Do you believe in God?And is God a he or a she?

panda100

Thought it would be interesting to hear some of the Ladies views on God/Allah/Jehovah/Yahew or whatever divine power you think that put us here. (Wibbs- We all know you were put here by Beelzebub )

Do you believe in a greater being? If Yes do you envisage that being as a man or a women?


I'm an atheist now but I used to believe in Catholic God. For me God was a white,bearded man who lived up in the sky.
I've been thinking recently why I always thought God was a man and not a women, especially since women give birth to life. I wonder why God is always potrayed as a man?

Ickle Magoo

I am an atheist, have been since before I knew what one was. I have never had any beliefs in any gods or religions.

I think the christian god is always portrayed as a man because christianity is a patriarchal religion.

Orla K

I don't believe in a anything you could call a god. I always used to wonder about gods gender, why it was always the father, in my teens I started thinking about a gender ambigious light/energy that made more sense to me.


I'll never forget in the hunt museum they had a picture of god. Typical old white bearded man that looked like a passport photo only bigger I fell about the place laughing.

Chinafoot

I'm a dirty non-believer.

liah

Nope, don't believe in a god and will never understand how people can convince themselves it exists. Particularly with the Christian god-- do a bit of research and you can tell that every single detail is stolen from religions that existed hundreds and hundreds of years prior to the first edition of the Bible. It's all plagiarism.

The idea of a god had its purpose in the early stages of human development-- they didn't understand why it rained, or why the sun was shining, why trees grew, why flowers bloomed. They knew they, the human species, could create things, so they explained all those things (as they didn't have science as we do today) by attributing it to a Creator. It made sense at the time. Humans are insatiably curious and require explanations. Through this "creator" idea they found strength and hope and the idea of a god looking after them kept them strong through hard times. It helped them to cope with grief as death would not be so bad if only the deceased were to go to a better place.

It was also a fantastic means for controlling the populous, as it's much easier to threaten hell and a vengeful god to scare children and people into being good and following laws.

Unfortunately, in this day and age, it's simply outdated. Science has explained away all the origins of rain, sun, and growth. Punishment of law has replaced the need for hell or heaven. The only thing that has not been replaced in this age is the grief coping mechanism. I suppose that's why some people still cling onto the archaic idea. It's juvenile and a bit sad, to be honest. You don't believe in Santa or Zeus or Ra, you find them things of myths, why believe in your religion over any other? Why do you honestly think yours is any different?

Anyway, the reason for god being portrayed as a man is quite simple-- men were in control. Men created the books. Of course the god would be a man. But it's interesting-- in the ancient religions, Greek and Egyptian and Roman, there were gods of all sorts. Male, female, even hermaphrodites (guess where the name comes from?) and half-human half-animals were in positions of deities.

Pythia

No and am not baptised so am glad to have no part in religion unlike most non-believers who continue to be counted in stats as they don't formally leave.

I believe there is an energy greater that us gender doesn't come in to it..i believe in souls and that souls can exist after we exit our earthly bodies...i think science can explain most things but not everything

Nervous Wreck

panda100 wrote: »

Thought it would be interesting to hear some of the Ladies views on God/Allah/Jehovah/Yahew or whatever divine power you think that put us here. (Wibbs- We all know you were put here by Beelzebub )

Do you believe in a greater being? If Yes do you envisage that being as a man or a women?


I'm an atheist now but I used to believe in Catholic God. For me God was a white,bearded man who lived up in the sky.
I've been thinking recently why I always thought God was a man and not a women, especially since women give birth to life. I wonder why God is always potrayed as a man?

Why, indeed, would this 'god' be human at all?



To answer the question though, no. I've never been given a good reason to believe in a god. I stopped believing in one before I stopped believing in Santa Claus. Four years ago.

princess-lala

I come from a very religious paternal side, I go to mass for certain things, as in family masses and such.

I live beside a church but rarely go to mass, I believe there is something out there, I dont want to believe that I will just die and go into the ground! For my own sanity I need to believe theres something out there :rolleyes:

F.A.

