Another Religion...

Originally posted by Da Pittman

OK, so here is the premise of the question. You have a kid and you have to raise them as a religious person but this can not be your own belief, what religion would you choose and why?

First and foremost, I do not believe that one "needs" to be raised to live religiously. All man, instinctively knows, that a so-called "higher power" exists, in whatever form, for the sake of an argument. This does not require teaching!

Second, teach your child that moral values derive from God--in whatever form--and not from Kings and Queens--presidents and politicians. Otherwise, morality is in the eyes of the beholder. That is dangerous thinking!

Third, expose your child to all religions; in conjunction, teach them the value of "objective" thinking--to be lead my facts in pursuit of truth, not emotion.

And lastly, be a parent, not a friend. Teach your child the value of hard work and sacrifice; nobody owes them anything, and in this world, there are no free hands outs--unless you know someone (ha ha ha)! They will kick and scream, but in the end, they will thank you for it.

That is just my 2 cents. Take care, all!

Originally posted by ushomefree
First and foremost, I do not believe that one "needs" to be raised to live religiously. All man, instinctively knows, that a so-called "higher power" exists, in whatever form, for the sake of an argument. This does not require teaching!

Second, teach your child that moral values derive from God--in whatever form--and not from Kings and Queens--presidents and politicians. Otherwise, morality is in the eyes of the beholder. That is dangerous thinking!

Third, expose your child to all religions; in conjunction, teach them the value of "objective" thinking--to be lead my facts in pursuit of truth, not emotion.

And lastly, be a parent, not a friend. Teach your child the value of hard work and sacrifice; nobody owes them anything, and in this world, there are no free hands outs--unless you know someone (ha ha ha)! They will kick and scream, but in the end, they will thank you for it.

That is just my 2 cents. Take care, all!

To get to the point, and in keeping with this thread, I'd would help my child understand the message of Jesus Christ--Christianity. To force such a message, however, I would not. For all who have truly studied--and I mean, actually purchasing books, audio commentary, DVDs, misc. research papers, not to mention sifting through countless websites--religion is a hard topic to tackle. To study religion, it requires discipline! And that is wholly ignored today. Take religious cults for example, all major religions have them. People are to busy reading what they "want to hear," and not the truth! In any case, religion is personal; but if "objectivity" is taught at an early age, in my opinion, people would come face-to-face with monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Through rigorous study--that got my child thus far--my child should be equipped to make an "intellingent"--informed--decision on what they believe--as previously stated--not one based on emotion. There ain't nothing romantic about hell. That is my opinion.

Originally posted by ushomefree
To get to the point, and in keeping with this thread, I'd would help my child understand the message of Jesus Christ--Christianity. To force such a message, however, I would not. For all who have truly studied--and I mean, actually purchasing books, audio commentary, DVDs, misc. research papers, not to mention sifting through countless websites--religion is a hard topic to tackle. To study religion, it requires discipline! And that is wholly ignored today. Take religious cults for example, all major religions have them. People are to busy reading what they "want to hear," and not the truth! In any case, religion is personal; but if "objectivity" is taught at an early age, in my opinion, people would come face-to-face with monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Through rigorous study--that got my child thus far--my child should be equipped to make an "intellingent"--informed--decision on what they believe--as previously stated--not one based on emotion. There ain't nothing romantic about hell. That is my opinion.

What are you asking me exactly?

Originally posted by DigiMark007
Hmm. I've never heard of them as the Big 5. But meh. I guess they're considered as such based on cultural zeitgeist rather than worldwide adherents (in which the top 5 would lose Buddhism and Judaism if memory serves).

I'm not surprised you haven't heard the term. Religion doesn't seem to be your strong suit.

And if you wanna talk sheer numbers: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Chinese religions, Buddhism. The term refers to global influence and fame, not numbers.

Originally posted by Bardock42
Would you include atheist views?

