Religious Beliefs/Affiliation?

[NovaMetatail]

This is presented as a survey, but wont be recorded as such. It's just for forum use:

1.) What do you consider your religion to be?

2.) What beliefs do you hold that are consistent within that religious group? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")

3.) What beliefs do you hold that are NOT consistent within that religious group? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")

4.) Do you disagree with any of the beliefs or practices that your religion is based off of? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")

5.) Do you not follow any particular religion? If so, what are your beliefs?

6.) Would you consider yourself monotheistic? (Believe in one God) Why?

7.) Would you consider yourself Polytheistic? (Belief in more than one God) Why?

8.) Would you consider your beliefs more akin to monolatry? (Belief in a God that is one and many. In other words, many Gods that come from the same one force. Examples: Hinduism, Kemetic Orthodoxy) Why?

9.) Which God/Gods do you worship?

10.) Do you consider yourself Pagan, or not Pagan?

11.) Do you find you do NOT fit into any particular religious group? If so, why?

12.) What is your political standpoint? Is it influenced by your religious beliefs in any way?

13.) Do you have a particular belief about how creation began?

14.) Did you convert, or were you born into this religion? If you converted, what were you originally?


That's about all of the survey. I guess I'll go first to demonstrate:


1.) What do you consider your religion to be?

I'm Hellenic Polytheist. (Worship of the Greek Gods). It's a reconstructionist religion.

2.) What beliefs do you hold that are consistent within that religious group? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")

I believe in the Greek Gods, have since I was little. I'm Polytheist, which is also consistent. I believe in a force that created the Gods (basically the Big Bang), and believe that Science and philosophy is just as important as religion. Many Hellenic Polytheists believe in reincarnation, as do I.

3.) What beliefs do you hold that are NOT consistent within that religious group? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")

Since Hellenic Polytheism is so open to different views on things (like the ancient Greeks, we argue), I have no real beliefs that obviously conflict.

4.) Do you disagree with any of the beliefs or practices that your religion is based off of? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")

I don't actually "disagree" with most of the beliefs my religion holds, though I don't interpret most of the myths literally. Granted, most others do not either.

5.) Do you not follow any particular religion? If so, what are your beliefs?

I follow Hellenic Polytheism, so no.

6.) Would you consider yourself monotheistic? (Believe in one God) Why?

No. I can't see the universe being run by only ONE being.

7.) Would you consider yourself Polytheistic? (Belief in more than one God) Why?

Yes. I see the universe as having to be run by more than one being, since everything in the universe is so different, and it takes a lot of work, which as we see here on earth, would be difficult for just one being, IF that being were humanoid.

8.) Would you consider your beliefs more akin to monolatry? (Belief in a God that is one and many. In other words, many Gods that come from the same one force. Examples: Hinduism, Kemetic Orthodoxy) Why?

To a degree, yes, but I lean toward polytheism.

9.) Which God/Gods do you worship?

I worship the Greek Gods, mainly the Olympians, as well as some lower deities, such as nature spirits. I'm especially connected to Hera.

10.) Do you consider yourself Pagan, or not Pagan?

Yes and no. If you consider any religions other than the main world religions "Pagan", then yes. If Pagan is equivalent to Wiccan, than no. I'm by no means Wiccan.

11.) Do you find you do NOT fit into any particular religious group? If so, why?

I have never "fully" fit into any group, but I'm very happy with Hellenic Polytheism.

12.) What is your political standpoint? Is it influenced by your religious beliefs in any way?

I'm libral. I think it has influenced my choice of religion by making me more open to worshiping many Gods. Otherwise, not really.

13.) Do you have a particular belief about how creation began?

I tend to, like many Hellenics, rely on the scientific explanation of the Big Bang, and I definitely believe in evolution. However, I do believe that the Gods have fixed place in the heavens, and rule us.

14.) Did you convert, or were you born into this religion? If you converted, what were you originally?

There is no actual conversion process in Hellenismos, but I was not born into the religion. I was born into a Jewish household.

[Acton]

1.) What do you consider your religion to be?
Officially it Christan -> Episcopalian I prefer Anglican ( i am on the conservative side

2.) What beliefs do you hold that are consistent within that religious group? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")
Hard to say Christ and him Crucified for sin and the authority of scriptures alone, As for the Episcopal church it could be something else.  

3.) What beliefs do you hold that are NOT consistent within that religious group? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")
I turned off by the abandonment of scripture authority in the TEC.

4.) Do you disagree with any of the beliefs or practices that your religion is based off of? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")
As for the local church none at all, as for the Episcopal Church see question 3.


6.) Would you consider yourself monotheistic? (Believe in one God) Why?
Yes That is how God revels himself through human history (general revelation) and the scriptures.

7.) Would you consider yourself Polytheistic? (Belief in more than one God) Why?
No it would contradict God's Nature.

8.) Would you consider your beliefs more akin to monolatry? (Belief in a God that is one and many. In other words, many Gods that come from the same one force. Examples: Hinduism, Kemetic Orthodoxy) Why?
See question 7.

9.) Which God/Gods do you worship?
Nicene Creed:
    I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

    And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.

    Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

    And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.