Same boat as Ickle Magoo. In fact, I only ever knew of one child who believed in God, and to this day I think of him as a bit of a weirdo because of that. There may have been more (in fact, there probably were), but they never made themselves known to any of the other kids as believing in God was deemed rather ridiculous.

So, moving to Ireland was a huge shock to my system. I don't think I'll ever fully get over that...

panda100

Wow,quite a lot of non believers on here. Most of my girlfriends would believe in a God and it would be the Christian Man God so I kinda guessed that a lot of women would be similar to them,but evidently not.

Nervous Wreck wrote: »

Why, indeed, would this 'god' be human at all?

You know I never even thought of that. My brain has gone into overdrive just thinking about it

sorrywhat

When I was growing my mam used to make us go to mass every week. She said we had to go until we were confirmed and then we could make our own choice. I didnt really think that was the best way, it was like christianity was being forced on me.

But after I made my confirmation I have literally been to mass about 5 times. Excluding funerals/weddings etc. Giving a teenager the choice of mass on a Sunday morning or a lie in, I clearly chose a lie in.

Now that I am older I have done a little bit thinking of it older the years. I went to mass one Sunday and really listened to what the priest was saying and I have come to the conclusion that I dont really believe in all that. Yes, I am baptised,holy communioned and confirmed but right now I dont believe in all that.

I went to 2 weddings in 2008. One was a traditional church wedding and one was cermony with a registar. The traditional wedding was very long, full of holy crap, songs about holy crap and I nearly fell asleep. The other wedding was very personal, they had their own music and was just lovely.

I know Im kinda rambling here but my point is, you dont have to believe in a god to believe in something.

Pretty_Pistol

princess-lala wrote: »

I live beside a church but rarely go to mass, I believe there is something out there, I dont want to believe that I will just die and go into the ground! For my own sanity I need to believe theres something out there :rolleyes:

I'm the same but I don't go to any type of mass or believe in the religion I was brought up in (RC). I just believe in something. It's probably just a comfort thing. But for me it's personal. I don't like having a discussion about it with people IRL. Especially with my Mam who just tries to force the RC beliefs on me.

Nervous Wreck

panda100 wrote: »

You know I never even thought of that. My brain has gone into overdrive just thinking about it

Ha, well the simple and true answer is that the people that invented god (and of course, people in general) were self-important. Part of the myth of god "creating man in his own image" works in reverse. It separates us from the animals and portrays humans as gods in our own right. It's egocentric and also serves to impose a sense of fear of our 'superiors' (at the time, the ones who were preaching this tripe). "There is a god, and he looks like me. So bow the fúck down and kiss my boots!" etc.

Boston

I find the idea of that an supreme being which is bound to a single gender laughable. There maybe one and if there is it's nothing like a human.

Catari Jaguar

I'm spiritual, not religious.

Catari Jaguar

panda100 wrote: »

God/Allah/Jehovah/Yahew

All the same being no?

What about Buddha, Vishnu or Greek/ Roman/ Norse/ Celtic Gods? The Pagan views much more appealing to me

Belief O Matic Quiz

Novella

Hmm, I wouldn't say I'm an atheist. Perhaps agnostic is the more suitable term.
I don't think that there definitely, by no means isn't a god, that it just isn't logical. I think that maybe a little part of me sort of hopes beyond hope that there is someone or something out there looking after me, who I could say prayers to and who would listen to me etc.

I grew up believing in God though - a man who lived in the sky and was sort of really clean and shiny with a glow is how he was in my head! Then, when my grandmother died in 2001, I believed that she became an angel and looked after me. I used to talk to her and everything before I went to sleep at night!

I'm not quite sure what happened to make me stop believing... Life, I suppose! There was the 'Science versus Religion' debates in school and I think, in the beginning, I chose the science side to be a bit rebellious and because it was 'cooler' tbph! After looking into it though, I guess I came to the conclusion that there just wasn't enough straight up evidence to convince me that God is real, and the answers to the questions I was asking just weren't being answered correctly.

"Mam, why do you believe in God?", "Everyone believes in God!"
"Dad, why do I have to go to mass?", "That's just what everyone does on Sundays!"
Everyone didn't believe in God though, and everyone didn't just go to mass on Sundays and when I asked non-believers why they didn't believe, well, their answers were always just better.

