Do you believe? (cue X-files theme song)

[Dante's Stalker]

Har har, I tricked yous!
Sort of.

I'm interested in knowing what you guys believe in and why you choose to/what made you believe the way you do. This is not a strictly religious thread. There are people who believe in the boogeyman and alien abduction, so you're welcome to join in the thread.

I'll start it off

I believe in 'aliens' and I believe that they will one day dominate our planet. (because the Bible predicts it)
I believe in an Almighty Being who is capable of the impossible. (because I have faith)
I believe that angels are people who do God's bidding. (because God works in mysterious ways)
I believe that in every person there is a seed of good and I believe we live in an evil, evil world. (because God didn't create evil people, and the devil has corrupted our world)
I also believe in the motto 'do unto others as you want done to yourself', or as we commonly say 'what goes around comes around'. (because, well, it's true)

Your turn!


As a pre-warning, please be mature, open-minded and respectful of other people's beliefs. This is not a who's right and who's wrong thread. If you ain't got nothin' good to say then don't say it all, ya catch mah drift? This thread is for sharing our opinions on what we believe in a friendly manner. Everyone believes differently and there is no one person who is going to have the exact same beliefs you do.

 

[cheezMcNASTY]

Religion: I struggle between being an Agnostic and an Atheist. I don't believe that an almighty of any kind created the world. I don't believe that the hebrew bible, christian bible, or any bible is a literal account by any means. I find organized religion to be slimy and exploiting. I find many devout religious people's outlook on political issues or even people of other faith to be disgusting (though many are not that way). I do, however, support unadulterated moral code in many religions. I think that holy texts began as a collection of stories that were meant to teach morality and the almighty portion was added to give people incentive to listen. People are always searching for an explanation for why things happen, it answered all of those questions and brought some manners along with it. Win/win.

With all that said, I'll still mentally try to appeal to a higher power when I'm desperate. I justify it by thinking that if there is an almighty, then he would not punish me for being a member of a certain church or religion. He (I'm using the gender thing loosely, mind you) would know how he created me and would know that being how he made me, I made all of the decisions I did because of his design. Therefore I can't be held accountable for my decisions as long as I try to be the best person I can be given the circumstances. By this logic, he wouldn't try to justify judging anybody harshly because the person they are and the circumstances that shaped their decisions in life all come down to cause and effect, a simple equation. Even the most despicable human beings in history factor into this, otherwise I wouldn't be able to call it a universal law or apply it to myself.

Aliens: The universe is too big for other life to not exist. We have not encountered that life yet. When/if we do it will likely not be sentient. Just because you're the dominant life form does not mean you are sentient. The dinosaurs didn't use irrigation. People are so obsessed with finding sentient life from other planets that they connect dots that shouldn't be connected. They call up government conspiracies where there are none. Ever consider that Roswell might be classified for some other reason?

Humanity: People are basically selfish. They are scum. Leave someone alone to their own plans and your well being will not be a factor. However, many people don't want to be that way. Extend a hand and they will do everything they can to be something more, depending on the person. It's your willingness to reach out that will make the both of you better people. That willingness is very rare to find in people, most will not take initiative and so it is left to you.

 

[Sparda's rejected son]

I don't like expressing myself much. I like to stay as a Enigma but I'll share a little.

Religion: I believe in the Judeo-Christian god, The Lord Yahweh God of Israel. I'm a Christian from the Protestant "style" of Christianity with my denomination be Pentecostalism. All you need to know is that I'm Christian lol. Anyway I have my doubts about Christianity, not concerning God or the "Old Testament" side of the Religion but the "New Testament" Christian side of the Religion. I wanted to be a Theologian and Christian Apologist but after I started doubting I gave up on that dream. If I ever got the chance to give lectures on Judaism and Christianity I would do it. But the truth is dreams don't come true and why chase a dream? I don't practice Christianity "anymore however I do stay away from drugs and all alcohol. I think all alcohol tastes like crap and cigs, pot, and etc is just plain stupid. I do firmly believe in the Biblical practice of getting married first than having sex. But other that I'm not really connected to Judaism or Christianity. But yeah I believe God has total control over the universe but what He does with it I could care less, it's not my problem.

Aliens: Sure they exist, why not?

Humans: The truth is all us humans are selfish at some point or another. But some times I wish I could find a close friend. JD from Scrubs has Turk, Shawn from Psych has Gus, heck even Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory has "close" friends. Perhaps I need a Penni like person in my life.... Otherwise I got nothing to else to say.

