Christian, Catholic, Agnostic, Atheist, Muslim?

[Casazeal]

Okay, so at my college there's a large mix of people who have different religious beliefs. The other day me and five of my class mates were waiting outside our class as part of an exercise and we got onto the topic of religion. One of the girls turned round and asked me what I was. I replied that I'm agnostic - and she asked me why and I told her that my parent's have always let me choose to believe what I want and wouldn't force religion on me. She laughed and said that my parent's obviously don't care that I'll be going to hell for my beliefs then.

Now that got me quite riled up, and some of the other students got involved and it turned into a mass debate. Now as far as I see it, you shouldn't:

a) force your belief onto another just because you think it's right
b) tell someone they're going to hell because it's not you're religion.

My parent's both have different beliefs, my mum's a Catholic and all her family up in Scotland are Catholic too, so it runs through all the generations in that side of my family. My dad is an atheist, and as far as I know my aunties and cousins on his side are either atheists or don't believe at all I think I'm really lucky to have my parents give me the choice to believe what I want to believe. I don't think other religions are wrong, and I don't attack others because of their faiths. The reason that I'm making this topic is because I'd like to know what others think, and to find out if any of you have been attacked for your religious beliefs - and to discuss why you think you have been/or why you have attacked others belifs.

[krusty ketchup]

Oh my God that's really harsh and wrong and politically uncorrect and just plain bitchy!
I think riled is the wrong word. I would have been p****d off to say the least!

[Casazeal]

I know, there's another girl in my class who is brainwashed and calls the music I listen to devil music and the films I watch devil films

[krusty ketchup]

She's clearly hiding something. Bloody devil worshippers. They're all the same. Never admit to it, but tell other people they are!

[duchess]

I am technically Roman Catholic by christeninng, but I know there are great many inconsistancies in the text as well as the church. I still go because it's what I'm use to, but I believe more in the ideals behind the bible, such as general goodwill torwards man, more than I believe in the implementation of those ideas.

People saying their church is the 'right' one is a total failure of the ideas behind the bible. There are good people that do not believe in my god or god at all. I take the best of each religion I see and keep the value of the words... I think it's more of guide how to live your life than concrete rules anyhow.

I won't force my kids to be Catholic, but I will tell them the ideals behind the religon and to love all people despite their faults. Wether they want to attach it to that particular relgion is up to them.

If someone attacks me they need to have hardcore evidence and be ready for a debate or I'll just verbally slaughter them and make them feel like an idiot. Whoever attacked your upbringing must of never read the freeking Bible.

[Kneetroll]

Well I was christened Church of England, and I whilst I have certain beliefs about spirituality and an afterlife and so forth, I don't believe in God. I've read the bible purely for curiosity purposes and whilst it's a fascinating read, I could never worship it due to its inconsistencies compared to what we know of the world today.

For example, let's assume that Adam and Eve were indeed the first man and woman on this earth. Now think if you will, of the problems with incest; mental problems, gene disorders, miscarraige, and it's illegal.

If Adam and Eve were the first two and they had sons and daughters, who went on to have sons and daughters of their own, and so on until we have the world today, not only would there be little chance of various races, colours and creeds in the world, but we would all indeed be inbred and blood related in some way.

And then of course there's the point I've always made. In the bible almost everyone knows the story of Ancient Egypt and how Moses called upon God to allow him to free the Hebrew slaves.

Egyptians back in those times and today have never believed in God in the sense that Christians/Catholics do. They've never worshipped Jesus or the Bible.

Back in ancient times, Egyptians had a multitude of gods and a totally different creation story, their world was made. Their main god was Ra, the sun God. For Christians, God is the God of all, and has no preference. He just was and the world just was.

And nowadays as we all know Egyptians are Muslim and again have seperate beliefs and creation stories.

And the Hebrew slaves were not Christian either. They were Jewish (or from what I've read this is my understanding, but I could be wrong). The Dead Sea Scrolls is their bible and again their entire religion differs in many ways.

I'm in no way condemning any religion, these are just MY beliefs, but I thought I add my li'l bit.

[WarrenWitchesRule]

Egyptians back in those times and today have never believed in God in the sense that Christians/Catholics do. They've never worshipped Jesus or the Bible.



