Survey

[Rasofy]

Guidelines:

-Select what is applicable to you and vote on the poll. If you don't know, don't care, aren't convinced, etc, you should select the n/a option that's in the middle of the opposite answers.
-You may explain, elaborate, share experiences, etc.
-Let's keep discussions civilized and non patronizing.
-If you are trying to convert people, you are in the wrong thread.

 

[Rasofy]

up

 

[Qlip]

I did n/a all across. These questions have plagued me all my life. I choose not to believe things, but to know them. If belief (or disbelief) is a type of delusion, then my delusion is that I think that anything you are required to know to live your life is essentially and directly knowable.

 

[Totenkindly]

My answers were:

- God: n/a, I don't know the answer

- Afterlife: n/a, I don't know the answer

- Religion: No, I'm not into organized religion


However, I still practice morality and see potential for the divine, especially in a panentheistic sense if anything.

 

[The Outsider]

- God: n/a, I don't know the answer

- Afterlife: n/a, I don't know the answer

But that wasn't the question.

 

[Totenkindly]

But that wasn't the question.

Maybe not to you.
But to me it was.

...Because that's how I "believe" in things.
I believe in it if I think it likely to be true.

At this time, I don't see anything that says God (or whatever) be more likely to be true than anything else, and maybe less when we take Occam's Razor and other rational principles into account.

What, you think it would be better for me to say, "I believe in fluffy unicorns!" as that is a belief rather than something that can be known? Considering all the crap that people impose on each other in the name of God due to their "beliefs," I would hope beliefs to be grounded on more than just what one wants to believe but has no real evidence for.

 

[The Outsider]

Maybe not to you.
But to me it was.

...Because that's how I "believe" in things.
I believe in it if I think it likely to be true.

At this time, I don't see anything that says God (or whatever) be more likely to be true than anything else, and maybe less when we take Occam's Razor and other rational principles into account.

What, you think it would be better for me to say, "I believe in fluffy unicorns!" as that is a belief rather than something that can be known? Considering all the crap that people impose on each other in the name of God due to their "beliefs," I would hope beliefs to be grounded on more than just what one wants to believe but has no real evidence for.

If you don't hold a belief that fluffy unicorns exist, then being in your situation I would say that I do not believe in them, same thing with god.

 

[Totenkindly]

If you don't hold a belief that fluffy unicorns exist, then being in your situation I would say that I do not believe in them, same thing with god.

Maybe you should stop trying to impose your rules for "belief" over top of mine. You are, of course, free to answer the question for yourself however YOU see fit.

Thanks.

 

[prplchknz]

I said I didn't believe in god, that I believed in the after life, and I am not religious.
Too many things that go Bump in the night, plus i can't be satisfied believing that this life is all there is. I might be wrong, but at least I have hope.

 

[Gish]

I'm no believer in God, or the after life, and I'm not a religious person. This doesn't mean I'm against the ideas, though, I'm open to anything that can be measured or proven in some way.

 

[Rasofy]

Guidelines:
[...]
-Let's keep discussions civilized and non patronizing.

 

[prplchknz]

Oh, I don't care what others believe I was simply stating what my beliefs were, and I said they could be wrong. if that was directed towards me, if not, never mind.

 

[Totenkindly]

Oh, I don't care what others believe I was simply stating what my beliefs were, and I said they could be wrong. if that was directed towards me, if not, never mind.

I doubt it was directed toward you.

 

[prplchknz]

I doubt it was directed toward you.

it wasn't but i get paranoid. like you know, are they talking about me? what did i do? I'm innocent!

 

[Anew Leaf]

I chose:

Believe in God.

Believe in Afterlife.

Don't do religion per se.

I try to keep things simple. To me, at the heart of hearts, Christianity is supposed to be about love. About the idea that God loves us so much the he humbled himself into being human form. That is the basic tenet that I concentrate upon. I don't care about the jumbled details that people love to argue to death. I think it's difficult enough trying to be a loving person who loves themselves and others. If you focus just on this, there isn't room for anything else. This is what feels right to me and it is what I imperfectly strive towards each day. That's religion for me.

 

[Aquarelle]

n/a, n/a, no

 

[EJCC]

I picked:

1) Yes, I believe in God. I think the movement of fate and of the universe is pushed by something, and I think everything is predestined and happens for a reason. I believe all of this, but I don't try and understand the "why", because I see it as far beyond my comprehension. (Very Episcopalian of me!)

2) I'm not sure if there's an afterlife. Or at least, my belief in it is not nearly as strong as my belief in God. Sometimes I worry that the atheists are right and all that's out there is a void. But at the same time, so many people see the dead in their last moments of life; my grandmother's last words were to a dead relative, as if she was speaking directly to them, right in front of her. And I have yet to see that phenomenon explained scientifically.

3) Yes, I am religious. I go to church every Sunday, and when I come home over the holidays, I sing in the church choir that my mom directs. It's a community of which I have always been a part, and I love the philosophy behind it (acceptance of diversity, acknowledgment of the "divine mystery", activism and sometimes even liberation theology), and the artistic tradition (in architecture and music). My personal spiritual experiences often come from the beauty of Anglican music, which of course is an individual experience, but helped along by my faith tradition.

 

[The Outsider]

Maybe you should stop trying to impose your rules for "belief" over top of mine. You are, of course, free to answer the question for yourself however YOU see fit.

Thanks.

They aren't my rules, and I never intended to impose anything; but I guess I'd rather not get into this right now, not with you.
Sorry if I made you feel threatened in any way, I only meant to spark further discussion.

 

[Totenkindly]

Sorry if I made you feel threatened in any way, I only meant to spark further discussion.

Not threatened at all, just creating clear boundaries.

carry on.

 

[ZPowers]

I went with don't believe (since there was some contention about this, I also don't know for certain (obviously) but I also choose "don't believe" over "n/a"), don't believe (same thing), and not religious