Let's talk about religion.

[IGM_Oficial 1964]

11 hours ago, secret_no_03 said:

What's your opinion on the Catechism Catholic idea of original sin and being able to get rid of sins you've committed throughout the week via confession, the Hail Mary's etc?

Everything's ok.

 

About the confession, specifically: it's not that you "get rid", because people are always prone to sin; it's about truly regretting your bad actions and seeking a priest to receive God's forgiveness, as a consequence of His infinite mercy. Not to mention that you have to resist to the temptations, and it's a daily struggle.

Edited June 27, 2019 by IGM_Oficial

[secret_no_03 959]

49 minutes ago, IGM_Oficial said:

Everything's ok.

 

About the confession, specifically: it's not that you "get rid", because people are always prone to sin; it's about truly regretting your bad actions and seeking a priest to receive God's forgiveness, as a consequence of His infinite mercy. Not to mention that you have to resist to the temptations, and it's a daily struggle.

Well, when you put it that way, being a devout catholic and not a lapsed one sounds like a hell of a burden.

[Karma’s Hat 3107]

I grew up in a non-religious household and me and my mom together left the state church when i was about 7 when we decided that even going to church on christmas was a bit too much. It’s probably growing up atheist in an atheist environment that made me totally unable to even jokingly consider what bearing religious identity and superstition would have in my life. When I was a teenager searching for an identity I instead went straight for politics without considering whether I’d identify more as a shintoist wiccan bullfrog. We are pretty much products of our culture and upbringing and I’ve found that those who grew up around religion find it haunting the rest of their lives even if nominably atheist – kind of also how those growing up in an atheist culture seem to be totally unable to process religious thinking and philosophy unless academically inclined to do so.

 

I always enjoyed religious and esoteric subjects, but just not enough to engage with them. I spend about 0% of my time thinking about the universe and the soul as anything other than an infinite cold and electricity on which life has appeared as an accident and will eventually make its exit also; and should I be wrong it’d still be a waste of time to think about it since the possibilities are infinite, and what man can process with his senses in his place in history is but a meaningless fraction of this.

 

But dumb white people raiding the moldy coffin of ancient thought ( that they wouldn’t have even had access to anyway til a couple of decades ago, and the people that spent their brief moment on earth without being able to read buddhism for dummies pdf lived through this world just fine ) is even worse when you have latte pagans on laptops thinking the shit on their shoe has a cosmic pathos that’s a just bit cooler than dad’s ol’ christianity with its unfortunate political baggage ( that isn’t jesus’ fault anyway. ) Everyone struggles with the meaninglessness of this world but that’s just about the worst way to do it. 

[Komorebi 2193]

10 hours ago, Euronymous said:

currently i've been thinking with myself: it's so easy to be an atheist,i mean...just like a russian philosopher called Dostoiévski said "if god does not exist everything is permitted". What could be more liberating than that?no god,no judgement,no reckoning day,no heaven,no hell...If you die,you'll be gone,end of history,that's it. that would be just perfect.

Funny, my mom says that a lot. That most atheists just rebelled against a religious upbringing to be free of any kind of moral responsibility. I gotta say she doesn't have it all wrong and after some personal experience, I agree to some extent. People nowadays DO look for rights and avoid duties in any aspect of life. They don't want the constraints of a committed relationship, of children, and of course, a God/Religion/spiritual belief.
However, the personal search for a spiritual life is inherent to human beings, and as it can be seen in this very thread, even proclaimed atheists say they are "considering switching to this and that". Are they atheists because they truly do not believe in anything spiritual or are they just rejecting the religions they know (and their inconvenient constraints)? If they truly are atheists and deny the existence of gods, why are they still searching for "something" spiritual? I might have a wrong definition of atheism, feel free to correct me, but I was under the impression/knowledge that they deny spirituality altogether.

10 hours ago, colorful人生 said:

Now, I understand the issues with Abrahamic religions that have a central figure that dictates any and all reasoning, but religion itself was inevitable. We can't help but question who we are and what our purpose is, and in many ways religion provides that stability and comfort in the face of uncertainty. Our path to the sciences was not without religion, so I give credit where credit is due. While I can certainly say I'm past religion at this point, I'm not opposed to others practicing as long as their practices don't become hurtful for forceful..

This goes back to what I said above, religion is natural, inevitable, and a part of what makes us human.
And they do provide a lot of comfort for many people. Abolishing religions is as selfish as imposing them.