P.S. Scrubs, Psych, and The Big Bang Theory are all TV shows in case someone doesn't know.

 

[DreadnoughtDT]

Religion: I'm an Atheist, and proud of it, though I'm not the type to shove it down people's throats. I respect religion, but I find some methods questionable, or I just flat-out don't believe in a higher power. Sometimes I believe in karma, but not often.

Aliens: It's very likely there's SOMETHING out there. We just haven't found it yet.

Humans: Honestly, I have no faith in humanity. Sometimes not even in my closest friends. What Cheez said is right. "Leave a human to their own plans and your own well-being will not be a factor."

As an addendum to the humans thing: I'm sure many people know I want to be something oh so much more than human. BTW, just food for thought, not meant as an insult... If we really were intelligently designed, why are we designed with the ability to choke? No, really, why do our esophagus and windpipe have the same opening?

 

[Dante's Stalker]

Keep it coming guys ^_^

If we really were intelligently designed, why are we designed with the ability to choke? No, really, why do our esophagus and windpipe have the same opening?

Food for thought indeed! If you really want to know all about the esophagus and windpipe and how choking happens:
http://kidshealth.org/kid/watch/er/choking.html
As to the why question, no idea. Curious about the answer though. I'd say I'd ask God one day when I'm dead, but apparently when I die one day I'll automatically have all the answers to all my questions without needing to ask them because I'll be part of one collective community of spirit where there are no walls and everything is out in the open. But then it wouldn't matter even if I did find the answer then because I'd be in spirit form and the question would be pointless. Or that's what I think anyway, who knows?

 

[DreadnoughtDT]

Oh, I may as well share my own belief as to what happens when death occurs.

My idea is that the human subconscious absorbs the conscious mind as the body dies. Thus, you live in your dream world for eternity, and those who were linked to you in life are linked to you in death as well. Therefore, you have an entire world to yourself, your friends, and your family.

However, another belief of mine is that if you believe something will happen to you after death, then that is what will happen, because that is how the subconscious will fashion it.

EDIT: @Dante's Stalker: Perhaps the Lord Almighty had a few too many shots of mead one day? XD

 

[Dante's Stalker]

Religion: I'm an Atheist, and proud of it, though I'm not the type to shove it down people's throats.

But I thought you said you have a guardian angel? Just asking.

 

[Elliot]

I don't believe in much... Not much at all. I'm a anti-Christian, Yeah... Becuz hm... I think the god and bible is kinda... bullsh*t..? I had really no other way to say it! sorry.
I only believe in what i feel or see... I didn't even believe in love before i felt it myself, i thought it was something that never really exist. ^w^

 

[lorddemolatron]

Religion: Im still between Christianity and Atheism, as I lost faith in God. Simple, seeing cruelty of world and no help from Almighty beigns I abadoned faith for more earthly things.

Aliens:No I don't believe in this bullshit, ever any whispers of it makes me laugh.

Humans:I only think that greed of everyone maded this world without mercy and compassion

 

[DreadnoughtDT]

But I thought you said you have a guardian angel? Just asking.

I believe him to be an entity that isn't bound to any one religion. Just because he looks like an angel doesn't mean he is one. I call him a guardian angel for the sake of simplicity.

 

[darkslayer13]

on the subject of religion the idea of a god just doesn't really make sense if you think about it a sentient creator appearing out of nowhere and spontaneously creating everything is far more complicated than the universe gradually forming into what it is. science will never know everything but we already have a vague idea of how the universe works and that is enough to know that the existence of a sentient creator is unnecessary and would just make things more complicated.

there probably are more planets with life on them that we could possibly imagine and some of them probably have sentient life. i doubt any aliens have shown up on Earth (why would they?) but they are probably out there.

there are probably a lot of things even on this planet that we are not aware of. humans are not capable of understanding everything and often do not try.

one the subject of human morality. most humans help each other (not often enough but is is still a common event) and adhere to some form of morality. even the worst of us have a line they will not cross even if no one else will ever know (even if that line is not in the same place as yours you have to admit it still exists). it is only in moments of absolute desperation that humans can be said to truly lack morality and even then some will choose death over violating their own moral code (not very many but enough that it is worth mentioning )

 

[V]

I am agnostic because I don't have the answers to whether God exists or not. The reason I choose agnosticism is because I like to avoid being incorrect, and in a situation where you don't have the answer, the logical thing to do is accept both possibilities equally.

