Your religion?

[cait]

I agree Christmas has become incorporated into people's life's who wouldn't normally celebrate Christmas. But on the whole I think we've lost the concept behind Christmas the same with Easter; but not to the same extent.

Christmas isn't about Jesus at all these days, it's more about the latest Wii game.

I know alot of people who fashion themselves as Atheist/or any other religion when it suits, come Christmas however it's a different story.

Yes, for example I know people who fashion themselves as Christians but come Christmas/winter solstice they're decorating their pagan tree and kissing under their pagan mistletoe. ;)

In fact I see that more often than I see atheists decorating with nativity scenes, which is also something I've never seen pagans do. But if Christians really didn't want their particular traditions to be used by anyone else they could always do what The Church of Scientology has done and get them copyrighted. Until then I'm going to enjoy the Christian carols, the pagan feasting and the commercial Wii games without guilt. Feel free to deprive yourselves though, I guess I'll have to enjoy them enough for all of us. :P

HAha! I always forget that about the tree! My family puts up a shrine and a tree, but we try to celebrate as close to the solstice as possible. It's just some years we happen to only all have days off on the 25th, so we celebrate the solstice then.

As for the latest Wii game, etc. I hate commercialism any time of the year. But Wii is pretty fun. I do hate Christmas time because of all the gimicks, and I have to serve crazed weirdo customers. I'm not sure how I feel about gift giving to be honest. I just do it because it's expected. No matter what religion you are, people generally expect you to give them toys on some specified day.

[Shadow girl]

I firmly stand on Christianity.

Christmas is about Jesus and what he did for us.

Its the day he was born.

The reason gifts are in the mix is because the 3 wisemen brought gifts for Jesus.

So we do it as one of the reasons.

However the reasoning should be for love and not to get what you want and think nothing of it.

I mean sure its ok to give gifts but its not the whole point of it.

Its giving to others like Jesus did for us.

Its the least everyone can do. Even if its just to say "I love you and I care"

[Shadow girl]

Agnostic.

I was turned off from Christianity by the Bible and the fact that nobody who calls themself Christian has any answers about any of my questions. It always goes like this thread: http://www.asexuality.org/en/index.php?showtopic=36390

That is speaking on only one aspect. Theres more then you know to it then that and I've explained it several times.

[Jordan]

I have thoughts about joining the Church Of Google. :P

[Næt.]

Have we had the 'is athiesm a religion?' debate?

[Eddie7]

Probably. I think I bitched about not being able to vote because atheism isn't a religion further up the thread.

[skenasis]

To the "Satanists" out there. I hope you know the difference between the Christian concept of "Satan", and the radically different definition of the Hebrew word, "Ha-Satan". Ha-Satan is a messanger of G-d. Ha-Satan is not a "devil" or "Lucifer" or a "fallen angel" or a snake in Gan Eden. Ha-Satan is not antaganistic toward G-d. Ha-Satan cannot do anything without the permission of G-d. Ha-Satan accepts this and never rebelled or wanted to replace G-d. It's all in the Tanakh.

I'd like to point out that there are multiple branches of Satanism. There are several "traditional" branches which fall under the caste of devil worship, and several "non-traditional" which do not. I, and I suspect most (if not all) other Satanists in AVEN, fall under the latter. While the Hebrew Satan may certainly be the core and/or focus of some branches, it is not the focus of all. The same applies to the Christian Satan. I, as a Satanist myself, don't pretend to know all of the many branches of Satanism, nor their beliefs. Please do not make such broad and all-assuming statements about Satanism and those who practice it unless you do.

Good luck with telling the family that, though. Unfortunately satanists are associated with the Christian Devil because of the name, and my satanist friends almost always get shit from people who don't understand it. I get shit for being pagan, but not nearly as much.

People are not cool. <_<

And this is precisely why I don't go around advertising that I'm a Satanist. It's amazing how many people fail even to realize that there are multiple branches and types of Satanism. And of those that do who I've met personally, only one is neither Pagan nor Satanist himself. Go figure, I guess.

[thecynicalromantic]

I picked agnostic.

I am one little human. My ability to know everything about every possible conception of divinity out there in the entire universe is severely limited. Limited to the point that if I tried to pretend I "knew" anything, I would be blatantly lying to myself.

I'm fairly certain that most major organized religions & all their associated dogma are probably not spot-on; the chances of them randomly guessing such ridiculously minute details and being completely right seems infinitesimally small. And I don't see how they could possibly "know" rather than guess.

[Sally]

Have we had the 'is athiesm a religion?' debate?

I think we've argued about whether atheism is a belief, but not about whether it's a religion. So of course someone needs to start a thread so we may pick that nit.

I am one little human. My ability to know everything about every possible conception of divinity out there in the entire universe is severely limited.

Great quote! :lol:

[Sally]

Perun

Woooooooo. That is one scary impressive...whatever he is.

[Illuminated]

My current religions include:

Meta

Energy

Odwalla

Impressions

and more recently:

Vice

Though sometimes I get the suspicion that my use of the word "religion" isn't exactly spot on.

[paddyboy]

I am an ala carte member of the Church of Rome, a papist if you like....

[Fish_x]

I was originally Lutheran Christian, but for the past few years I've been leaning more towards the "other" category. Transcendentalist, maybe? I'm not an expert - I learned from history books, but the parts I know of seemed right to me.

[mad_scientist]

Have we had the 'is athiesm a religion?' debate?

Oh no, not again.

[mad_scientist]

Probably. I think I bitched about not being able to vote because atheism isn't a religion further up the thread.

"nonreligious" probably would've been a better thing to put. I suppose, as a stretch, you COULD argue that extreme agnosticism has religious aspects sometimes, but I wouldn't call that a religion either.

Doesn't help that you can be an atheist and simultaneously belong to some of the religions on the thread.