not a being or person but a state of mind. If you need a religion to help you get through life then thats fine by me..... I don't believe in any of them though ;)

Thats what I would say :)

I my self an Atheist, but my family is Ukrainian Orthodox, my dad is atheist, but my mother and my sister kind of believe in a higher being, but no one is really religious.

And to add to it all I was baptised catholic lol.

[blinkmeat]

I'm afraid to say Agnostic for fear of being wrong. That would suck. But I guess I'm more of a humanist. Clearly something created all this, but who's to say what "that" (gods) really is. Perhaps "god" isn't the right word, is it. "God" Seems to cause the most problems in human history.

[SFDMALEX]

I'm afraid to say Agnostic for fear of being wrong. That would suck. But I guess I'm more of a humanist. Clearly something created all this, but who's to say what "that" (gods) really is. Perhaps "god" isn't the right word, is it. "God" Seems to cause the most problems in human history.

To me God is the Big Bang.

[SFDMALEX]

its interesting to see how many people were baptised catholic. i think i was too, but seeing as how i don't remember it, it doesn't really mean much. I mean, what's the point of doing something like this to a 2 year old? it's not like they know what you're doig. to them, you're just trying to drown them :lol: but seriously, i think it's a little asenine to baptise someone into a religion when that person doesn't have any comprehension as to what is going on.

Thats what confirmation is for.

But for me, they way Ukrainians do it....there is no confirmation, so technicaly Im Orthodox for life.

[blinkmeat]

To me God is the Big Bang.

So "god" did that, or was it just a random event? As in no god...

[SFDMALEX]

I don't believe in God. Most of Europe is catholic, and believe in Bible. But I have one question. Adam and Eva had two son. One of them is killed. How the other one had child? There were no women. So, the Bible is lurch for me here


Quite simple... Adam and Eve where the first two humans, but you don't read anywhere in the Bible that they were the only ones to be created by God.
So, let's imagine that in the beginning, God created Adam and Eve, and after them created another couple.

Quite simple, isn't it?

Carlos Bruno

D00de that story goes out the window. So Adam and Eve have children. And what the children have sex with each other?

You do know that two of the same blood, or close relatives cannot have children. A child will be born either retarted, or physicaly messed up....ie no ears, one leg...three lungs....

Just like rabbits...if you mate the mother rabbit with her son their baby rabbits will never be born normal.

[SFDMALEX]

To me God is the Big Bang.

So "god" did that, or was it just a random event? As in no god...

Random event.

God couldnt do it. Who create God, and the thing that created God. And the thing that created the thing that created the thing that creadit the thing that created the thing before it.


I believe that people do need religion. Its in us, we need a higher Thing in life. But its all illusionary. I dont beleive in no God. Or most religions for that matter. But I respect people that are religious, I understand them. I went through a period in my life were I was questioning my faith a lot and came to the conclusion that what Im being taught about God just does not make any sense and is impossible.

I believe that people should live a good life, they should not kill, or steal, or lie, many things that basicly all religions promote. But I dont believe in the things that most religions teach...

I dont believe that I should pray 5 times a day. I dont believe that I should keep my penis in pants at all times.

I think that we should enjoy life to the fullest while not killing or stealing. If fucking all day makes you happy, go ahead, just dont hurt anyone in the proccess.

YOu see what Im saying?


And if I was going to pick a religion to follow, I would go with Buddhism. I think it makes the most sense out of all, actually I think its great.

[gottacatchup]

Atheist, although since the entire rest of my family are devout episcopalians i have to go to church every sunday

[e46drew]

I'll sit on some of my thoughts and get back later
kinda dissapointed with most of your answers :(

[SFDMALEX]

/\/\/\ To each his own. Shouldnt be dissapointed man.

[graywolf624]

Started out as a presbyterian. Still a protestant but dont go to church.
Never been baptised though, and dont plan to be.

[BADMIHAI]

You do know that two of the same blood, or close relatives cannot have children. A child will be born either retarted, or physicaly messed up....ie no ears, one leg...three lungs....



That's not true. There is just a higher probability that the children will have some sort of disabilities. Hemophilia was very common in the European royal families because they were inbreeds.

[FPVPSI]

Well...if u guys read the recent "Religion" topic's, you would probably know im Muslim...I follow my faith somewhat, i go to the Mosque on the main days, and try to do things by the book...

[EDIT] 500th Post...woohoo... 8)

[SFDMALEX]

You do know that two of the same blood, or close relatives cannot have children. A child will be born either retarted, or physicaly messed up....ie no ears, one leg...three lungs....



That's not true. There is just a higher probability that the children will have some sort of disabilities. Hemophilia was very common in the European royal families because they were inbreeds.

That higher probability is quite high, the reason why the Royal families abandoned the whole deal after a while.

[mindgam3]

I'll sit on some of my thoughts and get back later
kinda dissapointed with most of your answers :(

why dissapointed?

