My religous views.

[maxtheawesome]

I wasn't raised in any specific religion. My mother was jewish and my father was a catholic. My mother didn't care all to much about their religus disagreements, my father did a bit more but he concidered judaism to be of the same book as his.

I ended up catholic untill in my late teens, when i realised neither of thoose religions could possibly be true at the same time. One of them had to be more correct. I picked catholicism. After a few years thou, I realised that if one of them were false, why would either one be true? Even if my mother weren't all to passionate about her faith as my father was, I had relatives that were, so I concidered this for a long time and became gradually more deistic for every day that went.

When I first came to this forum I had been a stable deist for quite some time, but after some realizations, I became an agnostic theist.

And now I'm sliding more and more towards atheism for each day. And i don't feel like I can controll it. It's a truly wierd feeling.

[Loseirdo]

I wasn't raised in any specific religion. My mother was jewish and my father was a catholic. My mother didn't care all to much about their religus disagreements, my father did a bit more but he concidered judaism to be of the same book as his.

I ended up catholic untill in my late teens, when i realised neither of thoose religions could possibly be true at the same time. One of them had to be more correct. I picked catholicism. After a few years thou, I realised that if one of them were false, why would either one be true? Even if my mother weren't all to passionate about her faith as my father was, I had relatives that were, so I concidered this for a long time and became gradually more deistic for every day that went.

When I first came to this forum I had been a stable deist for quite some time, but after some realizations, I became an agnostic theist.

And now I'm sliding more and more towards atheism for each day. And i don't feel like I can controll it. It's a truly wierd feeling.

The Catholic Church teaches about things known as Absolute Truth and Relative Truth.

"Absolute Truth" is God's truth. Only God can know for sure what that truth is. From his perspective, only one religion has it exactly right. Needless to say, every religion claims that theirs is said religion.

"Relative Truth" is our truth. It's the truth we find that makes sense to us. I'm a Catholic. My friend is a Lutheran. Limbo's a Baptist. Since none of us can prove that our religion is right, Catholicism is right to me, Lutheranism is right to my friend, and...Baptistism? Whatever...is right to Limbo. That's the relative truth. Catholicism isn't right for everyone.

The one truth that we can't deny is that God exists. That is the one absolute truth on which all Christians, Jews and Muslims agree.

I can't prove the existence of God to you, but I can tell you that it is foolish to dismiss God simply because there are so many religions in the world. One religion isn't right for everyone. God knows that, and He will judge us accordingly.

[maxtheawesome]

I can't prove the existence of God to you, but I can tell you that it is foolish to dismiss God simply because there are so many religions in the world. One religion isn't right for everyone. God knows that, and He will judge us accordingly.

It's not like that. I stopped being a catholic cause there were more then one religion and broken down to smallest detail it wasn't very much of a difference between them, so I became a deist.

Me sliding towards athism after that has nothing to do with it.

A leads to B which leads to C, but A doesn't lead to C.

[Limbo]

I ended up catholic untill in my late teens, when i realised neither of thoose religions could possibly be true at the same time.

Why can't they both be true?:confused: Christians, including Catholics, accept the Hebrew Bible as being the fully inspired word of God without reservation. Christians just think that God's revelation continued, so the Jewish religion is 100% true, but is incomplete.

I can see your dilemma though. You may feel you are showing loyalty to one parent over an other if you choose one religion over the other.

[General Septem]

Some people choose to dance naked before the Lord, some people choose to offer him a juggling act, and some people choose to gratify the Lord by going about their lives in the pursuit of the nature of everything.

You'll just have to get to know me to find out how I personally praise God. :D

[MrJim]

Meh... I grew up going to a Baptist Church, and quit. Then started going to Methodist church, and quit. Have been to Catholic church, don't get it and don't like it. Have been to a Pentecostal church, REALLY don't like that one.

I really don't think I'll ever find a church that fits me, but that has never had anything to do with my belief in God, just a disbelief in the teachings of man.

[Loseirdo]

Meh... I grew up going to a Baptist Church, and quit. Then started going to Methodist church, and quit. Have been to Catholic church, don't get it and don't like it. Have been to a Pentecostal church, REALLY don't like that one.

I really don't think I'll ever find a church that fits me, but that has never had anything to do with my belief in God, just a disbelief in the teachings of man.

