What are your Religious and/or Spiritual beliefs?

I'm an atheist and my reasons for disbelieving (Christianity, which was what I was raised with) are complex. It's actually not science related at all, and has a lot to do with my interpretation of the Bible and the repressive, abusive/neglectful, conduct of the religious, authority figures throughout my life and my experience with depression and mental health issues.

That all kind of morphed together into me eventually rejecting religion, slowly throughout the years. I was actually agnostic a lot longer than I've been an atheist. And I'm not a "I must save religious people from their delusions!" or an "I must mock theists to make myself feel superior" atheist either, I want to assure people. I'm not concerned with anyone else's beliefs unless they result in harm.

 

I am actually Christian, I have studied theology a great deal in my life on my own (tried to learn the true translations) and I have had some spiritual experiences that may sound odd, but I still felt nonetheless Its a bit indescribable. I don't prescribe to any denomination right now, I am a bit independent if you will...I do consider myself "religious" on my own and I have reconciled it with my sexuality all the same

 

I am a Christian, apart of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) denomination. I believe in following the most important commandments, which are based around love, and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. This is why my signature is what it is. There is nothing in this world more magical than the gift of love, and I am not just talking about romantic love, but all forms of love. This is why I believe in God. The love that he has shown the world, especially by giving his son to forgive our sins, is absolutely wonderful and heart warm.

 

I used to believe in God and be a member of the United Methodist Church. I started to have doubts about my beliefs when I in the process of coming out to myself. When I came out publicly, I was thrown out and told that I was no longer welcomed. They also came after me outside of the church..

So, that pretty much killed my faith. I now identify as an atheist, but I am not one that tries to push atheism on others. I don't like it when people try to push their faith on me, so why should I do the same to them?

 

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R66r_XMoDkk[/YOUTUBE]



Or more specifically, Ignostic/Theological non-cognitivist.

 

Minnne is kinda interesting.

I was Christened an Anglican when I was a baby and went to church with my grandparents for a while. Until I was sent to a Catholic school when I was 7 and by 12 I have reaffirmed to Catholicism (reaffirming is changing sects of a religon) and stayed that wasy until I was 18 and started to question everything and wound up as an atheist.

Being around religious people as a gay-teen was kinda scary I repressed it and actually asked "God" to help me get rid of the feelings, I wound up alone and depressed by the time when I was 18. I got kinda drunk one day during freshers week (this was the first time I was away from religion since I was born) and slept with this guy who came onto me. I don't know how he knew I was gay he just knew. We kissed, I felt things I had never felt before in that moment and I let him take me back to his dorm room and well the rest you can guess, but it just felt so right, more right than all the intolerance you get from religion so I started to question everything I had been told, realised it was nonsense and then became an atheist. I am happier now than I was. My parents also ended up become atheist, Dad has been for a while, Mum being a nurse was pretty much there but having a gay son was another factor that convinced her that religion is flat out wrong.

 

I guess I'm anti-theist.

Essentially, I am of the opinion that there is no god, higher power or spirit or whatever but if you can prove that one exists I will happily acknowledge it's existence. BUT that is ALL I will do. I won't worship it, I won't do as it commands, I won't follow it's instructions or rules, unless I have good reason to.

Personally I have no use for a divinity. It doesn't make me happier to imagine someone looking over me, or that there is life after death. I don't need a god to feel like I'm part of a wider community or to bring me closer to other people. The main thing I see from gods is a starting point for ethics, and I can not and will not accept 'because *** said so' as being a justifiable basis for morality.

So yeah...god is just completely irrelevant to me. Which causes great difficulty, because I can accept completely that other people DO feel better having those first few things (life after death, someone watching over you, sense of community etc...) so I'm happy for people to have a religion and it won't bother me, but it does bother me on ethical grounds.

 

The story of my religious experience has the same feel to it as figuring out I'm gay did. I'm an ex-Christian and proud of it. Having grown up in the Methodist church and having a zealot for a mother, I had the whole child-like faith thing from a young age. But as much as my mom praises my intellect, she really couldn't have seen my atheism coming?

I remember being 6 years old and thinking that if it was just impossible for any of the other religions to be true (as they taught us in Sunday School), then it had to be impossible for there to be a god altogether.

From there, I kind of forgot about that experience, and later went through a huge revival period. Now most of you know about my progressive views and the fact that I'm a Democrat, but I used to be this hugely anti-gay, anti-abortion Christian conservative. I think I was about 11 or 12 at that time. I was so thrilled to have been "saved" and all these other things, and looking back, it was just playing on my emotions and regret for past sins I've committed.

