Somewhat of a religion poll

[Recursive Paradox]

I've heard that word before. It sounds so pretentious.

i was just saying it exists as an option. I don;t feel strongly about it either way - I can see how it could seem pretentious. The theory is it is meant to seem positive and is a word a bunch of freethinkers (that's another option) have coined for themselves as opposed to a word with negative associations like a-theist, which defines them by comparison with what they are NOT and was originally mostly used as a pejorative word by theists to criticise those without beliefs. It's meant to be like the way same-sex orentated people have chosen to use the world "gay" as opposed to a more clinical-sounding label of "homosexual", which was originally invented by doctors as a word to describe what they saw as an aberrant kind of behaviour, rather than a positive word invented by the people concerned. Also, "bright" is not supposed to mean "clever", but to generally be associated with things like "the Enlightenment" (or the 'light of reason/knowledge/science' or something - illuminating areas of human ignorance) - the period in the 18th century when philosophers like Voltaire and Rousseau were coming up with freethinking alternatives to traditional religion, based on more Humanistic and rationalistic values. It's also generally meant to sound upbeat whereas atheist can sound militant. I'm not saying it necessarily works well, just what I understand the aim to be

They could always call themselves the Illuminati ^_~

[Liv]

haha. Yes, I guess that would be in the same vein. Does come with a bit of baggage though I think!

[Nick Blackthorn]

I don't mean to necro the thread, but...

Depending on what mood I'm in, really. If I'm being completely serious, I consider myself an atheist.

If, however, I'm in a humorous mood, I'm a follower of Lord Cthulhu. (Note, Cthulhu cultism doesn't exclude atheism, as Cthulhu is a Great Old One, not a god. I think.)

[Elwood]

Flying Spaghetti Monster.

In all seriousness, I'm one of those people many like to call questioning. I don't want to believe in nothing, but religion doesn't make sense to me. I also don't "feel" a higher power. So I am technically an atheist, but I'm not anti-theist or anything. I'd like to hope I find God or a God or whatever someday if God exists...

[Liv]

I feel similar to that

[Jamie]

I'm a demi-agnostic-non-christ-centric Quaker
e.g. i don't know if theres a god, but i try to believe, and whether or not jesus existed makes no difference to me

[Jace Beleren]

I worship the Invisible Pink Unicorn!!! Actually I follow the practice of self worship. What can I say, when I pray to myself, shit gets done! XD

[Liv]

haha Jace. I suppose that is practical anyway - better than leaving things up to God and then being disappointed if they don't work out. In any case don;t people say "God helps those who help themselves"? Seems a bit too convenient for him, that one!

[-Kt-]

I worship the Invisible Pink Unicorn!!! Actually I follow the practice of self worship. What can I say, when I pray to myself, shit gets done! XD

And it makes sense.
IMHO, all sentient beings are gods, especially human beings.
We all have the power to create and destroy.

[poem]

my religion is logic.

atheism requires a surprising amount of faith for something that usually claims to be based on logic. i see how the conclusion is reached that there is no evidence of god, but science is an evolving field. there is no way to actually know if there is a god(or something of the like). therefor, to say that there isn't is to believe and not solve.

...i don't think i need to explain why religion isn't based on logic..

believing in anything as truth undermines your intelligence.

[Yochanan]

I worship the Invisible Pink Unicorn!!! Actually I follow the practice of self worship. What can I say, when I pray to myself, shit gets done! XD

And it makes sense.
IMHO, all sentient beings are gods, especially human beings.
We all have the power to create and destroy.

My mom says she is a god. Some of the reasons are a) because she rescues bees from our outdoor spa, b) she changed her sex, and... shit, I can't remember the other reason she gave. Anyway, it gave me the willies, so we had this huge debate over it. I was mostly annoyed because sometimes she seems to think she's better than others because she's transsexual. She's an atheist anyway (though it's hard to believe--she wears a silver cross around her neck day and night).

As for me, well, I'd say at this point in my life I'm mostly agnostic, but sometimes I feel rather Buddhist or pagan. I certainly can't see following a monotheistic religion. It freaks me out.

[Liv]

I've had Buddhist and Pagan phases too. being Pagan is quite cool. I wonder if us having to question our gender and the concept of gender -- which most people dont think about much -- makes us more questioning of things generally? I think it has partly been like that for me.

