Civil Discussion About Religion

That reminds me of the south park episode...but all funniness aside.

I was born a Catholic and then converted to "Church of Christ" when I was 5ish. So I have been baptised twice...once at birth, once as an adult. I am not a typical Church of Christ believer though. They beleive that they are pretty much the only ones going to heaven...I totally disagree. I could go on and on debating the differences in my beliefs, but Matty made a comment about evolution.
I 100% feel that the theory of evolution can co-exist with the bible. I do not for a second think that if you beleive in evolution, you must therefore not agree with the bible. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth...it's WHO, not HOW. A lot of people get stuck on the 6 days thing (and on the 7th He rested), but who is to say that God didn't create the earth WITH evolution? The bible is silent on how it was made most likely because it is irrelevant.
If it's the Adam and Eve story...well, did things not occur before Adam and Eve were created? Just because they were the first, does not mean they were the only. Otherwise we'd all be descendants of insest. I do think we evolved, and I do whole heartedly beleive in the big bang theory. I also beleive in God. There are many possible scenarios as to how all this happened, none of which I believe God was absent from, and none of which I beleive evolution was absent from. God created everything FROM evolution, it doesn't have to be one or the other.

You and I share a VERY similar belief system.

Organized religion is a joke. More often then not I've found it breeds hatred. It seems that when people take sides/show differences it's easy to call the other the "enemy". Religion has given people a "side" too many times. Mabye it's enevitable as humans, but religion plays a huge role in almost every significant conflict in our history.

As I've grown older I've begun to seperate from religion and shifted towards spirtuality. I think theres a distinct difference, and I'm a better person because of it.

Religion is what you make of it. Religion will be flawed because humans made it and run it. Just look at politics, humans created it, therefore it is flawed. God never tells anyone to have a religion. He tells them to have a personal relationship with Him and (using your words) have strong spirituality.
Just remember this, when you want to "blame religion", remember that #1- God NEVER agrees with killing in His name, so if you plan to, you are doing Satan's work, not His. #2- Having a religion is like being a fan of a football team. I go to church every Sunday to discuss things I beleive in with other followers that have similar beleifs. Just like I am on this site sith a bunch of people to discuss my beloved Skins and with people that have similar beliefs. We as humans love to congregate and separate. We will constantly divide amoungst ourselves. We create different groups...Republicans / Democrats, Lower / Middle / Upper class, poor / wealthy, smart / stupid. God didn't create the separation, WE did. We blame God (or try to), but He had nothing to do with it. Our sinning / human nature is what created all this. Why do you think a Catholic and a Baptist can't get along when it comes to "religion"? It's human behavior, not God.

Religion is what you make of it. Religion will be flawed because humans made it and run it. Just look at politics, humans created it, therefore it is flawed. God never tells anyone to have a religion. He tells them to have a personal relationship with Him and (using your words) have strong spirituality.
Just remember this, when you want to "blame religion", remember that #1- God NEVER agrees with killing in His name, so if you plan to, you are doing Satan's work, not His. #2- Having a religion is like being a fan of a football team. I go to church every Sunday to discuss things I beleive in with other followers that have similar beleifs. Just like I am on this site sith a bunch of people to discuss my beloved Skins and with people that have similar beliefs. We as humans love to congregate and separate. We will constantly divide amoungst ourselves. We create different groups...Republicans / Democrats, Lower / Middle / Upper class, poor / wealthy, smart / stupid. God didn't create the separation, WE did. We blame God (or try to), but He had nothing to do with it. Our sinning / human nature is what created all this. Why do you think a Catholic and a Baptist can't get along when it comes to "religion"? It's human behavior, not God.

I like the cut of your jib, jsarno. Despite your lack of faith in Vince Young.

I think Jesse Ventura said it best when he was governor....Religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people. JK, but isn't that seriously the greatest governor quote of all time?

Actually, from a complex standpoint, he's correct, from a simplistic standpoint (which is the way the majority of people view things) he's a moron.
All people want to fit in somewhere, some use drugs, some use sex, some use religion, some use sports. If you take very positive things away from religion then it's not at all a sham or a crutch for the weak minded. And Beleive me, a lot of positives can be taken away from religion. If you use it for your own beleifs, and to break down others, then yes, it is a sham and a crutch for the weak minded.
Sorry I will not divulge further, it would take at least 3 pages to actually explain the difference, but I hope you get the idea.

You and I share a VERY similar belief system.

You must be an intellegent individual. hahaha :D

I like the cut of your jib, jsarno. Despite your lack of faith in Vince Young.

Thanks man. Beleive it or not, I've always enjoyed most of what you've had to say as well.
I'd love to live in a world where you can disagree on something and not be verbally abused for it. It took me a long time to realize ( and I realized this long ago) that just cause someone doesn't agree with me, doesn't mean they are stupid or inferior. It just means they disagree. Who cares? Does it matter that I beleive Vince Young is overrated? Nope. (he is, but it doesn't matter) :D What matters is that we are all friends here and can carry on a conversation about something just because we can.
When someone gets angry over another persons personal belief, well, that in my mind, is the definition of simple minded. No two people will feel EXACTLY the same.

I dont really know what I belive. I was confirmed as a Catholic, but dont really practice because I dont really belive it that much. Or maybe belive IN it is what I'm looking for.


I belive in a god, but other than that I dont really know. Evolution makes alot of sense to me, but theres just too many weird things that happen that make me belive in some sort of higher power, but what it is I really dont know.

The Schneed's take:

I don't for one second believe hardly anything that's in the Bible. I don't really think there's a God (though I can't be 100% certain). I don't really think Jesus was the son of God. I think we evolved into our current state because a couple of chemicals came together and from there, survival of the fittest.

BUT... that doesn't mean the lessons and teachings in the Bible aren't great ways to live your life. Being giving, taking care of your fellow man, honoring your father and mother, honoring your wife, turning the other cheek, doing unto others, they are great lessons.

Whether God exists or not, or whether Jesus was the Son of God or not: Jimmy cracked corn and I don't care.

But I say to whoever made up those tall tales included in the Bible, I subscribe to your newsletter. I'd love to live my life like Jesus did, and I try to do so daily; whether he really was the Son of God or not, or whether he even actually existed or not, is neither here nor there to me. It's a great way to live your life, and that's the bottom line to me.

Matty will love this... I quote the great band 311 and their song "Seems Uncertain":

Your denomination
Should be a private thing.
How about a spirit
For all human beings?

How could something well guided
Turn out to be divisive?
Mostly wondering
It seems uncertain.

Without going into what I personally believe.

I don't see how all of this...meaning the earth, the universe, human life, the will to believe or not to believe, to love, to hate or be all together indifferent....what we know and what we don't know, can exist in such an 'organized state' without someone having actually creating it. I mean, even in chaos, eveything seems to know it's role and how it relates to everything else. Even when death is imminent, there's a sense or a natural awareness to save life, if you will. And even in death, there's a sense of loss.

The seasons, the climates and how the body reacts to them. And the incredible knowledge that doctors possess through the power of medicine to cure sickness and disease, in my opinion, point to someone higher than ourselves. I think some people look at scientific reasoning as a method to explain away God, if you will. I look at just the opposite, I think the existence of God explains science, His exsistence explains evolution, theory and so forth. Even the human body. It is created with such meticulous and complex detail, it almost seems very purposeful, very deliberate and intended.

I think for everything that was or is created, it had to be in somone's mind somewhere at some moment in time. I don't think everything just appeared, no more than things and thoughts we make and create everyday.