The great and all powerful religion thread!

[seedofvengeance]

This sounds really weird, and probably off topic, but I've been seriously thinking about trying to go to church and trying to become a Christian again. Everyone who is around me seems so happy. It seems like it gives them something to be happy about no matter what. I want something like this. I've been wading through a never ending stream of shit lately, and I just think that something to lean on such as an undying belief in a greater benevolent force acting on me would be a great help.
I'm the kind of person who usually thinks Christians are idiot for their beliefs, but the thing is that some of the smartest people I know are actually Christian.
It's hard to convince myself of something that I've argued against for so long, but it's also hard for me to convince myself that there is no deity whatsoever.
I don't know.. anything beyond "what am I going to have for breakfast tomorrow?" confuses me... which doubles as the reason of my obesity and my incredible apathy for anything involving religion or the lack there of.
I'm sure the events which have drowned me of late will eventually will pass, as these things tend to do.. and at that time I will return to my general apathy towards all of this, but for the time being, this is something I'm seriously considering trying.

 

[ossa]

This sounds really weird, and probably off topic, but I've been seriously thinking about trying to go to church and trying to become a Christian again. Everyone who is around me seems so happy. It seems like it gives them something to be happy about no matter what. I want something like this. I've been wading through a never ending stream of shit lately, and I just think that something to lean on such as an undying belief in a greater benevolent force acting on me would be a great help.

To be honest, the first part doesn't seem like a good reason to explore Christianity. The reason I say this is because it sounds like you are looking for something that will give you the end result of being happy-- not deepening your faith, which should be the reason why people choose to explore religion. If what you are really needing is to find something that will make you happy, perhaps the solution isn't creating faith out of nothing just to see what the end result will be. If you have a genuine interest in finding God, though, then by all means, go for it.

I can definitely empathize with the part about wanting to find comfort and strength in a higher power, though. It's pretty common that people do that, in fact, my mother became a Christian because she knew she was dying and having something to believe in gave her a great deal of strength. I personally on a few occasions have found comfort in belief in God, but it always fades as my hardships disappear. My faith disappeared completely when I realized that I was just grasping at straws in order to find something greater to hold onto in times of need... but it never stemmed from a genuine belief in God. I consider myself an agnostic now-- I prefer the comfort of science.

 

[AchrisK]

@seed

Bear in mind that it is not a remedy for someone who is unhappy with their circumstances. All of those seemingly happy people may or may not be truly happy, and even those who are truly happy are not necessarily (or even likely) trouble free.

What I am saying is, becoming a Christian will not make all of your troubles go away. It may help with some areas, but may add different types of troubles in other areas. For those of us who have come to believe in God as portrayed in the Bible, and who believe the Bible is a divinely inspired book, are Christians because we feel we have recognized the truth and have decided to accept it and embrace it as such. Contrary to what so many people will say, it is not out of fear or comfort or weakness or feelings of superiority or anything other than recognizing and accepting the truth.

Though I said it is not a happy pill, I do believe that there is a deep joy in a true relationship with God that can give a person strength to endure and deal with any given circumstance. I believe there is true fulfillment in a relationship with God because we were created to have said relationship.

 

[ossa]

@ AchrisK

Although we have differing views on religion, that was very well put, and I agree for the most part with what you've said.

 

[sevag00]

I'm a Christian.

Oh, I'm not alone who believes in God then

 

[FenriR]

Wow, an 89-page religion thread and I've missed it for this long?!?

Alright... I'm an Atheist. There are three reasons for this:

1) Religion is really just a way to explain the inexplicable. The gods used to be blamed for natural disasters, lightning, anything that mankind didn't understand and wanted to feel safe about. Nowadays that only really applies to the origins of the universe, though I have faith that'll be explained before too long, because I want to laugh in the faces of the millions of christians worldwide before I die.

2) It's a system of control and an excuse to conquer. Again, not really applicable today, but I quote to ye Deathspell Omega:
'God of terror, very low dost thou bring us,
very low hast thou brought us...
...The idea of God is pale next to that of perdition,
but of this I could have no inkling in advance.'
Most people worship out of fear of eternal burnination in hell, rather than any sort of love, although they may convince themselves that isn't the case. This seems fundamentally flawed to me.

