I went with Spiritual and Atheist, simply because I believe that I am more than the sum of my parts... and no one could possibly have "intelligently" designed these parts this way... 901 atomizers got nothing on me... 
Are you religious?
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At the risk of offending and inflaming, I have real curiosity:
How does a "religious" [particularly Christian] person reconcile their smoking with being the caretaker of a body given to them by a higher power? Does e-smoking lessen the guilt of destroying that which was made in God's image?
I tend to take the position that if my body is a gift, then it's mine to use as I see fit, but I'm sure there are those that would disagree.
Kate, I think you have kicked over a beehive here
--and as a general anarchist I thank you for doing so
How does a "religious" [particularly Christian] person reconcile their smoking with being the caretaker of a body given to them by a higher power? Does e-smoking lessen the guilt of destroying that which was made in God's image?
I tend to take the position that if my body is a gift, then it's mine to use as I see fit, but I'm sure there are those that would disagree.
Kate, I think you have kicked over a beehive here
--and as a general anarchist I thank you for doing so
Hmmmm well as the local Reverend around here my way I must ask this. How can one be Religious and not tick Spiritual as well? You need a handle on the pot or you will get burned 
Mark
Mark
Idolatry is the universal human tendency to value something or someone in a way that hinders the love and trust we owe to God.
The Cross is a symbol of Death.
"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."
There is no mention of smoking in the bible.
matthew 15:11 What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.' "
1 Corinthians 6:18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
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Your Holy Spirit is a smoker/esmoker
... cool ...
If I was to imagine a god she would be an esmoker and a fan of lolcats
I wish there was a God. A God that actually cared would be incredibly reassuring. Unfortunately, either by chance or design, I was born with a logical mind that requires objective proof. I do see the argument for some form of intelligent design, even the mechanism and the intricacies of evolution gives me a underlying sense of controlled creation. I see no signs that who or what aided the design desires any level of interaction
At the current time, the best I can do is suspect a designer may have been involved in the creation so I have to label my ignorance as agnostic.
Igetcha, I've been through that a few times so I fully understand the pain. You have my sympathies.
At the current time, the best I can do is suspect a designer may have been involved in the creation so I have to label my ignorance as agnostic.
Igetcha, I've been through that a few times so I fully understand the pain. You have my sympathies.
I believe in God for many reasons. Becoming a scientist dealing in DNA chemistry has only reaffirmed and strenthened my belief. Logic defies spontaneous assembly of DNA, ergo LIFE, especially when looked at from a molecular perspective.
I have to say that I selected 'Spiritual'.
When I was younger I was very, VERY religious. I was essentially raised in the Christian church, and I believed -everything- I was taught. My earliest memories involve church activities with my grandparents, parents, and extended family. I learned to read in Sunday School. I learned to sing in the choir. Heck, I used to do solo performances in front of the congregation. I still remember the words to 'Let's All Go Down To The River."
Even when my family would move one of the first things we'd look for were what churches were available in the area. Be it Church of God, Assemblies of God, or any flavor of Southern Baptist we attended, on one occasion before we even moved into our new home.
The problem is I wasn't happy. I was too conflicted. As I grew older I felt things that, thought things, were interested in things that a good Christian boy just shouldn't be interested in. Over time this drove me into a deep, deep depression, suicidally so.
Then one day the most amazing thing that I've ever had happen occurred...I stopped to think for myself.
One of the biggest problems I'd had with organized Christianity regarded the existence of Hell. I'd always been taught that God, an omnipotent, omniscient, all loving deity, would throw me to a place of eternal torture and torment if I didn't toe the line he'd set. But omniscience dictates, by definition, that every action I would ever perform would be known before the words "Let There Be Light" were uttered.
I meditated on this, researched this, thought upon this for many months until I came to a conclusion. I decided that either there was no Hell, or Hell was not eternal. Either way, I felt that what I'd been taught my entire life was wrong.
This sparked a longer period of dedicated introspection, the reexamination of everything I'd been taught.
Why is homosexuality wrong?
Why is it wrong to drink or work on a Sunday?
Why are role-playing games the work of Satan?
Why is the practice of the occult wrong if one of the key figures in the bible, Solomon, was a sorcerer?
Why is premarital sex wrong?
Why is BDSM wrong?
Why is it wrong to love more than one person?
Why are some words wrong to say?
Why should I shun those of other faiths?
Why is it wrong to enjoy the periodic wicked urge, or to feel the occasional negative emotion?
And so on...
Over time I discovered that who I was taught to be is not who I'd become. That knowledge, and the acceptance of all that it brought, quite literally saved my life. Even more importantly it saved my mind, my very soul.
Now I try to live my life by a spiritual code that can best be summed up in a single phrase, "And ye harm none, do what thou will." Simply stated, if what a person is doing does not bring harm to anyone, including themself, it's nobody else's business. Uplift yourself, uplift those around you, and try to leave the world a better place than you found it.