Hermione*

I believe in God. Always have. Nearly five years ago, my sister was in a road accident and nearly died. Her injuries were similar to Natasha Richardson's but more severe. The best neurological experts in the country told us she would die. We planned a funeral. We prayed because there was nothing else we could do for her. We weren't even allowed to talk to her. Nine months later, my little sis was walking around. Even her consultants have called her a miracle. When new consultants meet her, they always think her chart is the wrong chart because they don't believe that the person they see before them can have survived the injuries my sister had and be as well as she is today.

I believe in God because five years ago something was taken from me and I asked for it back and I got it. I prayed for my little sister and I got my little sister back.

I don't mind by what name or gender God goes by. The important thing (for me) is that God is a force for good.

Faith

I'm a bit of a contradiction. I was born and raised Catholic, in suitably Catholic schools. However, I don't really believe in a god. I believe in science. I don't follow the teachings of any religion, and I'm honestly scornful of those who do (no offence intended to anyone!). It's just not me. My SIL's family spent Christmas with us, and they're super religious. To be honest, it just annoyed me.

princess-lala wrote: »

I believe there is something out there, I dont want to believe that I will just die and go into the ground! For my own sanity I need to believe theres something out there :rolleyes:

This is where my contradiction kicks in. I like to believe that there's something after death. I don't know what, and I don't believe in Heaven as such. Maybe it's a belief in souls? But to hope for an afterlife is to imply a belief in god...

(If there is a god, I really hope it's Alanis Morrisette. Or Morgan Freeman. Not some old white guy with a beard.)

liah

I really don't want to take away from your experience, Hermione*, but what about all those other equally faithful people who didn't get so lucky? Why would a god choose your sister over millions who have gone through tragedies not unlike your own?

To me, it seems, your experience is more a vote in the way of chance than of a god.. if it was a god, would he not take equal pity on people who went through similar? If there was a god, and he is all powerful and omniscient and all loving, why is there then millions of tragedies to your one good experience? To people who are as good as your sister? As faithful? As kind and loving and young and innocent? And why would a god put your sister in that position in the first place? As a test of faith? Isn't that kind of cruel?

If you look at it from the point of view of chance it makes sense, by the laws of chance anything can happen if you look at it statistically as there's always an exception to a rule, but to look at it from the point of view of faith, it just.. doesn't compute, in my mind.

I know this sounds really cold and seems to make light of your experience and I apologize for that; I am only an observer and I cannot imagine what you, your sister, and the rest of your family went through. I'm so happy things worked out for you, I truly am, and I can understand your point of view.

Just making an opinion for someone who was not in that position.

Nervous Wreck

Faith wrote: »

I'm a bit of a contradiction. I was born and raised Catholic, in suitably Catholic schools. However, I don't really believe in a god. I believe in science. I don't follow the teachings of any religion, and I'm honestly scornful of those who do (no offence intended to anyone!). It's just not me. My SIL's family spent Christmas with us, and they're super religious. To be honest, it just annoyed me.



This is where my contradiction kicks in. I like to believe that there's something after death. I don't know what, and I don't believe in Heaven as such. Maybe it's a belief in souls? But to hope for an afterlife is to imply a belief in god...

(If there is a god, I really hope it's Alanis Morrisette. Or Morgan Freeman. Not some old white guy with a beard.)

Nice references. Pretty much agree with your entire post, especially about being somewhat annoyed by it. To me, a belief in a deity is just kinda ignorant. Maybe I'm being a cúnt.

Hermione*

liah wrote: »

I really don't want to take away from your experience, Hermione*, but what about all those other equally faithful people who didn't get so lucky? Why would a god choose your sister over millions who have gone through tragedies not unlike your own?
Just making an opinion for someone who was not in that position.

I was expecting that response. I nearly didn't post because of that. I get that it doesn't sound logical. And it's not. I know that. My mother died of cancer three years ago so I'm not at all saying that if you pray for something, you'll get it. That's not how it works. God knows I prayed for my mum and it wasn't to be.