[e46drew]

I'm disappointed at the number of you refereing to your selves as atheists. Years ago I was told to "know why you believe what you believe" key word why. That statement is to provoke thought and study. As I understand atheism, it is used for two reasons. First for thoes who are to lazy to look at themselves, others and to try to comprehend humanity. Second for thoes that are ambitious, atheism is used to reject final responsibility for their actions and thoughts, to escape the accountability from a higher power.

Please do research why it is you believe what you do, after all it is your soul, and that is forever. The world is full of information on the subject. My recommendation is to find the most informed people from the religions that seam right to you and ask the for two ar three books that they recommend and from your readings decide.

remember it is your soul :| :| :idea:

[e46drew]

sorry, not trying to pis any one off, just provoking thought :mrgreen:

[gottacatchup]

I'm disappointed at the number of you refereing to your selves as atheists. Years ago I was told to "know why you believe what you believe" key word why. That statement is to provoke thought and study. As I understand atheism, it is used for two reasons. First for thoes who are to lazy to look at themselves, others and to try to comprehend humanity. Second for thoes that are ambitious, atheism is used to reject final responsibility for their actions and thoughts, to escape the accountability from a higher power.

Please do research why it is you believe what you do, after all it is your soul, and that is forever. The world is full of information on the subject. My recommendation is to find the most informed people from the religions that seam right to you and ask the for two ar three books that they recommend and from your readings decide.

remember it is your soul :| :| :idea:

Trust me i've gone through years of consideration and thinking about my faith. I dont USE atheism to excuse behavior or because i'm too lazy to have a religion. As i said before, i'm still required to attend church every sunday with my family.

I came to my own conclusion after much consideration. I understand yours and other's beliefs and do not criticize you for them.

[Mr.T]

I'm disappointed at the number of you refereing to your selves as atheists. Years ago I was told to "know why you believe what you believe" key word why. That statement is to provoke thought and study. As I understand atheism, it is used for two reasons. First for thoes who are to lazy to look at themselves, others and to try to comprehend humanity. Second for thoes that are ambitious, atheism is used to reject final responsibility for their actions and thoughts, to escape the accountability from a higher power.

Please do research why it is you believe what you do, after all it is your soul, and that is forever. The world is full of information on the subject. My recommendation is to find the most informed people from the religions that seam right to you and ask the for two ar three books that they recommend and from your readings decide.

remember it is your soul :| :| :idea:

Why?
I am just as happy (if not more) being an atheist as I would if I was religious.
I cannot believe most of the concepts, they are ridiculous.
It was created by those in power to keep the masses under control.
Religion has caused more pain than it is worth.
I can do what I want based on my own values without restrictions from a religion.

That's just my opinion. :wink:

[noliebro]

It is shocking for me to see all the athiests on here. I think most of you are not atheists in that you care nothing about life's deep questions and are lazy but are just fine where they are and think that no religion is worth having. I am a Christian. My mother was a Catholic growing up and now does not like the Catholic religion, so I was raised in a Christian home. I don't really consider my Christianity a "religion" because that term gets a bad name...as in all the wars that were caused by "religions" and going to a church 4 times a day and so on. Christianity in my life is more of just a personal thing, I believe in the Bible and that Christ died for my sins. I am not the typical crazy Chritian that the media portrays, i do not force it down other people's throughts or get too crazy with it. For me it is just a personal thing, I pray more as just kind of a venting thing to God when life is confusing or hard or as a thanks you. I go to an awesome church on sundays were it is cool place to hang out with my friends and drink some Starbuck's ( yes my church serves Starbuck's) I am the type of person who really likes to think deeply and I believe that the sermons at the church make you do that. I think it is important to have a religion in your life because looking at the world we live in, I hope this aint all there is. Oh, and you guys have been going off on some inbreed story of Adam and Eve when it has been previosly said that Adam and Eve were the only ones mentioned in the Bible but that does not mean they were the only humans, they were just the first he made.

P.S. Sorry this is so long

[saadie]

lets take this to where RC is at his best .... lol :mrgreen:

i dont really have a religion ..... but my own belief is tht theres 1 god who made and manages this whole universe and everything within it .... and hes responsible fer everything that hppens :| ......

[topgeartom]

im not lazy, nor do i seek a 'outlet' for my actions.

I believe that the bible is essentially a lie and fabricated when we still thought the world was square and everyone lived in mud houses.

Now, i dont feel the sudden urge to piss in a bucket nor do i want everyone who has a wart to be burned at the stake for being a witch.

New things come to light alll the time. Technology advances. It has been scientifically proven that the vast majority of things in the bible are essentially BS. Sure back then it was cutting edge - new beiefes way beyond what anyone before had thought, but things move on! How can you live your life by something that is thousands of years old, is innacurate and bears no relation to modern living.

I have nothing against people with a strong religion - if it helps you through life then i really have no problems - im very happy that you have found a guiding light.
I do object to those who ram it down my throat, and that just because i dont share their belife that I AM WRONG and will subsequantly burn in hell - if such a thing exists.

