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type: channel
description: C&C: Renegade --> Dying since 2003™, resurrected in 2024!
items: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
items: Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?

When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: Share your stories. When and how did you become a Christian/atheist/agnostic/whatever you consider yourself to be? What made you think so? I'll start. My story is quite similar to the Hitch's; he says that for him it wasn't a case of becoming an atheist so much as realising he is an atheist. That's how it was for me. Neither of my parents are religious and they let me and my brother and sister make our own minds up (this is mainly because my father's parents were fundamentalist Christians who imposed a strict religious upbringing upon him and my aunt, and they found it absolutely miserable and resolved to do better with us). As for school, I live in a Christian country where Christianity is taught to the kids as though it were fact; i.e. the dumb bible myths are taught with the same certainty as what we're told in geography and maths. And there was no point at which the teacher said "there's no evidence for any of this" or "there are other religions out there too" or, most importantly, "you can just live your life without any of this crap". Also, daily prayer was compulsory. But I never believed any of this. For some reason it just didn't click, and in the daily prayer at school we just bowed our heads and waited for the headmaster to get it over with. But I never considered myself an atheist; I'd never even heard the word before, and it didn't occur to me to ask "what's the word for someone who doesn't believe in this religious stuff?" Later on, I was watching comedy on TV. My fellow Englishmen will know Jasper Carrott. Anyone remember that series where he was on trial? I only remember one thing about it - I must've been 14 or 15 at the time - but the prosecutor says about Jasper, in an accusing tone of voice, that he's an 'atheist'. I'd never heard the word before. I was a bright kid and was good with language, but this word was new to me. I went and asked my dad what the word meant, he told me, and I wondered why I'd never been told about this before. How strange…
creator: Spoony
date: 2011-01-13T17:51:00-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: i told my teacher in 4th grade that "god is an asshole", end of story. there's no point in debating with theists, stopped a few years ago
creator: Herr Surth
date: 2011-01-13T17:56:38-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: My History teacher asked a student what religion she followed and she said "agnostic." I was like "why didn't I think of that?!"
creator: R315r4z0r
date: 2011-01-13T19:21:23-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: I don't know what I am. I've read the old testament, the new testament, the Quran and had some teachings of Lamrim. My Grandmother on my Mother's side was Christian and read the bible almost daily I think. My Grandfather on my father's side was a spiritualist, and so was his brother. Their beliefs had a clear effect on my father's family as his 4 sistsers and 3 brothers all to varying degrees believe in similar aspects of spiritualism, although some are more into trance mediumship/physical/clairvoyance/healing/absent healing etc etc. My father is a Spiritualist and goes to Church (Spiritualist Church) Twice a week. He meditates daily for approx 45 minutes, and has done for all of my life. He has also participated in a circle for physical mediumship, as well as hosted events for trance mediumship (although the prefered term is altered state, not trance) and clairvoyance. My mother was interested in spiritualism before she met my father and they never mentioned it to eachtoher for some time, for fear of being thought badly of. She is nowhere near as hardocre as my Dad, but she is a loving woman and knows it makes him happy, so she forgives the time he dedicates to it. I participated in a closed circle for 2 years, Once a week. When I was younger, I irregulary went to Church to see the demonstrations mid-week, this went on for about 5 years. I have participated out of curiosity in some of the events my father hosted, as well as some we was both invitied to. I have seen transfiguration mediums such as Dianne Elliott (no relation), trance mediums such as Mark Webb and many other people practicing different aspects of mediumship. I have been to Stansted house and had readings from tutors. I've also been on several retreats where the aim is to develop your own clairvoyance, trance and physical mediumship. Not so much anymore, as time is always my enemy, but I used to meditate a couple of times a week, using single pointed meditation techniques and also contemplative techni…
creator: reborn
date: 2011-01-14T12:09:24-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: I never have believed that anybody alive could possibly answer life's great questions (The ones most religions attempt to answer) with any degree certainty. Later in my life, I found out they had a word for people like me.
creator: Dover
date: 2011-01-14T13:20:16-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: was the word daffodil?
