Explain Your Religious Views or Lack Thereof

[Conscentia]

Scientific Probability has actually proven Jesus to be the Messiah.
http://israelsmessiah.com/prophecy/mess ... bility.htm
http://donsnotes.com/religion/stoners_probability.html

Firstly, the Messiah must fulfill all the prophecies, not just eight, including building a physical third temple on the Temple Mount as prophecised in Ezekiel. (Instead of the Third Temple, there's a Mosque on the Temple Mount.)
Secondly, Pslams is not a book of prophecy.
Thirdly, many of the things you Christians cite as prophecy are not prophecy. They are nothing more than examples of confirmation bias - Christians seeing prophecies that support their assertion that Jesus is the messiah. There was no Jewish prophecy that the Messiah would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey.
I advise you look at the real prophecies.
Fourthly, Unless the probability of Jesus being the Messiah is 100%, then nothing has been proven. Probably is not about certainty.
Finally, you realise that your second link is actually refuting your point, right?

[Divair]

Right now, I'm not exactly sure what the frick I am. Mostly Agnosticism vs. Christianity thing going on in my head.

ARGH.

No.

There is no "Agnosticism vs. Christianity." That is not a thing.

Agnosticism does not mean being "undecided." It does not mean "mushy atheist."

Agnosticism is the belief that you cannot know whether God exists or not. A great many Christians are agnostic...that's what faith is for, eh? If you know something, you don't have faith in it.

Please, for the love of fuck, people, stop misusing "agnosticism." Think of how obnoxious you'd find it if people routinely used "Christian" to mean "Person who hasn't yet decided if they're Hindi or not." You'd be like, "The fuck? That's not remotely what that means, and it's kind of fucking annoying for you to use the name of my belief system without even having the first clue what the word means..." So show agnosticism some damn respect.

One page later people will still be posting "neither atheist nor religious, I am AGNOSTIC!"

[Neikirk]

I think the best way to put my religion... a mixture of Protestant Christianity and Gnostic Theism.

[The Silence of Night]

I think the best way to put my religion... a mixture of Protestant Christianity and Gnostic Theism.

Why?

[Aequalitia]

I think the best way to put my religion... a mixture of Protestant Christianity and Gnostic Theism.

That sounds confusing for me

[Dyakovo]

In this thread, I want you to explain what drew you towards, or drove you from religion. Why you hold the beliefs you hold, how you deal with criticism, and what you specifically believe in a religious sense. If you don't have any religious beliefs, explain why. I'll start off.

I was born into a very Fundamentalist Christian household. To be specific, Assemblies of God. The driving force behind my whole family, specifically my Paternal Grandmother and my mom, was their faith in Jesus. As far back as I can remember, my mother, and to a lesser extent my father, instilled in me the idea that God was calling me to be a minister. Of course I believed them. This went on for about 14 years. Then, for reasons I won't go into, it stopped. One of the main problems was drugs, though. Not on my part, but my parents. They soon decided to get a divorce. This started a downward spiral that drove my mother, brother and I into some dark places. Very dark. It was during this dark time my brother and I started going to a Southern Baptist church. The youth group was amazing to say the least, and was a deciding factor on me continuing down the road to ministry. I went on mission trips near and far, attended church regularly, and began to study the Bible religiously (pun intended). Thus arose the problem.

While studying the Bible, I also started to read philosophical books. While searching the Philosophy section of the library, I happened upon a book titled " Why I Am Not a Christian" by the infamous Bertrand Russell. I almost put it back on the shelf, but curiosity got the better of me. This book literally changed the way I looked at life. I couldn't believe what I was reading. I began to fervently study the Bible with a new zeal, but it was to no avail. I had noticed some non-sequiturs and morally questionable acts before, but now it seemed there were many more. I began to read other secular books, "How Science Disproves God" and "Letter to a Christian Nation" just to name a few. I couldn't hide it any longer, I had lost my faith. This was a problem, for I had set out to become a minister. I was used to breaking down any problems I had logically, and the worst thing I could do in my mind was to announce to everybody I had ceased to believe. I continued and am continuing my ministerial classes, mostly because they are paid for and I still have a legitimate interest in the Bible and religions in general. But, to wrap this all up, I lost my faith in god due to their being no demonstrable, empirical scientific evidence to point to the existence to a deity or deities. I have a very logical, rational mind. My sanity AND my faith could not reside together. I chose to keep my sanity. I really do want to believe, I just see no point in lying to myself in the face of so much evidence.


EDIT: Let me delve a little deeper. I am a very loose Deist. I follow the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, I most definitely believe in Karma, and I see the universe as a giant clock. If one gear ceases to function properly, the whole clock becomes unstable, and the problem finds its way back to the faulty gear. If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Scientific Probability has actually proven Jesus to be the Messiah.
http://israelsmessiah.com/prophecy/mess ... bility.htm
http://donsnotes.com/religion/stoners_probability.html

No, it hasn't.

[Menassa]

Scientific Probability has actually proven Jesus to be the Messiah.
http://israelsmessiah.com/prophecy/mess ... bility.htm
http://donsnotes.com/religion/stoners_probability.html

No, it hasn't.