Actually, according to National Geographic the Egyptian population is mostly Christian nowadays

[Fassbender Fan]

I'm Roman Catholic.

I could get into a mass debate about God and the bible and my religiong, and the fact that i studied Theology gives me a bit of a history of doing so but I won't. Because as you said, we don't have to enforce our faith/opinions on others or preach about how great our religion is compared to someone elses.

The point here is not which religion you follow but the fact that you are entitled to believe what you like. The fact that your parents let you choose is great, and this girl shouldn't condemn you for your beliefs.

[DreamDangerously]

I was raised in the church of England and I would say that I'm now a very liberal christian, if we have to put a title on it. That is to say, I don't attend a church, but I do believe in God. I have to say that my beliefs don't really fit with any conformity of church I've found yet.

I see the bible more as guidance rather than plain fact. It's analagous, e.g. the story of Adam and Eve and the creation of the world in Genisis is a damn good explaination of Evolution for people who would never have understood the science of it.

Historically Jesus did exists, but my thoughts and opinions on him are frankly personal and not up for debate.

As a side note Kneetroll, Christians don't worship the bible, because that would be idolatry. Yes the Hebrews were Jewish, however Islam, Judaism and Christianity share beliefs from the Old Testament and Islam believes that Jesus was a great prophet.

All three religions share prophets, stories and fundamental ideas about heaven, hell and how people should behave, so it's not as black and white as three distinct reliegions, then of course you get mesianic jews who believe in Jesus and the whole issue is far more complicated.

The difficulty in my eyes really is that all three faiths are evangelical, that is the only way to save people is by converting them.

Most sensible people will know that there are ways and ways of discussing such matters with people rather than just out and out accusing them of burning in hell. Unfortunately for extremeists that is what they believe will happen to you and that forced conversion or hell fire and brimstone is the only way to save people's souls.

Personally, my real bug-bear issue with religion in this country are people who profess to be faithless and then expect to have their children christened and have their wedding in a church, because those services are fundamentally christian acts of faith, promising to raise your child as christian, or promising to obey the biblical ideals of marriage.

People who aren't religious don't go to Mosques, Synagoges or Gurdwaras and expect to be married there so why do they feel it's okay to do it in a church if they don't believe in God.

I do believe that if thats the case they should have a civil ceremony and I know that my Mum's vicar wont marry people who aren't christian or baptize children who's parents aren't christian. Good on him!

Incidentally did anyone watch Richard Dawkin's series The Root of All Evil, which was on just this particular topic?

[Kneetroll]

My sister's having a civil service; no church would marry her and her fiance because they were not an active member of any church. Fair enough, I agree with you. Most people just want to marry in a church to say they had the "ideal wedding" of being married in a gigantic old church.

[DreamDangerously]

yeah true, but then we have some pretty old synagogues too, why not go and have an ideal wedding in a medieval synagogue instead of a church, mostly because people wouldn't dream of asking.

As much as many churches are beautiful, they're also active places of worship and I think people frequently forget that. I always remember shortly after my uncle passed away when I was still living in Canterbury, I went to the cathedral to light a candle for him and I was clearly very emotional and yet I had a bunch of tourists videoing me and generally staring with a complete lack of respect for the function of the place.

[Wight witch]

Officially I'm Protestant but thats only through Christening!
Really I'm agnostic!!
I know how you feel about OTT religion people...there's a girl in my year, her step-dad's a priest so she has this whole 'I'm Christian' thing going on, (just to clarify I have total respect for religious people because they know whats right to them & I have no idea) anyway I am facinated by wicca, new age & polytheist religions...so I was having a disscussion with her and she got really bitchy anytime I tried to interject another opinion & she kept going on about all these things in Christianity that I know to be bull coz it seems that I know more about her religion than she does....she REALLY annoys me...She's a complete hypocrite lecturing people about PDA's & youth behaviour then posting pictures of her posing on motorbikes & out drinking!!!
I think that to be truly religious means knowing what the truth is but yet repecting other beliefs

[DreamDangerously]

absolutely. It's always extremists that are going to cause the problems rather than people who are respectful.

[Wight witch]

Exactly lso those extremist are generally the ones who don't have a clue what they're talking about!

[DreamDangerously]

or they are so blinkered to any ideas other than their own. That's what makes them so dangerous, they can't conceive of any middle ground.