mega thread Everypony's Religion And Why?

[Envy 6,156]

What brought about the change? If you don't mind me asking.

 

Well, this is going to be a looonnnggg story. Really.

 

tl;dr version: Being exposed to non-belief through the internet and studying history.

 

It may be unfair to say I was a Christian at that point. It was instead an psychological response to some of my worst nightmares happening several years ago. It was merely just me being too weak to deal with my own issues (in no way am I meaning to apply that all theists are like that. That was just me.). From the surface I'm sure that looks like I actually believed in this God, but it's a heck of a lot more complicated than that. It was me ignoring everything I knew to be true in order to try to keep myself sane.

 

So in reality, I was just really trying to believe in this God, wanting to believe that he was there. I had become an Atheist before, and why I became one then is probably more what you're looking for. I was raised to be Christian and throughout maybe up to 15/16 I called myself a believer. However, my belief was never all of that genuine. I believed because my family and everybody else I knew did. I didn't think to question, I just didn't really feel anything strong myself. I thought that maybe those higher up in the church had some knowledge I didn't have and that must be why we all believed.

 

What eventually changed me to an Atheist was getting my own computer and high speed internet back in my room. One of the first forums I ever joined had an outspoken and very intelligent atheist for an admin. With such an weak foundation of belief, being exposed to the concept of not believing really started to make me question. Around that time I took a course in AP European History and from that class I learned a lot about the history of church. Now, I know it's impractical to set aside something because it has done bad in the past, but it made it a lot easier for me to really question why I was a believer. Plus, that turned me against religion, and my lack of reason to believe for myself turned me away from believing altogether.

 

This time around, turning back to Atheism after I joined here, my foundation became much stronger. For the longest time I flat out avoided discussions of whether or not God existed. Somehow I got back into them, though. My very weak belief of believing because of wanting to believe was gone pretty fast after that. The thing was that this time I knew more about science and history, and I knew more about the Bible. Whereas, originally when I was a Christian and originally when I was an Atheist I was essentially just a 'parrot'. I never looked into science, the Bible, or the history of religion and the Bible much (I didn't even know that Christianity and Islam were related to Judaism). This time I did. When I did any chance of me believing in the Bible as the word of God became abysmal. I made connections between it and all, and now to me the existence of a higher being doesn't even any sense to me anymore. This is going to be a mouthful, but the nature of the universe, world, history, history of religion (particularly all of the old religions that have been forgotten), and the Bible, it all makes so much more sense without a God than it does with one (at least the Christian one and other non-Deistic Gods). I would probably have to write a whole book to explain all of that. xD

Edited April 4, 2012 by Envy

[Mr. Wobbels 664]

I may just be crazy, but every "Pastafarian" just uses their "religion" (and no it is not a religion, it is a parody of religion) to mock creationism. It isn't a religion, it's a belief but it does NOT fall on the spectrum of religion.

 

"Some claim that the church is purely a thought experiment, satire, illustrating that Intelligent Design is not science, but rather a pseudoscience manufactured by Christians to push Creationism into public schools. These people are mistaken. The Church of FSM is real, totally legit, and backed by hard science. Anything that comes across as humor or satire is purely coincidental.

Further

Pastafarianism is a real religion.

Most of us do not believe a religion – Christianity, Islam, Pastafarianiasm – requires literal belief in order to provide spiritual enlightenment. That is, we can be part of a community without becoming indoctrinated. There are many levels of belief.

By design, the only dogma allowed in the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is the rejection of dogma. That is, there are no strict rules and regulations, there are no rote rituals and prayers and other nonsense. Every member has a say in what this church is and what it becomes." - http://www.venganza.org/about/

 

^SOUTH PARKKK!!!!!!

 

Pastafarianism existed before that episode.

[ponyvangelist 732]

The Ponyist Manifesto

 

I voted "Equestreism" (technically "Equestrianity") but prefer the term "Ponyism", because only the Ponyists acknowledge the Gospel of Saint Pinkie, and everypony knows that's a mandatory scripture for followers of the One True Religion. Which is Ponyism.

 

It is only natural that Ponyists will Love and Tolerate everypony, including those who observe other religions, or those who eschew religion altogether. Even if they are apostates and will undoubtedly spend eternity on the moon for that.

 

I suppose it's also important to mention that Ponyism is not the same as Celestianity. Where Celestians worship Princess Celestia as their ultimate deity, Ponyists also acknowledge the divinity of Princess Luna, and even Ponydom itself.

 

Only through recognition of the divine nature of all Ponies can True Salvation (also known as "Greener Pastures") be achieved. Thus speaketh the Pony Prophets.

 

Verily, verily I say unto thee: Neighsayers Repent!

 

Peace Through Ponies is only Possible through Perpetual Ponyism.

[Strafe 594]

Ehh I don't want to start and argument but atheism isn't really a religion.

