What religious beliefs do you hold?

[Soyvoyage]

I believe we are all in the hands of this man;

and by watching all his sacred VHS tapes, we may live forever.

(It's both Patrick Stewart and a joke.)

[Reasonableman]

A JOKE? A JOKE?


You bastard.

[Soyvoyage]

I forgot to mention that he will lead us to the promised land.

"Would I lie to you?"- Patrick Stewart.
"No way! Hand me some of those savoury saviour nibbles."-Sir Ian McKellen
"Trust me! The promised land is just around this corner"- Patrick Stewart (again)

[Valdez_Leel]

Agnostic I suppose. I live my entire life in a state of quandry, self doubt and questioning. Is there a god? Is there a Patrick Stewart? Do shoes really exist or do I simply imagine they do in order to cope with the horrors of a barefooted world?

I'm constantly scrutinising and re-evaluating my own beliefs and truths because having too much certainty in your heart makes you complacent and vulnerable. Although I accept that this ethos is in itself a belief and may at some point need to be reassessed.

....Nah scratch that. I am in fact a high preist of the Great Lord Thangledoogin! All Praise Thangledoogin and his great white nose!

[Amake]

Originally Posted by Captain Awful

"I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours." -Stephen Roberts

That's the logic behind that. It isn't so much an argument as a "Hey, see things from my perspective". I think the problem most Atheists have is that they have faith in Atheism. I was going to append to that, but I think that about sums it up.

Most religious folks I've listened to, including the pope, acknowledge that different religions are just different ways to see God. "One fewer god" is quite a lot if you consider the belief that all gods are one. Or not so much if you take the belief that all gods are real. . .

I think the problem most Atheists have - and I used to be one - is that they want to discredit organized religion rather than to not believe in things beyond this world. I mean, I've seen people point to contradictions in the Bible as proof that there is no God. It's easy and probably healthy to dismiss religious dogma for the fallible work of men that it is, but it's not the same thing to dismiss belief.

Just some random thoughts I had. Doesn't have much to do with your post there that I quoted.

[Dan]

I'm an atheist. I think the existence of God is ultimately an empirical matter, and I'm yet to see any compelling evidence for the affirmative. That said, I understand that many believers see it as a question of faith rather than evidence, and that's fine. I mean, I disagree, but I'm certainly not going to argue about it.

At one point, when I was reading a lot of Hume, I decided I was agnostic. On reflection, however, it occurred to me that atheism was more consistent with the way I understand the world and humanity's place in it.

Ethically, I generally favour rule utilitarianism, though I can see the value of incorporating virtue-based and deontological perspectives into moral judgement and decision making. Basically, I think good moral character is cultivated with experience and refined with reason.

Also: kudos to you guys for being so civil and reasonable about all this. When I clicked on this thread, I was honestly expecting a typical internet shitstorm - and instead found just the opposite. Well done.

[Captain Awful]

Originally Posted by Amake

Most religious folks I've listened to, including the pope, acknowledge that different religions are just different ways to see God. "One fewer god" is quite a lot if you consider the belief that all gods are one. Or not so much if you take the belief that all gods are real. . .

That's a very Mormon way of thinking. Before you ask "What does that have to do with Mormonism" I'll explain, Mormon's are interested in genealogy because they retroactively adopt people into their religion without their consent. This is quite similar to the statement you made. You're saying that Zeus, Thor, Eris, The Horned God, et cetera are all one God, more specifically I'm going to assume you mean the Christians definition of God.

Unfortunately this isn't very realistic and is actually quite offensive to other cultures. I mean, I'm sure I don't have to tell you that there have been thousands of gods since we've attained a proper level of intelligence. To say that all of those gods are actually your God is a very selfish statement. In fact, it's very similar to me saying your God is actually a bunch of pretentious beings hanging out on a mountain having parties in Greece. I'm not going to tell you that your God is an impersonal god, perhaps even a unique force in a cosmos void of reality and that the force somehow sparked the Big Bang outside of the laws of physics. I wouldn't say that because, well, I personally don't believe that, though some do, and I wouldn't want to tell you your God is something other than what you believe your God to be. Faith is a personal thing, it should have no bearing outside of the person, when faith exhibits it's influence outside of a person is when it's crossed the line.

[Dan]

I don't think Amake was saying that all other gods are reducible to the Christian God, but rather that all gods - Christian one included - are simply different but mutually compatible interpretations of the same basic entity.

[Flounderman]

Originally Posted by Dan

Also: kudos to you guys for being so civil and reasonable about all this. When I clicked on this thread, I was honestly expecting a typical internet shitstorm - and instead found just the opposite. Well done.

Seriously! This is such a nice little thread, with no shit slinging on either side. When I first saw it I was expecting exactly what you were expecting.

[Captain Awful]

Originally Posted by Dan

I don't think Amake was saying that all other gods are reducible to the Christian God, but rather that all gods - Christian one included - are simply different but mutually compatible interpretations of the same basic entity.

But whose version of that entity is right? What if the Greek's ideal of physical beings on Mount Olympus was right? Then they exist as multiple entities. If Amake is stating that the idea of God stems from mans inability to deal with reality without the promise of hope that only a god can bring, then I understand. As far as a single entity acting as all the gods throughout history, if I were a theist, I'd find that offensive.