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Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? [message #442827 is a reply to message #442594]

Mon, 17 January 2011 01:40

NukeIt15
Messages: 987
Registered: February 2003
Location: Out to lunch

Karma:

Colonel

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 changing of its form akin to the relationship between matter and energy. I believe that conscious beings such as humans (though I would certainly not consider humans to be unique in this regard) do have what might be called a soul, which exists at least in part outside our present ability to perceive or detect its existence. I believe that good and evil are not absolute in the nature of things; good and evil are merely possible decisions that can be made. I believe that science will one day unlock the mystery of life and death, though I don't pretend to know what we'll find when that day comes. I believe that we and all that we know are not the result of a God's whim, but rather that we are just one of an infinite number of possibilities that came to pass, and that infinite others exist in the vastness of space and time.

I temper my beliefs with known science; if I find that something I believe contradicts known, observable facts, then I change what I believe. Truth is absolute; only our understanding of it changes. We should have faith in the unknown because it will someday be known, not because it is unknowable. We should have the courage as a species to admit when we do not know the answer, but we should also have the courage to say what we think the answer might be even if we don't have enough evidence to prove it.

"Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. Horrid mischief would ensue were (the law-abiding) deprived of the use of them." - Thomas Paine

Remember, kids: illiteracy is cool. If you took the time to read this, you are clearly a loser who will never get laid. You've been warned.

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[Message index]

		When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Spoony on Thu, 13 January 2011 10:51
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Herr Surth on Thu, 13 January 2011 10:56
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: R315r4z0r on Thu, 13 January 2011 12:21
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: reborn on Fri, 14 January 2011 05:09
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Dover on Fri, 14 January 2011 06:20
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Herr Surth on Fri, 14 January 2011 06:21
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Starbuzzz on Sat, 15 January 2011 22:02
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Muad Dib15 on Sat, 15 January 2011 22:35
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Starbuzzz on Sat, 15 January 2011 22:56
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Muad Dib15 on Mon, 17 January 2011 23:30
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Spoony on Tue, 18 January 2011 03:08
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Starbuzzz on Tue, 18 January 2011 05:56
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Tunaman on Tue, 18 January 2011 16:39
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Starbuzzz on Tue, 18 January 2011 18:22
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: R315r4z0r on Tue, 18 January 2011 14:05
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Spoony on Sat, 15 January 2011 22:53
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Starbuzzz on Sun, 16 January 2011 00:18
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: InternetThug on Sun, 16 January 2011 00:34
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: R315r4z0r on Sun, 16 January 2011 10:25
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: GEORGE ZIMMER on Sun, 16 January 2011 17:09
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Crimson on Sun, 16 January 2011 22:32
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: NukeIt15 on Mon, 17 January 2011 01:40
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: wubwub on Mon, 17 January 2011 15:22
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Tunaman on Wed, 19 January 2011 00:48
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: nikki6ixx on Wed, 19 January 2011 20:09
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: R315r4z0r on Wed, 19 January 2011 20:59
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: GEORGE ZIMMER on Thu, 20 January 2011 07:43
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: R315r4z0r on Thu, 20 January 2011 10:28
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Spoony on Thu, 20 January 2011 10:37
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Omar007 on Thu, 20 January 2011 10:46
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Spoony on Thu, 20 January 2011 10:52
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: R315r4z0r on Thu, 20 January 2011 11:32
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: nikki6ixx on Thu, 20 January 2011 12:32
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Spoony on Thu, 20 January 2011 13:27
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Herr Surth on Thu, 20 January 2011 11:07
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Tunaman on Thu, 20 January 2011 20:06
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: R315r4z0r on Fri, 21 January 2011 11:57
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: HaTe on Fri, 21 January 2011 18:35
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: R315r4z0r on Fri, 21 January 2011 19:55
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Dethdeath on Fri, 21 January 2011 21:54
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: reborn on Sun, 23 January 2011 14:52
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Spoony on Sun, 23 January 2011 15:18
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: snpr1101 on Sun, 23 January 2011 19:41
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: bmr_71 on Sun, 23 January 2011 17:29
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: bmr_71 on Sun, 23 January 2011 17:35
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Starbuzzz on Sun, 30 January 2011 07:53
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: R315r4z0r on Sun, 23 January 2011 20:53
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: JohnDoe on Mon, 28 February 2011 12:24
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Spoony on Mon, 28 February 2011 16:35
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: JohnDoe on Tue, 01 March 2011 01:20
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Speedy059 on Thu, 03 March 2011 22:46
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: snpr1101 on Thu, 03 March 2011 23:18
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: Spoony on Sun, 06 May 2012 17:19
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: fredcow9 on Tue, 08 May 2012 17:06
		Re: When did you become a Insert-Religion-Here? By: bunka on Sat, 12 May 2012 13:14

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