mega thread Everypony's Religion And Why?

[MontagnaMagica 307]

Ever hear of the Apocalypse of Peter? The Infancy Gospel? The Gospel of Barnabus? Probably not. These are just a couple of the many books that were written at around the same time as the other books yet were left out of the Bible mainly because they didn't fit with their ideologies and/or were "inaccurate" according to them.

While I completely agree with your conclusion, I wouldn't have used those examples as books. Both the Apocalypse of Peter and the Infancy Gospel of Thomas are archæologically dated a couple hundred years later than the events they purport to depict, meaning they probably weren't first-hand accounts. The Gospel of Barnabas is a pretty obvious fake, probably created by a Muslim to "correct" Christian doctrines concerning Prophet Jesus. I'll assume you meant The Epistle of Barnabas, which I do believe deserves to be included in Biblical canon.

 

Unlike in the Avesta, Vedas, Dhammapada, or Kitáb-a-Aqdas (to name a few) the Bible did not come straight from the prophet to the paper. Additionally, many parts of the Bible are seemingly is disagreement with the science. This is why I don't believe the Bible is meant to be taken 100% literally (even barring the obvious parables). Are there spiritual truths in it? Yes. Great knowledge and guidance? For sure! Is the earth 6,000-10,000 years old, as Ken Ham would have you believe? Probably not. (Although I do stand to be corrected, should we learn more through science that contradicts the current theory of evolution.)

 

With all that said, make no mistake; the books you see in the Bible are completely unaltered from the oldest known manuscripts that have been found. For instance, the "Dead Sea Scrolls" have provided much back up to their validity!

 

Also interesting to note, while we're talking about this. The Qur'án didn't come straight from the Prophet Muhammad either. He would receive His visions from the Angel Gabriel, memorize them (!), recite them to His followers, and then the followers also committed the surahs to memory. As they begin to pass away in old age, I suppose they finally realized that "Hey, this guy was saying some pretty important stuff. We should probably write it down!" (no kidding, Sherlock!)

Edited January 15, 2014 by MontagnaMagica

[Galen 1,354]

 

 

At least with the Quran, it's been the exact same since it's creation and there is no dispute over the contents themselves.

 

While that's true, there are still different sects with slightly diverging interpretations of the Quran, pirticularly Shia and Sunni sects of Islam.

 

On the whole, however, you do have a point as the Quran was never edited and was definitely treated as the absolute word of god, unlike the Vatican using the bible for its own purposes, whether it was for political leverage and whatnot. At the end of the day, the bible is just another book (or collection of books) written by man for man. It has some historical accuracy, but that's just it.

 

 

 

Of course there's Buddha, but I've heard that when you go to a temple to pray it's not usually to Buddha but the Buddha in yourself in order to obtain Nirvana/Enlightenment.

 

I can't say I'm a practicing Buddhist, but from my understanding, meditation and prayer is not with the purpose of prayer, but rather cleansing the mind to achieve the state of no thought. It's not so much prayer as it is achieving unity with the universe and the energies flowing within it.

[Everleaf 541]

How about Lunaism i'm not religious so i got non i gone for Equestriaism but how about Lunaism Luna is best alicorn come on please :3

[Acchan 232]

I'm a Pentecostal Christian. Basically, I believe in the Holy Trinity, baptism of the Holy Spirit, and speaking in tongues.

 

Fun Fact: A lot of people thought I was Jewish for the first 14 years of my life. Also, my last name of Jewish descent- even though I can't find even one person in my family who is Jewish.

[GreyScholar 1,584]

I'm a Pentecostal Christian. Basically, I believe in the Holy Trinity, baptism of the Holy Spirit, and speaking in tongues.

 

Fun Fact: A lot of people thought I was Jewish for the first 14 years of my life. Also, my last name of Jewish descent- even though I can't find even one person in my family who is Jewish.

How much genealogy research have you done and through which resources? Just curious as I learned a fair amount about genealogy research from my time as a missionary, so I have learned of a few tricks and resources.

[Guest90210 3,568]

Speaking of the Trinity...

 

-John 14:28 "“You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I."

 

-Isaiah 43:11 "I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior."

 

-Deuteronomy 6:4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one."

 

-Numbers 23:19 "God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?"

 

Speaking of that verse, it is a direct contradiction to...

 

-Exodus 32:14 ""So the Lord changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people,"

 

-Mark 13:32 "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

 

 

These are only a few verses which make it clear that Jesus is not God according to the Bible. Not once does he claim to be God either. Look for a verse in which Jesus says "I am God", you won't find it.

[Twilie 184]

I am an agnostic atheist, mostly because science makes more sense to me than any particular religion. I do not follow the bible because there are many things in in that are paradoxical and illogical to me, and it bothers me when certain religions pick and chose what they like out of it.  

I would like to believe that there is a higher power, but it just seems to good to be true. It really bothers me when people tell me that I lack 'faith'because that is false. I just chose to put my faith in science because that makes more sense to me than religion. 

