I am considered Catholic (I just got confirmed this past November, I know my church is really lame and doesn't confirm until Senior year in HS) but I really don't like the Catholic Church. It's so hypocritical and I hate how they tell everybody to donate to the CHURCH all the time. Not to mention the Catholic Church has a habit of liking lavish things for itself. I just really feel the organization is really corrupt and they're very very VERY arrogant. Exteremely truthfully I really fucking hate it and wish I wasn't Catholic. Mass is probably teh stupidest thing too and I feel it's an empty cult-like ritual and it creeps the shit out of me to see 1000+ people worshipping at t he same time. And then Catholics have the balls to make fun of how Muslims worship together. Man people suck. Anyway my main belief is that God created the world, and that the soul is immortal and there is an afterlife. I believe to get into heaven, you must want to reject sin and do your best to live a moral life. Even if you've done something horrible, when you die if you still want to go to heaven, truthfully, then God lets you in. I mean seriously does going to mass every week factor in? Fuck no. So today I was reading something and found the word deism. So I read the wikipedia article ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deism ) and I found that it pretty much is everything I believe. I might print that and read it again while I'm at mass tonight, as a way to gather more understanding for deism and a big FUCK YOU to my parents who always force me into going to church, the one thing I really cannot fucking stand. The idea puts me in a really shitty mood, and my parents force it on me so much...and my dad isn't even fucking catholic, he's Babtist (another fucked up religion) who the Catholics have hated for years. Another point I've found to be ironically true is that pretty much ALL organized religion is bad. THey all teach that their way is right and all the rest suck and are downright wrong. Furthermore most wars are caused because of organized religion, so while they all preach love and understsanding, they do nothing but cause hate and war. Ironic, but true as hell and it annoys the shit out of me. Religion should be something personal and be comprised of prayer (if you want, but it should only really be meditatic IMO but do as you want) and your morals. Fuck gathering with a group to worship and look like a bunch of hypocritical cult-worshipping sheep that blindly accept whatever the pastor says.
Some people need it, like others need drugs. I am glad I am not one of those people. I really don't think I ought to get started on Catholicism....
Hahahhahah that's what I mean. And please, do I. Since I've grown up Catholic my entire life (Gone to private Catholic schools for 13 years and counting) I enjoy listening to how others feel about Catholicism because I know a shitton of people fucking hate it (for good reason) but I've never really been exposed to it. I love telling people at my school how much I HATE the Catholic Church and hearing htem freak out like OMG STOP THAT'S SO BAD. So sad that so many people just accept what they're told without questioning it or doing a little self-discovery.
your parents can't force you to be catholic, it's your decision i think that all religions are stupid. all religion does is bring false hope (hop that there's an afterlife, hope that there is a god and everything will be "alright") in a way you can say it's good because it give people morals, but the cons outweight that so much, just think of all the corruption and violence religion has brought to our world.
Also, for those of you who are atheist, have you ever taken a physics course? How do you explain how nature is so perfect and organized. Honestly, I take that as my biggest proof that God exists.
The lack of evidence is not evidence in itself. You cannot prove that anymore than the pope could prove there is a god. If you havn't figured out from my above comment, I'm a full fledged born'n'raised agnostic. The way I see it, no matter what either 'side' says, no one can prove anything. There's a 50/50 shot, in that case, and none of us will know 'til we die. I have absolutely no qualms with the idea of religion though, of course I don't like some of the things that have come of it, but still. The only things I really don't like are how blindly some people follow, and how almost every person I've met that claims the have faith in God and Jesus or whomever they have faith in, really have no faith in them at all. They have faith in their parents, dressed up in metaphorical masks of divine entities. If you're 6, and you go to church, and your parents and every adult around you that you're supposed to listen to and obey, says there's a god and a heaven and you should believe in them so you can get in to this supposed heaven or afterlife... well, then that's what you're going to do. If you're going to have faith, don't do it because you were raised so. Do it because something has actually happened (or lack of something happening) in your life to warrant it. Infact, I'm against the idea of bringing children to any church or place of worship or even exposing it to them at all. They're innocent, let them play without religious worries of a god above and a devil below. But more important than preserving innocence, let them decide about religion (and not just which to choose, I mean if there's even a god at all) when they're old enough to a) not be influenced by those they are taught not to question b) are just plain capable of looking at it in a logical way, and deciding for themselves. Give children a chance... that's my one true problem with religion. Now if more people thought the same way as me, I bet you the agnostic population would oust all religions combined. Oh, btw, I believe this belongs in Spirituality and Philosophy, along with probably several threads with almost the exact same title..
