Religious people: what is your level of observance?

Sneer · 03-27-2011, 02:44 PM

My two cents on the subject...

There is absolutely no way of proving the existence of a god, yet there is also no way of disproving the existence of a god. Obviously, this is where belief comes in.

I personally see the most rational stance on the subject as being Agnostic. There is no way of knowing either way, so just live your life as it unfolds before you.

I used to be very anti-religious, I freely admit that. I viewed the idea of living your life by a set of codes and regulations as constricting; alienating yourself from the true nature of being. As I mature and accrued a modicum of perspective, however, I came to appreciate that people's religious beliefs are just their own way of dealing with a world that, ultimately, is alien to all human beings in some aspect. It's necessary to assert meaning to an existence that often appears meaningless, and Judaism, Christianity etc etc are just some of the ways in which people do that. They offer structure and security.

Others will disagree, and I respect everybody's beliefs, these are just mine.

djchameleon · 03-27-2011, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stu

My two cents on the subject...

There is absolutely no way of proving the existence of a god, yet there is also no way of disproving the existence of a god. Obviously, this is where belief comes in.

I personally see the most rational stance on the subject as being Agnostic. There is no way of knowing either way, so just live your life as it unfolds before you.

I used to be very anti-religious, I freely admit that. I viewed the idea of living your life by a set of codes and regulations as constricting; alienating yourself from the true nature of being. As I mature and accrued a modicum of perspective, however, I came to appreciate that people's religious beliefs are just their own way of dealing with a world that, ultimately, is alien to all human beings in some aspect. It's necessary to assert meaning to an existence that often appears meaningless, and Judaism, Christianity etc etc are just some of the ways in which people do that. They offer structure and security.

Others will disagree, and I respect everybody's beliefs, these are just mine.

hmmm, I thought Agnostics were more of the belief that something may exist but they aren't sure what. They do believe there might be a higher power so they consider themselves at least spiritual. That was always my impression of what an Agnostic is. I could be completely wrong though.

Sneer · 03-27-2011, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djchameleon

hmmm, I thought Agnostics were more of the belief that something may exist but they aren't sure what. They do believe there might be a higher power so they consider themselves at least spiritual. That was always my impression of what an Agnostic is. I could be completely wrong though.

Essentially, it is the belief that the existence of a deity is unknowable. Which is exactly where I stand. There are levels of agnosticism, some which lean more towards I belief in something, but I'm firmly in the middle on this.

djchameleon · 03-27-2011, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stu

Essentially, it is the belief that the existence of a deity is unknowable. Which is exactly where I stand. There are levels of agnosticism, some which lean more towards I belief in something, but I'm firmly in the middle on this.

I guess I could consider myself Agnostic then. I believe there might be a higher power. Something out there greater than us but I don't like to follow the structure of any religion.

RVCA · 03-27-2011, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stu

My two cents on the subject...

There is absolutely no way of proving the existence of a god, yet there is also no way of disproving the existence of a god. Obviously, this is where belief comes in.

I personally see the most rational stance on the subject as being Agnostic. There is no way of knowing either way, so just live your life as it unfolds before you.

I used to be very anti-religious, I freely admit that. I viewed the idea of living your life by a set of codes and regulations as constricting; alienating yourself from the true nature of being. As I mature and accrued a modicum of perspective, however, I came to appreciate that people's religious beliefs are just their own way of dealing with a world that, ultimately, is alien to all human beings in some aspect. It's necessary to assert meaning to an existence that often appears meaningless, and Judaism, Christianity etc etc are just some of the ways in which people do that. They offer structure and security.

Others will disagree, and I respect everybody's beliefs, these are just mine.

Agnosticism is not a middle ground between Theism and Atheism. You can be Agnostic and Theistic at the same time. You can also be Agnostic and Atheistic at the same time. Agnosticism concerns knowledge while Theism concerns belief- they are not mutually exclusive.

For further information: Agnosticism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

RVCA · 03-30-2011, 01:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RVCA

Agnosticism is not a middle ground between Theism and Atheism. You can be Agnostic and Theistic at the same time. You can also be Agnostic and Atheistic at the same time. Agnosticism concerns knowledge while Theism concerns belief- they are not mutually exclusive.

For further information: Agnosticism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

To Stu: I just wanted to apologize for kind of attacking your agnosticism earlier in this thread. I was incorrect when I said it isn't a middle ground. I thought about it some more, and it can be. I simply skimmed over your earlier response and assumed you were another one of those people that misunderstood "agnostic" to purely mean "I believe in God, but I'm not sure which one".

to everything else in the last 5 pages or so:

View Poll Results: Your level of observance?
Non-practicing/secular form of religion	20	43.48%
A little observant	3	6.52%
Middle-of-the-road observance	11	23.91%
Strict adherence to religious rules	4	8.70%
Don't know	8	17.39%
Voters: 46. You may not vote on this poll

03-27-2011, 02:44 PM	#1 (permalink)
Sneer Let it drip Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 5,397	My two cents on the subject... There is absolutely no way of proving the existence of a god, yet there is also no way of disproving the existence of a god. Obviously, this is where belief comes in. I personally see the most rational stance on the subject as being Agnostic. There is no way of knowing either way, so just live your life as it unfolds before you. I used to be very anti-religious, I freely admit that. I viewed the idea of living your life by a set of codes and regulations as constricting; alienating yourself from the true nature of being. As I mature and accrued a modicum of perspective, however, I came to appreciate that people's religious beliefs are just their own way of dealing with a world that, ultimately, is alien to all human beings in some aspect. It's necessary to assert meaning to an existence that often appears meaningless, and Judaism, Christianity etc etc are just some of the ways in which people do that. They offer structure and security. Others will disagree, and I respect everybody's beliefs, these are just mine. __________________ LastFM Sneer's Emporium of Sound Fright Team radio show