What would it take to convert you?

That's what being religious means in my opinion. Believing in something despite there's nothing rational to support your view at all.
I think that is a very narrow view on religious people. It might be like that for someone, but many religious people also believe in their religion because they feel that it is the most rational option.
 
Nothing would bring me to religion again. If people out there try to convert others, either to or from a religion, I inherently disagree with their purpose. Getting people to convert distracts from their own ability to decide what they want to believe - I dropped being Catholic with no fanfare or outside influence, I just found some of the rituals strange and the text hard to get behind, so I stopped.

Though that said there are religions which frighten me, particularly certain baptists (who put one of those chick tracts in my mailbox, the fact that someone genuinely believes what is written on those is scary). I suppose I can support getting people to stop being members of those religions.
 
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My personal view is that religion as we know it is archaic, as far as worshiping a God and going to Church to have ancient useless texts read to you goes. Stuff like Buddhism, I can understand more, it's largely a philosophy with a lot of rational and ethical thought behind it. Personally I don't subscribe to any of it, maybe there is a heaven/hell, maybe we will be reincarnated (I like this idea), but we have no way to know and so can only live this life to the fullest. I guess that's agnostic?
 
Where does religion start anyway.? from the point you believe in some sort of greater beeing? an afterlife?
The point you start following all the little rules in whatever book is your relegions bible and start taking it litterary?
Ore somewhere in between?

I believe in 'a God', I also believe in an afterlife, I look at the bible as a nice bundle off things to think about, by dropping alot of 'facts' in the bible and looking at it as a book that's been cobbled togheter and rewritten countless times you also drop the fanatisme, the literary interpretation off it that has given religion such a bad name.
 
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When the existence of God is proven, belief is no longer necessary, since you know it exists. Knowledge and belief are mutually exclusive. And I'm firmly rooted as agnostic, because of that notion.

Exactly. Same me. Since you can't prove if any god exist or not I'm agnostic.

There were many Christian philosophers who were quite wise men (like Thomas Aquinas) and because they were religious they tried to prove God's existence with a logic. But every prove like that was later rebut, so for example, now Catholic Church said you just can't prove that God exist and it's only matter of faith.

So I'm agnostic. What could convert me? Nothing I think. I mean, when god's existence will be proven than ok, I'll accept that. But it wouldn't be faith than.

I couldn't be converted to any religion because for me existence of many religions is a prove that any of them isn't right. And like 5k years ago most of them didn't exist. I don't see any reason why one of them should be better than all the others.
 
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Babel fish ^?

What would it take for me to give up giving up religion, ummmm

40 virgins and the promise of eternal life - ooooh er. :lol:
 
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^ Hmm, tempting!! :lol:

Either than that, I'm Agnostic, so prove it to me and I'll believe it. And I am fully aware that that is not the point of religeon, which is faith, but I don't think I can have faith in something I don't understand or believe.
 
There is little I can conceive of that would shake my personal faith. It would require extraordinary events.

I often speak to God in my prayers, and imagine that he is the still, small voice that answers from my conscience.

While religion is not old, as was pointed out, it's still old enough that for hundreds of generations it has tied people together. Right or wrong, for the sake of their faith my antecedents have suffered and been oppressed by others.

My faith, and my traditions are what bind me to my people. I am proud and honored to carry forth those traditions, as recent and unfashionable as they may be.

Steve
 
Right or wrong, for the sake of their faith my antecedents have suffered and been oppressed by others.

And for the sake of their faith your antecedents oppressed others and made them suffer. Probably more recently than the opposite.
 
Probably something involving a lobotomy. :p

(I'm a total athiest and think religion is something left over from the middle ages..)

Dammit, I was going to use that line. :(

I read up on buddhism, found out that real buddhism is full of magic and spirits and is nothing like hippy western buddhism. So, beyond losing higher brain function nothing can make me believe in magic. I was born an atheist, an atheist I shall die. My parents have always sort of believed in christianity, though not practicing it, and we went to church only a couple times when I was a kid (and never once before I was old enough to be in school). After being dragged to some church, on the way home in the car my parents asked me and my brother, "boys, do you believe in god?" and I just flatly said "No." which was greeted by "...wat". I was seven at the time and had a wild imagination, but I saw no reason then to believe fairytales were true and I never will.

As for political views, I'm a evil scary socialist and I don't think anything could make me become conservative. Maybe another Hitler or some sort of massive catastrophe, but that's about it.
 
