Ask Lemmy

Because I know exactly what death will be like. So do you. Think back to before you were born, there was nothing. There, that is death. Not much to be afraid of.

I believe in Pantheism. I'm not sure if its really a religion or more of a philosophy but in the end it makes the most sense to me. It doesn't have a fancy book or any rules to follow. Nothing really changes by believing in it either. Its just nice and it makes sense to me.

I'm an atheist but I think Zoroastrianism is cool.

Santa's elves don't make toys, Chinese children do.

The closest thing I have to a religion is Buddhism. I practice it. I meditate daily. I read about it. As far as belief goes, though, it doesn't ask you to have faith outside of believing that if you follow the practice you will see the results they say you will. The millennia old texts that it's based on are called Suttas. One of them, the Kalama Sutta, explicitly tells the villagers of Kalama not to believe it just because they are told it is so.

"Come, Kalamas. Do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing; nor upon tradition; nor upon rumor; nor upon what is in a scripture; nor upon surmise; nor upon an axiom; nor upon specious reasoning; nor upon a bias towards a notion that has been pondered over; nor upon another's seeming ability; nor upon the consideration, 'The monk is our teacher.' Kalamas, when you yourselves know: 'These things are good; these things are not blamable; these things are praised by the wise; undertaken and observed, these things lead to benefit and happiness,' enter on and abide in them.

Personally I have seen the results of my meditation in my life. I'm still early on the path, but it seems to be progressing as they say it will. I have developed, through a few years of practice, the ability to focus on the present moment and still my mind to the point that, at least for a short time, thoughts don't arise. I'm fully aware of where I am and what is happening, but my mind is still. It doesn't last for long, but with more practice it will. I'm developing what's called samadhi, a type of concentrated focus where, eventually, nothing interrupts your concentration and you can maintain it as long as you like. I have a ways to go, but it appears to be progressing as expected.

So to answer the question, I believe it because I have experienced it. Many of the parts I haven't yet experienced I suspect are true, though I will only understand and believe them when I do experience them for myself.

ITT: Atheists

I'm an atheist due Roman Catholic grade school. The teachings about religion were crazy.

I also went to Roman Catholic high school and college but religion was very miner. College required four religion type courses but including courses such as ethics and logic.

I was born a SubGenius just like all other SubGenii. I must have Slack!

Praise "Bob"

I believe there is lots of important knowledge about morality etc. embedded inside religious books. This is why is is worth reading those. Also there is lots of shitty and immoral stuff i try to ignore. Why would I try to implement those.

The other important stuff is active community. A single person can only do so much good. But if you are doing good as a whole local community you can do project far bigger than you could pull off yourself.

So it was easy to decide to keep the religion I was raised in. This is the biggest religion with biggest community.

This is about my religious framework and why I have it. However I distinct between my religion and my personal believes. Personally I am ignostic (with I), so I think we almost never use the same definitions for God, Being, to believe, to exist,... I even hold an opinion, by what most atheists define what God is, most grown up Christians are atheists. And the other way around. I think we hold pretty similar believes but we use different meaning for same words.

I've read through the Bible cover to cover three times. Amplified, NIV, and New King James with a copy of Strongs.

I'm an atheist now.

I have personally experienced librarians and they have helped me when in need.

I want to have an afterlife. I study science, and sometimes I feel like there are things humans won't get in my lifetime. So I like to think that I can continue on learning even after I die.

I spiritually disbelieve in everyone's religion

I don't

I just have a deeply rooted appreciation for pasta.

I do not really know. I was not raised in a practicing family, and my country is very secular.

Philosophically, I'm agnostic. I'm not convinced either by arguments for or against the existence of God. I think a being which could exist outside time and space is not approachable by our reason.

But I can't stay neutral, the question is too important. And I feel the presence of God in my life. This feeling came first, and when I tried to understand it, I went to the culturally nearest place of worship, and it was Protestantism, and I felt at home. I read the Bible, not as a theology manual, but as the story of people who try to understand the presence of God; sometimes they're right, sometimes they're wrong, but their quest is mine, and theirs inspires mine.

I used to, because my parents did and I went to church and all that.

But then I started to actually think about it.

Now I don't believe in anything supernatural.
There are parts of nature we don't understand (yet) but I don't think there's any 'higher power' that created the universe, and especially not earth or humankind specifically.

Because I've personally met Jesus Christ. He's a 10,000 year old former cave man.

I don’t have a religion, but consider myself to be “religiously neutral.” Either smart men from all over are running the same scam — or there are common bits of wisdom in most religions and there may be something to that. Either way, I ultimately believe in Humanism, I suppose. That humans are inherently good, or want to be, and/or enough actually are.

I do not believe in anything original myself. It’s all academic to me.