What are your religious beliefs?

[Krakke]

Its not much different from my whole life, My parents essentially run a "Family Fascism", where everything is for the good of the family. It sounds like BS, I know, but that's the best way I can describe it. If anything, I'll keep quiet until I get outta the house.

[Parhe]

To tell the truth, I expected more votes on atheism, for no reason in particular.

[Furious Grandmothers]

Its not much different from my whole life, My parents essentially run a "Family Fascism", where everything is for the good of the family. It sounds like BS, I know, but that's the best way I can describe it. If anything, I'll keep quiet until I get outta the house.

That's messed up. Did your parents independently philosophize about the world and come to conclude that there are no deities and hence became atheists, or did they inherit their atheism from somewhere else without thinking things through? If it's the former, this seems kinda hypocritical.

[Arumdaum]

All my life I've been Atheist (kinda enforced in my family), but recently I'm starting to believe that there is a God, and that Atheism isn't really for me.

Not that I'd tell my parents, of course. They'd kick me outta the house.

Interesting, it's mostly the opposite everywhere else.

[Mike the Progressive]

All my life I've been Atheist (kinda enforced in my family), but recently I'm starting to believe that there is a God, and that Atheism isn't really for me.

Not that I'd tell my parents, of course. They'd kick me outta the house.

Interesting, it's mostly the opposite everywhere else.

Kind of makes you wonder if people, by large, become atheists (or Christians) because they are 'enlightened,' or if they become atheists (or Christians) to reject their parent's beliefs imposed upon them. I for one was a fundamentalist and evangelical baptist who became a Catholic and than an agnostic, before I returned back to the Church.

[Parhe]

Interesting, it's mostly the opposite everywhere else.

Kind of makes you wonder if people, by large, become atheists (or Christians) because they are 'enlightened,' or if they become atheists (or Christians) to reject their parent's beliefs imposed upon them. I for one was a fundamentalist and evangelical baptist who became a Catholic and than an agnostic, before I returned back to the Church.

But couldn't people also become religious to reject the views of their atheist parents? Or, couldn't a person argue that a person becomes atheist because he or she is enlightened?

[Krakke]

That's messed up. Did your parents independently philosophize about the world and come to conclude that there are no deities and hence became atheists, or did they inherit their atheism from somewhere else without thinking things through? If it's the former, this seems kinda hypocritical.

Not really, My dad was never really religious, so it wasn't a big step to be an atheist. IDK why, though.

My mom isn't really in the equation, being the polar opposite of my dad (complete hippie, communist, Protestant, etc).

[Arumdaum]

Interesting, it's mostly the opposite everywhere else.

Kind of makes you wonder if people, by large, become atheists (or Christians) because they are 'enlightened,' or if they become atheists (or Christians) to reject their parent's beliefs imposed upon them. I for one was a fundamentalist and evangelical baptist who became a Catholic and than an agnostic, before I returned back to the Church.

My atheism began to start in 2nd grade, on my way to Church, when I asked my dad, "Appa, how do we know that God exists?"

[Mike the Progressive]

Kind of makes you wonder if people, by large, become atheists (or Christians) because they are 'enlightened,' or if they become atheists (or Christians) to reject their parent's beliefs imposed upon them. I for one was a fundamentalist and evangelical baptist who became a Catholic and than an agnostic, before I returned back to the Church.

But couldn't people also become religious to reject the views of their atheist parents? Or, couldn't a person argue that a person becomes atheist because he or she is enlightened?

I'm a cynic. I'm more prone to believe that most people don't know what they believe, that religion's absence won't solve a damn thing in the world. That they are more likely rejecting their past instead of actually finding God or "enlightenment."

[Parhe]

Kind of makes you wonder if people, by large, become atheists (or Christians) because they are 'enlightened,' or if they become atheists (or Christians) to reject their parent's beliefs imposed upon them. I for one was a fundamentalist and evangelical baptist who became a Catholic and than an agnostic, before I returned back to the Church.

My atheism began to start in 2nd grade, on my way to Church, when I asked my dad, "Appa, how do we know that God exists?"

I always believed it was impossible to know if God exists or not until a person dies, so i figured, better to be safe than sorry.

[Arumdaum]

But I still remained Christian, and in late 5th and early 6th grade I was a Christian fundamentalist, hostile to all other religions, most specifically Islam and Buddhism.

In the end of sixth grade I became an ardent atheist, while in the beginning of 7th grade I started to lean towards Buddhism but became an agnostic-atheist.

I still really like Buddhism though.

[Mike the Progressive]

Kind of makes you wonder if people, by large, become atheists (or Christians) because they are 'enlightened,' or if they become atheists (or Christians) to reject their parent's beliefs imposed upon them. I for one was a fundamentalist and evangelical baptist who became a Catholic and than an agnostic, before I returned back to the Church.

My atheism began to start in 2nd grade, on my way to Church, when I asked my dad, "Appa, how do we know that God exists?"

I'd say I was a little later, about 4th and 5th, because I began to find an appeal in secularism and humanism, though I knew very little about both. Truth is I went to a religious (baptist) school all my life and I was rejecting my environment. I imagine if you were forced to believe there wasn't a god, you'd have asked "how do we know there isn't a soul?"

[Arumdaum]

My atheism began to start in 2nd grade, on my way to Church, when I asked my dad, "Appa, how do we know that God exists?"