6 hours ago, Himeaimichu said:

Essentially, I believe all religions have some truth to extent

Same, if we look into them they all have common points and even common reasoning and rules.

6 hours ago, Himeaimichu said:

However, I also keep myself a little agnostic, just to be safe.

 

1 hour ago, platy said:

I don't believe in any human notion of a god, but I'm open to the idea of a higher universal force. I was raised Christian and what I hated the most was being dragged to church.

These two pretty much sum up my current relationship with God/religion.

1 hour ago, platy said:

I used to pray everyday in my early teens,  when I realised I did it out of fear, I was freed. Worship out of fear of punishment just doesn't make sense

I felt that too and I went through a phase of spiritual rebellion and felt free indeed... and now somehow I've gone back to praying occasionally and even stepping into a church every once in a while, mostly when I want to thank whoever is up there for the good things life keeps giving me. If there is indeed a higher power giving away 30 minutes to give thanks and listen to a couple of readings isn't bad. I feel as free as ever for doing so.

1 hour ago, platy said:

The teachings at heart are good, but humans of course, shit all over it. That's why churches are cesspools for some of the worst scum on Earth, its the easiest way to manipulate and use poor people who use faith to survive.

Yeah, I agree once again. My "issue" is not with God himself, but with mankind and the way they have twisted and defiled every form of organized religion, which may be really good natured at heart, but humans aren't always so. This is also another reason why I could never call myself an atheist, or attempt to be one. I can't blame a god for what people do in his name, especially with the strong concept of free will present in many religions.

 

I was raised a Roman Catholic, in a very strictly religious household, went to Catholic school as well as to church every Sunday and special required dates and I started questioning all of it at a rather early age. What I am somewhat grateful for is that my family is not only religious but also most have studied Philosophy/Theology and those who haven't majored formally in it take intense courses on those matters constantly, so whenever I questioned something what I got wasn't always a "because God/the Bible says so" (I did from my not-so-educated mom) but actual explanations, interpretations, teachings and tools that encouraged me to think a bit more about religion instead of blindly accepting whatever without question. It is also a reason why I have a degree of respect for my family's choice of a religious life and while I do not want it for myself and I do not agree with many personal views, they have been very open to many discussions and I have even brought topics such as homosexuality and gender identity into discussion with neutral and positive results (my mother now lowkey advocated for same sex marriage), so if they are willing to open up to certain topics and at least let me explain some of my worldviews, then who am I to shit on their belief and lifestyle under their own roofs?

 

So yeah, I sometimes go to church when I visit for the weekend, mostly to ease my mother's concern about my soul and show respect for her lifestyle, despite not following it myself. I do believe in a higher power, but I'm not really comfortable with the Catholic church as an institution due to its current state (I think no one here is). I'm very curious about Buddhism as a lifestyle, but educating myself and following an Asian religion in a deeply Catholic country is pretty hard and I haven't felt the strong spiritual need to yet.
As for the Bible itself, I take the Old Testament as any other religious mythology. What matters the most for Catholics is the new testament and the teaching there is love thy neighbor and God and that's about it. You also have to consider many things in the Old Testament were written as laws and whatnot for a primitive civilization to abide to in order to strive, and the best way to get people to abide to stuff such as "don't steal or lust after your pal's wife" was with the underlying religious threat. But take it like what it is; a very old set of rules for a primitive-ish civilization. Idk why Christian groups still take everything there so seriously.

 

PS: I'm not sure how protestant branches of Christianity teach science in the Northern Hemisphere, but being educated in a strictly Opus Dei school, we were never denied scientific knowledge, evolution, or any other learning tool. The only single point where the Catholic Church formally disagrees with evolution is the fact that man evolved from apes, due to the soul issue, mainly. But I've never seen them deny science or take the Old Testament literally.

[nomemorial 341]

Grew up in a very religious (Southern Baptist) household. My parents were fairly lenient about media and such compared to friends' parents so I'm always grateful for that, though there were still those awkward "now that you watch anime do you worship the devil???" moments. 

 

Kind of fell further away the older I got and the more I learned about the world and interacted with non-Christian folks - especially because many of the "secular" people I spent time with acted far more "Christian" than most of the religious folks I encountered. Got tired of being judged due to my general interest in niche subcultures and not looking like some cookie-cutter buzzcut n' Oakleys youth group bro so I of course developed some deep resentment issues regarding that part of things when I was in my teens/early 20s. 

