Views? Support it? Against? Are you religious? If so, do you believe your religion is superior? Equal? If your not religious, do you care about it? Do your views get in the way of friendships? Or not?

Any views over the controversy of Organized Religion.

=)

Btw, I ask this question becuase I loooovovovovoeeee to hear everyones views on Religion! I am open to all voices and here to gobble up everyones opinions. =) Theres something about controversy that I really like XD

If there is a god, I'm sure he hates the way most of his 'followers' act.
I doesn't work for me.
There's too much drama, hypocrisy and BS involved in a structured set of worship rites.
I couldn't deal with Catholicism anymore by the age of 13.
I tried Wicca for a while.
Their teachings make a lot more sense as far as words to live by, but I'm finding it harder and harder to believe a supreme being still cares about this planet.

Thank you fer yer thoughts =D

Hmm, religion.

I personally believe the world would be a better place without organised religion. In my opinion, many of the major conflicts of the last few millenia could have been avoided or much smaller if there were no major religions.

As to whether there is a God (or indeed, gods) - I'm sceptical. I was brought up as a Christian (Anglican), and went to a Church of England school until I was 11, but as I've got older, and learned to think for myself, I can't see much proof that there is a god. Science works for me as an explanation for just about everything.

Religion tends to account for a lot of prejudice as well. Almost every (though by no means all) world religion has members who will use their religion to look down on others. (to highlight this point I will mention a website I stumbled across the other day named "God Hates Goths" - the owners of which interpret the Bible in such a way as to think that those who could be called Goths are all going to hell. They also had some very controversial views on disabled people). The whole website made me feel a bit ill, to be honest. I hate that organised religion gives these people an excuse.

And if anyone wants to take issue with any of my points - I look forward to debating them with you! (I thrive on debate )

It's sorta the other way around with me. I was brought up not to believe in any kind of God... I got baptized but that's it. We never went to church, and my mom and dad kept mocking the idea of there being a God (even though my dad was brought up Christian).

Well, when I grew up and learned to think for myself, I've learned that science can be used to explain everything, and I firmly believe in science. I still don't actually believe in a higher being of some sorts, but I can't live with the fact that when we die... that we're absolutely gone.

Everything we learn during our life, everything we do... it just goes lost? It disappears? I'm having real issues dealing with that kind of stuff. My dad laughs at me when I say I believe there has to be something after we die. But I can't grasp it. It would mean that my life would be totally pointless, unless I achieve something like the ancient Greek philosophers or something, to being worth remembered for doing something important. I don't think I'm capable of that at all.

I also think the world would be better without organized religion, but it's pretty much impossible. There will always be groups of people believing in something and gathering followers, and get bigger and bigger. There will always be disputes about beliefs of people. It's healthy.

What's not healthy, however, is fighting about it and making war. People should be able to accept another person's beliefs and religion, end of story. Unfortunately, some people are incapable of doing so.

Anyway, I hope I sort of contributed to the topic.

If there was an actual God, he would have let us know somehow already (in a convincing way), and stop all those freakin' fights about him.

The thing about most organised religions is that the things they teach are contradictory and ridiculous.
"God made every single person on this Earth and he loves them all no matter what. Oh, but wait. Those people aren't carbon copies of my oh-so-righteous beliefs. Let's kill them off. God commanded ME to do this amazing deed from heaven."
God is a mysterious all powerful being in charge of, apparently, all of existence.
He's not going to drop everything and come tell you to kill off his beloved creatures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnCThdX4 ... re=related

Kay. Now that that is out of the way, I pretty much agree with Sookie.

Other religions shouldn't be able to put others down. Being brought up as a Christian, I know that some of us think we are better than everyone. And that if you don't believe in God that you are going to Hell. Well, if there is a God and He made everyone, then He loves everyone, right? I also know that a lot of Christians are prejudice against everyone who doesn't believe like thet do. That is just a load of BS to me. "Believe what I do or suffer." Yeah, not cool. I for one love everyone and think that everyone is in some way, loved in return.

