Non-Christians, or Non-Abrahamic Religious Folks, in the WR?

[luckyshot]

It seems that the main camps in here are:

1) Christian
2) Atheist
3) Not really Christian but I like Judeo-Christian values (whatever those are)
4) Not really Christian, but I think Jews are secretly running the world
5) My only religion is hating Islam

The religious issues are understandably dominated by the largest factions, but I am just wondering how many folks in the WR are religious but not one of the Abrahamic 3 (Christians, Muslims, Jews, Oh My).

Also, a reminder to folks that there have been a wide and wonderful variety of faith traditions in human history, most of which have nothing to do with the Middle East or the Bible/ Koran.

Personally, I am Pagan, and I agree that westerners should return to their traditional values (albeit minus the human sacrifice).

Give me that old time religion:

 

[Bat Dad]

im agnostic atm
was raised roman catholic went to kindergarten all the way through HS
after being both a fireman and a cop in nypd and after 9/11 and watching my father die of multiple cancers/liver disease/colitis crohns etc my faith is no longer there much at all

 

[lfd0311]

Are you looking for someone who will help you to white knight the latest Islamic terrorist attack?

 

[EmpireShallFall]

I was atheist, muslim, and back to atheism.

 

[luckyshot]

Are you looking for someone who will help you to white knight the latest Islamic terrorist attack?

Don't derail this thread. There are literally 87,000 other threads in which to bitch about Islam.

As strange as it may sound to you, some people are legitimately interested in the mysteries of life/ existence without having their viewpoint center around their hatred for Islam.

But thanks for illustrating the point of why I had to go out of the way to create a thread like this.

 

[Cuauhtemoc]

I was born protestant, became atheist, I like pagan values and mythology but I don't believe in it because I'm not dumb.

 

[ripskater]

I'm a Christian

 

[Coolidge]

Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Paganism, Liberalism, it's all retarded to me.

 

[Sycho Sid]

I'm a Christian

 

[ripskater]

That's ok.

 

[Sycho Sid]

That's ok.

Was a joke Rip. Shoulda gone with

 

[ripskater]

Was a joke Rip. Shoulda gone with

I didn't know you were joking. I get told often that people think I'm not really a Christian and I'm faking it.

 

[HomerThompson]

Born Christian. Baptized Lutheran and went to Methodist church as a kid. Been an Atheist since I was 10 or so. I think religion is ludicrous, but don't fault people who use it to do good in the world.

 

[lecter]

 

[KONE]

I'm not religious but have the rare trait of being able to identify the fact that most religions tend to lead to more morality with the exception of Islam

I also don't group Christianity along with Islam in terms of violence because I'm not mind-blowingly delusional

 

[RhinoRush]

Paganism definitely appeals to me but I don't believe in the supernatural. I could see myself being a pagan in the way 99% of christians are christians, ie, paying lip service to it and following some of the rituals but not actually believing in it. I mean sometimes you pray for rain, doesn't mean you think anyone is actually listening.

 

[ObsoleteSoul]

Agnostic. Nobody knows what th hell happens, and it only causes rifts between us when we act like we do.

If you listen to a good theologian, many make good points for their side, but we cannot all be right.

 

[helltoupee]

I think if you could pick and choose certain things out of various religions you would find a lot of value there.

The problem I have is that I believe that organized religion and things like the Bible/Koran/etc were also used as political tools to control people, which is mixed in with some of the important moral allegories, and ultimately muddies the waters and puts me at odds with people who accept everything written in a holy book, just because it is written in a holy book.

To me, when I think of a group of MEN gathering around a table, and deciding what, and what not, to include in a holy book, it's hard for me to not wonder what they discarded, what was changed, why certain things were included and not others, etc.

I guess it's this "all or nothing" fanaticism that rubs me the wrong way when you are accepting that imperfect men compiled these books. That and most religious people seem to have a disdain for the actual sources of the tales contained in these books, ie., paganism, Sumerians, Mesopotamians, etc.

 

[Swing]

Please don't take this to wrong way; I do not mean to be offensive, but I am always a little surprised when I hear about people whose faith is shaken after a shitty personal event or tragedy. I mean, did it surprise you that tragedies happen? Did you take your Catholic faith as a promise that bad things like cancer would not happen to you or your family?

Once again, I apologize for tone. That probably sounds insensitive, but it is an honest question.

I've had my mind switch too many times through experience to downplay the influence of feeling an event vs. thinking about, however deeply.

I bet most religious people understand that bad things can happen to them and their families, but it wouldn't surprise me if their faith would hold through that understanding in normal circumstances but fail when combined with grieving.

Personally, the conflict between intellectualizing something and believing it is just a set of scales with reason on one end and emotion on the other. I'm no longer a gun owner because I don't like the paraded enthusiasm of weapon ownership in the US. That said, I wouldn't surprise myself if, in the aftermath of a home invasion, I got another pistol despite not enjoying having it.

 

[Misfit23]

im agnostic atm
was raised roman catholic went to kindergarten all the way through HS
after being both a fireman and a cop in nypd and after 9/11 and watching my father die of multiple cancers/liver disease/colitis crohns etc my faith is no longer there much at all

Catholic pedoism ruined it for me. Fuck the Catholic Church.