 

Past that, it's the fairly typical story of "I simply can't associate with those types" in post-2016 America. The cognitive dissonance of Christian Trumpers is all kinds of amazing and alarming because I simply cannot fathom the mental gymnastics one must do to think it's a cohesive way to believe. All of that on top of western Christianity being an inherently racist and homophobic institution and I just dumped it all at once.

 

That being said, now that the smoke has cleared from my "last straw" moment with religion, I do find myself reinvesting in spirituality in a number of ways. Part of me still wants to believe in the idea or image of Jesus I knew growing up, but it's hard to not connect it to what I see before me now. There may still be a "fear of the other" implanted in me that leads me back to that place, but I'm comfortable enough with myself to realize that sometimes whatever calms the anxiety is valuable regardless. Other parts of me find more pagan-leaning ideas very compelling from a mythological standpoint and the amount of reverence I saw in Japanese religious practice really struck me. Visiting temples and the sheer beauty of them while still giving a certain sense of humility is so unlike what I'm used to seeing in America that it really inspired me to think more about the power of spirituality. I had a quiet, personal moment at a small shrine in the woods that will likely stick with me forever in a positive way that is unlike anything I've felt from western religion.

 

I suppose that leads to my final point of frustration with most western Christianity in that it pretty much deletes any and all spirituality and mysticism from its own "canon" so to speak. I was laughed at and put down for ever expressing interest in the metaphysical side of things outside of "God's plan." I found that everything was always presented to me the opposite of how I needed it. When I wanted to seek out the spiritual side I was basically told that was "not correct," but when I was dealing with real, tangible problems all I ever got were statements of "oh, we're praying for you!" It was too pick-and-choose. Too uncertain of itself. I don't like that.

 

Sorry for the ramble - this is a topic really close to my heart and I'm pretty sure most people close to me are tired of my tirades on it, but I truly believe western Christianity is presented in a way that is very damaging at long-term levels and I am still, as a full grown adult person, dealing with the ramifications of what I was made to believe in my youth.

[YuyoDrift 1540]

Fuck, reading how you were brought up gave me some anxiety @platy. I never went to church, and when I did (baptisms for nieces/nephews, weddings, or funerals sometimes) I always felt out of place because I was given something at birth that most don't : freewill.

I know enough about Christianity and Catholicism to know they are flawed, and by that I mean the lack of context within the context.

Oh, you don't know the meaning of this snippet/excerpt of text (cuz no one from that time exists to explain it), so we're just gonna assume or fill in the blanks with our best interpretation of it because we can't just leave it as gibberish? Yeah, I'm good.

 

2 hours ago, platy said:

If people need religion to get them through the day, that's cool. But most use it to justify their prejudices.

As a person who has accepted I'm just some species/organism that has the option to procreate or grow old and die (alone or not) but ride a wave until then, I leave religion or those who follow it in peace. They haven't bothered me, and out of respect I do the same. Sometimes people do some great things knowing they have someone watching their back and for that I still acknowledge that (hold your pitchforks) religion is a necessary "evil".

 

2 hours ago, platy said:

The teachings at heart are good, but humans of course, shit all over it.

Great way of looking at it. Society as a whole has lost all meaning of what once could have been common knowledge millenniums ago, simply because we are no longer living in such simple times. Ironically caring a bit, I feel it's a mockery to pick and choose what you want to follow, when you want to follow them. Either accept everything that religion has to offer, or don't follow it at all/find something else. When I tell people that what is in those textbooks were the precise thoughts and beliefs (all the odd, negative, and horrific content you might gloss over cuz it sounds inhumane or whatever) of that individual, they shudder before telling me "nah well that was them. I'm me." Wtf? You sure about that?

 

Now if I found like-minded people IRL to talk ideologies on our existence, then I cut loose.
 

Spoiler

 

For me it's just plain weird to see people with personalities/habits/ideals often do some things that for the general morality of human existence can be seen as wrong/flawed at times, they know it's wrong (don't bullshit me) but do it anyways (I am not gonna go into this further with anyone wanting to discuss it, sorry) and then go to some random religious figure and "confess your sins", be told an answer that was not yours and further leaves you with no self identify and leave.  But hey, at least you have a clean slate??????? Then you go and do more of the same stuff and repeat this cycle until you die???

 

Its more rewarding to instead refute/object to the claims/accusations through discussion and experience human emotions that you and everyone else has, where you can share you own self-formed thoughts with others and possibly fill in blanks/gaps to things you may have questions about in our modern society. If you can learn to accept everything that can transpire, then you have a chance at possible enlightenment right there. Maybe, you won't do the same shit again because you now know what happens.

