why Religions?

[Wizzy]

Originally Posted by aureliano

For years I thought I am an atheist but I realized I was wrong. Although I couldn't find myself in any of religions known to me, I realized I wasn't an atheist as well...

God is a part of an atheist's life, weather we like it or not. An atheist may exclude God from him/herself but cannot exclude people he or she lives with. And they, or some of them, bring God with them...

Atheists are dear to me, they do not accept things for granted, they search for answers, and most of the atheists I knew were very intelligent people.

But do the real atheists exist?

Isn't the fear there equal for believers and atheists?

Fear reminded me of how small I am and how great everything in nature, on this Earth is. Did I believe ever or was I confused?

Today, I am an (a)gnostic/believer. I am God's creature, God's person. Although I cannot accept any known religion to be mine, I accept all people. Atheists, Christians, Buddhists, Jewish, Muslims, Zoroastrians... all. I wish we all have one church together and we were not wolves to others...

No I don't belive the fear is the same for everybody... Atleast not for me..

I used to fear death, I was terrified of the fact that one day I would die, and everything would go dark and nothing more... That scared me sleepless..

Then one day I realized that if I can't do anything to stop it, why should I be afraid of it? So now I have accepted my mortality, that one day I will die... Just as terminally ill people, i went trough the five stages, only that in the bargening one where a beliver would offer god this and that to get to live, I begged him to be real... After I had reached "acceptence", I realized that I don't belive in god, as I did before...

And today I frequently show that I truely isn't afraid of death or what comes afterwards as I'm the one that will stop a drug addict while robbing someone or something like that, when normal people just keep walking in fear of their own lives, I'm the one that steps up the the plate...

So I don't know, it could just be somekind of deathwish or something from my part or maybe the fact of the matter is that I'm not a belive, because I'm not afraid of what I don't know.. yet...

[SantaMonica1369]

I'm an athiest...and have huge problems with keeping motivated. I'm really into horseback riding, and I can honestly say that's the only thing that keeps me bothering to go to school every day. A lot of life is just...despair. If there's nothing after this then nothing matters, right? I'd find something and use it as a reason to gain motivation...and if that fails...well, I'm not a good one to ask.

People use religion to answer their questions with a simple one size fits all answer...and it gives them something to hope for. As previously said, a lot of it stems from fear. I have yet to see valid proof of a God or supreme being existing though...

[Wizzy]

Originally Posted by SantaMonica1369

I'm an athiest...and have huge problems with keeping motivated. I'm really into horseback riding, and I can honestly say that's the only thing that keeps me bothering to go to school every day. A lot of life is just...despair. If there's nothing after this then nothing matters, right? I'd find something and use it as a reason to gain motivation...and if that fails...well, I'm not a good one to ask.

People use religion to answer their questions with a simple one size fits all answer...and it gives them something to hope for. As previously said, a lot of it stems from fear. I have yet to see valid proof of a God or supreme being existing though...

Well said Monica and I loved the "one size fits all answer" line, cracked me up a little!

Anyway you seem to be fairly depressed due to the fact that you realize that there's no afterlife. And I can understand how you can feel that way.

But as a fellow Athiest, I feel that it's my duty to share in what keeps me motivated because maybe, knowing how other people with the same dissbelieves keeps themselves motivated can help you stay motivated to live in this world.

My motivation is simply that I refuse to go out like a sucker, to simplify it. As Jack Nicholson says in The Departed "I don't want to be a product of my enviorment, I want my enviorment to be a product of me", that's the motivation I have and the goal I seek. Simply to thouch the world, by good or by evil is less important, and how I effect it doesn't matter to me atleast. If it can be by the means of Sokrates, great! If it will be by the means of Shakespear, fine! If it have to be by the means of Hitler, so be it. I don't know how much this helps you but my point is: set up a goal for your self and let nothing stand in your way to get there. You only have one life as an athiest, make it worth remembering for the comming generations.

Hope I helped a little atleast

[SantaMonica1369]

Originally Posted by Wizzy

Well said Monica and I loved the "one size fits all answer" line, cracked me up a little!

Anyway you seem to be fairly depressed due to the fact that you realize that there's no afterlife. And I can understand how you can feel that way.

But as a fellow Athiest, I feel that it's my duty to share in what keeps me motivated because maybe, knowing how other people with the same dissbelieves keeps themselves motivated can help you stay motivated to live in this world.

My motivation is simply that I refuse to go out like a sucker, to simplify it. As Jack Nicholson says in The Departed "I don't want to be a product of my enviorment, I want my enviorment to be a product of me", that's the motivation I have and the goal I seek. Simply to thouch the world, by good or by evil is less important, and how I effect it doesn't matter to me atleast. If it can be by the means of Sokrates, great! If it will be by the means of Shakespear, fine! If it have to be by the means of Hitler, so be it. I don't know how much this helps you but my point is: set up a goal for your self and let nothing stand in your way to get there. You only have one life as an athiest, make it worth remembering for the comming generations.

Hope I helped a little atleast

That did help...and it's a good point. It certainly put me in a less...despairing? mood.

[Dustin]

Originally Posted by Wizzy

Well said Monica and I loved the "one size fits all answer" line, cracked me up a little!

Anyway you seem to be fairly depressed due to the fact that you realize that there's no afterlife. And I can understand how you can feel that way.

But as a fellow Athiest, I feel that it's my duty to share in what keeps me motivated because maybe, knowing how other people with the same dissbelieves keeps themselves motivated can help you stay motivated to live in this world.

