A question for the religious and non-religious alike.

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You realize that sometimes you're not okay, you level off, you level off, you level off...
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I AM ME
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Post by I AM ME »

it could have just as easily been Vishnu, or Alah, or Shiva, that formed our DNA as God. Or for all we know we were formed by another species and put upon this planet. DNA and our beginings are a mystery. But saying that because we don't know how it happened it must be the Christian god is ludacris
"How can we justify spending so much on destruction and so little on life?" Matthew Good

"The white dove is gone, the one world has come down hard, so why not share the pain of our problems, when all around are wrong ways, when all around is hurt, i'll roll up in an odd shape and wait, untill the tide has turned.....with anger, i'm dead weight, i'm anchored"- IME, God Rocket (Into the Heart of Las Vegas) ^ Some say this song is about a terrorists thoughts before 911

"Pray for the sheep" Matt Good
"But it's alright, take the world and make it yours again" Matt Good

I felt it in the wind, and i saw it in the sky, i thought it was the end, i thought it was the 4th of July.

"Hold on, hold on children, your mother and father are leaving, hold on, hold on children your best freind's parents are leaving, leaving,.......*AHHH*! " - Death From Above - Black History Month
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xjsb125
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Post by xjsb125 »

Nobody's wrong, and nobody is right. Just believe what you belive, and don't worry what others have to say.
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Axtech
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Post by Axtech »

I think the issue here isn't so much worrying what others say as it is worrying what's right. I mean, if I choose to follow Catholicism, and it turns out that Islam is right or true, then I'm just as bad off as if I had been completely without faith.

Not that I'm saying everyone should take on a hedonist perspective. The issue is that there is no way of knowing which is the right faith, and that's just downright terrifying - to know that you could dedicate yourself to living a good life, and still turn out to be wrong in the end. (living a good life isn't enough for most religions. there's almost always something else that needs to be done, and many religions contradict eachother, so it's not possible to try to cover all the bases)
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Every now and then I fall out into open air just to feel the wind, rain and everything.
And though the hum and sway gets me down
, I'll find the way to peace and openness.

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Joe Cooler

Post by Joe Cooler »

J-Neli wrote:
Joe Cool wrote:
Finally... and you might want to put this in your sig so you dont forget it, without God your life and my life is meaningless. We are animals. Our sole purpose is to pass along DNA.


Hate to break it to you but that's the only reason why we're here. There isn't any other special reason. We're just animals who happen to have developed beyond the other species on Earth.

And, also if you do believe otherwise, than why do you need god for a life to be meaningful? I could easily say that with God life is meaningless and it would hold the same validity.


Your not breaking anything to me. I stated exactly what you said in my quote. And to answer your question, the God I believe in states that all life was created for a purpose. That God has a plan for each individual. That nothing was created by chance or by accident. I hope that suffices.
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Post by Axtech »

P.S. Matt, we know the birdman wouldn't lie. :P
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Image
Every now and then I fall out into open air just to feel the wind, rain and everything.
And though the hum and sway gets me down
, I'll find the way to peace and openness.

Image
"Robbo" - © Alex (happeningfish)...^5 ^5 v v
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xjsb125
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Post by xjsb125 »

Haha. ;)
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Joey
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Post by Joey »

i don't follow any faith .. though i was raised catholic .. i disgree with all of it very strongly .. that could be because i went to catholic schools where it was shoved down my throat, i don't know .. but ever since i was old enough to understand it, i wanted nothing to do with it.

religion causes nothing but problems

everybody believes in something different and it's not up to anybody else to determine whether that person's beliefs are right or wrong ..
Joe Cooler

Post by Joe Cooler »

Here is my question for you. What if you suddenly came upon a religion, idea, or concept that you truelly believed was the truth. That you had found what the world was looking for. Would you not tell others about it?

I for one am not going am not happy with a private faith. If you truelly believe in something, you want to share it, defend it, and discuss it. Does that mean shoving it down other peoples throats? No, but it doesnt mean you let people walk over you just for the sake of "getting along" either.

