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What is it that you really believe?



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Alaude Drenxta

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There are so many different forms of faith, different viewpoints that all seem to culminate into what we, as a civilization, have deigned to call "religion". There is even the argument that atheism is a form of religious practice, and in a sense, you could see it that way if taking it from the view that they at least acknowledge that there exists the concept of a God, regardless of the fact that they deny his/her material existence.

This was spurned from a recent thread discussion I'd seen that brought me around to the underlying question here. Debate and dissent aside, what is that you truly believe? Perhaps this section isn't the right place to put this, but this isn't a place to argue for or against another person's faith. Simply put, it is here for the sole purpose of allowing a medium to share with us all what, exactly, it is that you believe.

Again, I'm not asking for one real response to the question, and then a bunch of rhetoric on how what "person X" believes is foolish, wrong, or misguided. Let's get down to basics.

What is your general concept for the reason for existence? What is the underlying force that you believe has culminated in the universe? Are you jewish? What tenants of judaism do you accept, and which do you reject? There are so many different forms of each different religion, I thought it might be interesting to see what forms they have taken in each individual.
 
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Solar

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I am a, simply put, a Muslim. Sunni in the sense my goal is to follow the sunnat of The Prophet (peace be upon him) though me and my family do not take a firm political stance within Islam save where we feel justice lies.

I'd like to say I'm Sufi but I'm hesitant to use the word based on the Western perception of it. Traditionally and simply put, Sufism is regarded as Islamic mysticism. I believe it is possible to 'know' God beyond the human mind with much dedication to the practice. This is done through deep meditation, contemplation and love of God and The Prophet (peace be upon him). Also, after God, I consider my love and respect goes to Muhammed (peace be upon him), that it is my desire in life to emulate him as best and humbly as I can. My philosophies regarding The Prophet (peace be upon him) are slightly different from the norm in the sense I regard him as the second most powerful entity in the universe, and I really like to look into the deep meanings of the Qu'ran and Hadith which suggest the deeper mystical implications of both.

Some of these are the possibilities of different planes of existences, universes, and even realities. As I consider Allah the only True Reality everything 'real' to me is possible. I also consider the possibilitie that Muhammed (peace be upon him) had deeper divine knowledge and was more than a man while still being one. In the sense he knew and saw things no other man did. This article is something akin to my views. Also, because Muhammed (peace be upon him) is called God's Messenger, I note this title could hint at the possibility of not just preaching to humans (for it is said jinn were preached to as well) but to perhpas even other worlds? It's a thought I've considered but not one I thoroughly believe in.

My general concept of existence? I do not know and I am content with not knowing. I am aware of my humble ignoranceand short-comings and I will do my best to understand the universe and world around me to gain a better appreciation for myself, others, and the beauty of life. After all, there is just as much beauty in mystery as there is in comprehension in my books. Both, in my opinion, glorify God in the sense we really see how great man can be and his Creator must be greater and merciful to endow him with such traits. As for the mystique, what a sense of wonder and bewilderment it gives me! Glory goes to The One Who gave me the mind to process the concept as well as giving a subject for me to focuse this awe on.
 

Alaude Drenxta

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All else aside, that was very beautifully put, big props.

I don't think I've ever heard of Sufism, I think I'll look into it.
 

Alaude Drenxta

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As of now, I consider myself an athiestic agnostic. If there is a God, then I don't care.

That was never really something I understood. Are you saying that if you found out God was real it would make no difference to you?
Or just that you aren't too worried about whether or not he is real?
 

Memory Master

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I'm a christian. I believe it's impossible for humans to ever be perfect simply by our own power or works. Therefore we would normally be destined to go to hell to pay for our sin, sin being the very thing that makes us imperfect. However as a christian I believe that if a perfect being dies in our place (Which in the christian faith was Jesus) then by belief and acceptance of that being we are given mercy and grace and made perfect by Jesus once we die, thus because Jesus makes us perfect and cleanses us of our sin we are then able to enter heaven.

To summarize it, my core belief is this:

There is God. He saw we were imperfect and our hearts full of sin. He knew there was no way for imperfect creatures to pay for their sins and thus they were doomed to go to hell. So he came into the world as a man (Jesus) and died to pay our sin debt. Anyone who believes this is true will be shown grace and made perfect and thus will be seen worthy to enter the kingdom of heaven.

In other words I don't think a person can ever do enough good things to earn his/her way into heaven. Perfection and passage into heaven only comes from belief and grace as well as humbleness and the admitance that one is imperfect and needs the grace and mercy of a perfect God and therefore must accept the sacrifice he made on the cross for us.​
 

Silverslide

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I am on the border of Christian and Agnostic.

