Atheist Or Agnostic?

[poksar]

in my opinion the concept of science  and  faith are  complementing each otherm,science explains  things more accureatly,and its  still hard  to  belive   that in this  big world,everythinh  came  together to form us just by dance,the chances  would   have  been too low

[(PSN)harryjackg]

Rule 1 of the Internet: NEVER bring up religion or a lack thereof. Sh*tstorm will inevitably ensue.

He totally called it :)

[SquirmyBurrito]

I just came out as a non-believer yesterday.

I don't believe there's a God. Not until proven.

 

Such drama unfolded.

Crying dad who wouldn't stop saying "My son is dead".

Keeps telling me I am incapable of love and respect because I don't believe in God.

Told me from now on, I can take care of myself, by myself (I'm 19 but still dependent).

Asked him what that meant, does that mean no more financial support? He did not elaborate.

 

My family is a very religious Catholic.

 

I've always questioned the idea of religion ever since I can remember.

We've had good years as a family without them knowing.

But all of a sudden, now that I'm out, I'm suddenly immoral in their eyes.

I'm still the same person as before I came out, but why do they make me feel like I was evil all along.

 

All morning I've been reading on Atheism, Bible Contradictions / Inconsistencies, Personal accounts of people coming out, etc...

But I can't seem to classify myself, Atheist or Agnostic?

 

 

I was hoping some people here could raise questions that might enlighten me..

I know Warframe is not the place for me to get answers, but honestly, I have nowhere else to go. Or talk to.

 

Congrats, I can't imagine that was easy. My situation was very very different.

[Calayne]

He totally called it :)

 

Trope averted.

 

Friendship is magic.

[WarOverlord]

Well, some people say,"Bring me proof He exists and I'll believe. If you can't find proof He exists, then you shouldn't believe either."

To that I say,"Bring me proof He doesn't exist and I won't believe. If you can't find proof He doesn't exist then you should believe with me."

Besides there have been too many miracles near me for me to not believe.

One of my mother's friends lost his hand in a war, and one day in church, it grew back.

I know most of you won't believe this, but it did.

They described it as "Coming back line by line like a typewriter."

His wife was freaking out.

My pastor's mother had leukemia, and everyone had spent weeks praying over her.

When she went to the hospital one day to surgery/treatment for it, they tested her blood and

1. She had no leukmia- it was all gone.

2. She had a........different blood type than she had before the leukemia.

Needless to say everyone was stunned.

Anyway I go to an Assemblies of God church.

If you can find one, try going there for a few days and see what you think of it.

There is a chance you will like it.

[OniDax]

Well, some people say,"Bring me proof He exists and I'll believe. If you can't find proof He exists, then you shouldn't believe either."

To that I say,"Bring me proof He doesn't exist and I won't believe. If you can't find proof He doesn't exist then you should believe with me."

Besides there have been too many miracles near me for me to not believe.

One of my mother's friends lost his hand in a war, and one day in church, it grew back.

I know most of you won't believe this, but it did.

They described it as "Coming back line by line like a typewriter."

His wife was freaking out.

My pastor's mother had leukemia, and everyone had spent weeks praying over her.

When she went to the hospital one day to surgery/treatment for it, they tested her blood and

1. She had no leukmia- it was all gone.

2. She had a........different blood type than she had before the leukemia.

Needless to say everyone was stunned.

Anyway I go to an Assemblies of God church.

If you can find one, try going there for a few days and see what you think of it.

There is a chance you will like it.

 

I understand what you're trying to do, but I don't think it'll have any effect but an eventual backlash. We all have our choices to make in life.

 

I for one am at least grateful this thread hasn't turned into a hate thread for or against religion. Other comment-based sites like IGN or Gamespot are like a minefield for a religious person. 

Edited June 17, 2014 by AntoineFlemming

[WarOverlord]

I understand what you're trying to do, but I don't think it'll have any effect but an eventual backlash.

What do you mean?

I'm just saying what has happened around me.

