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Poll: What is your religion?

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Re: Poll: What is your religion?

#341

Post by memetichazard »

rokhayakebe wrote: post #203
memetichazard wrote: post #155

My belief in God is at the same level as my belief in a multiverse of which we are just one universe amongst infinite. - It would be great if this were true (Yay afterlife/alternate worlds!) - No one can provide any convincing evidence for existence. - It is impossible to prove nonexistence. - The truth of this matter has absolutely no influence on my life. i.e. focus on other things should take priority before focus…

- It would be great if this were true (Yay afterlife/alternate worlds!) Must there be a God for there to be an afterlife?

My thoughts are that religion and God is about, or at least originates from a desire for, the afterlife. Hence, deathbed conversions, the focus on heaven, hell, and eternal damnation. Thus God -> Afterlife, and the converse is not really focused on.

Re: Poll: What is your religion?

#342

Post by mgh2 »

I am not religious but I do believe that religion has its reasons. Most of the problems in this world are caused because people do actions without a proper purpose. If everyone can stop and ask themselves the simple question 'why?' for every action they do, and if the answer is because of money, fame, sex, or anything selfish or 'sinful' according to religion, then it is not a valid cause. You entrepreneurs in Hacker News, of most people, should know that the concept of entrepreneurship lies in the desire to solve a problem and change the world for a better place. Do you believe that everything you do ultimately leads to have a higher purpose other than yourself? Most people are lost without purpose and they need some moral values, call it religion, family values, beliefs, etc, to follow. Only some people are lucky enough to know what their purpose in this world (I do believe everyone has one) early enough in their lives, and it is those people whom we follow, whom inspires us. Religion's purpose might be for those people who are lost, to find meaning in their lives so they can contribute, in their own way, for the better of the society.

Thank you.

Re: Poll: What is your religion?

#343

Post by etherael »

jswinghammer wrote: post #303
etherael wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This sounds like you just started having an internal dialogue with yourself labeling the personification on the other end of your consciousness as "god". If this is the case, and this is really all it takes to qualify as having "spoken to god" then probably the vast majority of humanity have done it. They could even push it a little further and say ludicrous stuff like the bible is true, etc etc etc.

I admit that possibility freely. I'm not sure what you're trying to say that I didn't already. I do claim the Bible is true as well based on these experiences. I'm not sure a 22 year old programmer goes from reading Russell and Nietzsche one day to following Jesus the next day without something having happened. Whether that's psychological or spiritual something happened to me.

Sure, I grasp that, I'm just puzzled as to why you jump to the conclusion that requires logically inconsistent supernatural phenomenon rather than than the one that just requires garden variety mental illness?

Not trying to offend you, in your shoes, I'd like to think I'd pick door number two.

Re: Poll: What is your religion?

#344

Post by etherael »

klipt wrote: post #269
etherael wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, I think it's absurd to have a religion linked into ethnicity and I find the whole jewish is it a religion or is it an ethnicity question very confusing. I'd love a conclusive answer but as far as I can tell there doesn't appear to really be one.

There are several ethnicities (Ashkenazim, Sephardim, etc.) which are historically Jewish, just as there are several ethnicities (Irish, Hispanic, etc.) which are historically Catholic. When someone says they are ethnically Jewish it generally means they belong to one of those ethnicities, and grew up with the associated foods, festivals and other cultural influences.

Sure, but Spanish and Irish atheists don't refer to themselves as atheistic catholics, whereas I have heard jewish friends of mine refer to themselves as atheistic jews.

Re: Poll: What is your religion?

#345

Post by jodrellblank »

jswinghammer wrote: post #153
jodrellblank wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was minding my own business when I started hearing from God. What is that like?

God is the nicest, happiest person you'll ever talk to. If you ask him how he's doing he's always doing great. If you ask him how you're doing he always say you're doing great. I've asked him this immediately after doing something I knew was pretty stupid and God seemed unconcerned even though I asking him hoping to get corrected and some guidance on the issue. He told me that he wasn't too worried about it. The actu…

Yes, thank you for describing.

Re: Poll: What is your religion?

#346

Post by baddox »

Gormo wrote: post #230
baddox wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't the question only meaningless if the answer is No? Assuming you're talking about the traditional Judeo-Christian God, then you would certainly be missing out on a lot of good (both in this life and the next) if the answer is Yes.

If the question is meaningless, it has no meaningful answer; the answer cannot be "no", so... no. Your line of thinking is begging the question; you pre-suppose that the question is meaningful before you address its meaning.

OK then, what does it mean to say a question is meaningless? If an answer to the question is important, how is the question meaningless?

Re: Poll: What is your religion?

#347

Post by baddox »

robin_reala wrote: post #262
baddox wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't the question only meaningless if the answer is No? Assuming you're talking about the traditional Judeo-Christian God, then you would certainly be missing out on a lot of good (both in this life and the next) if the answer is Yes.

a.k.a. Pascal’s Wager: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal%27s_Wager . It’s rather broken as a theological argument, if only for the fact that who’s to say you’re choosing the right religion if you do decide to go down the spirituality route?

I'm not suggesting that logic would lead you to adopt any certain religion. I'm just saying the question itself isn't meaningless, because it's answer is actually pretty important (not that we can know for sure what the answer is).

Re: Poll: What is your religion?

#348

Post by baddox »

d0m wrote: post #219
baddox wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't the question only meaningless if the answer is No? Assuming you're talking about the traditional Judeo-Christian God, then you would certainly be missing out on a lot of good (both in this life and the next) if the answer is Yes.

It's more like: We don't know whether it's true or false, and we will never know it.. so why bother losing time with this question anyway? (I don't say that is my point, I just wanted to clarify a bit the "only matter if it's no".

That's a valid explanation. When I hear someone call a question meaningless, I immediately think that it must not matter what its answer is, not that the answer (presumably) can't be known.

Re: Poll: What is your religion?

#349

Post by talonx »

memetichazard wrote: post #155

My belief in God is at the same level as my belief in a multiverse of which we are just one universe amongst infinite. - It would be great if this were true (Yay afterlife/alternate worlds!) - No one can provide any convincing evidence for existence. - It is impossible to prove nonexistence. - The truth of this matter has absolutely no influence on my life. i.e. focus on other things should take priority before focus…

>- It would be great if this were true (Yay afterlife/alternate worlds!)

Why can't you do enough in one life? Craving for an afterlife is the pastime of procrastinators.

Re: Poll: What is your religion?

#350

Post by gmlk »

djacobs wrote: post #326
gmlk wrote: post #293

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The words "I believe X" used to mean "Based on all available evidence I have seen, I'm convinced that X is true". Lately however people have started to use the word to mean any strongly held opinion regardless of any evidence or reason. To believe something is "to be convinced of the truthfulness of it", to have faith is to have hope in the future based on a belief. Believe and faith can be misplaced: To be convinced…

Your word games aside, atheists do not believe anything. They only accept as true what they see or can be demonstrated.

Interesting use of generalization with a universal qualifier.

One has to be a wee bit naive to "accept as true" everything that one can see: The truth is often hidden behind very convincing illusions and stories, most of which are not really false. These stories often represent other, more limited, truths, pieces of the reality underneath.

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