[ASpark 49]

Don't care about religion. I am sort of a Christian, but I seriously don't care anymore, and I think I might as well stop believing everything, because all the theories about life are starting to seem far-fetched to me. So I could've chosen Agnostic, but I chose Equestrienism for a laugh, and because Celestia and Luna are awesome.

Edited April 4, 2012 by AppleSpark

[Twiliscael 3,960]

[REDACTED]

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Edited March 24, 2018 by Twiliscael

[NewCalamity 3,454]

Some call me Atheist. I'm alright with this but I am not a fan of flying such a banner, for the loudmouths always give a group a bad name.

 

I've been raised as an atheist, my mother was the first one to reject the traditional Protestant beliefs, same with my father. Religion does not play a factor in our lives, nor does insulting it. We go about our merry way living life as everyone should. I have no qualms with religion, quite the opposite, in fact. I love how religion brings people together toward a common goal, the good of all mankind. I do respect those who strive for such things, brings me hope for humanity! I brought that up because I've run into a fair amount of people who get a bad taste in their mouths when they hear the word 'atheist'.

 

In short, I'm Atheist, but not a rabid one.

Edited April 4, 2012 by NewCalamity

[Croaks 251]

I'm a Muslim. :3

 

Just made a whole bunch of sense.

And I didn't find any contradictions, so...

Edited April 4, 2012 by Croaks

[hwrogers 168]

The Ponyist Manifesto

 

I voted "Equestreism" (technically "Equestrianity") but prefer the term "Ponyism", because only the Ponyists acknowledge the Gospel of Saint Pinkie, and everypony knows that's a mandatory scripture for followers of the One True Religion. Which is Ponyism.

 

It is only natural that Ponyists will Love and Tolerate everypony, including those who observe other religions, or those who eschew religion altogether. Even if they are apostates and will undoubtedly spend eternity on the moon for that.

 

I suppose it's also important to mention that Ponyism is not the same as Celestianity. Where Celestians worship Princess Celestia as their ultimate deity, Ponyists also acknowledge the divinity of Princess Luna, and even Ponydom itself.

 

Only through recognition of the divine nature of all Ponies can True Salvation (also known as "Greener Pastures") be achieved. Thus speaketh the Pony Prophets.

 

Verily, verily I say unto thee: Neighsayers Repent!

 

Peace Through Ponies is only Possible through Perpetual Ponyism.

 

"gospel of saint pinkie" ROFL!!! i nearly fell out of my chair! but apostates only spend one thousand years on the moon as that is the duration of Celestia's anger.

[Nah 3,182]

Sadly, I had religion shoved down my throat. I used to be religious, but I regretted it. All I've seen religion do is start wars. As for now, no religion, great I'm dead, my parents will kill me for writing this.

[Ezynell 2,037]

Wow, this thread exploded suddenly...

[Croaks 251]

I thought I was the only Muslim on the forum o.o

[Pony Joe 583]

I identify myself as a Christian, because I don't think that everything became what it is by chance. I do believe in evolution; there's too much evidence for me to believe otherwise. But I think that a divine hand must have taken part in the creation of life and guided the development of mankind.

 

I also believe in the power of teachings of the Bible, but I realize that it's a historical document, clearly influenced greatly by the times in which it was written, and that some of it's words are meant to be taken literally.

[ZomBrony 347]

I am Catholic, but not really serious about it, it's kind of a funny story, actually, I was either pulled out of, or kicked out of all the public schools in the area, and the only other school near by was Catholic, but we decided it wouldn't be right to go to a Catholic school without being Catholic, and also my dad was Catholic, so we started going to church until I was baptized, we've stopped going since my baptism, but I went to a Catholic school from grade 5-8 and am now in a Catholic Highschool, and to tell the truth, I think Catholic schools are much better, ecspecially St. Mary's I like the uniforms

[Fizz. 1,078]

I've been looking at a few religions, mainly focusing on Buddhism and Islam, but pretty much everything I've seen stimulates the mind/soul/etc. It all doesn't feel right, follow such ancient and strict rules.I'm spiritual, but I follow no religion, because they all seem to lock us up emotionally and mentally. I don't think we should base our minds around one central opinion, which is also why I'm against political parties, cus those do the same thing. There are so many Democrats I disagree with and so many Republicans I agree with, yet I would be classified as a far left liberal. Huh.

[Lady Rarity Pony 4,892]

I'm a Roman Catholic.

 

Why? Because events in my life and examination of the religion have led me to believe that the Judeo-Christian God's existence is worth considering.

 

I do believe very much that God exists. His exact nature is still up for debate.

 

I cannot prove for certainty to anyone other than me that he exists, but then again I am in no way obligated to attempt to convert anyone other than myself.