I do not like organized religion. I think that if you are going to practice religion it is best to practice it alone. I think it makes it more spiritual. But I am atheist.
No hard feelings meant at all bro, but that doesn't prove anything. Why does there need to be an entity-style creator for everything to be perfect and organized? In the end it's an organized chaos, really. Hell, we're all spinning around at thousands upon thousands of miles an hour circling a black hole the size of our solar system, which one day is going to suck us all in to an infinate abyss of gravity and density that even light cannot escape, yet eminates from. The only perfection in that, is how chaotic it is. My answer to how you explain it, though? It's quite simple really, it's basicly the 'natural selection' theory taken slightly out of context, and applied to a much greater scale. If it didn't all fall in to place so perfectly, it wouldn't have maintained existance long enough for us to ponder it. All the unperfection has just imploded in to itself, disolved in to the organization, from atom to galaxy, and then back in to a black hole, in both somewhat of a literal and metaphorical sense, each to a degree, not 100% true or false. Edit: My last statement isn't entirely literal, more poetic if anything...
Heh good answer, but I still believe it's TOO perfect to just happen. And I guess I agree that it's organized chaos, but to me it's truely stunning that such chaos can be organized so perfectly, and to do so, in my opinion, would require a higher power.
Organized religion is the opium of the people like Marx said. It's a habit that no one wants to give up. Religion started out as a way to explain the world around us back when science didn't exist. Now we can explain things based on proof instead of dogma. I much prefer science to religion.
I'm in awe at the system of existance, specifically life, every day. The one good thing to being 'smart' that I've found, is awareness... when you realize all of what goes on you every second of every day, without one even thinking about it... it's utterly amazing. And I totally respect your opinion man, but I still maintain that no matter what it's a 50/50 chance. There's two options in the end, and neither are very pleasing to me actually. The athiest 50% is that life, even existance in general, is just random... a paradox into and unto itself, with no afterlife, and no point, other than to give 'life' something to ponder, hence it's classification as a paradox, but what does it matter in the end? The 50% of the religious side... well, okay, lets hypathetically say there is a god. Now enter the infinity paradox. Infinity by philosophical definition, is incomprehensible. Yet it's all around us. Math is the prime example, but there are non systematic more physical examples too. Go hold a handheld mirror infront of your bathroom mirror, so that it lines up in that weird way where it looks like it's going on forever. Again, the infinity paradox. Where does that come in to play? It's simple. If there is a god, which there is because I said there is hypathetically... then what created god? And what created whatever created god? It will just go on... and on.. for ever. Infinity. An 8 turned on it's side, in a math textbook page. The only answer in life is that there is no answer. Existance is just two mirrors looking in to eachother. They're both there, yet there's no reason or answer to it. And I mean this at it's face value, and a very clever metaphorical way too... I'll spare you trying to figure it out; the two mirrors are the two 50% chances. Should we die, and we go to some afterlife with an allknowing god, we're not going to find any more answers than we find questions. Either way, we don't get any answer. So why waste life asking? You know, I don't like being able to see life like this, I which I could take comfort in either side... but I cannot. If there is a god, then I'm not going to ask him who created him, or why he created us... I'm just going to ask him why the hell he didn't allow me the priveledge of ignorance...
