Your religous views, and your view on the meaning of life.

[Kazekage]

Now this is what I like to call an evolutionary debate. It starts off with us listing our beliefs and such, than eventually we start discussing and comparing beliefs. Eventually we start arguing, people become very opinionated and then Babylon comes here and closes it in about 3-4 weeks. =)

Now the purpose of this thread is to discuss our spirituality. I might even make a list of people and their religions for further use in other debates.

My religion is complcated.

I'am a Hindu Mahayana Buddhist Unitarian Universalist.......

Basically I believe

One god-Many forms

Ultimate purpose of life is to become enlightened, and accept (ACCEPT NOT LEARN) the ultimate truth that suffering is caused by attachment, to objects that are mortal.

Your fate is determined by the actions you make in life. (karma)

If you fail at reaching life's goal you will get repeated chances at it. (reincarnation)

Hell is a state of mind, not a place, you are never condemned, hell isn't the afterlife it is LIFE in general. Hell is ignorance, ignorance can only be cured by enlightenment. Which is the purpose of having a hell.

My political views are liberal on the point of being a socialist.

God can, and does, send forms of him down to earth.

Gay Rights

Selective abortion

Evolution that was guided by an almighty

We are not alone (aliens)

I agree with everything listed in science because it doesn't argue with my beliefs. =)

So basically for you slow typers you should be telling me

Do you believe in a god(s)
Whats your view on the afterlife
Your Political Views
Life's ultimate purpose?

 

[pocketmunster]

The meaing of life is to be here now. Nothing more nothing less.

 

[Erienne]

The meaning of life is 42.

 

[Kazekage]

The meaing of life is to be here now. Nothing more nothing less.

I guess that could be true.

As humans though shouldn't we be reaching for something farther.

A greater truth if you will?

I take it you are an Atheist?

 

[Erienne]

Not always, and I doubt there is a greater Truth. You should be nice, help others, and try to help the world in general. Do something that will make people remember you fondly, not spit on your grave.

 

[pocketmunster]

No. No. Far from it. Search "be here now" for more info on my beliefs.

 

[ShadowSplash]

I dont have one specific belief. I'm supposed to be a Christian (because of family) however I dont specify myself as anything.

First off, I'd like to say that I think 99% of the content in the Holy Bible is complete and utter lies/bs.

I dont particularly believe in a God. However, I don't rule it out. I don't believe in the God that most religious people believe in (like Jesus, Mary, etc.). I do think there is a possibility that there could be some higher power, but it's about 50/50 to me.

I have a few ideas on life and the afterlife.

I think there's a possibility that we are just lifeforms that were created just by the lucky circumstances that this planet was able to sustain life. And when we di, that's it. Everythings done.

I also believe a little in reincarnation. I like to think that there's more to life than just living in this Hell, and dying forever. So sometimes I think that maybe after we die, our spirits move on to another world/dimension. Or if we werent good people (by my standards, a good person may do bad things, but as long as they have a good heart they should be known as a good person. I could get more detailed but that's not the subject of this thread.) then we are "reincarnated" and given another chance to try living a good life as best we can.

Believing what I just stated, would mean there has to be someone in charge (a higher power) to decide if you move on to the next world, or if you reincarnate. So that's why I dont completely deny the existance of a God or Higher Power. I just find it hard to believe since we have no proof whatsoever. But I can't use that to completely rule it out. So I just keep the idea a possibility in my head.

I really dont know what to believe on this, but those are just some of the ideas I usually think of.

 

[ShadowSplash]

i seem to be the only one that really put some ideas out there. o.o lol

 

[Fused]

well, see on one side you have people say: "There is no meaning of life." and then you have some religious nutjobs who say "The emaning of life is to procreate and die."

Well, people tell me that my view on the meaning of life is unusual. I don't think so, but whatever.

I'm an atheist, although I don't completely rule out the possibility of a greater being. But, my view on the meaning of life now.

If you look back into history, you will see countless mistakes: the Crusades, slavery, oppression, puppet governements. That's our purpose on this planet. Our purpose is to make mistakes and have future generations learn from these mistakes and prevent them from being amde again. Of course, since the 21st Century, we've been regressing.