[ZfrkS62]

i dont share their belife that I AM WRONG and will subsequantly burn in hell - if such a thing exists.


one man's heaven is another's hell. Just look at the business world. Some guys enjoy putting on a tie everyday and sitting in front of a computer typing away at reports and figures. To me, that would be hell. They look at me and see me under the hood of a car replacing a radiator or doing oil changes and they shudder at the thought of manual labor. so to them, my job would be hell (sometimes i have to wonder if they're right though, but then i watch Office Space and just laugh my ass off at them)

so punishment and reward is really what you make it :wink:

[TT]

It is shocking for me to see all the athiests on here. I think most of you are not atheists in that you care nothing about life's deep questions and are lazy but are just fine where they are and think that no religion is worth having....

Uhm.. usually atheists can find answers in science and similar.. the bible or the faith has no answer to many many questions scientists can easily explain and usually just rely on "it is God's will".. as I said I could admit God exists maybe, but religions (ANY), were created by MEN... everybody should have his own "religion" inside if he/she really needs it to go on...

[AL123-laptopless]

Personally i wouldn't class myself as religious, however i think you can still take on board some of the principals of different religions and celebrate the spirit of Christmas for example without being christian or even religious at all. I'd like to beleive that there is something after we die, however I am unable to attach myself to a concept that is the cause of so much hatred and death around the world.
Also if you are religious then fine get on with it, don't try and force it down others throats. Little makes me madder than Jehovas witnesses coming round spouting off about their own beliefs, strangely though they have stopped coming round of late...... maybe it was something I said :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

[Attie]

I don't believe in God. Most of Europe is catholic, and believe in Bible. But I have one question. Adam and Eva had two son. One of them is killed. How the other one had child? There were no women. So, the Bible is lurch for me here


Quite simple... Adam and Eve where the first two humans, but you don't read anywhere in the Bible that they were the only ones to be created by God.
So, let's imagine that in the beginning, God created Adam and Eve, and after them created another couple.

Quite simple, isn't it?

Carlos Bruno

But you don't read in the Bible that there were other humans. So you can just suppose them. If something not sure how can you believe in it? Where is evidence that they are not the only ones?
I think I'm too rational :)

[cooperluke]

But you don't read in the Bible that there were other humans. So you can just suppose them. If something not sure how can you believe in it? Where is evidence that they are not the only ones?
I think I'm too rational



Where are the evidence that they were the only ones??

Are you an alien?? You haven't proved me you are not... but i supose you're not, because it's the most logical thing... the most rational!!

Carlos B.

[draak666]

Agnostic here. I don't believe in any religion. Here in Spain lots of people goes to the church every sunday, but I don't use to.

[cooperluke]

Someone here asked what it is to be a Baptist...

I think this page has the answer:

http://www.utm.edu/martinarea/fbc/bfm/


About Science and the Bible/God... I recommend to those who are more sceptical, to read something about TDI (not Turbo Diesel Injection, but Theory of Intelligent Design, or Teoria do Design Inteligente)

:)

Just something for you to think, that I thought sometime ago...

Let's supose there is no God, or some other higher power.....

All became with the "rational" Big Bang.

Where came the Big Bang "ingredients" from? Doesn't it seem that there is missing something supernatural??

And about the Earth being Millions years old... the Carbon-14 datation method is being questioned. Why? Because now, that we have technology to count the atoms, scientist have reached the conclusion that the max datation provided by the C14 method is just few thousands of years, and using the latest techonology, things like the Dinossaurs, "seem" to have only a few thousand years. Do you know that there are fossiles of water living beings in places has the Himalaias and the Everest?? It makes me remind a certain Noe, and his arch. :)

It's like someone said before... you can just accept something (Christianism, Agnostic, Atheism) and live without bothering, or be a little more critic, and try to understand things by yourself, by studying. And you will see, if you study, that things are not quite has simple has most of Atheists believe.

P.S.- Hope this will make you think...

Greetings,
Carlos B.

[Attie]

Nowhere! :)
But why didn't write it? That is sure what is written, other is just legend...

If you pay me a DNA test, then I proove you I'm a human ;-)

[mindgam3]

I'm disappointed at the number of you refereing to your selves as atheists. Years ago I was told to "know why you believe what you believe" key word why. That statement is to provoke thought and study. As I understand atheism, it is used for two reasons. First for thoes who are to lazy to look at themselves, others and to try to comprehend humanity. Second for thoes that are ambitious, atheism is used to reject final responsibility for their actions and thoughts, to escape the accountability from a higher power.

Please do research why it is you believe what you do, after all it is your soul, and that is forever. The world is full of information on the subject. My recommendation is to find the most informed people from the religions that seam right to you and ask the for two ar three books that they recommend and from your readings decide.

remember it is your soul :| :| :idea:

No offence, but why should I have to research and read books to find out what I believe, these are materialistic things and what you believe in should come from inside you, not from others preaching to you and forcing you to believe in such things.

