I think faith and religion is what keeps people going through their everyday life, a purpose of being here, I think we are here for no reason, humans just slowly evolved and came about, I've accepted that and I understand that life could be so many other things we don't even have any idea about. Religion is what keeps people who can't think like that going, a reason to be here "god out us here" it's just a vice to understand things. I honestly think when we die the dmt that is in our brains goes into heavy use and you essentially just dream till none of the dmt is left and then nothing happens or you continue in that "dream state" or trip. So I think religions are simply a way of setting up your trip for when you die, Catholics will go to heaven, Moska will be achieved or whatever you believe happens after death, WILL happen, but it I think it will be a trip or dream that you are really experiencing. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
Nope, not a God as its currently imagined and certainly not a God that doesn't want me to ask questions. I'll take my chances with total oblivion thanks....
It is my opinion that there is only Conscious Awareness. I went through a lot to learn that-let's say.That's all it is. A Conscious Universe in everything that is. This awareness only transforms-as this has been proven to be a Law. So yeah the whole thing that we can pray and make everything better used to really get me, but life happens. That is all. Good things happen and bad. Life is painful sometimes. 'Rain even falls on the just'. I used to think all the time that if there was a 'God' ....in a beneficial way like Christians believe, then why wouldn't He help? Then I realized that all the problems we're dealing with on this Earth are because of man's human nature. Not that he's 'fallen'. Its just the way things are. Humans can actually be way worse than animals to each other when wars happen. Earth would a paradise without us. WE cause the problems people want to pray to a God for: man's great work in Syria and placating lovely egos of world leaders causing deaths of millions of their soldiers and people for a pot of gold. Don't be so quick to blame the world's problems on non-intervention when considering that question of whether there is a God or not though. You may come to a happy place realizing that there is Something Else that does not need any dogma. That's your Self. It's up to humans to solve their own problems. That what life is. That's done by loving each other and helping somebody else with their problems.
Not if the God is anything like the one in the Bible. Killing millions of people and animals, even babies. Damning non believers to hell. Telling us how to live our life's and damning us to hell again if we do wrong. If you want someone to always love you just get a friendly dog or a SO. I do hope that there is another life or something after death and heaven sounds really nice. But we just don't know what happens and I won't pretend I know all the answers like most people.
Depending on the god. I wouldn't want some Christian or Muslim god punishing me for a bunch of stupid shit.
Here, here... I say lets go where the facts, not fancy leads us. If there's evidence for nothing, instead of acting like that's proof of something lets behave like rational people and understand it means what it means, there's nothing there. We live in a vast universe and we have no idea of all of the wonders there might be in it, but then again we have zero no proof of these wonders outside of the flickering lights in the night sky and other observable phenomena. But that's what I don't get in all of this. We're here right now, all of us, yet some people are literally laying around and throwing their lives away based upon fairy dust and wishes. Why feed the hungry, save the whales and properly educate our children when we can wish there's something better in some far off world? Why see the here and now when there's a paradise waiting based on someone's say so? What kind of sadist would God have be to tease humanity with its possibility while forever hiding conveniently behind a veil of faith, and a theology of wait and see? What kind of God reveals itself to know nothings but remains invisible to inquisitive minds that are trying to find out how things work. Is there something holy about stupidity and willful ignorance? Meh?
I'm not one to speak on gods behalf because I'm not 100% I'm starting to believe because a lot of it could actually be reasonable but throughout the bible mankind constantly disrespects him so trying to see from his view point he forgives those who want to be forgiven but he isn't going to make their life better he wants people to better themselves since we chose to know right from wrong he gave us the perfect world and we turned it down by breaking the only rule If you took 2 chill pills you'd be twice as chill man
What kind of sadist would God have be to tease humanity with its possibility while forever hiding conveniently behind a veil of faith, and a theology of wait and see? What kind of God reveals itself to know nothings but remains invisible to inquisitive minds that are trying to find out how things work. Is there something holy about stupidity and willful ignorance? Meh?[/quote] in the bible it says after Adam ate from the tree he heard god walking through the garden of Eden when god called looking for him and Adam came forth so originally he wasn't "hiding" but he screwed him by eating the fruit and since it was eves fault she was cursed to bear children. Later on in the bible you'll see throughout the generations of children they constantly screw him over or try to get on his level at one point or another every parent needs to let their child go walk on their own wether they come back is their choice, and humans at any age are just children If you took 2 chill pills you'd be twice as chill man
I'm not atheist but I'm agnostic. If it turned out god wasn't real would I wish for one? No because I don't find comfort in religion or the idea of a god. I think faith is very important for some people. It helps motivate and balances out their world but personally It's not something I gain anything from.
You want comfort? Get a nice cozy chair, some blankets, and a soft pillow, and have a naked asian woman sit in your lap.
yea fuck that, forever is never before never after, forever. "I'm to drunk, to taste this chicken" -Talladega nights
Fuck i shouldn't read these threads when I'm stoned.. It's fucking disturbing. Sent from a Stoner in Colorado.
