Topic: What are your religious views?

Atheist

I didn't give a serious answer yesterday as I was fearful of what I might type (and didn't want Prosody to have to 'tidy up' after me).
Religion in my view has always been a simple system of control, an attempt to make us act 'civilized', instead of being the animals that we are. By making people question there actions, and delivering generous helpings of guilt, religion has (i suppose) gone some way to crafting the 'civilized society' we now live in. But, it's not all civilized is it, people still kill each other in the name of 'a God', supposed 'holy people' use there trusted position to visit sins on others, and then there are those who use religion for profit, praying on those in need.

Religion to some is simply a crutch, to others a 3rd party to thank or blame, to me it's something that stands in the way of our evolution. I too am a Humanist, who marvels at the might of the Universe, who loves to observe nature and the way everything evolved to where it is. I also, don't pretend to be all-knowing and accept that there is a small possibility of some 'greater power' having a hand in all this. But to be honest, the Universe is a big place and I imagine he/she/it would have many fingers, in many pies. And when he/she/it does return, they are not gonna be impressed. We're still killing each other, we're are destroying this beautiful planet they gave us. I wouldn't be surprised if he/she/it just torched the Earth and decide to start afresh.

Sometimes it makes me sad, that I will never know how us human's did, wishing I could take a glance 2,000 yrs into the future, to see if we are as advanced as I think we could be (assuming we last that long).

I am a child of science. But I have faith!

Atheist.

Amen indeed.

@Outrunner

Which God are you talking about? I get confused. And anyway, we are not going 'down the pan', this age is far less bloody than any before.

And Evolution cannot be proven? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8057465.stm This lil thing is 47 million years old, which means God 'created' it some time before then. Yeah?

EDIT: Woah, where did ur comment go, hhmm.

He created man. Man turned away from Him. Sin means to turn away from God. Those things are a result of sin entering the world.

I removed it before I saw your reply as I thought it might be pushing my views.
As for that fossil, I don't believe it's 47 million years old. I believe macro-evolution to be a lie but I respect your right to believe what you do.
I believe in the Living God. The God of Abraham and Jacob. The God who sent His Son who was Himself God to die for our sins.
John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have ever-lasting life.

I find it funny that Jesus is referred to as Jesus Christ like Christ is a surname. Christ is a title like messiah or savior, not his last name.

@Outrunner: Fair enough I suppose. It's a shame you are closed to an idea, which is ten times more wondrous than anything in the Bible. Oh well, that's why I don't talk to religious people about such things, y'know, the world, the universe, because we live in different ones.

There's nothing more wondrous to me than the grace of God, man.

"There's nothing more wondrous to me than the grace of God, man."

I have eyes to view this amazing world. I have legs to travel upon it. I have fingers and the ability to type and it be understood (most of the time ). I have a mind, which gives me the power to assess and read the world, thus making my own conclusions about it, and not being limited to 'what I'm told'.

My mother and father (and there DNA) gifted these abilities to me, not God. I thank them, not him/her/it.

I thank Xenu everyday for the life he has given me.

I like to give him the middle initial H.

@Adam LMAO! Brilliant dude, yet another random God (or dictator in this case) enters the fray.

Which God will win, stay tuned!

Don't wait. Find out for yourself!

Personally, I prefer Ganesha. My world lit prof gave me a little Ganesha statue / figurine. I left it on my desk at work, and you wouldn't believe the attention I got from hot Indian girls. I like to view this as proof that Ganesha is watching over me. That, and he is my best character on Faith Fighter, not to mention his highly amusing role in The Satanic Verses.

Ha that was great, Budia totally kicked Jesus' ass, then Ganesha fell. But then Muhammad kicked my ass into another life. Brilliant

I'm running away from this thread now, I hope I don't return

On a more serious note this site has tons of gods to look at. I prefer the Norse ones.

That about sums my religious past up as well.

I think having a statement like that in a religion just makes people want to feel that they owe God something. Not everyone sins enough or on a big enough scale to really call it "sin." How about a newborn baby? They count as people, especially in the views of anti-abortion. groups.

For the record, I believe in Intelligent Design (it all had to come from somewhere) but still often doubt the presence of an Almighty Being in such a cruel world as the one that ours can be. That may seem contradictory and I do sometimes feel conflicted. Also, I am pro-choice, support the death penalty (actually wish it was more than a needle), and according to a Facebook app, am moderately liberal.

I've never liked the idea of religion to be honest, I think it causes more trouble than its worth and the world would be better without it.

Of course I don't mean to offend anyone by saying that, I respect other peoples views on the matter. I also find it hard to believe that there was absolutley nothing and all of a sudden "God" comes out of nowhere and creates life. It doesn't seem to make sense to me.

@Machu: look up this site. www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2009/05/19/ida-missing-link