Your beliefs and wishes

[Roses Ablaze]

I don't really know where this belongs...

What I want to believe: God, a loving yet genderless formless being, doesn't really have a direct effect on the world, but controls what happens to our souls after death. We either cease to exist (there is no Hell) or we spend eternity in a blissful paradise with God. In this paradise, our regular 5 senses are still with us, but we are able to clearly percieve and understand things that we did not in life (either through extra senses or an evolved mind). Whether one is destroyed or goes to Heaven is determined by character, not by what faith you believe in or what gender you are attracted to.

What I actually believe: I don't know, honestly. I consider myself either Christian or agnostic, but I'm not entirely comfortable with being an atheist, so I try to avoid it.

 

[Dark Espeon]

Uh, with regards to religion, I am agnostic. I believe there is no God or gods, but I also say the it is impossible to know the pure and crystaline truth. Perhaps those who have believed in him for centuries have believed in something their mind made up, or perhaps, those (like me) who have not believed in him, have been wrong all along and He does exist. =P

With regards to other things, I believe in astrology, prophecies, curses, past lives, tarot cards, re-incarnation, and all that stuff. For example, I would never steal treasures and such from an Egyptian tomb if I discovered one -they could be cursed O_O. Yes, I am a little (okay, a lot) supersticious o.o...However, I don't think black cats are evil in any way, or that a horseshoe will bring me any luck =P.

I think sometimes that it would be nice if I was a Christian...they seem at peace with themselves. Then again, I cannot picture myself being devoted to anything, God or human. I prefer to be free and do what I want. Plus I don't agree with many things of the Christian faith, such as the "Ye shall not kill" stuff. I mean, some people actually deserve death...But that's beside the point =P.

I actually tried to be a Christian once, and prayed and everything. But one day, I stopped doing it. "Who am I kidding? I've tried hard, and I just can't believe that somebody is up there. It is best to believe in nothing than to lie to myself into believing in something nice, like there is a God that protects us." And so I did. And, since I cannot know for sure, I'll never be a Christian. What if God doesn't exist and I spent my life believing in something fake? Nay, unless God shows me that he exists, gives me signs or whatever, I shall never believe. And, to my amazement, life is a lot easier when one doesn't have to go to church, worry too much about other people, worry about going to hell, worry about doing bad things/commiting sins, and praying before going to bed. I enjoy having no religion. I feel free. :-D

Oh, I also believe in the Ying and Yang or "balance" theory/idea. Life cannot exist without death; death cannot exist without life. For there to be a world, there must be life, and there must be death. There must be light, and there must be darkness. There must be rich people, and poor ones, too. There must be peace, and there must be war. There must be good, and there must be evil. Etcetera. None of them can exist without the other. =P Like a friend of mine said, "The world cannot be perfect because humans are imperfect".

 

[Minty Electronica]

There was a period in my lifetime when I constantly experimented with religion. I studied pretty much everything from Wicca to Shintoism to atheism to Christianity to my own former religion of Judaism. I studied from as many angles as possible their beliefs, why the religion adopted them, why they make sense, and more importantly, why they don't make sense. After all of that, I came out with one conclusion:

Religion is what one makes of it.

A rather obvious point, but it's true. So, because of that, I've decided to shape my own "religion" based on those I've studied.

It's working for me, by the way.

Basic Belief #1: There is a God. This can, oddly enough, be supported by science. (Supported, not proven. There's a huge difference.) Think of it like this: the basic law of matter states that nothing (energy, matter, whatever) can't be destroyed or created. However, that still doesn't explain where the original matter came from. Thus, the rule has to be bent to allow for original creation. But, then, how did the matter come to be if there was nothing before it?

That I've explained with God. It's not the best explanation, but it's a placeholder until someone comes along and comes up with something better.

Basic Belief #2: This God is not indifferent to our actions, but He does not participate in them. The true goal of God is unknown. What is known is that He may take an interest in our affairs, but He doesn't put his hands down and forces us to do things. Thus...

Basic Sub-belief #2a: Man is ruled by his own judgment and actions. The rules to each religion are defined by man, for the human race of that time period to follow. These rules can change but are more often simply reinterpreted due to man's fear of God, who, ironically enough, was only there for possible inspiration.

