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Post by Lukiebakercafc on Oct 18, 2007 16:43:22 GMT
I was just wondering what religion everyone believed in, if at all?
I am a practising Catholic (ie. go to church every weekend and on holy days of obligation) and am interested to see if there are any others on this board and generally see the religious tone.
I realise that Religion can be a personal thing, so i'll understand if no-one replies.
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Post by thefullback on Oct 18, 2007 17:04:00 GMT
Brought up with C of E. Having faith in something is good as long as it is not harmful to others. Do I believe in God, one almighty, no sorry, but I do try to live by some of the ten commandments.
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Post by stealth1039 on Oct 18, 2007 17:20:22 GMT
I was thinking of a discussion on this as well Lukie but religion can be a very touchy subject. I was brought up C of E but nowadays I'm more inclined towards Buddhism. As it's the only religion that's never been involved in a war for me it defines what religion is about - loving your neighbour not killing him because he doesn't share your beliefs.
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Post by Lukiebakercafc on Oct 18, 2007 17:33:14 GMT
It's a good point stealth but i'm interested to see how everyone reacts.
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Post by hallmackem on Oct 18, 2007 17:47:26 GMT
I am an aethist with a Catholic Father and a C of E Mother, my view is that there is no God looking out for us in this world, we are in charge of our own lives and we will pay for our sins in this world not in a non-existent afterlife.
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Post by Bismarck on Oct 18, 2007 18:13:36 GMT
Well I was brought up Welsh Baptist....fire and brimstone.....Religion is a difficult one but I would like to hypothesis on the whole Universe....where did it come from....the big bang....how did that happen....where did the matter come from to make the big bang.....where did God come from....you see.....mindblowing...
Oh I will be back to this thread....
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Post by Rachael <3 on Oct 18, 2007 20:47:10 GMT
well i'm baptised c of e and my parents have never forced me to go to church but over the last 2 or 3 years i've become more independent in my faith and enjoy it for myself and believe because i want to.but i am getting confirmed soon because i want to make the choices for myself to represent my faith and that i want to have a bond with God.
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Post by SaintTim on Oct 19, 2007 1:18:19 GMT
Sorry but i just don't believe in god at all & never really have.I have nothing against people being religious as each to your own,but i don't like people who try and force there beliefs on to you when you are not interested.It was quite funny the other day when i was fishing,i was playing a fish when this old fella of about 60 walks past me and said hello.We started talking about nothing in particular and than he helped me get the fish in the net & back into the water.Then all of a sudden he pulled out this peace of paper from his pocket & moved really close to me & said have you seen this !!!!!!! pointing at some words on the paper he then started to preach about god & how he is our Saviour,he went on and on whilst i moved away he kept moving closer until i politely asked him to stop as I'm not interested,and luckily he left after doing my head in strange fella......
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Post by vplgringo on Oct 19, 2007 10:34:49 GMT
I was brought up as a Catholic. Was a practicing one until I was about 18-19 years old when I began reading a lot of philosophy. Now I consider myself to a post-theist. I recognise that elements of religious writings have good meaning but I have surpassed what it has to offer, tho stealth does make very good points about Buddism and if i was forced to choose a religion it would be the one.
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Post by Bismarck on Oct 19, 2007 11:16:25 GMT
It is a difficult subject.....but I still cannot get my head around the universe itself.... There are millions of Galaxies with billions of stars which have tens of thousands of planets with life....therefore according to the laws of probability there is an Otto typing this somewhere else in the universe now as I sit here....... As I said before.....where did it all come from in the first place.... ?
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Post by SaintTim on Oct 19, 2007 11:18:49 GMT
It is a difficult subject.....but I still cannot get my head around the universe itself.... There are millions of Galaxies with billions of stars which have tens of thousands of planets with life....therefore according to the laws of probability there is an Otto typing this somewhere else in the universe now as I sit here....... As I said before.....where did it all come from in the first place.... ? Surly not two Otto's
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Post by Bismarck on Oct 19, 2007 11:20:54 GMT
And Two Tim's don't forget....
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Post by SaintTim on Oct 19, 2007 11:41:43 GMT
One is enough
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Post by Bismarck on Oct 19, 2007 11:45:12 GMT
It is mindblowing stuff though Tim,where did all this matter come from in the first place?
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Post by tigertiger on Oct 19, 2007 12:28:09 GMT
Theres 5 major religions,only one of them can surely be the right religion, which has led me to the opinion that there is no such thing as god, its all a state of mind, and people choose to believe what they want in order to feel happier and more secure within themselves. I have nothing against any faith that people wish to follow, im sure they all have their reasons, even i was thinking about turning to god a few years ago when my life was in a mess, but i have now come to my conclusons about it and am very happy within myself to have the belief i can get throuh life without the need to believe in something or someone that may or more likely not exist.