I always believed it was impossible to know if God exists or not until a person dies, so i figured, better to be safe than sorry.

Well, to combat that, there's always the possibility that the Christian god might not be the real god and instead a glorious bowl of ramen that rules over all and hates Christians is the real god.

Honestly I prefer the huge ramen bowl, considering I think it's yummy.

[Norstal]

Kind of makes you wonder if people, by large, become atheists (or Christians) because they are 'enlightened,' or if they become atheists (or Christians) to reject their parent's beliefs imposed upon them. I for one was a fundamentalist and evangelical baptist who became a Catholic and than an agnostic, before I returned back to the Church.

My atheism began to start in 2nd grade, on my way to Church, when I asked my dad, "Appa, how do we know that God exists?"

Pfft, please, my atheism began when I started questioning "why are we here" at age 5.

[Arumdaum]

My atheism began to start in 2nd grade, on my way to Church, when I asked my dad, "Appa, how do we know that God exists?"

I'd say I was a little later, about 4th and 5th, because I began to find an appeal in secularism and humanism, though I knew very little about both. Truth is I went to a religious (baptist) school all my life and I was rejecting my environment. I imagine if you were forced to believe there wasn't a god, you'd have asked "how do we know there isn't a soul?"

Probably.

[Norstal]

My atheism began to start in 2nd grade, on my way to Church, when I asked my dad, "Appa, how do we know that God exists?"

I always believed it was impossible to know if God exists or not until a person dies, so i figured, better to be safe than sorry.

It's possible: everything makes more sense when you take god out of the picture. Occam's Razor, I loooove you.

[Furious Grandmothers]

My atheism began to start in 2nd grade, on my way to Church, when I asked my dad, "Appa, how do we know that God exists?"

I always believed it was impossible to know if God exists or not until a person dies, so i figured, better to be safe than sorry.

Then isn't it impossible to also know if God exists even after a person dies? Also, how is this safe, and the alternative sorry?

[Parhe]

I always believed it was impossible to know if God exists or not until a person dies, so i figured, better to be safe than sorry.

Well, to combat that, there's always the possibility that the Christian god might not be the real god and instead a glorious bowl of ramen that rules over all and hates Christians.

Honestly I prefer the huge ramen bowl, considering I think it's yummy.

Either way, I'm not much into god, I'd probably go to hell if he existed.
Truthfully, I despise God more than anyone else, and i disagree with a lot of things he do, if he exists anyway.

to the other guy, I'm not entirely sure what your reply meant, so I guess you got me.

[Arumdaum]

My atheism began to start in 2nd grade, on my way to Church, when I asked my dad, "Appa, how do we know that God exists?"

Pfft, please, my atheism began when I started questioning "why are we here" at age 5.

Goshdarnit.

I was too busy building a world full of happy faces with arms and legs back then.

[Mike the Progressive]

I'd say I was a little later, about 4th and 5th, because I began to find an appeal in secularism and humanism, though I knew very little about both. Truth is I went to a religious (baptist) school all my life and I was rejecting my environment. I imagine if you were forced to believe there wasn't a god, you'd have asked "how do we know there isn't a soul?"

Probably.

People, by large, find what is unknown or forbidden to them curious and desirable (ergo all the hubbub about sex, also because it's fun). That's my point.

[Parhe]

I always believed it was impossible to know if God exists or not until a person dies, so i figured, better to be safe than sorry.

Then isn't it impossible to also know if God exists even after a person dies? Also, how is this safe, and the alternative sorry?

Depends on what a person believe, I guess.
It really isn't safe. Just by questioning him, I am rejecting him because of my lack of fate. By alternate, I mean the Christian God(to the other person, I know he isn't the only God) existing but ending up in hell.

[Parhe]

I always believed it was impossible to know if God exists or not until a person dies, so i figured, better to be safe than sorry.

It's possible: everything makes more sense when you take god out of the picture. Occam's Razor, I loooove you.

Also, please explain this.

[Arumdaum]

Well, to combat that, there's always the possibility that the Christian god might not be the real god and instead a glorious bowl of ramen that rules over all and hates Christians.

Honestly I prefer the huge ramen bowl, considering I think it's yummy.

Either way, I'm not much into god, I'd probably go to hell if he existed.
Truthfully, I despise God more than anyone else, and i disagree with a lot of things he do, if he exists anyway.

to the other guy, I'm not entirely sure what your reply meant, so I guess you got me.

That reminds me, a few months after I'd become an atheist in 6th grade, I remembered one of my friends saying that "From all of us, *my name is censored* would probably be the most likely to go to Heaven."

It was an awkward moment.

[Arumdaum]

Probably.

People, by large, find what is unknown or forbidden to them curious and desirable (ergo all the hubbub about sex, also because it's fun). That's my point.

I agree.

[Norstal]

to the other guy, I'm not entirely sure what your reply meant, so I guess you got me.

Posit that god is everywhere. God affects everything, directly or indirectly. Now how do we explain a moving car colliding with another car? Does the collision affect god or does god affect the drivers? What happens to the 'strings' in our fabric when god intervenes to save the drive of the car? Does lightwave function cease to exist?

See, it just gets incredibly silly (and funny) with that. If you remove god, you can explain the vectors and magnitude of both moving cars without a care in the world. But if you add god, you'd have to account for all the thing he/she/they did.

Physics and philosophy ruins religion. >:)