Marx said of religion that it was the opium of the masses and I do agree with that. The logical, reasoned, educated part of me would almost almost prefer not to believe in God. It makes sense not to and it fits in my otherwise very liberal beliefs. But I do believe in God. I don't understand it but I do.

My sister btw isn't and wasn't very religious

Wibbs

Nervous Wreck wrote: »

Why, indeed, would this 'god' be human at all?

+100,000,000

What I have found interesting with both atheists and theists is how pigeon holed they make a god/creative force. Both are guilty of that, though the theists are worse. They claim omnipotence for their god yet put it in a box of their own human reality. So god is angry or happy or vengeful or as Panda100 noted gendered. If a god existed, it could of course be all those things if it so chose, but it would hardly be that by default as these are narrow human constructs.

Me? I dont know. Pretty much simple as that. On both sides I can see the argument, but I would defo be squarely on the side of the atheists when it comes to the organised religions.

If I try to consider the wider field of cosmology and physics and the fact that we can describe these terms, the fact it is here at all I do look for or am interested in the motive force in that.

Now bear in mind I am considering this from a point of view of being in this universe.... On current theories we have the big bang. The entire universe expanding from a singularity. Time and space. So the notion of "before" doesnt come into it as before didnt exist. Even if it did, it wouldnt be before it would be other and we cant look at the other. So we're stuck running the clock from ground zero. Conjecture on where/how/when/why the singularity formed will always be out of reach. For the foreseeable anyway.

OK why did the singularity expand at all? Laws in this universe would say that without some influence external or internal it would remain in a steady state. What was that force?

So then it expanded. But it didnt do so in a linear way. Which would be expected. It had a period of inflation, soon after the big bang. Again without any explainable force acting upon it. But it did and it had to, to form the goldilocks universe to get to the point where an "us" is discussing it. Where/what/why was that force?

One could go the universal pantheist route and suggest the universe itself is god. That would make far more sense to me. That in some way, incomprehensible to our point of view it was "conscious". Conscious enough to create itself and cause the ingredients to bring itself to some fruition. Now this raises teh spectre that intelligent life is it's raison d'être and the philosophical labyrinth it brings with it. Maybe the "plan" is not that. Maybe it is? You could argue that intellignet life is likely to sooner or later create other universes in the lab. We or others like us out there could be the reproductive system of the universe. In which case the next time someon calls me a prick or a cnut, I shall take it as a compliment in the greater scheme of things.:D

This would also allow for an afterlife of sorts. As information doesnt get lost, only dissipated. What you are now exsted in a spread out form before you existed. Maybe the focus of this that led to "you" hangs on as useful information in the mix? Or the joining of a consciousness with the universal one takes place. The individual would be lost though.

Then again, because we are children of this universe we cant know if any others exist nor what they may be like. Or how they externally influence this one. EG imagine being trapped forever in a room with all you need. You cant leave nor directly observe another room. But in another room there is a raging fire. You cant see it, or know its a fire. But you can feel its heat through the wall and it keeps you warm. All you know or can ever know is the connecting wall is warm.

IMH gravity may point to this one. Its a very weak force in the universe. Much weaker than teh other forces. Because it acts on a large scale it doesnt seem so weak, but it is and this is irritating to science on a few levels. Now if an adjoining universe has a shít load of gravity and its coming through the "wall" of our universe, that would explain a lot. Its the fire in the other room.

Then again blandly reductive as it may sound, sooner or later one has to come back to what/how/why/when this all kicked off.

Oops that went a bit sideways. Now people are praying to god :D

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

ztoical

princess-lala wrote: »

I dont want to believe that I will just die and go into the ground! For my own sanity I need to believe theres something out there :rolleyes:

The fact that I believe there is nothing after death makes me feel better...I know loads of people seem to take comfort in thinking of magical cloud in the sky when they day but for me knowing this is it makes me love this world and my life in it.

The Sweeper

Beliefnet defines me as neopagan. As someone else on this thread said, I'm not religious, but I am spiritual. I spent a while as an atheist or agnostic, but found it somehow didn't sit right with me, because I DO believe in a bigger picture - harmony of the universe and a need to take responsibility for your own actions.

fatmammycat

Atheist, I don't believe in gods or any spiritual woo at all.

