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Islam

0 (0%)

Hindu

0 (0%)

Buddhist

0 (0%)

Christianity - Catholic

6 (13.3%)

Christianity - Anglican

2 (4.4%)

Christianity - Happy Clappers

1 (2.2%)

Christianity - Other

1 (2.2%)

Jehovah

0 (0%)

Mormon

0 (0%)

Seventh Day Adventist

1 (2.2%)

Wiccan

0 (0%)

Atheist

5 (11.1%)

Agnostic

14 (31.1%)

Pastafarian

2 (4.4%)

Other - tell us what you are, you wuss!

13 (28.9%)

Total Members Voted: 45

[Thaluikhain]

And I've always had a fantasy of having a threesome with two Mormon guys for some reason...

Because they do it the other way?

[hammer]

For an all-knowing entity you are a bit thick.  You are all-seeing, meaning you can watch both.

Anyway, I'm off to the bathroom...dodgy curry, goes right through you, you know...and you'll be watching that, you sick bastard.

Poeple always forget I can be omniputriescent too, which let's me use the old dodgy curry trick to punish unbelievers at will!

That old ring of fire is just a taste of things to come, unbeliever! 

[Mr Pants]

I can't stand those little religious nutbags who try and claim atheism is a belief system, so therefore their religion is somehow more valid. The lack of something is not something.

[Ibby]

I don't know, 'other', I suppose.

Sort of pagan-y, sort of discordian, sort of a lot of things. I've never been one to really hang around with any one religious group. I don't like being hedged in. I prefer to make up my own mind about what I believe or don't believe. *shrugs* I'm a member of a couple of groups, but I don't really identify as belonging to any specific religion.

[depreciative jones]

Pastafarianism. With a God that delicious, how could anyone refuse?

Besides - BEER VOLCANOES!

It's my standby while I write my own Holy Book. Depreciativism - it's mostly about taking the piss, acknowledging that everything in the world gets worse the more you know about it* and worshipping me, your saviour.

Of course, that's only in this nasty little world. In the next life, all are welcomed with delights so fantastic they can barely be comprehended. Think about the best thing in the whole wide world - you get ten of them in Jonesania, plus a bowl of ice cream. With sprinkles.

Convert now before the religion gets too popular and I start getting picky** about who my devotees are.

*A reading: 'Bitter are the Learned, for they see the Stupid and gnash their teeth over terrible grammar and illogical conclusions. Fortuitously, the Stupid are equally unhappy, for the Bitter Learned vent their frustrations in violent, hurtful harangues which - although rarely comprehended by the Stupid - incite gleeful sniggers amongst all others who stand about and watch the spectacle. Thus, I sayeth, the world is shit.'

**I'm looking forward to my bloated, oxygen-tank wearing, child-molesting, paranoid phase.

[Keridwen]

DJ, I am SO in.

Right, who is the other one who chose atheist? And why is there only one other besides me? I must have missed a memo along the line somewhere. Did a Messiah or something come on TV while I was taking a piss?

I have a few tidbits that I'd like to share about religion. Well, people's attitudes towards religion.

I was talking to my band teacher back in the day, I was probably about 11 or 12. I have no idea how the subject came up, but I got to saying how I didn't believe in God. (Those exact words - not "some other higher power", just the Christian God.)

She was somewhere between baffled and indignant. "How can you know at such a young age?"

I replied "I don't know whether or not there definitley is one. However I know I don't believe that there is."

She coughed and spluttered for a little while before continuing her argument. She said things along the lines of "Children shouldn't be swayed along that path at such a young age. They are being brainwashed and when the time comes, they won't be saved."

"Saved from what?" I recall being quite confused about this aspect. She didn't seem to know the answer.

So I argued back. So when we turn 18 we're immediatley enlightened as to whether or not we're going to follow religion? Jesus. I'm 18 now and I feel less "enlightened" now than I did when I wasn't all bitter & twisted, full of idealisms.

