Mosques

[Lord_Santa]

just a couple of Euro from a Scandinavian point of view:

not long ago, I sat down with a Muslim, discussing his religion
I said, that he'd have to forgive me, for not referring to God as Allah
upon which he answered:

"most people get this wrong. God and Allah are one and the same, there is no difference"

I (of course) was pretty baffled by this and continued to inquire about this, upon where he tells me that even Jesus is in the Holy Quran

and lo' and behold:

http://quran.com/search?q=jesus

this man was from Egypt, at the age of 69
he is a firm believer of Islam, but has failed his own beliefs, due to alcohol, etc.

he can repent, by taking a pilgrimage, alas his age and health prohibits him
he is certain that God sees him as lesser of a being, than his fellow Muslims, due to the fact that he drinks and smokes

it is sad to see any one person feel as if they've let their creator down
alas, there was not much I could do, but try and convince him that God don't give a fuck

I believe in God, albeit not any God that any one but me knows about
I have my own religion, due to having studied others
I've never "deep-studied" any one religion, but rather talked to people about theirs

and as far as Mosques go; I don't have a problem with them, on any level
it is good for people whom believe in the same faith, to be able to connect with their respective faith(s) with other people

religions are (mainly) based on a common belief, hence they need somewhere to practice this

I personally practice my belief at home, or out in nature, or where ever I find it suitable
I don't preach it, nor do I ever talk about it, unless there is a religious debate going on

[Limewater]

I have my own religion, due to having studied others
I've never "deep-studied" any one religion, but rather talked to people about theirs

I have a very hard time reconciling these two sentences.

[Lord_Santa]

I have my own religion, due to having studied others
I've never "deep-studied" any one religion, but rather talked to people about theirs

I have a very hard time reconciling these two sentences.

I have studied religions on a not-so-deep level

as in, I've met people from various religions, I've read about them and I've come to the conclusion that all of them are wrong, because all of them are right

hence I have my own, based on my own interpretation of the Universe and everything surrounding it

I have read some of the literary works (bible, quran, buddhism, etc.) in order to get a comprehension of what the religion is teaching

but I have mostly learned from people practicing the respective religions

should be noted that I was partly raised strict Christian, partly strict Atheist

and I've always had a genuine interest in religions, hence why I have studied them, albeit I have not gone so far as to educate myself in any of them

just because I've read the bible, don't mean that I know everything about the religion itself

one needs to know how to practice it as well and learn from people in that given religion

[Limewater]

[
I have studied religions on a not-so-deep level

as in, I've met people from various religions, I've read about them and I've come to the conclusion that all of them are wrong, because all of them are right

hence I have my own, based on my own interpretation of the Universe and everything surrounding it

I have read some of the literary works (bible, quran, buddhism, etc.) in order to get a comprehension of what the religion is teaching

but I have mostly learned from people practicing the respective religions

I'm not (entirely) trying to give you crap, but you seem to be reaching some pretty strong conclusions for having admittedly read only small portions from a few religious texts.

Also, for what it's worth, I'm nobody, but I strongly advise against basing one's knowledge of a particular religion upon talking to a few people who claim that religion. From my experience, for most religions, a vast majority of self-proclaimed adherents don't really know a whole lot about what they claim to believe.

[Lord_Santa]

[
I have studied religions on a not-so-deep level

as in, I've met people from various religions, I've read about them and I've come to the conclusion that all of them are wrong, because all of them are right

hence I have my own, based on my own interpretation of the Universe and everything surrounding it

I have read some of the literary works (bible, quran, buddhism, etc.) in order to get a comprehension of what the religion is teaching

but I have mostly learned from people practicing the respective religions

I'm not (entirely) trying to give you crap, but you seem to be reaching some pretty strong conclusions for having admittedly read only small portions from a few religious texts.

Also, for what it's worth, I'm nobody, but I strongly advise against basing one's knowledge of a particular religion upon talking to a few people who claim that religion. From my experience, for most religions, a vast majority of self-proclaimed adherents don't really know a whole lot about what they claim to believe.

I've read up bits here and there and spoken to people

that and the general information one gathers throughout reading on the internet, watching news, documentaries, etc.