Catari Jaguar

ztoical wrote: »

The fact that I believe there is nothing after death makes me feel better...I know loads of people seem to take comfort in thinking of magical cloud in the sky when they day but for me knowing this is it makes me love this world and my life in it.

I'm the same. But then againI have a horrendous fear of the unknown and eternity. I don't even like to think about space without feeling panicky. I didn't exist a thosand years ago, I'm not bothered that I missed that, so I don't care about being around in a thousand years time.

Imagine you're stuck in a freaky limbo for eternity. ETERNITY! No escape and it could be horrible like in the Lovely Bones or something. Me no want...

Xiney

I believed in God, and then when I was 12 I got sent to Catholic school.


Now I'm an atheist

Nervous Wreck

Lil Kitten wrote: »

Imagine you're stuck in a freaky limbo for eternity. ETERNITY! No escape and it could be horrible like in the Lovely Bones or something. Me no want...

Yeah, that'd be much worse than living on earth where certain members of our race make a conscious and ongoing effort to eradicate, not only the rights, but the lives of others of the species, while others on the opposite end of the spectrum do their very best to preserve the planet and the lives on it. Trust me yo, if there's a limbo, we are most certainly living it.

rainbow kirby

I'm an atheist. I never really believed, but the more I learnt about Catholic beliefs and doctrine the more I knew it wasn't for me at all.

Kevin Smith says that god is played by Alanis Morissette, that makes about as much sense as god being an old white dude.

Nervous Wreck

rainbow kirby wrote: »

Kevin Smith says that god is played by Alanis Morissette, that makes about as much sense as god being an old white dude.

Or a flying spaghetti monster, as the hypothesis goes...

Nevyn

I don't believe in them, but I do acknowlegde the existence of several Gods/gods of both genders. Some of whom I have a personal relationship with, some of whom I have a working relationship with, some which neither they or I have any time for each other and some are just damn possesive and meddling in my life.

liah

Thaedydal wrote: »

I don't believe in them, but I do acknowlegde the existence of several Gods/gods of both genders. Some of whom I have a personal relationship with, some of whom I have a working relationship with, some which neither they or I have any time for each other and some are just damn possesive and meddling in my life.

How can you not believe in them but acknowledge their existence?

Do you mean you realize they're there but choose to not pay them mind? ie, you don't follow their religion, but you "know" they're there? Which.. would be simply belief without the religion part, really.

Maybe I misread.

Catari Jaguar

Nervous Wreck wrote: »

Yeah, that'd be much worse than living on earth where certain members of our race make a conscious and ongoing effort to eradicate, not only the rights, but the lives of others of the species, while others on the opposite end of the spectrum do their very best to preserve the planet and the lives on it. Trust me yo, if there's a limbo, we are most certainly living it.

At least it only lasts 114 years max.

What if you're just your own floating consciousness, without a body, alone in some weird space time continuum. Like all the freakiest brownie trips you've ever had all rolled into one.

I don't think people really think about the forever aspect of eternal life. I don't want to be existing in, what? Paradise (maybe) for a billion trillion quadrillion years. Although there is probably no grains of sand, seasons, hands on a clock time it still never ends. I don't like that. What if I hate the afterlife? It's not like I can kill myself, I'd be like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day...

Nervous Wreck

Lil Kitten wrote: »

At least it only lasts 114 years max.

What if you're just your own floating consciousness, without a body, alone in some weird space time continuum. Like all the freakiest brownie trips you've ever had all rolled into one.

I don't think people really think about the forever aspect of eternal life. I don't want to be existing in, what? Paradise (maybe) for a billion trillion quadrillion years. Although there is probably no grains of sand, seasons, hands on a clock time it still never ends. I don't like that. What if I hate the afterlife? It's not like I can kill myself, I'd be like Bill Murray in Groundhg Day...

If it makes you feel any better, I don't really believe in quantitive time, which is also (to a degree, of course; let's not be silly) just another invention of man. Therefore in an altered state of being with no physical attributes to your 'being', time would cease to be a discernible external force and merely the ether in which your 'spirit' resides, thus trapping you in a 'forever' that lasts one singular moment. But that's silly philosophical jargin that has nothing to do with the topic, so I apologise... I go on tangents.

