I read a lot of the most recent posts on this subject and i have some thoughts to share. I am 56 years old now I have lived through the sixty's and spent my 20's in the seventies. I as a lot of my friends at the time thought there was a great need for change. I was brought up and raised on a catholic standard, catacism, baptism,communion and we had nuns to {Guide us in the path }I was disenchanted with the church by 16 when witnessing the lack of love within 5 minutes of real world exposure, guy tapped anothers bumper causing a great tirade with the priest still on the steps...i remember thinking there is no true spirit of god here. I have spent my life trying through various faiths to find the truth. I have lived form middle class to the streets looking for that love that i was inherantly promised by teachings.
I don't know if any one of us has the answer...

I have read books of all faiths that were written for the people of those times...and for the most part it has always contained the message of how to rise above hatred and violence, but the thing i get most is this is an individual reality. The ideal would be for us all to find one faith we could all accept, and this is counterproductive to any established religion. The more authority we give to any one religion is also a sacrafice to thier whims as our spokepeople.The very building of a church is now more about a popularity contest than a true believe in spirit. Since when did a mans soul require a human intervention or blessing and since when have those blessings from any church benefitted mankind as a whole. Religion seeks to dictate while a mans heart says otherwise. There is no religion beyond those higher principles of love taught in most that will ever raise us above the noncompassionate people we have become worldwide. We as a people have to start from here forward to share the love we have buried in our confusion of mans pursuits.

The very essence of our creator is in us...it beats mightily beyond comprehension. It wretchs our soul with pain at a loved ones death...it is the most positive place of reference in our own bodies, at any one time when we consider our next move it twinges inside us when were choosing wrong. It is a connected barometer of our soul at any given time we choose to let it live in us.And the eyes...we musn't forget those for they are the window of the soul...how much love do you see in the eyes around you? First and formost look at your own eyes close in the mirror...what do they say to you...we need to reconnect with our own hearts first, only then can our creator shine through us. Do not be decieved by any religion...your own contact in your heart will guide you to truth if you are honest!!! This is important...go back to the person you were created to be...touch that life essance inside of you and let the world no longer lie to your heart. Do not compromise yourself for any religion truth is in us all, we are connected in the spirit of love and we are blessed when we let that spirit thrive.
May God as i understand him bless you all of your days
Tony

The world is filled with hundreds of religions all saying that every other religion out there is wrong, and giving everyone a lundry-list of things they need to do to get into "heaven," or whatever it's appropriately called.

I was raised a Christian, and am now an agnostic. I'm a fairly decent person, I live my life in a moral way, and don't bring harm to others.

I think it's unreasonable to say that given this, I'm going to hell. I don't know which account of creation is right. I wasn't there, and nobody knows for sure. Historians and scientists can poke all sorts of holes in every religious text, and it's really ignorant to just say "look at the facts, and you will find the right religion."

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Weiner.

Like Stiffy, I'm Agnostic.

I was raised Catholic; Communion, Confirmation, the whole nine yards.

It really doesn't mean anything to me, as there are far more questions regarding any faith that there are answers...

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Obama's New "57 State Patriotic Pin":

I'm Christian, specifically Lutheran with a hint of Calvinism thrown into my theological mix.

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"A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God's truth is attacked and yet would remain silent."
-John Calvin

I'm an atheist but I could call myself agnostic in that I do not have evidence to prove there is no god. I tend to use atheist because I assume there is nothing until proven otherwise. I could say I'm agnostic in relation to almost all gods and goddesses since I can't disprove them either which is why I go with atheist. I also do not like to give the impression to people that I'm looking for a belief.

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"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Same as above.

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Client: In six days, do you hear me, six days, God made the world. And you are not bloody well capable of making me a pair of trousers in three months!
Tailor: But my dear Sir, my dear Sir, look at the world, and look at my trousers.
(Beckett)

I am a Christian
I believe that through the sacrifice of Christ for our sins , that whomever believes on him is saved by grace and faith.

this is not a license to sin , nor are the commandments all thrown out, it is still a sin to murder , steal , rape , commit adultery , etc,etc.

being human we do slip up and when we do we are required to confess our sin to our Father ( God) in the name of Christ and sincerely repent , in that way we keep the salvation which was a gift and not earned by us.

I do not judge others who are sincerely trying to life a sinless life and slip , I am no better then they are in that regard.

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I just neutered the cat , now he is a Liberal

I consider myself to be a mildly heretical Christian. My background is Christian and thus far it remains my label of choice. I add the "mildly heretical" bit because I have severe doubts about (and in some cases freely deny) some doctrines that many Christian churches and denominations hold to be of great importance.

I will echo some of Partofme's post. Athiest/agnostic. I didnt go to church when I was growing up. I dont mind people having thier own religion but I dont like the outreach efforts to constantly save my soul. I think that I lead a good life and think that if there is a god, that entity would look at the life I have lead as one being worthy of entering heaven if there is one.

we are all a little bit heretical. heck, I don't believe in the penal theory of the atonement (pretty standard belief right there)

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"A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God's truth is attacked and yet would remain silent."
-John Calvin

The whole outreach thing drives me nuts also. You always hear all these stories about how there is a grand conspiracy to bring down Christianity yet you do not see groups of atheists going door to door for recruitment purposes.

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"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Do you judge the ones who you have judged NOT to be sincerely trying to live a sinless life...?

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The apocalypse is coming... we're gonna need more ammo.

I am spiritual rather than religious, my relationship with my Creator can no more be contained in a single book or a single church than an elephant can be contained in a thimble.

I am perceived as being less than cordial to Christians and this may stem from the fact that I am tired of cleaning up after them, tired of fighting them off so that I can live my life according to my beliefs, and tired near-to-death of their incessant, self-righteous badgering and arrogant belief in their own infallibility.

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The apocalypse is coming... we're gonna need more ammo.

I consider myself to be more spiritual than a derivation of any direct religions influence. When i gave my soul over to a god i could understand it was not confined to a book, but rather to an ideal of a better world. That being said the only reference point i had was the lack of caring i was experiencing on a personal level. The ideal i subscibe to tells me i am not in competition with love and compassion but the lies that always told me i was suffering a unique experience. I am not unique, i consider myself a part of a whole reaching for an answer. On a personal level i realise i am not much, however when i share in making things better for those around me my own life gets a boost. Call it wishful thinking but i get out of myself into the reality that maybe my problems are not as big as my mind tells me they are.

Only when i allow myseld to decend back to reality do i realise that nothing changes unless i stand for the change i would like to see, I can discuss theory ad infinitum it is only when i refuse to accept things can be better that i stop growing...do i know if i'm right?...no but what is in my heart is a peace that i was never able to grasp prior to this shift in my own attitude. I do know its peaceful without the crowd screaming insanity in my own mind,... never gave it a thought that my mind could be sidetracked by sniping at the causes raher than my own participation. A thought after all is just a thought until i put it into action. I am a piece of lifes puzzle trying to find the right spot to make the final picture beautiful, thats about the limit of my understanding...peace, love, no wars ... i just wonder and look for my opportunities to do my little part to bring us closer together in brother/sisterhood if we all try and never compromise we will be an unbeatable force rich in what has always been stolen, our natural wants to see no creature suffer and a love which trancends explanation. I want everyone fed, housed and loved for what each represents as a part of the whole.


Maybe the Cyborgs were right?

Always a pleasure to see the capture of inconsistencies