Evolution: no
Gay rights: no

See what I mean?

As I said, we're here to make mistakes and learn from them. Humans will never be perfects, but that doesn't mean that we can't be smart. If our ancestors had never made mistakes, we probably wouldn't be anywhere close to what we are now. The only way you learn to do something right is to do it wrong. That's my belief.

 

[DarkPsychoBoost]

My religion is Islam. I studied other beliefs as well, but I find Islam as the only one I can follow. According to Islam, there is only one God (Allah). God created everything. God controls everything. God knows everything. God has no limitations of any kind. God pwns. This world is temporary and our purpose is to live our lives according to laws prescribed by the Quran and gain a place in heaven. Attachment to worldly things is discouraged. God decides who goes where (heaven/hell).

Humans are superior to any other being in the universe (other than God), that quashes any chances of the existence of aliens.

Evolution: no
Gay rights: no

Science is completely compatible with Islam . Education (science, philosophy, religious knowledge) is mandatory on all muslims regardless of age, gender.

My political views are moderate.

 

[pocketmunster]

Evolution: no
Gay rights: no

You should leave in a little room for open mindedness. Mind explaning why, or is the word "No" satisfactory in explaining your understanding of the subjects?

 

[Zenotwapal]

hey you juyz, lets explain som obvious info.

As many of you people may know.

I'm a tride true Christian.

I believe God exists, basically.
Jesus died on the cross to correct the wrongs we did.
The Bible is a Non-Fiction writing, as i believe.

We are being tested by God, as he wants to see how loyal we are to him.
If we pass his great test called "Life" we go onto Heaven, to start our eternal life with our Lord.
Hell is a place for those who can't pass his test, and do good.


Life is nothing but a prequel to the next life we have with God.
He's let us live on this great earth, and I think we should respect him for that.

May the Lord be with you.

 

[Zetta Awesome]

My religion is a composition of two religions found in Cambodia. The beliefs of my family as well as mine is a mix of about 98% Theravada Buddhism and about 2% Hinduism/Cambodian Folk religion/animism

Purpose in Life- Reach Nirvana/Nibbana, help people along the way, spread peace and happiness

Gay Rights- Yes, rights shouldn't be denied due to sexual orientation.
Aliens-Not sure, more on the verge of believing they exist
Selective Abortion

ShadowSplash- You sound more like a Agnostic Theist or a Deist.

 

[The Doctor]

I'm an unbaptised agnostic bound for an eternity of irreverent chat in Limbo. I don't remember religion ever being a big deal in my family; I think my mum's Christian because she believes in Heaven, but not devout. We used to go to church but we got tired of it fast. I pick holes in the Christian faith a lot, but a God or deity figure could be possible, as there's simply no way of knowing for sure. I do tend to toe the line between "agnostic" and "liberal Christian", but I'm now back on the fence.

There's very clear scientific evidence in favour of evolution, so I'm cool with that. I also believe in gay rights because there's absolutely no reason why they shouldn't have them. And the meaning of life? I'm going with the Rorschach theory:

There is none, save what you believe there is. (Essentially, the meaning of life is purely subjective)

 

[DarkPsychoBoost]

You should leave in a little room for open mindedness. Mind explaning why, or is the word "No" satisfactory in explaining your understanding of the subjects?

Religious beliefs. Although for evolution, It "could" be that beings OTHER THAN HUMANS came into being through evolution (guided by God).

 

[Drake Pokétrainer]

I'm an Atheist, I used to be a Christian, but you know how that goes. It's just in society and you do whatever the adults do when you're a little kid and don't really think about it.

So yeah, for me humans just evolved from monkeys, which evolved from lemur like mammals, etc (I can sum up the whole evolutionary way but that'll take too much time).

We're going to extinct within the next few thousand years (mass extinctions FTW, it begun 150 years ago).

From the way I view it, the chances that there is alien life is around 100%. The chance of an intelligent civilisation that WANTS to make contact with us, pretty slim.

So yeah, after you die, you just rot although I believe in such things as a soul and maybe even reincarnation, which could be explained as a natural phenomenon but we're just too underevolved to understand and comprehend it.