Wibbs

Agreed, but that's taking the notion of an "afterlife" and putting the constraints of life on it. You consider your life as it stands on quite finite concepts of time. I'm x age so therefore. Its quite a linear existence. That for eternity would be maddening, but complete awareness outside of time and casue and effect woul be a very different reality.

*EDIT* what nervous wreck said while I was waffling

o1s1n

Nervous Wreck wrote: »

Or a flying spaghetti monster, as the hypothesis goes...

That's one tasty god. NYOM NYOM!

I'm an athiest and am at peace with myself and the world around me. I don't understand why people rely on some all powerful friend in the sky to help them out in times of need.

For instance, I've had a rake of health problems over the last few years. Some pretty hard to deal with stuff. Any time I make a recovery, according to my gran it's because she was praying for me.

Now to be honest, I find this kind of thinking an insult to both my own perseverance and the skill of the doctors who are helping me out - None of our efforts really mattered because it was just big oul god deciding he wanted things to be good again.

pikachucheeks

Lil Kitten wrote: »

I'm spiritual, not religious.

+1.

That's as far as I'll ever go to discussing my beliefs.

In my opinion, a person's faith is a very private thing.

Nervous Wreck

pikachucheeks wrote: »

+1.

That's as far as I'll ever go to discussing my beliefs.

In my opinion, a person's faith is a very private thing.

Only if they themself hold it to be.

o1s1n

Nervous Wreck wrote: »

Only if they themself hold it to be.

Which is a very unfortunate thing. If more people kept their beliefs to themselves like pikachucheeks the world would be a much nicer place to live.

SeekUp

Yes, I believe in something that we have defined as "God" . . . although I don't agree with the stereotypical definition. I was raised christian, and I still am, although I find that my interpretations of many things have changed along with my ideas of what "God" is.

mariaalice wrote: »

I believe there is an energy greater that us gender doesn't come in to it..

I'd have to agree with this idea, I do believe a lot of it boils down to a kind of energy that is greater than ourselves. And I think that once we get into discussions about God and an afterlife and souls and all of that, we begin to talk about something that I truly believe we have no idea what we're talking about. Tbh, I think that all of the things that we have to describe a particular thing or experience aren't sufficient, and defining "God" as a man or woman doesn't really apply. It's in our nature to try to understand everything, but I think this is one of those things that we can never truly know, or fully understand as we are.

That is one thing. If we're talking about religion, I shift to a separate part of my mind, where I think that religion is how we attempt to understand this God/higher power that we've pigeonholed into what we think it is. That being said, I'm a firm believer that you take out of religion what is useful to you, if anything at all. I'd consider myself modern, but I still go to church for various reasons (more so when I lived near a church that I liked, but that's another story). There are some traditions that I enjoy (believe it or not!), some things that make me feel calm inside, and other things, like prayer, to which I don't fully submit.

I don't think it's outrageous to believe in "God" and also believe in the amazingness of science. I fully accept that I may be wrong and what we see here is all that there is. And I think all of that is okay.

SeekUp

o1s1n wrote: »

Which is a very unfortunate thing. If more people kept their beliefs to themselves like pikachucheeks the world would be a much nicer place to live.

On the flip side, if more people shared, the world would come to accept more points of view.

Not pressure to share, I'm just saying.

Nevyn

liah wrote: »

How can you not believe in them but acknowledge their existence?

Do you mean you realize they're there but choose to not pay them mind? ie, you don't follow their religion, but you "know" they're there? Which.. would be simply belief without the religion part, really.

Maybe I misread.

Do you believe in your pc/mac?
Does it require your belief to exist and function?

Most witches don't believe in gods. They know that the gods exist, of course. They even deal with them occasionally. But they don't believe in them. They know them too well. It would be like believing in the postman.
Terry Pratchett: Witches Abroad

o1s1n

SeekUp wrote: »

On the flip side, if more people shared, the world would come to accept more points of view.

Not pressure to share, I'm just saying.

I suppose it depends on what you mean by the term 'share'. If everyone did it in a passive way that'd be great. We'd live in a utopian society where everyone listens to everyone elses ideas, takes them on board and forms their own view.