If you believe in the bible, kuran or whatever holy book ur religion takes its principles from then thats fine, i dont have any problem with that.

But I've yet to find a religious person who can tell me why there are so many DIFFERENT religions, with DIFFERENT principles and DIFFERENT gods (sometimes more than one).

It's simple things in the bible that make me not believe in anything. Like it mentions no life before humans. Humanity has been a miniscule part of the universe's history and you would have thought there would be more than that mentioned in the bible. We know that humans werent just put on the earth, but we have evolved.

No disrespect, but as topgeartom said, there is so much BS in religious books that is exceedingly hard to believe. Romans and Greeks and other ancient cultures had many many god that they believed in.... they are now all abandoned and could be thought of as myths.

As i've said before, I believe religion is a state of mind to help you through life. I don't need this religion as 1) I dont believe in any of it, and 2) I don't feel it will help me become a stronger, better person in any way shape or form.

Whether you have a religion or not I dont mind, and i respect people who do. I do find it interesting though (in my experience) that people who dont believe in a religion respect the views of those who do. But those who have a religion find it hard to acknowledge those who don't and often try to force their views.

[cooperluke]

Lol... I think you understood my point, no need to argue such things.

[mindgam3]

Let's supose there is no God, or some other higher power.....

All became with the "rational" Big Bang.

Where came the Big Bang "ingredients" from? Doesn't it seem that there is missing something supernatural??

And about the Earth being Millions years old... the Carbon-14 datation method is being questioned. Why? Because now, that we have technology to count the atoms, scientist have reached the conclusion that the max datation provided by the C14 method is just few thousands of years, and using the latest techonology, things like the Dinossaurs, "seem" to have only a few thousand years. Do you know that there are fossiles of water living beings in places has the Himalaias and the Everest?? It makes me remind a certain Noe, and his arch. :)



So you're saying the earth is only a few thousand years old?

This is virtually impossible. The universe is said to be expanding, as is found using methods derived from hubbles law.... therefore it must be expanding from some kind of centre point (the big bang). As we know roughly what speed the universe is expanding, we can predict roughly how long ago everything must have been at this centre point and then roughly, how old the universe is. Asuming the earth was formed a few million(billion) years later then it cannot possibly be a few thousand years old.

Secondly it was most likely that the development of life itself was a coincidental occurance from many many random events that leaded to the formation of atoms -> molecules -> more complex molecular structures -> DNA etc. Even more unlikely random events occured and multi cell animals were formed and eventually as evolution takes place, more complex animals and then eventually humans. The likelyhood of these events occuring is why we are seemingly the only intelligent life in the nearby vacinity.

Other theories (string theory etc) have many different ways of explaining the universe and the possibility of there being more than one universe. What scientists like stephen hawkings are looking for now is a grand theory to link all theories together.

Gravity is though to play a very important factor in this - we still don't have any hard theories for it as we do everything else - electricity, atomic reactions and molecular interactions.

I suggest you yourself do some reading - books like "A Breif History of Time" by steven hawking to grasp these concepts further......

As for who/what created it in the first place, well obviously no one knows.

We don't no if theres anything outside the universe, we probably never will.

That god created the universe is just as likely as us/the universe being a gigantic computer simulation run by another far advanced race.

The fact that no religion past or present, although have similarities, are each too unique and too different to imply they must all be right.

All religious books have far too many errors and unlikely events in them to prove they are true..... especially considering they are a few years old and nothing has been seen since.....

This leads me to my personal conclusion that god is a state of mind, not an actual being.

Btw, Steven Hawking is actually a Christian and does believe in god

[e46drew]

If you were to take the time to reserch your point of view as well as others, the vast amount of information is hard to digest. years and life times have been spent on the serch for the truth.

personaly I dont care weather or not you beleave anything. its not my soul at stake with your lack of info. I have my own beliefs I'm just incourageing people to look

about creation, if there were a god that created the universe maby it would be beond our comprehention as to what it takes to run it? the probabilitys are uncouculatable as to things hapening by chance. look it up

[mindgam3]

If you were to take the time to reserch your point of view as well as others, the vast amount of information is hard to digest. years and life times have been spent on the serch for the truth.

personaly I dont care weather or not you beleave anything. its not my soul at stake with your lack of info. I have my own beliefs I'm just incourageing people to look

about creation, if there were a god that created the universe maby it would be beond our comprehention as to what it takes to run it? the probabilitys are uncouculatable as to things hapening by chance. look it up

I have taken my time and research to decide whether i need a religion or not.

I was baptised a chrisitan methodist and went to church every sunday for most of my childhood.

I now believe that religion can be useful to some people. But for me, it restricts my life and what I want to do.... I want to abide by my "rules" of life that make me who I am..... not by someone else's that i don't have any trust in.

My view is that my so called soul is much more free without a book governing how i live....

