vernon
Harder than Ronnie Pickering
- Location
- Meanwood, Leeds
Are you religious?
- Thread starter ComedyPilot
- Start date
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Night Train
Maker of Things
- Location
- Greater Manchester
I guess I am agnostic, in that I can't prove one way or another. I also agree with Arch's views above.
I was brought up CofE at school but have atheist parents. I fell out with the church when I was about 6-7 years old as I was asking too many questions that they couldn't, and wouldn't, answer. I tried really hard to believe in God then but the hypocrisy of the Vicar, the Bible and the general air of control didn't fit in with the teachings. The amount of money God seemed to need didn't fit in with the 'meek shall inherit the Earth' thing. Why does God need so much gold anyway? If we should not worship false idols then why bow down to lumps of wood and bits of plastic? If God is omnipresent then why do I need to be in church to speak with Him. And why should the Vicar be a 'go between' when I can speak my own words to God.
All this went down so badly I was effectively shunned by the church!
However, I have a healthy interest in all things religious and would happily study theology, if only as a means of understanding what makes people tick. However, horology would be easier....
I was brought up CofE at school but have atheist parents. I fell out with the church when I was about 6-7 years old as I was asking too many questions that they couldn't, and wouldn't, answer. I tried really hard to believe in God then but the hypocrisy of the Vicar, the Bible and the general air of control didn't fit in with the teachings. The amount of money God seemed to need didn't fit in with the 'meek shall inherit the Earth' thing. Why does God need so much gold anyway? If we should not worship false idols then why bow down to lumps of wood and bits of plastic? If God is omnipresent then why do I need to be in church to speak with Him. And why should the Vicar be a 'go between' when I can speak my own words to God.
All this went down so badly I was effectively shunned by the church!
However, I have a healthy interest in all things religious and would happily study theology, if only as a means of understanding what makes people tick. However, horology would be easier....
Fnaar
Smutmaster General
- Location
- Thumberland
I'm interested in the sense that they have had so much influence on the development of society, and I love beautiful buildings and so on, However, I am a staunch atheist (since the age of 19, before which I was an occasional churchgoer, catholic), and I put religion down to the fact that, as T S Eliot opined, "mankind cannot bear very much reality"
What is going to happen to all the churches ?
Currently Church attendance stands at around 6%, falling by about 1% per decade, there comes a point, I would have thought in the next decade or two, when it is no longer sustainable to keep the churches open, especially those in rural areas.
What does one do with the thousands of grade1 historical buildings dotting our countryside ?
Currently Church attendance stands at around 6%, falling by about 1% per decade, there comes a point, I would have thought in the next decade or two, when it is no longer sustainable to keep the churches open, especially those in rural areas.
What does one do with the thousands of grade1 historical buildings dotting our countryside ?
02GF74
Über Member
will be converted to mosques.
swee'pea99
Squire
I'm not and never have been the least bit religious, but I do try to be considerate towards those who are. I love going in old churches and cathedrals, eg, but I do feel I'm kind of there on sufferance, and certainly wouldn't dream of allowing my kids to run around or even raise voices. I also think it's a bit too glib and easy to just write off religions as having been responsible for vicious wars and terrorism and pedophilia and all the ills that ail us - as tho' that was the whole story.
For many people, their religion does provide/accommodate a very human comfort and companionship, and does no-one else any great harm. My in-laws are typical woolly CofE types: aimiable, friendly to a t, and always up for a charity cake bake or a harvest festival. In their own undemonstrative way, they're a force for good rather than otherwise. I've also always remembered Don McCullin (I think it was) saying that wherever he'd been - and he'd been to the middle of the very worst events of his time - you could always rely on finding - and he was quite specific about this - Roman Catholic priests and nuns putting themselves through real hardship and at great personal risk to bring help to people who needed it. If you ever found a clinic in the arse-end of the world or someone bringing water to a freedom-fighter under fire, you could be sure it would be a priest or a nun who was responsible. It's true that the fascists and Nazis found some pretty dubious backing from the RCs of the '30s, but by the '60s and '70s, when the ordinary people of Latin America were battling vicious CIA-backed oligarchs, the footsoldiers of the RC church were very much - and very actively - on the side of the angels.