 

 

What I seek is wisdom/means to do more, and no scripture or ancient textbook written by someone else's POV (possibly not even genuine history at this point since were terrible at preserving things and stuff gets altered/re-written all the time) is going to grant me this. Even less is the false sense that by following these religions am I gonna find the answers I seek. I think the biggest worry I have for those who follow blindly from fear/lack of awareness (thinking that life like that is normal for everyone/that there is no alternative out there that will work for them) is that they might lose "faith"/will after a major experience or great realization that leaves them with "nothing" to questions they thought they'd get once they were old or something. Who do those individuals turn to? Certainly not themselves, right?

 

I don't want to be guided to their answers (especially not my entire life), I want to be allowed to seek my own, by any means necessary.

Unfortunately, the reality is that I can't use the means I would like to, only because we live in a civilization that requires me to contribute something to society in order to eat and live as healthy as I can. If I could live in the mountains and thrive by my natural instincts and sheer willpower, I would. But I'm a fragile Ruki-Sized individual that probably wouldn't survive mano a mano with most savage animals lol, so I submit to the way of life here until I figure out a way to overcome these handicaps. For now I believe in myself, I believe in you guys, and I believe in what we as the current humanity can purse and attain/achieve, good or bad.

Balance is key. This can be identified as a nihilist or satanist take when it comes to my view of the world and our (really my) existence in it. Ehh, I can't deny or confirm this but I do know that unless I do something worth preserving in history books for however long they can last, most people who will remember me will die within 100-150 years. Pretty sad reading it back to myself lol.

 

As you can see I am simply fascinated by the sheer will of humans and their drive to find their own purpose (or rather their selfish attempts to be remembered or their ideals *wink wink*, for millenniums to come) than accept that they were just born to live like everyone else, let alone by following a system that they can't question. I think that at some point at every era of civilization, there was a realization that their entire existence, or rather their progress and achievements, would be lost in time. Fortunately for them, we have continued to recover remnants/pieces of puzzles they once possessed.

 

Ok I'm done because I'm sure I wont stop until I'm fired for being on MH instead of doing work lol.

 

I am however very intrigued on everyone else's ideologies and will take some time to look into all these religions. 

Thanks.

[Gesu 1537]

3 hours ago, platy said:

Another thing that makes no sense is a passage in the bible in which God says we shouldn't worship other idols because he is a jealous god. Is there anything more human and flawed than jealousy? Doesn't sound like an omnipotent, omniscient all powerful being to me.

Too right. Envy's supposed to be a sin, but God was always depicted as envious.

 

Also, while I'm here, I'd just like to add something I thought of a couple minutes after I posted my original comment, but didn't have time to edit in as I had to leave. I think another reason I've never been religious is because it's very fixed. With science, which is what I personally believe in, it's flexible and ever-changing, but religion? Nah. Thou shalt do this, thou shalt not do that. It just completely conflicts with my individualistic mindset. Even though I like routine, I've always hated to feel like I have to be loyal to one specific thing because I need the freedom to know I can do something else if I want to. Of course I'm old and capable enough to decide to do something else, but if I'd been raised religious, I don't think I could cope. Additionally, I don't personally agree with people making their children follow their religion. I dunno for sure how it works, but I think the parents can choose it until they're adults. I think parents should allow their children to follow whichever teachings fit their worldview best (provided they're not extreme). That's just the way I see things personally and I don't mean to offend anyone.

[secret_no_03 959]

This topic has taken on a life of its own, and this is exactly why I make these, for the community at large.

[YuyoDrift 1540]

8 minutes ago, secret_no_03 said:

This topic has taken on a life of its own, and this is exactly why I make these, for the community at large.

At lunch so I can talk a bit.

 

Believe it or not but I'd be the first to advocate against posting things like this. Other mods can vouch for this lol.

MH is a community that I feel does not need the drama/events of our IRL in it, and I want to be sure it stays that way in order to keep the original concept of a forum intact. We like VK/Japanese Rock, and that will be the main focus.

 

Granted, the community has proven itself to be very accepting and open to people's thoughts from all over the world, and for that I'm thankful.

[secret_no_03 959]

1 hour ago, YuyoDrift said:

At lunch so I can talk a bit.

 

Believe it or not but I'd be the first to advocate against posting things like this. Other mods can vouch for this lol.

MH is a community that I feel does not need the drama/events of our IRL in it, and I want to be sure it stays that way in order to keep the original concept of a forum intact. We like VK/Japanese Rock, and that will be the main focus.

