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11 Aug 04 - 11:51 PM (#1245465) Subject: BS: Religon From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull Waht Religon should you be? I just took the relgon test at beliefnet.org, it said i should be a Liberal Quacker, with 100 % compatability. go to beliefnet.org, click on the top lef wehere it says "Belief-O matic", then answerr the questions as honsestly as possible, then it will tell you waht religon to be. it gives you a few religons to choose from, in order of compatability, the lowest one I got, was with Jehovas witnes, [only 21 %]. |
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11 Aug 04 - 11:55 PM (#1245472) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Amos You already are a liberal quacker, John!! :>)) One of the most liberal and well-oiled of quackers! A |
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12 Aug 04 - 12:00 AM (#1245477) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Blackcatter That's funny jHon, I've always thought you as being a Witness. |
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12 Aug 04 - 12:02 AM (#1245480) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Amos I'm afraid the questions just don't cover all possibilities; as a result this software thinks I am a Protestant. Sigh. A |
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12 Aug 04 - 12:04 AM (#1245482) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: CarolC I already tried being a Quaker. I was too weird for them. |
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12 Aug 04 - 12:06 AM (#1245485) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Jerry Rasmussen Wotta fenomenally stooppid quiz. I come out 100% Orthodox Quaker (interesting in that Christ is hardly even mentioned in the questions..) My second highest score is Mainline/liberal Protestant and my third, in a neck in neck tie is Mainline Concervative Protestant. Half the questions were so poorly phrased that I would have to ask five questions before I could answer them. Jerry Mainline Liberal Protestant in real life |
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12 Aug 04 - 12:45 AM (#1245504) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Bill D gee...31 on a scale of 100...I wonder what I said that suggested I was THAT tolerant? *grin* some of those questions didn't HAVE the right choices... |
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12 Aug 04 - 12:54 AM (#1245507) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Jeremiah McCaw Fascinating site. Great capsule summaries of various belief systems. As for the quiz itself, apparently I'm a unitarian universalist. And all this time I've been describing myself as a "semi-agnostic pseudo-taoist". |
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12 Aug 04 - 01:00 AM (#1245512) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Blackcatter But that is Unitarian Universalist! |
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12 Aug 04 - 03:16 AM (#1245546) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Peace 1. Hinduism (100%) 2. Mahayana Buddhism (99%) 3. Neo-Pagan (87%) 4. Unitarian Universalism (86%) 5. Jainism (86%) 6. Sikhism (84%) |
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12 Aug 04 - 03:44 AM (#1245561) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: el ted I came out as a stormtrooper. |
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12 Aug 04 - 04:19 AM (#1245579) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Jeanie That's a very interesting site, John - I'll be exploring it further. Thanks ! - jeanie (another Unitarian Universalist 100% and Liberal Quaker 97 %) |
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12 Aug 04 - 04:28 AM (#1245585) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Catherine Jayne I got 100% Neo Pagan! |
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12 Aug 04 - 04:41 AM (#1245591) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: JohnInKansas Well jOhn, I tried, but after I answered the first five questions the site disconnected me. Three times in a row. (I also note the site has no valid privacy certificate.) John |
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12 Aug 04 - 04:52 AM (#1245596) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Wolfgang From 100% secular humanist down to 12 % seventh day adventist. some of those questions didn't HAVE the right choices... (Bill) Was 'none of the above' or 'doesn't apply' not good enough for you, Bill? That questionnaire should not be taken very serious. Wolfgang |
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12 Aug 04 - 05:01 AM (#1245598) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: JennyO I didn't realise at first there are two quizzes on that site. I took the "What's your spiritual Type?" one first and found it not very satisfactory. I was classified as a Spiritual Straddler, which, when I clicked on it, led me to a forum of so-called like minded folks, only it appeared that this was where all the pagans had found themselves because the questions were so inadequate. I thought, well at least I am in the right company, being pagan myself. I couldn't find any mention of the terms people here had been mentioning, so I looked for another quiz on that site and found it when I clicked on "Belief-o-matic". These questions were much better and wide-ranging, and also gave you the option of rating the importance of your answer to each question. I finished up with a 100% match to Neo-Pagan, which is exactly as it should be. It was a reasonable description of it too, I thought. I was a bit surprised at the order some of them came in though - Christian Science 79% and Taoism 54%? - but in the main, I think this second quiz was quite good. These were my results for the top 12. 1. Neo-Pagan (100%) 2. New Age (97%) 3. Unitarian Universalism (85%) 4. New Thought (82%) 5. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (79%) 6. Mahayana Buddhism (79%) 7. Liberal Quakers (74%) 8. Scientology (71%) 9. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (70%) 10. Theravada Buddhism (69%) 11. Hinduism (60%) 12. Taoism (54%) |
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12 Aug 04 - 05:15 AM (#1245606) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: mooman Mahayana Buddhism 100% according to the Belief-O-Matic... Funnily enough I am a Mahayana Buddhist! Peace moo |
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12 Aug 04 - 07:08 AM (#1245650) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Mooh Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestant. I'm Anglican, so I guess I passed the test. Peace, Mooh. |
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12 Aug 04 - 08:04 AM (#1245672) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Ellenpoly 1. Liberal Quakers (100%) 2. Neo-Pagan (93%) 3. Unitarian Universalism (91%) 4. Secular Humanism (89%) 24. Eastern Orthodox (18%) 25. Islam (18%) 26. Orthodox Judaism (18%) 27. Roman Catholic (18%) Kinda interesting..xx..e |
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12 Aug 04 - 08:50 AM (#1245697) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: mack/misophist I agree with Rasmussen. The questions were badly worded. There were a number of cases where my "wrong" answer was more appropriate than the right ong. Besides, what kind of continuum puts Unitarians as more secular than Secular Humanists? |
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12 Aug 04 - 09:52 AM (#1245746) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: GUEST No surprise to see that Mudcatters are all Protestant/New Age/borrowed Buddhist. Not a Catholic or a Jew or a Muslim among the lot. No surprise there. |
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12 Aug 04 - 09:56 AM (#1245750) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: mooman What is a "borrowed Buddhist" Guest? moo |
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12 Aug 04 - 10:08 AM (#1245762) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Two_bears Here are my results. No I am not Hindu ir anything else on the list. ;-) I practise a combination of Native American Spirituality, but I use Hawai'ian mysticism for prayer. 1. Hinduism (100%) 2. Mahayana Buddhism (97%) 3. Jainism (93%) 4. Neo-Pagan (88%) 5. Unitarian Universalism (78%) 6. Sikhism (76%) 7. Bahá'í Faith (75%) 8. Reform Judaism (72%) 9. Orthodox Judaism (71%) 10. Theravada Buddhism (70%) 11. Scientology (68%) 12. Liberal Quakers (67%) 13. New Age (67%) 14. New Thought (66%) 15. Islam (63%) 16. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (57%) 17. Orthodox Quaker (56%) 18. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (54%) 19. Taoism (46%) 20. Secular Humanism (44%) 21. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (38%) 22. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (37%) 23. Seventh Day Adventist (35%) 24. Jehovah's Witness (27%) 25. Nontheist (26%) 26. Eastern Orthodox (25%) 27. Roman Catholic (25%) ANL - 2B |