I've met quite more than 1 Muslim, so I'm not basing my entire knowledge of their religion upon one man's belief

I've just come to the conclusion that God is not religious, whereas I decided to create my own point of view

none of the religions I've heard about/read about has had a perfect conclusion to me, thus I've merely gotten the basics covered and then further investigated when necessary (as mentioned, no deep studies)

at least I've tried to look into them, before making the conclusion that I am atheist, or whatever

I've just not found any one single religion, which applies to me

but I am in the firm belief that any one religion is as right as any other, to the people worshiping that particular one

I may come off as ignorant as any atheist out there, but that don't mean that I say that any religion is right, nor wrong> any religion, preached by any one, is right in their own mind, just as mine is right for me

the God I believe in is not religious, which creates the foundation for what I believe in

if someone is a Christian, Mormon, Atheist, Muslim, Buddhist, whatever does not concern me at all

I am always interested in listening and learning about their religions, thus I talk to a lot of different people, from various religions

fortunately in Sweden there are quite many various religions and various views upon how one should worship these, thus I learn from the people practising the very same

I'm saying that I can comprehend their faiths, I'm not saying that I know all there is to know about them

but unlike many, many, many religious and/or atheist people, I (at least) take time to try and learn from them

and for me as a believer in my own faith to dismiss others, is no more wrong, nor right than anyone of any religion and or atheist doing the very same?

I can't think of a single Christian I've met whom ever bothered to dig deeper into the Muslim faith, but just what they've heard their fellow men preaching

strong conclusions?

I don't think so, no more than an atheist proclaiming that God does not exist
nor so, than a Christian acknowledging only their one God

I don't see the point of argument here

do keep in mind that my English is rather limited, since I basically learned everything I know about the language from computers and books, so I may use the wrong terms from time to time

:edit

I think you might have misread the post, or I didn't clarify

I think every religion is wrong
because every religion is right

what I believe to be right may not be right to other people
what I believe is wrong may not be wrong to other people

it sounds simpler in my head...

I'll try to decipher it:

if I believed in *insert deity here* as the one and only true God, then I would automatically believe that I am right

thus everyone else must be wrong

but the way I perceive it, if I believe in my God, then that God is what is right, but I believe that I worship the same God that everyone regardless of religion worships; just that I don't want to put a name on my religion, since it is non-existential in any other way than my head

I do have a book which I go by, but the beauty of that, is that I can change whatever codex I live by at any given time

just because I believe in my God, doesn't mean that the Christian God doesn't exist to Christians, it just means that my God is mine

their God is theirs and he most certainly exists in their world, hence they are as right as I am...

this all sounds better in my head...

[Jrecee]

How exactly do you go about creating your own religion? Imo this is one of the problems of religion. You base the ideas of your religion on other religions, but apply only the parts you like. How do you go about convincing yourself that something you've developed in your own mind is real? I'm writing a screenplay, and I spend a lot of time thinking about it, but never have I come close to believing what I've written is true.

I think if this belief you've developed didn't have the word god in it or didn't take inspiration from other religions, it would be looked at as insane by most people. It seems like if you think of anything out of the ordinary and believe it (i.e. judgement day when skynet takes over) you're locked up. But if your belief in any way is related to the creation of the world, it's completely acceptable.

You say you haven't deeply researched any religions, but you understand the basic concepts of them. So how do you make a credible argument to yourself that something you've invented is real when it has been completely developed within your mind?

It sounds like your belief is no more than what the typical "christian" has; A picking and choosing of the things that sound nice and a throwing away of the stuff you don't like.

[Lord_Santa]

I have developed my religion based not only on other religions

per example:
I believe in Karma (instant)
I believe in being nice to one each-other
I believe that if I try and be a good person, people will be good to me (this has failed, over and over and over and over and over, but I am persistent in this)
I believe that when I die something good will happen

basically what I believe in is common sense, but what is common sense to me, is not always common sense to others

I try to hug a stranger every time I'm down-town, since I believe that a hug can disarm any one hostile person

I do come off as insane, albeit there are other words for it
but in the end, I am 32 years old and have been on a sick-leave for almost 10 years, due to actually being insane

that is a matter of interpretation and another discussion, but rest assure that the things going on inside my head make perfect sense to me

I'll try and give a run-down as to why I believe in all of this... and please, don't judge a person by his background