 

Granted, the community has proven itself to be very accepting and open to people's thoughts from all over the world, and for that I'm thankful.

It is the main focus, this is just a a tiny part of a much bigger thing. Escapism to somewhere to avoid the real world isn't far removed from a veritable safe space either. There's plenty of irl drama going on in the scene, and this won't hurt things at all, lest this section is removed if deemed not useful or more harmful than good.

[Ozileras10 371]

I was born a muslim and since I was a kid I had doubts and I was always looking for the truth. I looked into all the major religions from a neutral perspective and found out that the only religion that answers all the questions is Islam. Reading into philosophy also helped me make my faith stronger as I was exposed to a different perspective. I have to say that  the media portrays us in a bad way as they are looking at Islam from a liberal perspective. Islam is not a liberal religion.

[psychonnect_rozen 585]

I consider myself a gnostic atheist but boy do I have a strong hate for religion, mainly Christianity.

 

I grew up in a pretty religious environment, although my parents are pretty liberal. My grandparents are the more religious ones. I went to a catholic elementary school so I was brought up about God and all that bullshit.

 

When I was in 8th grade, that’s when I started to become atheist. It was mainly due to the homophobia but also was due to the fact that I was hearing about people praying and I always rolled my eyes because prayers don’t work, your just being lazy.

 

Currently, I’m in a catholic school, but it’s a fairly liberal school and half of the teachers don't give two shits about your beliefs. What i hate about it is that you have to go to mass everyday and it pisses me off so much.

[saishuu 3220]

I was only able to truly come alive once I rejected every notion of religion or a God. It's all just pointless noise to me. Can't imagine living in fear of eternal damnation for every little "weird" (by religious standards) thing I do. So that's my two cents on religion.

[cheesy_VK_Freak 76]

Cool topic!

I love religion. It has helped me quite a lot. I'm a born muslim. I like the idea of a God, because I have always been very focused on justice. Looking around, there is so much injustice created by humans, and even in everyday life, people just getting away with their words and behaviour and deeds, partly even promoted by society. Sometimes it feels as if the bad has become good. I hate that. I like the idea that in the end, everyone will face consequences. In the end, everything will balance out.

 

I have had many questions in life, I started to question what the idea of a "soul" is. Like, me thinking everyday, is that my soul? That what is going on in my head? Then, learning about neuroanotomy and finding out that our brain kind of works like a computer (0 and 1, inhibiting and non-inhibiting) made me question this idea of the "thinking soul". I was shocked to find out that thinking words and speaking words out are separate areas in the brain. I started to think a lot what a soul is then. Then, I looked into what the Quran was stating about the soul, saying: "And they ask you, [O Muhammad], about the soul. Say, "The soul is of the affair of my Lord. And mankind have not been given of knowledge except a little." For me, I was so fascinated with that reply. I started to think it might be some kind of essence, something divine.

 

I am fascinated with physics, unfortunately I cannot say that I'm an expert. I always wondered about the source of energy, since energy is the reason why reactions take place. No energy can be "created". Then, isn't God something/someone, a system that works without energy? Stuff like entanglement, or even the thought that reality falls apart at the moment the system, the "box", becomes different, I find so fascinating. I think there is something divine about it.

 

I imagine us humans being in line, everyone pulls some kind of ticket, and this is going to be their load they will have on their shoulders, for life. Be it poverty, an early loss of a loved one, a disease, whatever. Many people say, you cannot compare people's fate. I don't think so. People cope way too differently. I like the thought that our life is a test, and everytime we are patient and still stay on the "good path" (eg in poverty, one does not steal etc.), it will be rewarded.

 

I think it is so strange to look around and see everything existing out there. I mean, what is that that we humans and animals do? Eat, sleep, reproduce. Who is getting profit if we make sure our DNA passes on? Definetly not us, cause we die anyways. Why the hazzle, the worries? I don't understand that.

 

"If love is something you get used to, why even living at all?", is some lyric of Dir en grey's bugaboo. I think about it a lot...like, yeah, isn't love for the most of us like the ultimate goal? Like, this happiness. And in the end, the magic is gone. All our hormones on low level. What are we, as humans, living for? I like to see different perspectives in life, I like VK because their lyrics are so nihilistic. Without God, just as humans, what does it mean to be a human? What are we aiming for at the end of the day?...at least I end up thinking: for nothing. Without God, life is not worth living, except you are a lucky one. Except you numb these questions away with, I don't know, keeping yourself busy and whatnot.