If god IS real, I don't like how he runs things.
 

_EX

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I am Athiest agnostic too.
What I mean is that I know there is no God. But, I accept the possibility that I am wrong and can change.

It sounds strange but it isnt really. In my mind, I know that God doesnt exist. But, I know that everything I know could be wrong.
I could be dreaming right now, for example. Right now, I know I am not dreaming but in the future I might think differently.

well, that even seems mixed up to me, but beliefs were never meant to be the easiest things to comprehend...
 

Tenyas

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I honestly don't believe a lot.

I look upon many religious texts as we do the tales of the Greco-Roman Gods and mythologies. They were stories made over years and years, eventually worshiped by people when they became believed enough and known enough to be trusted, until something else came along and all their faith in the stories change. I see the bible and other such things as tales with morals. They may have been formed from events that actually happened but, exaggerated to where the intended morals are made obvious by the writer/speaker.

Sure, a smart man named Jesus and his friends may have existed. These prophets and these heroes of many religions likely lived in some fashion. But, in my beliefs, they were all human. I want to think there's more to humans as a whole but, really, the more I see and the more a listen, the more I realize that everything we believe in is derived from something else. Our monsters, our deities, our heroes and villains... Really exaggerations or gradual mixing of events, creatures, and people that had an impact on societies [as far as I can tell]. Heck, a lot of existing religions are derived from other, rougher, religions which are taken from a conglomeration of cultures which, in turn, had their own beliefs and stories.

I see everything there is today, everything we believe in and work toward, as something we've built. Those books? We wrote them. Those heroes? They're flesh and blood like us. Those monsters? Our fears of animals larger than us. Since we've reached a point in time where we no longer have a lot of fears, of the same troubles or strifes, as the people within those old tales and where there really isn't a true need for us to push these stories upon one another to teach and for survival, we end up getting a lot of folks who just choose to not believe in the tales at all or who don't put a lot of faith in them.

Since it makes sense within my skull for all these stories in oh so many religions and philosophies to be thoughts, reasoning, and morals, I don't truly have a faith. You could say I'm agnostic, I don't truly go out of my way to figure out what is truly 'correct', but I also believe that there is a reason religions are around and that's, in my beliefs, us.

I believe in being kind to humans for the fact that it 1) helps survival and 2) for some reason makes my sentient-self happy. I believe in not taking too much because it's bad for the environment as a whole and I don't need it. I believe in us having natural rights not because of a God but, because as creatures capable of even questioning our own existence we should be able to respect one another of being able to do the same.

Sort of odd, eh?
 

Nelo Angelo

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Its a good question that we should all ask ourselves, and more importantly, to try and search for the answer rather than to just blindly go about either believing it or disbelieving it.

I believe that this world, this universe and its inhabitants, the nature of all that exists must have a creator. Basically, every created thing surely must have a creator as it cannot have come into existence by itself. When observing one’s own self and the way the things in this world are there to suit our needs, and then the way the things in and out this world all seem to follow some sort of design, a pattern, brings about the question, who’s pattern? Who’s design? And how is it something like the contents of what we breathe in and out suit every living thing in this earth? The forces of nature such as gravity, upthrust, friction and so on are evident and exist to support both us and what we create to support us. Hope you understand what I’m trying to say.

The most amazing creation is that of man. We are a unique creation. What is it that gave us this shape? This amazing and complex system inside of us that allows us to think, feel, smell, taste and heal itself? The design inside and out that is so specific and does such specific functions in order for us to live cannot have just appeared and created itself. More importantly since everything we humans create has a significant purpose, then what is the purpose of our creation and our lives?

I believe this Creator has to be a force with such attributes that no other person or being can possess otherwise he is not worthy of being the Creator. His qualities need to show to us that He is worthy of worship, and what I’ve just described above are just a few points to show what has been given and what has been created for us that we should be grateful for.

All this I believe has been answered. I believe this Creator, from the very beginning, has not left us without guiding us. Since it is He who created us, it is He who knows what is best for us. To say that this Creator does not know what he created or that he is so pure and holy that he does understand the shortcoming of us human beings that he must come down and be us to know us is absolutely absurd. The Creator knows what He has created and I believe that he chooses a man amongst men, righteous men, who He communicates with on a higher level, bring us to understand Him and know what it is that we should do to not just find inner peace and justice and morality within ourselves but between each other and the world. The answers to our pressing questions and how to live in peace has been given us throughout time and I believe these messengers all spread the same message. Each of them did not differ in the underlying goal, which was to believe in this ‘One Creator’ but added to the teaching of this one religion, this one way of life, that this Creator knows is the only way for us to find inner peace and live in a peaceful world. For all that this way of life teaches is to bring peace to yourself and to your fellow man. So, this creator has not left us without guide and without knowledge of His existence. He has done the exact opposite. He has shown us the right path and completed His message to us through His final messenger and doctrine.