Edited June 17, 2014 by WarOverlord

[Vheraun]

Congratulations from me as well, for standing up for your beliefs. It's not widely done, sadly.

I am an atheist myself. I don't believe in the existence of a higher force of any nature. Until proven otherwise, of course.

 

I am also Greek, and this has been a relief, since most Greek people at the age of my parents or younger are mostly Christian, but almost always accepting of other beliefs, no matter how much they contradict their own. It's not even an issue for me, just another opinion. I'm as free to say I like Warframe as I am to say that I believe in something else or nothing at all.

 

 

Anyway, the one thing I have to say is, don't go around preaching it. The same stands for any religion and the lack thereof. People are usually bound to accept what you believe, but not if you're trying to convince them of it. Just accept that you have different beliefs.
However, reading the OP, I don't think this will be an issue. You just don't seem like a person who'd try to get others to believe what he believes.

 

All in all, do what you think is best for you. Nobody can in their own right prevent you from believing anything. Also, kudos to you for making this topic, this isn't an issue that's light to discuss, online or offline.

To the Warframe community, that was an astoundingly positive reaction. My faith in us has been lifted after its great fall in the MMObomb competition. Keep it up :D

Edited June 17, 2014 by Vheraun

[Zhoyzu]

I've been there before. Basically I issued my family an ultimatum. They can either accept me as I've always have been. Of they didn't it wasn't going to change anything anyways.

Pm me if you wanna talk.

[Senketsu_]

I was raised a strong Christian, im 19 and still am one. I dont really want to say anything about this, because It will lead to an argument. All im going to say is I pray you find peace in what ever you do. Ive also questioned my beliefs and have looked for answers, but my path lead me to a different conclusion then you have. I do want to say this though, You said how you always questioned your religion right. Did you ever try to look for answers through that though? Like im not trying to bash a bible over your head or anything. But you said how you read up and really studdied Atheism, have you ever tried to do that with the religion? maybe that might also help inforce your conclusion anyway, I hope your are able to find whats right for you.

[Calayne]

The paths in life are many and varied.

 

Each man walks his own path, guided by many things.

 

Ripples from one another sometimes change our course; They alter our perception, and sometimes, they determine our fate.

 

Hint: Trying to change a man on the Warframe forums probably isn't really the best way to do this, and we probably shouldn't, even if we could. We just don't know him enough, and I'd rather he have the free-will that God grants everyone. He will find his own path, as time goes on. Where that leads, not even he would know, much less us. 

 

Leave the man be, but provide comfort to our fellow man whenever he needs it. It's the least we can do, as we all run the race of life. The worst (Or perhaps, best) part of this race is... We all have different finishing lines. 

 

While I won't (And can't) stop you all from trying to share your experience with or without religion with the ultimate aim of him "changing course", realise that it will neither help him nor convince him to turn back. It simply isn't our burden to bear, but we have shoulders to give. Time will tell, really. And he'll find his own path, one way or another.

[SquirmyBurrito]

Since everyone is telling their religion life story I guess I'll toss mine in here. Hopefully it helps you somehow. 

My Father is Christian, my Mother is Buddhist. Neither of them wanted to create a huge religious argument over what religion to force on me so they decided to just educate me in all the major religions and then continue to provide me with whatever religious texts, documents, books, etc that I asked for. 

 

Then everything changed when the fire nat- er... wrong story, sorry, back to my story:
 

I was taken from my parents and put into foster care. There I met a woman who forced her religion upon me (I was VERY young at the time <5 years old), so I became a Christian. I attended church, sunday school, the whole shebang. Years later I was given to my grandfather (who was Christian, but not very religious), and then a couple years later I was back with my parents. 

 

[the whole thing repeats itself]

 

End up with my parents again, I'm now ~10 years old and my emotions and religious mindset is in turmoil. My parents (rather than take advantage of my confusion to persuade me to either side) decide to continue their plan from earlier. I read through so much religious things back in those days that I was more knowledgeable than the person teaching the bible study class at my school (I went to it a few times before realizing I wasn't learning anything new). 