 

Personally, I think my life isn't easy. I don't have someone who I can talk to and say what's going on in my mind. I have some problems, and think about them: "there is no solution to them, even if I think about it a lot". I can get "angry" with God, like "why did you choose this fate for me?" only to find myself tranquil at the thought that there is a path ahead of me, and I know someone, something is knowing what's ahead. And what lies ahead will bring tranquility to my soul, not in the way I imagine, but it will be good.

 

I like islam, it is very simple, you have one God and you just directly talk to him whenever you want. I pray five times a day, even at university or at my job. And I choose to do so. Life is just so busy that I'm not bothered to be reminded of God five times a day.

 

But, there are also some things I don't understand. for example, homosexuality being forbidden. But, since it feels like a have a personal relationship with God, I'm like: "Dear God, I don't understand this no matter how much thought I put into it. Please, one day, give me an answer." I'm not a yes and amen kind of person. But, I believe in every single words of the Quran. I have some questions. And there is obvioulsy the need of a God to answer them.

 

so yea little stream of thought

 

Edited June 29, 2019 by cheesy_VK_Freak
ok like this?

[secret_no_03 959]

7 minutes ago, cheesy_VK_Freak said:

Cool topic!

I love religion. It has helped me quite a lot. I'm a born muslim. I like the idea of a God, because I have always been very focused on justice. Looking around, there is so much injustice created by humans, and even in everyday life, people just getting away with their words and behaviour and deeds, partly even promoted by society. Sometimes it feels as if the bad has become good. I hate that. I like the idea that in the end, everyone will face consequences. In the end, everything will balance out.

I have had many questions in life, I started to question what the idea of a "soul" is. Like, me thinking everyday, is that my soul? That what is going on in my head? Then, learning about neuroanotomy and finding out that our brain kind of works like a computer (0 and 1, inhibiting and non-inhibiting) made me question this idea of the "thinking soul". I was shocked to find out that thinking words and speaking words out are separate areas in the brain. I started to think a lot what a soul is then. Then, I looked into what the Quran was stating about the soul, saying: "And they ask you, [O Muhammad], about the soul. Say, "The soul is of the affair of my Lord. And mankind have not been given of knowledge except a little." For me, I was so fascinated with that reply. I started to think it might be some kind of essence, something divine.

I am fascinated with physics, unfortunately I cannot say that I'm an expert. I always wondered about the source of energy, since energy is the reason why reactions take place. No energy can be "created". Then, isn't God something/someone, a system that works without energy? Stuff like entanglement, or even the thought that reality falls apart at the moment the system, the "box", becomes different, I find so fascinating. I think there is something divine about it.

I imagine us humans being in line, everyone pulls some kind of ticket, and this is going to be their load they will have on their shoulders, for life. Be it poverty, an early loss of a loved one, a disease, whatever. Many people say, you cannot compare people's fate. I don't think so. People cope way too differently. I like the thought that our life is a test, and everytime we are patient and still stay on the "good path" (eg in poverty, one does not steal etc.), it will be rewarded.

I think it is so strange to look around and see everything existing out there. I mean, what is that that we humans and animals do? Eat, sleep, reproduce. Who is getting profit if we make sure our DNA passes on? Definetly not us, cause we die anyways. Why the hazzle, the worries? I don't understand that.

"If love is something you get used to, why even living at all?", is some lyric of Dir en grey's bugaboo. I think about it a lot...like, yeah, isn't love for the most of us like the ultimate goal? Like, this happiness. And in the end, the magic is gone. All our hormones on low level. What are we, as humans, living for? I like to see different perspectives in life, I like VK because their lyrics are so nihilistic. Without God, just as humans, what does it mean to be a human? What are we aiming for at the end of the day?...at least I end up thinking: for nothing. Without God, life is not worth living, except you are a lucky one. Except you numb these questions away with, I don't know, keeping yourself busy and whatnot.

Personally, I think my life isn't easy. I don't have someone who I can talk to and say what's going on in my mind. I have some problems, and think about them: "there is no solution to them, even if I think about it a lot". I can get "angry" with God, like "why did you choose this fate for me?" only to find myself tranquil at the thought that there is a path ahead of me, and I know someone, something is knowing what's ahead. And what lies ahead will bring tranquility to my soul, not in the way I imagine, but it will be good.

I like islam, it is very simple, you have one God and you just directly talk to him whenever you want. I pray five times a day, even at university or at my job. And I choose to do so. Life is just so busy that I'm not bothered to be reminded of God five times a day.