This doesn't mean that I'm living a pacifistic code. If you try to visit harm upon me you get to meet Mr. Fist, or possibly Mr. 9mm if you're threat level exceeds my comfort level. It doesn't mean that I won't break out the flogger and cuffs when the time is right. Of course my definition of harm may be different than yours.
I guess you could call me Pagan...with heretical Christian tendencies. I celebrate all of the major Sabbats, but I celebrate Christmas and Easter with my family. I work with an ecclectic group of Patrons, but I attend Church with my wife on a semi-regular basis. I think all belief systems have it wrong, but I've sat in circle/service with Catholics, Christians, Buddhists, Egyptian Reconstructionists, various flavors of Wicca, Asatru, Sumerians, Satanists (both Levay and non-Levay), the OTO, the Golden Dawn, the Church of All Worlds, Universal Unitarians, Voudun, Zoroastrans, and Mithrans, among others.
It works for me.
When I was younger I was very, VERY religious. I was essentially raised in the Christian church, and I believed -everything- I was taught. My earliest memories involve church activities with my grandparents, parents, and extended family. I learned to read in Sunday School. I learned to sing in the choir. Heck, I used to do solo performances in front of the congregation. I still remember the words to 'Let's All Go Down To The River."
Even when my family would move one of the first things we'd look for were what churches were available in the area. Be it Church of God, Assemblies of God, or any flavor of Southern Baptist we attended, on one occasion before we even moved into our new home.
The problem is I wasn't happy. I was too conflicted. As I grew older I felt things that, thought things, were interested in things that a good Christian boy just shouldn't be interested in. Over time this drove me into a deep, deep depression, suicidally so.
Then one day the most amazing thing that I've ever had happen occurred...I stopped to think for myself.
One of the biggest problems I'd had with organized Christianity regarded the existence of Hell. I'd always been taught that God, an omnipotent, omniscient, all loving deity, would throw me to a place of eternal torture and torment if I didn't toe the line he'd set. But omniscience dictates, by definition, that every action I would ever perform would be known before the words "Let There Be Light" were uttered.
I meditated on this, researched this, thought upon this for many months until I came to a conclusion. I decided that either there was no Hell, or Hell was not eternal. Either way, I felt that what I'd been taught my entire life was wrong.
This sparked a longer period of dedicated introspection, the reexamination of everything I'd been taught.
Why is homosexuality wrong?
Why is it wrong to drink or work on a Sunday?
Why are role-playing games the work of Satan?
Why is the practice of the occult wrong if one of the key figures in the bible, Solomon, was a sorcerer?
Why is premarital sex wrong?
Why is BDSM wrong?
Why is it wrong to love more than one person?
Why are some words wrong to say?
Why should I shun those of other faiths?
Why is it wrong to enjoy the periodic wicked urge, or to feel the occasional negative emotion?
And so on...
Over time I discovered that who I was taught to be is not who I'd become. That knowledge, and the acceptance of all that it brought, quite literally saved my life. Even more importantly it saved my mind, my very soul.
Now I try to live my life by a spiritual code that can best be summed up in a single phrase, "And ye harm none, do what thou will." Simply stated, if what a person is doing does not bring harm to anyone, including themself, it's nobody else's business. Uplift yourself, uplift those around you, and try to leave the world a better place than you found it.
This doesn't mean that I'm living a pacifistic code. If you try to visit harm upon me you get to meet Mr. Fist, or possibly Mr. 9mm if you're threat level exceeds my comfort level. It doesn't mean that I won't break out the flogger and cuffs when the time is right. Of course my definition of harm may be different than yours.
I guess you could call me Pagan...with heretical Christian tendencies. I celebrate all of the major Sabbats, but I celebrate Christmas and Easter with my family. I work with an ecclectic group of Patrons, but I attend Church with my wife on a semi-regular basis. I think all belief systems have it wrong, but I've sat in circle/service with Catholics, Christians, Buddhists, Egyptian Reconstructionists, various flavors of Wicca, Asatru, Sumerians, Satanists (both Levay and non-Levay), the OTO, the Golden Dawn, the Church of All Worlds, Universal Unitarians, Voudun, Zoroastrans, and Mithrans, among others.
It works for me.
Wynterbourne, I enjoyed reading your "novel"
. I checked "Spiritual" because I believe in God, but I do not believe in religion. I believe in a supreme being, whom I chose to call God. I believe in God's creation as told in Genesis. I see where evolution has a place, but I do not believe human beings evolved from monkeys or any other animal, vegetable or mineral. I believe that God sent his son, Jesus Christ, as a teacher and our Savior. I am a basically simple person, and believe in the "Golden Rule"...do unto others as you would have done unto you...
I have always been glad that the supposed jesus was not beheaded. There would be children running around with a guillotine on their little neckless's 8-o
My best,
-VP
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