 

Despite all the information I had been given, there was one thing my parents' hadn't reinforced, faith. In the absence of faith, I looked at everything with nothing more than pure logic. I looked for facts, and didn't care about the fluff. So I ended up becoming what is classified as an Agnostic Atheist. I have no problem with people not sharing my beliefs. It is your life, live it the way you want to. Believe in what you want to. Don't believe in what you don't want to. Love whoever you want to. Hate whoever you want to. Just don't attempt to get in the way of someone else's pursuit of that same degree of freedom... unless it is illegal. Then you should probably go ahead and cut back a little (or move somewhere where it isn't illegal).

 

TL;DR- It is your life do with it as you wish.

On the sexual orientation coming out thing: I think you should probably go ahead and tell them that as well. I know it probably seems like you're throwing fuel on the fire, but waiting until the flames die down may only lead to you reigniting old flames. I guess I'm looking at it as just ripping the bandaid off and getting it over with. Take this advice with a ton of salt though, as I've never had this particular experience myself (my parents were always very accepting of that kind of thing and even went so far as to bug my brothers and I about it while we were growing up (trying to make sure none of us felt like we needed to hide it I guess). 

 

I'm usually a bit of a pessimist, but I'll put my optimism pants on and cross my fingers for you :P

Edited June 27, 2014 by SquirmyBurrito

[Skynin]

“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

Luke 6:37-38

 

Right. Use their religion to defend yourself, to explain. You have this possibility.

Be yourself, this is most important. No matter what, don't let anyone to bring you down. This is your life.

Good luck!

[Darkfreack]

I just came out as a non-believer yesterday.

I don't believe there's a God. Not until proven.

 

Such drama unfolded.

Crying dad who wouldn't stop saying "My son is dead".

Keeps telling me I am incapable of love and respect because I don't believe in God.

Told me from now on, I can take care of myself, by myself (I'm 19 but still dependent).

Asked him what that meant, does that mean no more financial support? He did not elaborate.

 

Let me start with this, this sounds like the exact same hardship those with different sexual choices go thou. If you were to replace all instances of belief and replace them with gender based choice (avoiding words that might mark flags). It seems like an identical story.

 

Aside from that, I can from a mainly Catholic family, with the fact that we really don't care about closed doors church mentality. I can consider myself luck to be like this.

 

If worse comes to worse always keep in mind, you are never alone, there are others out there going thou the same hardships as you this very moment. Unlike you they might not have a form of venting or seeking assistance / advice.

 

The question I ask is what loving God would perform miracles in the form of his name in a fruit, but not save millions of people from suffering and painful death everyday? If God exists he needs to get his priorities straight :/

This is vaild in so many places wround the world, other religions question why some think this way.

 

 

Congratulations on coming out of the religious closet!

 

 

Again Gender based choices sound the freaking same right now lol.

 

 

----------

 

All else aside.

 

Be that it may, This is a gaming forums but we are all people in the end. So don't use the fact its a game forum to dismiss or undermine a user on here. There are some kind hearts here to give you moral support if you were to so desire it.

 

Example [DE]Drew is here, what more do you need :p

[BiancaRoughfin]

I consider my self Atheist but i do have a weak spiritual side. Only things worth of my devotion is the Earth and the creatures that inhabit it.

[DiabolusUrsus]

I hope you can eventually reconcile with your family. 

 

If it helps at all, I've come to look at it this way: I live my life focusing on being a good person. If it turns out that I am completely wrong and I find myself standing before God, I'll leave it to Him to decide whether or not He thinks I succeeded. If He decides that I'm not good enough simply because I didn't spend enough time worshiping Him, then He is not a god I would consider worth worshiping to begin with. 

 

I don't think you need to categorize yourself into pre-determined philosophical denominations. Beliefs are unique to the individual. Even a Catholic is likely to have a different sort of faith in God from a neighboring Catholic. It's all supremely personal, so don't worry about anything more than whether or not you agree or disagree with a given idea. 

