What's your religion?

[ArtDrake]

Space is just another form of energy, as is mass. What perfection does anyone see? There is no perfection that there is not a reason for. The earth loses a couple of milliseconds of its day every time there's an earthquake, it has a moon that is slowly spiraling outward, and there are other planets capable of supporting life out there. If that doesn't disprove most religions, chew on this; 99% of religions are cop-outs. There are no obsevervable cop-outs in real life, only complicated explanations that are all different, whereas they exist all the time in the unexplained-- as soon as we figure it out, however, there a much more complicated solution. Stars: God did it. The Sun: god did it. Everthing else: God did it. No one can plan anything well in 7 days; some people can't even get a party right in a month. Paradise? A world? Forget it.

Religion is a way to explain the unexplained, and by that explanation, make people feel at peace, thinking that the world is all planned out, and nothing happens by accident. A bunch of teenagers mobbed together today, and killed a bartender in Louisiana. Few people heard about it; no one cared except maybe me and a few other people. Why the hell would anyone plan that? And please, no one give me the "We may never understand the mysteries of God" spiel. Really, if that's true, why do ministers, priests, and religious congregations even bother to figure it out? Only because if they can figure out why, then they don't feel so deprived of a reason. There are reasons; you're just not looking for them. Buddhism is an exception, minus the mythology of it. All that zen meditating stuff; they have the right idea.

And if you're going to ask silly questions about where stuff came from, look it up first, and then ask me.

[Zackirus]

No one can plan anything well in 7 days; some people can't even get a party right in a month. Paradise? A world? Forget it.

In the first book of the Old Testament (Genesis) explains the creation of the world. Many people believe Genesis 1:1 was how the world was created. False! If most people had taken to time to research and learn about the bible properly, like I have, they would have found out the in the Hebrew bible (In Genesis itself) there are several points where there are, "Toledoths". "Toldedoths," are a Hebrew word meaning, "these are the generations of ..." which basically means "This is how it goes down".  Now you can find these Toledoths in many places in Genesis, however, a Toledoth is not found in the beginning of Genesis 1:1- but in Genesis 1:2. If you don't know, Genesis 1:2 gives another account on the creation of the world. I recommend people to read Genesis 1:2.

Now you might be asking, then what is the point of Genesis 1:1? I believe it is an introduction to god and his reign. It also shows that the bible is not a book of science but a book of knowledge/poetry. It is poetical because if you look at Genesis 1:1 you can see that god created the world in six days (on the seventh he rested). Look down below to see what I mean:

Day One: Light and Darkness

Day Four: Sun, Stars and Moon

Day Two: Water and Skies

Day Five: Birds and Fish

Day Three: Land and Vegetation

Day Six: Mammals and Man

Is anyone seeing the pattern here? He first creates space and fills on its corresponding day after. I just think it is neat and poetical.

So there you have it, the beginning of time most people believe in, is not true.

My personal believes are: Agnostic, which as Ersatz Man rightfully said, is a religion where you believe the existence of a(any) God(s) is un-knowable. For with-in the infinite realms that comprise of the universe, there could always be something controlling my life. However, I like to believe that my destiny in is my own hands, and not someone else's.

[The Holy namelesskitty]

Mine is the opposite, I believe in no higher power, but I do have a purpose in life.

[cyso]

I am a christian. As for your quote, Duckling

Space is just another form of energy, as is mass. What perfection does anyone see? There is no perfection that there is not a reason for. The earth loses a couple of milliseconds of its day every time there's an earthquake, it has a moon that is slowly spiraling outward, and there are other planets capable of supporting life out there.

The perfection that I see is the rules that the world follows. The laws of planetary motion that allows us to see the night sky as it looked thousands of years ago. The location of earth that allows our planet to exist and support life. Even the fact that the moon makes a total eclipse of the sun, which seems to be for our own benefit. The universe follows laws. That is the perfection. As for why I believe in God, at some point, you must have faith in things that you can not know. You just end up having to trust what you're told. For example, you do not know, and you really can not know, about the origin of matter in the universe. You have to have faith, belief in what you can't see.
And for the other part of your quote

A bunch of teenagers mobbed together today, and killed a bartender in Louisiana. Few people heard about it; no one cared except maybe me and a few other people. Why the hell would anyone plan that? And please, no one give me the "We may never understand the mysteries of God" spiel.

I can tell you why that happened. People are messed up. God chose to give us free will because the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. There is nothing great about everyone obeying and doing the right thing when they have no choice. There is something great about people choosing to do the right thing despite living in a messed up world.
I know I might not have made much sense; sorry, but it is late and I will probably go to bed soon.

[Duskling]

You made great sense yogc!!!  Thanks!!! I understood every word. But as Duckling and I currently have an agreement on not to argue theology, I shall merely watch. But I do leave this.
Proverbs 1:14
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. The fool has said in his heart,"There is no God." They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good.