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12 Aug 04 - 10:13 AM (#1245768) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: freda underhill i was Unitarian Universalism. |
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12 Aug 04 - 10:20 AM (#1245778) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: GUEST,liberal My results said I ain't gonna get any mail from the Bush camp! |
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12 Aug 04 - 10:21 AM (#1245779) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: GUEST Well, I found my results quite interesting. I would describe myself as a secularist who was raised Catholic. Here are my results: 1. Reform Judaism (100%) 2. Sikhism (98%) 3. Orthodox Judaism (96%) 4. Bahá'í Faith (91%) 5. Islam (81%) 6. Liberal Quakers (79%) 7. Unitarian Universalism (71%) 8. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (69%) 9. Orthodox Quaker (64%) 10. Neo-Pagan (64%) Sure, that makes sense. One thing I found quite suspicious about the site (which to me seems to have a strong Protestant bias), is it doesn't ask about a belief in BVM and female deities. My spiritual type was old fashioned seeker. I believe that one is pretty accurate. |
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12 Aug 04 - 10:35 AM (#1245792) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Pied Piper Unitarian Universalism 100%, and I've learnt a new word Revering, which I will not be rushing to use. PP |
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12 Aug 04 - 10:36 AM (#1245796) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: GUEST Well personally, I revere chocolate. |
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12 Aug 04 - 11:05 AM (#1245819) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Bill D oh! I took the wrong test! I hadn't seen any "none of the above" listed. It's good they don't ask if you believe in reading instructions carefully. so...doing the right one...... I was a Unitarian many years ago... 1. Unitarian Universalism (100%) 2. Secular Humanism (97%) 3. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (93%) 4. Liberal Quakers (90%) 5. Theravada Buddhism (73%) 6. Neo-Pagan (72%) 7. Nontheist (70%) 8. Bahá'í Faith (63%) 9. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (57%) 10. New Age (57%) 11. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (56%) 12. Taoism (52%) 13. Reform Judaism (51%) 14. New Thought (44%) 15. Mahayana Buddhism (42%) 16. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (41%) 17. Orthodox Quaker (40%) 18. Jehovah's Witness (36%) 19. Scientology (36%) 20. Sikhism (35%) 21. Jainism (22%) 22. Eastern Orthodox (17%) 23. Islam (17%) 24. Orthodox Judaism (17%) 25. Roman Catholic (17%) 26. Seventh Day Adventist (16%) 27. Hinduism (13%) |
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12 Aug 04 - 11:25 AM (#1245845) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: GUEST I'm really not surprised that my #1 was reform Judaism. I do share most of the beliefs as they are laid out (quite well, I think, for this sort of a thing) here. Most everyone I've ever been close to/been friends with have been Catholics, Jews, Native Americans who were either traditionalists or Catholic, and African Americans raised in the Baptist tradition who have become secularists like myself. I do share certain beliefs with certain religions, but I wouldn't use the term "god/God" to describe those beliefs. However, the questions don't allow you to make secularist responses to the questions, just the new agey sorts of answers are allowed. How Protestantly predictable. ;-) For instance, my #2 was Sikh. Here is the definition given for Belief in Deity: "God Almighty is impersonal, formless ultimate reality and He is the Creator, personal savior, inner teacher, omniscient, omnipotent, and incorporeal." Now, if you replace 'God Almighty' with 'the force which created the universe' that statement is a very accurate description of what I believe. As far as my #5 choice being Islam, I'm guessing it is because I responded to the questions about Jesus (not that this quiz is Christian centric or anything--no mention of BVM, Allah, etc) not being an incarnation of the Christian God. Muslims view Christ as one of many prophets, but not as an incarnation of God. I too believe in human prophets, and in fact, I believe BVM to have been one. But I would believe they are specially endowed with a gift of communicating thoughts related to the aspects of existence that are far greater than ourselves. So you can see, in many ways I think this little belief quiz, if it weren't so Christian centric, could be a fairly useful tool for a lot of people to learn more about different religious beliefs. I'd even recommend it if it focused more on the teachings of prophets, poets, and philosophers, rather than all those stern vs sweet God Almighties. |
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12 Aug 04 - 11:35 AM (#1245857) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: GUEST,Adolf Now that was a surprise.... me Jewish?????? |
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12 Aug 04 - 12:29 PM (#1245916) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Little Hawk Not a bad test, although some of the time one would like to give more than one answer...and other times, one would like to have a different question asked on the list! My top results: 1. Mahayana Buddhism (100%) 2. Neo-Pagan (99%) 3. Unitarian Universalism (93%) 4. New Age (84%) 5. Liberal Quakers (82%) 6. Hinduism (81%) What am I actually? Part of all those and part of several others too. I scored lowest as a Catholic by the way. :-) |
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12 Aug 04 - 12:35 PM (#1245923) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: GUEST Well, as a person who was raised Catholic, I would have been pretty surprised not to see it on my list. It came in at #12 for me. I have a strong belief in peoples' need for both ritual and myth (personal and collectiv), so it came as no surprise to me that my results reflected that with Reformed Judaism at #1 (and I seem to be the only one so far who got it--or am I merely the only one willing to admit it?). Reformed Judaism has the tolerance my native Catholic religion lacks, yet doesn't sacrifice the ritual and myths that are important aspects of belief IMO. Though neither Judaism or Catholicism reflects my beliefs about gender equity, which are much more tolerant than any organized religion. |
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12 Aug 04 - 12:37 PM (#1245926) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: GUEST I would also like to add that I find the bias and ignorance about nontheists at this website quite appalling. |
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12 Aug 04 - 12:48 PM (#1245946) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Little Hawk "Nontheists"? Elaborate on that if you please. I just checked my large Websters Dictionary, and it doesn't contain that word. |
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12 Aug 04 - 12:54 PM (#1245957) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: GUEST That is because the religionists made it up Little Hawk, just as a way to demonize us! Here is what it says at the website: NONTHEIST What Atheists & Agnostics Believe Atheists do not believe in a god or deity. Atheists' beliefs are similar to those of the Secular Humanists but do not necessarily include the emphasis on humanity's ability to improve the human condition. Views on contemporary issues vary widely. Agnostics are inclined to question the existence of supernatural being(s) or a force, e.g., the answer to whether or not God (or Deity) exists would be: "We do not and/or cannot know." |
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12 Aug 04 - 01:00 PM (#1245966) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Blackcatter Two things: 1) If the quiz is so Chirstian-biased, why do so many of us come up as non-Christians? b) Why are non-theists/Athiests taking a quiz about religious belief? As a former Atheist, I can confidently say that I'd answer none of the above for nearly all of the questions. |
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12 Aug 04 - 01:05 PM (#1245975) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Little Hawk Uh-huh. I see. Well, then I was a nontheist until my early 20's. As for believing in God (or a god or gods), that is a form of terminology that can mean many things. Do you believe in life? I define God as Life....all of it. |
