Please answer to the best of your ability, and honestly.

1) Why do you bother coming to a Forum dedicated to religious discussion? Do you consider your worldview, which you obviously follow with some degree of zeal, a religion? You have to admit you do not leave room for other opinions, and are here everyday trying to convert people to your side.

2) What the hell do you have or enjoy that I, a religious man, am restricted from?

i dont try and convert, i just post cause im bored. i am grounded and ive been sitting at home extremely bored so i post on anything pretty much, even if i know little about it. i promise i'll go away monday when school starts again, then i wont have all this excess time.

Are you including a-religious?

I'd say, depending on the person, someone without religion knows to live their life now, because they're not planning on having another one; whereas it is ok, even praised, for a religious person to remain poor (i guess humble is what they prefer), because this life is just a preliminary.

So youre saying you live your life and I dont? lol

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Originally posted by Spirit of '22:

2) What the hell do you have or enjoy that I, a religious man, am restricted from?

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• Sex with a diffrent woman every week.
  
• Drugs, Drugs & Drugs
  
• Not having to sit in a church mosque, whatever,... every week.
  
• Kill other people.
  
• Steal.
  
• Basically, doing anything that the holy book, (and the law, which is based on some holy book) forbids.
  
• Everything that the holy book forbids, is fun. Therefor, by not following the rules of the holy book, I feel free (might not be so, but anyway)
  

So if you enjoy having a bbq every saturday with your family and other shitty people, and sitting int the church on sunday, and doing alot of other cory stuff, then there is nothing wrong with being a beliver.

Bud if you actually have a great need to get laid with some hot bitch, or experiment with drugs, or whatever, but you don't do it because of your beliefs, then you're a sad man.

Now now, just because you believe in a moral code doesn't mean you obey unquestioningly! I am technically a Christian, but I haven't been sober past 9PM in about two weeks.

90% of believers do NOT obey the restrictions that the bible writes about.

I mean come on? You believe? Tell me honestly that you dont drink, screw hot chicks, steal or smoke weed from time to time!

If they don't obey the rules, then they don't belive in them and don't respect them, which makes them non belivers. I was talking about the people that don't break any rules, or if they do, they do it by accident. No one is perfect.

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Originally posted by XeNobiTe:

• Sex with a diffrent woman every week.
  
• Drugs, Drugs & Drugs
  
• Not having to sit in a church mosque, whatever,... every week.
  
• Kill other people.
  
• Steal.
  
• Basically, doing anything that the holy book, (and the law, which is based on some holy book) forbids.
  
• Everything that the holy book forbids, is fun. Therefor, by not following the rules of the holy book, I feel free (might not be so, but anyway)
  

So if you enjoy having a bbq every saturday with your family and other shitty people, and sitting int the church on sunday, and doing alot of other cory stuff, then there is nothing wrong with being a beliver.

Bud if you actually have a great need to get laid with some hot bitch, or experiment with drugs, or whatever, but you don't do it because of your beliefs, then you're a sad man.

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So you're saying that Spirit is missing out on being a VD-infected, drug-addicted criminal slut?

That's what Im getting. And Im sure hes lying about the women thing anyway.

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Originally posted by TheMouse:
So you're saying that Spirit is missing out on being a VD-infected, drug-addicted criminal slut?

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No, I'm saying that most things that happend to be fun are forbidden by most religions.

I have no need to do drugs,steel, kill, or go to bed with a diff guy every day. i would rather have a comitment. If u r all that u say u r then i think ur lying about the going to bed witha diff woman every day. WOMEN ARE NOT SEX OBJECTS!

I am anti-religious in the sense that I belive we shouldnt have religion. I am religious in the sense that I have a religion and I like it. Eventually we will probbly get rid of 90% of religion and only a few people will have religion anylonger. But thats probbly WAY off. So for now ill stick with mine.

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Originally posted by XeNobiTe:
No, I'm saying that most things that happend to be fun are forbidden by most religions.

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Like murder, theft, rampant promiscuity, and hedonistic drug addiction... in other words, everything that is completely detrimental to society?

Congratulations, you just made a good point for religion, even if unintentionally.

Just because you don't fallow every moral code doesn't make you a non-beleiver, it makes you a hypocrite.

My moral code says to pursue moderation in all things, including moderation, so I dont think I can really screw that up.

What the hell does BBQ have to do with religion?

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Originally posted by Spirit of '22:
Please answer to the best of your ability, and honestly.

1) Why do you bother coming to a Forum dedicated to religious discussion? Do you consider your worldview, which you obviously follow with some degree of zeal, a religion? You have to admit you do not leave room for other opinions, and are here everyday trying to convert people to your side.

