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glory2glorfindel
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Post RE: Religions
on: April 02, 2004 07:43
hmm... the whole "evolution" mess gets **way** messier when you think of it as nothing. wierd... hmmmm... *goes off to puzzle over it some more*...

Actually, as of currently, I think that... well, if I ignore the whole nothing-ness and go into fatalistic-ness (*which is something of a byproduct of perceptionism, but is a whole lot easier to think in*) I believe that... hmm, can't think properly tonight... I suppose I believe in the biological viewpoint of it all, but then... okay, fatalism is not helping, I just keep thinking of "that's the way it is, there's no reason to think of the whys"... okay, since nothing exists... then... okay, I'm just gonna shut up now, cuz even I don't know what I'm trying to say. lol
Newra
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Post RE: Religions
on: April 03, 2004 02:55
Lol, yeah, funny about the evolution thing. The chances of things that 'supposedly' had to have happened in order to uphold the theory of evolution are as follows: (sientifically proven) If you took a bunch of car parts (every part that you would need to build a car) and threw them all together, the chances that they would fall together as a car are about the chances that anything could just evolve, change it's DNA, etc.

Talk about a bunch of crazy stuff, eh? Anyhow, this is getting a bit weird, sorry bout all this...

Oh yes, and Aowyn, Christian do not believe that the earth itself has always been the same. Just read about the book of Genesis in the Bible. There were some biiiiig changes on the face of the planet, and evolutionists have a funny time trying to explain the evidence we have of it. They've had to 'alter' their theories many times because of recent improvement. I read a good book on that once...

Also, I would be reluctant to believe something that a dude wrote in a book off the top of his head. I mean, Darwin said he didn't even believe in Evolution, or he had no idea that if was true or not. He was just writing a book.

~Newra
Virdil
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Post RE: Religions
on: April 03, 2004 04:38
First, the first rule of science is that there is no 100% proof of anything at all. Anything at all can be shown to be wrong or impossible, but truth can not be fully proven.

And second, sure, he did write it in a book off of the top of his head, but that's how theories start. You rarely see a case of a widely accepted law or theory having been proven as far as it can be by the first person who thought of it or proposed it. For reference, see the many models of atoms made before they settled on what they have now.

And of course he didn't know one way or another, he wasn't raised on it, nor does a scientist really know anything completely conclusively, let alone a theory. And so far, if you think about it, we don't even have solid proof that the sun will shine tomorrow, or that striking a pool ball against another will make it move as we think it will.

Along the same line, which is more likely? People witnessing an event being deceived into thinking it is a miracle, or actual miracles? The first is, of course, yet people will still believe in miracles. Point being, there really isn't a way to be sure of anything except by what you believe is right.

Mind you, I'm Jewish, so I do believe in miracles and such. Yet, if you do believe in some form of higher being who is omnipotent, you must also admit that the same also created science, so to doubt the very science that was put into our minds from the start is rather an interesting notion.

Really, not trying to start anything here, but even in being a person of an organized religion, there is still quite reason to believe in evolution. And I'll stop now, because this is a thread about religions and stating what you believe, not a thread discussing theories of Darwin.
Luthien_Telperien
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Post RE: Religions
on: April 04, 2004 05:02
I was raised in a Reform Jewish household, but my father was an atheist (and raised as one). My husband was raised Anglican but is an atheist now. I suppose I'm an agnostic-leaning-to-atheist (of the Perception-of-the-Nothing-ist variety , but I value my Jewish heritage a lot. Which means I'm spending the next two days cleaning and cooking for Passover!
Isafjordur
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Post RE: Religions
on: April 04, 2004 08:07
I am a Byzantine Catholic.
Aowyn
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Post RE: Religions
on: April 04, 2004 11:25
Eh, let's not let this turn into a debate about evolution. Yes, I've read the Bible--all parts--quite a bit. And I've read a great deal about evolution, and the arguments for it and against it, etc., etc, being a biology major. I have a number of books sitting in my bookshelves on the subject. I think it's safe to say there's no point in debating it, because you can't change someone's mind about an idea one way or another. They have to decide if they want to change their mind themselves, and if there's any reason to.

[Edited on 4/4/2004 by Aowyn]
Newra
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Post RE: Religions
on: April 04, 2004 01:03
Yeah. *eeps* Sorry if this was gettin a little crazy. My bad!

~Newra
glory2glorfindel
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Post RE: Religions
on: April 04, 2004 03:01
yes, please, let's keep this a little more on-topic. I don't mind (I dunno 'bout the mods though) if we get into peaceful questioning or deeper explanations of eachother's beliefs, but a biological debate is a little far even for me (a renowned tangent-izer).