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Post by hallmackem on Oct 19, 2007 13:00:48 GMT
I just won't stand any religion that preaches about goodwill to man yet has untold wealth stashed in it's vaults supposedly "glorifying God" with these obscenely valuable works of art. Surely if they really wanted to spread God's love they would sell all of this stuff and use the money for a good cause, they could probably cancel out a massive chunk of third world debt if they did.
Anybody want to hazard a guess as to which religion i'm talking about?
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Post by Bismarck on Oct 19, 2007 14:07:48 GMT
The Catholic Faith by any chance?
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Post by SaintTim on Oct 19, 2007 14:14:01 GMT
Yes i would agree
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Post by Bismarck on Oct 19, 2007 14:25:42 GMT
Bloody Hell Tim,Ben didn't mince his words there,I must admit I believe in God but I had not considered that particular point...far play to the lad...
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Post by Lukiebakercafc on Oct 19, 2007 15:09:23 GMT
I'm sorry, i disagree.The catholic church can be accused of many things but causing (or at least aiding) third world debt... By your theory you are keeping third world debt by not selling your house and living on the street.
If the catholic church makes people happier, feeling secure and having a sense of community then it can only be a good thing in my book.
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Post by Bismarck on Oct 19, 2007 15:32:40 GMT
Surely the point Ben is making Luke is that the Church does not need gold crosses etc to glorify God.
"And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves"
"And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. "
Matt. 21:12-17
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Post by Lukiebakercafc on Oct 19, 2007 15:39:46 GMT
I understand that but that is a very few churches or cathdrals, it's not a widespread thing. The amount of brilliant, selfless work and fundraising the church and missionaries do for everyone including the 3rd world far, far outweigh any frivolities trying to make places look nice.
I don't see a probem with it, as everyone has luxuries, the catholic church fewer than most. The catholic church help charitable cases more than any one or government have ever done.
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Post by Bismarck on Oct 19, 2007 15:53:38 GMT
Luke I commend the Catholic Church for all the work it has done...but I feel,like any large organization,it is overloaded with beaurocracy...
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Post by Lukiebakercafc on Oct 19, 2007 15:57:43 GMT
I don't agree that it is overloaded with beauracracy but if it, then as you say, so is every other organisation. So why should the catholic church be singled out for special 'attention'
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Post by stealth1039 on Oct 19, 2007 16:29:56 GMT
See - I said it was a touchy subject!
Although I would say I'm agnostic nowadays I also keep going back to where did it all start? I don't think anyone can deny Darwin was right but, as Bismarck pointed out, that still wouldn't explain where the original matter came from that started it all and that, I suspect, will always be unanswerable.
I think religion is basically just a moral code regardless of which route you follow but, being a cynic, I also think it started as a means of keeping slaves & peasants in order i.e. You might have a really crap life right now but look what you've got to look forwards to when you die- if you behave.
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Post by hallmackem on Oct 19, 2007 16:32:51 GMT
I understand that but that is a very few churches or cathdrals, it's not a widespread thing. The amount of brilliant, selfless work and fundraising the church and missionaries do for everyone including the 3rd world far, far outweigh any frivolities trying to make places look nice. I don't see a probem with it, as everyone has luxuries, the catholic church fewer than most. The catholic church help charitable cases more than any one or government have ever done. I'm not talking about gold crosses in churches. Go to the Vatican and look around the various galleries there. And thats just the tip of the iceberg, there are vaults underneath that city that hold countless riches. What is it doing down there? Certainly not helping the poor. And about my house, theres a bit of a difference between the price of my house and the wealth of the Catholic church. To say the Catholic church has fewer fineries than most religions is lying.
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Post by hallmackem on Oct 19, 2007 16:41:00 GMT
Also i'm not doubting that it does some brilliant work for charities and the like but the fact is it's just a drop in the ocean compared to what the Vatican could be doing.
The Opus Dei alone has assets of over £1.4 Billion.
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Post by hallmackem on Oct 19, 2007 16:43:34 GMT
I'm sorry, i disagree.The catholic church can be accused of many things but causing (or at least aiding) third world debt... By your theory you are keeping third world debt by not selling your house and living on the street. If the catholic church makes people happier, feeling secure and having a sense of community then it can only be a good thing in my book. I have never said it caused third world debt but it could be doing more to alleviate it. Furthermore, it is partly the Catholic Churche's fault for the AIDs epidemic due to the fact that it preaches that contraception is wrong.
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Post by hallmackem on Oct 19, 2007 16:45:37 GMT
My point is over the years religion has ultimately caused more harm than it has done good. It's supposed to unite people but in reality it divides them.
There are wars between Muslims and Christians, Muslims and Jews. There always has been and probably always will be as long as their is a 'God' to fight for.
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Post by stealth1039 on Oct 19, 2007 16:50:01 GMT
My point is over the years religion has ultimately caused more harm than it has done good. It's supposed to unite people but in reality it divides them. There are wars between Muslims and Christians, Muslims and Jews. There always has been and probably always will be as long as their is a 'God' to fight for. Proves my point about Buddhism - they don't actually believe there is a god just that Mohammed, Jesus & even Buddha himself were enlightened men.
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