Religious/Philosophical discussion, your thoughts Options

[TetraGrammaton C...]

this thread was inspired by the atheist video thread

we have not had one of these in a while. i thought it would be interesting if people wanted to have an ungoing discussion about what beliefs/morals/religious ideas/scruples they have and why they have them.

i will try to interject myself as a catalyst when i have time.

i would ask that no one is too inconsiderate of other people's ideas. however, i do not think their is anything wrong with light humor or logical criticism.



as for religious trends, it seems that our generation is having difficulties with Christianity, ranging from "I'm spiritual, not religious" to the casual "Christian" that does not really believe in Jesus, but believes in the Christian god. I have met several people who treat religion like a buffet, picking and choosing which particular characteristics of the ethos that seem most suitable. this seems to be indicative of a deterioration of religion in general, as if what was once considered dogmatic is now flexible and relative. aside from the particular personal relevance to our own lives, there also exists a greater societal relevance. what will change in our country if we are on a religious downslope? can religion die out or is it cyclical? who will win flying shark vs. flying crocodile? what about a flying spaghetti monster? does it come with breadsticks? when was the last time you ate at olive garden? etc. etc.

[Billy]

I think I share christine's view on religion. I lean more towards atheism but do not rule out the possibility of a supreme being that may have been the catalyst that started life on earth, or at least the advance forms of life on earth. I just feel that "the religious god" is much like santa claus. A story made up to keep people doing what they're suppose to do while no one is watching. A way to teach moral responsibility and a way to control the masses. He knows if you've been naughty or nice, but instead of getting presents or coal, you get heaven or hell. I do think it's kind of ridiculous people can believe in it though, as it's about equally believable as greek mythology. In the entire written history of man kind, there is not one credible, recorded instance of a god. There's mythology like the bible. A collection of stories that may or may not be true. But no real evidence to show one exists.

What I do believe in is reincarnation. I do not belive in things like karma though. I do not believe there is any divine force that provides justice and makes sure the world stays "good". But I do believe it is a type of energy that provides us consciousness coupled with the biological capacity to contain that energy. So when you die, this energy travels through whatever is around it in search of this capacity. I do not know if you can be things like a blood cell or bacteria, but there's no reason to rule that out.

I think all objects in space contain this energy. The universe expands and then contracts. When it contracts, everything in the universe falls towards one another, towards the universe's center of gravity. Everything collides, and during this collision, this energy travels around and shifts, explosions happen and the universe begins expasion again (big bang). And so if your "soul" as we'll call it ends up on an astroid that never sees a life form visit it, it could be billions of years before you have consciousness again, though it won't feel like it. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as if you were to die in space, you won't be stuck in non-existance.