Are you religious?

[Vapor Pete]

grew up in a very Irish catholic household and am now in recovery.

I can suggest some good reading to help you in your recovery. And good luck my dear.
My best,
-VP

 

[Vapor Pete]

I enjoyed your story Wynterbourne, thanks.

Live and let live philosophies are my favourites, I like the 'an' harm ye none, do as ye will' one also.

I too have always enjoyed that Wiccan sentiment. How better to conduct your life than that.
My best,
-VP

 

[Avid]

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.

Blessed Be

You may not need Mr. Fist or Mr. 9mm. Ms. Karma and the 3-fold Law are very effective

 

[Wynterbourne]

Blessed Be

You may not need Mr. Fist or Mr. 9mm. Ms. Karma and the 3-fold Law are very effective

Blessed Be.

They most definitely are. However, at the Community Center I used to work at (Betwixt & Between) we had a most interesting author come to speak one day. His pen name was Kerr Cuhulain and he was pimping a book called 'Wiccan Warrior: Walking a Spiritual Path in a Sometimes Hostile World'. He was a Witch, a former member of the USAF, and a Police Officer.

He brought up the most interesting concept, that it was possible to use force in such a manner that you're not bringing harm but rather enforcing karma with an act of love.

One of the examples that he brought up was a shooting that he'd been involved in. In his story he came across a man, later found to be on PCP, attacking a woman and her child in an area that he was patrolling. He attempted to talk the man down but a weapon was pulled and he was forced to shoot him.

He said that he never thought of trying to hurt the man, he simply wanted to protect the child, the woman, and himself, in that order.

So he puts forth the theory that there are times when one may be forced to use violence, but you're not actually bringing harm. You're enforcing that person's karmic debt by acting out of love, perhaps protecting another, perhaps protecting yourself. The person has brought harm upon himself, you're simply the tool utilized at that particular moment.

It's a bit of a fine line to follow, admittedly.

 

[GrimmGreen]

i suppose you can lump me in the atheist camp. from about the age of 14-25 was some of the worst and most disappointing of my life. I Attended church youth group with all my friends... whom most of are now atheist also... i stayed at a dead end job that i hated , was married to a person i didn't love... all because i thought i was doing the "PERFECT WILL OF THE ALMIGHTY GOD" . Church members / elders / pastors all told me i was , so who was i to question them?

eventually i had had enough and decided to weed out some of the BULLS (CLAP) HIT in my life and church was the first to go , along with the horrible job and the un-loving wife. Truly the best decision i have ever made

initially i thought i would at some point go back to church on my own terms , but that day has never come ... and the chances don't look good. i started reading about Mithra , and Horus and slowly realized that everything i had been told about jesus and Christianity was all a lie... stolen directly from ancient Egyptian religions.

wow.. that was kinda long. I will say however that I'm am a HUGE supporter of freedom of religion , i think that any person should be able to believe whatever that person wants... as long as it doesn't hurt me or other people

 

[Rhetoric Camel]

Atheism vs. Agnosticism: What's the Difference? Are they Alternatives to Each Other?

 

[GrimmGreen]

Atheism vs. Agnosticism: What's the Difference? Are they Alternatives to Each Other?

good post boss

 

[aspen]

I consider myself a religous person believing there is a higher being. I do not approve of organized religion for it makes one susceptible to manipulation in group form.

 

[riddle80]

I believe that makes you an agnostic theist aspen. I give up trying to find definitions, but I feel the same way .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnostic_theism

http://atheism.about.com/od/aboutagnosticism/a/theism.htm

 

[Kate51]

I know there is a God, I feel and see it every day.

 

[AnglVapin]

Great topic Kate!

I am enjoying this.

As for me.... I was raised Catholic, attended Catholic school... but as I grew older, acknowledged that I didn't buy into all Catholic Doctrine.

I don't know what that makes me, but I am very spiritual and I believe the Ten Commandments are basically good rules to follow for those of any belief. We have thousands of man-made laws on the books and really, they all boil down to one of those ten.