I hope you can find some church that you can relate to, Jim. Ultimately, it's good to just have a strong belief in God, but it's always nice to have someone to turn to for help or answers. I guess you could consider this board your religious community. Problem is that you'll always get different answers from the congregation. :D

[MrJim]

I hope you can find some church that you can relate to, Jim. Ultimately, it's good to just have a strong belief in God, but it's always nice to have someone to turn to for help or answers. I guess you could consider this board your religious community. Problem is that you'll always get different answers from the congregation. :D

May as well, I've gotten more out of this board than I ever did at church.. :D.. actually, I was borderline agnostic when I joined this thing. Thanks to the posts of many (not all, but many) of the atheists of the board I believe in God more now than before (scared me a bit to think I could have turned out as psycho as some of them :eek:)

[hitekredneck]

I hope you can find some church that you can relate to, Jim. Ultimately, it's good to just have a strong belief in God, but it's always nice to have someone to turn to for help or answers. I guess you could consider this board your religious community. Problem is that you'll always get different answers from the congregation. :D

ummm...are you trying to say the every congregation in other churches think the same?:p

[hitekredneck]

May as well, I've gotten more out of this board than I ever did at church.. :D.. actually, I was borderline agnostic when I joined this thing. Thanks to the posts of many (not all, but many) of the atheists of the board I believe in God more now than before (scared me a bit to think I could have turned out as psycho as some of them :eek:)

i'm agreein with ya, jim...i've a few years on ya, and found too much hypocrosy (hope i spelled that correctly) in all of em, esp the catholic church...no offence intended to the caths on this board...i've been to baptist churches, pentawhatevers, even discussed the lds, tho i think i was confused at the time and tried lsd:D

[Loseirdo]

i'm agreein with ya, jim...i've a few years on ya, and found too much hypocrosy (hope i spelled that correctly) in all of em, esp the catholic church...no offence intended to the caths on this board...i've been to baptist churches, pentawhatevers, even discussed the lds, tho i think i was confused at the time and tried lsd:D

No offense taken, but it does bug me when people say the Church is hypocritical but don't supply any reason why. Is it a problem with the teachings, or a problem with the people you knew who claimed to be "Catholic"?

[hitekredneck]

No offense taken, but it does bug me when people say the Church is hypocritical but don't supply any reason why. Is it a problem with the teachings, or a problem with the people you knew who claimed to be "Catholic"?

it's a bit of everything, los...i have a problem with the church leaders attempting to hide the many instances of child molestation, i've known many catholics (including so-called "family" members) that thought they were golden provided they confess all...mind you, it's not just the caths i have problems with, los...they just tend to be the largest
i do know that not all caths are the same, just as any other denomination, but until they do what's right with the molestation issues, and gain a little common sense about today's world, i don't have a whole lotta respect for the catholic church....aside from their charities, mind...

[MrJim]

i'm agreein with ya, jim...i've a few years on ya, and found too much hypocrosy (hope i spelled that correctly) in all of em, esp the catholic church...no offence intended to the caths on this board...i've been to baptist churches, pentawhatevers, even discussed the lds, tho i think i was confused at the time and tried lsd:D

Yeah, all the churches, they're all pretty much a bunch of hyprocritical, money pilfering kooks.

Like my wife brought up one time, watch out for old women who have ceramic angels, crosses, prayers and other religious-themed decor all around the house... they are after your money! :eek:

[Loseirdo]

Yeah, all the churches, they're all pretty much a bunch of hyprocritical, money pilfering kooks.

Like my wife brought up one time, watch out for old women who have ceramic angels, crosses, prayers and other religious-themed decor all around the house... they are after your money! :eek:

Or they just love God. Don't be so cynical, Jim.

[hitekredneck]

Or they just love God. Don't be so cynical, Jim.

los, it ain't being cynical if you've seen the evidence...i won't try to tell anybody that all religious people are scammers, but you gotta admit that there's a helluva lot of that shit going on, and it really burns my ass because it's taking advantage of peoples' faith...

[MrJim]

Here's an example.

My step-grandfather married this goofy old woman that had ceramic angels everywhere, placemats with prayers, the whole nine yards and then some. A very self-righteous individual. He got sick and right away she shipped him to hospice to die. Come to find out later, this was the SECOND time she married someone that was much older than herself and deteriorating in health in order to take all their money. Pretty funny how the last poor sap never came up in conversation.

He had saved up an assload over the years and was going to will it all to his family... so while he was medicated pretty good she convinced him that all his kids were no good so he would take them all out of his will. She also convinced him that she would handle distributing his money, after all, she was a good Christian and could be trusted! :rolleyes:

You know what was cool though? The day he died in the hospice, her ass was dead too! Talk about retribution! :Dhttp://forum.bullshit.com/images/icons/icon14.gif Of course her kids ended up with all the money to buy new corvettes and all his family got nothing... but theirs is coming too one day I'm sure.

