Good Lord Above...

[Omnicron's Baklava Enterprises]

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Alright, well, I figured it's time for another blog. Don't worry, it's not exactly emo, nor is it filled to the brim with attempts at deciphering the complexities of life.

This is a simple blog regarding my religion, how I go about it, and how I see other sects of it.
Mods, hopefully enough this will not become one massive flame war. I don't think it will, but keep your eyes peeled just in case.

Let's begin, shall we?
I grew up with what I like to refer to as "a big question mark above my head" regarding beliefs. I did not know what "God" or "hell" was until I was in 4th Grade, and even then did it make minute amounts of sense. From England, where I was far too young to experience religion, to Oman, where I experienced Islam, to America, where religion finally began to... Make sense?

Even in my initial three years in America, I didn't pay attention to religion, as I was far too occupied with video games and a flourishing imagination. I had seen people with such and such beliefs, but never gave their beliefs much thought.
Religious people had their stereotypes when I was ages 10-12:
Christians: Fanatical Bible-thumpers who thought a lot of people were going to hell for stupid reasons.
Muslims: Peaceful people who were hospitable and friendly. The extremists were ones I didn't consider Muslims, and I continue to think that.
Jews: The scapegoats of the world. Blamed for the Black Death, massacred by Hitler, et cetera.
Others: People who believed in outlandish things.

If you're offended by these, then you can bugger right off, because then you'd be taking a preteen's belief as a solid opinion.

Anyway, fast-forward to when I was 14 years old. By now, I set myself as an Agnostic. I was beginning to venture into a field that many people fear, or are simply reluctant, to venture into.
I found Christianity to be intriguing. Focusing on Jesus Christ, a man existing roughly 2000 years ago, and his revelations, along with focusing on an omnipotent being, God, that is the creator of all things.
I delved more into the subject, and by the time I was nearing 16, I had defined myself in regards to religion.
I am a Universalist Liberal Christian. I believe in God and Jesus. However, I believe the Bible is an imperfect human document that may or may not contain divine revelations. I mean come on, it's a book that has been passed down for 2000 years, through innumerable translations and interpretations, must we fully believe everything in this book? No. IN MY OPINION, of course. I don't believe in hell, as it is a complete and utter contradiction to an omnibenevolent (all-loving, all good, all peaceful) being. I'm telling you about my beliefs, but I'm not in any way telling you that it's the correct belief.

You can believe in what you like, and if it makes you happy, that is all that matters.
I know what happened with the Crusades, the priests and the altar boys, and all of those fundamentalist craps who don't know left from right.

And then there's this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UmotTE-VlY
You may just want to rip your face off. Don't worry, I did too.

After watching a few of this girl's videos, I'm quite sure that she is just a masterful troll, and isn't really what she says she is.

But if she's serious, then I can't believe what my eyes and ears tell me.
(Again, this is all if she's serious)
I honestly question the existence of a social life or true mentality among these sorts of people. I'm not condemning them exactly, as their beliefs may make them happy, but it is these people that give Christianity a bad name. It is these fundamentalists that give almost every religion some sort of bad name. You have the terrorists for Islam, you have the overly obsessive witches for Wicca, et cetera. If you've had experiences with fundamentalists from any other religions, tell me about it, I need a good laugh.
Yeah, there's no new discovery or revelation of mine in this blog really. In fact, I regret to inform myself and you viewers that this is nothing more than another rant blog, but at least I'm enjoying writing this.
Oh, and inb4 people start debating about the enjoyment of things and why it's right or wrong.

You may not be a Christian, and I'm bloody well fine with that. I'm not forcing my religion onto you; I don't want to. You're Atheist? Wiccan? Muslim? Thelemite? Jewish? Zoroastrian? Buddhist? Taoist? Anything else? Great, let's go out together and get some ice cream while we talk about that new video game or movie that recently came out. Seriously, don't pester me with why you don't like my belief, why you disagree with it, or why you think it's entirely wrong, because I honestly don't give a flying damn about it.

All I can say is this, just try your best to not think down on the beliefs of others. Try your best to seek the true good of your religion or belief, and please, for the good of us all, try your best not to force your beliefs on other people.

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease don't start flaming this, I just want people to know stuff.
I swear if you flame this.
I will break you.

“The tendency to turn human judgments into divine commands makes religion one of the most dangerous forces in the world.”
Indeed it does.

I can only end with me quoting myself about religion, and all of the research (lol wikipedia) I've done regarding it.
Oh my God.