Having said all that, I have as little tolerance as anyone else hereabouts for those who insist that their truth is The Truth, and seek to impose it on others. They, for my money, can spin on this.
For many people, their religion does provide/accommodate a very human comfort and companionship, and does no-one else any great harm. My in-laws are typical woolly CofE types: aimiable, friendly to a t, and always up for a charity cake bake or a harvest festival. In their own undemonstrative way, they're a force for good rather than otherwise. I've also always remembered Don McCullin (I think it was) saying that wherever he'd been - and he'd been to the middle of the very worst events of his time - you could always rely on finding - and he was quite specific about this - Roman Catholic priests and nuns putting themselves through real hardship and at great personal risk to bring help to people who needed it. If you ever found a clinic in the arse-end of the world or someone bringing water to a freedom-fighter under fire, you could be sure it would be a priest or a nun who was responsible. It's true that the fascists and Nazis found some pretty dubious backing from the RCs of the '30s, but by the '60s and '70s, when the ordinary people of Latin America were battling vicious CIA-backed oligarchs, the footsoldiers of the RC church were very much - and very actively - on the side of the angels.
Having said all that, I have as little tolerance as anyone else hereabouts for those who insist that their truth is The Truth, and seek to impose it on others. They, for my money, can spin on this.
It appears that the majority of people these days are atheist. That's bad news for the retail industry who depend on Christians to boost their profits at Easter and Christmas. It wouldn't do for a religion hating atheist to be seen eating Easter Eggs, giving Christmas gifts or taking time off for religious holidays.
Primal Scream
Get your rocks off
- Location
- On the road to hell
Why would that be then, Chritmas has very little to do with religon now unless you consider shopping a "religion".
As for "religion hating atheists" I doubt many hate religion instead just dont agree with it.
cyberknight
As long as I breathe, I attack.
- Location
- Land of confusion
If i were to think about "Is there a god " i would probably come down on the side of
a, if there is given the size of the known universe do you really think it gives a feck about us
b, if it does care then assuming the amount of war, hunger, poverty why is the hand of "god" withheld
c, i am biased given my mother died when i was 10 and i had to tell my dad to stop grieving as he had 3 kids who needed him while i was to busy trying to hold us together and i never grieved for my loss . which would explain a lot .
a, if there is given the size of the known universe do you really think it gives a feck about us
b, if it does care then assuming the amount of war, hunger, poverty why is the hand of "god" withheld
c, i am biased given my mother died when i was 10 and i had to tell my dad to stop grieving as he had 3 kids who needed him while i was to busy trying to hold us together and i never grieved for my loss . which would explain a lot .
MontyVeda
a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
- Location
- Lancaster... the little city.
didn't the Christians hi-jack the pagan festivals of winter solstice, and spring equinox/beltane in order to make the transition to Christianity more palatable? Easter eggs and Christmas gifts don't originate in the Bible.
- Location
- Somewhere wet & hilly in NW England.
No, I am not religious at all.
I do not profess to have a profound knowledge of all the world's religions. Where I have in the past taken a closer look it appears that they are all pretty much based on the archaic views of more primitive peoples who were trying to make sense of their world.
Big Man in the Sky / Divine Elephants / Gods of War etc may have been cutting edge way back but are really infantile beliefs in the modern world imho. So how anyone can accept a faith based on these beliefs is beyond my comprehension.
The whole religion vs science debate is a minefield really but in my own mind science wins. As a general rule theoretical science makes predictions that are either confirmed or denied. There has been an awful lot of confirmation of theoretical science over the centuries but as far as I know there has not been one piece of hard evidence that supports the theories of Big Man in the Sky etc.
Some modern religions seem to try to play 'catch up' with science and warp there beliefs as there old precepts appear more and more ludicrous. Thus we have some Churches accepting that the Darwinian evolution may well be on the right track despite vociferous denial over the decades. In typical Church fashion though they try and meld their beliefs with hard science with such strange ideas such as: of course God created Adam and hence Eve by the much vaunted rib extraction method (strange that the eg Anglican Church does not support embryo/cloning research though) and thereafter Darwinian evolution may well have kicked in. Very strange.
Religious believers also tend to warp their views to suit all the time. Here's a simplistic example on a Christian forum. Animals categorically do not have souls and if you do not have a soul you will not be allowed in heaven. Lady member is in some distress as her poor dog has died and she is distraught that when she goes to heaven she and her dog will be parted forever. Cue massive debate, and I do mean massive, and the conclusion is that God will see her alright and the soul-less Fido will be waiting for her when her time comes. Just one example of shaping things to suit needs out of many examples on such forums. Have a look at questions such as "What happens when my current husband eventually meets my previous and now departed husband?" Makes for an amusing read.
So that's it for me. I am happy with a scientific view of the world. Theories are proved or disproved and what has been proved (that I know about) seems ok to me. Religion simply does not work for me. It has childish world views, it warps its views when their notions begin to look ridiculous and it changes it's collective mind just to keep people happy.
I do not profess to have a profound knowledge of all the world's religions. Where I have in the past taken a closer look it appears that they are all pretty much based on the archaic views of more primitive peoples who were trying to make sense of their world.
Big Man in the Sky / Divine Elephants / Gods of War etc may have been cutting edge way back but are really infantile beliefs in the modern world imho. So how anyone can accept a faith based on these beliefs is beyond my comprehension.
The whole religion vs science debate is a minefield really but in my own mind science wins. As a general rule theoretical science makes predictions that are either confirmed or denied. There has been an awful lot of confirmation of theoretical science over the centuries but as far as I know there has not been one piece of hard evidence that supports the theories of Big Man in the Sky etc.
Some modern religions seem to try to play 'catch up' with science and warp there beliefs as there old precepts appear more and more ludicrous. Thus we have some Churches accepting that the Darwinian evolution may well be on the right track despite vociferous denial over the decades. In typical Church fashion though they try and meld their beliefs with hard science with such strange ideas such as: of course God created Adam and hence Eve by the much vaunted rib extraction method (strange that the eg Anglican Church does not support embryo/cloning research though) and thereafter Darwinian evolution may well have kicked in. Very strange.
Religious believers also tend to warp their views to suit all the time. Here's a simplistic example on a Christian forum. Animals categorically do not have souls and if you do not have a soul you will not be allowed in heaven. Lady member is in some distress as her poor dog has died and she is distraught that when she goes to heaven she and her dog will be parted forever. Cue massive debate, and I do mean massive, and the conclusion is that God will see her alright and the soul-less Fido will be waiting for her when her time comes. Just one example of shaping things to suit needs out of many examples on such forums. Have a look at questions such as "What happens when my current husband eventually meets my previous and now departed husband?" Makes for an amusing read.
So that's it for me. I am happy with a scientific view of the world. Theories are proved or disproved and what has been proved (that I know about) seems ok to me. Religion simply does not work for me. It has childish world views, it warps its views when their notions begin to look ridiculous and it changes it's collective mind just to keep people happy.
gavroche
Getting old but not past it
- Location
- North Wales
No because religion is responsible for most wars, past and present. I believe we are born, we live our lives and we die. Full stop, that's it.
shouldbeinbed
Rollin' along
- Location
- Manchester way
No I'm not. My take on it is that it's a 4000 year old CCTV system.
Big ruler had entire continents to manage, hundreds of thousands of largely unwilling slaves, merchants and traders out for their own profit and wandering vagabonds preaching equality and emancipation and only a few guards to maks sure that nothing got nicked and everyone worked hard for his profit and aggandisement. so he gets together with a few of his clever pals and invents an all seeing, all knowing, omnipresent, vengeful bogeyman in the sky that only he and his priests have access to who can not only see everyone shirking or nicking stuff but can also tune into their thoughts and knows who is sewing sedition and revolution and needs making a painful & bloody example of.
because the priests became part of the ruling elite and mass control by invoking God was so successful the myth endured and evolved to suit the needs of the time.
Big ruler had entire continents to manage, hundreds of thousands of largely unwilling slaves, merchants and traders out for their own profit and wandering vagabonds preaching equality and emancipation and only a few guards to maks sure that nothing got nicked and everyone worked hard for his profit and aggandisement. so he gets together with a few of his clever pals and invents an all seeing, all knowing, omnipresent, vengeful bogeyman in the sky that only he and his priests have access to who can not only see everyone shirking or nicking stuff but can also tune into their thoughts and knows who is sewing sedition and revolution and needs making a painful & bloody example of.
because the priests became part of the ruling elite and mass control by invoking God was so successful the myth endured and evolved to suit the needs of the time.
Saluki
World class procrastinator
- Location
- ...Norwich over the water.
I am a Christian, have been since 1981 ish and I go to a church some 10 miles from me. Its a modern, upbeat and very lively church where we don't have traditional hymns but sing worship songs from the Hillsong United church. Its great, uplifting and the pastors range from mid 50s to mid 20s. We have coffee before and after the service and our church does a lot in the community and the local prison.
I think that 'religion' is mankind's way of trying to get closer to God where my personal belief is that I am close to God and I wouldn't class myself as religious but I am a Christian. I have no idea how people without God in their life cope but then I was brought up by a C of E mother and a Baptist father but moved away from their churches when I was 17 to a pentacostal church. The whole C of E thing was a touch to regimented for me, not to mention that the church was freezing, even in the summer.
I take it on faith that God exists, just like I take it on faith that I have a brain in my head, even though I have never seen it, touched it or heard it talk to me out loud. There is more evidence of Jesus' life than there is for Nero or Caligula et al and nobody doubts their existence. I know that he was alive and kicking and is not a myth.
I don't go knocking on doors trying to 'convert' people BTW, I don't shout about God in the streets, like the scary chap in Norwich City Centre, I just get on with my life and faith. I do read the Bible but I also read Jasper Fforde, Kathy Reichs & the newspaper. Hopefully I don't bore the knickers of people as my uncle used to do
I have often wondered, having met a fair few quite aggressive athiests, why they yell "for the love of God start" when their cars fail them on the side of the road, or say 'so help me Jesus'. Surely if they don't believe in a devine being, praying to one is a bit futile. Just one of my little musings
I think that 'religion' is mankind's way of trying to get closer to God where my personal belief is that I am close to God and I wouldn't class myself as religious but I am a Christian. I have no idea how people without God in their life cope but then I was brought up by a C of E mother and a Baptist father but moved away from their churches when I was 17 to a pentacostal church. The whole C of E thing was a touch to regimented for me, not to mention that the church was freezing, even in the summer.
I take it on faith that God exists, just like I take it on faith that I have a brain in my head, even though I have never seen it, touched it or heard it talk to me out loud. There is more evidence of Jesus' life than there is for Nero or Caligula et al and nobody doubts their existence. I know that he was alive and kicking and is not a myth.
I don't go knocking on doors trying to 'convert' people BTW, I don't shout about God in the streets, like the scary chap in Norwich City Centre, I just get on with my life and faith. I do read the Bible but I also read Jasper Fforde, Kathy Reichs & the newspaper. Hopefully I don't bore the knickers of people as my uncle used to do
I have often wondered, having met a fair few quite aggressive athiests, why they yell "for the love of God start" when their cars fail them on the side of the road, or say 'so help me Jesus'. Surely if they don't believe in a devine being, praying to one is a bit futile. Just one of my little musings
threebikesmcginty
Corn Fed Hick...
- Location
- ...on the slake
[QUOTE 2363809, member: 1314"]They've got all this wild dogs and wild dogs' puppy litters all overs.[/quote]
Innit.
Innit.
