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Christian. Roman Catholic. Was born and raised as one.

Kipi wrote:It's hard to explain...
In a way, I'm also atheist, in a way I'm not...

For example, yes I do believe there is God, but I believe that He doesn't have anything to do with our world...

VERY hard to explain, I know...

EDIT: Actually, the half-Atheist half-Christian wasn't even my invention, My believing has been called that way by many of my friends...

Still doesn't qualify. Atheism is defined as the complete absence of any god. If there is even a hint of a god, then it's not atheism, half- or otherwise. Your friends subjective views on the subject doesn't change the meaning of the word. In fact, this is an example of the post-modern trend of redefining objective terms to subjective "my personal feeling of what atheism means to me". In the case of atheism, it's just plain silly, since it is derived from the greek word atheos meaning godless.

Silur wrote:Still doesn't qualify. Atheism is defined as the complete absence of any god. If there is even a hint of a god, then it's not atheism, half- or otherwise. Your friends subjective views on the subject doesn't change the meaning of the word. In fact, this is an example of the post-modern trend of redefining objective terms to subjective "my personal feeling of what atheism means to me". In the case of atheism, it's just plain silly, since it is derived from the greek word atheos meaning godless.

Perhaps they're atheists on weekends, but Christians the rest of the week. This would be very convenient, since it would allow them to mix better at work and socials during the week, while avoiding lengthy worshipping rituals and the like on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Of course, I'm just a witch, so what do I know? Not much.

fable wrote:Perhaps they're atheists on weekends, but Christians the rest of the week. This would be very convenient, since it would allow them to mix better at work and socials during the week, while avoiding lengthy worshipping rituals and the like on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

No, that's still christian in my book, since that's pretty much standard christian policy around here. These day only the nut cases actually show up in church, mostly because the voices tell them to. This was sarcastically pointed out to me by a friend who works as a minister in the (former) state church, so it has to be fact, right?

fable wrote:Of course, I'm just a witch, so what do I know? Not much.

I thought witches were supposed to know all kinds of secret stuff, like umm... swimming, and... umm... have big noses with warts on them. Now, where did we stack all that firewood?

Silur wrote:No, that's still christian in my book, since that's pretty much standard christian policy around here. These day only the nut cases actually show up in church, mostly because the voices tell them to. This was sarcastically pointed out to me by a friend who works as a minister in the (former) state church, so it has to be fact, right?

But how can you tell nutcases from anybody else, at any time, anywhere?

I thought witches were supposed to know all kinds of secret stuff, like umm... swimming, and... umm... have big noses with warts on them. Now, where did we stack all that firewood?

We do know secret stuff. Unfortunately, it's useless secret stuff, like where CE stows the handcuffs she uses on you when you're both at work, and the number of seconds in every day that Sean doesn't post. Really helpful knowledge, like what corporation's stock is going to go through the roof next year, is just beyond our perception, though we're working on it in our secret Craft Lab.

We don't have warts. That's airy persiflage. We do, however, have quite a number of people claiming to be witches who confuse the Craft with fantasy novels, dress-up tournaments, book clubs, insta-spell and self-help groups, etc. Next to what we have got, warts might actually be a blessing.

Religion as a fashion statement!

Godless flag-burning amoral heathen with Rastafarian leanings on weekends. If I feel the need to be particularly trendy I'll say I'm of the Bahá'í Faith or follow the teachings of the holy Bokonon. Being a Buddhist or Daoist or a member of any other far-eastern faith just isn't cutting it anymore. And neither is not believing in "organized religion". That was so 1999.

edit: Kabbalah used to be cool before Madonna did it.

fable wrote:But how can you tell nutcases from anybody else, at any time, anywhere?

Any time and any where IS a problem, but at least we catch most of them on Sunday mornings... assuming we can get out of bed after doing all that *perfectly sane and normal* drinking and womanizing on Saturday evening. Good thing that "normal" is a subjective thing...

fable wrote: We do know secret stuff. Unfortunately, it's useless secret stuff, like where CE stows the handcuffs she uses on you when you're both at work, and the number of seconds in every day that Sean doesn't post. Really helpful knowledge, like what corporation's stock is going to go through the roof next year, is just beyond our perception, though we're working on it in our secret Craft Lab.

If you had been paying attention during your seances, you would know that we've given up the hand cuffs (far too American) and are now doing it Israeli style with nylon cable ties. As for Sean's posting habits, that is public knowledge, freely available as a poster or glass engraving at your local FBI Agency gift shop, so it doesn't impress much. If you can show some success rate on the stock market trends, I might be interested though...

fable wrote:We don't have warts. That's airy persiflage. We do, however, have quite a number of people claiming to be witches who confuse the Craft with fantasy novels, dress-up tournaments, book clubs, insta-spell and self-help groups, etc. Next to what we have got, warts might actually be a blessing.

