The way of an Agnostic vs. The well trodden path of Religions

Hey all,

I don't know if it's because I am graduating today from highschool that I'm starting to think about the future too much, but I'm beginning to find religions, my religion, somewhat limiting for myself.

I've given this much thought, it wasn't a spur-of-the-moment-thing, and I realized that religion is, if I may use this term, out-dated. Don't get me wrong my family is very religious, but it's because of that, that I am I think being pushed away.

I have this thought that has been causing me some concern is that maybe because I was born into a religious family that I won't be able to explore new things or keep an open-mind toword certain things.

I've researched Agnostisim a little, and I found it appealing because I do believe their is maybe a Supreme Being or a power that had a hand in creating our universe, but I think the way we worship is wrong. Like Islam, Christianity, and Judism all worship the same God, yet we worship God so differently that it almost feels that we have nothing in commmon at all.

I don't know if I am wrong or completely off, but that's why I'm asking

If anyone here an agnostic or knows a thing or two about agnosticsim could you tell me why you agree or disagree with it?

 

I'm not Agnostic. I don't have a label for what I believe in. I believe in God and try to approach it as sincerely and honestly as I can, in such a way that it will be most beneficial to my development as a human being. I don't feel the need to ascribe to any particular religion because there are always things I disagree with in the religion and I don't feel like I should commit to a religion that has bits that I don't believe in.

I even take bits from Agnosticism. I believe that God and the Universe is too complex for the Human mind to comprehend fully but that different religions, spiritual approaches, logic and science can begin to touch on the true nature of the supernatural.

 

This is exactly what I am getting at, but the problem is when I try to defend my motive to myself I start thinging if I have the right judgement to decide what's right or wrong without guidance, is it common sense?

 

At the end of the day you have to rely on yourself to know the difference between right or wrong.

 

Religions

Sir,
Before Christ was crucified on the Cross, there was no Christianity. Before Mohammed there was no Islamic religion. But, there was a God before the Jews and before the Christian and Muslims. When God made Adam, he made him different than all of His other creations. That difference was that God breathed life into Adam and as such gave him "free will." This "free will" is what you have today and you are exercising that "free will." But, the only problem with this is the simple fact that while you are doing your thing and believing in what you feel is right for you, you are pushing the Creator away from you.
You must remember, that Jesus Christ was God's son and died for our sins so that we may have everlasting life with God.
What I think you personally are referring to is the state of religions today. You must make a personal committment to God and He in turn will make a personal committment to you.
I grew up in a religious family and was baptized at birth, but did not find that personal relationship with God until I was in my 20's, then again when I was in my mid 50's.
My suggestion, is to read and understand two books of the Bible. The book of John and the book of Acts.

 

Hi. I'm an agnostic atheist. I think god/supernatural--if there is such as 'thing'--is outside our reach by definition. I don't know whether a god exists, don't see any reason do believe in one, therefore I don't.

It's sounds like you're an agnostic deist, that is, you don't claim to know whether there is a god but you do believe in one that does not require worship or reveals herself to us. Would that be accurate of your views?

It's not uncommon to think there is some universal right or wrong, but, when you think about it, it makes no sense for a supreme law giver. Clearly we can observe different moral systems between cultures and even within cultures over time. So why would a supreme law giver transcend all of reality to provide us a moral law, only for that moral law to be interpreted via a cultural lens? I would say it is more likely that morality is innate in us, and refined by society.

 

Excuse me....

This sounds kind of awkward to me, that you really don't know what you believe in.
You "'think, god/supernatural' --if there is such a thing?"
And you don't know if a god exists, don't see any reason.......

Look at your-self sir, there isn't another living being on this planet who is exactly like you; you have the only dna on this planet that is arranged sequentially for just you! Look at your fingerprints, as thay are the only set like that.
Look at the trees, the birds, the insects and every other living and non-living thing on this rock we call Earth.

 

While I understand your religious beliefs, this is one of the things I don't like about Christianity: the inference that not believing in it is a negative thing.

It isn't.

Believing in Christianity is a positive thing if you can use it to make you a better person. Not believing in it is not a negative thing. It is better to be Agnostic and live a good life, then be a Christian and live a bad one. You have to understand that Christianity is not for everyone.

Just because one doesn't ascribe to Christian Theology does not mean one is pushing God away from oneself.

 

You remind me of how I was when I finished school.
I stopped being apathetic towards the religion that I'd just "gone along with" but that meant I found that I honestly didn't believe it.

When it comes to making right judgement, sometimes it's good to look to what's come before for ideas and guidance, but these traditions also have plenty of unwanted superstitions within them too. (I'm not just talking about religion here - social traditions like common prejudices and political correctness are just as bad!!)

If you completely commit to previous traditions/knowledge then you'll pick up all the garbage that came with it. What's more, much wisdom that your "elders" will impart doesn't really make sense until you've had certain experiences, so even if you listen to tradition, you kind of need to make your own way in order to appreciate and make sense of it.
On the other hand, if you completely reject tradition then you'll end up having to re-invent everything from scratch.