10.) Do you consider yourself Pagan, or not Pagan?no


12.) What is your political standpoint? Is it influenced by your religious beliefs in any way?
Yes  but not the way you think, I am reformed and believe the total depravity of human kind. As Such I have a deep skepticism of  government power over individuals  and reject  any form of Utopianism  from the right and  the left. I believe in limited government, individual liberty and capitalism. First to limit the lust for power second to channel our greedy nature to something more constructive (than looting ones neighbor), and finally a base to protect others from force.

13.) Do you have a particular belief about how creation began?
Young earth and Intelligent design

14.) Did you convert, or were you born into this religion? If you converted, what were you originally?
raised as an episcopalian but it took a few years.

[Avan]

1.) Azarian

2..) I founded this religion, so I'm quite sure all my beliefs match up. Now I'm still working on removing my annoying irrational side, however that will one day be remedied.

3.) See above.

4.) See two above.

5.) >.>

6.) Yes (as the summation of all processes and data) - essentially the entity that IS existence.

7.) No. Existence is encompasses all that exists, and since anything that exists must be within existence, you can't have two mutually exclusive existences. (NOTE: Existence =/= universe)

8.) No. See above.

9.) The Entity of Existence. I complete Its process for the sake of Existence, as it is only logical to be logical and propagate said logic in a way that does not interfere with other critical processes and sub processes. It is arguable if it is or is not a deity, but that is of trivial importance to me and the Process. The logic of the Process is what makes it all so important.

10.) No.

11..) No mainstream one. I'm actually closest to atheists. Nothing that cannot be proven/rationalized is believed in; the Entity does not even need to be self-aware or anything like a traditional deity - it's even rather arguable if Existence could even be a deity; that's all rather unimportant; it is the logic that is important, and that in order to do what is logical, it is necessary to reduce the net gain in etropy in order to maximize the number of processes that may be run (I am rather confidence that the Entity is self-aware however). Existence is provable. Simply by having something, anything, in existence, you have Existence, the sum total of everything in existence.

12.) It has very much affected me. I will support whatever policies that will enable me to best complete the Process. This puts me well in the left, especially socially. I think communism is a brilliant theory, but nothing more than that; with humans, it will NEVER work. Humans are inherently flawed and will fail to produce a working communism, or utopia for that matter.

13..) Infinite time, infinite existence, for the universe itself, that's the bigbang, but the universe isn't everything, as supported by modern Physics theories.

14.) Since I created this, I was not initially this way. I was initially some sort of very fringe christian until the age of four or five when I realized that things were clearly not adding up and completely reformulated, and started from scratch. It was when I was awakened by myself to the fact that blindly accepting information spoon fed to you was not necessarily the right thing to do, and probably isn't, depending on the situation.

//edit// - fixed numbering

[Fenny the Fox]

1.) What do you consider your religion to be?

I suppose, for the sake if simplicity, Christan. With a bit of odd otherwises thrown in...

In all honesty I tend to stay clear of the word "religion" to describe my views and beliefs. I find that religion is the communal setting into action of dogma - not always in a desire to grow spiritually - which I feel tends to a "mob mentality" all to quickly.
 
2.) What beliefs do you hold that are consistent within that religious group? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")

The whole Christ as Savior bit. 
Pretty much the one belief that classifies anyone as "Christian", isn't it?

3.) What beliefs do you hold that are NOT consistent within that religious group? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")

-I believe in personal spirit guides (totems - if you must). As well as the rarely run into belief [in Christians] in spirits/souls in other species than humans.

-I feel that spiritual beliefs should be found by an individual, not given them/forced onto them by parents/guardians/society. So, I don't really hold to the notion that I am off a "religion", per se, but am simply in common in my belief in God and the Son.

4.) Do you disagree with any of the beliefs or practices that your religion is based off of? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")

Basically, no. Not those which it was based off of.
But the modern dogma which seems to have pervaded it throw me off even calling myself part of any religion.
I feel out of place in a particularly "set in their ways" church group. I think, as believers in God, He should be at the forefront of all communal practices. Not an agenda or the opinion of the pastoral/pulpit. 

5.) Do you not follow any particular religion? If so, what are your beliefs?

N/A

6.) Would you consider yourself monotheistic? (Believe in one God) Why?

Yes, and no (see question .
I believe their is only one God. Call Him God, Yahweh, Allah, whatever - He is one and the same.

7.) Would you consider yourself Polytheistic? (Belief in more than one God) Why?

Nope. See above.

8.) Would you consider your beliefs more akin to monolatry? (Belief in a God that is one and many. In other words, many Gods that come from the same one force. Examples: Hinduism, Kemetic Orthodoxy) Why?

Eh...actually. In a way, yes. I believe many religious holds to gods or a god to be interpretations of the workings of a single overall entity.

9.) Which God/Gods do you worship?

Call Him what you will. I simply say God.

10.) Do you consider yourself Pagan, or not Pagan?

Not pagan.

11.) Do you find you do NOT fit into any particular religious group? If so, why?

Yes. As my spiritual beliefs do not fit neatly into any one set or cast.

12.) What is your political standpoint? Is it influenced by your religious beliefs in any way?