What would it take for you to [...] join a religion from an agnostic/atheist viewpoint?
Living in a society, where my life or that of those I love is in danger without joining a or rather the local religion. Of course I wouldn?t believe in any of the shit ... but put my (or those around me) life and or well-being on the line, and I?d join and fake the rest.

To really make me a "believer" of sorts ... is something I consider close to impossible. Even after the 10th miracle performed in front of my eyes, each one overshadowing anything the Bible has to offer ... I?d still be like
skepticalcatd128531540012656250.jpg
 
And for the sake of their faith your antecedents oppressed others and made them suffer. Probably more recently than the opposite.

I see what you mean, and kind of share your point in a way, but at the same time, feel that you can't blame a tool for the way people use it.
 
One thing - it is nice for everyone to have their own faith - or be free not to have faith; without people trying to force their views on people who are not of their 'tribe' if I can use that word - tolerance and respect are the words, tolerance and respect.
 
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I see what you mean, and kind of share your point in a way, but at the same time, feel that you can't blame a tool for the way people use it.

Certainly not. I'm just pointing out that if we're going to applaud Christians for suffering for their faith, we should point out that they have made others suffer for theirs. In fact, on balance, Christians have probably suffered and died for their faith far less than they have made others suffer and die for other faiths or a refusal to follow the Christian church. I'd say the Judeo-Christian faiths are the worst offenders in written history, just because they are the faiths of the Europeans, who are the ones who conquered more or less all of the rest of the world.

That being said, it's quite likely that Egyptian religious leaders were worse. But those records are harder to come by. :)
 
And for the sake of their faith your antecedents oppressed others and made them suffer. Probably more recently than the opposite.

This arguement always bugs me because it's really not the religion that caused people to oppress others, but the arrogance of the humans who used religion as an excuse. The same people who would oppress one because it's God's will would gladly find another excuse to push down others. Using religion as an excuse is not the same as religion being evil, and it actually lets the assholes off the hook for being awful to their fellow people. The people who were power-hungry rat bastard popes - and there were many power-hungry rat bastard popes - would have clawed their way into power through other means if the papacy didn't exist, and would have tried to start wars, oppress others, and do dastardly things without religion behind them.

In a world with no religion, you will still have the power hungry, the assholes and the corrupt. They'll just find a different way of manipulating the populace. Don't blame religion, blame the people using it.
 
I never claimed religion was evil. I'm just saying that oppression in the name of the Judeo-Christian god has a long and illustrious history.

And some people did it with the best of intentions. Even so, "civilizing" a native population somewhere is still oppression, especially if it results in the dissolution of the native culture.

Frankly, I take issue with modern Christians going on mission trips around the globe. Is it not enough to aid those in need? Must it be a quid pro quo situation: "I'll help you get clean water if you'll accept Jesus"?
 
I guess...no, I know I am a minority in this thread and largely in this forum; I am a practicing Christian, Lutheran to be exact.

Many years ago I was an atheist, and a damned proud one at that. Circumstances in my life happened so that slowly I became a Christian, or rather, I came back to the religion I was raised on. Both my parents are very devout, as is my brother, but my parents never forced me to go to church, even as a child; the only time it was required was when I was going through communion. Once I "graduated" I rarely went back.

So what are my views? Well, I believe in a higher life form than myself, and with that I believe that a)this life form sent ambassadors (Buddha, Jesus, Mohammad) if you will, to teach Gods ways of living and b)that his one ambassador, Jesus Christ, died for my sins and yours. I follow the teachings and words of Jesus Christ and try my best to adhere to them. But I am not perfect, nor am I holier than thou.

-Do I believe that the Earth was created 6,000 years ago? No. What I believe is that my creator gave us humans free will to do as we please, and to be judged not by his creations, but by the creator when we pass from this plane of existence to the next.

-Am I evangelical? Again, no, even though I do belong to an evangelical Lutheran church (ELCA) I am not going to berate others to convert to my way of thinking, because I believe in freewill.

-Am I final arbitrator on religion here on Final Gear? No. Please do not pester me about it. If you are angry at Christianity, take it up with the Vatican, not me.

-Do I care that you are not religious? Nope. My perception, respect and fondness of you changes NOT ONE IOTA. What I do ask for, is that you treat me the same way. You can talk until you are blue in the face about how religion is a fallacy, berate me over my personal choice, call me a fool, and it will not change my views. And if someone was to bully me, mock me or whatever, I will not be angry, but pity them for being so narrow minded and judgmental, it reflects on who they are, how they treat others, and most importantly, how they feel about themselves. Think about that, if you are person who is an internet bully; I have received death threats because I dared to be open about my beliefs.

I am an individual, please judge me on an individual basis.
 
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