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12 Aug 04 - 01:09 PM (#1245979) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: GUEST I think the problem is with the semantics, Blackcatter. The name of the website is "belief.net" not "Christianbelief.net". Beliefs can encompass much more than the narrow scope of organized religious sects, and can include theory, philosophy, creativity...many things. But this website is being disingenuous about it, using Christianity as the default setting without telling you that is what they are doing. Yet, it is clearly a Christian website. One that is informative on some matters, and pig ignorant of many others. But it most definitely is a website about religion, not beliefs. |
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12 Aug 04 - 02:35 PM (#1246052) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: GUEST,Righteous Lord of all As a nameless GUEST - you're considered by many around here to be pig ignorant too. |
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12 Aug 04 - 02:58 PM (#1246064) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: freightdawg If jOhn from Hull is a Quacker, what does that make Geoff the Duck? and me, am I a barker? howler? or, heaven forbid, a whiner? ah, I've got it.... I'm a growler.... Freightdawg |
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12 Aug 04 - 03:12 PM (#1246073) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: harvey andrews 100% secular humanist! Thank God for that!!! |
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12 Aug 04 - 03:18 PM (#1246081) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Amos LOL, Harvey! A |
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12 Aug 04 - 04:33 PM (#1246134) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: GUEST,Blakccatter Harvey: She appreciates the thanks. |
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12 Aug 04 - 04:50 PM (#1246151) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Two_bears NONTHEIST What Atheists & Agnostics Believe Actually; agnostics are not nontheists. They do not have an opinion on either side of the equasion. They are not sure if there is a Creator or not. ANL - 2B |
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12 Aug 04 - 04:55 PM (#1246158) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: PoppaGator Stay away for 16 hours, and see how much you miss! I haven't taken the test yet, but will do so soon and report in. Great thread, Sir jOhn! As a more-or-less agnostic ex-Catholic turned Beatnik Buddhist, I wonder what pigeonhole I'll be assigned to. I might come off as a Quaker or Unitarian, but my Irish-American upbringing would never allow be to join up with any variety of Protestantism (except, perhaps, for African Methodist Episcopal or some such black-gospel church). |
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12 Aug 04 - 04:58 PM (#1246163) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Two_bears 1) If the quiz is so Chirstian-biased, why do so many of us come up as non-Christians? Good point b) Why are non-theists/Athiests taking a quiz about religious belief? As a former Atheist, I can confidently say that I'd answer none of the above for nearly all of the questions. Check mate. I'm a former Athiest too. It was an OBE in 1996 that gave me my spiritual awakening? What gave you your spiritual awakening? If you do not mind answering (by PM or here if you are comfortable) ANL - 2B |
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12 Aug 04 - 05:07 PM (#1246174) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: PoppaGator Well, hewer are my results -- not much different from what I've seen for many others here: 1. Mahayana Buddhism (100%) 2. Neo-Pagan (93%) 3. Unitarian Universalism (89%) 4. Liberal Quakers (85%) 5. New Age (82%) 6. Hinduism (79%) 7. Theravada Buddhism (76%) 8. Reform Judaism (71%) 9. Jainism (69%) 10. Taoism (68%) 11. Bahá'í Faith (63%) 12. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (63%) 13. Sikhism (62%) 14. New Thought (58%) 15. Orthodox Quaker (54%) 16. Scientology (54%) 17. Secular Humanism (51%) 18. Orthodox Judaism (50%) 19. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (42%) 20. Islam (41%) 21. Seventh Day Adventist (30%) 22. Nontheist (26%) 23. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (26%) 24. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (23%) 25. Eastern Orthodox (19%) 26. Roman Catholic (19%) 27. Jehovah's Witness (19%) I didn't think I was more Mormon than Catholic, or more Islamic than Nontheistic, but there you have it. And slightly more than half Scientologist? No way (from what little I know of L. Ron's "church")! |
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12 Aug 04 - 06:32 PM (#1246239) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Blackcatter Two Bears, I studied religon in college (M.A. in Religion, M.A. in Philosophy). After college, a girlfriend was interested in Paganism, specifically Wicca. I went with her to take a 6 month weekly course on the religion, assuming that it would be merely educational. About halfway through the course, I realized that my belief in a Universe that is controlled by laws and not by any capricious god could fit pretty well with what I was learning. I saw that magic can be effective and still fit into my personal cosmology. To me Gods and Goddesses are achetypes like Jung and Campbell taught. Magic is just another force of nature, available to all, just like electricity is available by plugging into an outlet. I honor the changing of the seasons (sort of, I live in Florida), I honor the path my life is taking as well as those of my friends. During that course, I became an Ecclectic Wiccan (one who doesn't follow a specific "tradition" or path within Wicca), and also my girlfriend and I broke up. Cool thing, though, I got to keep her best friend as my best friend. That friend was not only Pagan, but introduced me to the Unitarian Universalist Church. I began attending and found that I was welcomed, regardless of the fact that I'm sort of both Athiest and Pagan. As odd as it may seem (to non UUs) I can consider myself to be a UU Atheist Pagan. Through UUism, I found a community of people who were more interested in organization and community than many Pagans. The UU community also fits closely with my social and political leanings and so I've been able to persue learning and connections that way. I have also incorporated Buddhist beliefs in my worship and regularly celebrate major holidays with both Chirstian and Jewish friends (I always bring the home-made gefilte fish for Pesach). I have worshipped at the local mosque many times as well, and have been an invited guest at the National Mosque in Washington D.C. through close Muslim friends. I find the Qu'ran a beautiful book and I have liberal Muslim friends who practice their faith yet follow the modern understandings of equality for all and acceptance of other faiths. I became an ordained minister with the on-line church, the Universal Life Church, so that I may be able to perform legal handfastings and weddings, as well as be official clergy in hospitals to visit those in the community who consider me to be a religious advisor and counselor. I have handfasted over 30 couples, both gay and straight and have even blessed a couple group unions. I lead occasional services at UU churches through Florida (as a lay leader). I am the president of the Pagan group at my UU church (I have also served on the board of the church, itself). Whew. I hope that answered you question. Blackcatter (ironically enough, the name Blackcatter has nothing to do with Paganism - Our church has an open-mic coffeehouse called the Black Cat Cafe. I'm one of the founders). |
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12 Aug 04 - 06:53 PM (#1246248) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Padre Roman Catholic - 100% Orthodox - 100% Conservative Protyestant 95% I'd say that confounds guest of 9:52 AM who wrote that there are no catholics @ Mudcat Padre (Anglican Priest) |