Proverbs 18:2
A fool has no delight in understanding, 
But in expressing his own heart.

Isaiah 32:6-7
For the foolish person will speak foolishness, 
And his heart will work iniquity: 
To practice ungodliness, 
To utter error against the Lord, 
To keep the hungry unsatisfied, 
And he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
Also the schemes of the schemer are evil; 
He devises wicked plans 
To destroy the poor with lying words, 
Even when the needy speaks justice.

Well, that makes me sound pretty evil, but I give when I can, and I don't tell people not to believe God, or make Him look bad to people, I'm just expressing my right as a human being to believe or not to believe, and I choose to believe that I make my world, and that I will not be judged on what I make of it. You can, of course, believe in Him, and I don't think less of you for it, it's your faith, I don't have a right to discredit it. That was Duskie-Poo's outlook on life, ladies in gentlemen, Duskie-Poo is a... realist? Is that it? Yes, I believe so.

[Duskling]

He gave us that right of freedom and I don't think any less of you Duskling. I'm just saying some of what the bible says on the matter. Man WOULD has been perfect had it not been for the very first sin by Adam.
Creation in Genesis and the Fall of Man: Spoiler Style!!
[spoiler=Genesis][spoiler=Chapter 1]The History of Creation
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
3  Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
6  Then God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters." 7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which wereabove the firmament; and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.
9  Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 So the evening and the morning were the third day. 14 Then God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so. 16 Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He madethe stars also. 17 God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
20  Then God said, "Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens." 21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." 23 So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
24  Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind"; and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
26  Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
29  And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there islife, I have given every green herb for food"; and it was so. 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.[/spoiler][/spoiler]

Thank you for understanding, Bugfartboy, I know enough of the Bible that Adam sinned when he stole an... apple, I believe, which God had forbidden them to eat, it was called "The Forbidden Fruit," no? Then he lied and blamed Eve for it, and I don't know much more of the story after that.

[spoiler=Off-Topic]Check out The Incident, I edited the first chapter to give a tiny bit more back-story, and added a second chapter! [/spoiler]

[ArtDrake]

The King James does have a certain eloquence and poetry to it. No futher comment.

[Steel Ersatz Man]

By the way, if Christianity IS true, when I die, I can say to God 'All the sins I did was because you programmed my basic personality and you controlled the events that would happen in my life.' Also, you know that Catholic School I go to? I learned that, apparently, since Jesus died for us, EVERY single sin we ever do is sort of 'absorbed' by that. I questioned my R.E. Teacher and, according to her, Hitler could be in heaven right now.

WOW, that was long winded. Just thought I'd throw that in.

[ArtDrake]

That's awesome! I like that sort of Christianity; it seems inclusive, rather than exclusive like many kinds. But not enough to convert. Maybe later...

[The Holy namelesskitty]

I don't see why religion and biology are mutually exclusive.

[ArtDrake]

Because the findings and conclusions one gets from biology seriously contradict with the core beliefs of most religions, and those who are educated to become biologists find it logically impossible for there to be a big ol' God up there with no oxygen and no precedent; those who are trained to become preachers find it theologically impossible for there to have been big lizardy things way before the earth even existed.

[Steel Ersatz Man]

That's awesome! I like that sort of Christianity; it seems inclusive, rather than exclusive like many kinds. But not enough to convert. Maybe later...

I wasn't trying to convert you, I don't believe it either.

[Steel Ersatz Man]

Not all preachers believe so. Some believe that they were wiped out merely a few centuries ago. Has it occured to you that the medival "dragons" might have been no more than Dinos? Many species go extinct each year.

That is very improbable, if that were the case, then there would be no fossils, only bones. It takes thousands of years for the remains of an animal to become fossilised, you know.

[MikeW781]

This is the reason that science and religion are mutually exclusive. If you understand science, the bibical stories no longer make sense. You, buggy, do not know what you are talking about when you make these scienetific points, and that is the only reason you can use science and religon at the same time.
Point 1: Dinos = Dragons. This is a foolish point, as the evidence for the muscle builds of dinosaurs suggest not only not place for wings, but also dinosaur bones are too heavy to fly. The reason birds can fly is that they have extremely light bones. The only place I have seen a theory like this is Dragonology, and if this is where you get your science, we have an issue.

Point 2: This flood would have eroded the soil, making fossils less deep. I cannot comprehend how you think that a flood would make more dirt.

[Steel Ersatz Man]

Point 1: Dinos = Dragons. This is a foolish point, as the evidence for the muscle builds of dinosaurs suggest not only not place for wings, but also dinosaur bones are too heavy to fly. The reason birds can fly is that they have extremely light bones. The only place I have seen a theory like this is Dragonology, and if this is where you get your science, we have an issue.

Actually, Dinosaurs did eventually become birds (can't remember the name) and, because of that, there will have been a few generations of dinosaurs that could fly.
BTW, dinosaur fossils a small as chickens have been found.