[Stikz]

Roman Catholic. And i'm a bit surprised there are so few people who actually practice a religion here.

[ZfrkS62]

That god created the universe is just as likely as us/the universe being a gigantic computer simulation run by another far advanced race.


my question now becomes this: does this far advanced race believe in something above them?

There are other forms of intelligent life in this universe, and i would be very interested to listen to their findings/beliefs. Surely we cannot be he only ones to believe that an entity, more powerful that we can comprehend, created all this.

and if you don't think there are other life forms out there somewhere, then answer me this: why would a god create something so big, only to leave a spec of dust as the only populated object? seems like it would be an insane waste of space, time and energy. And i certainly hope that humanity is NOT the most intelligent life form out there..if we are, there is no hope for the universe :lol:

just another angle to consider, call it BS if you will, but there;s no denying the things we may not know :wink:

[nthfinity]

i havent partipated much here; so i dont think there is a lot to say on my side.

i was born into a religous family... for years i thought little about it, then i decided it couldn't be true... it just doesnt make any sence in many regards...

then what i 'knew' to be true one day wasnt at all at an instant... i'll just say an event changed me, and because of that, it is impossible for me to say there isnt a God.

there are basic moral arguments... such as personal accountability which cirtainly is a key factor in religion... what makes a person want to be upright?

others look at religion as a control of the populus... and historicaly, that has been true in various cases; but in todays society, it really doesnt apply (dont bring up the red vs. blue states silly argument, as it isnt remotely the case)

traditionally, people who dont believe in anything but themselves truly dont... but are actually refusing to believe in something rather then understand it... which is an unscientific way to self discovery.

im not saying that about any here, as its impossible to ascertain from a few paragraphs where one's theological beliefes stem... but most arguments stated can be refuted, while a few are more in theory one way, or another.

on an interesting side note, on BBC news radio this morning, they reported focils of a mamal with dinosaur young (mabey eggs) in its stomach... please note im not refuting the age of the universe... even if that was the case, then a host of celestial time markers show otherwise

[nejcdolinsek]

I'm a very proud athiest :D

Thanks for asking :wink:

EDIT: One of my favorite quotes: "Religion is the opium of the masses" - Karl Marx

[cooperluke]

Mindgam3, what you said, is a theory, such has others. If you research a bit, you will find that "your" theory also has lots of faults.
Darwin's evolutionist theory is nowadays very easily put against the wall.

[mindgam3]

traditionally, people who dont believe in anything but themselves truly dont... but are actually refusing to believe in something rather then understand it... which is an unscientific way to self discovery.


But that arguement can be turned the other way round: "Religious people are refusing to give up what they believe even though its not true".
A statement i wouldnt say, but is basically the opposite of what you're saying.

Personally i don't believe in a religion because i don't think anything thats said is true, not because i dont understand it.

On a broader scale, each religion has different principles, some of which contradict each other.... how do I know which one to believe if any? Even different varieties of christianity "pick and choose" which parts of the bible to act upon or not.


im not saying that about any here, as its impossible to ascertain from a few paragraphs where one's theological beliefes stem... but most arguments stated can be refuted, while a few are more in theory one way, or another.


If your referring to scientific theories then thats what they ALL are, theory. Non are absolute fact, they are just models based upon what we observe and what happens in the universe.

Eg. Atoms may not exist, at least not in the way we view them. However the model we use to predict whatever this minisucle object is, works for everything we have come across so far...

So much of the world can be related to a mathematical model or theory that I don't see why what we havent discovered or dont understand yet can't be....


on an interesting side note, on BBC news radio this morning, they reported focils of a mamal with dinosaur young (mabey eggs) in its stomach... please note im not refuting the age of the universe... even if that was the case, then a host of celestial time markers show otherwise

i dont understand what ur getting at here ;)

[nejcdolinsek]

And about the Earth being Millions years old... the Carbon-14 datation method is being questioned. Why? Because now, that we have technology to count the atoms, scientist have reached the conclusion that the max datation provided by the C14 method is just few thousands of years, and using the latest techonology, things like the Dinossaurs, "seem" to have only a few thousand years. Do you know that there are fossiles of water living beings in places has the Himalaias and the Everest?? It makes me remind a certain Noe, and his arch.


1. For atifacts older than 50000 years, scentists use other isotopes to calculate the age.

2. During millions of years of continents shifting around the surface of the earth, life forms can be found in the most unusual places. Hence, life can be found on Everest (although I have never heared of it). BTW, the Himalaias were formed when the indian subcontinent pushed against the asian landmass... this resulted in the raising of the mountains. The Himalaias continue to grow to this day.

[mindgam3]

Indeed, mountains are formed by the coming together of two tectonics plates so its not unlikely that the himalayas were once at the bottom of the ocean.

[nejcdolinsek]

It's like someone said before... you can just accept something (Christianism, Agnostic, Atheism) and live without bothering, or be a little more critic, and try to understand things by yourself, by studying. And you will see, if you study, that things are not quite has simple has most of Atheists believe.