The meaning of life? There is none, you have to give it a meaning and value yourself!


Luckily I'm not one of those Atheists that hate people with religions (I would have to hate my entire family then xD) but I don't like extremists (like those Jehovah people that want to make creatonists of everyone etc).

Oh yeah and I'm sure Jesus and Mohammed and other prophets existed, and they were probably great people, but you know how verbal stories change. For example, Jesus helped a cripple man to go to the Synagogue, ten streets away people say he healed the man's legs.

 

[Tomato-kun]

Well,I'm Buddhist...

Do I believe in a gods? Sort of,it's complicated.
I do believe in one god,not any specific one but she isn't very godly. She is just..There. She does nothing,but listen. She is not wise,or anything like that.

My views on the afterlife? I'm not sure anymore,and neither do I care. I don't care if,or if there isn't,a "life" after death.

Political Views?

Homosexual rights? ...Everyone deserves the right to be with the one they love.

Evolution? Well,of course,I believe in evolution. I've believed in it since I was 6,though I wouldn't call it a "belief" since the evidence is right there..

Alien life? I believe,there was some sort of alien life. Somewhat large creatures on the moon,due to the way the craters look. But,they're extinct now. If there still is alien life,they're microscopic organisms.

Life's ultimate purpose?

To live life happily with the ones you love,live the best life you can live because you only have one.

 

[Kikas123]

I would consider myself an agnostic the leans toward Intelligent Design, as from what we know, design is probable, however I say agnostic because we truly do not know, and no naturalist theory has really satisfied me.

Political Views: I am Right Leaning, generally Republican, but sometimes as far right as Libertarian (mostly in Canada, as our PC party is farther Left than our Centrist Liberal Party)

Economics: The Free Market should be allow to run it's course, and it is rare that over regulation, to the point of Socialism ever helped a Capitalist system, and these bailouts defiantly will not.

Homosexual Rights: Already legal in Canada, however a church should not be forced to marry a homosexual couple because it is against the establishment's religion and nowadays there are so many other options it is not necessary.

Evolution: I believe in Micro-Evolution because it has been seen, and can happen within a generation, however I find Macro-Evolution a little sketchy.

Aliens: I've got a feeling that there may be a few intelligent civilizations, seeing how extraordinary our galactic subdivision is.

Afterlife: I really don't know, no one has really come back from the dead to tell us how awesome it really is, however Ouija boards are particularly entertaining.

 

[PartyPokemon]

I would say I'm Christian. But some would disagree, probably because I have some personal beliefs and because I agree with some other religions on some ideas. I think that Gandhi put it best when he said "All religions are true."

I also believe that God is real (and that he is the one uncreated Creator) and that he has had a human incarnate in the form of one Jesus of Nazareth (who, in my opinion, will return... eventually). But I don't believe that one will get a one-way ticket to hell just by not believing in said God. I think that good deeds and caring for your fellow man are just as important.
And the purpose of life... well, everybody should apply their own meaning.
I don't believe in reincarnation (though it is a possibility for sure). I believe in Heaven and Hell. Although who goes where is something only God can decide, so I try not to judge people.
As well, I do think that enlightenment is an important thing to strive to attain.

I think that evolution did happen (and why not? It doesn't conflict with my religion).
Gays can marry as much as they like, I really don't care.
I'm quite liberal.

Hmm... this thread could get interesting... I'll keep checking perhaps.

 

[pocketmunster]

Now partypokemon is the kind of christian every christian should be. Hes not brainwashed into dogma yet he can find truth in what he sees around him. And he also sees the significance of all religions pointing to the same idea. Reminds me of a proverb told to me by a psychedelic teacher of sorts, "All instruction is but a finger pointing to the moon; and those whose gaze is fixed upon the pointer will never see beyond. Even let him catch sight of the moon, and still he cannot see its beauty" ~ Budda

In essence, there are many paths to take. Each religion is pointing in a different way so you must take the way that you are comfortable with. Each one speaks to different people.


"Idolatry is to see the finger, worship the finger, and completely miss seeing the beautiful and awe inspiring reality of “the moon”… of God… of the Dharma… of the transcending nature of all reality… of the interconnected web of all existence of which we are a part." -david