Who here is not a Christian? Describe your own beliefs

[blueyedpoet]

This is meant for people who are not Christian to provide accounts for their faiths or beliefs that are not Christian. I in no way, shape, or fashion, aim to keep Christians out (as I am kind of one myself). I just wish to have good discussions about other faiths - and i will not try to convert. Again, that's not what this is about.

 

[martha]

Me. But I'm only here to represent.


Maybe when I'm not so tired I'll want to say more. Or maybe not depending on things. It frequently doesn't go so well here when some of us non-Christians start talking. Makes some Christians all prickly and itchy.

 

[Angela Harlem]

Me. But I'm only here to represent.


Maybe when I'm not so tired I'll want to say more. Or maybe not depending on things. It frequently doesn't go so well here when some of us non-Christians start talking. Makes some Christians all prickly and itchy.

true, that. but sometimes you can say fuck it. they're all theories in the end.
i dont know who made us, or rather have a faith which explains it. i dont really care either. whoever or whatever, i dont feel, is a necessary knowledge. i see a balance and it fascinates me. while we have these lovely sunsets and strawberries, we also have fire, hate, cruelty, impatience, theft, indifference. all we are surrounded by seems a long list of good or positive, and bad or negative. in a given year, we might bury an uncle to prostate cancer but give birth to a new baby. we will read news of a flood killing 17,000 people, but somewhere else farmers are having a crop record and life is flourishing, they're making money, there is food, business booms, market steadies, yada yada.
people seem desperate to find an answer or answers, but simply end up with a belief or faith they think is right and are comfortable with. i dont think anyone is closer than another to an answer. some people are just more comforted by what they think they make fit in their view. but i keep coming back to this balance thing at the end of the day and cant help but think we still all lead the same lives. those who have some path aren't luckier or more blessed. they bury their uncles and give birth too. they see the same sun rise and set as me and you and him and her and everyone, anyone.

i dunno. i'm not making much sense, so i'll leave it.

 

[financeguy]

It frequently doesn't go so well here when some of us non-Christians start talking. Makes some Christians all prickly and itchy.

Does it though? I mean Christianity gets bashed here a great deal also.

 

[blueyedpoet]

true, that. but sometimes you can say fuck it. they're all theories in the end.
i dont know who made us, or rather have a faith which explains it. i dont really care either. whoever or whatever, i dont feel, is a necessary knowledge. i see a balance and it fascinates me. while we have these lovely sunsets and strawberries, we also have fire, hate, cruelty, impatience, theft, indifference. all we are surrounded by seems a long list of good or positive, and bad or negative. in a given year, we might bury an uncle to prostate cancer but give birth to a new baby. we will read news of a flood killing 17,000 people, but somewhere else farmers are having a crop record and life is flourishing, they're making money, there is food, business booms, market steadies, yada yada.
people seem desperate to find an answer or answers, but simply end up with a belief or faith they think is right and are comfortable with. i dont think anyone is closer than another to an answer. some people are just more comforted by what they think they make fit in their view. but i keep coming back to this balance thing at the end of the day and cant help but think we still all lead the same lives. those who have some path aren't luckier or more blessed. they bury their uncles and give birth too. they see the same sun rise and set as me and you and him and her and everyone, anyone.

i dunno. i'm not making much sense, so i'll leave it.

Balance is a prevalent thought or belief in many easter philosophies. I'm sure we're all aware of the yin and yang principle.
I think you made plenty of sense. Still, I'm not sure how it would comfort me if I lost someone in a flood if someone else was having a record year with their crops. Is this just because i'm selfish?

I think too often when beliefs are brought up in conversations bashing goes around and it does not pertain to just one group. People bash christians and christians bash other people. I'd like to see this be a non-bashing place as much as possible.
I'd like to hear more about the Celebration of Lights - i think i'm writing that correctly - from Jews in this forum; I'd like to hear more about fundamental agnosticism from folks like Irvine511 etc.
Let's really have an open dialogue.

 

[Kieran McConville]

Not to be the squeaky wheel here, but doesnt interference have a god forum already? These days it's pretty much filling up FYM too.

 

[hiphop]

Not to be the squeaky wheel here, but doesnt interference have a god forum already? These days it's pretty much filling up FYM too.

Well in case you´re referring to The Goal is Soul, a year or two ago we were kicked out from there by Elvis who said that part of the forum should be about U2s faith, found in their lyrics, and any religious discussion should be in FYM.

 

[Kieran McConville]

oh ok, good to know. That is what I was referring to.

 

[A_Wanderer]

Not a Christian, no time to waste on such frivolous pursuits.