Most of those aren't even prophecies.

[Centertalia]

In this thread, I want you to explain what drew you towards, or drove you from religion. Why you hold the beliefs you hold, how you deal with criticism, and what you specifically believe in a religious sense. If you don't have any religious beliefs, explain why. I'll start off.

I was born into a very Fundamentalist Christian household. To be specific, Assemblies of God. The driving force behind my whole family, specifically my Paternal Grandmother and my mom, was their faith in Jesus. As far back as I can remember, my mother, and to a lesser extent my father, instilled in me the idea that God was calling me to be a minister. Of course I believed them. This went on for about 14 years. Then, for reasons I won't go into, it stopped. One of the main problems was drugs, though. Not on my part, but my parents. They soon decided to get a divorce. This started a downward spiral that drove my mother, brother and I into some dark places. Very dark. It was during this dark time my brother and I started going to a Southern Baptist church. The youth group was amazing to say the least, and was a deciding factor on me continuing down the road to ministry. I went on mission trips near and far, attended church regularly, and began to study the Bible religiously (pun intended). Thus arose the problem.

While studying the Bible, I also started to read philosophical books. While searching the Philosophy section of the library, I happened upon a book titled " Why I Am Not a Christian" by the infamous Bertrand Russell. I almost put it back on the shelf, but curiosity got the better of me. This book literally changed the way I looked at life. I couldn't believe what I was reading. I began to fervently study the Bible with a new zeal, but it was to no avail. I had noticed some non-sequiturs and morally questionable acts before, but now it seemed there were many more. I began to read other secular books, "How Science Disproves God" and "Letter to a Christian Nation" just to name a few. I couldn't hide it any longer, I had lost my faith. This was a problem, for I had set out to become a minister. I was used to breaking down any problems I had logically, and the worst thing I could do in my mind was to announce to everybody I had ceased to believe. I continued and am continuing my ministerial classes, mostly because they are paid for and I still have a legitimate interest in the Bible and religions in general. But, to wrap this all up, I lost my faith in god due to their being no demonstrable, empirical scientific evidence to point to the existence to a deity or deities. I have a very logical, rational mind. My sanity AND my faith could not reside together. I chose to keep my sanity. I really do want to believe, I just see no point in lying to myself in the face of so much evidence.

Well my faith Is somewhere in between Christian and Jewish.....

So he ALMOST resurrected.

[Shaggai]

No, it hasn't.

Most of those aren't even prophecies.

And the second link is a disproof of the first one.

[Menassa]

Most of those aren't even prophecies.

And the second link is a disproof of the first one.

Since a bunch of people claimed to be the Messiah.

[Lost heros]

In this thread, I want you to explain what drew you towards, or drove you from religion. Why you hold the beliefs you hold, how you deal with criticism, and what you specifically believe in a religious sense. If you don't have any religious beliefs, explain why. I'll start off.

I was born into a very Fundamentalist Christian household. To be specific, Assemblies of God. The driving force behind my whole family, specifically my Paternal Grandmother and my mom, was their faith in Jesus. As far back as I can remember, my mother, and to a lesser extent my father, instilled in me the idea that God was calling me to be a minister. Of course I believed them. This went on for about 14 years. Then, for reasons I won't go into, it stopped. One of the main problems was drugs, though. Not on my part, but my parents. They soon decided to get a divorce. This started a downward spiral that drove my mother, brother and I into some dark places. Very dark. It was during this dark time my brother and I started going to a Southern Baptist church. The youth group was amazing to say the least, and was a deciding factor on me continuing down the road to ministry. I went on mission trips near and far, attended church regularly, and began to study the Bible religiously (pun intended). Thus arose the problem.

While studying the Bible, I also started to read philosophical books. While searching the Philosophy section of the library, I happened upon a book titled " Why I Am Not a Christian" by the infamous Bertrand Russell. I almost put it back on the shelf, but curiosity got the better of me. This book literally changed the way I looked at life. I couldn't believe what I was reading. I began to fervently study the Bible with a new zeal, but it was to no avail. I had noticed some non-sequiturs and morally questionable acts before, but now it seemed there were many more. I began to read other secular books, "How Science Disproves God" and "Letter to a Christian Nation" just to name a few. I couldn't hide it any longer, I had lost my faith. This was a problem, for I had set out to become a minister. I was used to breaking down any problems I had logically, and the worst thing I could do in my mind was to announce to everybody I had ceased to believe. I continued and am continuing my ministerial classes, mostly because they are paid for and I still have a legitimate interest in the Bible and religions in general. But, to wrap this all up, I lost my faith in god due to their being no demonstrable, empirical scientific evidence to point to the existence to a deity or deities. I have a very logical, rational mind. My sanity AND my faith could not reside together. I chose to keep my sanity. I really do want to believe, I just see no point in lying to myself in the face of so much evidence.


