And By the way..

Religions are destroying the world.

All wars.. been there because of religion... so what war is next?

 

No, the cause of war is a desire for power (or the security dilemma, but that's another story). Politicians historically have justified wars by framing them in religious language, because that's most convenient for uniting the country behind a singular cause.

 

Religion is harmless in my view, as long as it is humble (not tied to government). Government's job should just be to ensure everyone's rights are being defended - it's the right of a baby to not be circumcised without his consent...it's the right of a woman to not have to wear a burka all her life... etc etc.

it's called the Bible..... and it says it IN THE BIBLE? :inquisitive:

And that's not why I have faith in God at all. That was just the example I set for Atheists. Never once did I say I worship Him for that reason.

 

The Bible says you should believe in God because you have nothing to lose by believing, and possibly everything to gain? I dunno...that seems unlikely, since that argument suggests God might not exist. But if that is in the Bible, Pascal was quite a hack. :P

 

I know that isn't why you believe in God, but this argument isn't a good reason to, and it's not likely to convince any atheists. It'll just make them spew a rant similar to mine. ;)

 

No, the cause of war is a desire for power (or the security dilemma, but that's another story). Politicians historically have justified wars by framing them in religious language, because that's most convenient for uniting the country behind a singular cause.

 

Religion is harmless in my view, as long as it is humble (not tied to government). Government's job should just be to ensure everyone's rights are being defended - it's the right of a baby to not be circumcised without his consent...it's the right of a woman to not have to wear a burka all her life... etc etc.

 

There isn't just one cause of war. Some, but certainly not all, wars were based on religion; some of these are still going on (Iraq anyone?). War happens for many reasons--really too many reasons--the greatest of which being plain old stupidity (WW1, and WW2 that followed it, and the Cold War started over atomic bombs made for WW2, all started with some arbitrary alliances and a random elite guy getting shot). Religions do cause wars, but so do governments, rich jerks, and sometimes even necessity.

I wasn't going to post initially, but reading other people's posts makes me realise that I might not be alone after all. Really I don't know where to start with this, so if I end up rambling and making zero sense, I apologise in advance.

 

Basically, I'm very confused right now, in terms of religion.

 

First off, my parents are 2 very different people. My mum is a 'moderate' muslim from Tunisia, in that she prays when she can (ie, not at work, sometimes not on time etc) and she does all the 'basic things like fasting, not eating pork, and all the other things that are core to that religion. Anyway, my dad (who's from england) on the other hand nowadays would probably call himself agnostic, not quite athiest but certainly not convinced by any of the 'mainstream' religions. So there's never been that 100% certainty of relgion in our family too begin with. Anyway, ever since I was young my mum has tried to bring us up as a muslim, which I probably would have called myself up until age 12. Up until that point, I think i did all the basic things like not eat non halal/kosher meat, fasting, etc etc etc, like it was second nature. But I think its around that time where I started to actually think abut what I was doing and why, and up until I was about 15 I tried as hard as I could to convice myself that this religion was true and that I had to follw it, etcetera. Nowadays, after 2 years of college and one year of uni, I would probably call myself and agnostic. I think I believe that 'God' has created the universe, and that there is some kind of ultimate purose in life... but I just don't think that anyone can be so sure about what this Higher being intends to do for us/ with us during life or when we die or whatever. What I find baffling is how some people can have so much faith in a book that is written my human hands, and then blindly follow it as if it is the be all and end all. Now I'm not saying that some of the things written in these books aren't good or 'right', because larger portions of it are about teaching mankind how to live a good life and how to take care of people you know and your surroundings. But I'm very skeptical about heaven, and hell especially, and how good deeds are counted like points that count toward a precice scale of good and bad things that you've one at the end of your life. I just find that concept too human-like to have anything to do with a higher power. If someone can tell me how the creator of such a complex and beautiful universe can take a person and send them to two extreme opposite realms based on their behaviour during life, without being evil or hypocritical, please, I would like to hear it.

