The BIG question...are you:

[No Such Agency]

I am soooooo not getting into this.

That said, I quite possibly believe that God appears to us as bacon. So at least you can tell what I am not...

 

[Valander]

Interesting that there are that many choices for \"other\".

Of course, I\'m in that camp, too, being a qabalist, with strong influences of shamanism and ninjutsu (not just a martial art, ya know).

Now let\'s see how long it takes this thread to get violent!

 

[MarkusTay]

A Shamanistic Ninja Cabbalist?!

So what... You sneak up on animals in the forest and inscribe mystical symbols on their arses?

Just playin\' wit\' ya\'lol

I guess ever since I read the Riverworld books I\'ve considered myself Sufi. But I throw in a dash of a dozen other religions just to spice things up. I like my Religion on the full-flavored side.

Being a preacher is like being a chef. You can take the smelliest fish and make it taste good... if you just cover it with enough sauce.

???

 

[Valander]

Originally posted by MarkusTay
A Shamanistic Ninja Cabbalist?!

So what... You sneak up on animals in the forest and inscribe mystical symbols on their arses?

lol ... not exactly, but that is pretty funny. It\'s interesting, actually, how similar these things are.

What it really comes down to, I believe (and, since this is just my belief, take that for what it is), is that there is no \"one\" correct path. I think that every individual has their own path. There\'s often overlap in these paths, but it is the personal responsibility of each person to decide for themselves what they believe in, and to test those beliefs in such a way that they are satisfied with them.

I\'m the first to say that my particular path isn\'t for anybody else--and, by corrolary, nobody else\'s path is for me.

 

[nosferatu]

Nooooooooooo!!

This could so easily turn nasty. (...just walk away David, just walk away!!! ) lol

I\'m sort of on the border of atheist and non-practising witch. I do like the ideals of the whole witch thing (after all it is based on positive thinking, striving to attain goals and a huge wadge of appreciation of the natural world), but I\'m not really into the ritualistic side.

I do celebrate the solstices and equinoxes though.

 

[Trevor]

God knows.

 

[leopardpixie]

Isn\'t there a whole thing with separation of church and state( in US @ least)? And such there is a hidden political, no go, on the boards to prevent, name slinging and what not. Would this too, be considered such a unspeakable rule, to keep peace among fellow mini painters???

Please do not mind me, and my mindless chatter... This is only a thought.

 

[LavronYor]

I worship Demogorgon...


Now go see the evil D & D thread.



Actually, Agnosticism, suits my anti Hypocritical persona the best. Maybe there is, maybe there isn\'t.

 

[Naukhel]

Originally posted by leopardpixie
Isn\'t there a whole thing with separation of church and state( in US @ least)?

There is a law to this effect in the US, which cracks me up, really, because all the money has \'In God We Trust\' on it. If church and state are meant to be separate, can\'t you have the National Treasury charged for breaking this law?
Aren\'t there a lot of people in the US that have to use money, because it\'s a capitalist nation, that don\'t believe in God?
Doesn\'t this possibly offend them?

And on a more serious side:
Who we are, what we believe in, these are personal choices, and considering the initial \'please take down this thread\' comment by its originator, and the fact that all have remained largely respectful of eachother (not counting humourous quips) is a testament, I think, to the maturity and wisdom of all of you for being able to accept the variety of religions of your peers without judgement.

Dealing with such a potentially inflammatory subject as religion in such a manner is admirable.
Be proud.

 

[Nelson]

Sooo boring....

Anyways, I guess I consider myself an athiest, but I respect other people\'s opinions, their beliefs, each to his own, diff\'rent strokes for diff\'rent folks, etc, yadda yadda yadda.

*yawn*

:bouncy:

 

[ZeCorto]

What, no poll choice for Jedi?

 

[Shawn R. L.]

Isn\'t there a whole thing with separation of church and state( in US @ least)?