[Edited on 6/4/2004 by glory2glorfindel]
DiamondxOfxLongxCleeve
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Post RE: Religions
on: April 04, 2004 05:07
Well, I've been raised UU (Unitarian Universalist) and I have pretty loose spiritual beliefs. I mostly follow science with things like evolution (sorry, I don't wanna spark a new debate), but I have a myriad of different beliefs surrounding a sort of cosmic 'greater power' and death/ reincarnation. Anyhow, I take some Buddhist beliefs, some sort of pagan/ druid things, and just a general mishmosh of things into my spirituality.
BelleBayard
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Post RE: Religions
on: April 05, 2004 09:00
Thanks for thinking of that, g2g and others. Yes, this is just a place to say what your beliefs are without getting into a debate about what's right and wrong. Everyone is entitled to their belief system, whether or not you agree with it.

Peace and love!:love:
k
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Post RE: Religions
on: April 05, 2004 09:11
im athiest.

i wont go into huge detail about what i believe and why... all i shall say is that i dont hate god i simply dont believe in the exsistance of one (important differnce) and also i dont go round burning bibles and denouncing other peoples religions- just because i dont follow a religion myself doesnt mean i am going to be nasty to the poeple that do

if you do want to find out more about what i believe and why you can read my journal on the subject here
erwood
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Post RE: Religions
on: April 07, 2004 05:24
I'm a Christian and proud! God rules!

And I have seen the Passion. The best movie! Everyone should see it!
glory2glorfindel
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Post RE: Religions
on: April 23, 2004 10:29
Oh yeah, and glory2glorfindel- just one thing I found interesting. If we do something wrong, it does't really matter, cause there's really nothing. If we do something right, it doesn't really matter, cause there's nothing.

What about we? What about us? Are we nothing? And if we are..........anyway, just a thought. Not tryin' to stir up trouble or anything. Juuuuust wondering.

~*meleth*~

~Newra


yes. We are, us is, nothing. Because our selves or souls or spirits or fea or whatever you won't to call it is something we believe exists. Since I believe that nothing exists, that everything we believe exists is actually a perception, then our selves are a perception as well. And therefore non-existant. It's sort of an extension of the idea that a God (or Goddess, or diety of any sort) is just an explanation for the un-explainable. That since we cannot truly explain anything (in sooth, what is "green"? I mean, we've decided that it means a perception that we have, that it is a name of something, but how can we know that the other person is having the same perception? How can we even know anything, because we cannot explain anything without knowing even what the other person is thinking. In some ways, this even makes language all a very big lie.) then is everything God? I know, that is what some might say, but then is God not an explanation, an idea, a perception in ways? a feeling? so, therefore, I do not think that everything is God, but everything is, instead, an idea, and that idea is non-existant. And all that we can think we know is non existant. A perception of that which is nothing.

After that big huge long lecture... So, we have atheists, Christians, Jews, Pagans, agnostics... so far. Anyone else wanna post?
Newra
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Post RE: Religions
on: April 24, 2004 12:51
Hm...wow, man, that's deep. And weird. Veeeeery interesting. Well, okay then! That answers my question!

~Newra
kunamagreenleaf
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Post RE: Religions
on: April 25, 2004 02:55
i believe in Eru, the one, with the Silmarillion as my bible. Everyone just thinks I'm nuts.

cheers
Newra
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Post RE: Religions
on: April 26, 2004 06:16
Man! Don't know that I've ever run across any Tolkien fan who actually believed that! What is Tolkien, then? I'll bet you really revere him. :love:

Cheers!

~Newra
Bookfaramir
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Post RE: Religions
on: April 27, 2004 10:53
What is Tolkien, then?

Tolkien was a Roman Catholic Christian. And so am I. God is great!
Newra
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Post RE: Religions
on: April 27, 2004 02:33
Lol! Yeah, I know Tolkien was Catholic. I meant, since he created Eru and everything, and Eru is kunamagreenleaf's God figure.....you know? Lol.

~Newra
glory2glorfindel
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Post RE: Religions
on: May 10, 2004 12:30
one of my friends worships tolkien, uses the one volume LotR as his bible... :dizzy: wierd, huh? lol. Seriously, he carries it around everywhere he goes, and instead of crossing himself or anything like that, he holds up the LotR in front of him, can be heard talking to it sometimes... get the point? it's a little wierd, but oh well.
Lozza
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Post RE: Religions
on: May 11, 2004 09:09
g2g - Yes that is a little strange, but technically whatever you have faith in is a religion, he could even declare it on the australia census... I declared I as a Jedi, my mother was most displeased...
amidala
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Post RE: Religions
on: May 26, 2004 02:07
( I hope it is all right if i just hop in here !)