 

[¯\_S.(ツ).L.I.D._/¯]

I think one of the most important things is to realize that people are people and beliefs don't define personality. I've seen so much ignorance on the news and stuff regarding Islam it makes me sick. I know it's cliché but really, don't judge a book by its cover. I mean really people.

 

[The Good Doctor]

I think one of the most important things is to realize that people are people and beliefs don't define personality. I've seen so much ignorance on the news and stuff regarding Islam it makes me sick. I know it's cliché but really, don't judge a book by its cover. I mean really people.

QFT
I hate how shallow media is when it comes to religion

 

[Teran]

My best of all friends is a fundamentalist Christian.

He's the one who keeps off the path of sin, and I'm the type that wallows in it.

If everyone could understand that there's more to someone than what they worship or don't worship, we'd all have an easier time.

Deism rep up in here btw.

 

[Falconv1.0]

Christianity gives itself a bad rep.

Sure there's more to a person than what they worship but it usually dictates how intelligent they are, depending on how 'devote' they are.

 

[Luxor]

Islam gets so much hate it's astounding; every Muslim I've ever met has been friendly and awesome. Stupid America.

(Christian btw)

 

[¯\_S.(ツ).L.I.D._/¯]

Christianity gives itself a bad rep.

Sure there's more to a person than what they worship but it usually dictates how intelligent they are, depending on how 'devote' they are.

Well that's just the thing, that's not the way it should be. Like I certainly know what you're saying, some Christians are, well, crazy, but it shouldn't be like "oh, that guy's Christian, I probably can't have an intelligent conversation with him"; it should be based on the person not the religion. I know people of different religions and from first glance they don't seem like they would be that religion because of stereotypes we have of different faiths.

 

[MK26]

Good read.

However, I believe the Bible is an imperfect human document that may or may not contain divine revelations. I mean come on, it's a book that has been passed down for 2000 years, through innumerable translations and interpretations, must we fully believe everything in this book? No. IN MY OPINION, of course.

Can you clarify/expand on this point? There are a few things you could be trying to say here and I'm confused as to which one it is.

 

[Arikags]

Good read, it made me think.
(Born Jewish, Deist beliefs)

 

[Omnicron's Baklava Enterprises]

Good read.



Can you clarify/expand on this point? There are a few things you could be trying to say here and I'm confused as to which one it is.

I'm not sure what you mean.

The paragraph is pretty obvious in what I meant.

The Bible is a ~2000 year old book, passed down through mistranslations and different interpretations, so I'm saying that it may be much different from the original Bible.

 

[Melomaniacal]

I don't mean to sound mean or insulting, but you fall in the category that I once fell in. I refer to it as a "Convenience Christian." That is, you follow the nice parts of the bible. You believe in the nice words that you would want to be true. However, when the same bible says something you don't like, you reject it. I mean, it wouldn't be nice to believe in hell, right? It's much easier, nicer, and more convenient to just believe in the nice parts. Heaven? Sure, that sounds great, check that off in my beliefs. Hell? That sounds terrible, clearly someone messed up the translation in this part of the bible.

Basically, why is it more likely that "love thy neighbor" is true, but "...homosexual offenders... will [not] inherit the kingdom of God" is false? To answer that question, it isn't more likely. It's just nicer to believe that the former is true and the latter is false. However, in the grand scheme of things, how desirable something is doesn't dictate how likely it is.

Sorry if any of this comes off too harsh.

So, question:
For what reason do you dismiss certain parts of the bible? Why can't contradictions in the bible (which there are hundreds of) be a reason to reject its validity instead of a motivation to attempt to justify your belief in it?

 

[Omnicron's Baklava Enterprises]

I've never read the Bible, honestly.

Either way, I just don't tend to take things that contradict themselves as fact, unless they completely transcend all of our laws of reality or something along those lines.

 

[Melomaniacal]

I've never read the Bible.

Why do you believe in Jesus Christ? Why do you believe in the Christian god?

 

[Budget Player Cadet_]

I love the idea of a convenience christian. It reminds me of a convenience nazist: someone who considers Adolf Hitler the reborn messiah, but ignores the parts of Mein Kampf he doesn't like. Priceless.

EDIT: And no, I'm not mixing terms; nazism is a hypothetical construct; a church built around Hitler.

 

[Teran]

Islam gets so much hate it's astounding; every Muslim I've ever met has been friendly and awesome. Stupid America.

(Christian btw)

Sure they're nice.

If you don't talk ill of their religion or Muhammad. Do either of those things, and you're in for some serious pain.

 

[Elyssa Xey Hexen]

All I can say is this, just try your best to not think down on the beliefs of others. Try your best to seek the true good of your religion or belief, and please, for the good of us all, try your best not to force your beliefs on other people.