By the way Joey I really hope you dont feel that this post is aimed at you. I'm stating it more to the CM than anyone in particular.
Last edited by Joe Cooler on 8/24/2004, 12:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by I AM ME »

there's telling people about it, and then there's condemning others, crusading on bloody rampages, and leaving shit in my mail every fucking sunday untill i go balistic
"How can we justify spending so much on destruction and so little on life?" Matthew Good

"The white dove is gone, the one world has come down hard, so why not share the pain of our problems, when all around are wrong ways, when all around is hurt, i'll roll up in an odd shape and wait, untill the tide has turned.....with anger, i'm dead weight, i'm anchored"- IME, God Rocket (Into the Heart of Las Vegas) ^ Some say this song is about a terrorists thoughts before 911

"Pray for the sheep" Matt Good
"But it's alright, take the world and make it yours again" Matt Good

I felt it in the wind, and i saw it in the sky, i thought it was the end, i thought it was the 4th of July.

"Hold on, hold on children, your mother and father are leaving, hold on, hold on children your best freind's parents are leaving, leaving,.......*AHHH*! " - Death From Above - Black History Month
Joey
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Post by Joey »

No.

I studied wicca for a year back in college on my own.

What a person believes in and what they have faith in, is personal. What leads a person to get to their beliefs, is personal. We all go through different experiences in life that will lead a person to their beliefs .. what I went through turned me against the idea of a 'god' but that's not going to be true for the person next door.

If people feel the EXACT same thing I do, then hey that's great we can believe together. BUT everyone believes something different, the road they take to get to that belief is completely different from the road everyone else takes.

When people push their religion at me, that only pushes me farther and farther away from ever even wanting to explore their beliefs.
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Post by Rusty »

I say there is a God. Others may say there are many Gods. Still other say there is a God but with a different name. Maybe God is a combination of everyones beliefs and feelings. God embodies everything and everyone. God is beyong time, space and understanding. So God is possibly a combination of what everyone belives in, which means were all right, and nobody is wrong. The very religious dedicate their life to what they belive is right in their religioun. If each religioun is a part of God somehow then everyone wins. Even athesiets fit into the equation in some way. Arguing over what religion is right or wrong is pointless.

Queens Of The Stone Age-Someone's In The Wolf

Once you're lost in twillights's blue
You don't find your way, the way finds you...

Tempt the fates, beware the smile
It hides all the teeth, my dear,
What's behind them...

So glad you could stay
Forever

He steps between the trees, a crooked man
There's blood on the blade
Don't take his hand

You warm by the firelight, in twilight's blue
Shadows creep & dance the walls
He's creeping too..

So glad you could stay
Forever


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Joe Cooler

Post by Joe Cooler »

But Wicca is more of a private faith. What if the religion you follow CALLS you to tell others about it? Again i'm not saying you go to peoples doors, confront them on the street and leave bookmarks in their lockers.
Joey
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Post by Joey »

Joe Cool wrote:But Wicca is more of a private faith. What if the religion you follow CALLS you to tell others about it? Again i'm not saying you go to peoples doors, confront them on the street and leave bookmarks in their lockers.


I can't honestly answer that. Simply because I've never felt anything like that before. I don't have enough faith in any religion to want to tell people about it. I tend to stay out of religious discussions because I know my beliefs can offend other people. I'm very against organized religions and possibly religion as a whole.
Axtech
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Post by Axtech »

Rusty wrote:I say there is a God. Others may say there are many Gods. Still other say there is a God but with a different name. Maybe God is a combination of everyones beliefs and feelings. God embodies everything and everyone. God is beyong time, space and understanding. So God is possibly a combination of what everyone belives in, which means were all right, and nobody is wrong. The very religious dedicate their life to what they belive is right in their religioun. If each religioun is a part of God somehow then everyone wins. Even athesiets fit into the equation in some way. Arguing over what religion is right or wrong is pointless.


Okay, then let me run this by you (and everyone). Let's say God is a real stickler on the specifics. You are raised Jewish, and you believe in it with every fibre of your being. Let's say the Christians have it dead on, and you have to have been baptized to get into heaven (is that a christian thing, a catholic thing or both? anyway, ignore my incorrectness and continue). You're doomed to spend eternity in hell, even though you lived a good life, because you happened to get it wrong.

For all we know, figuring out which religion (if any) is right is the most important thing in life.
- -
Image
Every now and then I fall out into open air just to feel the wind, rain and everything.
And though the hum and sway gets me down
, I'll find the way to peace and openness.