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12 Aug 04 - 07:31 PM (#1246268) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Two_bears After college, a girlfriend was interested in Paganism, specifically Wicca. I went with her to take a 6 month weekly course on the religion, assuming that it would be merely educational. About halfway Blackcatter: Thank you for sharing your story. After my OBE; I read four different translations of the bible cover to cover, then I explored more religions than I can easily name or remember. through the course, I realized that my belief in a Universe that is controlled by laws and not by any capricious god could fit pretty well with what I was learning. I saw that magic can be effective and still fit into my personal cosmology. To me Gods and Goddesses are achetypes like Jung and Campbell taught. Magic is just another force of nature, available to all, just like electricity is available by plugging into an outlet. I honor the changing of the seasons (sort Same here. the God on the throne with a long white beard did not do much for me either. Of course magick works. The energy used can be directed for a wide variety of tasks. I primarily use that energy (called ch'i, akasha, mana, manitou, Itaki, nuwati, etc) for healing, and weather modification every now and then. Whew. I hope that answered you question. Yes; you did. Thank you. ANL - 2B |
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12 Aug 04 - 07:39 PM (#1246275) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Don Firth I don't think it really covers the territory, but: My top five were 1. Unitarian Universalist (100%) 2. Liberal Quakers (94%) 3. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (93%) 4. Secular Humanism (91%) 5. Neo-Pagan (83%) Well . . . okay. I'll drink to that. I guess. But tomorrow might be different. Don Firth |
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12 Aug 04 - 07:41 PM (#1246276) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: GUEST Interesting padre. Two Catholics out of 54. Now there is a stampede of papists if I've ever seen one. And of course, I really appreciate the irony of you being 100% Catholic and 95% conservative Protestant, and an Anglican priest. However, I don't think the problem is with the test. I think the problem is with people's designer religions. Also, just because the website talks about other religions, including new age pagan sorts of stuff, doesn't mean it isn't still interpreting all of the religions it is defining through it's own Christian lens. |
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12 Aug 04 - 07:44 PM (#1246278) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Blackcatter Just another troll, every where I go . . . |
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13 Aug 04 - 12:37 AM (#1246459) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Kent Davis Thanks, Sir jOhn from Hull, for pointing out an interesting site. Contrary to the guest of 9:52, Mudcatters are not "all Protestant/New Age/borrowed Buddist". My results: 1. Eastern Orthodox 100% 2. Roman Catholic 100% 3. Conservative Protestant 93% Interesting that my "scores" are so similar to Padre's, who is Anglican. I'm neither Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant, nor Anglican, but am a "mere Christian", of no denomination but a member of the church of Christ. |
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13 Aug 04 - 01:11 AM (#1246477) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: mack/misophist Since every one else is publishing their scores, here is mine. I'm a little pissed at being called a Unitarian, though. No matter what they say today, they started out as monophysites. Not too happy about being 52% Mormon, either. 1. Unitarian Universalism (100%) 2. Secular Humanism (98%) 3. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (85%) 4. Liberal Quakers (84%) 5. Nontheist (81%) 6. Theravada Buddhism (66%) 7. Neo-Pagan (65%) 8. Bahá'í Faith (58%) 9. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (52%) 10. Taoism (52%) 11. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (48%) 12. Reform Judaism (47%) 13. New Age (46%) 14. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (38%) 15. New Thought (38%) 16. Orthodox Quaker (33%) 17. Sikhism (33%) 18. Mahayana Buddhism (32%) 19. Scientology (32%) 20. Jehovah's Witness (25%) 21. Eastern Orthodox (17%) 22. Islam (17%) 23. Jainism (17%) 24. Orthodox Judaism (17%) 25. Roman Catholic (17%) 26. Seventh Day Adventist (13%) 27. Hinduism (6%) |
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13 Aug 04 - 01:27 AM (#1246492) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Peace No Druids there, either. Huh. |
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13 Aug 04 - 01:46 AM (#1246501) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Joe Offer I spent 8 years in a Roman Catholic seminary, and I've worked as a Catholic lay minister ever since - but the text shows I'm only 56 percent Roman Catholic, and 100 percent mainstream to liberal Protestant. I guess I'd better hope the conservatives on the Parish Council don't find out about this - I may get tarred and feathered. I question the criteria Beliefnet uses, and I think their definition of Roman Catholic may be far too narrow. I don't know of many churches that have the breadth of thinking that goes on among Roman Catholics - we cover the full spectrum. -Joe Offer- |
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13 Aug 04 - 01:38 PM (#1246945) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: GUEST,garydon Interesting. as a druid i was wondering what it would come up with. I agree it is difficult to choose at times between limited choices. 1 Neo Pagan 100% 2 Unitarian Universalism 95% 3 New Age 93% 4 Mainline to Liberal Christian Prtesant 84% 5 Liberal Quaker 83% 6 Mahayana Buddhism71% 25 Islam 22% 26 Morman 17% 27 Jehovah Witness 5% Gary® |
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13 Aug 04 - 03:43 PM (#1246985) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: GUEST I'll be anxiously awaiting the Mudcat membership flaming Joe Offer for coming to the same conclusion I did about belief.net, based on both of us being Catholics, although Joe is a whole lot more catholic in his Catholicism than I am. 59 pwsts have now been made to this thread. Out of those 59 posts, 4 posts have come from people who have commented on "the Catholic thing" two Protestants who scored high marks for having Catholic beliefs who aren't Catholic, and two Catholics who scored low on having Catholic beliefs. That tells me there is a distinct bias in this survey about Catholicism for sure, and the non-Christian religions as well. In other words, it is a WASP site, looking at the world of religion through a WASP lens. Or as Joe Offer says: "I question the criteria Beliefnet uses, and I think their definition of Roman Catholic may be far too narrow." So Kent Davis and Padre, how about you argue it out with Joe Offer instead of using the easy target, an anon guest, for your venom target. Or learn to make reasonable responses to someone you disagree with. |
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13 Aug 04 - 04:02 PM (#1247000) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Blackcatter GUEST - you're still a troll - mostly because we don't know if you're the person who has regualrly posted as a trolling GUEST on all the other threads or not. As for the Christian bias/trouble with Catholicism/other forms of Christianity: Please remember that they're asking you 20 questions. Most intelligent people (and I include GUEST in that category) have complex belief structures. More complex than 20 questions can maybe accurately determine. Those of us who are Pagan register high as Pagan, simply because there are few choices that are similar. Mainstream Christian denominations have significant similarities. In that case, more than 20 questions would be needed to pinpoint where you are. Also, I would guess that Beliefnet uses the offical cannonical beliefs of each religion/denomination as stated in each religion's literature and by their ministers, priests, etc. If you are a Catholic, do you follow all the official rules as the Pope? If not, you might register more closely with Episcopal or something. That doesn't mean you should change religion, but it might mean that the leadership of your religion needs to understand that they may have to change in order to grow and retain membership. Oh and GUEST, instead of complaining to us about Beliefnet - why not be constructive instead of destructive? Email Beliefnet and give them your critique or even better create your own questions. They we'll critique you. |