As to whether this is a bigger place to go to, well that is for us to find out. I was talking to someone today while we were picking up trash at the park, and we were kind of complaining, and she was like "Well, hopefully we're doing this for something. Ya know, you reap what you sow?" And it got me thinking, you can do so many good things and give to charities and go to church and actively participate, then go home and beat your wife and children. I think that no matter what you do, it's what's in your heart and what you truly believe in that proves where you're going. Whether its Heaven, Hell or a middle ground somewhere. And that if there is an Almighty Being that, they'll be able to see right through you and put you where you need to go, if there is a place to go to.

Anything to say? Don't be afraid, I'm a big girl and it's nice to hear different points of view.

I believe that everyone is entitled to their own religious opinion and freedom.

I personally was brought up Lutheran, and I am happy with my belief system, but I could never imagine telling someone else how to worship or what they should believe. Religion is a deeply personal thing that is meant to be taken and experienced in an individual way.

Are there religions I disagree with? Absolutely but that being said it is not my job to tell them they are wrong because it is everyones option to think and put their faith in whatever they choose and therefore it is impossible to differentiate between what is right and wrong to believe.

to be honest, I don't even think people need to believe in a god, I just think people should have something that they put some kind of faith in.

Organized religion to me, is a terrible idea let people's faith continue to be as they choose

I don't think I could ever talk as well as everyone else did. I don't have any life-lessons or good points, but I can say that I am not religious, just well attuned to nature and people. I like to think there could be a God, but honestly I don't know and I can't say there is one. But, I love the positives of religion: community, togetherness, helping. But I don't like how some religious people take it another way...a way to discriminate and so forth. I happen to be a lesbian, for example, and I am truly touched when I find a church that would support my certain character. But, at the same time, I'm not completely offended when some religions shun my life for it is their opinion and I'll let them have it. (But of course, it would be nice to be accepted by everyone).

XD

^ Have you seen Prayers for Bobby? It's a Lifetime movie and it makes me cry everytime because the mom was so mean to him. I treat everyone as equals and I wish the whole world would too.

I have heard of it, but alas I have also heard...it has a bad ending. TT^TT My girlfriend said it was a very good, life-learning type movie =) AND I'm really glad yer so accepting ^_^

Personally, I do believe in God, and I always have.

It don't like the religion so much though. So much people get wrapped around religion and do stuff because that's what the Bible says. They lose sight of the whole point of things. There are people who can recite practically the whole Bible but they can't tell you anything about what it's trying to teach you or what it's all about.

Religion starts wars. It's the relationship with God that matters. Who cares whether your Catholic, Mormon, Jewish, or just plain Christian?

Also I've met a lot of people who won't speak a word to anyone who doesn't believe in God. I think if you don't believe in God, you just don't believe in him, if a person ever does find that they believe in God they will come to that decision in their own way. Not because someone forces them to believe so.

Even though i have been raised to believe in God, and that Jesus died on the cross for us, I have also been taught never to judge anybody's religion.
I believe that there is truth in every Major religion, and that we shouldn't judge.
Everybody believes that their religion is the true one, and that may be right, for themselves.
I don't like when people try to impose their religion on other people, and Try to make you feel bad because they don't agree with what you believe in.
If you don't agree with it, shrug it off, but don't tell people what they believe is wrong.
I think that you should do what feels right for you, if organized religion is for you go for it, if your Wiccan great!..Buddhist, Hindu, muslin Ect.
I just think we should be accepting of one another.

^ I agree with a lot of what you said. I believe in the Christian side of things there are way too many churches that try to evangelize by saying "Believe what we believe or you are going to hell." This is why it took me so long to actually accept a lot of the Christian principles. The thing is Jesus told us to love once another so evangelism through threat kinda goes against what he teaches. Also, if you put down every one else's religion it's the same thing. It makes no sense.

The thing I really have a problem with is when people (from any side of the debate) start going off on what they think is so wrong about other peoples belief without any cause. Today this happened while I was at a garage sale at my church and some lady came in and started telling all of us how Christianity wasn't valid at all because it went against another religion. And we had no right be be going into other countries and telling people about Jesus. And then she gave us bread. It was odd...

^wait, wait, wait - she told you you were all wrong and believed in things that just weren't right, and then she gave you bread?

I think she's the weird one.


Anyway, I think I contributed to this debate before, but I really hate it when your own family make you feel guilty for not sharing their beliefs.