EDIT: Let me delve a little deeper. I am a very loose Deist. I follow the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, I most definitely believe in Karma, and I see the universe as a giant clock. If one gear ceases to function properly, the whole clock becomes unstable, and the problem finds its way back to the faulty gear. If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Scientific Probability has actually proven Jesus to be the Messiah.
http://israelsmessiah.com/prophecy/mess ... bility.htm
http://donsnotes.com/religion/stoners_probability.html

But both articles fail to prove that Jesus ever lived. It's kind of like saying, Odin promised to rid the world of frost giants. Do you see any frost giants? I didn't think so. Therefore Nordic mythology is correct.

[With Teeth]

In this thread, I want you to explain what drew you towards, or drove you from religion. Why you hold the beliefs you hold, how you deal with criticism, and what you specifically believe in a religious sense. If you don't have any religious beliefs, explain why. I'll start off.

I was born into a very Fundamentalist Christian household. To be specific, Assemblies of God. The driving force behind my whole family, specifically my Paternal Grandmother and my mom, was their faith in Jesus. As far back as I can remember, my mother, and to a lesser extent my father, instilled in me the idea that God was calling me to be a minister. Of course I believed them. This went on for about 14 years. Then, for reasons I won't go into, it stopped. One of the main problems was drugs, though. Not on my part, but my parents. They soon decided to get a divorce. This started a downward spiral that drove my mother, brother and I into some dark places. Very dark. It was during this dark time my brother and I started going to a Southern Baptist church. The youth group was amazing to say the least, and was a deciding factor on me continuing down the road to ministry. I went on mission trips near and far, attended church regularly, and began to study the Bible religiously (pun intended). Thus arose the problem.

While studying the Bible, I also started to read philosophical books. While searching the Philosophy section of the library, I happened upon a book titled " Why I Am Not a Christian" by the infamous Bertrand Russell. I almost put it back on the shelf, but curiosity got the better of me. This book literally changed the way I looked at life. I couldn't believe what I was reading. I began to fervently study the Bible with a new zeal, but it was to no avail. I had noticed some non-sequiturs and morally questionable acts before, but now it seemed there were many more. I began to read other secular books, "How Science Disproves God" and "Letter to a Christian Nation" just to name a few. I couldn't hide it any longer, I had lost my faith. This was a problem, for I had set out to become a minister. I was used to breaking down any problems I had logically, and the worst thing I could do in my mind was to announce to everybody I had ceased to believe. I continued and am continuing my ministerial classes, mostly because they are paid for and I still have a legitimate interest in the Bible and religions in general. But, to wrap this all up, I lost my faith in god due to their being no demonstrable, empirical scientific evidence to point to the existence to a deity or deities. I have a very logical, rational mind. My sanity AND my faith could not reside together. I chose to keep my sanity. I really do want to believe, I just see no point in lying to myself in the face of so much evidence.


EDIT: Let me delve a little deeper. I am a very loose Deist. I follow the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, I most definitely believe in Karma, and I see the universe as a giant clock. If one gear ceases to function properly, the whole clock becomes unstable, and the problem finds its way back to the faulty gear. If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Scientific Probability has actually proven Jesus to be the Messiah.
http://israelsmessiah.com/prophecy/mess ... bility.htm
http://donsnotes.com/religion/stoners_probability.html

Of course your definition of ''scientific probability'' is ''an analysis conducted by a Christian fundamentalist named Peter Stoner who died thirty-three years ago, with the help of the students in a Christian liberal arts college''.

[Pensalum]

I'm an agnostic catholic theist, with great interest in the Religious Society of Friends.

[Menassa]

I'm an agnostic catholic theist, with great interest in the Religious Society of Friends.

The what?

[Frisivisia]

I'm an agnostic catholic theist, with great interest in the Religious Society of Friends.

The what?

Quakers.

[Vazdania]

I'm an agnostic catholic theist, with great interest in the Religious Society of Friends.

The what?

The Quakers.


You know...like the guy off of the Quaker oats box!!!

[Divair]

The what?

Quakers.

The names of some of these sects will never fail to amuse me.

[Frisivisia]

Quakers.

The names of some of these sects will never fail to amuse me.

Being a Quaker is just being a Catholic for pussies.

[Scottopian Isles]

Religions are like penises, everybody has one and that's cool you're proud of it but it doesn't give you the right to shoving it in people's faces believing you have the best one.

[Lost heros]

Religions are like penises, everybody has one and that's cool you're proud of it but it doesn't give you the right to shoving it in people's faces believing you have the best one.

So what about atheists?

[Divair]

everybody has one

Not true.

[With Teeth]

Religions are like penises, everybody has one and that's cool you're proud of it but it doesn't give you the right to shoving it in people's faces believing you have the best one.

I didn't know women had penises.

[Menassa]

Religions are like penises, everybody has one and that's cool you're proud of it but it doesn't give you the right to shoving it in people's faces believing you have the best one.

Which we don't.

[Frisivisia]

Religions are like penises, everybody has one and that's cool you're proud of it but it doesn't give you the right to shoving it in people's faces believing you have the best one.

Does that make atheists women and "militant atheism" the greatest thing ever?

[Ashihara no Nakatsukuni]

My religious views do not exist outside of believing the ultimate power in the Universe is nature itself. The laws of nature created, shaped, and defined where we live, where we have come from, and where we will go.