creator: Herr Surth
date: 2011-01-14T13:21:36-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: I was born, raised, and lived the first 8 years of my life in a remote town in south India. These were the most precious untainted era of my childhood because it was a time before the religious lessons started. The family is extremely conservative super-disciplinarian Christians. And despite the rampant poverty surrounding me, I was purely fortunate to be born into such a very affordable family: very big house, colour TV, best food, best clothing, expensive imported toys. So I should have been a spoiled brat...but I am happy today that it didn't work out that way cos I guess greed wasn't in my genes. I just loved the world around me too much. It was this curiosity factor, the "nature gene" that kept me going. The most expensive toy planes I had couldn't compare to watching a long line of black ants marching in the lawn carrying food particles. I was fascinated by life. I watched the birds and thought they too were like humans "that they fell in love and married, and that's why many of them are flying in pairs!" There was a lot of children in the home; Indian families are huge and all live together. But while the rest of my cousins were usually busy doing something inside, I was most of the time outside in the terrace or in the lawn chasing cats, buring paper with a magnifying glass using the Sun light, watching the clouds (I would just stand there for literally hours watching the shapes change), watch the distant palm treelines shake in the wind, collecting smooth stones, trapping ants inside a few of my toy planes and giving them a "ride" (lmfao!), catching dragonflies looking at them and releasing them, and one of the most enjoyble: watching the stars at night while I lay on the cool terrace floor (it was pure bliss). But the really best part were the monsoon storms! Total darkness without light; the white sillhoutte of the house will stand out ghostly in the dark night with scary rains and floods all around. It would be a moment of pure terror...but I enjoyed the…
creator: Starbuzzz
date: 2011-01-16T05:02:40-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: Dude half the problem is that you were a baptist. From what I have seen, Baptists are quite possibly Hands down the MOST Zealous denomination of Christianity as a whole. I can totally see where you are coming from as someone like you was overpowered by Christianity almost as much as a "fundamentalist of Islam". I've had some of them try to convert me. They are extremely pushy about getting their points across and generally use rhetoric to get you. You never really had a chance. I have been "saved" because I'm a Catholic and therefore was going to hell until they "saved" me. Sure.... That being said, that is no reason to RAGE against every single Christian on here like they are the same way. I try not to push the fact that I'm a Catholic on anyone because then I would be intruding on their right to their own religion or lack of.
creator: Muad Dib15
date: 2011-01-16T05:35:28-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: if people only read one post on this entire forum, read starbuzzz's. if there's such a thing as 'spirituality' (and the word is a little too vague for me to confidently say that there is, but as a musician some part of me wants to say hell yes there is and some other part of me thinks it's being irrational) then there's more of it in the first three paragraphs than in the bible and qur'an put together. but i must be honest about something. you described me as "caring" in the context of the earlier religious debates; i can't pretend it ever occurred to me that you were a victim. and the last line where you say you're happier than ever has lifted a certain feeling of guilt that's been nagging at me for a while. i've wondered if you'd be happier if you stayed with the mental oppression... maybe, but i'm glad you said otherwise. i especially liked the line about the monsoon storms. that struck a nerve with me. my favourite spot where i sometimes like to go to just be alone and think is on top of a hill a few miles away. there's a church up there, which may strike people as odd - but it's a case of them building a church there because it's a beautiful spot rather that it being a nice spot because there's a church there. anyway, i don't know why, but it's at its most beautiful when it's raining. Quote: I try not to push the fact that I'm a Catholic on anyone because then I would be intruding on their right to their own religion or lack of. i may not be following your meaning of "pushing the fact i'm a catholic". if you just mean evangelising, then no you wouldn't be intruding on anyone else's rights unless it's to a child. if it's to an adult who's free to leave or not listen, it's an entirely different matter.
creator: Spoony
date: 2011-01-16T05:53:33-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: @ Muad: I could have been any denomination and I would have still become atheist anyway. Did you read what I said! torture threats, unfairness, injustice, a murdurous intrusive god, Big Brother...the religion itself is flawed. It's the same deal with every denomination. Why not say this than to take a stab at rival denominations (who were only being God's zealous servants) you oppose!
creator: Starbuzzz
date: 2011-01-16T05:56:12-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: Spoony wrote on Sat, 15 January 2011 23:53 if there's such a thing as 'spirituality' (and the word is a little too vague for me to confidently say that there is, but as a musician some part of me wants to say hell yes there is and some other part of me thinks it's being irrational) then there's more of it in the first three paragraphs than in the bible and qur'an put together. wow I sure think that "spirituality" could be a good word to use only since it gives a good reason to be happy (atleast to me) when we are observing nature. I think early humans were like this as well; so inspired by the grandeur of nature they even worshipped the elements. They were more spiritual than the false sense of "spirituality" (worshipping the dictator non-stop with zealousy) we see theists do all the time today. So we maybe going back to that early true form of spirituality. I think more people would be "spiritual" this way. A state of being where all artifical joys from materialism vanishes but we are filled with pure joy upon seeing and reflecting upon the splendor of the world and the universe we live in. Christians see this as "worshipping the creation rather than the creator." Then again, they say a lot of things! Spoony wrote on Sat, 15 January 2011 23:53 but i must be honest about something. you described me as "caring" in the context of the earlier religious debates; i can't pretend it ever occurred to me that you were a victim. yes, in hindsight, it seems caring. You were defending your position and ended up uprooting my beliefs in the process! Spoony wrote on Sat, 15 January 2011 23:53 and the last line where you say you're happier than ever has lifted a certain feeling of guilt that's been nagging at me for a while. i've wondered if you'd be happier if you stayed with the mental oppression... maybe, but i'm glad you said otherwise. glad I said it then. Honestly, it was very difficult at first due to the family's nasty response. Even now, my family is the only thorn (as in…
creator: Starbuzzz
date: 2011-01-16T07:18:52-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: anyone else think its kinda weird reading all these posts about starbuzz and spoony suckin each other off all the time?