Actually, it is the religious people who think that things are simple. We athiests look for scientific, empirical evidence to justify our claims. However, religion is founded on dogmatic principles, which have no proof whatsoever. They can never be proven, or disproven either. This is because they are un-testifiable, i.e. you can't "measure" a "miracle".

Religion has a fundamental falacy called Argumentum ad ignorantium, or "argument from ignorance". This means arguning that a statement is true because there is no evidence that shows it to be false. If religious people are claiming there is a god and soul, then it is their duty to prove it as well. I mean seriously, do you believe women were created out of the rib of a man??? What BS...

In my opinion, the idea of "god" first began with our very early ancestors not being able to comprehend natural phenomenon (rain, floods, fire, etc.), and because of our "fear of the unknown", could only explain these phenomenons by inventing supernatural creatures to fill the gap in our knowledge. Every other religion henceforth was merely an adaptation to their own time; Christianity/Judeism/Islam/etc. is only a continuation of the primordial fear of the unknown... So, in todays world,(with the knowledge of why it rains, why floods occur, and how fire is started), religion really does seem out of place and obsolete. I really hope we can move forward...
And as for the people that use religion to get though hard times... you're only fooling yourselves with false beliefs. I'd recommend you believe in yourself to get yourself out of your troubles. As I said earlier: "Religion is the opium of the masses."

[ZfrkS62]

mrmojo, sorry your thread got hijacked :(


During millions of years of continents shifting around the surface of the earth, life forms can be found in the most unusual places. Hence, life can be found on Everest


wasn't it antarctica that they found evidence of tiny microbes in the ice? microbes that were too deep to be carried there by the penguins?

so yes it's quite concievable to find life on everest. Life will find ways to survive. i would not be the least bit surprised if someone were to find a for of cockaroach under all the snow. but i'm not psycho enough to make an expedition out there, so we'll just have to wait for someone who is :lol:

on a side note: would someone PLEASE invent a time machine so we could go back and witness the creation of life on this miserable little floating rock we call earth? i would like to know just how it happened so we can put an end to this evolution vs. creationism argument :lol:

[Vansquish]

I guess I'm an atheist by definition :-)

[nthfinity]

Even different varieties of christianity "pick and choose" which parts of the bible to act upon or not.

there are 2 books in the catholic bible that arent in the protestant bibles... and were decided to be removed as they contained teachings that go against others... such as lying for god. i think that is what you were referring to.

as to the point i was getting at? just that im not saying the earth is only 10,000 years old... but new things are discovered quite often :wink:

[SFDMALEX]

If you were to take the time to reserch your point of view as well as others, the vast amount of information is hard to digest.

Who said that we the atheist dont? I took a world religions course, was raised in a Christian family, read most of the bible. So I took all the time to reaserch my points of view. Probably more then you.


How will you explain the fact that there are a bunch of religions out there that contradict each other?
Religions that make your religion false and vice versa. What makes you think that your religion is the ultimate truth? What makes you think that any religion at all caries any truth. And what about the fact that Buddhism says that we live in an illusionary world, and the ultimate state is acheiving the state of no mind.

Going back at it...so God created earth, or shall I say humans and such(which is BS because of the Evolution theory. Which has support, plenty of it and that is as logical as 2+2=4). While the creation theory is not even a theory its a story. And who created God? God just cant be outhere, someone created him and the thing that created the thing that created God.....that goes into infinity.

Its one of those things that we will never know. Because believing that God made everything doesnt answer any questions at all. I just dont know why people fall for it. So how did God came to be? Out of nothing? Whats nothing then? NOthing therefore is something? You see were Im getting at? WE WILL NEVER ASNWER THESE QUESTIONS.

We are lazy?(shouldnt say we cause it makes it sound like some clan that goes against all religions and destroys them because we dont believe what you believe)
Sorry man but I never meet an un wize atheist, but I meet a bunch of dumbass Christians, Jews and Muslims.

And what is with the "its your soul at stake not mine"???
You make God sound like some judge. God is the epitome of good. Therefore the whole "hell" story goes out the window. It goes against everything God is. I believe that people can change, therefore I see a sinner spending 500 years in pergatory then iternite burning in hot lava. THere is no sin bad enough for someone to deserve that. If God was outhere he would make the person work for his sins and understand what he/she has done.


Religion does not answer anything and that is the bottom line.

I our ancestors came to be. We will never know. So why should I believe in any religion if it doesnt answer anything. And were is the proof etc...

Dont think that Atheists go against God. Atheists just dont know how it happend period. Why should I trouble my self with any religion if it doesnt answer any things in my life?


I just wake up each morning and try to make the best out of my life. Thats my "religion". I seek happines, I dont seek answers which are not othere.

Some people find happines with Religion. Which is awesome! If it does it for you, then its great.