I belief it gets down to a basic "white heart" or "black heart." I know nothing is that simple, but treating others as you wish to be treated, is an excellent start for people of any or no faith.

 

[Vapor Pete]

I know there is a God, I feel and see it every day.

Some people know there are UFO's... they see them all the time. Do you believe in UFO's? Not picking on you... just some food for thought.
My best,
-VP

 

[Tallgirl1974]

I am confused/agnostic.
I can recall the day, the moment, I stopped believing in a God. I was nine.
Since then I have looked for God, everyone tells me I "need to find Him" yet no one call tell me where he is hiding. Its curious.
Some days I see a peace within true believers that I envy. But sometimes too that peace looks forced, and just might be naivety.

 

[surbitonPete]

I wouldn't rule anything out, anything we can imagine 'could' be possible......but 'believing' in something without 'any' kind of proof is beyond me. .....The very fact that you can raise some people to unquestionably 'believe' things without proof is exactly why there are suicide bombers in this world. We could raise our own children to grow up and do that if we wanted. Humans can be 'programmed'.

 

[Vince1]

I think it goes beyond just believing something you are told. I have been told a lot of crap that just ain't right, so I go with things I just "know" are true to me. I decide what I believe and it really doesn't matter what anyone says. Each person comes to terms with their own beliefs in their own time and nothing can change that.
We struggle every day to overcome this "programming" you mention, and some never get a chance and that is sad indeed.

 

[Stormynights]

I believe that if churches had two doors' one in the front for the Christian social club and one in the back for me and the rest of the derelicts, that more people could go. Jesus turned water into wine, not grape juice. When he met the woman at the well he didn't run her down or she wouldn't have told everyone to come and see him. I believe in God but I don't believe in religion. There is a big difference. Jesus didn't think too much of the religious people either.

 

[Kate51]

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?

No need to do that any more than to not embibe alcoholic beverages (wine) or in adorning our bodies with clothes, not fig leaves, or not eating religion-recommended foods. It just is. I had no guilt 44 years ago when I started smoking. There was nothing to be guilty about. My Grampas all had pipes. My Dad did it, our Pastor was a smoker, and a whole lot of the population smoked, chewed, and sniffed, and whatever else has been done in the last few milleniums. It is not done to commit harm, nor did anyone say I had to do that. It was simply a choice. The harm does come when others point a condescending finger. Just remember, when you point your finger, three are pointing at you.

 

[Tallgirl1974]

I believe that if churches had two doors' one in the front for the Christian social club and one in the back for me and the rest of the derelicts, that more people could go. Jesus turned water into wine, not grape juice. When he met the woman at the well he didn't run her down or she wouldn't have told everyone to come and see him. I believe in God but I don't believe in religion. There is a big difference. Jesus didn't think too much of the religious people either.

I have issues with organized religion too.
I like your Christ but I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are nothing like your Christ.
(paraphrased... Gandhi)

 

[MissVapor]

It's too obvious there is a GOD..we weren't an accident..

For example, food doesn't just "happen" to taste good to us.. What if the only thing we could eat was charcoal? GOD gave us taste buds and awesome foods that taste good..that wasn't some "accident".

A higher being obviously planned out every living creature and its perfect design.

Just because you can't see something (GOD) doesn't mean he's not there. You can't see "gravity" but it exists..

Plus anyone that has actually read the old testament and the new testament knows it is NOT a coincedence that the puzzle pieces fit together and that over 4 dozen prophecies come true about the arrival of Jesus hundreds of years before he even appeared..

A couple of years ago I would've believed anything, but than I sat down and decided to read the Bible and its too undeniable..I encourage everyone to read it for yourself instead of just "assuming" it is a bunch of crazy made up stories..

God Bless xoxo

 

[808kicks901hits]

I'm agnostic, anti-religious, a humanist, and have strong beliefs in e-smoking. Though I believe there may be a higher power, I believe in evolution. Though I believe Christ existed, I don't believe in religion, and I don't accept the bible as truth. I believe in morals and your responsibility to control yourself. I also believe that vaping is freaking awesome. I'm sure we all see eye to eye on that one.