Anyway, I figure that people find out what they believe (if indeed they haven't been indoctrinated) due to experiences. If you're in a life threatening situation, and chance throws a bone in your direction, chances are people will cry holy. On the other hand, if a situation arises that is so unfair, so horrible and so wrong that even a child (shock horror - children have minds and stuff like that) can see it, people tend to shy away from religion. Despite us trying to put such a giant gap between "us" and "divinity" - we still associate fairness, equality and justice with divinity.

So basically what my band teacher was saying, was that children are immune from having these experiences. And that children are immune from independent thought. I know I wasn't, I discarded the idea of religion at a very young age (with no encouragement, quite the contrary considering various schools who made it hard for me to ditch scripture - PUBLIC schools, mind) and had a fair few independent thoughts prior to my 18th. Is this true for the majority? I tend to think yes, but I don't know.

What do you think?

[Mr Pants]

What do you think?

Short answer = I agree.

Long answer = Big long rant about why people feel the need to have their moral codes contniually reinforced by a teacher figure.

You get the idea.

[bollocks]

i attend church.

we congregate biweekly, on saturdays, for 7 months in a year.

we are a popular church, with 40,000 attending each saturday and more than 3000 on the waiting-list.
there are tens of thousands of followers of my church who don't attend, but they are forgiven if they make other contributions to the collection plate.

we praise our gods with songs and accept them despite their foibles.

recently, one of the church-leaders defected for a portly sum of money.

if he ever returns to our garden of eden, hell-fire shall rain down upon him.





in the form of a hip and shoulder from adam hunter.

west coast. premiers '08.
 

[:-) Fred]

Atheist here

Cut and paste my usual bit about randomness and Pattern seeking creatures

also my usual thing with the missing fundamental element that is described poorly as Potential

Religion is like asking how you should raise your kids,
     great spectator sport till someone gets killed or pregnant

[Keridwen]

Every sperm is saaaacred....

[Bill_Steamshovel]

My personal experiences with atheism has lead me to believe most of its adherents are morally bankrupt and primarily interested in asserting their supposed religious superiority by mocking and deriding others for their supposed lack of reason. For this I don't want to be associated with it, however neither do I believe in an interventionalist god, so most traditional western religions hold little interest for me. Most westerners following eastern religions seem to be the vacuous trendy types like Hollywood starlets, who are also notorious for supporting other oddball causes like PETA.

That's why Stoicism floats my boat.

[Waltrow]

Religion is like asking how you should raise your kids,
great spectator sport till someone gets killed or pregnant

That's brilliant. Except I'm not even willing to be a spectator.

The whole concept of a supreme being is completely unfathomable to me. What a fucking joke.

That said, I suppose I should say that I'm a firm believer of the whole 'each to their own' thing. If someone is able to enrich their life and generally find a state of happiness by 'having faith', then good on them. Just don't try and enforce that shit upon me... Oh... and don't kill me either. 

[Thaluikhain]

That's why Stoicism floats my boat.

Modern or ancient?

I find myself leaning towards Epicurean thinkings (ancient)...but then that's the sort of thing everyone does...everone wants to live a healthy life, but mahy can't be arsed.

[Erubadhriel]

The whole concept of a supreme being is completely unfathomable to me. What a fucking joke.

That said, I suppose I should say that I'm a firm believer of the whole 'each to their own' thing. If someone is able to enrich their life and generally find a state of happiness by 'having faith', then good on them. Just don't try and enforce that shit upon me... Oh... and don't kill me either. 

I concur

[Bill_Steamshovel]

Modern or ancient?

I find myself leaning towards Epicurean thinkings (ancient)...but then that's the sort of thing everyone does...everone wants to live a healthy life, but mahy can't be arsed.

There is lot to recommend Epicurus, particularly his thoughts in regard to science, law and the concept of social contract. I agree with you about how most people lean towards an ancient Epicurean lifestyle without realising it.

I tend to favour ancient Stoicism as a personal philosophy or religion over Epicureanism because while they both uphold reason, Stoicism maintains that a person should be virtuous for sake of being virtuous, rather than the Epicurean view that being virtuous is important for the dividends it yields, which strikes me as a cynical and mercenary outlook. Also I like Stoicism's indifference towards the metaphysical. This is exemplified when Marcus Aurelius says:

"Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones."