You can never spend too much time on finding the truth. Ever. When you reach the end of your life, you'll think back on this and wish you had done more research.

Now that I think about it, everyone here should read "More then a Carpenter", and then come back.

few chapters? Took me all of one second. I don't know of any contradicting evidence.

I grew up in a Christian household where my parents parents were Christian Etc, i never found out when that started. At a young age (being 12-13ish) i started to question my faith and Christianity, i went to my pastor and i sat many hours just talking o him about faith and what i believed about the bible, Jesus and Catholicism. Eventually every question was answered with you have to have faith, and i honestly didnt buy it. I also had issues where i beleived in evolution but at the same time what actually introduced that one celled organism into the primordial soup? i believed that a higher power whither it be God or Aliens for all i knew. At this point in my life i still believe that
that still holds true. I have also taken psychology in high school and the teacher touched base on god being made up by people that grew up and still needed an adult to keep them in check, which i thought was funny but is very reasonable. At the same time i was also reading books by Anne Rice the Vampire Chronicles, and i found one of her books under that series hit a very interesting nerve with the book named Menoch the Devil. Until recently i considered myself an atheist, i was looking on my friends website and there was a very basic religion test. I took it and the top choice was Buddhism. As i looked into Buddhism more and more i realized that i already live my life by the basic code of conduct ( i know thats not the right terminology). I feel that meditation helps me deal with life, gives me a chance to relax and think life over. now on to some things that i have noticed in this thread
I agree with this quote as i feel the same way and its basic principals.

The only problem is that there is similar rules and regulations in all of the major religions. Wicca theres the 7-fold rule (whatever you do comes back to you seven times better or for worse), Buddhism Karma (Nuff' said) Etc. So its hard to say that just Christianity has those type of things .

There was also another Quote stating something about believing in Jesus is being Christian. I believe that Jesus was a real person and that he was a very good person but i dont beileive that he was God or the son of God.

P.S. If anyone wants to read about Buddhism theres a really cool article about converting to Buddhism on Soyouwanna.com
Its a really nice article because it puts it all into lame-mans terms and throws a lot of misconceptions about Buddhism out the window.

I got a chuckle out of "lame-man" for some reason. (FYI the correct wording is "layman"- not trying to be a spelling nazi, but that's just a really funny misspelling.)

I'm your average non-terrorist Muslim, who isn't intent on killing you.
I'm not Muslim because my parents forced to become so, actually my Mom and Dad(R.I.P) just told me to think about it, and follow whatever path makes sense to me. I read a bit about it, and decided Islam was the best that made sense to me, mainly because I just don't get along very well with the fact that, if you die, that's it. No more you. Atleast in Islam/Christianity, there is an afterlife, Heaven and Hell. A world where you live without reason is depressing for me.


Extreme Coder

No worries josh,
sorry i am kind of brain dead today after work (more than normal)

As a minister of the gospel for over 20 years, I have seen much of the things you describe. My paternal grandparents were card-carrying witches (not pagans) and **VERY** high ranking members of the Masonic lodge, as were 4-5 generations previous to them. My dad having been raised in that environment turned to skepticism and hate. Myself, having been raised in this mess, I went wild into various religions and philosophies and later taught them at the college level. My turning point was almost a Damascus road experience that I will share someday.

Have you actually read anything I posted? I said it makes me insane, I didn't say I don't spend time thinking/reading about it.

And you can spend too much time thinking about things. I have a life to live, a family to provide for, people to meet and care about. If I spend all of my time "seeking the truth" -- to the neglect of my responsibilities -- that's a bad thing. Searching for the truth is great. I do more than my fair share of it. But in the end it's more important to LIVE.

side note:

Even if I disagree with some of the opinions here, generally they are presented well and given thought. I don't think I've ever actually seen so many bright people on the same message board. Is it just me or does it appear people here are a bit above average?
I'm so used to seeing the illiterate, illogical and generally small picture crowd on forums.

This is refreshing.

im a Catholic who loves God more than anything else -- even my precious Ubuntu!!

I love my church, although its hard to get to church every sunday...

We use linux, so of course we are above average. In fact, I would hope so.

I'm an atheist, but contrary to popular belief very very few atheists are certain that God does not exist. I've thought about it, looked around, thought some more and though I'd be perfectly happy to believe in God if it was proven to me, but it hasn't.

