Religious views

[chibigo]

I were thinking about religions within small communities like this.
I wonder if there might be some tendencies between religion and a fetish like diapers, since many tests on different societies and nationalities have proven a lot of tendencies with religion.
For example an old geezer has found statistics that atheistic people tend to have higher IQ'es than religious people, but also that people with very high IQ'es tend to have lower life quality than those less intelligent and such. All this with IQ can of course be discussed, whether the certain IQ tested for is relevant to comparison and such.

I think it could be really interesting to see, and I mean absolutely no offence ofc! :o

So i want to know: What do you guys believe in? :D

I'll start out:
I have a nihilistic view of the world. That is kind of atheistic, and basically means that existence has no objective meaning or purpose.


Sidenote: Buddhist and Hindu are not grouped together because they're the same thing. Christianity, Islam and Catholicism are not getting their own "vote choice" because they're better than any other religion.

[Arukan]

I'm a misanthropic agnostic. I don't know if there is a god, but from the way I view people I can't say I can see god as anything but a malevolent, or apathetic, watchmaker, who doesn't dip his fingers into the mortal sphere. Therefore, life has only the intrinsic value that humans bestow upon it, and for beings of clarity, consciousness, and sapience, we pretty much assign it only the most mundane, inane, and reprobate values. Sad state, indeed.

[Raio]

So, Chibigo, your a Fatalist then?

I myself find my religion to be unmapped by anyone except myself. I Believe there is No true god...but instead a force, life force if you will. This being people seem to relate to as god, is no more than the earth itself, projecting in a human form as to appease our minds, and allow us to see a higher being that is like us, thus we can relate. To my religion, i also see all things as equal, that is, if they are living, this includes plants. No I'm not a vegetarian, or vegan...just because i think they all have equal rights doesn't mean i don't think that survival of the fitest is still the way it goes. Though i will say...we have a lot of unneeded things...like the amount of food we have in America is just gross...seriously, we could save so many lives animal and plant, if we just lowered our production and got peple to eat reasonably.

[Raio]

And why do people group Hindu and Buddhist???they arn't the same...i also noticed they have Christian and Catholic listed as 2 different sections...and what about Judaism??? This is highly prejeduce in my oppinion when it comes to the list you have..

[Chaoswolf]

-cracks neck- youve just opened up a can of worms my friend :D

[chibigo]

The "to Raio part":
Oh, i'm sorry. Didn't mean to make buddhist and hindu look the same.
My reasons for putting them together is, that i don't expect there to be many of these two (since these are primarily asian religions, and though we do seem to have a few asians on this forum, i doubt there's really that many).
As with any other religions, there's just way too many to have them all, therefore i have "Other" (and then people can write a post specifying wheter they're hindu, buddhist, fallibist or satanist.) - I did, after all, group my own religion with two others, which have some similarities, but still big differences. ^^


As for being fatalist, that depends on how you look at it.
I wouldn't really say I am a fatalist, but it could seem so, since I believe fundamentally in chaos theory and therefore practically believe in destiny. (This being the destiny, that you create from every single electron moving through your brain though and therefore highly unpredictable.)
If you take basis of chaos theory, everything in the universe is by logic predetermined from the point matter started to exist, but this has nothing to do with spiritual powers (unless there is an astral dimension or deity making sure all physical rules in the universe is respected. I can't tell whether or not there is such, since i'm nihilist, and even is there is, this makes no difference anyways whatsoever).

Of course I'm not saying it's like this, but this is the theories making most sence to me atm.
Also, nihilism always comes with small alterations, since only a dead object can be 100% nihilist. For an example i still care about my life and try to avoid unnecessary pain, etc.

In the end i always come to the conclusion that i should try and give/receive happiness, since it's either:
Nothing matters
or Happiness > Pain
or atleast something like: God might like you better, if you're nice. (though I'd rather go with Arukans agnostic idea that any god probably couldn't be assed to care anyway)


The "to Chaoswolf part":

Yay. Can of worms! I know religion is a dangerous topic, but it's really exciting too. After all it's existence itself being discussed! ^^ (That is my perception of it, atleast xD)

[Lone_wolf]

I am pagan. The only time I go to a church is for a wedding or a funeral.

[LordItachi]

Atheism is completely different from being agnostic. I dont see why you would group someone that does believe in a god and something that doesnt. That seems like something that should be an immediate difference.

[athomson]

Atheism is completely different from being agnostic. I dont see why you would group someone that does believe in a god and something that doesnt. That seems like something that should be an immediate difference.