 

I'm rambling, but basically as I've said, I'm not fully convinced by any of the 3 monotheistic religions, but I do believe that the universe was created by something and that our lives mean something and have purpose. My main worry is how I'll bring up my children in the future. Based on my uncertainty about the whole thing, how could I possibly raise children in a stable way without confusing them with religion? I don't want to tell them how to live their lives based on what happens to you after you die, because I don't fully believe that myself. But at the same time I don't want them to become unruly and feel like they can go around with no rules to constrain them... I don't know. There's also the fact that I feel kind of guilty because ive lost most of my faith (well it was never really THERE in the first place), and I know my mum would be heartbroken if I decided to tell her that I don't want to follow her religion anymore, let alone not bringing up children to be mulims. Now of course my dad coudn't care less about religion, so its not like I have 2 parents bearing down on me, but its still quite hard.

 

So where I am now, basically, is that I'm still living with a parent who still expects us to do all the stuff that I mentioned, incuding fasting, which I've decided, does nothing for me (i fail to understand how depriving your body of food and water to appease god makes any sense whatsoever). The only thing that is likely to stay with me for the long term is the not eating pork thing, and of course, not drinking alcohol - I don't think I'll be able to shake those 2 things off. They are truly a part of me, and I would just feel wrong going against those 2 things. It's a pity it can't be like that with the whole religion I suppose, but I'd rather not deceive myself and do things that I don't belive in.

 

I would just like to say though, that even though as a muslim, my mum is an open minded person. I say this because of the recent dislike towards members of this religion in recent years, and I think the media very much skews things and takes the acts of the minority and makes the rest of them look bad. I just think that she seems to be so defensive becasue she doesn't want us to burn in hell forever for not following the religion... that's where I think religion can be somewhat blinding. Its quite sad really.

 

In conclusion, I'm very much still trying to find myself.

And goodness, that was a long post. :stunned:

 

i didnt think that was rambling at all. i also enjoyed reading that, i like to get feedback to see what other people have experienced and how they dealt with it and to know that im not alone, i appriciate your response :)

And By the way..

Religions are destroying the world.

All wars.. been there because of religion... so what war is next?

 

you are partially correct on that. not ALL wars are caused by religion, its a mix of religion and politics. religion can also be used as an excuse to go to war, like lets say saudi arabia (im just picking a random country) wanted to go to war with iraq (again, im just picking a random country) for its oil, but that wasnt a good enough excuse for the people, they would say that they were doing it in the name of Allah and for the sake of Jihad and that the iraqis have disobeyed their deity, so that would be the reason to go to war, and then they would get the oil and also respect from its people, its quite a nasty thing. :snobby:

I don't think school and religion should be mixed very much. Kids pretty much have to go to school no matter how they feel about it, and it's just messed up to mix that with religion.

 

That said, there will always be hypocrites. Sometimes I wish certain people would not get involved with religion, because they are clearly in a different mind than they should be, even after years or a lifetime of being surrounded by good hearted people.

 

What you need to do is find someone who you think has a good heart, even some people who are deeply caught in sin might have a very good heart. But I don't like people who are hypocritical either, or overly judgmental.

 

edit: that's a response to the original thread opener

 

yes, it is very sad that the majority of the students in my former school have been brainwashed, school and religion should NEVER be mixed, like church and state, it just doesnt mix. i go to school to learn, not be told what to think, if you try to force something upon me then im just gonna spit it right out

 

that also said, im glad that im getting out though, and that my parents had enough sense to take me out :)

Well.. I went to church for awhile, but then I realized that I didnt really follow worshipping jesus christ. And I didnt feel comfortable being there when I knew everyone else was close to him. I didnt want to be lying to myself and especially to the church and those who did follow. So now I would say Im agnostic. I have a sem-what belief in God(as in the creator of the universe) But im not sure what God is... If i had to pick a religion to be, I probably pick judiasm, my friend is jewish and shes talked to me alot about it, what they believe the after life to be and whatnot and how they view God. And to me, I think I like that alot. But for now Im not too sure what to believe.. Ya could say Im confused when itcomes to religion.

 

I took a course this past semester at my UNI called "death and dying" and we learned about how eastern and western religions view death, the different gods or no gods and what not they believe in. It was a great class:)

 

All I can say is dont follow a religion cuz people say its the right one, follow theone that is right for you, whether it be muslim, christian, buddist etc.

:)