creator: InternetThug
date: 2011-01-16T07:34:47-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: M0FiR3 wrote on Sun, 16 January 2011 02:34 anyone else think its kinda weird reading all these posts about starbuzz and spoony suckin each other off all the time? No. It's like gay porn. And, just like gay porn, you have the option to not read them. Queer.
creator: R315r4z0r
date: 2011-01-16T17:25:28-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: I woke up one morning and realized my dick was too massive for any god to have created and not be jealous of. I don't really associate with any religion, I take lessons and bits from every single one rather than being spiteful and hateful.
creator: GEORGE ZIMMER
date: 2011-01-17T00:09:00-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: My dad was raised a Catholic and my mom was raised either Catholic or Christian (I'm not sure which, but she's a Christian now). However, for some reason we didn't attend church regularly and at some point when I was probably around 10-12 years old, I started to think that this whole "God" thing seemed not so dissimilar to "Santa Claus"... he knows if you've been bad or good and gives you presents or coal. Sounded all too familiar. Then I came across a pamphlet of my dad's for some Atheist group. I think my dad only went through a several-year period of being an Atheist and is once again religious, but seeing that pamphlet made me realize I wasn't the only one who thought that way and that there was a name for what I was believing (or not believing). I believed in the Christian "God" while I was young because I didn't know there was any other option but as I got older, without the constant brainwashing of weekly church sessions, I was able to have an open mind and come up with my own thoughts.
creator: Crimson
date: 2011-01-17T05:32:47-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: I consider my beliefs to be an ongoing process. I grew up in a very relaxed household, but because most of my extended family and many of my friends were Christians, I thought that was what I should be too. Nobody ever pressured me into anything, but I wasn't actively encouraged to seek my own beliefs either. Somewhere during middle school I had a crisis of faith... though it would probably be more accurate to say that I realized a little at a time that I hadn't had any faith to begin with. The more I thought about it, the less the idea of God made sense. After all, if God made all of existence, then who made God? God could not have created himself, so if God existed then his existence must have been caused by something or someone else- and he was therefore not God. I started to find the very idea of worshiping a being who (if he existed at all) was not the ultimate source of anything, to be somewhat offensive. At that point, the only label I knew of that described a person who doesn't believe in God was 'atheist,' so that's what I identified as for a long time. However, 'atheist' wasn't quite adequate- while technically true, people tend to make certain assumptions regarding one's other beliefs when the word 'atheist' is spoken. I don't believe in God, but I do believe that death is not absolute and that living things do have what some prefer to call a soul. I've stopped calling myself an atheist, because the label comes with too many misconceptions. I usually drop 'agnostic' in conversation now, at least when I'd rather not have to make lengthy explanations- although it's no more accurate a term, it is generally accepted as the "it's complicated" option and is thus useful for brushing off unwanted questions. A while ago, I started privately calling myself an 'infinitist.' I believe that there was never an absolute beginning, that there never will be an absolute end, that the only constant in existence is change, that death is not the end of life but rather a chang…
creator: NukeIt15
date: 2011-01-17T08:40:35-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: EDIT: wrong topic.
creator: wubwub
date: 2011-01-17T22:22:34-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: Starbuzzz wrote on Sat, 15 January 2011 23:56 @ Muad: I could have been any denomination and I would have still become atheist anyway. Did you read what I said! torture threats, unfairness, injustice, a murdurous intrusive god, Big Brother...the religion itself is flawed. It's the same deal with every denomination. Why not say this than to take a stab at rival denominations (who were only being God's zealous servants) you oppose! Yeah I read it but I get the impression, and this is from my own experience with Baptists in the Meno falls baptist church and some of my parents baptists friends. If your parents are anything like them, then they were hard line "if you aren't saved you are going to hell, we must convert everyone with our zealousness of our righteousness." That alone turned me off completely from anything they said after that as it is an extremely hard line and unyielding take on that religion. That is the basis of Baptist beliefs and I think that part of you rebelled against that which made you question everything. It may not have been everything, but it might have been the pebble that helped start the avalanche. I only act like that toward Baptists as they are the only ones that don't really seem to care about your religious beliefs and will preach at you until you are uncomfortable with them which was the deal in my case. In my family, we are all catholics however since about 4th grade we've kinda taken a relaxed attitude toward the whole thing. It's like a mutual acknowledgment. Or at least it is for me. I try to be a good person not because of hell and torture but because it is the way to live without causing anyone grief, and I don't feel like he's Big Brother, it's more like a father figure that just kinda watches over you and helps you along if you want it (his help).