Chibigo hasn't been on this site since last August so you probably won't be getting an answer from him. However, if you read the other posts, he has already answered questions about why he made the groups he made.

Also, I think you are confusing agnosticism with agnostic-theism, as being agnostic does not necessarily imply belief in a god.

"Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable."[1]

"Demographic research services normally list agnostics in the same category as atheists and/or non-religious people."[1]

________________________________________________
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnosticism

[MutsuMutsu]

I'm a minimalist Mahayana Buddhist with a Confucian-oriented approach. Which means that It is somewhat similar to 2-3rd century Indian Buddhism according to Gregory Schopen. I have a minor influences from Sufi Islamic thoughts as well.

[Chrono]

Well I must say that this is a very interesting topic. As for myself I believe, like Raio, that I am the only one who follows this path but anyway. In my head it makes sense but if I fail to get my meaning across don't worry, I'm quite chaotic in thoughts and ideas but composed in person, or I like to think so. OK, my views. I believe that we are all taking actions that will balance out completely in the end. So if I do something good, i will do something equally opposite. So the whole universe balances out. I don't think it's anything like Karma because, Karma, to me is a force that acts upon a person. My ways have no impact on the person in question, they are just balancing scales, so to speak.

[Winnie Cooper]

I have to agree about the list. It should include Judaism as a main choice, and putting Catholic and Christian as two different choices is way out there. And you never even explained why you did that - I bet you are either Lutheran or Anglican, aren't you? lol Only a Protestant would do that! ;-)

As for me, I do not believe in denominations.

Chrono:
So if I do something good, i will do something equally opposite.

So, if you save someone's life, you will also kill someone? Sorry, but your views don't wash in the end. There are many people who do much more good than bad, and there are man who do much more bad than good.

[Sami-Chan]

I believe in Evolution. Does that count?

[athomson]

I believe in Evolution. Does that count?

Depends on who you ask.

I think many people would consider that a seperate topic because altho biological evolution relates to the origion of humans and other species, it is not necessarily concerned with the begining of the universe or even the beginning of life (aka abiogenisis). And there are also people who will say that belief in evolution does not rule out the existance of a deity, that guides or manipulates evolution.

Altho, people like to group together the conventional scientific theories that relate to the origions of the world and of species, and call it evolution, so that they can treat it like a religion and argue for or against it.

[Bandit Keith]

I believe in Evolution. Does that count?

a first off I have a vidio that is my thoughts on that crazy theory

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLBT0ESdxrM

ok yes thats abit stupid to put as a my thoughts on evolution but I don't believe we are from fish or apes or monkeys.

[The_Enigma]

I'm a devout Christian-Congregationalist, though my life philosophy doesn't always agree with their teachings

[Teesle]

Well I must say that this is a very interesting topic. As for myself I believe, like Raio, that I am the only one who follows this path but anyway. In my head it makes sense but if I fail to get my meaning across don't worry, I'm quite chaotic in thoughts and ideas but composed in person, or I like to think so. OK, my views. I believe that we are all taking actions that will balance out completely in the end. So if I do something good, i will do something equally opposite. So the whole universe balances out. I don't think it's anything like Karma because, Karma, to me is a force that acts upon a person. My ways have no impact on the person in question, they are just balancing scales, so to speak.

So you're a D&D Druid ?

Sometimes I think it would be cool to have an exotic belief system, like MutsuMutsu has one, but at the end of the day I don't really care for a god or anything like that, even if he affects my life, i wouldn't know, think that makes me agnostic

[novakidx]

I really feel like I wanna reject religion [so I'm atheist]
I don't see the point in god and the concept just put pressure on me
ok so sue me if I'm not comfortable with believing in a being that controls everything
every aspect of your life..everything

so i'd rather just belive in nothing
go ahead and call be a coward,beacause i kinda am

[Sami-Chan]

ok yes thats abit stupid to put as a my thoughts on evolution but I don't believe we are from fish or apes or monkeys.

Evolution doesn't just involve humans. I believe dinosaurs turned into birds, the Big Bang, the extinction of dinosaurs, stuff like that, y'know?

[Bandit Keith]

novakidx first off hes not onipadent yes I em a Christen but I don't believe hes all powerfull all seeing yes I can see that aside from the bathroom bit.but so what I just wanted to piont that out.any way I can stand any thing people believe in just don't try to make me see it your way.

also to sami chan yes I just was meaning what most people would not want to think about.

