So, IF, you had to be a theist which religion would you follow?
Well I like Sikhism mainly because all the Sikhs I have met have been really cool and together people. I also like the way they practice what they preach as far as charity goes.
Might be a Hindu as they have to strive to be good in this life to get another good life next time around.
I saw a clip from Australian TV where an interviewer asked that of Richard Dawkins. No doubt he thought he had caught RD out. Quick as a flash, Dawkins said it would have to be the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Heh.
For myself, I could not be a serious theist, even if you tortured me. If pressed, I would also choose the FSM or the IPU (bless Her holy hooves). Otherwise one could join the Lactoportarian sect, which teaches that Mary was made pregnant by the milkman, god being gay.
So there is no real religion that would tempt you at all?
Norse of course. The best afterlife.
What aspect of any religion would add value to my life?
Quote from: Stevil on August 03, 2011, 07:59:27 PM
What aspect of any religion would add value to my life?
Do you like wearing funny hats?
If I had to follow something I think I'd go with an animist religion because it's basically an ritualized appreciation of the earth.
Um, pan...theist?
I really can't see myself as being any kind of theist. Maybe a deist, but theism is just too weird.
I would totally go for something ancient Roman or Greek.
Probably a Taoist in its loosest sense, main reason being it has no pretenses in being divine, and if it was a theology that got accepted by the masses and any fundamentalists did appear they would be no harm to the rest of society, I also like the Tao Te Ching's literary style and only takes an hour to read through.
Taoism embraces sex, contraception, diversity, no 1984 style governments, promises nothing, the references to heaven/spirit/gods are nothing like the judo-christian-islamic view they are just the closest English translations available, not black and white but accepts the multitudes of grey, the antithesis of a 'Ten Commandments' approach to life, everything in moderation, the list could go on and on.
I like how it answers where do morals come from, I will try my best to describe this: Its not that we do good or bad but rather what we need to by acting on impulse that is created not by myth but by individual genetic inheritance and circumstances in life that create the connections of neuron cells, we perceive good and bad because we relate to other humans (empathy, mirror neurons) and is uniquely human. Other species do not view us as good or bad as we don't view them to be good or bad but rather a threat or no threat, food or not food, ect. Evil comes from the extremes of social behaviors that is at odds with popular perception combined with a disconnection of empathy from the perpetrator of the act and is the difference between wrong and evil, the further the disconnection the worse we perceive the act.
Problem is it has all that mystic bull shit wrapped around it.
Well....
Luciferian would be nice. Then I could actually worship Satan and do all those fun rituals!
I'd love to be a Muslim. I pretty much dig all that I have learned so far. It's just the whole 'believe in God' thing that stand right in my way. But knowing me and my panache for being a back slider, I'd give up on all the prayers right off the bat! Then again I'm pretty good with all the alalalala. I'd make a great Muslim woman yelling. I've tried it before. ;D
Greek Paganism, I suppose. I've always had a soft spot for Athena. There's something about a goddess representing logic, justice, intelligence, civilization and peace that strikes me as respectable, despite not existing. A lot of the things I believe in, like equality, peace, understanding, and moving forward as a species would seem to fall in line, at least partially, to patronage to Athena. I prefer polytheism to monotheism, as it's less morally rigid and absolutist.
Quote from: Medusa on August 04, 2011, 06:26:17 AM
Well....
Luciferian would be nice. Then I could actually worship Satan and do all those fun rituals!
I'd love to be a Muslim. I pretty much dig all that I have learned so far. It's just the whole 'believe in God' thing that stand right in my way. But knowing me and my panache for being a back slider, I'd give up on all the prayers right off the bat! Then again I'm pretty good with all the alalalala. I'd make a great Muslim woman yelling. I've tried it before. ;D
Is your finance a Sufi Muslim?
Quote from: Tank on August 04, 2011, 07:58:30 AM
Quote from: Medusa on August 04, 2011, 06:26:17 AM
Well....
Luciferian would be nice. Then I could actually worship Satan and do all those fun rituals!
I'd love to be a Muslim. I pretty much dig all that I have learned so far. It's just the whole 'believe in God' thing that stand right in my way. But knowing me and my panache for being a back slider, I'd give up on all the prayers right off the bat! Then again I'm pretty good with all the alalalala. I'd make a great Muslim woman yelling. I've tried it before. ;D
Is your finance a Sufi Muslim?
