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[rubyspitfire]

inbeforelock

Originally Posted by ShinobiXikyu

Agreed that this could become a flamewar, but, those five reasons are why I don't follow organized religion.

i agree with this 100%. i spent (wasted?) 20 years of my life in organized religion and another 7 looking for something else that fit my brand of spirituality. i'm finally comfortable with my belief system, which is honestly less of a "religion" and more of a lifestyle

Originally Posted by Flora88

BUT HEY, LET'S LIVE DANGEROUSLY.

So, who's for Intelligent Design being taught in Science classrooms, and who's against it?

i actually think that since both are theories, both should be taught until it's actually proven without a shadow of a doubt that one is true and the other is complete rubbish. i'm sorry, but i didn't mutate from a fish or monkey. alien experiment gone horribly wrong (or right)? perhaps. that was a bit of sarcasm for those who didn't recognize it

Originally Posted by Volnixshin

I'm Norse Heathen, heathen mostly because people in my community find it offensive not to be of christian faith.

Mostly I just emulate a religion, I am not faithful (pun intended) to any certain religion. For example, I highly emulate Tyr, who sacrifised his hand to keep a beast at bay for the safety of others. Thus, honor, and self sacrifice are big in my life.

Though my last name (which IS Volnixshin, I legally changed the entirety of my name when I was 20) means "Shadow God" or "God of Shadows" Doesn't nessesarily mean I worship darkness, because I don't, but I understand that where there is light, there is also shadow, and both sides should be respected.

*nods and raises horn*

Originally Posted by sam vimes

I am saddened by the lack of me-worship.

I'll go quietly.

...and i was just about to change all the sundays on my calendar to "samdays". ritual involves sitting back in the air conditioning with a nice refreshing mixed drink and watching MLP:FIM

[Nygenx]

Originally Posted by DireKitty

I got him in at 1pm-3pm followed by Thor 3pm-5pm, Ra 5-7pm and an all night Buddha lounge.

Busy day.

Ra? Piss on Ra! What has Ra ever done for me?

Sam Vimes has made me laugh, and Thor wasn't a bad movie. Split Ra's two hours between 'em.

[Ragtime Mouth]

Originally Posted by sam vimes

I am saddened by the lack of me-worship.

I'll go quietly.

Just like a real god, never happy.

[Flora88]

I grow tired of this thread.

[HomeDepot]

From what I have seen, most religions all agree on the big points. Love others, be honest, be loyal, don't murder people etc. Everything beyond that is just politics and picking how many candles to burn. You can belong to any or no religion and live a fulfilling life if you keep your focus on what is important.

Yes, those are reasons why I dislike many religious groups. But I won't discriminate and say that they're all like that. I'm sure some aren't. OP, I understand where you are coming from. I get very frustrated by some religions and sadly it is the people of that religion who manage to frustrate me the most and COMPLETELY turn me off from religion.

[StrawberrySiren]

Originally Posted by chiagirl

1: Unequal treatment of women.

2: If you don't have this religion, you're going to hell.

3: Scandals

4: Forcing people to believe in your religion

5: We say one thing but do another.

I'd just like to take this chance to defend the faith and whatnot. I am a Catholic and have been raised as such. I can understand your problems, but a lot of things are reconciled when you truly learn about your faith, and sadly sometimes you don't even get that in Catholic schools. I can attest to that first hand, and most of my learning about Catholicism comes from my brother (he's actually a great source if you ever want to talk about religion.) Anyway, I'll be replying from a Catholic standpoint. Not exactly to justify, but merely to explain why things are such.

1) We literally just had this conversation. It is true that women can become nuns, but not priests. As far as I know, this is really only a Catholic thing. Our reasoning is because of the tradition set down by Jesus Himself. If He wanted to ordain women, he would have ordained Mary Magdalene and the Blessed Mother, but this didn't happen. Only the twelve apostles were ordained by Jesus.

2) It is our belief that you only go to hell if you are truly a bad person. If you live a good life, but are not Catholic, you go to purgatory. I'm pretty sure on that one.

3) If you look at the amount of clergy men and women who are involved in scandals compared to the amount who aren't, you'll find that the number of good people in the church greatly outweigh the bad. I believe the percent of priests involved in sex scandals is less than 1%.

4) I think this depends on the person, rather than a religion itself. In the Bible, there is a call to convert (I can't think of the word exactly; convert will have to do for now). Some people take this literally and really get in a tizzy over it. A lot of people are more chill about it, and will only discuss it if you go up and actually ask them.

5) Not all people are perfect, and they will have a slip up every now and then. That's why we have confession. And those people who think they're perfect for their religion, more specifically for being Christian, are not really Christian.

I honestly don't care what you believe. And while I'm certainly not saint-like or perfect in any way, I really do try to live up to most of my religion's values. I can definitely respect your beliefs or even lack thereof.

[HomeDepot]

Originally Posted by StrawberrySiren

3) If you look at the amount of clergy men and women who are involved in scandals compared to the amount who aren't, you'll find that the number of good people in the church greatly outweigh the bad. I believe the percent of priests involved in sex scandals is less than 1%.

A good point. Sadly "Priest leads normal life" does not make a very interesting headline.

[StrawberrySiren]

True. The news tends to blow certain things out of proportion.

[Nathus Dorkus]

Religions are cool, but sometimes they aren't.

[Arc_The_Lad]

I have a problem with the fact that my sister's in laws are basically forcing her children to be religiously active and my sister is fine with it (she doesn't go herself). They give me this stink like our side of the family's opinion means jack shit.

I believe that kids should be exempt from religion as much as possible, and should make a conscious decision when they are older how they wish to deal with their religious situation after doing research.

[Undertaker^^]

Hello ^^

[The Seventh Sea]

Originally Posted by Flora88

I grow tired of this thread.

What, you hoping for some bashing?

[Sybren117]

Originally Posted by Formalhaut

OP, if you are going to bash religion, please for the love of God, (no pun intended) at least do some research about the other religions out there. I know I, as a Hindu, do not think you are going to hell for not believing what I do. nor is my religion "male centric" as a whole. Im sure others can say the same for theirs, but I can only speak for myself. Ignorance about religion is one thing, arrogance is another. Please make educated claims about such serious and volatile topics.

I'm pretty sure I saw you post in a different thread about 3 days ago saying you were 'considering converting to hinduism'

You didn't waste much time, did you?

Anyway, religion is for children who are afraid of the dark.

Wait... did I just say that? Don't hate me, I'm just quoting Steven Hawking

[pltshp]

I had a friend who has done horrendous things in the name of religion. He was mentally ill though, in all fairness. I also have many friends with different religious beliefs (or no religious belief whatsoever) who aren't dicks about it. I, as an agnostic, just sit back and say "If that's what you believe, cool. Just don't drag me into it".