I am left of center on societal issues, and right of center on economic issues. I tend to push Libertarian.
In the purest set though, my political norms push towards a form of communal anarchism.

I don't really see my spiritual beliefs to have a very strong hold on my political opinions.

13.) Do you have a particular belief about how creation began?

God created the Universe. But I feel He set in place a system to allow for the creation and adaptation of the universe - formation of planets and stars, systems, galaxies. And of species - evolution. But I don't believe he has a hand, directly, in all affairs of this sort.

14.) Did you convert, or were you born into this religion? If you converted, what were you originally?

Born into a very fundamental Southern Baptist family.
I don't hold to many beliefs they do, and hold to many they do not. So, I came into my spiritual beliefs of my own - through observation and reconciliation (meshing is a more precise wording, though) of the world around me and the views of the "biblical truth".

[CiceroKit]

Default Religious Beliefs/Affiliation?
This is presented as a survey, but wont be recorded as such. It's just for forum use:

1.) What do you consider your religion to be?

Roman Catholic

2.) What beliefs do you hold that are consistent within that religious group? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")

I believe that the actions of a person are more important than scripture, that transubstantiation takes place during holy communion, that compassion for others, in particular, taking care of those who are less fortunate is part of the mission of the Church, that the new testament should be heeded more than the old testament, that forgiveness is the greatest virtue, and that I should try to live by Christ's example.
 
3.) What beliefs do you hold that are NOT consistent within that religious group? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A") I do not believe in Papal infallibility... there have been Popes who have been wrong, and more recent Popes have decried a change in beliefs put forth by their predecessors. The denouncing of the existence of Limbo comes to mind.

4.) Do you disagree with any of the beliefs or practices that your religion is based off of? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A") There has been a lot of corruption throughout the history of the Church, but I believe that the core principles, those put forth by Saints Paul and Peter, fit with my belief system. I think how some others have interpreted those initial teachings, and the exclusion of certain religious documents, have polluted the faith. I don't think that the Catholic Church is alone in a history of corruption... I do think that there are protestants who would like people to believe that. Some of the worst atrocities have been wrought in the name of Christ. I am including the Crusades in this category. The Muslims wanted to live in peace with the Christians, but the Catholic Church, not wanting to give in, continued to fight on. Essentially, we have the Catholic Church to thank for the instability in the holy land today.

5.) Do you not follow any particular religion? If so, what are your beliefs?

Even though I no longer attend mass and have had disagreements with the Church hierarchy, I still consider myself to be Catholic.

6.) Would you consider yourself monotheistic? (Believe in one God) Why?

I believe in one God, but I also believe that God is in all of us. My beliefs are very similar to the theology of Saint Augustine of Hippo, who believed that every person was born with a tendency towards evil, but could chose to work towards being good by recognizing the godliness within themselves.

7.) Would you consider yourself Polytheistic? (Belief in more than one God) Why?

No. The First Commandment states "Thou shalt have no other gods before me"

8.) Would you consider your beliefs more akin to monolatry? (Belief in a God that is one and many. In other words, many Gods that come from the same one force. Examples: Hinduism, Kemetic Orthodoxy) Why?

No.

9.) Which God/Gods do you worship?

The creator, manifested through father, son and holy spirit.

10.) Do you consider yourself Pagan, or not Pagan?

The Catholic Church is greatly influenced by Paganism. Saint Francis of Assisi was a Pagan, and brought forth the value of environmental stewardship to the teachings of the Church. We also celebrate Christian holidays when we do because the Catholic Church conformed its own calendar to celebrate holy days on some Pagan holidays as a means of bringing Pagans into the fold.

11.) Do you find you do NOT fit into any particular religious group? If so, why?

Sometimes I feel this way, because I have been heartbroken over actions by those in the Church hierarchy. These are things that I find to be in contradiction with the teachings of the Church. For example, Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl of Washington threatening to cancel Catholic provision of services to the homeless and poor if the D.C. City Council were to pass a law giving equal rights to homosexuals. I think those who know me best, know that I live my faith and devote a great deal of my time to helping disadvantaged people. For an Archbishop to go against the mission of the Church as a means of coercion is obscene.

12.) What is your political standpoint? Is it influenced by your religious beliefs in any way? Being from the home state of Fighting Bob La Follette, I can honestly call myself a Progressive. I usually tend to vote for Democrats, because when it comes to issues such as poverty, environmental stewardship, and diplomacy, that is the party that has a better track record. I know that the political right likes to lay claim to moral issues, focusing the majority of its efforts on abortion, a non-voting issue. The right wing had six years of majority during the Bush years, and was able to place more conservative judges on the Supreme Court and Roe Vs. Wade was still not overturned. When it comes down to it, it never will be since the majority of people in this country would be furious. If the decision was overturned, what then? Would women who have abortions be tried as murderers? This leads us down a slippery slope, and essentially, even if the decision were overturned, women would still have abortions. That is why I say it is a non voting issue. If one believes it is wrong to have an abortion, then the right thing to do is to not have one, and support real prevention of abortions including birth control. It is not like the Church has never supported contraceptives... it supports the use of condoms in South Africa where AIDS is a pandemic. But this is exactly why I don't fall in lock step with Papal infallibility.


