Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.
Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!
I'm not sure what this has to do with my hypothetical, which asks for a method by which one can determine which religions are valid. For example, how did you decide to have faith in Christian dogma/scriptures rather than those of Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, etc?NetDoc said:
Mine too.Master Vigil said:
I see what you're saying--it's my fault for not being clear: I want to have faith in something that is true. So, by what methods do I determine which religious doctrines are true (and therefore worthy of faith)?NetDoc said:
Why must it "cost" anything to believe things that are true? I'm not aware of any "cost" involved with believing that trees exist, for example...it's not difficult for me to accept, nor does it require me to pray or sing or give money to any collection plates, or knock on doors and proclaim to everyone who doesn't believe in trees the truth of their existence. The "cost" that a belief requires of its believers, then, seems independent of the validity of the belief.NetDoc said:
I'm a bit confused as to what you're saying here. I would consider any belief that is true as worth "following". The question is, how do I determine which beliefs are true?NetDoc said:
The thing is NetDoc, from my perspective theists are the ones who are playing God. I don't believe there is a God, so to me, all the things that theists attribute to God actually come from themselves. In my opinion, this explains a lot.NetDoc said:
NetDoc although I admire and respect the firmness of your convictions, it would help to remember your audience. The statement "Finding the Easter Bunny means everything" sounds impressive only to those who believe in the Easter Bunny.NetDoc said:
No, I "misunderstand" you just fine. :biglaugh:
). I judge them by those living up to the ideals of being a public servant.
Was there a reason for this free floating ad hominem? Surely you're not equating one who "sacrifices for the greater good" with one "who hates his life in this world" ...NetDoc said:
Old Humpty-Dumpty had nothing on some Christian Apologists. :banghead3NetDoc said:
And so it would apear, niether do you!
In my case, I was brought up, in some way, as a Muslim. However, I barely understood it. I remember reading about Islam in a book, but was too young to understand it. Now, a tiny thing scared me (I was a kid
), and I decided Islam was scary and I'd better pick a "nicer" religon. Now, though, I have decided, for myself, that Islam is correct. At one point, I remember thinking that pork used to be bad because of worms, but now it's healthy. I remember telling my "spirit guides," in the form of animals, to help change the weather or help someone. I remember saying a Christian prayer. I remember thinking that the Egyptians may have been right in the way, that in some way there were "lesser gods" or angels or spirit guides. I remember believing that God should be completely loving, that no matter what you are, He loves you, even if you hate Him. So, obviously, I've been through a lot of things, trying to decide for myself. Only after my teacher gave me a sort of push to learn more about Islam(at the time I said I was Muslim, because I didn't have a name for my invented religion). So, I decided to double-check about Islam, and found it that it actually wasn't "scary," as I had previously thought. So, in which religion should you have faith? The one that makes sense, the one that cannot be proven wrong. For me, it is Islam.Worshipping fire is not a smart decision.