Basic Sub-belief #2b (continuation from #2a): Man's only duty on Earth is to become the best that they can be. Man must decide what is the most important in life and aim for it. This usually encompasses the requirement to sharpen intellect and/or physical fitness, though it depends on the goal in question.

Basic Belief #3: There is no Heaven or Hell. There is instead an Afterworld (a la Celtic mythology, narrowed down to one) to which all souls go when they die. This Afterworld can be shaped by a soul's strongest desires, thus making whatever they'd like to appear (except souls that are still alive). The Afterworld also provides the option for a soul to return to Earth in another form (aka "optional reincarnation").

Thus...

Basic Sub-belief #3a: There is no Satan. With no Heaven or Hell, there is no ultimate evil to reign in the latter of domains. Thus, the concept of Satan does not exist either.

However, souls themselves can be good or evil, depending on the person they belong to. Read on for more information.

Note: All of basic belief #3 is a "want to believe" statement. See "true beliefs" at the end for more information.

Basic Belief #4: Man is not initially good or evil, nor does he become either extreme as he goes on. Due to sub-belief #2a, the morality of man varies with the society (or subsociety, in some cases). Thus, man is neither good nor evil all the time. He is, instead, both by varying degrees. He is born with little concept of good and evil and thus can be said to lean more towards good at the beginning of life, but as his life progresses, the degrees change.


Most of this are, in fact, beliefs belonging to Deism, so I call myself at least partially Deist. (Technically, however, I'm still Jewish and have encorperated some of their ideas -- especially the Ten Commandments -- in my own set of beliefs. I do not, however, follow their stories except for an equivalent of Aesop's Fables.)


What I truly believe: All of the above is true except all of #3. The problem is I do, in fact, believe a bit in the existence of Satan and Hell, though ironically enough, it was never part of my religious beliefs from the get go. I can't, in my heart, believe it's fairly easy to get to Hell, but that doesn't mean I can't believe it's there.

 

[Dark Espeon]

Those are very interesting beliefs, Jax. I especially like (and even agree to some point) with your beliefs #3 and #4:

Basic Belief #3: There is no Heaven or Hell. There is instead an Afterworld (a la Celtic mythology, narrowed down to one) to which all souls go when they die. This Afterworld can be shaped by a soul's strongest desires, thus making whatever they'd like to appear (except souls that are still alive). The Afterworld also provides the option for a soul to return to Earth in another form (aka "optional reincarnation").

I am not sure just exactly where, or how this Afterworld is, but I do believe that we go there after dying, and then come back in another form. I am not sure, though, why the afterworld would be shaped by our souls' strongest desires, or if we'd have an option of who or what to reincarnate into. Why do you think so? I don't know nor have any idea how this afterworld would be, and if we would choose who/what we'd reincarnate into...Do you think is possible for a soul to reincarnate in an animal? I am unsure, but I think it might possible...*is very cat-like* o.o...:-D

Basic Belief #4: Man is not initially good or evil, nor does he become either extreme as he goes on. Due to sub-belief #2a, the morality of man varies with the society (or subsociety, in some cases). Thus, man is neither good nor evil all the time. He is, instead, both by varying degrees. He is born with little concept of good and evil and thus can be said to lean more towards good at the beginning of life, but as his life progresses, the degrees change.

I like this idea very much, and I also agree with it. I do not consider myself good or evil. I think that I do good acts (or at least what society views as good), and bad ones too (again, what society views as bad). I like to associate this idea with the concept of Ying and Yang: The white side has a black spot in it, meaning even mostly good people have a bit of bad or evil in them, and the black side has a white spot in it, meaning even mostly bad people have a bit of good in them. I, however, prefer to create some sort of balance within myself: not Mr. Goody Two-Shoes, but not Mr. Baddy Two-Shoes either (yes, I just made up "Mr. Baddy Two-Shoes, as I could not think of the opposite of Mr. Goody Two-Shoes). I prefer to be Mr. Goody & Baddy Two-Shoes. :-D

 

[Minty Electronica]

Those are very interesting beliefs, Jax. I especially like (and even agree to some point) with your beliefs #3 and #4:

Thank you.

Why do you think so?

I can explain it best by saying this: it's because, like all aspects of religion, our afterlife is what we make of it. If we want it to be Heaven, it'll conform to our version of Heaven. If we want to float in a dark abyss (because some of us are just that morbid), it'll be a dark abyss. If we want to be punished for whatever reason, it'll shape itself to be our version of Hell. It's very malleable, so there's no right or wrong version of what the Afterworld is.