I look at religion and the bible as in this. Look at homo sapiens. We are all animals because we reproduce, eat, digest, have a heart and brain and such. Yet we are much more intelligent but we don't know everything. Near death experiences of people who were blind and death have reported "I entered a bright light and could see it all the lord dressed in light so bright it was blinding the eye almost. And i knew everything, such as how the earth was, why we were there, and what was really going on in the world. It was amazing." That kinda shows that there is a God in my view. So do many other things. I think humans are just smart like God but not smart egnough because God wouldn't let that happen because he wants everyone on this earth to believe in him. He wants true faith from us. Faith is hope in something that dosn't exist. And really the only way someone on earth can hear from the bible is by word. It even means this if like your parents told you about Christ and God and such that that is ok. Because there is no other way a person could hear of Christ unless it was from someone else. Though you all have a good point the person should believe in God not the person that told him. Just comparing homo sapiens from other animals we are so much more smarter. We are the only creatures that have thoughts about life after death or what happens to us when we die. Other animals just eat, drink water, sleep, or look for shelters. Also faith is attitude. You gotta have a attitude there is a God and such to get into heaven. Not just say i believe in him. Another thing is some view hell wrong. For instance God dosn't throw anyone in hell really. You punish yourself by not believing or having a life of complete sin. That makes you go to hell. God is giving us a opportunity in life to believe in him and if we don't take it, then its our biggest mistake. I'm not trying to inflict anyone to convert anyone on GC to be Christian its all your decision but thats my view of it and some things you should really know about the truths of Christianity. Another thing is we will never surely know what happens till we die.
You could have just said you were an agnostic Edit; But what are even us agnostics looking forward to know when we die? It's either going to just be another question, explained in my last post, or we will no longer exist, therefore making it a moot point...
First off, The Church was created as a system of control against the people. You cannot find one passage in the bible that talks about god/jesus/holy spirit, telling you to go to church. I wish I could find the article I read on Wednesday about how 90% of the churches that participated in a study on money within church were found to be corrupt. Yes, thats right, these churches volunteered to be investigated. Secondly, I am atheist. I dont believe in god(s), although I do believe a man named Jesus walked this earth about 2000 years ago. Of course like other great figure, he was killed by "The Man"
i agree with u, yes jesus was alive but the question is: Was he a normal man or the son of god? again another question with no evidence to support either side really
Lol....are you serious? There are these things that pretty much all Christians and Jews go crazy for....oh yeah, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. Oh and what was that 4th one? "Keep holy the Sabbath" ? oh yeah that's it!
I recently read an article in the Philly Inquirer about fraud and embezzlement with regards to Catholic churches and their money (specifically from donations.) The investigation found that 85% of Catholic dioceses in THE USA had some sort of embezzlement or something going on. Friggin saddening, but I have been saying it for years. Don't give your fucking money to these mind controlling fools. One pastor spent 1.2 million on cars and stuff. Friggin ridiculous.
Yeah you all are right, I"m Christian but different from all the others. Like I cuss,steal, and all such. But I'm not like a nice one. Though I'm a nice person don't get me wrong. I know churches do that take your money and don't give it to charities. I like Good Will you just give items, you don't give money. Especially the items are useless for you anymore so it doesn't matter what happens to them. But comparing the Bible with the Koran ( if you all didn't know Christianity and Islam is the exact same thing Islam just believes that this other prophet was the son God and that Jesus was a great prophet and what he wasn't the son of God and all powerful and such. But the Bible is amazing it doesn't to me sound like anyone back in those days during when it was written it could of all been done by man. There are also over 18 different languages of the Bible. The Koran was written by a prophet and wasn't powerful at all and has a bunch of things like woman must not show anything but a part of their face and such. They have lots of other rules. Its almost like the Catholic religion but worse. Also very neat that 30 something percent of the world is Christian and 25% of the world is Islam. But yeah the Christianity in America is really messed up and it gives bad names for Christians like me. People think they can just think that something is out there and they will be saved. And they always tell atheist "O YOUR GOING TO HELL" and atheist get really pissed and turn against Christianity. Its also the own persons decision to believe what they want to believe in. They need to learn not to threaten people's spirits with fear and they need to realize that faith is attitude and real belief. Alot of the Christianity today is messed up i personally like the way Hispanics view Christianity. I don't know any ideas you could add to this.