Thats about right.

If people believe in god, then they must believe in heaven. If thats the case there would be no problem in you or loved ones dying as you'd know you/they were going to 'a better place'.

Obviously thats not the case and most people mourn because they know when you're gone you're gone!

 

Thanks for clearing that up Yve. I didn't deliberately intend to exclude polytheists.

 

Would that include the views of pedos, for example?
Just asking, not looking for a flame war.

 

Same here - well - not exactly the same.. but.. ugh...


I'm Pagan. Further broken down I'm Pantheist (Google "Define: Pantheism"), with some "light" polytheist tendencies of the nordic pursuasion. I do 'pray' occasionally, not because I believe in the literal exsistance of gods and that I think the universe is going to run to my aid - it isn't going to happen - just that it helps me focus my mind a little, and just makes me feel better if I'm honest. I see "my gods" simply as the various emotions and traits that exsist in our species, and maybe the universe as a whole, with all their inherent strengths and weaknesses.

How to make myself sound like a raging werido in one easy post.

 

Nope, although I guess you could describe pedos as having a sexual deviance, as opposed to a belief system. On the other hand, I wouldn't prevent BNP memebers from expressing their views even though I don't share them.

 

Can't say I believe in god.

But I do think religion is a bad thing, religion seems to cause a lot of the problems we have in todays society.

 

There's no real world evidence of gods, nor will there ever be.

Just think of how devoted to gods a muslim would be if you killed his wife, he would forsake his life to avenge that. Faith #1

Just think how devoted to gods a christian would be if you killed her husband, she has the faith to forgive you absolutely. Faith #2

So both people are 100% with their religion, and both equally cancel the opposing religion.

ergo etc, etc


For all of you that belive in gods, there's a million more that believe there's also a red carpet circling the earth that's singing old Prince songs whilst forming the shape of 17th century wigs.

 

Slim... it's not exactly the religion which causes the problems, its the way people interpret that religion.

Prasius, Couldn't have put it better myself....well explained. If you are a raving nutter, then so am I !!
Yve

 

i am christian and i believe in GOD, it is my belief and i dont preach to others, however it is a little upsetting looking at the results of the voting, is this a kinda representation of how the whole country has become.

 

Just wait until someone wants to build a new Mosque, or a council decides to ban Christmas on the basis of upsetting other religions - see how many people then start spouting off about how this is a Christian country.

I do believe in God partly because that is how I was raised but also like DL I cannot look at nature and think it is all accidental.

 

I was having an interesting conversation with a friend at the weekend about Jesus. Basically, why has it been over 2000 years, and counting, for anybody similarly "amazing" to come along? Assuming (like most in this poll it would appear) that you don't believe he was the son of God, he must at least caused quite a stir. So how come nobody else has had anything like his powers or influence ever since?

Or could you argue that he was merely the first to think of the notion of being the son of God, at a time when humans had become enlightened enough to need a religion story to provide some sort of meaning to life in the absense of sound scientific reasoning. After all, why 2000 years ago? What was significant about that? Er, nothing. The problem is of course, only one person can claim to be the son of God. You've got to hand it to him, he saw a hole in the market.

 

And for all those who voted "100% certainty of God", that therefore obviously means you can prove this beyond any shadow of a doubt. I'll personally pay £1,000 - and i mean it - to the first person on here (or in the history of humanity for that matter) who can do just that. The stage is yours.

 

But not everyone who believes in God/ Gods believes that Jesus is the son of God.
And you could argue that for no one else to have had those same powers or influence in the last 2000 years could mean that he was the real thing.

Mormons believe that Joseph Smith was a true prophet and that is only going back to the 1800's.
Joseph Smith, Jr. - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

 

Good job i didn't say they did then.


You could. But why 2,000 years ago then? It simply couldn't happen today, because we have the means to prove that anyone making such claims is a fruitcake. I'd love to know what the Christianity "story" would have looked like if this chap, whoever he was, hadn't cottoned on to the idea that he could claim to be the son of God and got away with it.

 

anybody watch the Louis Theroux thing on BBC2 last night....... that's what believing in a 'God' does to people. Anybody who believes in god is a brainwashed idiot in my eyes.