“The tendency to turn human judgments into divine commands makes religion one of the most dangerous forces in the world.”
Indeed it does.

I can only end with me quoting myself about religion, and all of the research (lol wikipedia) I've done regarding it.
Oh my God.

Yeah, this echos with some revelations I have been striving towards recently.

The biggest revelation is that everyone has a different opinion on every subject matter. Pretty simple, but it has some unique traits that work in the background of our minds that we do not keep to the forefront of our minds all the time.

Everyone's opinion is sort of sacred to them. And no one wants to change their ideals easily. As soon as you try to force someone to change an opinion that person will fight back. That person will resists you in someway. Some resist more than others, but resistance is there. If you push too hard they will start to argue back; maybe even get violent. Other times people will merely reject your ideals in their head.

But to sway opinions or avoid conflict, you have to have the skill to take that step back from your situation as a third party and accept the fact that there is truth between your ideals and ideals of others. Once you have done that, you can be a skeptic about everything that you believe in and what others believe in and try to come to a solution where both sides are right. If you can do that, people are more willing to be swayed by what you say or be tolerant of your beliefs.

The problem like I said earlier is that we do not think about this at first in any serious debate. Humans simply cannot keep many different thoughts to the forefront of their minds at one time. So once you get roused or are in that resistant state, it is hard to come to a mutual solution or truth.

This is why I think there are so many problems in the world today between people. This kind of thinking takes a lot of practice to get right, and I do not think people even become aware of this until after an education or many periods of critical thinking. Either way, its a skill that seems undeveloped.

So, back to religon. I certainly agree with you. Keep that open mind towards other opinions and never be forceful towards other about your beliefs. Even if you end up talking about it, simply reason with other people and never resort to straight out refusal that you are right, and they are wrong. This is religon, there is no way to prove anything that you are right and someone is wrong.

(Well, I suppose the nature of what counts as proof and what does not count as proof sort of depends upon what everyone is willing to accept as proof, but that's for later)

 

[MTKO]

I recently posted a blog (rant) about how I constantly receive negative comments and other things on my beliefs. I don't even try to bring up the subject around others, but somehow it seems to always come up and in almost every instance I'm looked down upon or people try to make me upset in order to gain some type of victory within themselves because they're too socially insecure to speak with me and others around them. I think from now on when I'm with strangers I'm just going to try to shoot lightening out of my face at random objects in the room, while yelling "PICHUUUUU PIIIII-CHUUUUU!"

 

[El Nino]

But you'll do damage to yourself.

 

[Dre89]

Convenience Christians are the ones who give religion a bad name. They're the ones who make it look like it's just about subjective fulfilment. Because of this people don't realise how intensely philosophical and deep theology is.

Teran- I'm a thiest, but I find deism more illogical than athiesm. Not that I find athiesm stupid or irrational, but from a logical standpoint if you will accept that the first cause was just a mechanism that unravelled, rather than something with a will that chose to create, then you might as well just be an athiest. Assigning supernatural properties to this first cause then becomes unnecessary if it doesn't need a will to create.

 

[MTKO]

But you'll do damage to yourself.

OMG I didn't think of that :D

 

[Teran]

Teran- I'm a thiest, but I find deism more illogical than athiesm. Not that I find athiesm stupid or irrational, but from a logical standpoint if you will accept that the first cause was just a mechanism that unravelled, rather than something with a will that chose to create, then you might as well just be an athiest. Assigning supernatural properties to this first cause then becomes unnecessary if it doesn't need a will to create.

Silly, my belief is that things were created, but at once the starting blocks of creation were done, everything was left to run its course.

Thanks for like, putting beliefs into my mouth.

 

[The Good Doctor]

Can we go back to his blog and not our own beliefs....
That would be nice...

 

[Teran]

Well thing is, the blog is on the subject of allowing people to believe what they want without jumping on it.

Immediately one small line about a belief of mine gets criticised.

Kinda screams the topic loud and clear. :3

 

[Omnicron's Baklava Enterprises]

Convenience Christians are the ones who give religion a bad name. They're the ones who make it look like it's just about subjective fulfilment. Because of this people don't realise how intensely philosophical and deep theology is.

I thought I said none of this?

Get out.

Why do you believe in Jesus Christ? Why do you believe in the Christian god?

In all honesty it's because I've read up on Jesus more than I have the Prophet Muhammad or any other leading role in any other religion. Adding to that, I agree with many things that Jesus may have said.