[Loseirdo]

Here's an example.

My step-grandfather married this goofy old woman that had ceramic angels everywhere, placemats with prayers, the whole nine yards and then some. A very self-righteous individual. He got sick and right away she shipped him to hospice to die. Come to find out later, this was the SECOND time she married someone that was much older than herself and deteriorating in health in order to take all their money. Pretty funny how the last poor sap never came up in conversation.

He had saved up an assload over the years and was going to will it all to his family... so while he was medicated pretty good she convinced him that all his kids were no good so he would take them all out of his will. She also convinced him that she would handle distributing his money, after all, she was a good Christian and could be trusted! :rolleyes:

You know what was cool though? The day he died in the hospice, her ass was dead too! Talk about retribution! :Dhttp://forum.bullshit.com/images/icons/icon14.gif Of course her kids ended up with all the money to buy new corvettes and all his family got nothing... but theirs is coming too one day I'm sure.

That's sick, but don't think all "Christians" are like that. Not even close. Only a twisted handfull are like that. Most of us are actually pretty good people.

My grandmother is one of those people who decorates her house with all manner of Christian decor, but she couldn't care less about money. She goes to a non-denominational church with a congregation of about twelve. The only thing she cares about is keeping her faith in God. She's a great person who knows what she believes and lives her faith every day. She's also a strong conservative and a very well-read woman. She's pretty cool.

The point is that you shouldn't let one bad experience shape your perception of a group comprising 2.1 billion people. I've never met anyone in my own church like that, including the church itself.

[hitekredneck]

That's sick, but don't think all "Christians" are like that. Not even close. Only a twisted handfull are like that. Most of us are actually pretty good people.

My grandmother is one of those people who decorates her house with all manner of Christian decor, but she couldn't care less about money. She goes to a non-denominational church with a congregation of about twelve. The only thing she cares about is keeping her faith in God. She's a great person who knows what she believes and lives her faith every day. She's also a strong conservative and a very well-read woman. She's pretty cool.

The point is that you shouldn't let one bad experience shape your perception of a group comprising 2.1 billion people. I've never met anyone in my own church like that, including the church itself.

i gues my problem is more with the church leadership than anything else...i know you've read the headlines, los, and you cannot claim all of the stories are false

[MrJim]

That's sick, but don't think all "Christians" are like that. Not even close. Only a twisted handfull are like that. Most of us are actually pretty good people.

My grandmother is one of those people who decorates her house with all manner of Christian decor, but she couldn't care less about money. She goes to a non-denominational church with a congregation of about twelve. The only thing she cares about is keeping her faith in God. She's a great person who knows what she believes and lives her faith every day. She's also a strong conservative and a very well-read woman. She's pretty cool.

The point is that you shouldn't let one bad experience shape your perception of a group comprising 2.1 billion people. I've never met anyone in my own church like that, including the church itself.

I think you're a little off on your '2.1 billion people' statement (think of all the differences in Christian denominations for starters)... but I stand by my attitude... 9 times out of ten I bet you'll find this in so-called Christians. I have other comparisons but will label them minute by comparison.

[Loseirdo]

i gues my problem is more with the church leadership than anything else...i know you've read the headlines, los, and you cannot claim all of the stories are false

Nor would I wish to, hitek. I don't claim that nothing wrong ever happens in "upper management", either in the Catholic Church or any Christian church. What I do claim is that these problems are caused by the minority, not majority, of Church officials. Most people who belong to or lead our churches are good, upstanding people. You're always going to find people with the wrong intentions, but again, that's a problem with the person, not the religion.

[Loseirdo]

I think you're a little off on your '2.1 billion people' statement (think of all the differences in Christian denominations for starters)... but I stand by my attitude... 9 times out of ten I bet you'll find this in so-called Christians. I have other comparisons but will label them minute by comparison.

A little off? No, according to a census, about 2.1 billion people considered themselves "Christian" in the world. That includes all 30,000+ denominations. http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html

9/10 is a very extreme stance, Jim. While I do believe that most people probably do not always practice what they preach, I do not think that they are as bad as you claim. There's a difference between having weaknesses and not following the teachings. Most Christians (based on personal experience) are not anything like the woman you mentioned. I think that's a very rare case, and I am very sorry you had to encounter something like that.