Short answer no. When pressed he would say Sunni. But he hates saying that. After a very long winded explanation I've come to understand the differences are political and not actually religious. He hates to cause a faction within Islamic 'types'. He does however say he is a Fundamentalist Muslim. Then again I'm a fundamentalist Satanist. We live the word of our religion 100%
I had a discussion with a regular customer of mine last year.
Bry: You said your boyfriend is a Muslim?
Me: Yup.
Bry: The beancake kind. Tell him to make me a bean cake.
(Bry is black and must have been thinking Malcom X Nation of Islam :P
Me: Nope. MotherLand Arab rides camels and make bombs type.
:D
I must say I quite like Sufi Muslims, they're fun. Apparently the Muslim population in the UK comprises a large community of Pakistani origin that come from just 3 towns in Pakistan and most of those ended up in Bradford. There is a large Sufi population in the UK who came here so they wouldn't be persecuted by other Muslims. There is another group, the name escapes me ATM, who are not even considered Muslims by mainstream Muslims to the pont where they are considered Kafir and are under death threats.
Quote from: Tank on August 04, 2011, 08:42:04 AM
I must say I quite like Sufi Muslims, they're fun. Apparently the Muslim population in the UK comprises a large community of Pakistani origin that come from just 3 towns in Pakistan and most of those ended up in Bradford. There is a large Sufi population in the UK who came here so they wouldn't be persecuted by other Muslims. There is another group, the name escapes me ATM, who are not even considered Muslims by mainstream Muslims to the pont where they are considered Kafir and are under death threats.
Yeah Suffis do those twirling dances if I remember right?....
Quote from: Medusa on August 04, 2011, 08:49:38 AM
Quote from: Tank on August 04, 2011, 08:42:04 AM
I must say I quite like Sufi Muslims, they're fun. Apparently the Muslim population in the UK comprises a large community of Pakistani origin that come from just 3 towns in Pakistan and most of those ended up in Bradford. There is a large Sufi population in the UK who came here so they wouldn't be persecuted by other Muslims. There is another group, the name escapes me ATM, who are not even considered Muslims by mainstream Muslims to the pont where they are considered Kafir and are under death threats.
Yeah Suffis do those twirling dances if I remember right?....
That's part of their ritualisation to get closer to god. They are basically spiritual pacifists, they'd make you a cup of tea rather than kill you!
Quote from: Tank on August 04, 2011, 08:53:27 AM
Quote from: Medusa on August 04, 2011, 08:49:38 AM
Quote from: Tank on August 04, 2011, 08:42:04 AM
I must say I quite like Sufi Muslims, they're fun. Apparently the Muslim population in the UK comprises a large community of Pakistani origin that come from just 3 towns in Pakistan and most of those ended up in Bradford. There is a large Sufi population in the UK who came here so they wouldn't be persecuted by other Muslims. There is another group, the name escapes me ATM, who are not even considered Muslims by mainstream Muslims to the pont where they are considered Kafir and are under death threats.
Yeah Suffis do those twirling dances if I remember right?....
That's part of their ritualisation to get closer to god. They are basically spiritual pacifists, they'd make you a cup of tea rather than kill you!
Ha. I think that's the number one reason regular every day household Muslims don't take too well to them. It's the getting closer to God this way that sorta sits wrong with them. Like I remember asking my fiance about if God ever dreams. And it was a very awkward conversation. He's very uncomfortable talking about Allah in a somewhat personal sense. I, on the other hand, consider myself a heathen wolf child. I have no boundaries to God in such a way. I'd be all up in his beard asking him all sorts of questions. I don't even make jokes because though my fiance is tolerant to a fault. I know it makes him unfomfy in the way having a Father explaining to his daughter she needs a bra is uncomfy. Though apparently I can crack the Jesus jokes :P
I'd have to be a Viking, lots of carousing and girls with pigtails in Valhalla.
Quote from: Tank on August 03, 2011, 07:42:37 PM
So there is no real religion that would tempt you at all?
No, because I can't make myself believe in what is clearly not true, even if some of the spin-offs of a given religion might seem attractive.
Maybe an insecure man would take to religion so that he can be the master of the house?
That's how it works in some religions isn't it, she is his possession, his play thing, his sex toy?
I'd definitely have to be a Hellenist if I were to choose any form of theism, I quite like the idea of drunken revelry and partying in the name of Dionyus or Comus. I've always had a soft spot for Greece; beautiful old temples, stunning mountains, beaches and seas and wonderful history and literature, the home of Western civilization (and arguably atheism ;)). I reckon I could happily pour a libation of wine at Delphi to the divine archer Apollo and his Olympian buddies!