[MutsuMutsu]

I have to agree about the list. It should include Judaism as a main choice, and putting Catholic and Christian as two different choices is way out there. And you never even explained why you did that - I bet you are either Lutheran or Anglican, aren't you? lol Only a Protestant would do that! ;-)

It should also include:

1. Mahayana Buddhism
2. Theravada Buddhism
3. Sunni Islam
4. Shiite Islam

instead of just Buddhism and Islam.

[Teesle]

Also Greek and Russian Orthodox as well as Sikh

[Chrono]

@Winnie Cooper: Like I said. Everything balances out. So like you example I may take a life. So if I save a human, I could kill a lizard or something. Go figure. (Not trying to insult you or anything)
@Teesle: Never played D&D. Don't even know the rules or what it's about. But if Druids are something like what I believe then, whatever.

I try to keep my actions neutral so there aren't many extremes but who knows what will happen. Everyone is different.

[Neoprometheus]

I believe in crap that can be defined in testable and provable terms. So if we cannot think of a way to vertify, measure or in any other concievable way test any given hypothesis, I'd probably be the first one to call it bullshit and suggest that the hypothesis be formulated better or discarded entirely.

As for the quality of that poll: /care


EDIT: It seems I'm the 32th person to vote in the poll, which I assert is a sign that Eris does indeed hold the position of supreme diety on this planet. Hail Eris, all hail Discordia!

[Winnie Cooper]

Yes - Evolution definitely counts as a religion, since it takes a whole lot of faith to believe that crock of .......

[GSK30]

I think many people would consider that a seperate topic because altho biological evolution relates to the origion of humans and other species, it is not necessarily concerned with the begining of the universe or even the beginning of life (aka abiogenisis). And there are also people who will say that belief in evolution does not rule out the existance of a deity, that guides or manipulates evolution.Exactly. Evolution vs. Creationism is a false dichotomy.

Origin of the Universe? That's astrophysics. Evolution is biology.

[Teesle]

Yes - Evolution definitely counts as a religion, since it takes a whole lot of faith to believe that crock of .......

I could say the same thing about Creationism and taking the Bible or any other "holy" book literally.

[Neoprometheus]

Yes - Evolution definitely counts as a religion, since it takes a whole lot of faith to believe that crock of .......
Ooooooh... I sense great potential in you, my young padawan! [/trollbait]

[GSK30]

Ooooooh... I sense great potential in you, my young padawan! [/trollbait]

Please, don't encourage her. This get's into a war, I'll be in my full on Gaiaonline attack mode and probably get banned...

[Neoprometheus]

Please, don't encourage her. This get's into a war, I'll be in my full on Gaiaonline attack mode and probably get banned...
Well... all I can say in that case is "fire in the hole"! On that note; there should be an internet law which states the seemingly constant relation between
(1) bringing up religion on the internet(s) and
(2) a flamewar starting.

...kinda like Godwin's Law.

[MokatheGroundhog]

ok, i don't believe in religion so i guess i am athiest but since i'm not sure i chose other, from what i hear atheists are devil worshipers, and since i don't believe in religion, (the devil is part of religion) yeah...oh btw, as to the question, is there really a god? answer yes and no, if there really was a god, and i flicked him off i'd be dead right now, and does he watch over us? yes and no.
Who is watching us really? pretty much any country that is capable of launching satellites into outerspace.
if i brought this thread off topic, i apologize, and will go offline for a couple days to think about what i did

[Teesle]

Stop being so goddamn passive-aggressive just because you made a ranting post about religion in a topic about religion, what's wrong with you?
And no Atheists are not devil worshipers, they just don't believe in a particular god, but don't absent from the belief in "something", that's what makes it different from nihilists.
It's not that hard to look up very simple facts.

[Boukyaku]

from what i hear atheists are devil worshipers

http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/ab24/0ompaLoompa/NotSureIfSerious.jpg

[Neoprometheus]

I lol'd XD

But seriously (not really)... isn't the very idea about atheists as devil-worshippers logically selfcontradictory, from a linguistic point of view? Considering that atheism means, quite literally, absense of belief in a supposed higher/ greater being - as defined by our standard religious institutions.
I model myself as an occult atheist, since I don't believe in any of these abovementioned "higher beings", but still utilize religious and mystical symbols when I'm doing small, everyday psychological practices (for example invocation of the Qabalistic Cross). Being a relative fervent student of such heretical psychologists as Aleister Crowley and Timothy Leary, I've come to accept the usage of such figures as harmless when doing such exercises... even though I call myself atheist.