I don't believe humans are the pinnacle of all evolution (something will come after us), and in a Universe of this apparent size and complexity, the chances of life spontaneously occurring under favorable conditions are practically a dead cert. So aliens more than likely exist - because the Universe goes on for so far and there are so many stars and planets, it's statistically crazy to imagine life wouldn't start up somewhere else if it could (if the Universe IS infinite, then the possibility of there being life also is). But I doubt that life would look anything like popular culture imagines it. What we look like is specific to the conditions of our world. What they look like will depend on theirs.

I believe all people are born 'innocent'. I don't even believe there is such a thing as evil, like an actual force. It's a choice made by people, and it only has meaning in the human conscious. A cat might kill a bird just because it can - not because it needs to - or because it is the cat's predatory nature/instinct... and I would not call the cat "evil" because it did. Humans are the same, except within human culture some acts are considered bad and others are considered good... and humans have the ability to rationalize their actions and avoid doing 'bad' things if they want to. The world we live in is neutral - it doesn't care what we do, and it isn't evil in itself. Whether something is 'good' or 'evil' is in the eye of the beholder - in some cultures it is evil to do one thing - such as in a Muslim culture it is sinful not to dress very modestly, and in another, like ours, it is perfectly acceptable to dress less modestly than in a Muslim culture (but still indecent if you take off too many clothes in public), therefore 'evil' is relative.

People who do bad "should know better" of course... but then, 'bad' is only defined by the self or by the culture. So what that really means is: "you should know better than to offend the sensibilities of your parents, or your culture, or your own beliefs." And since people have free will, that leaves them free to commit this 'evil' if they wish. So I can't say if a person is - for example, a mass-murderer - truly evil. In the eyes of the victims, and the culture, and the law and religion he or she belongs to, a mass-murderer is a monster. In the eyes of the neutral natural world around him, he doesn't matter. He's just another animal, doing animal things that still don't matter. I wanna mention that other animals are also capable of mass killing when they don't need to. A fox or ferret in a chicken coop would be a well-known example, but lions and tigers have also been known to kill far more animals than they need to in one sitting, as well as wild dolphins, orcas, and other higher mammals. Perhaps these (in our eyes) 'excessive' killings are the behaviour of maladjusted or diseased animals, or perhaps the brain and body mechanics of the hunt in them got out of hand... or perhaps they simply enjoy it? Who knows? Some humans enjoy killing, it's not a stretch to imagine other predators don't either. But in general, the animal kingdom also shares the same kind of aversion to killing their own as we do. Even in animals that are deadly, they will usually develop behaviour patterns that allow for ritual fighting only, or ritual fighting in ways that do not try to be deadly (even if the animals are venomous or equipped with dangerous horns or teeth), and they will only fight over something worthwhile to their survival... so even animals try to avoid killing their own kind. Not because it is 'evil'... but because it does not make sense to kill your own kind. Your species won't survive if there's wanton murdering going on all the time.

Famously brutal dictators or serial killers - which are often spoken of as the most 'evil' of people - are still just people to me. People that should be stopped, of course, and not people I'd wanna sit down to dinner with. But anyone who is physically able is capable of killing another person or of doing terrible wrong whether they are aware they are doing it or not. What matters is that most of us do not. Most of us choose construction over destruction. 'Good' over 'bad'. Such 'evil' like that is actually very rare... and if I might venture a biological perspective, self-defeating. It does not help the 'evildoer', because he will probably eventually be caught, and it does not help the species. It may not be moral, but it's pretty logical that awful dictators or mass murders finally get dragged from their palaces or their hideouts and destroyed by others for the good of everyone else.

It makes sense to do "good unto others" because if you do, the chances are you will make friends and influence people, and you will receive favors in return... and if you do bad too often (or too visibly), people will see you as a threat or problem and hurt you/lock you up/kill you. Love and kindness has a tendency to create more of the same, just as hate and violence creates more hate and violence, and I know which ones I'd rather have more of.

 

[Haven]

-I believe in aliens: our planet cannot be the only one with life on it (even if its just bacteria), but I don't know if we will ever come in contact with them or not.
-I believe in ghosts: I don't know why, I just do.
-I am a Christian Catholic and believe in God, I believe he is the creator and one day we'll join him in heaven. However I don't believe the bible, I believe its just Gods way of telling us how to live.
-I believe the fall of mankind will be mankind its self. As long as humans live, there will never be peace on Earth.