By 14, my faith had faded, and at 15, I finally admitted to myself and to everyone else that yes, I'm an atheist. I don't believe in god. My mom was so angry, my grandma went into denial over it, and a lot of other people said, "Oh, you'll change."

At 17 I had a brief flirtation with Christianity again. I thought I'd seen the face of Jesus when asking in an attempt at prayer that if he's real show me a sign. But in the end, I realized that in terms of belief, I was just ignoring everything that was simply impossible and caused me to realize I didn't believe in god. There was no way that in 1 BC that a virgin could get pregnant. None. There is no way that with the medical technology they had in 33 AD that someone who'd died, much less nailed to a cross and executed, could come back to life, and when he did eventually die, not leave a body. And there is no way within the realm of the scientific laws that we've proven to be true that it is possible for a god to exist. I just can't see it being possible.

But if I'm wrong, I was "saved" and a lot of biblical people I've talked to about my atheism say that sine I was "saved" when I was 12, I'll still go to heaven when I kick the bucket. Well, there's only one way to find out for sure if I'm right or wrong, and I'm not ready to go down that road yet.

 

I'm a protestant because I don't want to rely on some stuffy guy onstage to tell me what the Bible means. No offense to those who do, just my own preference.

I do believe that when I pray, God answers me directly. He puts the answer in my head so it feels like I'm finding the answer on my own, but I usually don't find the answer unless I pray. I believe that God is intentionally ambiguous in showing His existence.

 

Far be it for me to discount anyone's experiences, but most of you have taken a position that requires as great a leap of faith to be an athiest as one takes to believe in a God. Most have had horrible experiences with small-minded people and man-made institutions (i.e. various religions). All faiths may be inspired by God, but are served by Man, and so is flawed Man is flawed. No faith has not committed some folly or atrocity. That takes nothing away from Man's faith in God or the supporting good works. As an Anglican, my church was birthed as a convenience for a king who wanted a divorce; not the most spiritual beginnings. No real crisis of conscience. Yet it has become a source of comfort to me.

St. Anselm believed in the evidence of God in nature. Though philosphically flawed, it clarifies our main differences; something from nothing vs. something created by a supreme being. In light of the unprovable it should not matter which way to leap, however, if it is something for nothing, no act regardless of how heinous is immoral. I prefer Pascal's bet regarding the existance of heaven and hell vs. nothing. If there is a heaven and God, his faith would be rewarded with heaven. If there is no God, no afterlife the worse that could be said of him was that he lived as a good man. Personally, I'm taking his bet, because it is the most logically sound bet. No, judgement.

 

I'm fairly certain pascals bet is usually invoked as a way of saying 'I don't need god' rather than defending it... (and if i've misinterpreted what you said there and that was your point all along, ignore me! )

I'm interested in you theory that atheism takes a leap of faith, care to explain it a little more?

 

Well I suppose I can leap my self into this conversation now :3

I would have to describe my religious belief as atheist. I don't believe in any sort of god, and I've yet to see a reason to. I think that without a god a person has more motivation to do good with the one life that they get. There is no forever so every action in this life has to count for something. You probably won't be recorded in history books, but you can certainly leave behind your own sort of legacy if you'd wish to.

In regards to 'atheism takes a leap of faith' I'm simply going to say this. No, no it does not. Atheism is a default position of "Hey I don't see any evidence for this" not a "Despite the evidence I'm gonna not believe" sort of position.

My reason for being an atheist? Well to be honest it started at fourteen when I came to terms with my bisexuality. I remember the church I went to was a homophobic one so for me the choice was keep a religion that found me to be an abomination or cast it aside and move on. I of course cast aside my religion and moved on

Now a days I can't even imagine myself holding a religion given that they all seem equally unlikely in my opinion.

 

Im an athiest and i stoped beliving in god for many reasons(including scientific) but the main reason was because i didnt belive that any god could stand by and watch what goes on in the world and not do something, so i came to two conclusions.1 that there was a god and that he was someone who really didnt care and everything we knew about him was false and 2 that there really was no god

 

I am agnostic.

I am a person of science and believe in what can be studied and observed. There are many aspects of science that I believe in that are difficult to study or observe - but are based on theory. The same goes with god. While I don't think there is one, I can't deny that possibility that one does exist, until somehow we prove otherwise. It would be hypocritical of me.

 

Atheist.

 

Liberal Anglican. It is my sincere belief that Church and people reject people, not God.

 

Christian yoo

 

i'm a wiccan a nature based religion / spirituality. no one person to have to OBEY you do what you knew is right. of course there's no one else to blame either. you have to own it. and it harm none, do as thou will.