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13 Aug 04 - 04:14 PM (#1247006) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: GUEST Blackcatter, you are one of the most abusive people posting to the BS threads right now. You see a post from me in a thread, and almost immediately leap in right after that post and let loose with a torrent of abuse, accusations of trolling, etc. Might I suggest, in the interest of peace and calm here, that you, and anyone else who feels the need to let loose with a torrent of abuse at the anon guests, back off on your attacks? Not because we regular anon posters are suffering, or because it is unfair that you attack us, or because we can't defend ourselves. I am making the suggestion that you back off your attacks on anon posters because every time you do it, you drag the quality of the conversation down to a sewer level, which makes these discussions unpleasant for everyone. So--back off. Learn to say "I disagree with Guest 3:43" rather than "GUEST - you're still a troll", and then share your views. Disagree and argue all you want, but learn how to do it without being an asshole about it, will you please? This is all getting VERY tiresome. Besides, finding the guest you love to hate in threads is more than sort of creepy. It is net stalking. Which IS creepy, no matter how justified you feel in getting your revenge. |
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13 Aug 04 - 04:32 PM (#1247018) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: GUEST,MMario intersting results.. 1. Unitarian Universalism (100%) 2. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (99%) 3. Neo-Pagan (95%) 9. Reform Judaism (76%) 17. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (53%) 23. Islam (39%) 24. Jehovah's Witness (33%) 27. Roman Catholic (20%) In the "find your spiritual type" I'm smack dab in the middle of "Straddler" |
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13 Aug 04 - 04:41 PM (#1247027) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: PoppaGator I don't think Blackcatter has been abusive at all. Pretty thin-skinned, there, GUEST (whichever GUEST you might be). I more-or-less understand why someone would wish to be anonymous. I consider myself anonymous all the time, since I don't use my real name. Anyone who reads enough of the threads I post to can, of course, form an idea of my identity, and I am content to let *everything* I see fit to contibute be a part of that synthetic personality. My only problem with reading "guest" posts is that I can't tell when they're from different individuals vs when all the "guest" posts in a given thread are from the same person. It's difficult enough to keep the different voices sorted out when the "From:" line is properly completed. |
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13 Aug 04 - 04:41 PM (#1247029) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: GUEST Hey MMario--I'd worry about that Jehovah's Witness thing if I were you. ;-) |
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13 Aug 04 - 04:53 PM (#1247037) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: TheBigPinkLad Anyone practicing a different religion than their parents? |
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13 Aug 04 - 05:20 PM (#1247065) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Blackcatter GUEST - you're the one that starts complaining in every thread I've seen. Sure others complain too, but I know most of them through their posts. You are still an unknown, but annoying, quantity. But you've got your wish. I will do my best to ignore you and all GUEST posts, unless they are asking anything intelligent, from now on. Like I said before, I assume you are intelligent, but your attitude leaves a lot to desire, so from no on, I'll ignore you. |
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13 Aug 04 - 05:21 PM (#1247068) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: PoppaGator Anyone NOT practicing a different religion from their parents? |
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13 Aug 04 - 05:25 PM (#1247072) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: GUEST If you get rid of all of these worthless religions, then you get rid of many of the problems in this world. Religions are just how the priesthoods of the world maintain power over the populace by deluding them into thinking there are god/s or spirits or some other bullshit nonsense. |
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13 Aug 04 - 05:27 PM (#1247077) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Amos My ACTUAL religion is not much different from my parents' deepest beliefs, but they were also both superficial social Episcopalians, which I do not bother with. Praise be to Allah ! A |
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13 Aug 04 - 05:41 PM (#1247102) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Little Hawk Guest - If you got rid of the worthless materialist religion that has turned MONEY into the ruling God of society, you would stop almost all the destructive activities and inequalities in this World, because THAT's where they are mostly coming from. That is the ruling religion of American society...money worship. That is the God your sons and daughters are sacrificed to. Its high priests are CEO's in business suits who make hundreds of millions or billions of dollars a year by impoverishing their own society and enslaving people in the Third World. And you are worrying about traditional religions? Ha. They are small potatoes compared to money worship. Wake up, wage slave, and look at your chains. Poppa Gator - I am certainly practicing a different form of belief to that of my parents...they were either atheists or agnostics (it was a little hard to say). They have broadened their outlook some in recent years. At any rate, my family has belonged to no church or official religion of any sort. I am someone consciously on a spiritual journey which is not limited to any particular religion. I find something useful in all of them. According to the test, I scored 100% on Mahayana Buddhism, but I have never specifically studied that path as far as I know. I apparently tend to agree with them, though. I have studied Taoism, various forms of Christianity, Hinduism, the Yogic and Vendanta traditions, Native American religion, a little of the Muslim and Jewish religions, and a whole slew of other spiritual philosophies. They all share a great deal in common. |
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13 Aug 04 - 05:42 PM (#1247104) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Joe Offer Yeah, MMario keeps stopping by and knocking at my door. Good thing I haven't let him in, or bought those magazines he's been trying to dump on me... I wonder if the Beliefnet test is grounded in a structure-based, authority-based view of religion as something where you follow a leader and rules and buy into a fixed set of doctrines. I think there's another level of religious belief, a level reached by many who are considered to be saints by the people of their denominations. At that level, authority and creed and structure still have a function, a necessary but unexalted function similar to the infrastructure of a city. At that level, the differences between denominations begin to seem unimportant, seen as differing perspectives rather than unbreachable separations. At that level, the differences among denominations become a rich and fascinating diversity, rather than discord and disharmony. I wish all people of faith would reach for that level. Then we'd see that Islam and Buddhism and Christianity and Judaism and Paganism have far more in common that we could ever dream. At that level, we are all brothers and sisters, seeking the same end. And now, a word from Bob Zentz, as posted by somebody I consider to be a saint, Rick Fielding: Click. -Joe Offer- |
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13 Aug 04 - 05:44 PM (#1247108) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: GUEST Not only am I not the same religion as my parents, but I'm not even the same political party. But then, I'm not of the same religious or political persuasion as the majority of Americans either. |
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13 Aug 04 - 05:48 PM (#1247113) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: beardedbruce Guest 05:44pm "But then, I'm not of the same religious or political persuasion as the majority of Americans either. " NO-ONE is. There is NO religion or political persuasion that the majority of Americans will agree on being. |
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13 Aug 04 - 06:02 PM (#1247127) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: GUEST Sure there is beardedbruce. The majority of Americans, according to all the polls, describe themselves/self-identify as Christians (I'm combining any and all Christian denominations here), and either Democrat or Republican. I wouldn't identify myself as any of the above, which truly does put me in a distinct and small minority among the US citizenry. |
