Whos religious?

Call me Vader





Im ready and waiting AP. The dark side rulez!

 

Probably a bit late jumping in now with my beliefs, but first let me say that I respect every one's individual beliefs on this thread. Another beautiful thing about GK is non-judgemental people.


I believe in a Creator, but I look at him a bit different than conventional religions. I took want I wanted (or needed...I'm unsure) from organized religion to embrace and added my own personal theories. And I think therein rests the crux: The Bible was written is the same way. Through the many translations of the centuries, I'm certain the Bible and other religious text contains human aspects not necessarily from the Creator and His Messiah. The message has become so diluted over the years with the human touch.


Also, I honestly don't believe in churches. Here again, we are faced with human (not divine) interpretations...tainted. However, two genuine truths are woven through in every text: Free will, and the philosophy of good and evil. Be it gift or curse we all carry our own personal boundaries of right and wrong. For myself...free will is the key.


The Creator watches...I sometimes compare it to His 'ant farm'. I don't think the Creator interferes. I HAVE to accept this as a fact. I could not respect a Divine deity, omnipresent and omnipotent, that would allow the atrocities that occur on Earth to continue, especially the evils that are visited upon children. I keep hoping that when I read of the evil done upon these children that if they are destined to die, that the Creator allows their souls to leave before they have to suffer. One has to be ultra-imaginative to find how there is ultimately good things to come from situations like this. I don't have it in me.


I rather like the 'hidden' gospels, which the Church would reject. The Earth itself is a church...not a building with a power structure. John Milton wrote extensively on this subject in his writings against the hierarchy of the episcopal form of the Church's leadership in the 17th century in his antiprelatical tracts, speaking out against the Archbishop of Canterbury.


The Gospel of Thomas suggests that the living Messiah claimed that He was omnipresent and not harbored in some stone structure with a structured chain of command. The power of the Church was huge in 17th century England, as has been the case since there has been an England. Any suggestion that one does not need an organization to worship would have been quickly quashed and ruled a heresy by the Church in order to save itself. Human.


I do the right things because it makes me feel good. I have tried to instill that into my children. My children have matured and adopted their own beliefs from the base that I offered. They take what they need from me and evolve it to suit themselves with no judgment.


The concept of Heaven really twists my mind, though. From a mortal point, we can have no concept of eternity. We live with beginnings and endings...always. Are we just energy, or when we die, do we retain our individual awareness? Perhaps we are a collective consciousness? I can ponder on this one question for ages.


I know that I find my spiritual comfort in the outdoors. Some place or thing that gives me a few precious moments of serenity. Nature is beautiful and so few actually notice. It struck me one particular day while fishing and enjoying one of nature's most wonderful gifts, which brings us all to this wonderful site. I smoke weed not only for the high and the medical, but the spiritual amenities as well. That is the day I discovered where my church was.


If I'm wrong...well, I will either fade to nothingness or burn. I will do it with my conscience clean.


My apologies for being so long-winded.

 

"I'm an Atheist.


I can't believe in any of mankind's definitions of a god.


Religion is so short sighted and filed with superstitious nonsense.


The bible, koran, torah, and all other "scriptures" for other current and long dead religions were based on the writings, interpretations and experiences of superstitious people that were for the most part, uneducated in science, physics, astronomy, mathematics, etc... And, even those writings have been corrupted by different people's "interpretations" and "embellishments" over the millenia.


Chinese whispers... Nothing more.


Whatever the original message was, it has been lost in the shuffle. Changed by those who were in power to suit their own agendas. Or elevating themselves into "living gods" with the power to kill or enslave whomever they choose, while keeping the masses in line by using fear & intimidation tactics.


Just a power trip. Politics as usual. Some things never change.


And then, of course... Everyone's religion has to be the "right one" or the "one true" religion. Everyone else is wrong! They must be "converted" or purged from existence.


Think about it... How many people have been persecuted, prosecuted, tortured, enslaved or outright killed in the name of some god that teaches peace and tolerance?


How many are being killed today because of it?


All religion seems to do is make people intolerant of other people's beliefs and create conflict.


For me, organized religion is just another means used by those in positions of power to gain control over large groups of weak minded people.


Perhaps there is nothing after death... Or, perhaps the universe itself could be one vast consciousness, and we are only a minuscule portion of that greater collective mind.


The universe itself has the true power to create and destroy everything.


IF (and I emphasize IF) we do have some kind of energy or consciousness that transcends our corporeal existence, it has nothing to do with any religious belief that mankind has invented.


None of the "established" religions have ever taken into account the fact that there are countless trillions of other galaxies in the known universe. And the fact that each galaxy has countless trillions of stars with other planets that could support life.


Folks used to believe that the Earth was flat, until they were proven wrong.


Folks also used to believe that the sun revolved around the Earth, and that the Earth was the center of creation. They too were proven wrong.


It is time to rethink the concept of religion."


as always snick you have said it best!!!!


oh check out the new Zeitgeist movie


for those that thinks all this shit smells funny....lol


http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/


peace

 

Might be an update or something going on with the server. I know sometimes it does that shit to me and it just won't work for a few hours. Could just look it up on googlevideo.


http://video.google.com/videosearch?rlz=1C1CHMA_enUS315US315&sourceid=chrome&q=zietgiest&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wv#