Yes, I can imagine you gave up the warts and pointy hat thing ages ago. Kind of hard to stay away from bonfires with an obvious tell tale sign like that on your person. Still, I kind of like the goth sort of clothing that some of the female so-called witches dress up in around here. Reminds me of whats-her-name in the Adams family - I had such a crush on her when I was a kid...

I would have to go with other, since many of the things I believe come from a christian background, but I don't agree with many of the things christians believe in. And I hate many of the rules they seem to come up with.

Silur wrote:If you had been paying attention during your seances, you would know that we've given up the hand cuffs (far too American) and are now doing it Israeli style with nylon cable ties.

Israeli style? Is that what they're calling it, nowadays? Amazing how certain things merely change points of origin over time and in different places, like syphillis, which was the French Disease in English, but the Spanish Disease in France.

As for Sean's posting habits, that is public knowledge, freely available as a poster or glass engraving at your local FBI Agency gift shop, so it doesn't impress much. If you can show some success rate on the stock market trends, I might be interested though...

Well, I know your King Gustav is supposed to be assassinated, but I imagine my intuitive bolt from the blue is a tad late.

Yes, I can imagine you gave up the warts and pointy hat thing ages ago. Kind of hard to stay away from bonfires with an obvious tell tale sign like that on your person. Still, I kind of like the goth sort of clothing that some of the female so-called witches dress up in around here. Reminds me of whats-her-name in the Adams family - I had such a crush on her when I was a kid...

Carolyn Jones as Morticia! Yes, fun series, that. One of the few things worth watching then. Had a superb cast, by the way. Yet another instance where the ABC network admitted they killed off a show because it was becoming "too popular."

Still could do without the witch persona, though. For one thing, we're not just female, and for another, we only ride the skies of inner space. We're also pretty nice, average people, at least compared to solar diety worshippers. I think.

I'm what you'd call an Agnostic. I don't follow any organized faith/religion, but I do think there's possibly a divine(esque) entity out there that nobody's found (yet).

At least that's what I've heard an Agnostic's supposed to be in some cases.

I too had to vote "Other" as my beliefs are close to a combination of Druidism / Paganism / Wiccan.

It is really hard to explain but basically nature provides what we need so long as we take care of nature.

fable wrote:Amazing how certain things merely change points of origin over time and in different places, like syphillis, which was the French Disease in English, but the Spanish Disease in France.

Just goes to show who has been doing who through history since it's found everywhere these days...

Well, I know your King Gustav is supposed to be assassinated, but I imagine my intuitive bolt from the blue is a tad late.

They're all Gustav this or that, so you never know - it could be a prediction for some future king. I think the royal family has pinned Gustav as one of the really Swedish names, and they do thier best to hide their "Froggy" heritage behind it.

Carolyn Jones as Morticia! Yes, fun series, that. One of the few things worth watching then. Had a superb cast, by the way. Yet another instance where the ABC network admitted they killed off a show because it was becoming "too popular."

They're never quite happy, are they? Most of the time they whine about low ratings and loosing viewers, but too many viewers? I can't see the problem. SciFi cancelled one of my favourite shows a few years back because it didn't attract new viewers any more... too low growth rate or whatever it was. It was in its fourth season and had a huge fan base, but that wasn't enough, was it?

Still could do without the witch persona, though. For one thing, we're not just female, and for another, we only ride the skies of inner space. We're also pretty nice, average people, at least compared to solar diety worshippers. I think.

Ah, those early morning human sacrifices... those were the days. The whole thing went down the drain for lack of virgins - you can't imagine how hard it is to find one these days!

As for male witches, they don't have the same appeal to me (for obvious reasons), but by all means, we do have men dressing in goth clothing and calling themselves sorcerers or what-not.

Is Agnosticism even a belief? You can't believe in something you don't actively think about. It is why I like the expression 'theologically non-cognitive' better. Picked that one off Wikipedia, actually.

Tricky wrote:Is Agnosticism even a belief? You can't believe in something you don't actively think about. It is why I like the expression 'better. Picked that one off Wikipedia, actually.

The lack of concern for the existence of god is probably not outside the boundaries of agnosticism. Still, recent interpretations sometimes add an element of "searching for god" to it, so if you think the entire issue is irrelevant, then you're probably better off with "theologically non-cognitive" or ignostic... I like the ignostic reply to any discussion concerning the existence of god; "I don't know what you're talking about when you talk about God." Also from Wikipedia.