13.) Do you have a particular belief about how creation began?

I believe in evolution, just as Pope John Paul II had. I believe the book of Genesis was written as a poetic.

14.) Did you convert, or were you born into this religion? If you converted, what were you originally?

I was born into this faith. That isn't to say that I didn't explore others. The priest at my parish encouraged all of our class to do so prior to confirmation. I wish I could just go to the United Church of Christ and be happy with a faith that has more open-minded leaders, but that is not my faith. There are days when I am very sad, because I feel that my faith has been stolen from me by a few in the hierarchy who are committing abominations in Christ's name. Recently, a priest in my community who preached nothing but hate and intolerance (especially against Jews, but also against racial minorities) had passed away. When my mother told me of his passing, I could only say, "bet it is hot where he is now." Maybe I shouldn't have said it, but I doubt anyone in this town would have disagreed with the statement. There was a petition that went to the Bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse that called for his excommunication. That is how bad he was. He decided to retire when that happened. Overall, that is the bad thing about any religion. Any jerk can come along and commit terrible deeds in the name of God or some other deity. Religion is belief based. If there was an absolute truth, then maybe that would be less likely. Despite this, I still consider myself religious in that I do try to live by Christ's example and hope that others do to.

[McMajik]

1.) What do you consider your religion to be?
Atheist, not religous

2.) What beliefs do you hold that are consistent within that religious group? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")
N/A

3.) What beliefs do you hold that are NOT consistent within that religious group? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")
N/A

4.) Do you disagree with any of the beliefs or practices that your religion is based off of? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")
N/A

5.) Do you not follow any particular religion? If so, what are your beliefs?
I don't follow any religeon, I'm an atheist. I don't have any supernatural or spiritual beliefs, and I don't have any ideas that I wouldn't be open to evidence against.

6.) Would you consider yourself monotheistic? (Believe in one God) Why?
No, I'm atheist

7.) Would you consider yourself Polytheistic? (Belief in more than one God) Why?
No, Atheist! >.>

8.) Would you consider your beliefs more akin to monolatry? (Belief in a God that is one and many. In other words, many Gods that come from the same one force. Examples: Hinduism, Kemetic Orthodoxy) Why?
Nope. Atheist.

9.) Which God/Gods do you worship?
None. Atheist.

10.) Do you consider yourself Pagan, or not Pagan?
No, atheist

11.) Do you find you do NOT fit into any particular religious group? If so, why?
Belief in an invisible man/men in the sky seems a bit rediculous. I've never witnessed any so called "acts of god" which suggest otherwise, never seen any varifyable miracles, and never seen any religous people who are happier than everyone else.

12.) What is your political standpoint? Is it influenced by your religious beliefs in any way?
Liberal, and I believe there is no god, so if we want a good life, WE have to be the ones to make it better for each other, not count on some greater power to make it happen.

13.) Do you have a particular belief about how creation began?
Yes, The Big Bang >.>

14.) Did you convert, or were you born into this religion? If you converted, what were you originally?
I'm not in a religeon, I'm atheist!

I was raised atheist, forced to believe in primary school to the point of being affraid of saying god doesn't exist(this supposedly wasn't a religous school), I don't think ANYBODY should be put through that.




I also have to say that...here in the UK, I know hardly anyone thats religous. The idea of so many people practising rituals in the name of some supposed deity, people believing that if they do certain things considered socially or morally unacceptable that they'll automatically be sent to some kingdom of fire and brimstone, and the number of people who genuinely believe that they'll see the second comming of Jesus within their lives is truely strange. (Mainly talking about christianity there, but you get the idea.)

[Arbutus]

Let me answer a couple of these all at once:

1.) What do you consider your religion to be?
2.) What beliefs do you hold that are consistent within that religious group? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")
3.) What beliefs do you hold that are NOT consistent within that religious group? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")
4.) Do you disagree with any of the beliefs or practices that your religion is based off of? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")
5.) Do you not follow any particular religion? If so, what are your beliefs?
6.) Would you consider yourself monotheistic? (Believe in one God) Why?
7.) Would you consider yourself Polytheistic? (Belief in more than one God) Why?
8.) Would you consider your beliefs more akin to monolatry? (Belief in a God that is one and many. In other words, many Gods that come from the same one force. Examples: Hinduism, Kemetic Orthodoxy) Why?
9.) Which God/Gods do you worship?
10.) Do you consider yourself Pagan, or not Pagan?
11.) Do you find you do NOT fit into any particular religious group? If so, why?
13.) Do you have a particular belief about how creation began?

Atheist


12.) What is your political standpoint? Is it influenced by your religious beliefs in any way?
Most of my political standpoint isn't relevant to the thread, but I can tell you that I have virtually no tolerance for social conservatism that has its roots solely in religious doctrine.

14.) Did you convert, or were you born into this religion? If you converted, what were you originally?
I suppose I was born into it - my parents expressed no religious beliefs at all as I was growing up, and I guess atheism is the default state of man, right?

[Sskessa]

Does this really belong in the debate section?

"Arbutus, I don't believe you're an atheist. Cite your sources!"

[Avan]

Does this really belong in the debate section?

