So, what are you?

Theists (mildly religious)

I'm a monotheistic pagan, although each day I find myself slipping further and further into agnosticism.

Evident in my screen title. :)

Atheist here.

Agnostic.

Atheist myself

Hmmm, lots of atheists so far... apparently none of the Christians have noticed this yet.

Hmmm, lots of atheists so far... apparently none of the Christians have noticed this yet.Well if none turn up I'll just convert for balance. :)

Well, 3 atheists 2 theists and an agnostic. I'd say it's pretty close to being balanced already.

I believe in a collective intelligence, but in no way believe in mans organized religions.

I'm religious, that doesn't balance out the rest of the votes, but it's getting closer.

Looks pretty darn balanced to me.

Looks pretty darn balanced to me.Phew! Don't need to convert afterall then.

Phew! Don't need to convert afterall then.
:lolhit:

Agnostic. Anti-organized religion. Recovering Catholic.

I would term myself a theist (non religious). I believe in a divine power (so far). Have fallen away from the Christian concept of God but do believe in a spirit realm, soul travel, guides, and reincarnation if the individual chooses. All is choice. Nothing can be known with certainty. My experiences may be solely chemical changes in the brain. IF that is the case I would still rather have these experiences than not.

I'm religious in so far that I believe there is a binding energy throughout the universe. Call it Karma; call it The Force; call it Gravity even.

Atheist and nonreligious theist duke it out for first place! The race is more exciting than your grandfather's greyhound racing circuit in Florida.

Christian, Protestant, raised Presbyterian by my Grandma and still maintain that belief.

That is to say, I believe that Jesus Christ was/is the son of God.

Atheist and nonreligious theist duke it out for first place! The race is more exciting than your grandfather's greyhound racing circuit in Florida.

Are we talking the greyhound busses? cuz that could be pretty interesting :thumbs:

Are we talking the greyhound busses? cuz that could be pretty interesting :thumbs:
Nah, old people in big buses are no fun. They'd stop the race every 20 minutes to get out and take pictures of the bathroom stops, not that they need those bathrooms because they have access in the bus.

Evangelical Atheist.

Really, I knock on doors!

Evangelical Atheist.

Really, I knock on doors!

I like that concept Nap; knock-knock, "hello sir, could I have a moment of your time concerning not believing in a damn thing?"
"Oh, O.K. then, might I leave this little booklet- 'No Light-on in the House'- for your later perusal?" :thumbs:

Some enterprising soul (read: Not Me) should do up some atheist Chick tracks.

Agnostic (which isn't quite the same as "unsure", so I didn't vote).

Agnostic (which isn't quite the same as "unsure", so I didn't vote).
Well... I was considering it in the same category. The dictionary defines an agnostic as "a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known about god, and professes neither faith nor disbelief". So just so everyone knows, it should say "unsure/agnostic".

Well... I was considering it in the same category. The dictionary defines an agnostic as "a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known about god, and professes neither faith nor disbelief". So just so everyone knows, it should say "unsure/agnostic".Well in that case I'll go ahead and cast my vote for "unsure."

Well, it's fairly balanced here, except who people who believe in god are outweighing those who don't. Surprising if one listened to all the Christians here who seem to think they're being ganged up on by militant atheists! :lolhit:

Church going Christian. Lutheran to be specific.

Agnostic

Agnostic

Damn man, we lost the lead! I'm gonna go recruit some more atheists

Surprising numbers...

I figured there would be a LOT of atheists & agnostics in this forum.

Surprising numbers...

I figured there would be a LOT of atheists & agnostics in this forum.
12 out of 25 votes are atheist/agnostic/unsure. I'd say half is much more than the incidence of atheists and agnostics in the world, so it's definitely not surprising.

Before I came to the US, I never heard of a person being agnostic or atheistic, which is why it's surprising to me.

Before I came to the US, I never heard of a person being agnostic or atheistic
Welcome to our hedonistic paradise.

there is a God. what his exact nature is, i do not know, but i'll find out soon enough.

there is a God. what his exact nature is, i do not know, but i'll find out soon enough.
I don't see where an angel is going to understand the nature of an infinite being any better than a human might. Both men and angels are finite, and the difference between a finite being and an infinite one is always the same (infinite), no matter how great the finite being might be.

OK, DF... I voted. Although I would have preferred 3 choices (Do you believe in God... yes, no, unsure), I'll go with es' line and say:

Christian. Anti-organized religion. Recovering Southern Baptist.

(Do you believe in God... yes, no, unsure)
Why believe or disbelieve in Him if you are so unsure?

I finally give in and comment on the ignorance revealed by the construction of the options in the poll.

It assumes that an atheist is not religious. In the poll, only theists can be religious. Sorry, but that makes the poll unacceptable to perhaps a third of mankind (animists, Buddhists, Taoists, Confucianists, Jainists, and some others).

I wouldn't check 'unsure' Evak. I woulda checked 'yes'. Like I said before... I do believe in God, just not sure what he/she looks like.

What would you choose if given those 3 choices?

What would you choose if given those 3 choices?
I reject the Abrahamic deity and every other god of the organized religions Man has invented over its lifespan. If a god existed, it would likely exist in a nature that is beyond our comprehension. It is impossible to know of such, so it is best to not occupy our time with such thoughts. The human experience of our emotions and progress here on Earth is more pressing to us than whether there is a god or not. I would pick "unsure" if given those three choices.

There is a quote from Voltaire that I always think of: "Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd."

Who are all these people that voted? Everytime I stop by here, theres just all the regulers. I've definitly never counted 32 people. More like 6 or 7.

