A Poll - Religious Beliefs

[Dyno]

Many threads in Genmay become religious quandries. It makes me curious as to the religious landscape around here.

The religion you practice is irrelevant for this poll. Just pick a letter that most describes you. These are indeed generalizations, shades of grey really, but this is the simplist I can make what is truly a very complex topic.

A. "I am traditionally religious, meaning I practice one of the recognized faiths in a traditional manner and I do so consistantly and diligently. The laws of my faith are the laws of my life. I consider my faith's religious manual to be a genuine and worthwhile artifact written by a divine power of some sort."

B. "I am moderately religious, meaning I believe in one of the recognized faiths but practice infrequently and have some views that are different than my clergy. That said I stay the path far more than I stray. I believe my faith's religious manual to be inspired by divine right or a power greater than humanity."

C. "I consider myself a spiritual person. I wholeheartedly believe in a higher power but look at all formal religious institutions with a fair dose of suspition. I live the life of a 'good person' though some times I may act against what my faith extolls. I think that religious manuals have value for the messages they impart but I do not believe these books to be anything more than mortal work.

D. "At the end of the day I believe in something, I just can't express what it is. My belief is either a work in progress or too personal for any religion to be of assistance to me. I live according to my own code of ethics, some of which is in line with secular commandments. Religious texts rarely assist me in my journey and I have come to not refer to them at all."

E. I am an Agnostic, meaning that I don't know whether or not there is a higher power and I am not willing to speculate. True to the definition of an agnostic I really have not formulated an opinion on the subject. Likewise I have no opinion on religious text.

F. "I am an Athiest, meaning that I believe that there is no god and there has never been an afterlife. Just as primative cultures created myths, like Zeus throwing bolts of lightning during thunder storms, I find the concept of an all-knowing god to be a figment of humanity's collective imagination. Religious books are fairy tales in line with Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. They have no merit beyond entertainment."

I hope this doesn't degrade into a flame-fest because I think everyone is at least curious to know the religious compass of their fellow Pit-Mate.

[zakatov]

FFFFFF!

wow, not cool to change choices after ppl vote

[caughtsuckingcock]

you did a decent job compartmentalizing different people's beliefs...i'm kind of a mix of C, D, E and F

predominantly E

(thanks for adding agnostic)

[zakatov]

Originally Posted by jive

you did a decent job compartmentalizing different people's beliefs...i'm kind of a mix of C, D and E edited: and F though

I'd imagine F would prevent you from being C and D, no?

[PopeKevinI]

I'm somewhere between A and B.

[Dyno]

Yeah, once I started writing them I had to go back and re-break them up. It's tricky and I totally understand half measures like your C to E mix.

For the record, I'm an F. At one point I had some C and D in me but I'm weening myself off that. It can be hard turning away with what you grew up with. Like zakatov said, once you accept F it becomes hard to justify C or D even if it gives you a warm fuzzy feeling.

[PopeKevinI]

btw, great thread, you just earned a sticky

[caughtsuckingcock]

Originally Posted by zakatov

I'd imagine E would prevent you from being C and D, no?

why?

sometimes i don't know if there is a god, sometimes i think there is just something greater, and sometimes i think there is probably a god

sometimes i reference religious texts, sometimes i think they are just works of fiction

[:ninja:]

No agnostic choice?


I wouldn't throw myself in to the category of an Atheist, but the Zeus analogy is basically how I feel.

And the end of the day, I make no assumptions. There is no (compelling) proof that indicates to me that there are, or aren't any higher powers.

[Dyno]

HA! Not that I would ever tell you what you are, but it sounds like you're a D, because that entails a religious belief that is a work in progress, plus it's the middle ground between C and E.

Once we get a few more entries I will start to compile the list. I don't know what I will call a C to E. "Other" doesn't cut it.

[:ninja:]

Originally Posted by Dyno

HA! Not that I would ever tell you what you are, but it sounds like you're a D, because that entails a religious belief that is a work in progress, plus it's the middle ground between C and E.

Once we get a few more entries I will start to compile the list. I don't know what I will call a C to E. "Other" doesn't cut it.

Not really.


Do I believe that a god exists?
No.


Do I believe that a god does not exist?
No.


See... to me, until proof is provided, it's a non issue.

It's like if you told me that you had an elephant in your room.

After just hearing that, and that alone, would it be safe to make an assumption on whether or not the elephant is really there? Not at all.
To assert that the elephant is in your room without proof is illogical.
Likewise, to assert that the elephant is not in your room, without proof, is also illogical.

[Dyno]

Okay, I looked up some words in the dictionary and found that the poll had a hole that the Agnostic term could fill. Agnostic is really "I don't know and haven't formed an opinion." I added it to the list. Edit your responses if you feel this addition is helpful.

Based on what you said, ninja, I would say the agnostic term fits you well. You are ambivilent in the absence of facts.

[:ninja:]

Originally Posted by Dyno

Okay, I looked up some words in the dictionary and found that the poll had a hole that the Agnostic term could fill. Agnostic is really "I don't know and haven't formed an opinion." I added it to the list. Edit your responses if you feel this addition is helpful.

great, you might want to switch E and F though... so that those that declared they were an E (before the change) would be recognized as their intended choice (Atheist)

[Dyno]

I'll keep it a shade of grey type poll and ask that people edit their responses.

[ManSandwichMayo]

I'm gonna say D.