creator: Muad Dib15
date: 2011-01-18T06:30:41-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: do you think hell is real, muad'dib?
creator: Spoony
date: 2011-01-18T10:08:18-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: @ Muad: You said I never had a chance. If "having a chance" means being born into a denomination that tells you a filtered down modernized version of Christianity (which you seem to be hinting at) then I agree with you. Plus you generalize all Baptists as being rude. The folks at the Baptist church I went to were quiet nice. My parents, especially my dad, was the worse of them all. I know what you are gonna do now; shift the blame for me becoming a atheist on my dad! I already said that no matter what denomination I would have been born into, I would eventually have realized how unfair the entire religion is. I hear this same strawman argument in other forums where I have shared my story; Christians start to defend themselves saying "it was your environment! the religion is fine!" Seriously? I simply could not be part of a religion that makes someone believe that if they die in the wrong religion, they will burn in hell for eternity. This is why I can never be a Christian again because I have to become a bigot first. Any religion that uses plain threats to keep its believers in check was bound to fail one day. Also most importantly, no matter what denomination you were born into, every young indoctrinated Christian is NOT told about the murders and genocides in the Bible in the way it should be. Christians grow up thinking it is OK for their god to kill without mercy. The only destruction story they ever knew was Sodom and Gommorrah and the flood. Most of them don't even understand how it would have felt in those ancient times to be at the sword's end of an invading Israeli tribe acting on orders from their god to kill all the men and married women in your town along with children while taking the unmarried women away as sex slaves. You are never gonna understand all this, Muad. Your denomination (including mine!) told us a filtered down version of Christianity that ignored the rampant barbarism in the Bible under the pretenses of "The OT is voided by the NT." Until…
creator: Starbuzzz
date: 2011-01-18T12:56:24-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: Spoony wrote on Tue, 18 January 2011 05:08 do you think hell is real, muad'dib? I DO! I even found hell's own official website! Check it out: http://www.eternal-flames.org/
creator: R315r4z0r
date: 2011-01-18T21:05:53-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: Starbuzzz wrote on Tue, 18 January 2011 07:56 @ Muad: You said I never had a chance. If "having a chance" means being born into a denomination that tells you a filtered down modernized version of Christianity (which you seem to be hinting at) then I agree with you. Plus you generalize all Baptists as being rude. The folks at the Baptist church I went to were quiet nice. My parents, especially my dad, was the worse of them all. I know what you are gonna do now; shift the blame for me becoming a atheist on my dad! I already said that no matter what denomination I would have been born into, I would eventually have realized how unfair the entire religion is. I hear this same strawman argument in other forums where I have shared my story; Christians start to defend themselves saying "it was your environment! the religion is fine!" Seriously? I simply could not be part of a religion that makes someone believe that if they die in the wrong religion, they will burn in hell for eternity. This is why I can never be a Christian again because I have to become a bigot first. Any religion that uses plain threats to keep its believers in check was bound to fail one day. Also most importantly, no matter what denomination you were born into, every young indoctrinated Christian is NOT told about the murders and genocides in the Bible in the way it should be. Christians grow up thinking it is OK for their god to kill without mercy. The only destruction story they ever knew was Sodom and Gommorrah and the flood. Most of them don't even understand how it would have felt in those ancient times to be at the sword's end of an invading Israeli tribe acting on orders from their god to kill all the men and married women in your town along with children while taking the unmarried women away as sex slaves. You are never gonna understand all this, Muad. Your denomination (including mine!) told us a filtered down version of Christianity that ignored the rampant barbarism in the Bible under the pr…
creator: Tunaman
date: 2011-01-18T23:39:18-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: Correct, I hear you and it makes perfect sense for his first post. It seems to mean a lot more than that considering his second follow-up post: he basically says that perhaps only because of the way the religion was presented by the pushy people around me, I rebelled against it and began asking questions! Meaning if the religion was not presented by pushy people, I would perhaps never have rebelled and would never have questioned it. Of course, so in my post above, I was merely responding to why exactly that wasn't the case. Again, I am not being hostile, just being objective. My point is that regardless of how the religion is presented whether by pushy Baptists or some other nicely soft-spoken sugar-coating denominations, the rotting core of it is a extremely poor source of morals. edit: You only need to take the Bible stories itself as lessons to learn from. The more Pharoah was punished with with pointless plagues, the harder his heart became. The religion essentially threatens everyone with hell fire for non-compliance! How can anyone expect non-pushy soft-spoken people to be more successful in converting adults to buy in to it? Not going to happen. That's my whole point. Beneath all the modernist Christian cover story of the god being a "father figure" and how he is a "loving god" and an "awesome god," lies the dark reality that nice smiling non-pushy Christians will never tell you (if they even know in the first place, sadly).