 

[blueyedpoet]

Easter beliefs, oh boy i'm an idiot...Eastern...with an N...as in not wester

Balance is a prevalent thought or belief in many easter philosophies. I'm sure we're all aware of the yin and yang principle.
I think you made plenty of sense. Still, I'm not sure how it would comfort me if I lost someone in a flood if someone else was having a record year with their crops. Is this just because i'm selfish?

I think too often when beliefs are brought up in conversations bashing goes around and it does not pertain to just one group. People bash christians and christians bash other people. I'd like to see this be a non-bashing place as much as possible.
I'd like to hear more about the Celebration of Lights - i think i'm writing that correctly - from Jews in this forum; I'd like to hear more about fundamental agnosticism from folks like Irvine511 etc.
Let's really have an open dialogue.

 

[blueyedpoet]

Not a Christian, no time to waste on such frivolous pursuits.

Why is being a Christian a frivolous pursuit? What is a worthwhile pursuit?

 

[hedgehog]

Im not a Christian but recently for the first time I have been seriously starting to question my faith.

I do believe that there is a God, I don't buy the belief about the "big bang" where we just happened to appear out of nowhere.
Something must happen to us when we die too, I refuse to believe we just "disappear".

So what do I believe?
Well I believe theres some kind of higher being (God) that created us all, and when we do something wrong theres a reason why we feel that we have done wrong inside.
After that, Im not too sure what to believe really...
I'll more than likely find myself following some religion eventually, its just a matter of what to believe really.
From my (very) limited knowledge of religion, Christianity probably makes the most sense to me though.

 

[A_Wanderer]

I often wonder if people really understand what the big bang theory is, the evidence to support it and the competing theories about the origins of the universe. I often find the dismissive nature towards the explaination for the cosmic microwave background radiation and the Hubble red shift. It also happens with peoples understanding of evolution - and it goes for people who claim to believe in them but just don't understand it particularly well, or the nature of what a scientific theory is. Maybe we should teach children more of the classics in terms of logic and philosophy from a young age, I certainly found it useful.

There seems to be a lot of anti-reason attitudes in the world coming from a lot of different sources, if it isn't religious minded creationists doing damage to the shaping of young minds then it is green groups spreading lies and fearmongering over technologies in a most reactionary manner that does not seek to foster dialogue or understanding.

I feel that religious observance would be a waste of my time, I have no interest in practicing faith and can better spend that time on other projects.

 

[blueyedpoet]

Im not a Christian but recently for the first time I have been seriously starting to question my faith.

I do believe that there is a God, I don't buy the belief about the "big bang" where we just happened to appear out of nowhere.
Something must happen to us when we die too, I refuse to believe we just "disappear".

So what do I believe?
Well I believe theres some kind of higher being (God) that created us all, and when we do something wrong theres a reason why we feel that we have done wrong inside.
After that, Im not too sure what to believe really...
I'll more than likely find myself following some religion eventually, its just a matter of what to believe really.
From my (very) limited knowledge of religion, Christianity probably makes the most sense to me though.

To quote Buddha: Let every man be a lamp unto his own feet.
Or, as Paul said, "Let every man work out their own salvation."
And, then there's Jesus who said, "Seek and ye shall find."
I do have one question, why does a belief in the big bang necessitate a lack of a belief in God? Why is the big bang exclusive from the notion of God?

 

[Kieran McConville]

I feel lethal, on the verge of frenzy.


I think, guys, my mask of sanity might be about to slip.

 

[hedgehog]

Well, the way I see it, its not so much that the big bang didn't happen (who knows if it did?) but if there was a big bang that created everything, then where did the big bang itself come from? And how/ why did it some how create life?
It's all very confusing to me really, but I believe that there is a creator behind everything.

Like I said, I believe in some higher being, Im just uncertain as to which religion I should follow at this moment in time.
Its been on my mind for a while, changed the way I behave a little bit in some respects too for some odd reason (i.e. Im not so loud mouthed as I usually am, how I do things and talk to people, opinions on various matters etc...).

 

[blueyedpoet]

do you feel overwhelmed by your search or do you find joy in seeking truth?
i feel a little bit of both...i got back and forth

 

[hedgehog]

It's hard to say really, a lot of mixed feeling towards the various religious beliefs, various religions itself I haven't looked into (only Christianity, which I have looked into recently, on various subjects such as sin, way of life, purpose, Heaven, Hell, Satan, God, Jesus Christ, Salvation, etc...).