[PenutReaper]

While I don't like to categorise myself, or others, I will happily elaborate on my views on religion and non-religion.

 

My, admittedly somewhat flawed, view of religion is that they all seem to say basically and to some extent, and I am really generalising here, that human life on earth was inevitable, because it's development was guided to some extent by whatever deity/deities.

 

I think that non-religious people have a more beautiful view of the world. If it was not inevitable, then life on earth happened by chance. Just think for a second how low the chance of life developing is, you have to have a star that is just right, a planet that is just right, an atmosphere and climate, someone to kickstart life. Now think about the chance of you, with your experiences and memories, thoughts and feelings, what do you think the chance of you being here today, as you are? Is that not incredible?

 

We are all doing the impossible just by existing. I think that fact alone is enough to get me out of bed in the morning, because even if I achieve nothing at all, I'm still beating impossible odds.

 

Getting to the OP's question, I would simply tell people that you are human. I don't see why beliefs should matter, at all.

Edited June 17, 2014 by PenutReaper

[tastycakes5]

Sounds like you've had a rough experience.

 

My family used to be pretty Catholic, but through watching the church and a lot of messy business we've come to realise that religion isn't what makes you a good person. There are good people in the church but at the same time there are many, many people only in it for status and power and control, and right now it's those people who are running the show, focusing on things mostly irrelevant to the bible like gay marriage and such, and not on the teachings that Jesus said were most important -- charity, kindness to others, forgiveness, productivity, and so on.

 

You don't have to choose a label. Maybe a lot of people will advise you be Athiest but athiesm has it's problems too. All the athiests I know are goods people who care about injustices and suffering but there's a lot of people who identify as athiest for the same of status, and a sense of superiority over religious people.

 

The most important thing is that you figure out what you believe and what feels right to you. Questioning your beliefs is difficult especially when you've been in an environment like yours for so long.

 

Be honest with yourself, and act according to the kind of person you want to be. All the best.

^this

[BloodArmoredApostle]

I just know that each and everyone of these people on this forum and that play games all have different interests and beliefs. It is just good to be in the company of critical thinkers, and people that actually want to deal with situations in a rational means. to OP, life is tough man. Everyone can atest to a bad experience as well in life, but you must be strong. Believe in who you are yourself, no one can do that for anyone. The one thing that no one can take away is your individuality. That is what makes you ...you! Everyone here is respective of their own feelings and beliefs. Everyone that has responded here has a great mind with a tinge of Soma Prime Sauce ya know? 

 

I know each person has their rock of information as both (life experiences and what we learn has taught us). It is good to be in the company of such a awesome community, and the chance to show you my friend that there is good out there in the world. It transcends gaming and everything else. We all have to live this life anyways. So, it is always better to make life better for yourself and others. Stretching a hand in a time of need has happened to me all to often when I should have been in the grave 6ft under so many times before. 

 

Don't lose who you are....remember no one can be you but you, and everyone here as well are good people and respectable. It may seem insane of me, but after having experienced war and seeing hunger from children...its so clear. Everyone here is apart of this community we make it what we want it to be. This community needs a huge thumbs up!!!! This thread as well. What ever pain you have suffered remember to deal with it in steps...address your pain. That way you can have a healthy life. The brainy people on here are smart, intelligent and motivated. I am sure that this community can encourage you in anyway you need man.

 

"Let him that desire peace. Prepare for war." 18th Century American Generals words....stay motivated yo...Fight for who you are always.

Edited June 17, 2014 by BloodArmoredApostle

[Deidaku]

That makes me wonder if tenno have a religion in the lore. Is lotus considered as a god?

 

Or are they "angels themselves" mag prime lore and such

[BloodArmoredApostle]

That makes me wonder if tenno have a religion in the lore. Is lotus considered as a god?

