Religious Question

[josh_the_hot_boy]

Is a person who doesn't believe in god just a person without faith?

 

[smallsleepyrascalcat]

Come on, define faith ^^

 

[josh_the_hot_boy]

I meant it as that faith means something different to each person and because of that it might not be just a yes or no.

 

[Istvan2k2]

I think faith is more moral than religious.

 

[Daedalus]

Ya gotta have faith!

 

[richym]

I think that we have faith in different things. We might have faith in God, we might have faith that there is no God. We might have faith in ourselves, we might have faith in others. As Nilstreet says, it is that faith in what is unseen, what can't be fully prooved. So we all have faith I believe.

 

[gb2000ie]

Is a person who doesn't believe in god just a person without faith?

I really don't get the question at all. Is the word 'just' meant in a pejorative way?

I don't believe in organised religion. I believe it exists, but I don't believe it has any positive value on balance. I believe the study of religious texts and beliefs can be very fulfilling, and that there are real spiritual rewards for living a good life, but that you absolutely don't need an established church for any of that. In fact, I go further, I think that an established church has a negative effect, and that the important stuff all gets lots in the dogma. Being raised a Catholic may have just prejudiced me to all churches - but I've yet to see one that hasn't corrupted it's core message to prop up it's own power.

If this has something to do with all morals coming form God, and therefore non-theists being amoral, I call BS on that in the extreme. I think it says a lot more about a person if he can lead a good life without the threat of punishment by some deity.

B.

 

[ozium]

"Is a person who doesn't believe in god just a person without faith?"

No. Scientologists have no official gods, but they have plenty of faith in their alien creation story. Visiting aliens, Illuminati, Loch Ness, Santa. There's plenty of godless faith out there.

 

[diklik]

I don't believe in organised religion. I believe it exists, but I don't believe it has any positive value on balance. I believe the study of religious texts and beliefs can be very fulfilling, and that there are real spiritual rewards for living a good life, but that you absolutely don't need an established church for any of that. In fact, I go further, I think that an established church has a negative effect, and that the important stuff all gets lots in the dogma. Being raised a Catholic may have just prejudiced me to all churches - but I've yet to see one that hasn't corrupted it's core message to prop up it's own power.

If this has something to do with all morals coming form God, and therefore non-theists being amoral, I call BS on that in the extreme. I think it says a lot more about a person if he can lead a good life without the threat of punishment by some deity.

B.

Here's one area that you and I totally agree upon. Couldn't say it more succinctly

 

[Jawja]

I don't know, and I don't trust anyone who is certain of God's existence. One can have faith in the existence of God. I think faith is far different than certainty.

 

[diklik]

I don't know, and I don't trust anyone who is certain of God's existence. One can have faith in the existence of God. I think faith is far different than certainty.

One can feel very certain of something due to absolute faith and belief in that thing. Being able to demonstrate the essence of that faith (existence of God for example) conclusively without circular logic, is something else entirely.

 

[sfbi]

The question in the vote is just a play of notions, but I think I get the underlying point anyway. So I have chosen the answer to that.

 

[Butch645]

Once I believed. Then I learned about the horrors and crimes committed in the name of religion. I have seen the relics of the Holocaust in which 6 million Jews were exterminated simply because of their religion! I have read about the Reign of Terror in England under Queen Mary I in reply to the killings committed by her father, Henry the Eighth.

Recently the bigotry of the Catholic has been exposed. They condemn gays but abuse little boys and, in some cases, little girls. This is bad enough but the fact that they tried to cover it up is appalling.

Regrettably, the Church of England and its affiliate, the Anglican Church in Africa and the USA, have some bishops who are just as homophobic as their Catholic counterparts. We all know about homophobia in Islam but Ultra-Orthodox Jews have the same hatred but without the death penalty.

So, do I have faith and am I believer? Well, faith no but I do believe that there is some sort of "supreme power" but, whatever it is, it is NOT so wonderful. 300,000 dead in Haiti and 250,000 dead in the 2004 Tsunami attests to this.

I hope that I do not offend but this is my answer to the question and we should never forget how many, of all faiths, have been butchered just because of their faith.

 

[diklik]

Once I believed. Then I learned about the horrors and crimes committed in the name of religion...............we should never forget how many, of all faiths, have been butchered just because of their faith.

Any cause that demands the death of an individual or group, no matter what the reason, cannot be officially sanctioned by God as He is spoken of in the New Testament, or in any of the sacred writings of major religious systems on this planet. Very simple test. If someone claims that their "religion" requires unbelievers or members of any other grouping to be tortured, killed, suffer loss or be decreed as less than privileged, it's a false cultish thing - more than likely a fool's interpretation of whatever was intended as uplifting to the faithful of that system. Only the power-crazed and the insanely jealous want to destroy others to uplift themselves.

 

[netdick]

person who doesn't believe in god just a person without faith?

no, not at all.

 

[playfulxx]

This sums up my feelings on religion:-

"Religion is an insult to human dignity. Without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion."
- Steven Weinberg -

 

[zucchero81]

The concept of faith can be used in different situations, both in morality and religion. Maybe this question is just not properly worded?

 

[Ninja108]

I don't believe in religion. It promises a lot but the only thing it really seems to do over the years is cause a lot of people to be murdered and discriminated against in whatever religion's name it is.

 

[JonnyFantastico]

I consider myself a spiritual person and I have a lot of faith when it comes to things, but on the other hand; I am not religious. I think true faith comes from the heart and soul. It's not something you follow because someone else says it so; you hold to it because it means something to you; it brings you to a center at your darkest moments.

A lot of people sadly confuse all three terms: religion, faith and spirituality. They do have a small thread, but they do not lead to one universal truth. You believe and trust in that which makes sense to you and allows you to view the world in your own way.

But with that being said, there have been many moments regarding religion that have oddly touched my heart and brought tears to my eyes. I hate to bring it into this conversation, but to anyone who saw an episode of "Glee" called "Grilled Cheesus"; that was probably one of the most beautiful moments regarding the search of religion that I have ever witnessed and I'm not afraid to admit that I cried heavily and openly as I saw many of the same questions I have asked myself once upon a time.

Throughout the episode (where the kids were performing tracks that helped them to find faith within song), Sue continued to get angrier and angrier at the sudden upturning in bringing religion to the school... it eventually came out that when she was younger, she had prayed that her sister, who had Down's Syndrome, would get well. When her prayers were never answered, she decided that there was no God.

Later on, Sue visits her sister and they speak about this in one of the episode's most touching moments.

At the end (and after various events, including the near death of one of the main glee member's father), the group performs "One of Us" by Joan Osbourne. Sue walks in and Mr. Schuester (the glee teacher) tells her that the kids really just wanted to perform this song... she sits next to him and he asks if she would really complain about it.

With tears in her eyes, she says "no".

Something about that touches me. We may not always be religious, but some of us want to believe... and since I'm actually somewhat teary writing this out, I'll end it here.