Define "agnostic." From my understanding of the term, that means you do not possess a "belief" in any god. That's also called "atheism." If you are honestly agnostic, you are also atheist. You either Believe, or you Don't. "Open to the possibility" is not the difference between "agnostic" and "atheist." The terms are not mutually exclusive. You cannot be agnostic without lacking the belief in a god. Otherwise, you "believe," and are not agnostic. It's black and white like that. The main reason people go around saying what you just said, is because they are surrounded by Theists, and are afraid of the social (or worse) ramifications of admitting their difference among fanatics, and either losing social compatibility, or worse, receiving deliberate detriment at the hands of blind-faithers, who cannot accept the possibility (despite the overwhelming probability) that their "God" is in fact imaginary and fictitious. People tend to freak out when you dismantle their false-sense-of-security-enabling constructs.
Very few things in this world are black and white I don't believe religion is one of them. Maybe that's why you don't see the difference. I'm not sold on the fact that any religion has the answer but I'm also not going to say I 100% believe they are wrong either. Were theist and atheist tend to be on one side or the other. There is a fine line between being agnostic and simply not religious though, Which is really what atheist are. I can't speak for everyone that claims they're agnostic (That would be a pretty broad generalization.) but I've never had a problem speaking my mind about religion to anyone. The reaction isn't any warmer from religious fanatics anyways.
No. Agnostic and "Belief" are incompatible. Look up the definitions of the words. You either believe or you don't: it's binary. Which brings me to the other important point here, which is logic. As someone who grew up surrounded by irrational fanatics, i had to teach myself quite a lot of important things, including the correct definitions of words so many people either don't bother to learn, or refuse to acknowledge. "Atheist" merely means "lack of belief in a god." It does not indicate, imply, or denote, assertion to the contrary. The only reason i am ever required to assert the contrary, is the behaviors of "believers" due to "faith," which frequently conflicts with reason, logic, and rationality. Just because i can figure out that "your god" isn't real, that doesn't mean that i'm 100% certain that no type of god could possibly exist. Nevertheless, there is no reason given by observable reality, to "believe" that any particular god, or any at all, exists. Therefore: Theism is irrational, because it insists on a positive assertion that has zero testable evidence. Agnosticism almost literally means "skepticism." Skepticism, as a product of the capacity and inclination toward critical thinking and questioning of the inconsistencies and contradictions demonstrated by all theistic religions, resulted in shedding the indoctrinations into which i was born, and subsequently realizing that all theism is the same, in that it imposes positive assertions of things that are clearly false, and even deigns to authorize itself to commit violence and various other detriments, in the name of an obviously contrived fantasy. So, no, i don't "believe in" such fantasies. Faith is belief despite contrary evidence. Agnosticism is not compatible with that, because it's all about maintaining intellectual honesty, while allowing the evidence to take you as far as it can, but refraining from concluding anything not in accordance with evidence. Theism is belief despite incompatibility with lack of evidence, while insisting on defining as "evidence," things that are not actually evidence.
I got a little carried away there. What i meant to say was: "Believe" is an on/off type of thing. You either believe or you don't. If you can't honestly say "i believe god exists," then you are atheist, because you lack belief. That's what atheist means. You can be atheist and not be sure there is no type of god... but you cannot believe something that contradicts the utter lack of evidence, and still correctly call yourself "agnostic." Agnosticism and Atheism are on the same side of the fence. Yet, there's another yard, even further over, where the "assertive atheists" hang out, in which they assert that not only are none of the defined and claimed gods true, but that no type of god could possibly exist. I just don't think that's knowable, which separates them from agnostics and atheists. You could call me an assertive agnostic anti-theist, because i believe that people should not believe things that are not substantiated by any evidence at all, or indicated by any part of observable reality. People should not "believe" things that have no supporting evidence at all; which is all theists. Agnostics agree with me. That's why they're agnostic. It's all about following the evidence, and trying to determine what the evidence actually means, and accepting that anything incompatible with the evidence (or lack thereof), should not be asserted as "true." If you say: "i think there could be a god" there's nothing wrong with that. It's an interesting topic to ponder, at least. But once you say "i believe despite lack of evidence, and despite contradictory evidence" then you're no longer agnostic.
its easier just to say gnostic deals with knowlodge, while theism deals with belief the prefix A means without, lacking or not.... If you hold a belief in god you are a theist, if you do not hold a beleif in god you are Atheist (prefix A means without so you are without theism) Gnostic deals with knowledge, if someone is a gnostic theist, they KNOW the god they believe in is real.... Agnostic would not know if god is real, that is all agnostic means, it does NOT cover belief... the terms go hand in hand, you can be an Agnostic Atheist, (like myself, i don't currently hold a belief in god because the evidence is lacking but i don't know if no god is real, thats just not possible to know) or you can be a Gnostic atheist (the ones that run around screaming YOUR GOD ISN'T REAL) but you cannot be agnostic by itself, because it doesn't answer the question "do you BELIEVE" because it doesn't deal with belief, only knowledge, it mearly says you do not know.... and like above said, belief is a yes or no, you cannot "kinda" believe something or "maybe" believe, you either do or you do not... so if you "don't know" then you do not current hold the belief and therefore you are a textbook atheist