And it's not necessarily the Christian God. It's more the God of the Abrahamic religions. Simply because it's described as omnipotent and omnibenevolent, and it seems a more fit belief for myself...

Alright, I'm not fully set in my beliefs, I'm testing things out, really.
I can't be truly self defined as a teenager, but I can damn well try.

 

[El Nino]

This thread is like Pichu in its capacity to commit self-injury.

Convenience Christians are the ones who give religion a bad name. They're the ones who make it look like it's just about subjective fulfilment. Because of this people don't realise how intensely philosophical and deep theology is.

I'm pretty sure you're just trying to state your opinion without igniting a flame war, but the way that passage is written makes it come across like an accusation. It's fine if the "subjective fulfillment" of convenience Christianity doesn't work for you, and it's fine if you like the philosophical aspects of theology. But I don't think there are grounds for accusing this group of giving religion a bad name. People may look down on religion for any number of reasons, but a viewpoint like Omni's is actually one of the least confrontational out there.

 

[MTKO]

Well thing is, the blog is on the subject of allowing people to believe what they want without jumping on it.

Immediately one small line about a belief of mine gets criticised.

Kinda screams the topic loud and clear. :3

So true. I sometimes feel like the more open people are about their beliefs or thought, the more certain people are ready to jump in and pick on or try to change the way that person thinks because people somehow feel their "ways" are being threatened. There's tons of other reasons they do it, but that's the vibe I get most often. It's like they're not trying to simply make an argument of who's right or wrong, it's like "You're telling me and everyone about what you believe! You're threatening my way of life!" type of thinking. It may seem silly, but that's just how people are, they defend when they're threatened.

But anyway, I don't like how people criticize how others think. Of course I have my limits. Like if someone thinks that killing off half the world by nuking random places will solve the growing population issue, I'm going to take offense to that and tell them I don't like that idea and if they want to discuss it more then I will. But if someone's telling me about their lifestyle choice, religious beliefs, thoughts on other things, then I don't try to attack what they're saying even if I disagree with it.

 

[Melomaniacal]

In all honesty it's because I've read up on Jesus more than I have the Prophet Muhammad or any other leading role in any other religion. Adding to that, I agree with many things that Jesus may have said.

And it's not necessarily the Christian God. It's more the God of the Abrahamic religions. Simply because it's described as omnipotent and omnibenevolent, and it seems a more fit belief for myself...

Alright, I'm not fully set in my beliefs, I'm testing things out, really.
I can't be truly self defined as a teenager, but I can damn well try.

Not to sound rude, but I think you have a lot more to learn before you decide what you believe.

But, it's good that you're trying. It's more than most people can say.

 

[The Good Doctor]

Not to sound rude, but I think you have a lot more to learn before you decide what you believe.

But, it's good that you're trying. It's more than most people can say.

Speaking of this, My brother recently found religion. While that's good and everything, he would claim he was researching other religions when all he was doing was looking at very Christian biased material.

Drove me insane.

 

[Ralph Cecil]

I think one of the most important things is to realize that people are people and beliefs don't define personality. I've seen so much ignorance on the news and stuff regarding Islam it makes me sick. I know it's cliché but really, don't judge a book by its cover. I mean really people.

I didn't really read the other comments because I wanted to reply to this. I think with the situation at hand that the appropriate phrase would probably be "Don't judge a book by the summary on the back." lol

Also nice read OP. ^_^

 

[Omnicron's Baklava Enterprises]

Not to sound rude, but I think you have a lot more to learn before you decide what you believe.

Learning isn't completely necessary to one's deepest beliefs; it all comes down to the mind, really.

I'm comfortable with it thus far, so I don't see why I'd need to change.
Apart from the fact people might not like how I haven't delved deep enough.

But you're getting at how I should know more before I speak about it, that's understandable.

 

[Vezella22]

Sure they're nice.

If you don't talk ill of their religion or Muhammad. Do either of those things, and you're in for some serious pain.

I also think so. I agree with your idea. Please share more. I am waiting for this.

 

[Melomaniacal]

Learning isn't completely necessary to one's deepest beliefs; it all comes down to the mind, really.

I'm comfortable with it thus far, so I don't see why I'd need to change.
Apart from the fact people might not like how I haven't delved deep enough.

But you're getting at how I should know more before I speak about it, that's understandable.

Well, I just find blind/uninformed faith to be meaningless. I mean, if you're happy with it and you're not bothering anyone about it, it's all you. I'm just saying that if you take a serious interest in the topic, I strongly encourage looking into what's out there and to look more deeply into it.

And that last statement is definitely true, haha.

