No religious affliation

[PaganPriest]

I dont know why everyone needs to be pressured into having a religious preference. Personally I think that it is none of my concern what is governing me, and im perfectly content just living my life not thinking what's up there.

I cant wait to get the responce tho this ;D

[Scot]

Well that makes sense. However, I assume you've never had religious influence (truly) in your life.

For the first 15 years of my life I was a christian. For about 3 of those years, I was a true devoted one too, or at least tried and wanted to be. After a while, well, I'm not really sure what happened, I just opened myself to the idea that Christianity may not be true, and eventually I be came more accepting of that.

It's been almost 2 years for me not being a Christian, but I can't just walk away from it, because:
a.)This is a Christian nation in which I am surrounded by Christian influence(which i think is bull)
b.)I still have that little voice in my had saying "HELL..."

That's where I stand.

[JohnnyJihadFace]

PaganPriest said:

I dont know why everyone needs to be pressured into having a religious preference. Personally I think that it is none of my concern what is governing me, and im perfectly content just living my life not thinking what's up there.

I cant wait to get the responce tho this ;D

It is a curiosity thing if you ask me. But really, if we didnt have religious groups forcing shit on people, illegally advertising, trying to make their beliefs put into law, trying to stop abortion, etc. then we'd have nothing to talk about.

But since all of those awesome things are being done, we non-believers have much to fight for.

In my opinion.

[joelhaldeman]

If i had no religious beliefs i would have no purpose to live and no will to live. Everything to me would be meaningless and would be one useless day after another. With every effort i would be seeking my own satisfaction and i would always wonder why my consciouse is sooo annoying. I would be aimlessly seeking a little more welth then the guy before me falsley thinking it is going to make me happy. I would lie in bed at night time asking myself whats the point and having the worse feeling ever when i thought about death. I have been through this and i am so glad to say i have jesus christ.

[Scot]

joelhaldeman said:

If i had no religious beliefs i would have no purpose to live and no will to live. Everything to me would be meaningless and would be one useless day after another. With every effort i would be seeking my own satisfaction and i would always wonder why my consciouse is sooo annoying. I would be aimlessly seeking a little more welth then the guy before me falsley thinking it is going to make me happy. I would lie in bed at night time asking myself whats the point and having the worse feeling ever when i thought about death. I have been through this and i am so glad to say i have jesus christ.

Don't take offense to this











even though you will













That post makes you sound so full of shit it's unbelievable. You have not lived a DAY of your life without religion so there is absolutely no way you could know that you would have no will to live. It almost sounds pathetic to me, I'm sorry.

Try stepping outside the box, just for a little while....a day, a week. Live your life without the religious influence, and also without the non-religious influence. I can GUARANTEE you it will not be a bit different...unless you make yourself believe it is.

[PaganPriest]

joelhaldeman said:

...with every effort i would be seeking my own satisfaction and i would always wonder why my consciouse is sooo annoying...

no offense or anything, but i think that if there were no religious things around us, there would be no conscious being so annoying. there would be no "10 commandments" that we must "follow and obey." I know you're gonna assume that this will make us savages. but i dont think so, because if there were no "absolute correctness" and thus having something for men to feel the need to disobey.

[Scot]

I'll pretty much agree with that....

[CrotchKickSteve]

I have been an atheist for the past 5 years of my life. I grew up in a roman catholic area (Italians), and my parents spoke to me, and my little sister alot about God, and whatnot. For the last 5 years I have done more arguing then John and Dan put together ;D . Slowly however, I have become exhausted battling christian after christian about topics including Church state relations, and Gods existance. I actually try to avoid arguments nowadays, and just let my christian friends win their arguements. I have also lost my touch in this ability.

One thing i will not dodge is the topic of religious affliation with government. Congressmen should not favor, or disapprove of issues due to what their religion believes, yet they may do it anyway.

One topic that has gone underfire is Gay marriage. If two people who are in love want to get married let them. errr... i must go to bed now and finish this post tomorrow.

[PaganPriest]

i like how that has nothing to do with what i originally posted jon but good point, no one should tell others who to love.

[JohnnyJihadFace]

PaganPriest said:

i like how that has nothing to do with what i originally posted jon but good point, no one should tell others who to love.

that was steve, i am John. And I agree wholeheartedly.

but thats another thread.

[JohnnyJihadFace]

joelhaldeman said:

If i had no religious beliefs i would have no purpose to live and no will to live. Everything to me would be meaningless and would be one useless day after another. With every effort i would be seeking my own satisfaction and i would always wonder why my consciouse is sooo annoying. I would be aimlessly seeking a little more welth then the guy before me falsley thinking it is going to make me happy. I would lie in bed at night time asking myself whats the point and having the worse feeling ever when i thought about death. I have been through this and i am so glad to say i have jesus christ.

And that makes you a completely weak, feebleminded, pathetic human being.