As for reincarnation, that's also a free choice simply because some people love life too much to want to remain in the Afterworld. This may also be because they're far too alarmed by the fact that they're dead to successfully cope with the possibility that it may become a paradise if they will it to be.

And yes, it's possible to reincarnate as an animal if the soul wants to enough. It's pretty much a "whatever floats your boat" situation.

As for your idea of yin and yang, yeah, that's pretty much it, though I prefer to look at it as a spectrum with white on one end, black on the other, and gray in the middle. We're just a dot somewhere in-between. (I have no reason for wanting to think of it like this, save for the fact that I think smears of gray are "pretty.")

 

[Dark Espeon]

I can explain it best by saying this: it's because, like all aspects of religion, our afterlife is what we make of it. If we want it to be Heaven, it'll conform to our version of Heaven. If we want to float in a dark abyss (because some of us are just that morbid), it'll be a dark abyss. If we want to be punished for whatever reason, it'll shape itself to be our version of Hell. It's very malleable, so there's no right or wrong version of what the Afterworld is.

Ah yes, that makes sense. Not all of us want heaven or hell, some of us want something not as perfect as heaven but not as crude as hell either =P.

As for reincarnation, that's also a free choice simply because some people love life too much to want to remain in the Afterworld. This may also be because they're far too alarmed by the fact that they're dead to successfully cope with the possibility that it may become a paradise if they will it to be.

Interesting ^^. One could choose so many lives, and learn from it...

And yes, it's possible to reincarnate as an animal if the soul wants to enough. It's pretty much a "whatever floats your boat" situation.

*chooses to be a cat* Meaow :-D I might have been adored by the Egyptians! :-D Or maybe I belonged to a witch, and I terrorized medieval peoples *imagination runs wild* :-D

As for your idea of yin and yang, yeah, that's pretty much it, though I prefer to look at it as a spectrum with white on one end, black on the other, and gray in the middle. We're just a dot somewhere in-between. (I have no reason for wanting to think of it like this, save for the fact that I think smears of gray are "pretty.")

Yup, same dog, different collar =P. So, the people who have more good in them, would be a lighter grey, close to white o.o, and the people who have more evil in them would be a darker grey, close to black o.o...=D.

 

[ChaosRocket]

I'm an atheist, but I've always hoped for a reincarnation/karma system. It seems the most fair. I believe the only wrong is hurting others. I think when you die, you should have to go to a purgatory type place and feel all the pain you've ever caused anyone else in life, and then get reincarnated.

 

[Jukain]

I also believe largely in the balance of the universe, and that absolute good or evil is impossible, that there must be some good in evil and some evil in good. I also think that a pure inbetween is also impossible, but merely exists as an average. Also, light and dark, I think, is largely a point of view. It's all a matter of how you want to perceive things.

My actual belief, however, is that I try to exist peacefully with my fellow beings. I cannot harm anything higher in complexity to an insect. If someone has a differing opinion from mine, I will usually let them be, as I have found it hard to make anyone change their opinion if they're stuck on it. I also still cling to the God of my childhood as a Christian. I also had a religious experience related to this. I don't go to church because it just plain bores the junk out of me. I'm also one of the few people in the world that still believes in the power of love, and I seek to one day have that feeling and give it to someone who will be with me for the rest of my life.

 

[Dark Espeon]

I cannot harm anything higher in complexity to an insect.

So harming Sponges, Cholleantarates (jellyfish, coral, sea anemone), Annelids (earthworm, leech), and mollusks (snail, octopi), as well as Plants and Fungi is okay?

 

[Roses Ablaze]

Well, you have to eat, don't you? o.o

 

[Jukain]

It's a figure of speech. Geez. I would not harm those animals, either. As for plants and fungi, I pretty much leave them alone, too, except for maybe picking a flower, berries, or fruit. The truth is I don't see much of invertebrate animals except for insects, and yes, I didn't consider other forms of life when I said that. If you're wondering about unicellular life, too, there are very few people that have concern for them, and I'm not one of them. I am aware that my logic sometimes has holes. I would very much appreciate if you didn't point that out. By the way, all food that I eat, I didn't have to get it in the wild myself, so I think that is negligible.