 

[¯\_S.(ツ).L.I.D._/¯]

I didn't really read the other comments because I wanted to reply to this. I think with the situation at hand that the appropriate phrase would probably be "Don't judge a book by the summary on the back." lol

But a 'summary' of Islam would not be what many Americans perceive it to be. I do see your point.

 

[Flutter NiTE]

I grew up in a Christian family that taught me to think that every Muslim in the world, acts like some of the radical ones. Obviously when I turned around the age of 12, I found this to be clearly false. But only a few weeks ago, I was told Christians are better then Muslims because they don't do anything radical. But yet, I am just starting to learn about Christians Bombing abortion clinics. That doesn't make them any better then the extremist Muslims.

 

[Shorts]

The problem with some religions is: that they require you to believe a certain way. While I believe that in some cases people aren't 100% defined by how they believe. These people most likely loosely religious. I mean, what religion is in all reality is a “How to live life correctly” type thing. But anyone moderately religious defines their values by their religion. That's the problem I have with a lot of intolerant religions. I never was religious, so I had to define my own personal morals, beliefs ect by myself. I had to use real life happenings to figure out what I believe. A Hardcore Christian has their beliefs literally written out in text.

I live in Southern Oregon (Hardcore Christian, Republican, and oh yes, once a major epicenter of the KKK) so being a Democratic, Gay, and open minded teen hasn't been easy. Religion hasn't done anything but made my life 10000000% harder. Ignorant parents raise Ignorant kids, story of my life.

Taking all of this into consideration, I know that there are people in my town that are Christian and totally caring and loving. Even towards a "sinner" like me.

So I say, if it makes you happy, and doesn't hurt anyone else then believe what you want. It’s only until you start to try to take away another person's rights or hurt another person for being who they are that I do not like religion.

Christians Bombing abortion clinics. That doesn't make them any better then the extremist Muslims.

Or the Extremists who kill Doctors that will preform abortions? My town is trying to shut down our planned parenthood. Trust me, they don't realize how much their teens use it...

 

[Budget Player Cadet_]

In all honesty it's because I've read up on Jesus more than I have the Prophet Muhammad or any other leading role in any other religion. Adding to that, I agree with many things that Jesus may have said.

And it's not necessarily the Christian God. It's more the God of the Abrahamic religions. Simply because it's described as omnipotent and omnibenevolent, and it seems a more fit belief for myself...

Alright, I'm not fully set in my beliefs, I'm testing things out, really.
I can't be truly self defined as a teenager, but I can damn well try.

You know you can ascribe to a certain belief set without the associated bull**** around it, right? Saying "I agree with some of what jesus said" and then calling yourself a christian is like agreeing that Hitler was right when he said things like "respect your parents" and becoming a nazi.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARwqm83k2Zg <-relevant imo

inb4godwin'slaw

 

[The Good Doctor]

You know you can ascribe to a certain belief set without the associated bull**** around it, right? Saying "I agree with some of what jesus said" and then calling yourself a christian is like agreeing that Hitler was right when he said things like "respect your parents" and becoming a nazi.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARwqm83k2Zg <-relevant imo

inb4godwin'slaw

I instantly posted that on my facebook

 

[MK26]

The Bible is a ~2000 year old book, passed down through mistranslations and different interpretations, so I'm saying that it may be much different from the original Bible.

eh, not quite

i feel uncomfortable pointing this out because i assume it's common knowledge, but the dead sea scrolls (ie bible scrolls dating back to the 2nd century AD) for the most part are word-for-word with today's hebrew/aramaic/greek versions of the bible

interpretations can be different, but if we still have the original languages that the books were written in, you cant very well claim that theyve been mistranslated

 

[The Good Doctor]

eh, not quite

i feel uncomfortable pointing this out because i assume it's common knowledge, but the dead sea scrolls (ie bible scrolls dating back to the 2nd century AD) for the most part are word-for-word with today's hebrew/aramaic/greek versions of the bible

interpretations can be different, but if we still have the original languages that the books were written in, you cant very well claim that theyve been mistranslated

He might be just refering to the King James Bible?

 

[Shorts]

eh, not quite

i feel uncomfortable pointing this out because i assume it's common knowledge, but the dead sea scrolls (ie bible scrolls dating back to the 2nd century AD) for the most part are word-for-word with today's hebrew/aramaic/greek versions of the bible

interpretations can be different, but if we still have the original languages that the books were written in, you cant very well claim that theyve been mistranslated

Actually the bible has lots of texts that were discluded from certain bibles. Some have parts that others leave out.I don't believe any of them actually have all of it in them. This website explains what i mean.

http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/bible/outside.stm