My motivation is simply that I refuse to go out like a sucker, to simplify it. As Jack Nicholson says in The Departed "I don't want to be a product of my enviorment, I want my enviorment to be a product of me", that's the motivation I have and the goal I seek. Simply to thouch the world, by good or by evil is less important, and how I effect it doesn't matter to me atleast. If it can be by the means of Sokrates, great! If it will be by the means of Shakespear, fine! If it have to be by the means of Hitler, so be it. I don't know how much this helps you but my point is: set up a goal for your self and let nothing stand in your way to get there. You only have one life as an athiest, make it worth remembering for the comming generations.

Hope I helped a little atleast

Originally Posted by SantaMonica1369

I'm an athiest...and have huge problems with keeping motivated. I'm really into horseback riding, and I can honestly say that's the only thing that keeps me bothering to go to school every day. A lot of life is just...despair. If there's nothing after this then nothing matters, right? I'd find something and use it as a reason to gain motivation...and if that fails...well, I'm not a good one to ask.

People use religion to answer their questions with a simple one size fits all answer...and it gives them something to hope for. As previously said, a lot of it stems from fear. I have yet to see valid proof of a God or supreme being existing though...

Why are you both atheists, and what kind of proof are you looking for?

[Wizzy]

Originally Posted by Dustin

Why are you both atheists, and what kind of proof are you looking for?

Well, I'm an atheist because I have yet to see any proof of why there should be a god or higher power.. You have to doubt everything until you see some proof don't you? And what proof is there really? A old book? That's it?

What kind of evidence doesn't matter, a lightning bolt acctually striking down somebody who have just killed, raped, robber etc. somebody would do fine for me, especially if it came out of a clear sky.. Or even something smaller like acctually seeing "karma" work in real life, outside of [My name is Earl]... Or maybe hearing him speak?
ANYTHING that points towards a all-mighty creature will convince me, but as there's no such evidence known, why does even the idea exsist really? It's not a theory unless it's based on evidence, thus any religion known to man can't be called a theory and the inteligentdesign or creationism "theorys" isn't really theorys as there's no known PROOF to back them up. Thus I'm just saying, why should ANYBODY belive in a god?

In the words of Woody Allen:
My Lord, my Lord! What hast Thou done, lately?

[SantaMonica1369]

Originally Posted by Dustin

Why are you both atheists, and what kind of proof are you looking for?

I just don't see any proof in God. Basically what everyone else says. I don't see evidence of it, so I don't believe in it. I also in a way can't believe anyone like "God" would let the world be in this sorry state of affairs. And when I was little and was quite a christian, God didn't help me then.

[Justin]

Originally Posted by SantaMonica1369

I'm an athiest...and have huge problems with keeping motivated. I'm really into horseback riding, and I can honestly say that's the only thing that keeps me bothering to go to school every day. A lot of life is just...despair. If there's nothing after this then nothing matters, right? I'd find something and use it as a reason to gain motivation...and if that fails...well, I'm not a good one to ask.

People use religion to answer their questions with a simple one size fits all answer...and it gives them something to hope for. As previously said, a lot of it stems from fear. I have yet to see valid proof of a God or supreme being existing though...

One way to look at it is not in despair. Your life will be that which you create it to be. The God described in Christianity is a superbeing separate from yourself. The truth is, you are a creating being. In that you will create your life during this time. You will create despair or love or many other things. That is solely on you. There is no being out there that is going to step in and do it for you.

So make up your mind to get out of despair... and guess what! Every single day, the sun will rise in the east and set in the west. No matter how cloudy it may seem, the sun is always shinning brightly. It's a matter of how you look at it. Your day and your life will only become that of which you make of it and nothing else.

Just like a machine, they can only produce the power that is put into them and nothing else. Likewise with your life. You will only get what you put in.

So rise above the clouds dear friend and you'll see that no matter how bad it looks right here and right now, the sun still shines... all you have to do is look rise above the despairs you encounter here. Life is worthwhile and meaningful and YOU WILL NEVER DIE because you are not your body, you are a spiritual being living within a body. Your body will wear out in due time but your spirit will not and that's really who you are.

Peace!

[vajrasattva]

the whole deal with religion is that people need friends who think like they do ,so they have church. And a way to get through hard times, thats why they have god. So they have religion to make it so people can have that and as far as gods concerned i dont know but it seems alright to me so...

the essence of belief is in personal experience. If you don't believe in god then its you who makes your beliefs. If you believe in god the he (she it) who chose them for you, so no need to be aggressive. I'd say be open to change. Kierkegaard said " the more a man is able to forget the more transformations his life can undergo, the more he can remember the more divine his life becomes." so either way your good but he didn't say attack people about it

[SantaMonica1369]

Originally Posted by Justin

One way to look at it is not in despair. Your life will be that which you create it to be. The God described in Christianity is a superbeing separate from yourself. The truth is, you are a creating being. In that you will create your life during this time. You will create despair or love or many other things. That is solely on you. There is no being out there that is going to step in and do it for you.

So make up your mind to get out of despair... and guess what! Every single day, the sun will rise in the east and set in the west. No matter how cloudy it may seem, the sun is always shinning brightly. It's a matter of how you look at it. Your day and your life will only become that of which you make of it and nothing else.

Just like a machine, they can only produce the power that is put into them and nothing else. Likewise with your life. You will only get what you put in.

So rise above the clouds dear friend and you'll see that no matter how bad it looks right here and right now, the sun still shines... all you have to do is look rise above the despairs you encounter here. Life is worthwhile and meaningful and YOU WILL NEVER DIE because you are not your body, you are a spiritual being living within a body. Your body will wear out in due time but your spirit will not and that's really who you are.

Peace!

Thanks, it's good advice...I always feel a bit odd when I just read something and agree with it and change how I live, it seems to me like it should take longer and be harder, but I did and that really helped a lot.