Firstly, I can't see any proof, and there's loose evidence either way - so that would make me agnostic. Secondly, and this is what makes me more inclined to not believe (and therefore an atheist) is what i see as the paradoxical nature of a God that is benevolent but allows suffering, a God that is omnipresent but changes his mind and an all-loving God that would punish me for not believing when he does not make himself known and prove that he exists to all us evil atheists.

First, I don't think you meant to say omnipresent.

I'm not too strong on the whole eternal damnation if you don't believe either. Are you aware that many theists do not even believe in hell?

I am a follower of Buddha, yet an Atheist... since Buddhist are Atheist... I think...

I'd like to add, as i pondered the subject further whilst on the Throne and lacking any literature, that I find the existence of life on this little planet of ours in such a hostile universe utterly amazing, the position of the sun, the moon, the stars, gravity, chemical balances etc but I still find it an impossible leap to go from "this seems a bit unlikely" to "i know! this guy called God did it, and he had this apple tree and..."

bns, i guess omnipotent and omiscient were what i meant to say... all these omnis, it's confusing

I am sort-of aware of it, my Philosophy teacher is more of a theologist and we always end up talking about religion instead of doing classwork, he seems reasonable and disagrees strongly with all the things he dislikes about religion that I've always perceived to be central to religion, worm theology, creationism, the existence of evil etc. So it's not that I have anything against the idea of religion when it's interpreted by reasonable people - and I'm not saying it's definetly wrong. Far from it: I just don't know, and I can't see how other people can possibly claim to know. I guess that makes me more of an agnostic then... but they're really almost the same thing unless you're certain God does not exist.

Hi, My Name is Brandon and I am Christian.
I have been a Christian since June 12, 1988. Most people would claim that I was born a Christian, but it seems that faith and belief are essential for Christianity. I had neither when I was born. I roll my eyes when people tell me I am a believer because I was raised that way. Mostly I do so because they must assume I am a total idiot and incapable of independent thought. My mother can tell you otherwise.

I choose Christianity because it seems to have the worldview most consistent with what I observe and don't observe in reality. Interestingly enough, many people choose atheism for the exact same reason...
Makes me wonder if faith can come if one is willing to look.
I don't expect to change anyones mind on this forum when it comes to Jesus. I do enjoy good conversation, but it seems to me that in order for real true and honest discussion about God, Jesus, and life and general to occur, interaction on a personal level is essential.

I have been a Christian for 22 years, and will continue to be one because of what God has accomplished in my life.

I think that's an incredible leap as well. I think a much more reasonable jump would be to say "this seems a bit unlikely... perhaps there was an outside force."

Aren't they? I try to avoid them because they're not really English words anyway... but that's a different topic.

From how you describe yourself, I would have called you an agnostic. But it's just terminology, no sense getting caught up in all that. Personally, I think of myself as a theist -- meaning I believe in a God, but I'm not too sure about his nature (I use masculine pronouns because English doesn't have a good gender neutral alternative. Sorry if that offends any feminists.) I believe God is benevolent, all-knowing, all-powerful, etc., but I do not believe that he smashes those who do not happen to believe in him. In fact, I kind of think that he represents himself in all religions, or at least the legitimate ones. (By legitimate, I mean people that don't commit mass suicide by drinking Kool-Aid, e.g.)

People tend to either start from the viewpoint of a specific religion, or discard the entire idea of God. Consider this: What if we start with only the assumption that something exists which created the world and has some kind of active role to play in it? Why would that being reveal himself only to one particular group of people and smash everyone else? That makes no sense. If there is a God, it makes much more sense to say that he cannot express himself completely to any of us humans, but has partially revealed himself to everyone in some fashion or another. Also, why would he punish humans for acting like humans? We think and question and challenge, because that's who we are. I don't want any part of a God who creates me to think and then tells me not to. And I don't want any part of a religion that tells me I am an essentially bad person who deserves to go to hell, even though I have always tried my best to be a good person. WTF. Any religion that I would follow must reward messy, sloppy human trial and error. That's just who we are. There has got to be some kind of value in me trying to do better, be better, whatever the hell better is.

... Sorry. That turned into a rant. Maybe someone will enjoy reading it anyway.

I did as well as most in this thread. I enjoy seeing everyones opinion. I feel as though most here have a little more of an open mind. Maybe because we all use Linux........
As you look around, we are from all over the world. We have some similar and some different views yet we can communicate with each other. (Thank goodness you all can speak English, It's all I know!)
I have learned a few things in these posts and it also pushes me to try to be better to other people, SAME or DIFFERENT.

Thanks to all,
SirShaggy