I have been a christian all my life and i am going to get baptised in June. I am so excited because i am ready for God to fill my life with the Holy Spirit and to Live for God. I am so glad that there are other christians on this site. I thought i was the odd one out !! I am glad that God has given me the courage to step out in faith and to declare my love for him.( I hope i haven't offended anyone in any way !)

GOD RULES !!
GirlofLanguages
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Post RE: Religions
on: June 05, 2004 08:28
I'm a Christian. I have been all my life.
Like others have said, I just can't imagine living without God in my life. I have yet to be baptized, since my family left the church we were members at several years ago and we never really got involved at the church we were attending up to a couple weeks ago, but I plan on doing so once my family settles down at a new church.

So, if any of you have questions about Christianity, I'd be happy to try to answer them, though I'm no expert.
Aervir
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Post RE: Religions
on: June 09, 2004 10:54
Seems like I've finally discovered the thread I have been looking for... I mean I'm quite interested in religion and faith, but not in a single religion, but in faith as a topic per se. So I could join neither the Atheist nor the Christian nor the Pagan thread in The Prancing Pony, as I was searching for a place where all members could exchange their thoughts on religion and beliefs. As as a matter of fact, I don't know what to believe in... a bit like somebody, I think it was Tyrhael, already wrote. Technically speaking, I'm Catholic, as I was baptized and raised in the Church (even if our family was never really devout), but I think I'm heavily leaning towards the agnostic side. Anyway, it is highly interesting to hear what different kinds of philosophy/sprirituality/faith you all adhere to... even if I'm not really sure what to think of believing in The Silmarallion or declaring to be a Jedi... (Though I've always thought the Force to be a cool thing! )
GRCguardchica
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Post RE: Religions
on: June 10, 2004 12:54
I went to a catholic school from kindergarden thru 8th grade and until about 3rd grade i thought i was catholic. then i decieded i was nothing. I believed in a god but i didnt think i was a part of any organized religion. then in 6th grade i started goin to church and decieded i was a christian. And now..im going in to 9th grade and im leaning more toward atheism. Christianity doesnt really make sense to me anymore. and most of my thoughts seem to go against Christianity. Most Christians tend to get on my nerves *at least most of the ones at my church* so right now, i dont really know what i am. i still believe that there is a god but i dont really 'worship' him anymore mainly b/c i cant seem to understand the religion. id really like to be able to say i'm a christian again.
Gildor-Inglorion
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Post RE: Religions
on: June 10, 2004 06:47
Christian here (Technically Mormon, though inherently a form of Christianity)

Nothing affects anything, so messing up or doing something right doesn't change anything and every moment is perfectly new and is not affected by what happened before.


Eek. I don't want to go about bashing anyones ideas here, that's not my purpose - I merely proceed to voice my own. I personally do not agree with this statement though others are more than welcome to their own opinions.

I think life, if observed cleary shows that every moment is affected by the previous. We get up, go to school, pass or fail, move on in life, get a job based on our education - a clear consequence of doing well or poorly etc. Every action leads us to differing situations.

I personally believe that an absolute truth must exist. I find it very hard to believe that nothing is true. I think everyone has an inate sense of right and wrong. No one is inherently a murderer, we don't feel right stealing from others (I hope not at least!) etc. Where the confines of truth lie however and whether they are 100% black and white is a different topic of discussion.

In regard to the wonderful evolution controversy I, personally, don't see any reason the two ideas cannot coexist to some degree. Do I think current evolution theory has all of the answers? No, but I don't think it is possible or wise to dismiss everything therein. Interestingly if one goes back and reads the Ancient Hebrew text of Genesis the "7 days" are technically "7 periods of time (undefined in length or quantity)" which is _very_ different than simple the English rendition. It's also interesting to analyze the various names given to God throughout the Old and New testaments and their hebrew translation. Very interesting. If anyone is interested I could post more on the subject.
glory2glorfindel
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Post RE: Religions
on: June 11, 2004 05:56
no, 's okay, Gildor, no offense taken. A lot of people react that way to me, lol.

As an explanation to the "nothing matters" bit that you quoted, I'd like to expand on the part where I said, "every moment is perfectly new"... I believe that each moment, whatever it is (less than a nanosecond or more than a year) is different. I think we are truly different people in every section of time. Can you, or can anyone, find any proof that we existed a moment ago? If someone were "created" (for lack of a better word) and given memories, be they false or true, and created with the belief that they had always been there, would they ever realize that they had just been created? What if you had died in one moment and this were just a dream? I think the human mind is powerful, intelligent, complex enough to create a dream of this reality.