Who are all these people that voted? Everytime I stop by here, theres just all the regulers. I've definitly never counted 32 people. More like 6 or 7.
There's about 25 to 35 regulars.

ROFLMAO...

"...so it is best to not occupy our time with such thoughts."

Well, darlin, there sure are a LOT of people around here who don't follow that advice! I wonder sometimes if FT ever relaxes, kicks back with a cold Bud and watches TV (news shows don't count)?

:)

Well, darlin, there sure are a LOT of people around here who don't follow that advice!
I sure don't follow that advice.

Started out Catholic and turned Agnostic in late high school thru mid-college. Am now a confirmed Atheist.

12 out of 25 votes are atheist/agnostic/unsure. I'd say half is much more than the incidence of atheists and agnostics in the world, so it's definitely not surprising.

I would hypothesize that this is because atheism/agnosticism are religions toward which thinking people migrate, as are discussion boards.

I wonder sometimes if FT ever relaxes, kicks back with a cold Bud and watches TV

Yes. Quite often.

Except that it is a brand other than Schwagweiser. Bleecchh!

I would hypothesize that this is because atheism/agnosticism are religions toward which thinking people migrate, as are discussion boards.

Well, atheism and agnosticism are far from being "religions", but yes.

Excellent point about the reason for the relatively high percentage of non-believers.

I finally give in and comment on the ignorance revealed by the construction of the options in the poll.

It assumes that an atheist is not religious. In the poll, only theists can be religious. Sorry, but that makes the poll unacceptable to perhaps a third of mankind (animists, Buddhists, Taoists, Confucianists, Jainists, and some others).


Being religious assumes a belief in a deity, Thislin, therefore, atheists are not religious. You seem to be mistaking a belief in a single God, most usually defined as Yahweh, God or Allah for belief in a deity or deities.

Animist believe god is in both animate and inanimate things and objects. That is definietly a theist belief.

Taoists do not believe in a personal god but they do believe the various dieties are manifestations of the Tao. At one time Lao Tse was venerated as a god.

Confucianism is not a religion but a philosophy.

Jains believe in gods. The do not believe in a personal god that controls the universe but they believe that humans who have destroyed their karmas achieve infinite knowledge, Humans who have destroyed their karmas achieve Infinite Knowledge, power and perceptiomn and become Jina or gods. These gods never have to undergo rebirth again.

I voted unsure.
I'm definately anti-christian.
I serve no god but believe in a supreme spirit. I have no doubt in my mind that IF there is a god, he has no business with us humans on an individual basis and could care less about mankind.
I do believe in karma and lean towards reincarnation.
Make of it what you will.

Being religious assumes a belief in a deity, Thislin, therefore, atheists are not religious. You seem to be mistaking a belief in a single God, most usually defined as Yahweh, God or Allah for belief in a deity or deities.

Animist believe god is in both animate and inanimate things and objects. That is definitely a theist belief.

Taoists do not believe in a personal god but they do believe the various deities are manifestations of the Tao. At one time Lao Tsu was venerated as a god.

Confucianism is not a religion but a philosophy.

Jains believe in gods. The do not believe in a personal god that controls the universe but they believe that humans who have destroyed their karmas achieve infinite knowledge, Humans who have destroyed their karmas achieve Infinite Knowledge, power and perception and become Jina or gods. These gods never have to undergo rebirth again.

First, animism. Christians and those imbued with Christian thinking (even though they may be atheists) perceive an animist "worshiping" the spirit of a rock or a tree or an animal, decide that this is a sort of polytheism. This is the bias of the West entering into scholarship. Animists do not "worship" and the spits they try to communicate with are not "gods." This is just sloppy linguistics.

(Much like the mistranslation of "ancestor worship" by Chinese--the activity is not "worship" but "remembrance" and the ancestors are not gods--the activity is no more "worship" than putting flowers on a grave).

The animist draws the line between living and non-living in a different place that we were taught in biology. They see trees and places and so on as having animating spirits, the same as human beings have animating spirits. Usually it behooves one to try to keep on good terms with such spirits (a mountain, for example, that has a grudge against you might throw a boulder at you). Therefore the various rituals are not religious rituals but more on the order of social rituals--designed to be polite and keep oneself on good terms with the spirits of nature.

(That this is the ultimate origin of pantheistic religions may or may not be the case--the great pantheisms are mostly among Indo-European speaking groups--people make the mistake of seeing other practices and thinking of them in Hindu or Greek or Norse terms).

Your confusion about Jainism is similar. Do not translate alien concepts into familiar English words without a good deal of care.

I am a practicing "liberal" Buddhist. As such I am as religious as all get-out, but I am also an atheist. I dare say most educated Buddhists are either agnostic or atheist. What do you think the athletic exercises (bowing and so on) before images of the Buddha represents? The Westerner sees this behavior and automatically incorrectly interprets it in Christian terms ("worshiping Idols").

That the behavior is "religious" is hard to deny. That it involves gods is just not true. The Buddha is dead and any informed Buddhist will tell you that--dead and completely gone from this world (except for his teaching).

As for Confucianism, I think you have a definitional problem here, too. The centerpiece of Confucian "philosophy" (all religions have a philosophical element) is "the mandate of Heaven." What do you suppose the "Heaven" Confucius speaks of represents? The very foundation of government is a religious base.

"Heaven" is not a pantheon in the Indo-European sense (although there are a few specific "deities," with myths connected to them--especially Quan Yim--this is primitive Taoist, not Confucian and is mainly for children--there is little if any cult attached).