So try whatever seems right at a moment in time.
If someone appears to know what they're doing then try and learn from them.
If you get the feeling that they're doing something wrong then don't be afraid to try something new.
Your intuition will get pretty good at picking up on these things.
Having said that, it's one of those things that's real easy to talk about in an armchair but a little bit more difficult to get right in real life.
So my best advice is to not worry to much about screwing up because it's not only inevitable but necessary to learn better.

I think I tried to be a bit perfectionist and that probably left me a bit neurotic...
Never mind, I guess that's one of the mess ups I'm still learning from!

 

I think maybe you misunderstood. He clearly stated he didn't see a reason to believe in a God/Gods, what he was reluctant to do however was state his position in a positive manner concerning 'knowledge' (which makes him an agnostic atheist in this case). I.E. He stated his position concerning belief clearly while leaving his position concerning knowledge to the unknown/unknowable.

(Considering that God and the supernatural in general are beyond our ability to objectively observe by definition, his position seems fair and honest.)

The only thing that's evidence for is a complex system. Basically..... That's not evidence for a God or Gods, at best it would be making gaps into God/Gods.

 

lol... anyone else find this extremely ironic?

That isnt proving your point at all. In fact, quite the opposite. BECAUSE every single thing in this world is different, points in the opposite direction of a "universal truth".

Why are you saying these things like it is fact? Other than "This free will is what you have today", not one part of the above is a fact.

Im not trying to be insulting, you seem like a nice person, and I hate to keep picking on you .

You're on to something here... Keep questioning. I dont like labeling myself, though most people would call me atheist, I suppose. I think I lean more towards agnostic though. I mean.. I wouldnt mind there being a god, that'd be neato... But nobody knows. And anyone who says they KNOW, is lying.

Keep searching for what YOU believe in, nobody has the right to tell you.

 

As others have noted it's actually a rather precise position rather than something awkward. Topher is saying he hasn't completely ruled out the possibility of some type of God existing (agnostic) but that he sees no evidence for such a thing and therefore is an atheist.

None of which is evidence for God. It is evidence for is the beauty and wonder of our natural environment. When people provide such 'evidence' for God they tend to never focus on the beauty of bacteria that cause disfiguring infections, the ever evolving aids virus, parasitic organisms and so on yet all are just as much a part of our natural environment.

Like Topher I'm an agnostic atheist. However I'm not really agnostic about the kind of God portrayed in most every mainstream religion I'm aware of. If a 'God' really does exist I sincerely doubt it is concerned with the direction you pray, who you have sex with or how you've treated your parents.

I also think it's worth looking into mysticism (the contemplative traditions in religions) if your interested in parallels between traditions. Personally I think they are ultimately actually exploring the human mind rather than any God but whatever they are exploring a lot of them had a lot of smart things to say.

Oh and stay away from the likes of Deepak Chopra and modern day 'mystics' unless you want wishy-washy gooble de gook with no actual substance.

 

What are you talking about? How does not believing in a god mean I don't know what I believe in?

What's your point?

 

I like to ask questions since they let me think more clearly, so bear with me

If say one of the three major religions was the only one right, doesn't that mean that the believers of the other two are going to "hell"?

I asked a person whom I trust to answer my question in the accurate view of my religion, and he replyed that if the people from the other religions lived their lifes honestly then they will go to "heaven", but he said those who don't believe in God, even of they're honest and good people, they will be "Enternally-Damned".

I asked then that I can call myself Christian, Jewish, and Muslim because they're basically the same thing, but apparanetly if I "convert" to any other religion then I'll be damned either way because mine is supposed to be the right one. So doesn't that contradict the previous statement?

That didn't make sense for two reasons :

1) If we are judged on the way we live our lifes and not the way we worship, then doesn't that eliminate the needs for religions, except to know there is a Supreme Being?

2) I have really good athesit friends, and while some of them aren't paragans of virtue, they're good people just like anyone else who believes in God. Is it because of the way we act or just the act of worshipping God that makes us good people? I rather have a athesit friend who I know is a good person then a believer of god who isn't.

 

Questioning and thinking critically are always good ideas! Keep up ze good work .

 

I don't know, I feel like I am missing something, but that's apart of the thinking process, working out and organizing your thoughts and feelings.

When I pray to God I don't feel anything, the words I say don't seem to have much meaning to me. It's like when you keep saying "I love you" to a girl over and over again, until it loses it's meaning. I know that's bad example but that's what I mean.

My parents tell me that we have to be thankful for everything since God created us and provided us with everything we have. We pray, we go to our holy places, and we celebrate religious holidays, yet I feel no self-growth no indepedence, just following an ideal I was born into not chosen.

Yes I am thankful for being created if it happened, but I'll show my gratitude by living my life with integrity and become a stronger, greater individual that's unique and different. I feel that that is right.

 

Praying does nothing

As lame as this is going to sound, studies have shown praying has the same success/fail rate as just sitting there doing nothing...

If god heals/praying works... why doesnt god heal amputees? goto the site:

http://whywontgodhealamputees.com/

 

Well the limb is lost!!! What would you expect anyone do anything to it? Perform a miracle? That's an impossibility mate!!

 

But surely if god can heal all wounds, and he can answer any prayer, he can do something as simple as regenerate a limb... right?

 

So god only listens to amphibians?

Good luck on your journey, I've always believed that understanding and self discovery is a far better version of enlightenment than the 'do as your told' style of traditional religion.