It's hard to say what has made me suddenly decide to question my faith and the truth behind things in life but somehow I just feel the need to seek more answers.
The uncertainty of not knowing what to believe in makes me feel uncomfortable.
I'll probably feel more comfortable and better about myself when I finally make a decision I feel is right on what/ who to believe in.

 

[blueyedpoet]

I wonder how many here feel that they've ever reached a final decision as to what they believe. As a philosophy major I'm always reading papers, essays, articles, books etc. written from some men (few women, sadly) who were absolutly convinced that they were right. Pre-Socrates, one philosopher articulated that everything is comprised of just water. Aristotle has time and time again been shown to be completely wrong. Perhaps this is why I enjoy reading the writings of Russell. He changed his mind over and over again.
Hedgehog, perhaps you ought to deepen your search and look at taoism, Confucianism, Islam, Judaism, materialism, deism...there's so much out there. Of course, sometimes the more you know the less you know. The more i learn the more questions and uncertainty i gain.

 

[hiphop]

if it isn't religious minded creationists doing damage to the shaping of young minds then it is green groups spreading lies and fearmongering over technologies in a most reactionary manner that does not seek to foster dialogue or understanding.

Bullshit. I can only speak for European Green groups that are informed about the latest technological developments. Take the energy sector. Alternative energy like water power plants, wind etc. make up a bigger and bigger percentage of the energy we use here. That´s a positive development (if you´re not working for Shell). Green groups push for the 2.5-litre-car or other forms of transportation that are developed and ready to go and not that bad for environment. Other lobbies block that, the oil industry has nothing against blowing out 10 or 20 litres /mile.

I think you just did not take a proper look at their programs?

That said, no more derailing.

 

[hiphop]

I do have one question, why does a belief in the big bang necessitate a lack of a belief in God?
Why is the big bang exclusive from the notion of God?

It isn´t at all. I am a Catholic and believe in the Big Bang.

I also believe the Bang didn´t just appear out of the blue. in creation, you see a certain development. To those who say that´s all "natural" development without a "higher plan", I counterargue that development has been so orchestrated: it is near to impossible that all the universe is just a big chaos.

Suns and planets were created because masses of atoms clashed against each other and slowly gravity emerged.

There are interesting papers about that.. a particularly interesting chapter would be the one about Macrocosmos and Microcosmos in the book "Nada Brahma - The World Is Sound" by Joachim Ernst-Berendt.

 

[hedgehog]

Hedgehog, perhaps you ought to deepen your search and look at taoism, Confucianism, Islam, Judaism, materialism, deism...there's so much out there. Of course, sometimes the more you know the less you know. The more i learn the more questions and uncertainty i gain.

As you say, too much knowledge about other religions can cause a bit of a headache and cause more doubt, but learning a little about each religion could prove helpful.
The uncertainty of religion (the fear of "getting it wrong") scares me though, I just have to go with gut feelings as to what I believe is right eventually I guess.

 

[martha]

Does it though? I mean Christianity gets bashed here a great deal also.

Yeah, but the fun starts when the Laws of Karma are discussed with some attempt at seriousness.

 

[joyfulgirl]

Yeah, but the fun starts when the Laws of Karma are discussed with some attempt at seriousness.

I don't think I have it in me this time around...(although as I recall, that's what I said last time, too, lol).

 

[Irvine511]

i'll be back soon to talk about fundamental agnosticism ... work prevents me from doing more than cursory posts right now.

though i'd be ever so much more fun than what i'm currently doing.

 

[mattgerth]

I believe in the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster!

http://www.venganza.org/

 

[nathan1977]

"I'd like to start a new religion called Frisbetarianism. Frisbetarians believe that when you die your soul goes up on the roof and you can't get it down." ~ Bono

 

[blueyedpoet]

Yeah, but the fun starts when the Laws of Karma are discussed with some attempt at seriousness.

in all seriousness, or some form of seriousness, what are your problems with Karma? Or, am i missing something that happened in some previous forum?

 

[Liesje]

Well, the way I see it, its not so much that the big bang didn't happen (who knows if it did?) but if there was a big bang that created everything, then where did the big bang itself come from? And how/ why did it some how create life?
It's all very confusing to me really, but I believe that there is a creator behind everything.

One of the many reasons why I love Calvinism (true Calvinism mind you, not the TULIP/predestined vs. damned bullshit) is that from a Calvinist point of view, even the Genesis creation story itself supports evolution.

 

[Eliv8]

Hedgehog, perhaps you ought to deepen your search and look at taoism, Confucianism, Islam, Judaism, materialism, deism...there's so much out there. Of course, sometimes the more you know the less you know. The more i learn the more questions and uncertainty i gain.