The Paineful Truth Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Hello, I'm new. I wanted to make this a poll, so I guess I'll just lay out some options. I was a devout Christain many years ago, but, to make a very long story very short, I was drawn away from it by deism. I'd like to ask where other former Christians have ended up after they left. These are the options I had thought to use: Atheist Agnostic with no particular belief Deist Materialist (don't care about philosophy) Another revealed religion Other (although I can't imagine what) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurari Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Theist. I have my own personal belief system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mythra Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Hello Paineful Welcome to Ex-C. You'll find all flavors of folks here. I'll just speak for myself. I too was a bible-believing sold-out-to-Jesus no-lukewarm-for-me, thank you - Jesus freak. For a very long time. 25 years. I began to be disillusioned with fundyism, and had a very brief sojourn into a more liberal type of belief system. It didn't last. I am now a full-blown atheist. I believe that all religions are man-made. Comforting, reassuring at times, giving hope at times, creating a peaceful feeling sometimes, but ultimately - man-made. So, when given a choice of all of the available gods, religions, and homespun life philosophies based on supernatural principles, I choose: NONE OF THE ABOVE. And it works quite well for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white_raven23 Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Very anti-organized religion agnostic/deist here. There is personal value in aspects of the non organized religions, but those cover aspects of having a good live and good personal worth, nothing to do with any supreme being. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookums Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Hello..... Painful.... for me its going to be NONe of the above Can I ask you a question in return. Why do you seem to need a box or a label for people to fit into....? You say '' ended up'' as if its a bad place to be away from christianity - its not a hole that people fall into......but perhaps climb out of. cheers.! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsterfeets Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 I'm for the most part a pantheist. With lots of my own weird ideas thrown in for flavor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 I would say agnostic leaning towards atheist at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entgegen Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Staunch, hard-core baby-eating atheist. A relatively recent yet strong infatuation with science (among other things) is what ultimately brought me to where I am now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanInPA Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Atheist, unless/until some supernatural being presents itself. And even if it did, I'd have myself checked for mental disorders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knightley Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 atheist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LosingMyReligion Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Theist. Even though I no longer believe in the following: Jesus, hell, and Satan(including his pet demons)...I still believe in God. However, I believe that God(whomever he she or it is) is truly omnipotent and all knowing...And the epitome of love. I believe strongly in reincarnation, angels, and the afterlife... However, I am not opposed to the fact that I could be totally wrong and the only thing death has to offer is oblivion... But I love to believe that there is something more, and that there is some design to it all. I'm just really romantic that way. Leaving Christianity was the best thing I ever did. I have a bigger vision of God and what it entails. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paloriam Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Agnostic I believe in the possibility of supreme being(s). If these deities do exist I cannot envision them caring about us or being worthy of worship. Who knows. I don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astreja Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 I started out as a nominal Christian rather than a devout one. My path took me through the occult; Greek and Hindu mythology; some agnosticism; back to the occult; several types of Buddhism; a brief fling with Objectivism; and, finally, a reasonably balanced mixture of Ásatrú, Vipassana Buddhism, and agnosticism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffXL Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Atheist. Studied every religion I could (B.A. in philosophy and religion), including the occult. What was not taught in college I read on my own. Wiccans, Buddhists and other non-Xtian theists I have known not only do not look at me with horror when I tell them I'm an atheist-- they treat me like a fellow human being. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizard Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Other..seriously, I fit in "other".. No religion, really, but my beliefs are fluid. Beliefs are not "Truth" however. Truth tells me there is no god. My "beliefs" wish there to be "something".. I'm not an atheist..and I'm too lazy about it all to even be agnostic..apathetic fits. Most days, I don't care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legion Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Hey Paineful, I'm new here too. I guess I fit in "other" as well. I recognize that I am on a journey and that along that journey my beliefs have changed and are likely to change again. It seems to me that any attempt to hold on to a set of beliefs is likely to be futile. I suppose that at the moment I believe in Natural Law. From what I can gather, this assures me only that it is possible to understand to a limited