Anyone non-religious here? Please be nice!

[deb1]

Quote:
Destinduck, I read on the thread for Christians that you were having a bad day partially because you had read a depressing thread. I am guessing that depressing thread was this one?


I think that the problem might not be that we are bashing religion but that you aren't used to reading testimonies of people who have left their faith.


Also, for many religious people, an individual saying that they don't need or want the god of their religion might seem blasphemous. It is probably even more troubling to read people explaining why your faith makes no sense to them and that they are very happy and moral without your faith.

I do believe in a higher power and now that I have left my religion, I feel very, very close to God. Really, I feel his/her presence more today then I have ever felt it.

My son asked me if I thought that an all powerful God needs people to worship him and I said no. I am certain that he doesn't care if we believe as long as we try to be good to others. To me, my view of God has expanded.

 

[Reinbeau]

deb1, I agree with you. Christians reading this thread think we're bashing, but we're not, we're relating our own individual journeys into spirituality. They don't all follow the same path, because we are individuals. For some of us (speaking for myself, but being inclusive as I know others feel somewhat the same) the quest is intellectual, and unfortunately if you think logically many of the stories related in the bible just don't make sense - I know, that's where 'faith' comes in, but some people just can't accept things based on faith.

Many of the stories related in the bible are there to guide morality - I know the distinction between religion and morality was discussed earlier, but they are tied together, because many use the bible as the moral code to guide and teach the next generation. That's one of the main reasons for the bible, to use it as a written moral code to try to rein in the masses - before organized religion (and even once it was founded, but that's another story) things were very savage. Trying to bring order to all that was a huge endeavor. Fear of a higher power that would punish if you didn't obey was a powerful influence.

Can I just say, I am against the removal of religion from society, mainly due to that guidance to the young. If we remove all religion, what teaches the morality we need to live together in a civilized society? There is no 'secular', so to speak, bible, or code of ethics we can use to teach our children. In my circle of Pantheist we discuss this - and the arguments frequently can get contentious. What do we fill the god-shaped hole with? No one has come up with a good enough answer. The other problem is getting the different religions to live happily together. The United States has done a fair job of it, of course we can come up with numerous examples where things haven't worked, but it's a better system than some other places (which will remain unnamed). Many people find solace in their religions, and from where I sit, trying to remove that from society is causing far more problems than it's solving.

I don't want to turn this into an argument about the merits of religion in society! Please, that isn't my intent, so try to sit on your hands if you're being stirred that way.

I believe in a higher power, I have no idea what form it takes - it may be the pure energy the universe is composed of. I don't know, but I do enjoy the quest.

 

[OrpingtonManor]

As I was getting more and more uncomfortable with the direction things were going yesterday, it wasn't because I was a Christian. I'm not. It was because I felt like we were spending a lot of time saying why we felt the bible wasn't a good guide for us. Totally valid, but we started to get heavily into the academic argument, and seemed to stray from what spoke to our hearts.

 

[OrpingtonManor]

Quote:

 

[Organics North]

Quote:
Well said..
ON

 

[Junkmanme]

Edited - George Carlin is very funny, but very irreverent, and will upset some people.

The true triumph of reason is that it enables us to get along with those who do not possess it. -Voltaire

Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices. -Voltaire

If you are out to describe the truth, leave elegance to the tailor. -Albert Einstein

 

[destinduck]

not last post

orpington nailed it

athiest ,christian, whatever. thats what was cool about this thread for the most part. You got to see what people think right or wrong. For the record Im not religious. If you go back and read all the post and the OP I think youll see what I mean.or maybe not. Dont know what else to say.sorry

 

[CoopCrazy]

Quote:
Im still not seeing it.. We will all be saddened by your not posting here anymore.. I still think that folks have done a great job of staying on topic and have been very good about not Bashing others...

 

[farmerlor]

Quote:
I disagree. Hammurabi had the ten commandments down and working just fine without any fiery hell to consign people to if they didn't follow them and that was long before the Christians arrived. Morality is just good common sense. Take something from someone and they're going to come take something of yours so don't take things from other people. Tell a lie often enough and people won't hang with you anymore. People have asked me several times how I can raise children with values and morals if I'm not Christian. I find the question particularly maddening and hypocritical as if Christians have some kind of monopoly on the morality of the world. My kids are all different but the one word that describes them all is "honorable."

 

[Wifezilla]

Morality is doing what is right no matter what you are told
Religion is doing what you are told no matter what is right

See? I knew if I went to bed by the time I woke up someone else would sum it all up for me!

There is no 'secular', so to speak, bible, or code of ethics we can use to teach our children.

Yes there is. "the proper moral purpose of one's life is the pursuit of one's own happiness or rational self-interest; that the only social system consistent with this morality is full respect for individual rights"
It's called Objectivism.

If you hold individual rights are your core belief, you not only look out for your individual rights, but you fiercely defend OTHER people's individual rights. It is the code I live by each and every day. It is the one I naturally followed as a child. Religion did not change that.​