 

Or are they "angels themselves" mag prime lore and such

wow....such insight...I thought about that...sorry to be off topic...I don't DE has answered much about that though....

 

*Returns to OP topic*

[baron1357]

 

 

Then everything changed when the fire nat- er... wrong story, sorry, back to my story:

 

^This made me laugh for some reason

 

I'm usually a bit of a pessimist, but I'll put my optimism pants on and cross my fingers for you :P

me too

Edited June 17, 2014 by BARON1357

[(PSN)regal_domain]

I don't believe there's a God. Not until proven.

That right their is the hardest thing to explain because it is completely different for everyone reading through here ive seen plenty one guy said someones hand grew back and I would be leave it. right now im only 17 and i have seen been thorough alot  that has given me my basis of faith and why i believe If your interested heres mine if anyone would care to read 

Well all of my life i have been a christian and since i was in like kindergarten i was in a group called royal rangers

it is designed to reach teach and keep young boys in Gods word and help them on their path anyways we go on a campout once a year with all of the rangers in NY state and and the leadership training camp is one week long this is where it happens ive seen many other boys come to the lord their and speek in tongues( hard to explain its basicaly God speaking through them and ment for someone to hear and they will know the translation for themselves or someone will speek the translation out  ) So every night we have praise and worship and a devotion or something like that and it rains alot upstate when we camp the the coolest thing is when we start to praise and worship the storm clouds go right around up and up above are just stars its amazing. But i think the one thing that defiantly made be believe in God was when i was young like 11 or 12 befor i did the training camps one night almost every boy went up for the alter call and i was thinking the same I needed my own proof of him so out of all of the boys their praying i had its cooling feeling like a chill filling me up from toe to head and then the man speaking that night came over to me in the middle of all of the other kids and said that i was full of the holy spirit and i was covered in it thats how i know that feeling is the holy spirit bit it can be different.

I don't have a problem with atheist as long as it stays you believe what you want and i will believe that i know the most anoying thing to me is when some "smart kid" comes to me when they hear im a christian and start bombarding me with what science says etc and i know the same goes the other way too i tend to avoid all of that. Also if you do decide to go to a church alot of religion is corrupted make sure you know the bible and dont just listen to the speaker question things he might not even know then look it up and not google well you can google where in the bible.

Anyways do what you feel is right dont just read those books and take them as fact do your own research dont go by what some suck up professor says. Side note many atheists who were scientist that went out to disprove Gods existence ended up believing and i don't know how true this is but my chemistry teacher was telling me that most neural scientists believe in God 

And last thing anyone who is good with addiction help or just fells like helping someone  i really could use some bad its the one bad thing in my life right now i need to get fixed. 

You would think after reading all of that that i have it all together but i dont i have one major problem i did not know at the time i first did it but porn it the one problem i cannot get rid of ive tried hundreds of things to get rid of is blocking sights/ keywords but i was able to find loop holes i relaly wish google would make an option to just block it in total you know out of sight out of mind i wish i could do that maby one day i will make such a program. I hate it so much ive contemplated cutting my hand of or you know what else its so bad i cannot explain how much i hate and wish it was never created  but for now i need help badly really just someone to help me and encourage me to live without  it would mean the word to me. Lets keep that off of this forum and just PM me it would mean so much.    

[RejectionOfFate]

I have had the same issue myself the past few years.

I was cut off from any communication devices, internet, and entertainment (books, handheld games, etc) until I changed my mind.

 

I did not, and still do not. Eventually they had the idea forced into their heads and got over it. I am mostly ignored now by my in-house family, but the rest is accepting of it.

They still bother me every Sunday by getting into my face about going to church to save myself. From what?

 

They discovered religion and are highly religious. They have no right to force that onto myself, nor do I allow them to.

It is your call to make in the end. Nobody else's. If they can accept it, congratulations. If they cannot, then they are hypocrites of their own beliefs.

 

Let nobody change you but yourself.

[WarOverlord]

-snip-

Hey I went to Royal Rangers too!

Nice to see someone else.