Sure. "Ok, kids now finally let's talk Atheism. You know those five religions we covered? Well all you have to do is think they're complete bullshit and 5 billion people on this planet are wasting their time."

Originally posted by Quiero Mota

Sure. "Ok, kids now finally let's talk Atheism. You know those five religions we covered? Well all you have to do is think they're complete bullshit and 5 billion people on this planet are wasting their time."

Obviously there's more to atheism. Otherwise you can cover Christianity the same way. "Ok, kids, about Christianity, lots of folks believe that a guy nailed to a tree 2000 years ago will save them. Good night"

Originally posted by ushomefree
What are you asking me exactly?

Originally posted by Bardock42
Obviously there's more to atheism.

Not really, it doesn't get more simple or straight-forward than not believing in anything.

And since there's no rules or organization in Atheism, its off the spectrum completely. So teaching it wouldn't be necessary anyways.

Originally posted by Da Pittman
You have to choose a religion that is not of your own.

😆 Not going to happen. 😆

Originally posted by Quiero Mota
"Ok, kids now finally let's talk Atheism. You know those five religions we covered? Well all you have to do is think they're complete bullshit and 5 billion people on this planet are wasting their time."

It's not all that different than saying "Okay, you know those 4 other religions we covered? That's 4 billion other people wasting their time."

Originally posted by Quiero Mota
Not really, it doesn't get more simple or straight-forward than not believing in anything.

And since there's no rules or organization in Atheism, its off the spectrum completely. So teaching it wouldn't be necessary anyways.

The philosophical reasons for atheism are in your opinion not worthy of being told?

Originally posted by Devil King
It's not all that different than saying "Okay, you know those 4 other religions we covered? That's 4 billion other people wasting their time."

True, but Quiero just has it in for atheists. He makes blanket assumptions about them, despite not being one himself (most of them bigoted and false), and doesn't believe that anyone else is right but him. I've attempted to reason with him before, and also preach tolerance and understanding, but some of his statements paint atheists almost as lesser humans (and at the very least uninformed and simplistic in their ideologies) and he never really relented from such opinions, as his comments here elucidate.

...but along your point's line, you could also phrase it as "There's belief and non-belief," and so by that account he's casually ignoring half of the spectrum. I'd tend to favor agnosticism and atheism on equal footing with the others, rather than a greater share of importance. Or if we consider worldwide adherents, agnosticism would be #4 (#3 if you add atheists to the total). But in either case he's just ignoring them because of his personal biases, not because they deserve to be ignored.

I've never really known his to be like that. But no one likes to have their beliefs questioned.

Originally posted by Devil King
I've never really known his to be like that. But no one likes to have their beliefs questioned.

On the contrary, I love it. It's a shift in mentality, but it's entirely possible to go from wanting to guard what you perceive to be the truth, to wanting to be challenged in order to discover the truth. When most people have a crisis of faith they search for affirmations of their beliefs rather than alternative ideas. It's inevitable, but can be transcended.

Though you're right that it's true for most.

As for Quiero, I feel bad saying those things about him, but that's been my experience with him on these forums, and I have yet to see something that would convince me otherwise. So it's not intended as bashing, just as commentary on my dealings with him.

Originally posted by DigiMark007
Or if we consider worldwide adherents, agnosticism would be #4 (#3 if you add atheists to the total).

Agnosticism is a form of Negative Atheism.

Originally posted by Adam_PoE
Agnosticism is a form of Negative Atheism.

negative atheism?

😕

Originally posted by DigiMark007
negative atheism?

😕

😕

Originally posted by DigiMark007
negative atheism?

😕

There are two types of Atheism; Positive Atheism is the affirmative belief that gods do not exist, and Negative Atheism is the absence of belief that gods exist.

Originally posted by Adam_PoE
There are two types of Atheism; Positive Atheism is the affirmative belief that gods do not exist, and Negative Atheism is the absence of belief that gods exist.

OK, what do you call a person who believe that all gods are man made, but that the universe was a living being, and therefore, God?