Religion

[Moe Szyslak]

I've never been real big on any kind of organized religion. I used to take a lot of hallucinogens as a teen so i can say i have seen "god" or whatever. Right now its kind of hard getting thru the day and figuring shit out cause im in kind of a transition phase in my life. I think about god a lot, and what the actual definition of god is to me. Be thinking about different religions and their stances. For the most part i feel like there is an over-all "order" to the universe, and some things happen for a reason. Some shit is totally random tho. I guess im just at odds with my faith or something. What are y'alls views on religion?

[KILZ FILLZ]

Religion is good for people who need a framework of right and wrong and guidelines on how to live life. It’s also a great way to build community. I’ve been digging little by little into Islam but I still would say at this point religion isn’t for me. 
 

halal and kosher diet seem to make sense on so many levels though. 

[misteraven]

1 hour ago, KILZ FILLZ said:

 

halal and kosher diet seem to make sense on so many levels though. 

They did two thousand years ago before refrigeration. Not sure they do so much now.  

[Mercer]

I was raised Christian, Baptists to be exact, stopped going when I was 12 years old I think. Religion, and it's practice used to be very repulsive to me, like I hated it and thought it was all bad. These days, not so much. I'd def be down to gather with my neighbors every Sunday morning, sing a song together, bond, discuss relevant community issues, morals, etc. This is exactly what's missing in today's society IMO, and it won't ever be replaced properly by the tech that allows us to connect digitally. It's too bad all the superstitious stuff is tied to it, I could see myself attending a church but wouldn't be comfortable pretending I think a virgin got pregnant, etc. I'm probably just missing the point but my current religion is pure logic.

[Hua Guofang]

Religion is usually a very good thing if you look at the central tenets of the main monotheistic religions. They're mostly 'do unto others', be humble and 'help those who need it'.

 

The biggest problem with religion is most often the religious.

[Fist 666]

I was born to evangelical baptist missionaries in Pakistan. I grew up with very strict and literal translations of the Bible. At 14 I questioned the validity of the book, at 15 I denounced it, but stayed agnostic and open to "god." Somewhere in my late teens I committed to Atheism/Naturalism and haven't looked back.

 

I passionately hated religion for most of my adult life.  In my late 20s a mild frustration with the dogmatism of the "New Atheists" (Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, etc) and the insights and new pathways provided by eating a lot of psylocibin in nature  made me a lot less inclined to give a shit what others believe and simply let it be, so long as tolerance can be reciprocated and human value isn't reduced under a belief set.

 

The 666 piece of my identity is mostly tongue-in-cheek. I truly appreciated what the Church of Satan stands for, but ultimately I don't care what anyone else believes so long as they don't vote or act in a way that infringes on someone else's right to act or believe in the way they want. I was born on the 6th hour of the 6th day of the 6th month, have a baphomet by Mike Giant, praying hands with "man's ruin" written underneath, and a kewpie devil with 666 all tattooed on me...

 

Religion is an inherently valuable piece of history as far as organizing society, but I think we have moved past a need for "the church" to hold us together (read Sam Harris' "The Moral Landscape" if you're curious about morals without gods or afterlives), though I agree with @Mercer that the community facet is something we sorely need.

 

I have slowly been trying to get into meditation and general mindfulness, but make excuses not to put in the work even though I know the end result is pretty much guaranteed to help me be happier. That's as close to the lifestyle piece of religion as I get, though its only religious in early origin, but that could be a whole giant thread on its own.

[Dirty_habiT]

I was raised Christian and continue to practice Christianity.  Since you asked, I don't go to church but I do bless every meal I eat.  My relationship with God is between me and God and doesn't involve anyone else necessarily.  This is why I don't go to church.  Maybe if I find a good church in the country I would participate provided the people were the kind I like.  I usually won't talk about religion with anyone at all unless they bring it up first.  That's another one of my rules, I keep my faith to myself because it's nobody's business.

 

This world has turned people into the kind of people that think that their business needs to be everyone else's business too.  I really don't care what kind of snowflakey feature makes you special in your grandma's eyes, just keep it to yourself and we can probably get along just fine.

 

edit: @Mercer- it sounds like you said exactly what I think.... yet again.  I'm not as good at articulating my words as you are sometimes.  You're the kind of person I would enjoy going to church with.  There are plenty of others.

 

You know I wonder now, how many parents are letting their kids "occupy themselves" in church now with cell phones.  I think there are a lot of fake religious people that just "go through the motions".  I also don't like the type that are shit heads all through out the week and apologize on Sunday like that's a free ticket into Heaven (it probably is, but I don't agree that it's right).

[Dirty_habiT]

Also, thank you @Moe Szyslakfor making this thread.  I considered doing it about a month ago because we have definitely been beating the politics subject to death.  This, actually, is the perfect forum IMO to discuss these kinds of things.  The "dgaf" nature of graffiti writers and the wide range of people involved with graffiti make it possible to have a lot of differing views available to be shared.

[Dirty_habiT]

One more thing while I'm power posting.... I highly recommend anyone watch this movie, regardless of what you believe in.  It's old..... one thing I"ve been telling my brothers and gf when I put on an older movie is that "This movie is going to be light on the special effects and heavy on the acting."  I think that's what is missing from modern movies, we're so wrapped up in CGI and green screen that we forgot how to assemble a cast of top notch actors.  Anyway, this movie is a great movie, has some great quotes, the soundtrack is pretty good, it's based in New York, and it's old so it doesn't really suck for the same reasons new movies suck for.

 

It is Erik Estrada's first movie I think as well.

 

 

[Passiveninja]

I am agnostic but if there is anything it is the devil is how I look at it