Quakers (Friends) for sure ...they had a wonderful impact on my formative years taught me about social justice, equality, passive resistance and also they do not use dogma as a tool at all ..there is no dogma with Quakers ...best of all silent meetings with no particular leader ..sometimes there is someone who will speak when they feel moved and it is not usually (in my experience) about God it is about all kinds of things
they helped me believe there was value in all life on this earth and we have to do what we can while we are here
my kids went to the kids "service" where they learned about historic figures and how to make things...no religion but social justice begins early and politics is a strong issue
the biggest negative for me besides the theism is the fact they all have to agree or nothing gets done! it drove me nuts! I am a person who wants things done as soon as you think of them and that is not the way the Quakers work
they do a LOT of cogitating!!!
but I do love me some Quakers wonderful folks
another positive is
no Quaker has ever tried to convert me ..they accept everyone atheist or not
so when I attened the meetings even as a child I was welcome with out devine spirits for peace love and food!
(this is my opinion not based on everyone's experience by any means)
I think I could be Jewish. Probably not Orthodox, but some form of Judaism.
When doing my history undergrad, I did a lot of papers on Jewish history and I've always found it interesting. They're pretty much the perpetual outsider/scapegoat and I've always found their perspective compelling.
And I grew up with the "Catholic guilt" thing, so the "Jewish guilt" wouldn't be too much of a stretch :P
Quote from: Tank on August 03, 2011, 07:42:37 PM
So there is no real religion that would tempt you at all?
Same here. I simply cannot conceive the concept.
Before becoming an atheist, I did a little research on different religions. The one I could actually see myself being apart of is the Wiccan religion. Mainly for the Wiccan rede (I think that's right, it's been a number of years), which states that you can do what you want as long as you are not harming others or yourself. I just couldn't see myself believing in magic. I know the wording isn't exactly that for the rede, but that's basically what it is saying.
I started researching different religions because the one I was apart of, Christianity, told me I was going to hell for not being straight. I also didn't like all the stigmas that are associated with the Christian religion. It just didn't seem... like the right path I should follow for Spiritual guidance in general. And I didn't like the bible, so many negative things in a book that was suppose to be considered "holy".
If I had to be a theist and could get away with more than is healthy, I'd probably get into some blood cult... Adrenaline and whatnot, you know...
Quote from: Munchkin Goddess on August 07, 2011, 08:53:54 AM
Before becoming an atheist, I did a little research on different religions. The one I could actually see myself being apart of is the Wiccan religion. Mainly for the Wiccan rede (I think that's right, it's been a number of years), which states that you can do what you want as long as you are not harming others or yourself. I just couldn't see myself believing in magic. I know the wording isn't exactly that for the rede, but that's basically what it is saying.
I started researching different religions because the one I was apart of, Christianity, told me I was going to hell for not being straight. I also didn't like all the stigmas that are associated with the Christian religion. It just didn't seem... like the right path I should follow for Spiritual guidance in general. And I didn't like the bible, so many negative things in a book that was suppose to be considered "holy".
Then join me in my hypothetical dalliance into the ancient Greek and Roman practices of worship! Homosexuality wasn't such the stigmatized practice in those societies! Also, everybody but heroic soldiers apparently go to Hades, so there isn't the discrimination based on your actions or persona!
Quote from: fester30 on August 07, 2011, 04:12:02 PM
Quote from: Munchkin Goddess on August 07, 2011, 08:53:54 AM
Before becoming an atheist, I did a little research on different religions. The one I could actually see myself being apart of is the Wiccan religion. Mainly for the Wiccan rede (I think that's right, it's been a number of years), which states that you can do what you want as long as you are not harming others or yourself. I just couldn't see myself believing in magic. I know the wording isn't exactly that for the rede, but that's basically what it is saying.
I started researching different religions because the one I was apart of, Christianity, told me I was going to hell for not being straight. I also didn't like all the stigmas that are associated with the Christian religion. It just didn't seem... like the right path I should follow for Spiritual guidance in general. And I didn't like the bible, so many negative things in a book that was suppose to be considered "holy".
Then join me in my hypothetical dalliance into the ancient Greek and Roman practices of worship! Homosexuality wasn't such the stigmatized practice in those societies! Also, everybody but heroic soldiers apparently go to Hades, so there isn't the discrimination based on your actions or persona!
*interests sparked*
Greek, greek, greek!
I want adorable boys and girls to party with *dance*