"Arbutus, I don't believe you're an atheist. Cite your sources!"

I suppose the reason for it being here was to avoid any potential flaming/etc...
Anyhow, we can debate on it being in the debate section, so I say it works. Case closed. 
oh dang... now it might not be... but then we can debate it! ... >.> ... potential paradox?

[Furlong]

1.) What do you consider your religion to be?
Unitarian Universalist

2.) What beliefs do you hold that are consistent within that religious group? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")
I follow along with the 7 UU Principals, which are
    * The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
    * Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
    * Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
    * A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
    * The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
    * The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
    * Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

3.) What beliefs do you hold that are NOT consistent within that religious group? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")
None, really. 
4.) Do you disagree with any of the beliefs or practices that your religion is based off of? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")
Not Really
5.) Do you not follow any particular religion? If so, what are your beliefs?
I follow Unitarian Universalism.
6.) Would you consider yourself monotheistic? (Believe in one God) Why?
Yes, but God as we know God cannot be defined as one being, but as many.  I believe that the many names for God, and various religiousjn scripture across the world are all aspects of the same being. 
7.) Would you consider yourself Polytheistic? (Belief in more than one God) Why?

8.) Would you consider your beliefs more akin to monolatry? (Belief in a God that is one and many. In other words, many Gods that come from the same one force. Examples: Hinduism, Kemetic Orthodoxy) Why?
I guess that seems to go aklong with my answer to Question 6
9.) Which God/Gods do you worship?

10.) Do you consider yourself Pagan, or not Pagan?
I a manner of speaking, in that I feel a sense of kinship with the world at large, but that is about the extent of it. 
11.) Do you find you do NOT fit into any particular religious group? If so, why?

12.) What is your political standpoint? Is it influenced by your religious beliefs in any way?
I consider myself to be liberal.  My religion wholeheartedly endorses same-sex marriage.  In fact the first legal same-sex marriage performed in Massachusetts was performed by UUA President Rev. William Sinkford
13.) Do you have a particular belief about how creation began?
Yes, I subscribe to the Big Bang Theory. 

14.) Did you convert, or were you born into this religion? If you converted, what were you originally?
I was born into Unitarian Universalism. 

[Yip]

I'm not sure why you chose a survey format, but I must say I greatly dislike it. It makes most of the thread hard to read.

So... for that reason and because most of the stuff doesn't apply anyway, I'm not going to use this format.

I have no religion.  I was raised in a Christian household, and so not surprisingly I used to be a Christian. If fact, I had extremely strong faith with my Christian beliefs. But through studying the Bible I came to discover that the God I was raised to believe in, which is loving and just, is far from the God depicted in the Bible. I found that many of the teachings within the Bible are just outright atrocious, and yet we somehow ignore or twist things to make them seem better. On top of that, there are many areas with contradictions or that are logically and/or factually wrong. Like the whole creation story.

There are stars that we know to be billions of light-years away. This literally means that it'd take billions of years for the light to reach us. Since I know enough about how these distances are measured, I know there is no way the calculations could be so off as to allow for the timeframe presented in Genesis 1-1.  So how could the light from the stars have gotten here?  Maybe, I thought, God placed the light en-route.  This sounded plausible enough that I accepted this idea for years.  And one of the things that helped to open my eyes is realizing that I was excepting this without evidence. The only reason I had for even proposing the idea was to allow myself to explain a discrepancy between known fact and what the bible says. To put it simply, it was a "patch" to help hold my beliefs together. And it was only one of many such patches.  And as I pealed away these patches, I found that the beliefs could no longer stand.

So... I went through a period of time where I still believed a God, but was unsure exactly what to believe beyond that. However, this happened during a time in my life when I moved away from home to go to college and had was finally coming to grips with my sexual orientation. (learning what the bible really says about homosexuality was one of the things that sparked the more in depth study.)  So, as you might imagine, it was a very stressful time for me. In fact, I ended up going through a period of depression at least partially due to the immense stress, though there were likely other factors that I won't get into here.  The point is, I realized that being on the verge of breakdown (as I often had suicidal feeling during that time) for my own health, I needed to put it aside.

I decided to put it aside and focus on finishing college. I could work through my religious beliefs after that was over.  But, those sorts of questions have a tendency to linger in the back of your mind.  So I would notice things. Like in art history class when they spoke of the role of the Church in art and architecture. Churches, cathedrals in particular, are designed to have such grandeur as to make the person feel insignificant. It's designed to give the person a feeling of otherworldliness with the way the light plays through the high stained glass windows. It's designed purposefully with this intent...  by people.  Of course I also learned more about the Bible. Now that I was no longer giving it this unreasonable status, I could begin to see how it was written.  How clearly it is influenced by the time period it was written in.  All the contradictions and atrocities and inaccuracies, easily explained when you realize that it was written by men in a rather barbaric culture, and that is not the work of, or inspired by, any god.

In the last year of college while walking home and thinking to myself, I realized something very important. I had for a very long time been waiting for God to give my life meaning and direction. I waited. And now here I was nearly through college, independently living on my own. I had made great steps towards getting my life really started. And it was not God that did this. It was me. There is not one step along the way that it would be reasonable to attribute God my success. No, it was completely my own success.