But religion doesnt do it for me. None of them. Because 1) They dont make any sense and 2) They restrict what I can do, therefore make me unhappy

[cooperluke]

there are 2 books in the catholic bible that arent in the protestant bibles... and were decided to be removed as they contained teachings that go against others... such as lying for god. i think that is what you were referring to.


The protestant Bibles don't have them, neither a Bible that you buy in a library. The protestant didn't take them from the Bible. The Catholic church put it there, they were not part of the Bible, so that's why the protestant don't have them!


1. For atifacts older than 50000 years, scentists use other isotopes to calculate the age.


Do you know why??? Because they used C14, and when got technology to actually count the atoms very well started to observe things that they coulndn't explain, and that would go against lot of their previous work!!

[sameerrao]

I am a Hindu by birth but am agnostic by nature.

I read a little bit about some of the primary religions - Hindu, Christianity, Islam and found that they are more than 80+% alike in their beliefs. But people focus on the 20% and make a big hue and cry about how different they are and how one is better than the other.

My beef with religion are the self-appointed priests, ayatollahs, bishops etc. who interpret religion to their own means and ends. Besides there is a sheep/cattle like mentality expected - believe this book - Koran , Geeta, Bible to be true and do not question.

Religion should be about making people more self aware and becoming a better person. But it is one of the most divisive forces in the world and a political weapon. I hate religion for this!

But I do believe in five gods: Ferrari, Schumacher, Senna, Fangio and Nuvolari :wink:

[SFDMALEX]

/\/\/\Someone is thinking right.

You forgot Angelina Jolie :wink:

[sameerrao]

^^ Liv Tyler/Charlize Theron/Salma Hayek are more my thing :wink:

[e46drew]

Religion should be about making people more self aware and becoming a better person.

I think that is what it is about.
and I do question evrything.
I'm not a cattle in the herd, actualy I havent found a denomination or spasifac "church" that seams to work correctly, most are cought up in
the buisness of it all, seen mostly in the cathloc, and other regiminted
institutions

[ZfrkS62]

But I do believe in five gods: Ferrari, Schumacher, Senna, Fangio and Nuvolari


That said, my holy day is Sunday at whatever Race Time is here :D :wink: during race season only of course :mrgreen:

[ZfrkS62]

^^ Liv Tyler/Charlize Theron/Salma Hayek are more my thing :wink:

My main Goddess is pictured below :wink: but just below her, Lauren Graham, Jenna Jameson, Devon (yeah the last 2 are porn stars..but they're HOT!) Amy Lee and Elizebeth Hurley :D

..i think one thing can be said for sure: We worship some HOT women :D

[Vansquish]

I'm a very proud athiest :D

Thanks for asking :wink:

EDIT: One of my favorite quotes: "Religion is the opium of the masses" - Karl Marx

Actually I think it's "opiate" not "opium", but I could be wrong about that.

[noliebro]

The first problem that I have with some of the people's thinking in this forum is that they believe that faith should come from the inside or something like that, this is a very bland statment that means that just because you believe that 2+7=3, that it is correct, and that you could learn nothing your whole life from anyone else, or "books" and still come up with the right answers in your own mind and that would be okay. Secondly you guys have been saying that evolution has been proven, I don't know what books you guys are reading in other countries, but I believe there have been more scientists that have found nothing that supports it and many have given up the study, and it is suprising that most of you who have some sort of "humanistic" views can lower the human race to being derived from a fish or ape or something. I am sorry if I sound heated about this but I believe that boths sides that are arguing have no real solid evidence either way and it can go on both ways forever.

[Vansquish]

i havent partipated much here; so i dont think there is a lot to say on my side.

i was born into a religous family... for years i thought little about it, then i decided it couldn't be true... it just doesnt make any sence in many regards...

then what i 'knew' to be true one day wasnt at all at an instant... i'll just say an event changed me, and because of that, it is impossible for me to say there isnt a God.

there are basic moral arguments... such as personal accountability which cirtainly is a key factor in religion... what makes a person want to be upright?

others look at religion as a control of the populus... and historicaly, that has been true in various cases; but in todays society, it really doesnt apply (dont bring up the red vs. blue states silly argument, as it isnt remotely the case)

traditionally, people who dont believe in anything but themselves truly dont... but are actually refusing to believe in something rather then understand it... which is an unscientific way to self discovery.

im not saying that about any here, as its impossible to ascertain from a few paragraphs where one's theological beliefes stem... but most arguments stated can be refuted, while a few are more in theory one way, or another.

on an interesting side note, on BBC news radio this morning, they reported focils of a mamal with dinosaur young (mabey eggs) in its stomach... please note im not refuting the age of the universe... even if that was the case, then a host of celestial time markers show otherwise

Yup, a fossil of a small carnivorous mammal was discovered in China, within its skeletal remains were the remains of another creature, not eggs, but actually a small dinosaur. The only thing that this lends some support to is the idea that mammals weren't necessarily only tiny and ran around trying to keep out of the way of their larger reptilian neighbors.