But, there are also some things I don't understand. for example, homosexuality being forbidden. But, since it feels like a have a personal relationship with God, I'm like: "Dear God, I don't understand this no matter how much thought I put into it. Please, one day, give me an answer." I'm not a yes and amen kind of person. But, I believe in every single words of the Quran. I have some questions. And there is obvioulsy the need of a God to answer them.

 

so yea little stream of thought

 

Not to be a dick, but could you please break this down into paraph form, so like 4-5 sentence paragraphs?

[Flame-X 441]

I guess I'll give my brief testimony here.

 

I grew up in a Christian household however I had a little fallout in my teen years because I was rebellious and arrogant. Long story short, I had misconceptions about Christianity on many areas and then I became a born again believer after investigating the claims of Jesus. I was a blind believer because I was intellectually lazy to read the bible in its entirety and ask important questions.

 

Let's face it, just because you grew up believing a certain world view doesn't mean it's true. We have to a little digging to see if the claims are true. And the bible encourages everyone to test it, "but test them all; hold on to what is good" - 1 Thessalonians 5:21. The existence of Jesus Christ is a historical fact based on eye witness testimonies which is the 4 gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John). And the fact that Jesus died by crucifixion and the empty tomb has been acknowledged by  non-Christian historians and scholars. Even a very critical agnostic scholar, Bart Erhman, said it's an indisputable fact. Then you have the disciples and apostles who went to their horrible bloody deaths professing this faith. Now, there are people who have died believing in whatever faith they have, but here's the difference between other religions and Christianity. The disciples and apostles didn't just died for what they believe, they died claiming to have seen the risen Jesus. So that tells me these guys' convictions were so strong that no matter what the persecution levels they faced, they'd be willing to be tortured and die for it.

 

So what is Christianity? The bible teaches that Jesus is God in human form who came into our world to die for our sins. Because of our fallen nature, God wanted to restore our broken relationship with him and fulfilled that through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now read this carefully because this is one of the most important part on what Christianity is; Christianity is the ONLY world view where your salvation is UNMERITED. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9. But then begs the question, why? Why would God do this? The answer is quite simple: LOVE. Love is the central theme of this faith. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16. Christianity at its core is a relationship with God, it was never a religion in the first place. Religious people find God useful, but growing Christians find God beautiful.

 

I'm a Christian because it's true and I've realized my sinfulness and shortcomings that I need God. If I could live up to the bible, then I wouldn't need God, but the fact is I'm too flawed that's why need him. After I became a Christian, I felt free and was able to have my eyes opened to know what's right and wrong. It is just like what CS Lewis said, "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

After reading the gospels, there's only 3 conclusions you can come up with about Jesus Christ. Either he's a liar, lunatic, or Lord. If anyone has God's stamp of approval, it would be the guy who rose from the dead. That alone gives me the eternal hope.

 

Now let's get real here. Christianity never promises an easy or successful life. In fact, pain and suffering gets worse in life as a Christian. Jesus is the paradigm of our suffering when read up what he went through on the day of crucifixion. Read the book of Acts in the New Testament to know the kind of life the disciples and apostles went through. Anyone who teaches the gospels as something that promises you an easy or successful life on earth are teaching you the "prosperity gospel" which is false! Nowhere in the bible says that. In fact, Jesus backs it up by this; "Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." - Luke 9:23 and "For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name." - Acts 9:16. In other words, there's a cost in being a Christian. I can certainly testify my life has gotten worse after proclaiming this faith; received death threats, friendships lost, job loss, accused of false acts, and so on. What Christianity promises is eternal life in heaven enjoying the presence of God.

 

If there's anyone considering Christianity, you need to ask yourself these questions: Does truth matter to you? If Christianity were true, would you become a Christian?

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6. "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” - John 8:32.

 

Once you've made a decision to investigate, I recommend reading the gospel of John as a starting point so you know who Jesus Christ really is, then read some apologetic books to get a grasp on the evidence such as "The Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel who was a former athiest and Chicago Tribunes journalist, "Cold Case Christianity" by J Warner Wallace who was a former atheist homicide detective, and "Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus" by Nabeel Qureshi who was a former Muslim.

Edited July 1, 2019 by Flame-X

[Manji 卍 743]

about 6 or 7 years ago i went to my friend's church and his mother got "possessed" along with some few people.

he bursted into tears and i almost pissed my pants.since the happening i didn't have any contact with religiosity,but my relatives still into it.

don't know which "god" is real or which "devil" is real,but one thing is sure...these things exist.everyone just needs to have a real experience to get their minds "unlocked". 