During my last quarter before graduation, I took a class called "Biomechanics". One of the things taught in the class is how evolution works. I had never really understood it before. I now know that what I heard about it before was usually misrepresented.  There are a lot of common misconceptions about evolution (which I'd be happy to discuss with anyone that's interested.)  Now, I would not say that learning about evolution led me away from God, but I would say that it gave me an understanding of how we got here. And it was this lack of understanding that kept me still clinging to that last little bit, that bit that said "well, there must be a god or where did everything come from?".

In the years since, I have grown further away from religion. In fact, I've come to see faith as mind poison. It is a vale that keeps you from searching for the real answers.  So since then, I have become a very big proponent of critical thinking. I've always been big on logic and reason, and yet still this poison clouded my mind. So now I challenge everyone to always question everything: If you value truth, then in questioning there is nothing to be lost and much to be gained.  If you question your beliefs and find them to hold up to scrutiny, then your beliefs become stronger. If you question your beliefs and find they do not hold up, then you can discard them since they are faulty. Both cases get you closer to true beliefs.


I think this hits most the questions except my political views.  I believe that an individual's rights should only be limited by the rights of others. Because the sole purpose for rules, laws, morals and so forth, is so individuals can coexist.  (wow, that was a lot longer than I originally intended.)

[Varg the wanderer]

1.) What do you consider your religion to be?
 I am a follower of Christ.
2.) What beliefs do you hold that are consistent within that religious group? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")
 I believe that Jesus died so that people can have etertal life.
3.) What beliefs do you hold that are NOT consistent within that religious group? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")
 I also believe that there is a lot more that goes on onboard this planet than science or the church covers. I believe in ghosts, guardian spirits, and a host of other supernatural occurrences.
4.) Do you disagree with any of the beliefs or practices that your religion is based off of? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")
I don't believe in hell. I don't call priests "father", nor anyone but the creator. The man who raised me with my mom is my dad, a proud title to earn (almost any male can be a sperm donor). I disagree with a lot of Paul's teachings, and I also don't think that Christ is the only way to the Father.

5.) Do you not follow any particular religion? If so, what are your beliefs?
 I follow the example set by a man who walked the earth over 2,000 years ago. I believe in the promises he made, but I also believe that nature and life exists much deeper than trees, bacteria and animals. I believe in spirits and the like, and that the interaction of them on the material world has very real effect.

6.) Would you consider yourself monotheistic? (Believe in one God) Why?
 Yes. One, all powerful, perfect creator makes much more sense than a collection of gods with limited powers and flaws. They way all aspects of nature work flawlessly together makes me believe that there is only one commander of creation.
7.) Would you consider yourself Polytheistic? (Belief in more than one God) Why?
 No. See above.
8.) Would you consider your beliefs more akin to monolatry? (Belief in a God that is one and many. In other words, many Gods that come from the same one force. Examples: Hinduism, Kemetic Orthodoxy) Why?
 Not so much monolatry, but I do believe that, like a personality, the creator shows us different sides of himself as appropriate. IE: Nature is very unforgiving, yet when it comes to wrongs against him he is much more merciful.
9.) Which God/Gods do you worship?
 People call him many things: Jehova, the Father, the Mother, the Great Spirit, Allah, mother nature, but they are all the same.
10.) Do you consider yourself Pagan, or not Pagan?
 Not pagan.
11.) Do you find you do NOT fit into any particular religious group? If so, why?
 I don't fit any particular group because I seek the truth, and that often takes me on my own path.
12.) What is your political standpoint? Is it influenced by your religious beliefs in any way?
  Libertarian. I believe that unless an individual is harming someone else government keep their big nasty mitts out of their personal life. I believe that God is the only source of freedom and liberty. He gave us free will, and I think we should be allowed to use it without persecution as long as it does not harm others.
13.) Do you have a particular belief about how creation began?
 I believe that God created the heavens and the earth, possibly through the big bang, and that he shaped and formed life through evolution.
14.) Did you convert, or were you born into this religion? If you converted, what were you originally?
 I was raised to think for myself. My parents encouraged me to believe in something as a basis for morality, but other than that I was left to seek my own path. This is what I have chosen.

[Tuulikel]

I really want to answer.

1.) Closest religion to my beliefs is Wicca. It does not close away science.

2.) Honoring nature and rede "An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will"

3.) N/A

4.) That there is two higher spirits, god and the goddess. Thankfully, Wicca let's me choose, I don't have to believe in them. I'm not sure about the afterlife either.

5.) Look up.

6-7.) Kinda and not... This thing what I believe, might be just different form of a god(s) My Mother Earth is not a god, she/he/it is just a lots of things/spiritual power together, nothing intelligent. Hard to explain.

8.) See above. It's the three blind man and an elephant, we comprehend world from our own experiences.

9.) I don't count Mother Earth as a god. I worship the nature.

10.) Totally.

11.) I think I fit in just fine.

12.) I'm not sure. I have some interest politics, but nothing major. I want to help others, my vote goes for those who really are trying to help society.

13.) Not really. I had theory about white holes creating new material, such as this universe.