degree something of myself and the world around me. Curiousity is a good trait. I hope that you have the imagination to accompany it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wideawake42 Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 I chose the label "agnostic" because I believe it is intellectually irresponsible to declare that I know whether or not there is a god. No one person can claim to know that. Those who do are religious, and I am very anti-organized-religion, having left Christianity via logic and reason, and seen religion for what it is. I definitely do not believe in a personal God, but I am not discounting the possibility that there could be some sort of Higher Power that has very little interest in us, for example. And I could be entirely wrong about even that. I will not state that anything exists until I have proof of it, including God, aliens, the soul, etc., because I will not discount a possibility, because it is a big universe and we only understand a very, very tiny portion of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asimov Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 I would say agnostic leaning towards atheist at the moment. GAH! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Demona- Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 "Theist" implies the belief in a deity, ie. an anthropomorphic god. Do I believe in such a god? No. However, do I believe that the gods and goddesses of various cultures are symbolic of the aspects of something much bigger than we can fully comprehend? Yes. Do I believe in a spiritual plane? Yes. Do I believe that spirits interact with our world? It depends on how you ask me, and on what day. I consider myself a pagan, yes, but I don't consider myself a theist in the strictest sense. "Pagan", of course, is an umbrella term. And I kinda like it that way. I support anything that expands our understanding of the world around us, and promotes unity rather than division. So what does that make me? Well, if you've been paying attention, you could put me under several labels, such as: Gothic Fashionista New Romantic Neo-Hippie/Flower Child Pagan/New Ager Apolitical Idealist Disillusioned Youth Dance Diva Unfortunate Cog In The Corporate Machine sXe Punk Grrl (sans Violent Tendencies/"straight edge") ch|x0r (aka Geek Girl) Bisexual Virgin Jersey Girl and of course, Ex-Christian I am all of these things and more, but none truly encompass everything that I am. Why? Because I'm human. Defining people solely by one aspect of their personalities (such as beliefs, or lack thereof) is to dehumanize them. Humans are more complicated than that, and there's no hard and fast rules for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All Gods Fail Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Hardcore atheist, and it's most liberating. Throwing off the terrors of the gods made me, believe it or not, a much happier and more ethical person. Now I do it because I want to, not because I'm afraid of bronze-age gods. I do occasionally slip into Cute Bunny™-ism, tho... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scitsofreaky Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 I would say agnostic leaning towards atheist at the moment. GAH! LOL. I laugh only because I'm pretty sure I know what you are thinking. I'm an agnostic integral-ish panendeist. I don't know, but I don't deny my ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Paineful Truth Posted July 25, 2006 Author Share Posted July 25, 2006 Thanks for all the responses. This is a busy board. Snookums, I realize we're all different, and we all have definitions that are many pages long, but those can be reduced to a few words or one for quick communication. The main reason I asked was merely to get an idea of where people who've turned away from Christianity and the other religions have gone. I'm not surprised that close to a majority have turned to atheism. I believe there are only two reasonable beliefs (not knowledge) about the existance of God, atheism and deism. It's a 50-50 shot either way, but I also think many atheists are that merely as a way of rebellion and don't really care that much about philosophy/religion/whatever. I think its ironic that atheists as a group are more moral and virtuous than most Christian sects. I'm a long time agnostic-deist, and I lean toward deism based on little more than hope and a possible touch of scientific intelligent design. I revere Thomas Paine (Paineful Truth--get it) and his Age of Reason, and I have an equivalent word for God: Truth, both in the figurative sense and the literal sense, even if that Truth turns out to be that there is no supernatural omnipotent being in the sky. Just one last question. Is this emoticon doing what it looks like I think he/she is doing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 I would say agnostic leaning towards atheist at the moment. GAH! Not everyone is a pure atheist, Asimov. I can't prove whether a god exists, but I don't think it's very likely. But I don't think it's impossible either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bongo Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Does a panthiest believe that all life (human, animals, bugs, plants, microscopic buggers) is a part of God, we are all a tiny speck or extension of God here on earth? If so, that's me. For the moment. Although the why's of this scenario are unclear, but i have ideas. Throw in a bit of reincarnation, and spiritualism too for spice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white_raven23 Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Just one last question. Is this emoticon doing what it looks like I think he/she is doing? Why....what do you think it's doing? There have been some interesting assumptions about that one....often sexual (often involving licking). It's a "thanks" in the form of putting palms together and bowing a la Johnny Carson to Ed at the start of the old Tonight Show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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