3) I'd like to be able to continue listening to black metal and not feel guilty about it.

 

[Zephyrus]

yeah but every religion claims that their god spoke to their prophet... where is the evidence NOW that shows god exists, etc. not only that but the bible is full of false prophecies... the most obvious being jesus' failed second coming prophecies... so if we are to judge the validity of christianity on the basis of jesus and the prophets then it fails.

That's the whole idea of faith, as I already explained. If we got evidence NOW, that would invalidate everyone's faith because it wouldn't be faith anymore, just belief in a fact. The idea of Christianity is that God rewards faith, both in his existence and in the precepts of his laws and the example of Christ.

 

[Evil?]

Well, I start a Philosophy of Religion class this morning. Maybe I will have something interesting to contribute to this thread. I am anxious to see how this class turns out. I may be an atheist but the ideas and concepts of religion are rather interesting. I guess in the same way fantasy mythologies are interesting. True or made up, religion has some pretty nifty stories.

 

[rms]

why does anyone feel the need to tell people they are an atheist, or religious or agnostic or what have you? I couldn't care less what anyone practices and don't see why anyone would. This thread really isn't having like ultra-intelligent debate...

 

[Zephyrus]

Because it's relevant to global issues, since most people on this planet take religion more seriously than a bunch of cynical erudites on a music forum. It's important to understand others' perspectives on these issues, or else you're simply judging them by how much they err from your own view.

 

[rms]

I dont see it being important at all except for yourself, if you are in fact confused/lost whatever and this thread could point you in the right direction to yourself...like SOV I guess

 

[skeptik]

That's because you're fucking stupid though.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

Goddamnit RMS.

.

 

[AchrisK]

Oh, I'm not alone who believes in God then

No you're not. I am probably the most fundamentalist (which does not = fanaticism) Christian person here, but there are others who have differing levels of belief in a deity.

 

[waif]

2) It's a system of control and an excuse to conquer. Again, not really applicable today, but I quote to ye Deathspell Omega:
'God of terror, very low dost thou bring us,
very low hast thou brought us...
...The idea of God is pale next to that of perdition,
but of this I could have no inkling in advance.'
Most people worship out of fear of eternal burnination in hell, rather than any sort of love, although they may convince themselves that isn't the case. This seems fundamentally flawed to me.

Quoting a black metal band isn't the best way to argue this stuff...and while you may not think Christianity is a system of control anymore, I would argue that it's just become more subtle. Ever heard of the Christian Coalition? Religion being used as a tool for political power.
And of course in islamic countries religion is absolutely a tool of the power elite.
And I don't think that a significant number of christians worship because of fear.

why does anyone feel the need to tell people they are an atheist, or religious or agnostic or what have you? I couldn't care less what anyone practices and don't see why anyone would. This thread really isn't having like ultra-intelligent debate...

This is the religion thread. If you don't want to discuss religion, THEN GET THE FUCK OUT. WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? What bizarre impulse makes you say to yourself "A religion thread? I don't want to debate religion. I know, I'll go into the religion thread and tell everybody I don't want to discuss religion!"

 

[Killbot]

Nowadays that only really applies to the origins of the universe, though I have faith that'll be explained before too long, because I want to laugh in the faces of the millions of christians worldwide before I die.

This is the exact attitude that leads me to resent atheists when it comes to spiritual belief. What kind of ridiculous, obnoxious attitude is this? Unfortunately it's one adopted by many atheists (not all I hasten to add, some are the complete opposite). Spirituality isn't a competition of who's right and wrong, it's what feels right for you in your life, Whatever helps you an individual.

 

[Vimana]

Some people believe in God for comfort. Thats what makes them happy, and it is incredibly annoying when people are like "face reality lolz."

 

[Zephyrus]

Going to school in the Maine interior has exposed me to more conservative perspectives on religion, as well as the typical liberal ideologies, and I learned how there is a difference between the factual value and the psychosocial value of spiritual beliefs. Just because it ain't science doesn't mean it's of no benefit to your life.

 

[waif]

You mean, like the JESUS: MY ANTI-DRUG sorta thing?

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

Spirituality may not be competition, but anyone who is spiritual loses anyway.

edit: imo, don't get all pissy on me. I'm not here to foster tolerance.