creator: Starbuzzz
date: 2011-01-19T01:22:46-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: Yeah, I believe you there. It mostly isn't the people that were hurting you and causing you to rebel by being pushy(although they may have), it is more of the idea of religion that has also taken hold of these people's minds. This idea keeps your mind captive and fearful. That's one reason that causes many people to follow religions even after they have doubts. I'm kind of unsure about how this awful idea developed, and I wonder if some day we will move past it.
creator: Tunaman
date: 2011-01-19T07:48:47-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: I believe religion explains how we came to be, at its core. But then it has been twisted, and used to control, when in reality, I think it should liberate us, and instill a unifying commonality amongst humanity. Many creation stories, ranging from aboriginal to Abrahamic share so many similarities, that I am inclined to think there is a supreme being or creator out there. Once interstellar is perfected, I'm sure we'll find 'God,' or perhaps, 'God' is when humanity finally finds itself.
creator: nikki6ixx
date: 2011-01-20T03:09:11-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: Religion was used to bring hope where there previously was none. That is what helped a lot of people get through tough times in the past. In the face of peril, they still had something to bring them hope.
creator: R315r4z0r
date: 2011-01-20T03:59:45-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: R315r4z0r wrote on Wed, 19 January 2011 21:59 Religion was used to bring hope where there previously was none. That is what helped a lot of people get through tough times in the past. In the face of peril, they still had something to bring them hope. because animals are depressed not knowing where they came from, right?
creator: GEORGE ZIMMER
date: 2011-01-20T14:43:35-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: Not necessarily where they came from but rather where they go when they die.
creator: R315r4z0r
date: 2011-01-20T17:28:02-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: animals don't really know they're going to die. the idea of being judged by a god after death certainly doesn't seem a hopeful idea to me, especially given the absolutely monstrous depiction of that god in both the bible and the quran. Quote: I believe religion explains how we came to be, at its core. But then it has been twisted, and used to control, when in reality, I think it should liberate us, and instill a unifying commonality amongst humanity. What do you mean by "at its core"? and may i suggest a simple thought experiment. whenever you find yourself making a statement like this, or reading one, swap the word "religion" for any of the following Scientology Wahhabi Islam the Westboro Baptist Church the worship of the Emperor Hirohito the personality cult of Kim Jong-Il and see if it still sounds the same Quote: Many creation stories, ranging from aboriginal to Abrahamic share so many similarities, that I am inclined to think there is a supreme being or creator out there. and the idea that the idiots who wrote those demented babblings actually discerned something supernatural makes more sense than that they - to throw another possibility out there - plagiarised?
creator: Spoony
date: 2011-01-20T17:37:24-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: Spoony wrote on Thu, 20 January 2011 18:37 animals don't really know they're going to die. ... They do. IE; Cats tend to crawl away to a lonely spot to die.
creator: Omar007
date: 2011-01-20T17:46:59-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: only when they're dying. not when they're well, unthreatened and a long way away from the end of their natural lifespan.
creator: Spoony
date: 2011-01-20T17:52:34-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: http://www.theonion.com/video/scientists-successfully-teach-gorilla-it-will-die, 17165/
creator: Herr Surth
date: 2011-01-20T18:07:30-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: Spoony wrote on Thu, 20 January 2011 12:37 animals don't really know they're going to die. the idea of being judged by a god after death certainly doesn't seem a hopeful idea to me, especially given the absolutely monstrous depiction of that god in both the bible and the quran. Well, humans are animals and they know all too well that they will one day eventually die. But as I said, religion only really started as a way to bring people hope when there really wasn't anything. Since then it has grown into this large grotesque book of rules and magic and violence. It's long served it's purpose and continuing it is only damning humanity to itself.