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Before I answer this question, I would like to post the description of the purpose of this forum, written by totse.com: "For discussing any and all religious viewpoints. Intolerance will not be tolerated. Keeping your sense of humor is required. Posting messages about theological paradoxes is encouraged." Okay.

I'm agnostic, and one of the main reasons why I come to this forum is to gain wisdom. I do not consider my beliefs to be a religion, because a religion is a set of personal or institutionalized attitudes, beliefs, and practices relating to or manifesting faithful devotion to an acknowledged ultimate reality or deity. My set of attitudes, beliefs, and practices, while personal, are in no way institutionalized nor do they manifest any sort of faith or devotion to a deity or "ultimate reality". I hold personal value, by my own terms, in honesty, integrity, justice, compassion, and improvement in myself and everything around me. I have no intention of coverting people, only in familiarizing myself with as many different view points as possible, and hopefully in the process others will learn to respect other view points as well.

quote:

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2) What the hell do you have or enjoy that I, a religious man, am restricted from?

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Nothing significant. In fact, I probably live much similar to the way you do. One difference between you and I is that no set of institutionalized ideologies dictates the moral decisions I make. Using my own judgement, I have personally chosen for myself to follow certain moral guidelines, such as spreading kindness, not murdering or stealing, being generous to others, understanding other view points, etc., many of which have been held in high regard at one point or another in the Bible. There are many ideas presented in the Bible, however, that I do not agree with, such as the favoring of heterosexism and sexism.

Now I have a question for you, Spirit of '22: why do you come to this religious forum? I probably come here for many of the same reasons as you, but I can bet that we draw completely different knowledge from the experience.

[This message has been edited by shadowboxer187 (edited 01-02-2003).]

[This message has been edited by shadowboxer187 (edited 01-02-2003).]

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Originally posted by Spirit of '22:
So youre saying you live your life and I dont? lol

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I wasn't talking about you specifically. From what I've heard you say, your religion is a very alternative one, so when I speak in general terms they don't apply to you much of the time. I didn't know the post was so egocentric or I would have focused on you.

Xenobite doesn't speak for all a-religious, I don't destroy my body with drugs, I believe the people you sleep with reflect the type of person that you are, and I can afford not to steal.

I am not religious... To separate people based on archaic beliefs is an insipid practice... I feel that having an open mind to other ideas is what most religious people lack... They cannot conform to anything that contradicts their childish belief system that is based on mythology... I'm also too much of an individualist that would never embrace any type of belief that restricts my own personal freedom...

I also feel that most religious people use their religion as a crutch... They cannot walk the straight and narrow without it... Not a problem in my mind... But keep it to yourself... If you want to take a dip in a pool of Jesus piss go ahead... Just don't splash any of that yellow discipline on me...

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Originally posted by TheMouse:
Like murder, theft, rampant promiscuity, and hedonistic drug addiction... in other words, everything that is completely detrimental to society?

Congratulations, you just made a good point [b]for religion, even if unintentionally.[/B]

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Ow, but that's the whole point of religion right. To follow certain rules, and lead a good life. I don't have a problem with that. Whoever manages to do that and stay away from all the "bad" things in life is a damn good & strong person. But to belive jesus walked over water bacause he was the son of some dude in the sky, or some burning tree that talks,... That's a diffrent thing. That's not religion, that's idiocy.

Shadowboxer, how can agnostics deal with those people who aggressively follow a lifestyle which we don't agree with? I mean, I'd really prefer to tell the rapist that he's wrong, that he did something BAD - and I can't if I only hold a set of values which pertain to "me". How can we overcome this problem?

quote:

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Originally posted by Spirit of '22:
Please answer to the best of your ability, and honestly.

1) Why do you bother coming to a Forum dedicated to religious discussion? Do you consider your worldview, which you obviously follow with some degree of zeal, a religion? You have to admit you do not leave room for other opinions, and are here everyday trying to convert people to your side.

2) What the hell do you have or enjoy that I, a religious man, am restricted from?

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I came here to share what I found and to convert other people to it. I found a religion that is not a religion; that judges and does not judge; that leaves room for all other opinions except about one thing only; that leads to understanding of all questions, but answers only one of them.

What I think I enjoy that you do not enjoy as "a religious man", is potential freedom of thought, and not being enslaved to any rules or morals, except only one that is not burdensome or hard to follow.

I also came for practice in explaining the hope I have and testing the belief.

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Originally posted by punkrawkerstonershit:
Just because you don't fallow every moral code doesn't make you a non-beleiver, it makes you a hypocrite.

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Or maybe it means that I don't believe the scriptural evidence supporting bans on certain activities measures up? You know, there's almost nothing in the bible saying moderate drug use is sinful, unless you read a passage or two WAY out of context.