Now before you get mad, I dont believe that. I dont believe that what you think would happen to you would happen. But, have you ever heard an atheist (dan says it a lot) call christians weak? What you just wrote plays into it, what you described is a person without substance, without sense of self, without a love for living, without character.

As I mentioned, I dont believe that is true. But if it is, my very atheistically-typical advice for you is that you find something in yourself that can change that, because christianity has this big, oh well how should I say it.. lack of truth?

But me and you both know we disagree there.

note: I really hope you know I am not bashing you in this post.

[PaganPriest]

JohnnyJihadFace said:

And that makes you a completely weak, feebleminded, pathetic human being.

Now before you get mad, I dont believe that. I dont believe that what you think would happen to you would happen. But, have you ever heard an atheist (dan says it a lot) call christians weak? What you just wrote plays into it, what you described is a person without substance, without sense of self, without a love for living, without character.

As I mentioned, I dont believe that is true. But if it is, my very atheistically-typical advice for you is that you find something in yourself that can change that, because christianity has this big, oh well how should I say it.. lack of truth?

But me and you both know we disagree there.

note: I really hope you know I am not bashing you in this post.

oh i wouldnt say he's weak and pathetic, just cause he believes in a differing point of view. He may be misguided, according to our belief, but that doesnt make him weak and pathetic. To have views in this world is what makes it so great.

But i have to agree. A person "not knowing god" is not a person with no lust for life, no zest that spirits us. I beg to differ, im a very zestful guy, mostly. so we're not like savages or something for not "knowing god."

[joelhaldeman]

Justin you are a very agry person who made fun of brad for giving $1 to an organisation which feeds starving children.....think about what that says

But hey everyone thanks for assuming, yes i have lived that way, just because i went to a christian school doesnt mean it affected me at the time. If i do not let it affect me then it will not. Just like you do to me, you do not let me affect you. you have no point then, i have lived like that and i guess you cabn go ahead and tell me, a person who is not opassionate about serving god, what is he most likely going to serve. The answer is simple M-O-N-E-Y. As far as i can remember all i have learned in high school is go to college and get a good job so you can make lots of money and live in a big house and have lots and lots of pleasurs, thats what the average american lives for.

and paganpriest you are assuming a situation, you assume that withoutm morals people will be good, how does that work? Sometime it is true that people do bad things because they are told not to do them. But that is not true most of the time. Look at savages stuck on an island with no authority. Hey justin ever read a certain book in english class about a bunch of kids being stuck on an island with no adults? i sure didnt and i cant think of what it was called but you get what im saying. They had no rules and they killed each other. They became salvages. What is that book called.

I absolutly agree christians are weak, but im not about to say everyone else is strong.

[PaganPriest]

joelhaldeman said:

Justin you are a very agry person who made fun of brad for giving $1 to an organisation which feeds starving children.....think about what that says

...

and paganpriest you are assuming a situation, you assume that withoutm morals people will be good, how does that work? Sometime it is true that people do bad things because they are told not to do them. But that is not true most of the time. Look at savages stuck on an island with no authority. Hey justin ever read a certain book in english class about a bunch of kids being stuck on an island with no adults? i sure didnt and i cant think of what it was called but you get what im saying. They had no rules and they killed each other. They became salvages. What is that book called.

a) im very offended that you said that joel, very. i defend you and you rip me apart.

b) you say im assuming, but you, too, are assuming that morals have caused good in some people. i dare to propose that it was not the morals that made good, but that people were good before, and moral just happened along for the bad people.

but i repeat i am very very very very offended by that

[ContentUnitShifter]

joelhaldeman said:

Justin you are a very agry person who made fun of brad for giving $1 to an organisation which feeds starving children.....think about what that says

Hey justin ever read a certain book in english class about a bunch of kids being stuck on an island with no adults? i sure didnt and i cant think of what it was called but you get what im saying. They had no rules and they killed each other. They became salvages. What is that book called.

I absolutly agree christians are weak, but im not about to say everyone else is strong.

Okay....one at a time, here. ;P First off, what was with the top comment? Is that a personal thing? I'm not sure if I was supposed to read the pre-lude to that or not, but if so, than I guess I missed it. It certantly didn't seem to sit well with Justin, though.

Second, that book is called Lord of the Flies, and if you'd read it, you'd know that it was a showcase of the base animalistic instincts and actions of human nature, not necesarily one showing the need for laws or base religion. However, it can be accepted that each person can get their own interpretation from a literary work, so I suggest you read it and decide for yourself.

Third, I don't know why you say Christians are weak. I'm asumming you mean weak-willed, so I have to comment.....I don't believe that everyone who becomes A Christian is any-more inherently weaker than anyone else. Not everyone uses their religion as a crutch. Many are strengthened in their resolve and will-power by their beliefs, but it's not because they were weak to begin with. Those who ARE weak-willed would most likely be the ones to turn to depression, drugs, or seeking a religious belief to try and give themselves and their lives meaning. It all depends on what type of person you are from the start.