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13 Aug 04 - 06:06 PM (#1247130) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Little Hawk Ah. But the majority of them do worship money and materialism. They just won't admit it...or aren't aware of it. I can prove this. Build a church or a shrine and a few people will come...maybe a few thousand if you're really lucky. Build a casino or a Walmart and millions will come. Try to persuade someone to do something very difficult by saying, "God will reward you." or "This will make you a better person." and a very few will be persuaded. Offer someone $50,000 in cash on the spot, and they WILL do it! They will do it even if it's destructive, stupid, or insane. Case closed. The majority of Americans worship money and the stuff money will buy. |
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13 Aug 04 - 06:26 PM (#1247150) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Bill D just Americans, LH? (I was right with you till you had to add that...) |
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13 Aug 04 - 06:52 PM (#1247175) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: GUEST PoppaGator, maybe you haven't been reading many of the BS threads Blackcatter is currently participating in. She also revealed she got email spammed to the tune of about 200 messages, by someone she apparently offended in the gay marriage thread. Personally, I think when things have reached that level, it is time to take a break from Mudcat. But it is her decision. I hadn't been over to the gay marriage thread since the early days of it, so I went in there to check out what was going on that so threatened someone, that they felt they wanted to harrass Blackcatter. I'm guessing it started with the exchange below. Blackcatter went way OTT with her response to the poster. I'm really sad there is someone posting in Mudcat who would attack her for it, but really, Blackcatter is getting WAY too involved, and WAY to abusive towards anon guests. She really needs to slow down and take a few breaths. IMO, of course. But I tell you, if it were me that was email bombed by a Mudcat poster, I sure as well would be out of here, and I'd never look back. Here is the exchange I'm referring to: Subject: RE: BS: Why you don't like gay marriage From: GUEST Date: 11 Aug 04 - 03:45 PM Let's just sterilise them all and be done with it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post - Top - Forum Home - Printer Friendly - Translate -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: RE: BS: Why you don't like gay marriage From: GUEST,Blackcatter Date: 11 Aug 04 - 03:49 PM GUEST - we'll start with you, as soon as we find the magnifying glass to see your wee-wee. |
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13 Aug 04 - 07:10 PM (#1247187) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Joe Offer OK, children, stop the bickering and get back to the discussion topic at hand. -Joe Offer- |
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13 Aug 04 - 07:16 PM (#1247196) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: GUEST Right-e-o there Big Daddy. That is a joke, Joe! Actually, I posted the exchange from the gay marriage thread above, as a public service to the religious minded in this thread. That thread "is not for the squeamish" as Andy M. Stewart would say. If ever there was a BS thread that needed a warning label, it would be that one. |
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13 Aug 04 - 07:18 PM (#1247198) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Amos It occurred to me during a long walk today that one of --i f not THE -- greatest crimes one being can commit upon another is to enforce upon them any religious belief, and even more-so for any religious belief not within their own experience. A |
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13 Aug 04 - 07:32 PM (#1247213) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: Little Hawk Quite right, Bill. Not just Americans. Most people, period, worship money and what money can buy way above and beyond any notions they have about "God". Therefore, I say that money is their God. Whatever you place your highest faith and belief in...that is your God. For most people, it's money. Money is an arbitrary and artificial thing made up a long time ago in order to make it easier to exchange goods and services. (and that's amusing, because people will say that religion is an arbitrary thing made up a long time ago, as well). Money is an idea. Nothing more than that. Religion is a set of ideas. People worship whatever idea they have the strongest belief in, and they serve that idea. |
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13 Aug 04 - 08:13 PM (#1247261) Subject: RE: BS: Religon From: GUEST I think you are a bit harsh with your broad brush there, Little Hawk. Most people on this planet are struggling to survive, and they are doing so outside the conventional cash economies of the developed world. Organized religions are plenty guilty of spreading their own greed and avarice that can be just as devastating to people and the planet, and they've been around a whole lot longer than the capitalist nations and their corporate entities have. I just don't see how money worship is a greater danger to humans than religion. It certainly isn't true of many present day conflicts and dictatorships (ie Taliban in Afghanistan, Israeli Palestinian war, the so-called "war on drugs" the US is waging on Latin America, the Khmer Rouge in Asia,etc). Things are much more complex than you are making them out to br when you make such sweeping generalizations about first world capitalist economies. |
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13 Aug 04 - 08:42 PM (#1247281) Subject: RE: BS: Religion From: Joe Offer I dunno. Certainly, lots of people are materialistic - but I think a lot of people aren't satisfied with their own materialism, and they seek other answers. Unfortunately, many people expect to find easy answers, and they stop looking when they learn that the easy answers don't exist. Lots of people look to religion for easy answers. If that's all religion has to offer, then it deserves the condemnation it receives. As I said above, there's a level beyond that. Unfortunately, many religious leaders don't understand that level themselves. They're administrators, after all - and administration is a far cry from matters of faith. -Joe Offer- |
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13 Aug 04 - 10:32 PM (#1247332) Subject: RE: BS: Religion From: Two_bears Anyone practicing a different religion than their parents? I do NOT practise the religion of my guardians. They were bible thumping Baptists. I am a devout pagan. My spirituality is Native American; but I pray Hawai'ian. ANL - 2B |
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13 Aug 04 - 11:15 PM (#1247352) Subject: RE: BS: Religion From: Kent Davis Sigh.... Dear Guest, please take a moment to reread my post. I thought you were bothered what you perceived as a lack of diversity in the religious views of Mudcatters. You had commented that there is "Not a Catholic or a Jew or a Muslim among the lot". I was just pointing out that there is diversity. (and, by the way, I am NOT a Protestant). Dear PoppaGator and BigPinkLad, you asked interesting questions about people being the same religion as their parents. My parents raised me as a United Methodist. I even taught a Bible class in the U.M. church. When I was 19, I began to teach things that are in the Bible, but are not consistent with Methodist tradition. I was told by the preacher that I would have to teach only from Methodist literature, rather than directly from the Bible. I never went back, and neither did my parents. We are now members of the churches of Christ. I know some people would never dream of listening to their children about anything spiritual, but my parents opened up their Bibles, opened up their minds, and listened. I wish everyone were blessed with such parents and I pray that I may be same sort of father to my children as my father has been to me. |
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14 Aug 04 - 12:25 AM (#1247379) Subject: RE: BS: Religion From: Little Hawk Guest, I think if you look into supposed religiously-based conflicts you will find that religion was simply the propaganda tool used to whip up the followers...but what lay behind it was economic powerplays of various sorts. And that's the influence of money. The USA funded the Taliban in order to fight the Soviets. The USA then wanted to build a pipeline from the Caspian through Afghanistan, but the Taliban did not agree to that. The USA subsequently found a very handy excuse to invade and bring down the Taliban. The key to the whole thing: oil revenues. Similar economic considerations lie behind virtually all conflicts. It comes down to a battle over turf, cash, and material goods...with religion used as the rallying cry. The old religious wars in Europe between Protestants and Catholics were basically over turf, cash, political power, and material wealth as well, when it came right down to it. The Spanish who rampaged into Central and South America were ostensibly doing it to spread the Word of God...but you know what they were really after? Gold and other material things, and an empire. Their religious fanaticism was just part of a larger and uglier lust for power, wealth, and control. Anyway, my basic point was that you can tell a person's religion by what influences him most strongly...and enough money will induce most people to do some really extraordinary things that they would not do otherwise, so I say that their true God is money, whether they are willing to admit it or not. |