14.) Nay. My first religion was Christian (Lutheranism).

[Avan]

Not sure, but I think this a necro... (it's july 17 today)

ummm... I can't count. and I fail at basic math (but I can do advanced math!)

[Spirit]

1.) What do you consider your religion to be?
Christian.
2.) What beliefs do you hold that are consistent within that religious group? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")
I believe in one all-powerful god, in heaven and hell, and the basic christian "rules".
3.) What beliefs do you hold that are NOT consistent within that religious group? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")
I don't believe in Adam and Eve. While that story holds some basic value, I think it was just made to teach things and not to be believed; like a faerie tale with a moral at the end. I also don't think god minds if you're not a christian. (see question
4.) Do you disagree with any of the beliefs or practices that your religion is based off of? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")
I don't think church is required to be a "good christian".
5.) Do you not follow any particular religion? If so, what are your beliefs?
I do (somewhat) follow a religion, so this question is irrevelant to me.
6.) Would you consider yourself monotheistic? (Believe in one God) Why?
Yes. I consider myself that way because it's true. I believe in Jesus, but Jesus is not a god.
7.) Would you consider yourself Polytheistic? (Belief in more than one God) Why?
No, see above.
8.) Would you consider your beliefs more akin to monolatry? (Belief in a God that is one and many. In other words, many Gods that come from the same one force. Examples: Hinduism, Kemetic Orthodoxy) Why?
Yeah, I suppose. I believe god makes things the way you believe they are. If you are christian, you go to heaven(or hell, depending on how good you are). If you believe in reincarnation, god will reincarnate you. If you are an atheist, you die and that's it.
9.) Which God/Gods do you worship?
Hmmm, how do you explain when you call the god 'god'?
10.) Do you consider yourself Pagan, or not Pagan?
I'm not sure I understand Pagans enough to answer. I looked it up, but it was too confusing.
11.) Do you find you do NOT fit into any particular religious group? If so, why?
I already explained that I am a christian.
12.) What is your political standpoint? Is it influenced by your religious beliefs in any way?
I am a democrat. Part of my decision comes from how republicans tend to be big-business types, and I say big business=corruption. So I guess it is.
13.) Do you have a particular belief about how creation began?
Big bang. Before the big bang there was nothing, and then there were planets and stars and all the things you find in textbooks. That is when I believe god was created, and god began the creation of creatures and plants and life.
14.) Did you convert, or were you born into this religion? If you converted, what were you originally?
I was born into this religion.

So, there's my info.

[Kobuk]

Not sure, but I think this a necro... (it's july 17 today)

No. The last post before Tuulikel had posted was from Varg on Feb. 13th. Add 6 months to that and the 6 month cutoff date woulda been about August 13th. Therefore, what Tuulikel had posted is fine.

[Avan]

Not sure, but I think this a necro... (it's july 17 today)

No. The last post before Tuulikel had posted was from Varg on Feb. 13th. Add 6 months to that and the 6 month cutoff date woulda been about August 13th. Therefore, what Tuulikel had posted is fine.

See? I fail at basic addition.

Ok, sorry about the confusion

[Yip]

Yeah, I suppose. I believe god makes things the way you want. If you are christian, you go to heaven(or hell, depending on how good you are). If you believe in reincarnation, god will reincarnate you. If you are an atheist, you die and that's it.

Wait... are you implying that atheists want there to be no afterlife? Sorry, but no. As an atheist myself, I'd like the idea of getting to continue living after I die, but the evidence just doesn't support it. I'm more concerned with what's actually true than what's comfortable to believe.  No offense, but this sounds like a belief born strictly out of some poorly thought out attempt to make everyone happy. Poorly thought out because it fails to do what it's designed to do. I'm not happy that once I die I'm gone for good, but that's what the evidence supports and I can't do anything to change it, so I just learn to accept that's how it is.

Not trying to knock you specifically, just that it baffles me that anyone would hold this kind of belief. But it's not the first time I've encountered it.

[Spirit]

Yeah, I suppose. I believe god makes things the way you want. If you are christian, you go to heaven(or hell, depending on how good you are). If you believe in reincarnation, god will reincarnate you. If you are an atheist, you die and that's it.

Wait... are you implying that atheists want there to be no afterlife? Sorry, but no. As an atheist myself, I'd like the idea of getting to continue living after I die, but the evidence just doesn't support it. I'm more concerned with what's actually true than what's comfortable to believe.  No offense, but this sounds like a belief born strictly out of some poorly thought out attempt to make everyone happy. Poorly thought out because it fails to do what it's designed to do. I'm not happy that once I die I'm gone for good, but that's what the evidence supports and I can't do anything to change it, so I just learn to accept that's how it is.

Not trying to knock you specifically, just that it baffles me that anyone would hold this kind of belief. But it's not the first time I've encountered it.

I worded it wrong. I meant that whatever you THINK is true, it will be that way. You've told yourself that there is no afterlife, so by consequence, for you there won't be. I can see why you'd think it's a stupid idea, but I have my reasons for believing what I do.

[Dusty]

What would happen to someone who has never had a thought of what they would want there to be after death (or someone who was undecided), Spirit?



1.) What do you consider your religion to be?