I go with "Other"...and would call myself a Philosopher. That being a religion, outside of religion, that is neither or either a religion itself. Philosophy, brother to and of Science has means for looking into the formerly unexplainable and the irresponsibility of being naive.

I'm sorry to those who want to believe without question, but for some darn reason I'm tired of watching the cat and mouse games of this world's psyche. I tire of the same old stories, which depict the so-called heroes and the so-called villians.

Roleplay the world, and it's inhabitants, and its societies, and its timelines, and its cultures. Roleplay them as truths. Roleplay them as fictions. It all adds up in the end. One believes out of fear and out of one's conditionings from one's environment...and pushes for wishful thinking while abandoning pain in order to be more laxed and complacent in conformity of what is easy on the "eyes" (soul/body/ect).

It sucks to see that doctrine controls ppl. As we, humans, easily forget things if it is not written down. And if it is written down, the sages/philosophers have forseen this many times; in that, it becomes one messy piece of dogma.

I sometimes wish the "Other" ppl, such as myself, had some form of doctrine to say who we are...instead of defining ourselves according to the most recent definitions of mainstrain doctrines/religions/institutions. I wish I had millions of pages of my inner data thinkings recorded as theorums, postulates, ideas and just-me-data...so that I wouldn't have to repeat myself explaining my own doctrine (or religion, if you will). It's like I need to carry around a sheet that states all the "IF, IF Then, AND/OR/NOR statements" of the base of my being just so everyone is on the same page. I'm beginning to really hate mainstream ideas the past few years, as the unique stories in all of us are getting ignored for "you have to follow these rules/codes/doctrines...or your not (our friend, not my spouse, not my church, not with us).

(This is not inciting a flamewar...just explaining my existance, which seems harder to do with every passing day...ie---> each day = more data).

Planet_Guardian

I was raised an atheist. For a while in my younger years (by younger I mean early to mid-teens) I was something of an agnostic (I didn't believe in a god, just the notion that the world and universe gave us life, not as some knowing force, and there was some mixture of Buddhism in that as well); in the mid- to late-teens, I considered myself a Satanist, although you never would've been able to tell since I would never lower myself to something as demeaning as that particular stereotype. Then I was an agnostic again, then full-blown atheist (one step above from becoming a militant one, because trust me, the people down here deserve some militants). But I don't know what I am anymore...

For, you see, one late Thursday night while havin' a bit of the ganj, I had a religious ephiphany. I was watching Donnie Darko while high (I'd been dying to do it, convinced it would freak me the heck out, and apparently I was vindicated). I went from thinking I was a philosophical student (not a philosophy student, let's just stress that right now) to thinking I was Yoda, to dead-convinced I was Jesus reborn. In all fairness, the "Yoda" thing was only something that happened in-conversation with someone, and it was because of something I'd said; also, it lasted a few minutes. Jesus, on the other hand, was a 2-hour thing. And I gotta say, I can't be the son of God if I don't believe in myself. :laugh:

I'd like it pointed out that I of course do not believe I am Jesus, for those who might possibly jump on the statement of someone who had experienced a monumental high. Although I'd be scared if I were you considering all the religious imagery that's been popping up ever since then... like Armageddon being shouted at me from the TV... or the fact that an angel spoke to me earlier today to stress the importance of a well-balanced diet... or the fact that I just turned five glasses of water into Chablis and I am drizzunk! Party in God's House and everyone's invited!

Tricky wrote:Is Agnosticism even a belief? You can't believe in something you don't actively think about.

If anything, agnostics think more about their religious beliefs than many "believers" who have simply inherited their opinions along with their genes. Agnostics anaylze religious dogma, and believe that given the limitations of human perception, nothing can be proven one way or the other. THis is very different from simply saying, "I don't care." Google is your friend: try this site to discover more about it.

Please note I'm not recommending the content of this site, nor am I an agnostic.

DaemonJ wrote:I too had to vote "Other" as my beliefs are close to a combination of Druidism / Paganism / Wiccan.

It is really hard to explain but basically nature provides what we need so long as we take care of nature.

Probably the closest so far to my personal beliefs on here.

Evangelical (Dutch, might be different from the Americans).

My beliefs don't fit perfectly into any one religion. I believe in a supreme power that has many manifestations. Similar to the Hindu structure of the divine. I also believe that power has physical manifestations -- prophets or avatars -- on earth. These include, but are not limited to, Jesus Christ, Muhammed, Krsna, and Buddha. I believe that all religions are cultural interpretations of greater truths that living people were not meant to know, and thus all sincere religious belief is valid. I believe in a semi-Buddhist form of reincarnation and eventual enlightenment.