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14 Aug 04 - 05:09 AM (#1247453) Subject: RE: BS: Religion From: Joe Offer
I've worked in the Catholic Church all my life, and I've certainly spent time fighting off bastard clergy who just want power and money. Actually, the worst Catholic bastards are rich lay men who have found a way to be appointed "chairman of the board" of some Catholic entity with assets. The bastards are present, in sizeable numbers, but I don't think they're a majority. The majority of church leaders are pretty good people who aren't particularly extraordinary, and then you have a few saints and a good number of bastards. I've had the good fortune to know a number of the saints, and to be able to keep my distance from the bastards. But to say that all religion is propaganda seems a bit strong. Most religious people aren't that stupid, that they'd buy into something that is merely propaganda. Many ARE that stupid - but not most. -Joe Offer- |
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14 Aug 04 - 09:52 AM (#1247527) Subject: RE: BS: Religion From: GUEST You were raised UM, and are now churches of Christ...buy you aren't Protestant? How do you figure that? In my (and most people's) understanding of the Christian denominations, if you aren't Roman Catholic, and claim to be Christian, you are in a Protestant sect or denomination. Why would you say you aren't Protestant, Kent? I'm not being disrespectful here, but genuinely curious. Sorry Little Hawk, but I'm with Joe on this one. I don't think it's all about money, all the time. I do think people are motivated by a lust for power as much as they are money. I also believe most people don't give much thought to what religion they are, as they tend to inherit their parent's religion, just like they do their parent's political affiliation. Not everyone, of course. And probably fewer people in the US and Europe today associate themselves with the political affiliation and religion their parents were associated with, but in most the rest of the world, I think it is still the case. |
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14 Aug 04 - 02:15 PM (#1247636) Subject: RE: BS: Religion From: JennyO Anyone practicing a different religion than their parents? About as different as it could be in my case. I came from a long line of ministers, church organists, sunday school teachers, missionaries, etc, on both sides. My mother's side were fire and brimstone Baptists, and my father's side were rigid Methodists. Together they practically ran the local church. I had to live and breathe it as a child. I was even conned into being a sunday school teacher for a brief period when I was about 17, although it felt wrong, so I quit very quickly. I dropped out of the church entirely, and was ostracised by my family, ultimately being cut out of my mother's will when she died. I was totally turned off religion in any form for a long time, being quite comfortable feeling that nature was as near as you could get to god, but not sure how to classify myself - and not really caring either. Now through a number of significant experiences and twists and turns in my path to self discovery, I have come to my own brand of spirituality, which feels right, and much more real than anything I ever encountered in the church I grew up in. I now feel that I have come "home", and feel very comfortable calling myself a pagan. Jenny |
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14 Aug 04 - 07:33 PM (#1247779) Subject: RE: BS: Religion From: Wolfgang In my (and most people's) understanding of the Christian denominations, if you aren't Roman Catholic, and claim to be Christian, you are in a Protestant sect or denomination. (14 Aug 04 - 09:52 AM ) 14 Aug 04 - 09:52 AM, have you really never heard of the Christian religion which some hundred million people in the East of Europe belong to. If you use the same word as we do, you'd call them orthodox. Other Christian minorities that are neither roman-catholic nor protestant are the Kopts (Copts?), mainly in Egypt, and those we call the old-catholics. They do not recognise the Pope so they are surely not roman-catholics. Your use of 'most people' betrays a profund North American bias. Most people's understanding in Europe would be completely different. Wolfgang |
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14 Aug 04 - 07:58 PM (#1247794) Subject: RE: BS: Religion From: GUEST Guilty as charged Wolfgang, and thanks for pointing out there are a few other Christians that don't come under the Catholic or Protestant heading. I believe I'm holding a conversation with another North American though. Since the poster didn't claim to be Kopt/Coptic or Eastern Orthodox or Russian Orthodox or...well... In my defense, Kent poster said he was United Methodist by upbringing, but is now "churches of Christ" I think. Since UM is a Protestant denomination, and I have no idea what "churches of Christ" is, I was asking for clarification on that one. I really do genuinely like to learn something new. All I came up with googling was this. This group claims to be "undenominational" which is something I have never heard of either. "Nondenominational" yes. "Undenominational" no. They claim to be yet another of the "New Testament" Christian evangelical groups rapidly proliferating across North America, who will not affiliate with any organized religious denominations, though I don't know why. This website says of the "church of Christ": "The most recent dependable estimate lists more than 15,000 individual churches of Christ. The "Christian Herald," a general religious publication which presents statistics concerning all the churches, estimates that the total membership of the churches of Christ is now 2,000,000. There are more than 7000 men who preach publicly. Membership of the church is heaviest in the southern states of the United States, particularly Tennessee and Texas, though congregations exist in each of the fifty states and in more than eighty foreign countries. " |
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14 Aug 04 - 08:53 PM (#1247805) Subject: RE: BS: Religion From: GUEST Duh. Apologies Kent, I did not mean to insult you by referring to you as Protestant. We don't get too many of your COC folk this far north. :) After a bit more digging, I now understand your religious sect/group of Christians (again, I apologize, I'm not sure if it is correct from your perspective to refer to COC as a sect) is a bit touchy about that, from reading about your brethren here. While I realize you take exception to being referred to as Protestant, I'm hoping you won't mind if I respectfully stick with the label, as Wikipedia does, to describe your Christian group. But I'm even more curious now that I've read some more about Churches of Christ. It looked to me as if COC is opposed to the use of instruments in services, is that right? Would you be willing to explain why that is, ie the thought behind that practice? |
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15 Aug 04 - 03:12 AM (#1247895) Subject: RE: BS: Religion From: GUEST jOhn - helooo? dont you now All religon is9 Rubbish/! |
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15 Aug 04 - 09:31 AM (#1247998) Subject: RE: BS: Religion From: robomatic Religion - The awe in which we hold our Ignorance. Dr. Solomon L. Schwebel |
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15 Aug 04 - 09:50 AM (#1248000) Subject: RE: BS: Religion From: dunkel_esel 100% secular humanist! I decided there wasn't a God when my friend took me to sunday school and we had to thank God for giving us cars. As a devout 10 yr old greenpeace girl, I wasn't impressed. My friend is a roman catholic but came out as a liberal quaker in the test! |
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15 Aug 04 - 12:12 PM (#1248066) Subject: RE: BS: Religion From: Amos If God was handing out cars, how come I had to go to all that hassle at the bank to get a loan for one? What am I, chopped liver? Humph! A |
