Wot I think. > Every component that makes up this organism that I call 'me' was already there before I was born. > After this organism stops functioning the way I'm used to, aka 'dies', all it's components will still be around, and become part of new patterns. > After all, the universe consists of nothing but patterns that are constantly shifting and rearranging. > Therefore, there ultimately is no such thing as 'things'. There is only that one thing; the universe. Which is me. And you. And that rock. And Cthulhu. > The concept of seperation between things is a myth, and so is the concept of 'ego'. > In reality are no barriers between things, since everything exists in relation to everything else. And therefor everything is one. > I would even go as far as to say that everything in the universe is part of this one eternal celebration that is existence. This is how I have found my peace. Everything is as it should be. Existence is eternal. It is the natural flow of the universe, which is eternally beautiful and deliciously weird. This sensation of consciousness is nothing but a brief yet amazing occurance. But in reality I am not this organism. I am all the universe. I am eternal. And so are you. Sorry for getting all cryptic and stuff. Oh, also this: Spoiler: Spoiler: some swearwords
No kidding? I got to admit, it is very interesting to meet a pagan. I have a great deal of Germanic and Norse background, so though I am a Christian in belief, I am very interested in and proud of paganism, particularly in regard to Odin and the rest of the Norse pantheon as a large part of my cultural heritage.
For me, I recently came to the same questioning of what I believe as a Christian, and I turned over to being a "liberal Christian" as the world defines it. I'm basically a Christian (believing that Christ had died for the sins of the world so that anyone can be saved) who believes that the Bible isn't perfect because it is inspired by God, but is still an imperfect product of man, and it will have its flaws (i.e. evolution, regards to equality, homosexuality, etc.). In the end, I feel that the Bible stands separately from science and history, but is still linked to them both. edit: looking back in the thread, I noticed what Prince Darkmoon mentioned about Christians with love vs. hate and compassion vs. judgement, and I completely agree with that statement. In my opinion, so many Christians I've been around are focused on the "law" when they need to be focused on the grace given to us, and that we need to treat each others with love, and then use love as a guide for how to react to life situations. I don't get how more conservative Christians do that - defending war, death penalties, and such, while attacking things like homosexuality and profanity as being inherently evil, and gender equality as being completely unnatural.
I respect you man, pony on. The one thing in christianity I find really aggravating is the concept of Hell, the problem with this idea being mainly that if everyone thinks their specific group is the only one going to heaven, that leaves a majority of humanity destined for eternal suffering. If this is God's design I can honestly not see him as good, for infinite punishment for finite crimes, do not sound like justice. That is why I believe either there is no Hell or that God is not connected to it, nor will he allow anyone going there.
It depends on what branch of Christianity you are talking about, Catholics, for one(which I am) believe that most people will go to Puirgatory and get an temporary, but adequate punishment for the regular sins that everyone does throughout their life, very very few in the Catholic interpretation(which is the ORIGINAL intepretation mind you) go to Hell permentantly.
My Little Pantheist: Unity is Magic /) On hell. Even if there is something like that. Since everything in the universe is always changing, the very concept of 'eternal damnation of the ego' seems theoretically impossible to me.
Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able, and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God. [FONT=arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif]- Epicurus[/FONT] [FONT=arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif]I never fully bought into the Christianity tales, I always had questions at the beginning but they were either ignored or were met with vague answers or lies. Attending a Christian based school was not my choice in the beginning, but by the time I could have a choice I chose my 6 year old friendships over personal preferences. Friends are uncommon to a nonbeliever at a Christianity focused school, even more so in Alabama. I pick at Christianity a lot. Why? Because it's the one I'm most familiar with. I'd pick at Islam, but my knowledge only extends so far as to a prophet who got involved with a child, and the entire United States seems to still be beating it like a dead horse. I like to think that if I could pick a religion to be true, it would come down to Buddhism and Norse mythology. Buddhism for their teachings of the middle ground and unhindered truth. Norse mythology because comon, Valhalla! Endless duels to test might, forever flowing ale, and wenches, what's not to like?[/FONT]
This interestes me as you people are the first who are not hostile in any way shape or form to the idea of paganism or even general religion. I'm on the virge of being ostracized from my family because of my beliefs and it saddens me greatly due to the fact that I'm incredibly close with my mother. I personally believe that it was the Allfather who created the world and that if I die right then I go to Valhall or Sessrumnir and live a happy afterlife, and I believe that we evolved on the planet as is stated by a passage speaking of a giant's sweat where the first women and man emerged from.
This is something I'm not really sure about either - I've always been taught that the people have a chance to be saved, but those who do not accept salvation will spend their lives in hell. Apparently there's reason for believing in a purgatory where you work off any sins from your life (I think); some Christians believe in a temporary hell which ends for an individual when that individual turns to God; and others believe in universalism, where everyone immediately goes to heaven one way or another. All I believe is that hell was created for satan and his demons, and wasn't meant for people... I dunno, I need to do more research in order to have real opinion on it. If anyone has been hostile to you for what you believe, then they are wrong in doing that. No one should judge you for what you believe.