I guess agnostic is the best label for me at the moment - also Humanist in that I don;t think any beliefs are required as such to be a good person. PS Poem, "atheist"doesn;t actually have to mean you are completely 100% sure there is no God (I don't think even Richard Dawkins says that) but can just mean you don't see good evidence for one and live without any belief in one. It's not really that different from the word agnostic really, but that sounds more mild and unaggressive and stresses the bit about being open to the possibility of a higher power (or higher powers) etc , you just can;t say for sure if they exist or what they're like. My problem is I've tried all the religions that interested me and am still not really convinced by any (I find you always reach a point where there are certain contradictions or gaps in the logic of the teachings and questions that the religion and its believers can't answer properly.. things you've just got to accept on "faith" and tradition etc) and if I just make up my own I can;t be sure it's not just my imagination... That's my annoying questioning nature again.... why can;t I just be satisfied with what people tell me is true and chill out?... lol I guess it was easier in the old days before much access to information and diffent cultures etc. It was just normal to follow what your community believed. But ther's no point wishing to go back to being more ignorant and sheltered really.. It would be nice if knowledge made you happier, but I'm not necessarily sure it does. I still want to know things though...

[Wesley_Lexi]

I've gotten to the point where I am a Christian, but more in the background. I do believe in Christianity (though I occasionally have athiestic or agnostic moments), though I usually don't use my religion except as a trump card, an ace in the hole if you will. When things get really bad, I turn to my religion, and things almost always get better.

I guess you could say I follow the saying "God helps those who help themselves."

I'm currently agnostic, but leaning towards Christianity as the major option.

[Liv]

I did have a phase of being a liberal Christian not long ago.. it all depends on what you mean by Christian really... I mean some churches require you to hold very precise beliefs and others are very liberal and essentially just expect you to see Jesus's teacghings as a guide and inspiration in your life and to try to be more loving and selfless and so on and to have some vague feel that there is some higher power and meaning out there. I guess the ultimate religion in having fixed, literalistic beliefs would be something like Mormonism where I think they say God has an actual body and is married , unless I am mistaken

[poem]

PS Poem, "atheist"doesn;t actually have to mean you are completely 100% sure there is no God (I don't think even Richard Dawkins says that) but can just mean you don't see good evidence for one and live without any belief in one.

that's actually the second time i've heard that today. so i'm sorry to any atheists who define themselves based on "belief". especially because i fall into that category. i was more trying comment on the false belief of anti-theism(right word?) being rooted in science and logic.

and actually Richard Dawkins does say that. he comes off as much more of an idiot in interviews then in his books. i actually like him though. you can tell he'd be a sweet guy in day to day life.

[RilianXI]

Atheist is simple. Almost too simple to use as a summing up of beliefs.

A friend of mine said, "It's not strong enough." And that's why he calls himself a Bright.

I recently signed up on the Brights website, too.

[Liv]

I saw that term/website. As I understand iut they are trying to come up with a more positive-sounding word. The only problem is some people think they are claiming they are more intelligent than theists, and get annoyed. I understand they don;t mean it like this, but it is supposed to be connected with such concepts as the Enlightenment -- ie the period in the 18th C associated with free-thinking philosophies and social progress and the idea of "the light of reason", as opposed to atheist which just measn you are defining yourself by what you are not.

PS re, Richard dawkins, my understanding is he definitely does not think the Bible God exists but says no one can be 100% sure that no sort of higher power exists, but as he thinks there is no good evidence for one we might as well just go by our senses/science etc

[poem]

liv:

i think that's a mistake on his part. science has come to all sorts of false conclusions over the ages(ex: airplanes are impossible). i think the work of Richard Dawkins will be lumped into the same pile as those fellows who came up with the plane consensus. especially his "revolutionary" work with the concept of memes, which is already under heavy criticism.

...i feel it's also important to note that philosophy/physics/logic isn't even his field. he has as much knowledge of the working of this debate as the casual listener(i.e: you and me).

atheism should be defined by belief, and not deduction based on an unknowable percentage of the final evidence.

[Liv]

Well I guess the bit about the Bible God is just his considered opinion having read it. He's entitled to that IMO. As for the thing about how atheism should be a belief I disagree. It can just be an absence of one, like, for example, amoral means acting without any thought for morality. But I'm not that interested in a huge debate on this topic, so I think I'll leave it there.

[poem]

sorry.

my confrontational writing was aimed at Dawkins, not you. maybe i should call him eh? i think we have to get some things off our chests, before we start annoying everyone.

a million sorries

...on a side note, i heard the KKK is trying to find a new name for themselves that will make people think of them in a positive way. i believe they've settled on "the lights"