Edited February 12, 2014 by theneonbandit

[OptimisticNeighsayer 478]

Coming back here after six months and I'm still annoyed that we can't choose multiple options.

 

I became a Unitarian Universalist not too long ago and I'm actually kind of surprised it's not a more popular choice for us bronyfolk.  Then again, UUs aren't keen on proselytizing.  I'm still a science-loving, evidence-for-god(s)-is-just-plain-lacking-and-the-idea-of-God-itself-is-self-contradictory atheist but at least trying to see the value in spirituality and learning about other's views on the world is just as much a part of me as insisting on logic, clarity, and the scientific method.

[Linux Distro 109]

Uhm, no offense, but I think that Baptist, Methodist, Protestant should be merged into Christian, as these are just denominations, who believe in Jesus, but simply have different preferences.

[SparklingSquirrels 21,341]

I grew up a Protestant Christian, and those are my beliefs to this day (for the most part). I haven't been to church in ages though.

[Stancet 688]

 

 

I suppose here is on okay place to say... I believe in God and Jesus Christ. However, I disagree with the visitation of church. I don't necessarily believe that a Christian must go to to church in order to avoid Hell. I haven't been to church since I was 8 and even then I felt it was unnecessary.

 

 

As long as your heart is in the right place. 

 

 

 

Uhm, no offense, but I think that Baptist, Methodist, Protestant should be merged into Christian, as these are just denominations, who believe in Jesus, but simply have different preferences.

 

 

I am Non-denominational. This modernized type of church believes in each person's personal interpretation of the Bible instead of the collective understanding. Downside is, it's not human nature to stray from the herd and lean on your own understanding. A good pastor, though, should encourage it.

 

 

I am a Christian Humanist. 

 

Christianity, of course, believes in the divine creation of the world and Jesus Christ. Humanism, on the other hand, is a sometimes secular understanding of the universe that believes all humans possess both good and evil inside their hearts. The only way to judge a human is by their intentions, rather than their actions. I believe I am maybe rebellious trying reinforce my Christian faith with this ideology, but I believe they are like two halves of the same coin.

 

I believe in Christianity, partly because I was raised that way, but also because my mind is logical. I have a strong mind for philosophy and metaphysics, and all the big questions in the universe keep bringing me back to God and Jesus, which is why I believe it. I do, however, possess a great deal of respect for other religions like Buddhism. 

[Satsuki Kiryuin 1,155]

I honestly think that people hate religion because it lacks sense. Honestly, religion is kind of like a spiritual idea that conveys principles and practices of living a good life, imo. I don't find that you should take it exactly like it's worded, but you should look into the more deeper concepts of a morally good life. People don't like and/or hate religion because they don't understand. It doesn't really have any evidence or backing information that proves any of the stories to be correct, so that's what they're considered. Stories.

[Stancet 688]

 

 

I honestly think that people hate religion because it lacks sense. Honestly, religion is kind of like a spiritual idea that conveys principles and practices of living a good life, imo. I don't find that you should take it exactly like it's worded, but you should look into the more deeper concepts of a morally good life. People don't like and/or hate religion because they don't understand. It doesn't really have any evidence or backing information that proves any of the stories to be correct, so that's what they're considered. Stories.

 

 

Well, religion (and philosophy as a whole) is all about making sense out of things we don't understand. You're right, there is no sense in accepting a religion just because it seems agreeable at face value. Spirituality is however a serious matter. Until scientists come up with a way to make humans immortal it should concern us greatly where we go after we die. 

[N.W. 3,619]

You could call me an Atheist, but I do not even associate myself with any beliefs, I live my life and when I die I shall greet death with curiosity.

I am by no means anti-religious  and tolerate religion in most cases.   

Perhaps I will find religion later in life like Mikhail Kalashnikov.

Edited February 18, 2014 by Sergei

[Koelath 445]

I have no religion, insofar as a religion is a widespread and formalized system of dogmas and doctrines.

 

I do have beliefs akin to it, but they are not formalized or even necessarily organized. The simplest label is "Paganism", being a vague and obscure term mostly used for convenience. The detailed label would require a long post detailing the entirety of my beliefs. I'm willing to do so but not unless anyone cares, because it is a lot of typing and I could do other things instead.

[mars 4,862]

I follow the religion of our lord and savior the Helix fossil.

 

No, but seriously, I don't have a religion. My grandparents tried to get me to grow up as a Catholic, but I really never liked church so I stopped going. My grandparents stopped forcing their beliefs on me afterwards.

[Enigma 200]

I'm an Atheist.

When I was growing up, I had a horrible childhood. In fact, I didn't even have a childhood. I was forced to learn how to defend for myself and look after myself. The schools I went to were all in bad areas and the teachers there, though not all religious, thought it best to push Christian values on the kids there to try and steer them away from becoming thugs in their teenage years.

I prayed every day and begged to go to church, I was in love with the idea that if I was good (like I always was) that my life would turn around. Selling such false hope to children in my position was an awful idea and when I was taken away from my mum I felt conned.