What I’ve just explained in a nutshell, is the religion that every messenger in the major world religions have come to profess. The message that they have shared and put into practice is to obtain peace by submitting yourself to this Creator. Basically, follow the teachings of this creator and you will come to see and know that truly this Creator is the one worthy of worship, not through blind belief, but belief backed by proof. This creator has proved that He exists, through these messengers, through doctrines that tell us information that brings us to understand the purpose of our lives. Those who follow this way of life of obtaining peace acquired by submitting themselves to this Creator are known in one word in the Arabic tongue, Muslims. And this religion described is known as Islam.

You may call this Creator but whatever name you wish but it must be a pure name that does not conjure up any image or indecent thought for He is free from all this. There is nothing like Him. In the Aramaic language, the name of this Creator is Allah. The religion taught by every messenger appointed by Allah has always been the same. None of them has offer professed any other religion apart from saying “I follow not my will, but the will of Allah.” It is a historical fact that these men such as Moses, David, Abraham, Noah, Jesus and Mohammed existed. Their religion is Islam as they never professed to be the creators of any other religion which you hear today and are associated with. In fact they have never heard the names of those religions in which they associated with in their lives, except that of obtaining peace through submission to the Almighty. And this is the way of life I follow.
 

Klom89

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As of now, I consider myself an athiestic agnostic. If there is a God, then I don't care.

Kudos to you, Hamster Lord. I feel the exact same way. Belief just for the sake of itself is not something i'm for. (No offense to those that DO believe. I'm part of a dominatly Catholic family, so I know where your'e all coming from. I was also Catholic in my younger years, so that helps, too.)

As for existence, well......the way I see it, there really IS no meaning. It's just there.....Whether you believe we were created by a divine being, the aftermath of a cosmic fart, or the clones of alien offspring, (Which is something my Dad's believeing to some small extent. He said it's some sort of rumor. I usually don't pay those any mind) we're just....here.

The only force I see in the universe is choice. If something may happen, we can make it different. The choices we make affect our lives. not divine intervention or chance.
 
D

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That was never really something I understood. Are you saying that if you found out God was real it would make no difference to you?
Or just that you aren't too worried about whether or not he is real?
While Hamster Lord has the definition of an Atheistic Agnostic wrong I suppose from his posts it seems it doesn't make a difference to him.

An atheistic agnostic is someone who doubts the existence of a God, but believes that it is possible for one to exist.
 

Hamster Lord

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That was never really something I understood. Are you saying that if you found out God was real it would make no difference to you?
Or just that you aren't too worried about whether or not he is real?

I don't believe in anything now. just athiest or whatever that makes me since I don't know the correct meaning of athiestic agnostic lol

(sorry for such a late reply though lol)
 

megatron532

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Atheist. Or is it Atheist-Agnostic? I don't give a crap if God exists or not. Should I? Probably. But I live for now. Anywyas, I choose not to believe in God because there's no proof. I can't smell, taste, see, hear, or feel any kind of "God". I believe taht just as paganism has been nearly fought to extinction, so will monotheism, in time. Also, someone(or many someones) came up with the idea of God/multiple gods so we would know everything. Selfish humanity in my opinion. The Bible is a chaotic mass of untruths and half-lies.
 
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I beg to differ .
That's nice.
 

Nelo Angelo

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Atheist. Or is it Atheist-Agnostic? I don't give a crap if God exists or not. Should I? Probably. But I live for now. Anywyas, I choose not to believe in God because there's no proof. I can't smell, taste, see, hear, or feel any kind of "God". I believe taht just as paganism has been nearly fought to extinction, so will monotheism, in time. Also, someone(or many someones) came up with the idea of God/multiple gods so we would know everything. Selfish humanity in my opinion. The Bible is a chaotic mass of untruths and half-lies.

Lol. This makes me laugh. Sorry. Your young. And just need to do more research to be honest. The proof exists my friend. Believe me. Don't disregard it so easily. Open up your mind.
Do you smell, taste, see, hear or feel the air you breathe? Yet you know its there to keep you alive. Where did that come from?
 
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