Image
"Robbo" - © Alex (happeningfish)...^5 ^5 v v
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I AM ME
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Post by I AM ME »

i'm going on the assumption that if there is a god he's not going to condemn me, as long as i live a good and moral life. If he does just throw people away that lived moral lives then he;s not a god i could worship anyways. That's no being to be worshiped
"How can we justify spending so much on destruction and so little on life?" Matthew Good

"The white dove is gone, the one world has come down hard, so why not share the pain of our problems, when all around are wrong ways, when all around is hurt, i'll roll up in an odd shape and wait, untill the tide has turned.....with anger, i'm dead weight, i'm anchored"- IME, God Rocket (Into the Heart of Las Vegas) ^ Some say this song is about a terrorists thoughts before 911

"Pray for the sheep" Matt Good
"But it's alright, take the world and make it yours again" Matt Good

I felt it in the wind, and i saw it in the sky, i thought it was the end, i thought it was the 4th of July.

"Hold on, hold on children, your mother and father are leaving, hold on, hold on children your best freind's parents are leaving, leaving,.......*AHHH*! " - Death From Above - Black History Month
Joey
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Post by Joey »

You could spend your entire life dedicating it to a specific religion, making it the most important thing in your life .. who's going to tell you if that religion is the right one? and why are they the ones who get to determine that? The only person who can determine that is yourself.

Then there are people like me, where religion doesn't hold any meaning in my life whatsoever .. it's definitely not the most important thing in my life. It doesn't mean anything to me at all.

Does that mean I'm doomed to spend all eternity in someone else's version of "hell"?
Joe Cooler

Post by Joe Cooler »

Axtech wrote:
Rusty wrote:I say there is a God. Others may say there are many Gods. Still other say there is a God but with a different name. Maybe God is a combination of everyones beliefs and feelings. God embodies everything and everyone. God is beyong time, space and understanding. So God is possibly a combination of what everyone belives in, which means were all right, and nobody is wrong. The very religious dedicate their life to what they belive is right in their religioun. If each religioun is a part of God somehow then everyone wins. Even athesiets fit into the equation in some way. Arguing over what religion is right or wrong is pointless.


Okay, then let me run this by you (and everyone). Let's say God is a real stickler on the specifics. You are raised Jewish, and you believe in it with every fibre of your being. Let's say the Christians have it dead on, and you have to have been baptized to get into heaven (is that a christian thing, a catholic thing or both? anyway, ignore my incorrectness and continue). You're doomed to spend eternity in hell, even though you lived a good life, because you happened to get it wrong.

For all we know, figuring out which religion (if any) is right is the most important thing in life.


Just for clarity, Christians believe the only way to get to heaven is a belief in Jesus Christ. That he is God and died for humanities sins on the cross. Both Islam and Jewdiasm believe gettting to heaven is based on following Gods law.
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Post by Axtech »

Ahh, thanks.

Joey wrote:Does that mean I'm doomed to spend all eternity in someone else's version of "hell"?


Could very well mean so, yes. The same applies to everyone not doing whatever it takes to get into heaven.

Problem is, no know knows for sure what that is.

Scary thought, isn't it?
- -
Image
Every now and then I fall out into open air just to feel the wind, rain and everything.
And though the hum and sway gets me down
, I'll find the way to peace and openness.

Image
"Robbo" - © Alex (happeningfish)...^5 ^5 v v
Axtech
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Post by Axtech »

That view (that I just gave) was extremely pessimistic, but it is a possibility.
- -
Image
Every now and then I fall out into open air just to feel the wind, rain and everything.
And though the hum and sway gets me down
, I'll find the way to peace and openness.

Image
"Robbo" - © Alex (happeningfish)...^5 ^5 v v
Joey
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Post by Joey »

Axtech wrote:Ahh, thanks.

Joey wrote:Does that mean I'm doomed to spend all eternity in someone else's version of "hell"?


Could very well mean so, yes. The same applies to everyone not doing whatever it takes to get into heaven.

Problem is, no know knows for sure what that is.

Scary thought, isn't it?


the thought doesn't scare me, but it does disgust me

in a world where we're taught to always stand up for our beliefs and believe in ourselves and what we think is right .. then to just end up dying and spending eternity stuck playing out someone elses beliefs.

go god :roll:

and i don't mean that offensively to anyone .. but yeah
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