After a year of fierce battles in court rooms, my mum managed to get me back. Of course, now I wish she didn't. She only tried to get me back because I was living with a family member she didn't like. If I had been put under my gran's responsibility things would be very different.

Anyway, cutting to the chase; I lost my religion when I was about 12-13. Not for reasons such as science, but because I felt I had been wronged. Later on in life I set myself the challenge to look for evidence of a God or the opposite. I found ground and proof in being an Atheist, much more so than anything else. I have stuck with it since then and it would take a miracle to make me change my mind.

Edited February 24, 2014 by Enigma

[Stancet 688]

 

 

I'm an Atheist. When I was growing up, I had a horrible childhood. In fact, I didn't even have a childhood. I was forced to learn how to defend for myself and look after myself. The schools I went to were all in bad areas and the teachers there, though not all religious, thought it best to push Christian values on the kids there to try and steer them away from becoming thugs in their teenage years. I prayed every day and begged to go to church, I was in love with the idea that if I was good (like I always was) that my life would turn around. Selling such false hope to children in my position was an awful idea and when I was taken away from my mum I felt conned. After a year of fierce battles in court rooms, my mum managed to get me back. Of course, now I wish she didn't. She only tried to get me back because I was living with a family member she didn't like. If I had been put under my gran's responsibility things would be very different. Anyway, cutting to the chase; I lost my religion when I was about 12-13. Not for reasons such as science, but because I felt I had been wronged. Later on in life I set myself the challenge to look for evidence of a God or the opposite. I found ground and proof in being an Atheist, much more so than anything else. I have stuck with it since then and it would take a miracle to make me change my mind.

 

I'm very sorry to hear about your childhood. I wish there was something I could say to help you believe life is not all tragedies and disappointments, but I do hope life is treating you better since those awful mishaps.

[Enigma 200]

@@Stancet, It picked up eventually but my family, mostly my mum, will always be there to bring me down. I moved out of my mum's house last year and in with my partner. We'll be moving to the city around my birthday too, but I fear my mum's going to try her best to convince me otherwise. She's been trying to do that with one of my sisters too. I would live with her again until I finished college instead of moving away in the middle of a course. However, my mum's quite crazy. You see, she's been a drug addict for over 30 years now and just recently in the past 6 months she met some guy younger than my two other sisters. I'm not saying he's not a nice man, he is. I want my mum to be happy but when she finds a man she forgets she has kids and a family. For example, she invited one of my sisters over because her boyfriend had one of his friends over. My sister is close to his age so they have something to talk about (the only thing my mum and him have in common is drink and drugs). My mum took my sister aside and told her to get out because she was jealous. In fact, she did the same to me. Her boyfriend is a bit of a gamer so we were talking about Fallout for a while and she deliberately kept her back to me the whole night and wouldn't say a single word to me. I couldn't live with her since he's there and what I meant by 'crazy' is that she thinks she's 19 again. Because she's heavily relied on drugs for so long, we've not really seen who she really is. Now we can see who she really is (not because she's stopped, just cut down) and I must say I don't like it. She is absolutely obsessed with men.

[Stancet 688]

@@Enigma, 

 

Then I think leaving your Mom and making your own choices is the right thing to do. Treasure the partner you live with too if they truly love you back. I'm going to be a sappy Christian for a moment and say that you are special, no matter what anyone says. Don't ever stop believing it.

[Guest]

I've decided I want to worship Dibella from Skyrim

 

Because boobs, because beauty, because of hot statues and because of erotic instructions. Yeah.

 

Get on my level, please.

[PsychedelicPony 440]

I'm an atheist out of the idea that in order to believe something is true, we must have evidence for it. So far there is no evidence for the existence of any afterlife or supernatural deity so I decide not to believe in them. You may say there is no evidence that their isn't a god, but when it comes to debate, arguments, science, and philosophy the burden of evidence is placed on those who make the claim and the claim in this argument is that a god exists.

[BinaryPony 120]

Roman Catholic, nothing much other than that's how I was raised. My mom's side is mainly Italian, and my Dad's side mainly Irish, so that might help. The only reason I bring that up is because I need to hit the 100 letter minimum to post. Gah!

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

I guess Christian.

 

Call it faith and hope, and the feeling we're not alone and someone is watching over. It's also the hope, no, the feeling that life doesn't end here and there's something else waiting at the end of the road. I've lost so many people in my short time here(and now my dad is getting ready to go home) and my faith gives me hope that they'll be waiting for me when my time is up and I'll get to see them all again, and hopefully stay with them for good this time. 

 

That's what I have faith in. The eternal hope that Goodbye is never forever and death is not an end, but merely the closing of a chapter and the opening of another one someplace else.  

[Frostgage 7,975]

I chose atheist. Not necessarily because I don't believe in religion, just that I don't believe in god. (I think there's a difference)

 

I'm like Twilight, I don't like to believe in something that can't be proven.