When I asked this question I didn't know what to expect but i guess not that. I believe it is impossible to have no religion. Everyone believes in something even if it is theirselves. How can people who claim they have no religion live everyday? What do you think happens when you die? Do you think that is it? It just ends. Over. Zip. Done. Who would want to look forward to that? People who say they are free thinkers yet respect other religions seem to be the first to bash Christians saying we are stupid for believing in some higher power. These people don't understand the concept of FAITH. FAITH CANNOT BE DEFINED OR EXPLAINED. IT JUST IS. ONCE YOU HAVE IT YOU KNOW. YOU'LL FEEL IT. Faith gives us HOPE that after we die that there is something MORE something GREATER. Who can say that they don't want HOPE? and just so you know NO ONE AND I MEAN NO ONE NOT EVEN THE SMARTEST MAN ALIVE CAN TRUELY SAY THERE IS NO G-D!!! I HAVE FAITH in something i've never seen or heard but i have FELT..JESUS
2007-01-15 02:34:10 · 32 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
i respect Christians, there are many good aspects of the religion but there are some that are just ridiculous. things like the fact that stereotypically you cant accept other religions, you say that gays are sinners, you also are convinced that evolution isn't real. those things really bother me. i am agnostic so i respect all religions, i believe in a higher power but it may or may not be god. everyone has a right to have whatever religion they want or no religion at all.
2007-01-15 02:50:33 · answer #1 · answered by =] 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Religion, by definition is "demonstration of faith" and faith, is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen and you are right, everyone demonstrates their faith, in whatever it might be. I was chatting with an evolutionist last night, really nice guy and I asked him, where is the evidence that birds evolved from lizards? He directed me to the Archaeopteryx which is is the earliest and most primitive known avian. Though we don't have any birds like this around now, even though this creature had teeth and a tail, it is STILL a bird with a beak, wings, and feathers. There is nothing found to be earlier on the evolution chain than this bird, anything else doesn't have wings, beak or feathers. So he has "faith" that even though there is still no evidence that birds were ever lizards, that they indeed were.
As for hope in an afterlife, that is all we have is hope, on any side of the debate. Some hope to be reincarnated, some hope to have eternal peace, some hope they no longer exist, feel, see, and know nothing. Anyone who says they "know" what happens after death, is just demonstrating a lot of faith in what they believe ie their RELIGION.
2007-01-15 03:02:52 · answer #2 · answered by impossble_dream 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
That is the difference. You can not fathom a life without religion or a deity because that is what you were taught. That we would be nonexistant without these things. Life would not exist! How rediculous is that?? This is the definition of faith. Note how it is not just for the religious so carefully read it.
Main Entry: 1faith
Pronunciation: 'fAth
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural faiths /'fAths, sometimes 'fA[th]z/
Etymology: Middle English feith, from Anglo-French feid, fei, from Latin fides; akin to Latin fidere to trust -- more at BIDE
1 a : allegiance to duty or a person : LOYALTY b (1) : fidelity to one's promises (2) : sincerity of intentions
2 a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2) : complete trust
3 : something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs
Take away the 2nd entry for definition and you can obviously see people can live without faith. It is not a survival tool. I would much rather have truth over faith any day. Your question as to how do we live everyday? I live with truth, love, compassion, trust, I live strong mentally, & I live by me. If I seem I'm being selfish by the last one then that's your problem not mine. We, as individuals, need to take care of ourselves. We can not take care of others if we let ourselves slip. I do not believe that we just live & die and that's it. I also don't give credit to a nonexistant being. Each living thing on this planet is interconnected with one another. As individuals, we are a small tiny fragment of all that is. And if you think that we HAVE to be a part of a 'god' because of this then you have a lot to learn.
2007-01-15 02:48:47 · answer #3 · answered by Maureen B 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Look up the definition of religion. Jeez, you really aren't very bright if you assume that everyone HAS to have a religion.
You are so damned myopic to assume you have the only possible point of view!
Believing in oneself, being an outrageous fan, a crazy person for knitting - these are not religions - look up the damned definition!
Faith is REQUIRED for all judeo/christian/islamic religions. Faith, acceptance, as truth, of that which is without compelling evidence. That is NOT required by anyone.
Perhaps you have FELT Jesus. I thought I had too when I was a Christian. I've since felt the same feeling as a practicing Buddhist. The feeling was the same, only the interpretation of what it meant was different. That you interpret it your way is fine, I'm happy for you. HOWEVER, to assume we all have to interpret it your way is just plain moronic.
Get your head out of your nether regions! THINK!! Use the brain you feel god gave you!!!
2007-01-15 02:44:20 · answer #4 · answered by Radagast97 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
The problem with faith is that any religion that can be believed on faith alone can also be rejected on faith alone. I don't know if there's a God, you don't know if there's a God, and if there is a God you don't know if it's the God of Christianity or not. To say otherwise is to be deceiving yourself.
As someone who's having a bit of a spiritual conflict, I genuinely *wish* and *hope* there is a place of eternal reward for the righteous and a place of punishment for the truly wicked.
But, I'm considering the fact that there may not be an afterlife. I don't like it, and I'd prefer there was, but there may not be.
2007-01-15 02:40:44 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 0⤋
Do you know why Christianity became a dominant world religion? Because a Roman Emperor realised that it was even better than 'bread and circuses' for keeping the subjected populaces subjected and distracted. Faith in reward in the afterlife means that believers are far less likely to demand better conditions in this life.
I do my best to life ethically and in consideration of others and work towards improving the quality of life for as many people as I can. I look forward to tomorrow. Maybe you should try it, it's a great way to live.
2007-01-15 03:13:04 · answer #6 · answered by The angels have the phone box. 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I'm happy for you that you seem to have found what works for you, but not everyone believes the same thing as you. People can't always help what they believe. Most atheists I know don't bash Christians at all. Yes, you see some on here that do, but the reason you hear that is because the ones that bash are the ones that are more verbal than the ones who don't. It's the same as atheists constantly being bashed by Christians. There are Christians who don't bash, but atheists don't hear about THEM. As for worrying about what's going to happen after you die, "nothingness" is not an issue with atheists, because they know that once you die you're not going to know the difference, anyway.
2007-01-15 02:44:10 · answer #7 · answered by Jess H 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
You seem so sure of yourself.
Not everybody believes in something. I'm sure that there are a couple of people in the world who believe in nothing - not even themselves.
And for those who proclaim they don't have a religion, proclaim they don't have a religion for a reason: a lot of people don't like to be labeled. Some people haven't found a religion to yet suit their believes. And even more people don't like organized religion.
Aside from the above, there are so many other reasons why a person wouldn't have a religion, I'm sure.
2007-01-15 02:52:45 · answer #8 · answered by Joa5 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Impossible to have no religion? So, what? A person who doesn't believe in religion, has a religion of not believing? If that's the case, then is a hungry person really a person whose stomach is full with a lack of food? Is a thin person really a fat person with no fat? Is light really darkness but... well, lighter?
2007-01-16 02:44:58 · answer #9 · answered by Chris W 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
So why do you take the O out of GOD? But you leave all the letters in JESUS? JESUS IS GOD!
The reason non-Christians bash Christians is to PROVE exactly what Jesus said, He warned us that we would be rejected, just as He was rejected. Don't be surprised by this, we should be surprised if this DIDN'T happen. Jesus said 2000 years ago that we people would say all kinds of evil about us just because we are His. We have the WRITTEN Word of God to tell us this.
Atheist are the ones who are living by faith in nothing. We have faith based on what was written for us. They have nothing more than their own thoughts or opinions, decisions they made without doing their home work.
2007-01-15 02:50:14 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