 

If there is a god, it has so little effect on life on this planet that it may as well not exist at all.

For those that do believe in a god, who created your god? If your answer is "god has always been" then why cannot the same be the case the universe? I believe the universe was around before the big bang, just in a different form, the big bang was merely a transitional point.

 

I did, yes. Don't you just want to throttle people like that, especially when it's denying kids a free choice to a normal childhood. I'm surprised they actually got access to the head honcho, what an overpowering brainwashing bully he was, so typical of religious cults. Just be glad you're not devoting your life to a "cause" like that.

 

I *suppose* it would be something similar to Judaism? In that Christians and Jews mostly agree on the Old Testament.

Perhaps someone better qualified than me could debate it further with you, apparently I am a brainwashed idiot

 

I'm afraid i'd have to agree with you, with all due respect.

 

I went through various emotions watching it. Disbelief, anger, finding it hilarious. The old guy was a introverted nutter with a lot of anger that he'd used to condition his whole family into believing. the thing was I see no difference between the premise of his teachings and those of every other religion. The worst bit was the young kids holding placards and they had no idea what it all meant.

 

NO

 

I don't like it when kids are forced/conditioned to take on the beliefs of the parents, they should be entitled to choose their religion at an age when they are mature enough to make up their own mind.

 

I think the closest thing to a god we will ever see is ourselves - messing around with genectics, biology, technology etc. At some point in the future we may know everything there is to know about the universe/reality, but for now we can squander our resources on internet forums
If there are greater beings anywhere, the evidence suggests they are giving us a very wide berth! Can't blame them really

 

I'll double that to £2000 - real world evidence required please..

..and just a reminder, many of todays silly religions are very new, based on older ones..

 

Nail on the head, why do you think kids are forced into it at school and sunday school.. only time we are gullible enough (as well as under extreme stress etc)

 

I agree. Which makes it a little confusing that they force Christian festivals such as Christmas and Easter on them (and yes I know that these traditionally belonged to the Pagans).

 

 

Its very interesting that when a thread like this comes up, there is such a big reaction to it. It is obviously a matter which is far stronger in peoples' minds than one might expect and the strongest reaction always come from those who profess that there cannot possibly be a God.

That's all well and good, we are all entitled to believe what our own consciences tell us and as was mentioned it is unnecessary to be insulting to those who do believe in some form of superior being. Doesn't seem to happen much the other way round by the looks of it. Wonder why, is there some kind of a niggle in the back of the mind when denying God's existence,and is it necessary to try to justify it even in one's own mind?

Stating that religion is the cause of the World's troubles is no excuse at all. It is not the religions which cause all the wars, it is always down to people, either those who go over the top with their interpretation of their religion, or those who are using that religion to their own ends, or just the good old politicians! Not

People who do believe there is a God, who or whichever one that might be, do so because they have a feeling that there must be someone like that who set it all going in the first place. They follow a religion because of that feeling and also that they have a personal faith in it. I personally don't think that the particular religion is important, just that it encourages one to live a good life as in fact most of the established ones do. That cannot be criticised.

No one can prove that a God exists or not. No point in even trying. And the old excuse that those who do believe have to prove it while those who don't believe don't have to just won't wash! Its a standard reply from non believers who are unable to prove their beliefs. I get the impression that it is yet another excuse from non believers to bolster themselves up more than anything else. Any excuse.

I personally believe that there is more likely to be a superior being than not. I also believe that if you don't believe in God, that would not deny you a place in Heaven or whatever you want to call it if you have lived an essentially good life according to the dictates of your conscience and natural law.

I am of course perfectly entitled to think that way and I don't see why I should be insulted for it.

Les

 

Place in Heaven. It's the most laughable thing ever. It's something created by man to help deal with his own mortality.

 

Re evidence you see I would contend that in nature the evidence is there on a daily basis for all to see. Every time a bird sings or a baby is born that is the evidence that things happen far beyond the capabilities of mankind. The agnostic or atheist just says it all developed at random from molten rock. To me that is an even more ridiculous concept.

So if we humans demand "evidence" that we can fully understand that will never come about. dl