As for those of you trying to refute Carbon-14 dating, here's a little more information. C-14 is only useful in dating items less than approximately 50,000 years old, as C-14 is only present in organic matter. In fact, all living organisms contain a certain concentration of C-14 in the organic matter which makes them up. After an organism dies, the supply of C-14 is stopped and an exponential decay occurs. Thus, the remains of a bone from a Wooley Mammoth or the dwellings of a Neanderthal are generally within the range of this dating technology. However, when it comes to fossilized remains Carbon-14 dating is absolutely useless.

The process of fossilization is in essence the replacement of organic matter by minerals over the course of extremely long periods of time. It is well understood that fossilization of bone gives a certain set of mineral deposits. Since there is NO organic matter in these deposits or in fossils in general for that matter, Carbon-14 dating cannot be used. Thus, we must depend on isotopes of different elements with significantly longer half-lives. Uranium-238 is a commonly used isotope for fossil dating because its half-life is approximately 4.5 billion years (instead of 5730 years for C-14) and therefore measureable concentrations of U-238 are available in any and all fossils found on Earth.

If you want to argue about decay rates, don't bother, I'm working with a variety of radioactive isotopes in my physics lab and I can sit down and measure decay rates with a reasonable degree of accuracy.


With regards to the process of evolution, the fossil record gives a reasonable account of a progression of species which appear to have quite a great deal in common and can be arranged into groupings of organisms with similar characteristics. The tops of these "family trees" if you like, are the genus and species "branches" and "twigs." If you take two organisms which share many characteristics today (a lion and tiger for instance) and compare their DNA without a doubt, the number of differences in genetic code will be extremely small if not negligible.

DNA is of course made up of sets of amino acids. The question was raised several years ago by a scientist whose name escapes me at the moment (and I'm too lazy to go look him up), "Is it possible that in the 'primordial soup' amino acids could be formed by natural processes?"
To find out he devised an experiment using what we know from rock composition dated to roughly the time when the first organisms begin to appear in the fossil records. He sealed the contents in a glass ball at approximately the appropriate temperature, humidity, pressure, and with the appropriate gasses and solids, including sulfur, carbon, and a variety of other elementary compounds and subjected the mixture to a high-voltage electrical stimulus...he imitated lightning. The result was a series of chains of amino acids, not DNA, but definetely what we know to be the building blocks of life. This to me gives a good firm basis for the theory, yes I said THEORY, of evolution.

On the other hand, religion is NOT a theory, it is a belief system. It has its merits, primarily in the fact that it functions as a code of moral statutes and provides people in times of need with something which they may find comforting. However, unless you question your faith and actually make the effort to scrutinize what it is in which you believe, then you are only blindly following dogmatic principles set out by those in the church, temple, mosque etc... to whom you look for guidance.

As has already been iterated, "Religion is the opiate of the masses," it keeps people content with their lives and happy. There's nothing wrong with that. I merely choose not to believe and to question scientifically everything I see, it is in my nature to do so.

[Vansquish]

Sorry about my previous post, I had a little diarrhea of the brain....

[mindgam3]

The first problem that I have with some of the people's thinking in this forum is that they believe that faith should come from the inside or something like that, this is a very bland statment that means that just because you believe that 2+7=3, that it is correct, and that you could learn nothing your whole life from anyone else, or "books" and still come up with the right answers in your own mind and that would be okay.



I dont know why but I think alot of religious people do think athiests and the like don't have any morals etc.

Just because we aren't religious and we don't have a particular faith doesent mean we don't know whats right from wrong. Any sensible person will learn from life and other people. Atheists dont believe in a religion because they don't need that support or foundation of thoughts to fall back onto or live their life by - this doesen't imply we don't have our own morals etc.

I think someone else said about gods being "invented" as an explanation to things we can't explain, eg floods and storms years ago.

Now the unknown is more about the universe, but just because we dont understand it yet, doesen't mean there MUST be an almighty god. There might well be, but i dont believe there is.

Also, a minority of the scientific community debate darwins theory. Scientific theories have always been debated, rejected and dismissed. But the majority believe, that in some way it is highly likely that all living organisms evolve. This is seen throughout the entire world and is the reason so many spicies of basically the same animal exist.

The simple fact that there are fossils outdating human civilization means that there was definately life before humanity.... why isnt any of it mentioned in the bible? Why isnt the creation of the universe mentioned? Why isn't even the moon, any other galaxies mentioned? Why aren't the dinosoars mentioned? Who wrote the bible? How do you know it isn't some story an ancient hebrew author wrote? Why does christianity have one god, and others have many? Why arent all religious books the same and relate to each other completely?

Theres far too many questions like these to make me feel that no religion is actually based on true happenings or beings and therefore there's little point in me relating to any of it.

Purely out of interest i'd like to hear what religious people here think about all religions, although have their similarities, are all different.... How can each and every religion be true if they all have different guidelines and god's?