 

sometimes i feel an enormous hatred for religious people and anything related to religion.

sometimes i envy those whom can believe in a god wholeheartedly and are able to find comfort in it,

because life doesn't make sense at all and everything is fated to end,and they look like they have something else to look upon.

 

i feel like i'm trapped when it comes to such things.

the arguments of atheists are very basic and sometimes childish,due to the fact that 98% of them didn't have any experience with the "unnatural",and on other hand religiosity looks claustrophobic,scary and antiquated.

 

 

Edited July 1, 2019 by Manji 卍

[Euronymous 325]

@Manji 卍   yea,i've seen on youtube people getting possessed in churches

that shits crazy.don't even know which is fake and which is not

[secret_no_03 959]

On 6/30/2019 at 11:10 PM, Euronymous said:

@Manji 卍   yea,i've seen on youtube people getting possessed in churches

that shits crazy.don't even know which is fake and which is not

Most is fake, kind of a being possessed by the holy spirit thing, like being in extasy or something to that effect. I've never seen it first hand, but I've heard stories of people screaming and dancing and shaking on the ground while someone preached.

[secret_no_03 959]

On 6/30/2019 at 10:19 PM, Manji 卍 said:

about 6 or 7 years ago i went to my friend's church and his mother got "possessed" along with some few people.

he bursted into tears and i almost pissed my pants.since the happening i didn't have any contact with religiosity,but my relatives still into it.

don't know which "god" is real or which "devil" is real,but one thing is sure...these things exist.everyone just needs to have a real experience to get their minds "unlocked". 

 

sometimes i feel an enormous hatred for religious people and anything related to religion.

sometimes i envy those whom can believe in a god wholeheartedly and are able to find comfort in it,

because life doesn't make sense at all and everything is fated to end,and they look like they have something else to look upon.

 

i feel like i'm trapped when it comes to such things.

the arguments of atheists are very basic and sometimes childish,due to the fact that 98% of them didn't have any experience with the "unnatural",and on other hand religiosity looks claustrophobic,scary and antiquated.

 

 

Being around people that get "possessed by the holy spirit" is said to be quite the spectacle, so I don't blame you for freaking out. I first thought you meant literal demonic possession, but that wouldn't make sense in the context of a church service.

[nekkichi 6043]

I have one question for practicing Christian locals I lowkey want to see answered, so how do y'all cope with inherently luciferian nature of visual kei that penetrates every aspect of it since day 1?

 

On 6/27/2019 at 7:21 PM, Disposable said:

when you have latte pagans on laptops thinking the shit on their shoe has a cosmic pathos that’s a just bit cooler than dad’s ol’ christianity with its unfortunate political baggage

drag me x

Edited July 5, 2019 by nekkichi

[Flame-X 441]

On 7/5/2019 at 9:10 AM, nekkichi said:

I have one question for practicing Christian locals I lowkey want to see answered, so how do y'all cope with inherently luciferian nature of visual kei that penetrates every aspect of it since day 1?

I need some clarification. What do you mean by inherently luciferian?

[nekkichi 6043]

5 hours ago, Flame-X said:

I need some clarification. What do you mean by inherently luciferian?

inherently

(courtesy of google.com, which is (surprisingly) free!):

/ɪnˈhɪərəntli,ɪnˈhɛrəntli/

Learn to pronounce

adverb

adverb: inherently

in a permanent, essential, or characteristic way.

"the work is inherently dangerous"

 

Lucifer is a fallen angel associated with visual arts and music.

 

https://blackwitchcoven.com/13-luciferian-laws-every-beginner-must-know/

[Komorebi 2193]

On 7/5/2019 at 10:10 AM, nekkichi said:

I have one question for practicing Christian locals I lowkey want to see answered, so how do y'all cope with inherently luciferian nature of visual kei that penetrates every aspect of it since day 1?

Considering VK stems from Japanese culture, which has very little Christian influence, I do not see how it is 'inherently luciferian" in a scene that hasn't replicated in any Christian country.

[cheesy_VK_Freak 76]

@Komorebi yes, true, but.. VK does have their fair share of ‚blasphemic‘ symbolism, texts, etc...and their fair share of music video appearance in churches, so they do play with the idea of God, religion

 

instantly, not very God-friendly songs that come to my mind are Gazettes Dogma, Dimlims D.Hymn and...I think some Dir en grey texts, like...red soil 

I don‘t listen to these songs, btw

Im ok with nihilism, just don‘t be too insulting pls is my kind of mindset...yea