I am an atheist.

2.) What beliefs do you hold that are consistent within that religious group? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")

I'll pass on this one.

3.) What beliefs do you hold that are NOT consistent within that religious group? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")

I'll pass on this one.

4.) Do you disagree with any of the beliefs or practices that your religion is based off of? (If you don't follow any particular religion, put "N/A")

I'll pass on this one.

5.) Do you not follow any particular religion? If so, what are your beliefs?

I don't follow any religion, nor do I hold any religious beliefs.

6.) Would you consider yourself monotheistic? (Believe in one God) Why?

Nope!

7.) Would you consider yourself Polytheistic? (Belief in more than one God) Why?

Nope!

8.) Would you consider your beliefs more akin to monolatry? (Belief in a God that is one and many. In other words, many Gods that come from the same one force. Examples: Hinduism, Kemetic Orthodoxy) Why?

Nope o.o

9.) Which God/Gods do you worship?

None

10.) Do you consider yourself Pagan, or not Pagan?

I'm not Pagan.

11.) Do you find you do NOT fit into any particular religious group? If so, why?

I do not belong to any religious group.

12.) What is your political standpoint? Is it influenced by your religious beliefs in any way?

Well I guess that I just feel that religious belief should be excised from how Australia is run, which is clearly not the case currently. Otherwise it has no real influence on my political beliefs unless I'm in a childish, antagonistic mood

13.) Do you have a particular belief about how creation began?

Only that which is the most convincing scientific model, I guess.

14.) Did you convert, or were you born into this religion? If you converted, what were you originally?

No idea. I don't even really know which religion my parents follow beyond the fact that they're various shades of Christian.

Heh, I missed a couple of questions so I fixed it up. Silly me x3

[Yip]

I worded it wrong. I meant that whatever you THINK is true, it will be that way. You've told yourself that there is no afterlife, so by consequence, for you there won't be.

That really doesn't make it any better.  Whether or not someone -believes- something is true has no baring on whether or not it actually is true.  For example, as a kid I bought into the idea that as long as you have enough faith, all things are possible (the bible does say that after all). As such, I used to believe I could fly, I used to believe that if I concentrated hard enough I could manipulate objects with my mind, I used to believe that I could walk through walls. But no matter how much I believed these things, that didn't make them true.

[Edited to fix broken quote block.]

[Spirit]

That really doesn't make it any better.  Whether or not someone -believes- something is true has no baring on whether or not it actually is true.  For example, as a kid I bought into the idea that as long as you have enough faith, all things are possible (the bible does say that after all). As such, I used to believe I could fly, I used to believe that if I concentrated hard enough I could manipulate objects with my mind, I used to believe that I could walk through walls. But no matter how much I believed these things, that didn't make them true.

You seem to believe that it's all based on a belief that everyone should be happy. I do wish for that, but it has nothing to do with what I'm saying. Besides, if when you die you die and that's it, how can you be unhappy once you're dead?

[Yip]

You seem to believe that it's all based on a belief that everyone should be happy. I do wish for that, but it has nothing to do with what I'm saying. Besides, if when you die you die and that's it, how can you be unhappy once you're dead?

Saying "you'll get what you want to happen" does sound like it's about making everyone happy (even though in actually fails at this). Changing it to "you get what you think will happen" removes that aspect, but adds other problems as I pointed out in my last post.

[Spirit]

You seem to believe that it's all based on a belief that everyone should be happy. I do wish for that, but it has nothing to do with what I'm saying. Besides, if when you die you die and that's it, how can you be unhappy once you're dead?

Saying "you'll get what you want to happen" does sound like it's about making everyone happy (even though in actually fails at this). Changing it to "you get what you think will happen" removes that aspect, but adds other problems as I pointed out in my last post.

I already explained that I misworded it. And we're assuming here that god either is almighty or doesn't exist, from my viewpoint and yours respectively. I believe god has the power to do anything. You argue that you can't do some things no matter how much you concentrate, but you are not god. You can't walk through walls, but if god believed that he (yes, gender stereotyping, but I can't keep calling "him" god over and over) should be able to, he could.

[Yip]

I already explained that I misworded it. And we're assuming here that god either is almighty or doesn't exist, from my viewpoint and yours respectively. I believe god has the power to do anything. You argue that you can't do some things no matter how much you concentrate, but you are not god. You can't walk through walls, but if god believed that he (yes, gender stereotyping, but I can't keep calling "him" god over and over) should be able to, he could.

I'm sorry, but you seem to be completely missing what I'm saying.

I'm not saying God couldn't do things this way, I'm saying that this idea does not mesh with observable reality; there are NO real world examples of someone's beliefs affecting what's actually true. So there is no reason to think this should apply to an afterlife.  Also, even if their were an almighty god, why would such a god run things this way? It makes no sense.

This system you are describing is one which rewards delusion and punishes those who go by what actually seems to conform to reality.  So while I get nothing, a guy that deludes himself into believing that by killing enough "infidels" in this life, he'll get to be god-like when he dies, this guy gets massive rewards?  Any god that would use such an unfair system is certainly not a loving god.  But you didn't say you believe in a loving god, so maybe that fits into your beliefs.