I grew up partly with my own family, whom were deeply criminal and atheist, partly in a strictly Christian foster-care (my parents spent a lot of time in jail), thus I got two differing views as a child

as I grew older, I myself became an atheist (after going through a long phase of trying to become what they called a Satanist, which really only was a La'veyanist)

as I in my early twenties became homeless in a town where I hardly knew anyone and in a country, where I was not welcome, due to not having any identification papers, I became a criminal myself

needless to say, I've done horrible things, need not mention, which is part of the point I'm trying to make

as I was wandering the streets, slinging drugs and generally being a bad person, I tried every once in a while to enter a church; any church would suffice

alas, I always came to a closed door, which baffled me, since I thought they should always be open, thus I figured that God didn't want to listen to me, nor any of his servants

thus I wandered alone and I did more and more horrible things, ending up one time to many at psyche-ward, etc.

after a couple of years I commited myself to rehab, due to excessive drug-abuse of all kinds and that was when I tried to change

the change came in the form of me starting to help other people with whatever issues I could

be it helping an old lady cross the street, or helping my fellow homeless people find a place to stay for the night

upon doing this, I felt better about myself and found that people, instead of being scared of me, embraced me

thus I started hugging strangers, for no other reason than to give them some of my human-warmth

around this time, I started praying
mind you, I didn't know what deity to pray to, so I just prayed out into the blue, hoping to get response

well, 2½ years on the street and I finally got an apartment

I kept up my good way of life and had things going good for me

thus I concluded that someone was watching over me, eventhough I had renounced all faiths

so I figured that God isn't religious, if he cares about a washed-out old junkie like me, since I didn't go to any churches/mosques/similar

nor did I preach any deity's name to anyone

I just prayed

and to me that worked just fine

thus I funded my own belief, which is the belief in humanity, going by common sense and what I perceive to be just

I am against all odds still alive and although I struggle through every day with various mental illnesses, I am still glad to be here and I strongly believe that without my faith, I would not have made it this far

I've lead a very, very long life and the chances of me getting this far has not been high

thus I'm certain of many things inside my head and nobody has yet to prove me wrong

do note that I do eat medication for schizophrenia, as well as a wide variety of other stuff

this does not make me anything but human in my eyes

I may come of as weird, or whatever, but unless provoked, I am mostly harmless and try to justify my actions and repent for all those whom I have wronged

I realize that this may not be ideal for everyone, but it works for me, as I have not hurt another living being for years now and I have been greeted with kindness from others, although many have a hard time respecting me

I live my life in the full belief, that if I treat others well, they shall treat me well too

I do not find myself greater than any one else, on the contrary, I perceive myself as the lowest standing creature on the planet, but nonetheless I feel worthy of being a human

and once again... in my head things sound differently than on paper

I am a very mentally ill person (according to the psychiatrists/psychotherapists/psychologists/therapists/doctors, etc.) and I've had 28 years of therapy, which resulted in nothing more than me just being able to cope with life

please do not make any mistake of my past shrouding my present

I am and always strive to be a good person, no matter my flaws

I may be insane, but in a world like this, I think it's the healthier alternative

forgive my ramblings... I get caught up from time to time... hopefully this answered a couple of questions?

[Luke]

Blah, blah blah. Religion, blah blah.

If you guys want to wax philosophical about religion, read A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME. One of Hawking's first set of questions (paraphrased by yours truly):

What did God do/how did he spend his time before he created the Universe?

Did God have a choice in creating the Universe?

If the Big bang theory is correct, the Universe is always expanding. Why is it that we can measure atoms, but not prove the Universe is expanding?

Why would an omnipotent and omnipresent God have a need for evolution?

How come people listen to Insane Clown Posse?

Fucking magnets. How do they work?

Okay, I kind of tailed of there at the end.

[MrPopo]

How come people listen to Insane Clown Posse?

Because they're afraid that if they don't Violent Jay will come to their house and fuck them up. That guy is scary.

[Limewater]

Blah, blah blah. Religion, blah blah.

If you guys want to wax philosophical about religion, read A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME. One of Hawking's first set of questions (paraphrased by yours truly):

What did God do/how did he spend his time before he created the Universe?

Did God have a choice in creating the Universe?

If the Big bang theory is correct, the Universe is always expanding. Why is it that we can measure atoms, but not prove the Universe is expanding?

Why would an omnipotent and omnipresent God have a need for evolution?

Really? Those are his questions?

I'm pretty disappointed in Stephen Hawking.