creator: R315r4z0r
date: 2011-01-20T18:32:30-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: Spoony wrote on Thu, 20 January 2011 18:37 Quote I believe religion explains how we came to be, at its core. But then it has been twisted, and used to control, when in reality, I think it should liberate us, and instill a unifying commonality amongst humanity. What do you mean by "at its core"? At its core, religion teaches us that all humans are children of one creator, be it the Abrahamic 'God' or the Haida's 'Raven.' War, poverty, and all the evils of the world would likely not be the problems they are today if humans believed we were all the same. Unfortunately, because the 'word of God' has been twisted by people who used it to serve their own selfish purposes, which has only lead to war, and greater poverty. Spoony wrote on Thu, 20 January 2011 18:37 and may i suggest a simple thought experiment. whenever you find yourself making a statement like this, or reading one, swap the word "religion" for any of the following Scientology Wahhabi Islam the Westboro Baptist Church the worship of the Emperor Hirohito the personality cult of Kim Jong-Il and see if it still sounds the same Which is why I said in my first post, and just above that the word of 'God' has been twisted to suit the purposes of individuals. I'm only approaching the subject from a pragmatic point of view. People want to know where they came from; however, being humans, they simply cannot rationalize that they originated from a single-celled bacteria in a scummy pond, because that explanation is not fantastical enough. Humans think they're totally 'hot shit.' Perhaps it's just self-fulfillment, although aboriginal religions do place equal weight on humans, and their surroundings. My take on the creation story is that humans then, and still today are not mature enough to realize that our 'creator' was either through chance events, or some kind of extra-terrestrial being. Hence why I'm slightly religious or spiritual. I think there was some sort of alien component, and seeing as our planetary backyard…
creator: nikki6ixx
date: 2011-01-20T19:32:04-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: nikki6ixx wrote on Thu, 20 January 2011 13:32 At its core, religion teaches us that all humans are children of one creator, be it the Abrahamic 'God' or the Haida's 'Raven.' War, poverty, and all the evils of the world would likely not be the problems they are today if humans believed we were all the same. Unfortunately, because the 'word of God' has been twisted by people who used it to serve their own selfish purposes, which has only lead to war, and greater poverty. oh yeah? which religion? the bible and the quran contain a great deal of hate speech and warrants for violence. these aren't put there by the bin ladens of this world; they're right there in the holy books. Quote: Spoony wrote on Thu, 20 January 2011 18:37 and may i suggest a simple thought experiment. whenever you find yourself making a statement like this, or reading one, swap the word "religion" for any of the following Scientology Wahhabi Islam the Westboro Baptist Church the worship of the Emperor Hirohito the personality cult of Kim Jong-Il and see if it still sounds the same Which is why I said in my first post, and just above that the word of 'God' has been twisted to suit the purposes of individuals. oh dear. check the five examples i mentioned. scientology - the original founder L. Ron Hubbard very obviously was a conman. it's plainly a racket and was originally meant to be. wahhabi islam (the saudi arabian strain) - of all the islamic denominations, this one is pretty much the closest interpretation to the quran and hadith. if you wanted to make a list of all islamic sects in order of how much they've "twisted" the original "word of Allah", this one would probably be most innocent of the charge. westboro baptist church - their beliefs, absolutely despicable as they are, are firmly rooted in the bible. read the old testament; god is very quick to slaughter innocent bystanders on a whim, often because someone nearby was "sinning" - and it certainly defines homosexuality as a sin. cult of empe…
creator: Spoony
date: 2011-01-20T20:27:45-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: I don't think that he's saying that they twisted that religion, just that they have twisted what he believes the true reason of these religions are(explaining where we come from).
creator: Tunaman
date: 2011-01-21T03:06:56-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
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description: and where we go after death.
creator: R315r4z0r
date: 2011-01-21T18:57:34-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: If there truly is a god....I dare anyone to tell me why he's letting people quite obviously destroy the earth at a spiraling rate (compared to that of other animals and their timelines). Seriously though, I'm not religious at all, so don't give me any bullshit from the bible, just give it to me straight up in modern english....why is this?
creator: HaTe
date: 2011-01-22T01:35:07-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: Have you ever stopped to consider violence between tiny insects? If there is a God, he isn't our friend. He just set us up and is enjoying watching us crawl around trying to survive and mature. It's like gathering a bunch of bugs in a pile, pouring dirt on them and then watching to see if they can dig themselves out.
creator: R315r4z0r
date: 2011-01-22T02:55:18-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: HaTe wrote on Sat, 22 January 2011 02:35 If there truly is a god....I dare anyone to tell me why he's letting people quite obviously destroy the earth at a spiraling rate (compared to that of other animals and their timelines). Seriously though, I'm not religious at all, so don't give me any bullshit from the bible, just give it to me straight up in modern english....why is this? Because god doesn't exist. Evolution has all the answers anyone needs. The human race is here because out of all of the millions of animal species that inhabit our planet, the right circumstances and the right actions on the part of early human beings caused them to develop language. Those right circumstances include climate stabilization and the move to the top of the food chain because all of the more dominant species got wiped out. After the circumstances allowed for it, human beings started living in increasingly larger groups and complex social interaction caused their brains to grow over the span of thousands of generations. Eventually their brains were large enough to permit a more complex language to be learned. The same part of the brain that handles language handles logic, which gave them the ability to try and make sense of everything they didn't understand. That's also the reason why throughout human evolution spirituality has always played a major role in human lives. However, as technology improved, less and less spirituality was needed to make up for what humans did not understand yet. So why does religion still exist to this day? Ever since human beings developed the ability to think in logical terms, they have been trying to explain the world around themselves in a "story" that was supposed to make sense of their lives. Everything in this "story" had to make sense and as such the blanks were filled in with acts of god(s), until eventually only one god remained, the life and death god. The purpose of this god is to give every life meaning. This meaning is so important that i…
creator: Dethdeath
date: 2011-01-22T04:54:57-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: Quite a lot of people become religious through their school. Take a look at this: Should she really be hoping that Jack gets into that school? I think possibly not...