 

While I do believe in the Judeo-Christian God, I am in no way settling on this belief, in the sense that I will continue to look for the truth. If the Roman Catholic beliefs are the correct beliefs, then they should be able to remain intact through any research I partake in. If not, then there is clearly a flaw in the beliefs worth examining.

 

I spend a great deal of time observing my religion, rather than fully taking part in it. That's not to say I'm just a spectator in my religion, but I do scrutinize the beliefs very often.

 

When studying history and science, I view it from a non-religious point of view, not atheistic, but simply an entirely neutral point of view. Otherwise I would recoil at any statement that could oppose my beliefs. Chances are if something could effectively oppose my beliefs, it's something worth looking into.

 

I'm aware some people have very negative views of religion as a whole. Personally I don't think religion (or atheism) should be generalized and judged as whole, because there is no way of properly doing so without great levels of bias. More often then not those who partake in judging beliefs as a whole tend to deploy absurd assumptions and generalizations (in which usually display a lack of knowledge on a particular subject) as a means of supporting their argument.

 

Fanaticism, hate and bigotry can arise from anyone, religious or not. Targeting one source and blaming it of causing harm is not the way to go about handling your views. As proven through numerous historical scenarios, the act of blaming a group for the misfortunes of humanity is one of the best ways to lead to massacres and discrimination.

 

Use common sense and logic with your beliefs. While a major detail of being part of the Roman Catholic Church is generally following the Pope, it's clear that the Pope is capable of abusing his power and influence, and in many cases, being a puppet. Therefore I watch carefully at what actions the Papacy takes, and I'll be the first to oppose a Pope should I find his actions detestable.

 

That pretty much covers most of my views on religion. To finish this off I'd just say this, there is still much unknown about the universe. So many theories and possibilities. Locking yourself down in one way of thinking is essentially locking yourself down in ignorance. Be open minded, but at the same time don't jump on any bandwagons.

You have a mind capable of thinking independently, use it.

 

For the most part I'm pretty open to debate and elaboration of my beliefs. If anyone is interested in either, I'm willing to take part in such conversations, assuming fanaticism is excluded from the discussion.

[Ice Storm 1,020]

The actual religion I follow is Ancestral Worship, which the closest thing to that on the list was Agnostic. I don't believe in a superbeing that can control everything, but I do think there is a higher power, and that we aren't meant to know what it is. Therefore, I look to the past and warship our ancestors. We know what they did, and what did and didn't work. Perhaps some of the members in the US government could learn how to do that.

[Future Allie Way 185]

Catholic xD

Edited April 7, 2012 by Allie Way the Sorcerer

[boosticus dashicus 10]

I'm not affiliated with any religion, it's irrelevant at this point in history.

 

Views on other religions? Whatever floats your boat...

 

The actual religion I follow is Ancestral Worship, which the closest thing to that on the list was Agnostic. I don't believe in a superbeing that can control everything, but I do think there is a higher power, and that we aren't meant to know what it is. Therefore, I look to the past and warship our ancestors. We know what they did, and what did and didn't work. Perhaps some of the members in the US government could learn how to do that.

 

+1, in the sense that we learn from history and don't screw the pouch again.

[The Awesome One 1,315]

I thought I was the only Muslim on the forum o.o

 

Nope,now you have me aswell as three other people.

[HomuraBL 851]

STUFF!

 

Thank you LRP...THANK YOU!

 

I think I can be agonistic again. I didn't really like being atheist. Maybe I did become one because of how the internet is filled with them.

 

There is a reason I hated being atheists. (Note: I don't hate atheists). Maybe I do want to have a little talk about religion with you just one-on-one.

[--- 41]

I try to follow a Buddhist path, but I kind of meander a bit. I love learning about other religions and I find something of value in almost all of them.

 

I was raised Catholic and that was a cause of much stress, self-doubt, and even self-loathing growing up. I try to be forgiving but at times I still feel some animosity towards that way and those people. They were not nice!

[Todash 3]

My worldview is different from all existing religions and worldviews. It is so different, that I cannot give it a name!

But the nearest variant is an agnosticism.

[BronyPony 575]

If I may post about my opinion.

 

I believe in God(being Catholic) because in the existence of Science, there are two rules exactly:

• Science cannot prove or disprove God
• Matter cannot be created nor destroyed

And I ask myself, well then, if it cannot be created or destroyed, then how was it created in the first place. God had to create it all. That is why I am a scientist(physicist actually), which is because I want to learn more about the Universe that God created for me.

 

Now, people may argue with me that if Science says that matter cannot be created or destroyed, than how was God created. Well, here is my answer:

• I don't know. If I wasn't here to witness the creation of God, how would I know.
• Science does not apply to the spiritual world.

Just my opinion. I am not trying to offend anyone, so if you take it in the wrong way, then sorry, and since this topic is about religion, I felt that I had the right to post this. LOVE AND TOLERATE EVERYONE!

[butter scotch 79]

Agnostic simply because I am a fairly neutral person!