However, with human nature as it is, some people confuse 'share' with 'force upon' and 'indoctrinate'. So unfortunately it doesn't really work

liah

Thaedydal wrote: »

Do you believe in your pc/mac?
Does it require your belief to exist and function?

I guess it all rides on your definition of "belief." I take it you mean "belief" as "to have positive/religious faith in," rather than "belief" in terms of "how can you not believe in it, it's right there!" (ie, of course I believe in my PC, it's sitting right in front of me, it's real, and it's proven) which is where I got confused, but I get it now. Simple misunderstanding!

Catari Jaguar

SeekUp wrote: »

On the flip side, if more people shared, the world would come to accept more points of view.

Not pressure to share, I'm just saying.

Not points of view if they're not YOUR points of view.. Why was I baptised Catholic? Because my parents were, and their parents were etc etc.. If you're just regurgitating and preaching some unquestioned belief in an ancient or splinter section of an organised religion then it's not helpful to anyone.

Personally, give me a nice sunset, childish innocence, witnessing a good deed, a beautiful song, a Studio Ghibli anime or all the inspiring little moments at the end of American Beauty (cheesy!) to feed my soul any day over some scriptures that tell me how to live my life.

SeekUp

Lil Kitten wrote: »

Not points of view if they're not YOUR points of view.. Why was I baptised Catholic? Because my parents were, and their parents were etc etc.. If you're just regurgitating and preaching some unquestioned belief in an ancient or splinter section of an organised religion then it's not helpful to anyone.

I meant more along the lines of, one person's pov (whether they've questioned it or not is a different story) is that they believe in multiple gods, and another person's pov is to believe in a man with a halo and a beard, and yet another person's pov is that television is god . . . but the more different things that we hear, the more other ideas become less alien to us, ideas other than the stereotype.

As o1s1n mentioned, forcing upon is one thing, but saying, 'I think god is this' or that or 'I don't believe at all' or 'I believe in good deeds and sunsets' is eye opening for people in a lot of different situations.

Nevyn

liah wrote: »

I guess it all rides on your definition of "belief." I take it you mean "belief" as "to have positive/religious faith in," rather than "belief" in terms of "how can you not believe in it, it's right there!" (ie, of course I believe in my PC, it's sitting right in front of me, it's real, and it's proven) which is where I got confused, but I get it now. Simple misunderstanding!

http://www.dictionary.net/belief

1. Assent to a proposition or affirmation, or the acceptance of a fact, opinion, or assertion as real or true, without immediate personal knowledge; reliance upon word or testimony; partial or full assurance without positive knowledge or absolute certainty; persuasion; conviction; confidence; as, belief of a witness; the belief of our senses. [1913 Webster]

I also know that no two people can perceive the exact same thing it is all personal subjective but for me there is no 'belief' required for me in terms of the Gods/gods which I acknowledge to exist.

Galvasean

I was raised in the Catholic tradition (in the fairly lapsed Irish sort of way in that you don't know too much about it and ignore the bits you don't like), but am now an out n' proud atheist.
No religion, God(s), spirituality, tarot cards, karma (that concept I like though, even though I don't believe in it), souls, afterlife, spirits (Holy or otherwise).
Many have called me a cynic for not believing in any of it, but I think it is the more reasonable position. The universe seems to work just fine without adding in supernatural elements to it. In pretty much all matters I generally go with whichever idea has the best evidence supporting it. Religion/spirituality have never come up with an idea that appeased me in terms of evidence. The non religious/spiritual explanation always comes out on top for me.
Some have claimed that I need to be more open-minded, but in my opinion they are misguided. This video on open-mindedness explains my position quite well (worth a watch).

One thing I'd like to comment on: Several people have expressed the notion that they do not believe in God/the supernatural par sé, but still believe in some sort of afterlife as the concept of ceasing to exist entirely is unthinkable. To me this looks like wishful thinking, trying to avoid a horrible fate. Ceasing to exist does not strike me as something to fear. It should not be embraced either mind. Since it is by very definition, nothing, it should be treated as such, neither good nor bad.