creator: reborn
date: 2011-01-23T21:52:16-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: it's alarming how much power religions have in this country. control over a school? wtf? i've said all that before, of course.
creator: Spoony
date: 2011-01-23T22:18:56-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: you should move to a real country then oh and to answer the topic question, i became an atheist after 8th grade world history class (e.g. evolution, age of the planet, the thousands of religions that existed prior to christianity). i believed in god my entire life up until that point, where it just stopped making logical sense.
creator: bmr_71
date: 2011-01-24T00:29:04-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: oh as an FYI to anyone with a remote interest in the subject of religion... the oldest written text story known to man is the epic of Gilgamesh. the similarities between this story and the bible are gigantic. for those of you with any doubt or uncertainty in their religious standing, read the epic of Gilgamesh and learn that the bible is actually a modified fairy tale. And I know that the existence of one story can't technically negate the truth value of the bible, but when something's staring at you in the face in this way you can't help but jump to the seemingly most logical conclusion.
creator: bmr_71
date: 2011-01-24T00:35:29-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: Spoony wrote on Sun, 23 January 2011 16:18 it's alarming how much power religions have in this country. control over a school? wtf? i've said all that before, of course. Cool story bro inc: TL:DR I was almost kicked out of a Catholic High school for refusing to give money. Yessir. I first started at public school, moved to a Christian school from years 1-7. I then did 8-12 at a Catholic school. This was all due to the fact that my mother is religious and the highschool had a good rep. At this catholic high school, the head of religion was a complete nut. I felt like I was in church all over again with the continuous attempts to get money from the students. Every wednesday we had "assembly" or "parade" (whatever you guys call it, the whole school sits in an area and listens to announcements etc) Every time the head of Religion got up to speak, it was always about giving money to the school for one cause or another. The school would have a spring fair once a year; and every single student was given 5 raffle tickets they had to sell to anyone who could then use them to win prizes at the fair etc. The money was returned to the school to buy better equipment (so the story goes). Bear in mind that private high school fees are fucking ludicrous, not to mention the funding they also get from the government. They also sold artwork painted by students, with no money returned to them. I was quite inclined to sell the tickets and be done with it; yet the way the school goes about the whole process annoyed me. Every assembly day, the head of religion would get up there and badger the students to death about selling the tickets. As if that wasn't enough, if you hadn't sold yours in the first week, you got called up to his office to explain why you hadn't sold them yet. The conversation went something like this: (Condensed thoughts etc) Teacher: So why haven't you sold your tickets yet? Me: I don't like how I'm expected to automatically sell the tickets regardless of my choice in …
creator: snpr1101
date: 2011-01-24T02:41:40-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: You should have told him "not everyone is a master in the art of salesmanship"... just to see how he would react. Or it would have been funny if you just gave the tickets away instead of selling them. Then you tell him that you gave them away and see what he would say. Cause he can't call you selfish for not demanding money from these people.
creator: R315r4z0r
date: 2011-01-24T03:53:55-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: bmr_71 wrote on Sun, 23 January 2011 17:35 oh as an FYI to anyone with a remote interest in the subject of religion... the oldest written text story known to man is the epic of Gilgamesh. the similarities between this story and the bible are gigantic. for those of you with any doubt or uncertainty in their religious standing, read the epic of Gilgamesh and learn that the bible is actually a modified fairy tale. And I know that the existence of one story can't technically negate the truth value of the bible, but when something's staring at you in the face in this way you can't help but jump to the seemingly most logical conclusion. QFT
creator: Starbuzzz
date: 2011-01-30T14:53:05-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: I wasn't baptized as a child because my parents wanted their children to make their own choice once they were old enough. We occasionally went to the Lutheran mass and I attended Lutheran classes until the 9th grade. In elementary school it was mostly stories from the bible, later on the curriculum focused primarily on general morality and learning about other religions. I went through the "religion is for the weak-minded and causes all the problems in the world" phase during puberty, which some grown folks here and elsewhere seem to be pitifully stuck in. Consequently, I switched to the ethics class, where we continued to learn about religions and morality, but with a much larger focus on philosophy. Kant's work on morality impressed me as most of it coincided with how I already felt, but lacked the eloquence to express. So basically, I was never pressured to join any religion and had positive experiences with religious institutions. I'm trying to live a moral life to the best of my abilities and would consider myself spiritual to a degree, but I've never felt the need to be part of a religious community. I might still join one, but the existing ones always contain some major/minor aspect I don't agree with and it feels disingenuous to make such a deep, personal commitment if I'd need to add an asterisk. I guess that makes me agnostic, because I'm definitely no atheist talking about evolution and then claiming to already know enough about body and spirit in the year 2011 to give a definite answer on what we are or can be. If there's one religion I really despise it's virtually every school of Islam for punishing apostasy with death...that's a tier worse than the "you're going to hell" Christlover crowd.