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15 Aug 04 - 12:15 PM (#1248069) Subject: RE: BS: Religion From: JennyO I wish he'd hand me one. The one I have is on the way out, I think. |
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15 Aug 04 - 12:19 PM (#1248071) Subject: RE: BS: Religion From: beardedbruce Oh Lord, won't you buy me A Mercedes Benz.... I guess that would be a Daimler-Chrysler, now... |
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15 Aug 04 - 12:31 PM (#1248079) Subject: RE: BS: Religion From: beardedbruce just wanted to know what version of the word of God we were going to be discussing... |
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15 Aug 04 - 03:44 PM (#1248131) Subject: RE: BS: Religion From: mg I came out 100% orthodox quacker, with a couple of high protestant scores..something else..then orthodox catholic and roman catholic at 77%. I am Roman Catholic but not a very good one. I totally disagree with some of the rules, like divorce and birth control. I think the RC churched has harmed many millions of people and the earth itself with these policies and I find it hard to believe religion should hurt people. If I am supposed to believe that I am doomed. I do think religion does good in keeping people in line...we would be way more at the mercy of thugs than we are now without it. I have never found religion to be any sort of consolation at all -- it scares me basically. I think perhaps I am not highly spiritually developed (well I know that) but it sure seems incompatible with being even a marginal Catholic. But I am Baptist on my mother's side and scratch us and you will find druids there somewhere on my father's. mg |
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15 Aug 04 - 04:39 PM (#1248150) Subject: RE: BS: Religion From: Amos "Each religion...necessarily contradicts every other religion, and probably contradicts itself...Religions, like languages, are necessary rivals. What religion a man shall have is a historical accident, quite as much as what language he shall speak. "Supernaturalism," Little Essays, No. 23 "Civilization is perhaps approaching one of those long winters that overtake it from time to time. Romantic Christendom - picturesque, passionate, unhappy episode - may be coming to an end. Such a catastrophe would be no reason for despair." Character and Opinion in the United States. 1920 George Santayana |
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15 Aug 04 - 10:43 PM (#1248350) Subject: RE: BS: Religion From: Kent Davis Dear guest and others who may be interested, I wasn't offended that you thought I was Protestant; I was just pointing out that I'm not. As you might suspect from my 100% Eastern Orthodox, 100% Roman Catholic, 93% Protestant "score", we differ from the Protestants in some respects. What we are trying to do (I didn't way that we always succeeded...) is to return to the basics that the Roman Catholics, the Protestants, the Copts, the Eastern Orthodox, etc. all agree on. They agree that the New Testament is the basis for faith, so we try to base our faith on the New Testament alone. If the New Testament doesn't address a particular topic, we try to apply New Testament principles, but try to avoid making new rules that Christ or His apostles never made. We keep our worship simple. In general, our singing in worship is "a capella" as it was in the very early church, as it is among the Primitive Baptists, the Amish, and, I believe, among at least some of the Eastern Orthodox churches. Contrary to rumor, we do not think instruments are bad; we just don't use them when we worship together. (In explaining this, I find it helpful to use analogies: We don't think peanut butter is bad, but we don't spread it on the wafer. We don't think bath oil is bad, but we don't put it in the baptismal water. If these analogies don't help, please ignore them.) We are not a denomination because we don't find any authority in New Testament for setting up a denominational structure. Therefore, we don't have a creed (unless you consider the Bible itself a creed) or an earthly headquarters, and each congregation is independent. Thanks for asking. Hope this helps. |
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15 Aug 04 - 10:49 PM (#1248357) Subject: RE: BS: Religion From: Little Hawk It's so much handier to not officially belong to any religion....but to practice spirituality anyway. :-) Where is my church? Everywhere. Where are my spiritual brothers and sisters? In all faiths and even in none of them. That is the pathway to peace on Earth. Religion does so often tend to divide people. Spirituality unites them. |
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16 Aug 04 - 07:23 AM (#1248561) Subject: RE: BS: Religion From: Two_bears Religion - The awe in which we hold our Ignorance. Robo: it is safe to say that you have bever found a religion that worked for you. It's so much handier to not officially belong to any religion....but to practice spirituality anyway. :-) Where is my church? Everywhere. Where are my spiritual brothers and sisters? In all faiths and even in none of them. That is the pathway to peace on Earth. Religion does so often tend to divide people. Spirituality unites them. I agree completely LH. I once heard the following quip which I will share. "Religion id for people afraid of going to hell. Spirituality is for people who have been there." ANL - 2B |
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16 Aug 04 - 10:35 AM (#1248645) Subject: RE: BS: Religion From: GUEST,robomatic "Millions of people long for eternal life who don't know what to do with a rainy weekend" unattributed due to ignorance. |
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16 Aug 04 - 10:42 AM (#1248650) Subject: RE: Quotes on Immortality From: robomatic Deathless, and appropriately logged in, I amend the previous quote with the actual quote and proper attribution: Millions long for immortality who do not know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Susan Ertz, Anger in the Sky and some other quotes: The average man, who does not know what to do with his life, wants another one which will last forever. Anatole France (1844 - 1924) The only thing wrong with immortality is that it tends to go on forever. Herb Caen If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error. John Kenneth Galbraith (1908 - ) Ten thousand fools proclaim themselves into obscurity, while one wise man forgets himself into immortality. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 - 1968) Seek not, my soul, the life of the immortals; but enjoy to the full the resources that are within thy reach. Pindar (522 BC - 443 BC), 518-438 B.C. Immortality. I notice that as soon as writers broach this question they begin to quote. I hate quotation. Tell me what you know. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882), Journal (May 1849) The first condition of immortality is death. Stanislaw J. Lec (1909 - 1966), "Unkempt Thoughts" I don't want to achieve immortality through my work... I want to achieve it through not dying. Woody Allen (1935 - ) |
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16 Aug 04 - 12:14 PM (#1248709) Subject: RE: BS: Religion From: GUEST I don't think that all religion is propaganda, Joe! Most people are drawn to religion (in the usual sense of the word) because of their inner spiritual needs. I am saying, however, that religious wars are usually fought for material objectives (using religion as a rallying cry), and I am saying that most people are more loyal to the buck than they are to anything else...when put severely to the test. Guest - Yes! It's a lust for power all right. But the way our society is set up, money IS power. Think about it. If you have enough money, then you command power and can have people do whatever it is you want them to do. |
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16 Aug 04 - 04:53 PM (#1248858) Subject: RE: BS: Religion From: Two_bears Millions long for immortality who do not know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Susan Ertz, Anger in the Sky and some other quotes: The average man, who does not know what to do with his life, wants another one which will last forever. Anatole France (1844 - 1924) The only thing wrong with immortality is that it tends to go on forever. Herb Caen If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error. John Kenneth Galbraith (1908 - ) Ten thousand fools proclaim themselves into obscurity, while one wise man forgets himself into immortality. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 - 1968) Seek not, my soul, the life of the immortals; but enjoy to the full the resources that are within thy reach. Pindar (522 BC - 443 BC), 518-438 B.C. Robomatic: That is NOT a problem with me. I have enough to keep me busy for an etenertity. ANL - 2B |