My religion? Hm, it's tough to condense into a single forum post, but I'll give it a shot. Science is real. I'll start with that. We can look over our planet and see the clues as to how everything was formed, just like we can observe how stars form in space, as well as other planets. Scientific findings with adequate evidence can tell us a lot more than the bible ever could. On the other hand, I should probably point out that I do believe in a higher power playing it's own role in some fashion or another. I believe there is an afterlife as well (energy is neither created nor destroyed, the energy has to go somewhere after the body has died), but I find I'm totally content with not having all the answers about either of these things. I have many theories about how the spiritual side mingles with the scientific side, but I'm certain that both can exist and be relevant. I believe that God is doing His thing, whatever that may be, and I like to think we get along alright. (Yes, I address God as "Him," not because I think God has a specific gender, but just because it's easier for me to say it that way and be understood by others. Honestly, when I hear somebody making a point of calling God a woman, it always sounds pretentious to me, especially considering that God can supposedly turn into a burning bush, which has no gender at all. I think that stands to reason that God can choose whatever form He wants and gender is sort of a moot point.) As a child, I had a pretty crappy first meeting with Christianity. I had questions right from the start and found the concept of God to be pretty hard to swallow. After all, we were learning about fossils and how the Solar System worked in school, so most of what my Christian (brainwashed by their parents) classmates were telling me was directly contradicting the teachings of my text book. I told my classmates that I doubted the truth of their teachings and as a result I became targeted by them and rejected for not believing. I talked it over with my parents, and while my mother was understanding, my father became pretty irate when I mentioned I didn't think there was a God. Yeah, so I swore off the church for breeding such hatred and decided that if I was to understand anything about how religion worked, I'd have to sort it out myself. So, over the years I've read a lot about religion. I watched lectures given by atheists, priests, scientists, or just faithful individuals. I've read plenty on the subject since it really does intrigue me, I've even taken the time to read the bible now and then for reference. I frequently discuss theology with anybody else who shares my intrigue in the subject, of course it occasionally turns into a debate, but I'm fine with that since I enjoy debating a point that I stand behind. I consider myself to be amazingly spiritual, considering how much interest I have in science. There are many who seem to think it's one or the other. I guess I look at it and say that there's a good chance that God put everything into motion and that it basically takes care of itself, like planting a flower. The flower is going to grow because that's what flowers do. It might need just a little help here and there though. So I guess I think of Him as the gardener of the universe, pulling the metaphorical weeds as needed but not doing too much to intervene with the project. Of course, that was a theory I worked up by myself, and I couldn't really find any other church that could accept my views. I've received a lot of hate because of how I converse with God whenever I feel like it, and I speak to Him as though talking to a friend. I'm not into the whole fall-on-your-knees-and-worship gimmick that many churches would have you do. Of course, I'm happy to announce that I did eventually find a church that welcomed my creative thinking with open arms: The Church of the Latter Day Dude. Don't laugh, it's totally legit l-) Yep, I found that after looking into the beliefs of the Dudeist church (modern-day Taoism that preaches non-preachiness and focuses on abiding with the troubles of the world, keeping your cool and being true to yourself at all costs, while using themes from the cult movie, "The Big Lebowski" and the example of it's character, "The Dude," to instil the message of taking it easy), it was quite clear that I'd been a Dudeist for many years and just didn't know it yet. Even if you haven't seen "The Big Lebowski," the church has some groovy beliefs that can be enjoyed by all. It's the least uptight church I ever came into contact with and I actually got ordained as a "Dudeist Priest" in September of 2011. Dudeism does not worship the movie, nor any of it's characters. Dudeism isn't about worshiping, in fact many in the church consider it to be more of a world-view, but it's an official church nonetheless. There are pagan Dudeists, Buddhist Dudeists, Christian Dudeists, etc. We're pretty all-inclusive, not unlike this beautiful brony community we have right here. A lot of love and tolerating going on, it's pretty sweet. This dude abides l3
Thank you, I believe that no one should be discriminated against for their beliefs, sexuality, etc. etc. I spent an hour being berated by my fraternity brothers of all people about how I was going to hell because of what I believed. So, thank you, it is refreshing and gives me some hope that i can talk with smart understanding people.
Basically all the Christians who make so much hate and such over gays and other people beliefs always forget that in every book in the Gospel (The teachings of Jesus, AKA, the CORE of Christianity) says not to judge for the Lord God is the judge, also how they forget Jesus taught to love everyone, not to hate those that think different from you. Sadly though, religion is the ultimate excuse for being bigoted, racist, etc.
I apologize for how lengthy it turned out, but thanks for taking the time to read it, man. The Church of the Latter-Day Dude has an excellent website if you want more info. I don't know if I'm allowed to post a link or not, but feel free to Google it