creator: JohnDoe
date: 2011-02-28T19:24:56-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: yes, and islam says hell AS WELL AS death... it's axiomatically worse than just hell.
creator: Spoony
date: 2011-02-28T23:35:08-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: Only if you believe in the concept of hell, otherwise only one transgresses life and freedom - in the most severe way at that.
creator: JohnDoe
date: 2011-03-01T08:20:07-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: I'm mormon and have been mormon since I was born.
creator: Speedy059
date: 2011-03-04T05:46:44-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: Speedy059 wrote on Thu, 03 March 2011 22:46 I'm mormon and have been mormon since I was born. hi
creator: snpr1101
date: 2011-03-04T06:18:28-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: bump Spoony wrote on Thu, 13 January 2011 10:51 Share your stories. When and how did you become a Christian/atheist/agnostic/whatever you consider yourself to be? What made you think so? I'll start. My story is quite similar to the Hitch's; he says that for him it wasn't a case of becoming an atheist so much as realising he is an atheist. That's how it was for me. Neither of my parents are religious and they let me and my brother and sister make our own minds up (this is mainly because my father's parents were fundamentalist Christians who imposed a strict religious upbringing upon him and my aunt, and they found it absolutely miserable and resolved to do better with us). As for school, I live in a Christian country where Christianity is taught to the kids as though it were fact; i.e. the dumb bible myths are taught with the same certainty as what we're told in geography and maths. And there was no point at which the teacher said "there's no evidence for any of this" or "there are other religions out there too" or, most importantly, "you can just live your life without any of this crap". Also, daily prayer was compulsory. But I never believed any of this. For some reason it just didn't click, and in the daily prayer at school we just bowed our heads and waited for the headmaster to get it over with. But I never considered myself an atheist; I'd never even heard the word before, and it didn't occur to me to ask "what's the word for someone who doesn't believe in this religious stuff?" Later on, I was watching comedy on TV. My fellow Englishmen will know Jasper Carrott. Anyone remember that series where he was on trial? I only remember one thing about it - I must've been 14 or 15 at the time - but the prosecutor says about Jasper, in an accusing tone of voice, that he's an 'atheist'. I'd never heard the word before. I was a bright kid and was good with language, but this word was new to me. I went and asked my dad what the word meant, he told me, and I wondered why I'…
creator: Spoony
date: 2012-05-07T00:19:06-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: Heres my story: My imminent family are born again Christians. They came from poor families that really tended to discourage the christian lifestyle. My family is filled with a bunch of alcoholics and abusers of substances and things. My parents didnt really come to know Christ until a few years into my birth. My dad was almost killed on a motorcycle and long story short, a string of occurrences and dreams led him to the Lord. So I was pretty much allowed to believe whatever I wished. I always grew up believing in God but not taking it seriously. It wasn't really until I was 14 that I actually started getting into the word and the things of God, fact checking and finding connections of God to man. It was at this point I had felt the touch of God through my prayers and research that I decided to get baptized and take the final step At this point I knew basics, how one is to live ect but I have always wanted to know more and more about God so I made a commitment to constantly dig and research the things of scripture. It was around mid high school that I seriously began to doubt the traditional evolutionary beliefs and really came to the conclusion that the bible was telling the truth the whole time. A series of biology classes and human anatomy and comparative anatomy classes really broke the camels back. Life just seemed to complex, too real to be this simple story of strange ancestry. A great book in particular darwins black box, was quite instrumental in my believing this way. Theres just too many problems with this "scientific" theory that its appalling its even taught at all. When I finished high school I sought to well round myself in other religious studies. I have studied elements of hinduism, buddism, mormonism, islam, satanism (particularly Alister Crowleys views) and new wave spiritual stuff. I find it all extremely interesting and its the studies of these many religions that really has reinforced the fact there must be a God somewhere responsible for all th…
creator: fredcow9
date: 2012-05-09T00:06:56-00:00

Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here?
type: item
description: what does the christian call religions that came thousands of years before his? Toggle Spoiler FAKE! nice try
creator: bunka
date: 2012-05-12T20:14:18-00:00