That said, I think another word for what I've been calling "perception" (to mean, world, existence, experience, etc) might be dream. Sometimes, my world, my existence, my experience, my life is like... well, you know when you sorta half wake up in the middle of the night and you know that you're still asleep, and you know that you're still dreaming, but you can't change it? ((not to compare any other system of beliefs to sleeping or being in the dark or anything!)) I suppose in that way, I believe in an ultimate fate, that everything's going to happen one way, and we can't really change it. I mean, we might, say, not pay the rent, and then be evicted. Some might say that we changed the fate, the destiny, by not paying the rent. I say that part of that fate, that destiny, was not paying the rent. It never really was our doing, or not doing.

Okay, some might think of this as depressing, but it's... liberating.
To quote my mom
"How am I supposed to control you if you don't care about anything??!"
Gildor-Inglorion
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Post RE: Religions
on: June 12, 2004 06:36
Really quick post - more to come later

"How am I supposed to control you if you don't care about anything??!"


To quote (very badly) Sean Connery in First Knight:

"If a man loves nothing what joy is there in his life?"

I think I agree most with Rousseau when he said:

"never exceed your right and they will soon become unlimited"
glory2glorfindel
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Post RE: Religions
on: June 23, 2004 02:00

To quote (very badly) Sean Connery in First Knight:

"If a man loves nothing what joy is there in his life?"


"What is love and what is hate? Does it even really matter?"
~~ What Is Love?, Flaming Lips.

"Each moment is different than any before it, each moment is different, is now. And if I don't kiss you, that kiss is untasted, I'll never, no never, get it back. But why should I want to? I'll be in the next moment, sweet moment, sweet lover, sweet now..."
~~ Each Moment, Ozark Mountain String Band.
To live in each moment, to be what I am in every moment of all your life... that is what I seek.

"Physics can explain the past and present, but it can say nothing about the future."
~~Brother Sun, Sister Moon.
We needn't analyze every thing that has happened and is happening, for all the good it will do us, we might as well not know it.

"To state the obvious, this world is perilous for us!"
~~ Bad Religion, "The Defense"
Well... I think it explains itself.

"Nothing is brighter than the eternal sunshine of the spotless mind."
~~ Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (I don't know where the original quote came from).

[Edited on 25/6/2004 by glory2glorfindel]
Dream~Giver
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Post RE: Religions
on: June 25, 2004 07:33
Nani's Christian, and Nani will always be Christian, but I do find the other religions very fascinating!
I know there is a God, I've seen an angel before(really!), so I know there is a God.
Woodlandelfgirl87
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Post RE: Religions
on: July 06, 2004 10:16
I am a born again Christian, and have been for some time. Like many of the others, I can't see my life without God. :love:
Findulas
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Post RE: Religions
on: July 21, 2004 10:35
Another athiest here, but I'm beginning to lean towards being Buddist and glory2glorfindel's Perception-of-Nothing-ist. I've been raised to be open-minded by my parents with my Dad a full-blown athiest and my Mum is agonstic. I have been raised on a diet of non-fiction science books. So that might explain it.
I don't really feel a connection to anything. Plus the Buddhist belief of reincarnation and Nirvana is something I'd like to read into further.
TheElvenPrincess
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Post RE: Religions
on: July 24, 2004 02:51
I'm a Christian, Protestant, and I was baptized when i was 6. Now all I have to do is witness to people more.
Ortherion
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Post RE: Religions
on: August 17, 2004 03:38
I'm Muslim and I'm proud of it.It just makes me sad that people use the term of Islamic-terrorists.I want you to know that hurting and killing people is forbidden in Kuran clearly.And I don't know why other people dislikes us but you shouldn't critisize without meeting with real Muslims
StarOfTheDunedain
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Post RE: Religions
on: August 24, 2004 01:04
Shieldmaiden for Christ here and proud of it! I've been a Christian since I was three and was baptized a few years back.

Being a Christian has been the most awesome and wonderfull experience for me. God's always there with a shoulder to cry on, and He's full of love and great advice! :love:

If anyone has any questions about God and Christianity, please PM me! I'm no expert, but I'll help in any way I can, even if it means staying up until three in the morning reading my Bible for the answer to your question! 'Cause I promise you, the answer's in there and I'm there for you!

Star

[Edited on 24/8/2004 by StarOfTheDunedain]
Woodlandelfgirl87
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Post RE: Religions
on: August 24, 2004 04:46
I'm Muslim and I'm proud of it.It just makes me sad that people use the term of Islamic-terrorists.I want you to know that hurting and killing people is forbidden in Kuran clearly.And I don't know why other people dislikes us but you shouldn't critisize without meeting with real Muslims


Well said. If you read my post earlier, you can see I'm not Muslim, but I have nothing against them. I feel sorry for those who are treated unfairly just because of the whole terrorism thing. The terrorists are just sick people who need a lot of help.
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