 

[lorddemolatron]

Well I forgotten one thing:

Angels:Yes I believe in them so this is reason of my balance after original religion and Atheism what I acquired.
Beacuse from my experience with their appearance in my life, I seen one in reality. From some old time I always could heard inside my soul voice wich controlled morally my action in real time, or kept me from commiting suicide ( I have suicidial thoughs, I gotten parents who mentally abused me slighty and sometimes I just really want to die) but never doed this. But also Angels can take form from almost anything, mine was simply recreation of one Video Game hero what I mostly now love, before that I only heard voice of Angel. Also I propably seen once Heaven in my sleep but I really don't remember place so good

 

[darkslayer13]

I don't believe humans are the pinnacle of all evolution (something will come after us),

there is no such thing as the pinnacle of evolution. evolution does not have directions. any change that makes a species more suited to its current environment is evolution. nothing is "more evolved" than anything else

 

[V]

there is no such thing as the pinnacle of evolution. evolution does not have directions. any change that makes a species more suited to its current environment is evolution. nothing is "more evolved" than anything else

True; I was saying that because a lot of people seem to believe that we are the apex of everything, ever. Only the idea of aliens seems to trump this idea in popular culture, and this idea that aliens who visit us will obviously be more 'advanced' than us because we've only been as far as the Moon, personally.

I did a zoology degree in 1999, so... yea, I understand that the point of evolution is not to 'achieve' anything other than survival and being able to survive in variable conditions and an unstable world.

 

[Angel]

Born again Christian. Too much personal evidence to deny it. Other stuff? Not fussed. I'm a simple and fairly uncomplicated person who doesn't think too much and certainly doesn't possess the ability to discuss these sorts of things in any particular depth. Far too much fluff up there for me to fix more than one coherent thought at a time in place

 

[V]

It's kinda funny the way evolution is put forward as this evidence against God. I mean, I used to be a microbiology student and eventually I worked in microbiology for a job, and there is irrefutable evidence that evolution exists because genes exist and they do exactly what Darwin said they do... but why does it have to be in total opposition to God? Who's to say God never invented evolution too?

It's really opposed to the Bible, and other creationist stories, but then, the Bible IS just a book. It's not God himself. It is written and printed by people - and if it is the word of God taken down in writing, well... there is a lot in there that seems to be of archaic interpretation. Ancient people - if God ever did speak to them - would never understand genes and evolution back then. We need all the context of centuries of collected scientific learning to understand it even now.

So I don't think evolution or aliens is at odds with God at all. Some of it is just at odds with the things that are written down... by Man. So when I see people arguing about God and evolution I really see people arguing over whether a story doesn't fit a theory and vice versa. Not what actually might be true.

I have a huge personal interest in physics and quantum physics. I've read a lot about it, about the mathematics describing the Universe and the behaviour of everything we can see, and all matter obeys certain rules, whether they contravene (on the quantum level) the Classical laws or not. These rules are extremely precise and particular, very specific values of energy or force and opposition assigned to particles and subatomic particles and so on. So... who made these rules? What designated these particular values? WHY are they these particular values and no others? Could they just flash into existence out of nowhere and nothing like that? I doubt it. I think something made them. If there was ever a subject anywhere that ever made me question the idea that there is no God, or no overriding force or will or whatever, it was pure mathematics and physics. When you get to it, and you've read enough you always find yourself asking "but why"? A question science cannot answer in this context. And then you suddenly feel what we know thus far is still totally inadequate to even approach this kind of metaphysics as even a human child can.

 

[Dante's Stalker]

^That's the funny thing about evolution because it doesn't contradict God. A lot of the things written in the Bible are symbolic. A day can be a year and a year can be a day in God's eyes, so to say that God created the earth in 6 days in scientific terms probably means it took Him a good few millenia to develop the planet into what it used to be. The thing that frustrates both believers and non-believers is WHY did the Big Bang occur? What caused it? Because the universe was once hot and expanded and then cooled down to what it now is. So what made it cool down? Why was it hot in the first place? Was it just there? Out of nothing. It always existed? I think if scientists can find the answer to that then we'll have our answer as to whether God exists or not.

 

[Meg]

I believe I can flyyyyyy. I believe I can touch the skyyyyy. *getsslapped*

Sorry.