Actually no there isnt. The phrase \'seperation between church and state\' was written in the Federalist papers by (I think Tomas Jefferson). It DOES NOT appear in the Constitution. It has zero legal weight. What IS in the Constitution is \'government shall not establish a religion\' ie. A cumpulsory religion. The phrase \'seperation of church and state\' is now the new bludgeon to remove any reference to God in anything remotely associated with government. Kinda stickey when many of our cities are named after religious things.

 

[No Such Agency]

There is a law to this effect in the US, which cracks me up, really, because all the money has \'In God We Trust\' on it. If church and state are meant to be separate, can\'t you have the National Treasury charged for breaking this law?

They don\'t specify which god, and it\'s well-known that many of the Founding Dead White Guys were \"deists\" - they didn\'t believe in a personal god but more of a \"universal watchmaker\" or prime mover who wasn\'t too concerned with human affairs.

So if you want to believe the currency refers to G_d, or Vishnu, or Zeus, or Buddha (ok that\'s a bit of a stretch) then it\'s all good. It\'s not my money but if it was, I\'d care very little even if it said \"In Cthulhu we Trust\".

The phrase \'seperation of church and state\' is now the new bludgeon to remove any reference to God in anything remotely associated with government. Kinda stickey when many of our cities are named after religious things.

People just get a little uncomfortable when the Biblical Ten Commandments appear on a plaque outside a courthouse serving Christians, Jews, Hindus, Moslems, Atheists, and others, for reasons which should be obvious. It\'s not the same as having a city called \"San Antonio\". And as far as I know, nobody\'s seriously trying to have the \"God\" phrase removed from currency. It\'s just words.

 

[Shawn R. L.]

The same courthouse (in Georga) that had the 10 commandments removed has a frieze with Greek gods on it. Not a peep about that.

 

[cfwheeler58]

Did you ever see the big tractor trailers ( in the US ) with white trailers and \"GOD\" ( Guaranteed Overnight Delivery) in huge red letters written on them ?

So much for the separation of church and freight......

 

[Infidel Castro]

I like Gnostics...they\'re WAY cool. The spiritual element in life, and lots of togetherness. What a way that would be to live

 

[Trevor]

\"In Cthulhu we Trust\"

Now that would be cool

 

[praetorian0_1]

Definately the big C there guys.

Being French Canadian/Metis there are few other faiths in my ancesteral neck of the woods. Not even a \"closet Christian\", and I do try to practice what I preach. I also have a great respect/connection for the earth and everything around me though, to echo my mothers heritage. But, I\'ll fight for anyones rights to say what they gotta. I may not agree... but, they have the right to say it.(how very French of me eh Voltaire)lol
You can have a faith and a religion and still be humanist.
I like that one about separation between church and freightlol

@ Trev ---now raising the lost city of the elders gods- that would be scary HP Lovecraft style- ouchlol

 

[praetorian0_1]

Its all good, but I am metis. So, I actually thank the \"big guy\" for the spoils of my hunting/fishing/gathering when I enter nature in my way- which I know a lot of folks look wayyy down on. So many of my people have truely have lost their traditional skills and are wayyyy too lazy to hunt/fish anymore- just get diabetes eating at McDonalds- which is wayy worse than booze in many communities. Metis means I am half French and Blood tribe Indian.
Not that kind of roll in the leaves naked( though it sounds kinda sexy and funlol) communer. :]Its all good though.
(I think) I am the real deal man. I work in psych and addictions helping my ansestoral peoples and all races alike find their spirits again. My great spirit happens to be pretty much called the \"big guy\" in my books- whomever she/he/they are. Its a personal realtionship- what works for me won\'t work for you nessisarily. It just fits for me dude. And they(my cultures) don\'t contadict eachother either- the French and Indians always seemed to get on well.

Spirituallty is just as simple as what it takes to make you happy. Whatever turns your crank without screwing over the next guy in my books mes amis.

 

[No Such Agency]

It always amuses me how many people reckon they\'re pagan or witches of some sort or other. It\'s almost part of the \'Alternate Lifestyle Identi-kit\' these days. It only comes out of the box for occasions such as this when we all want to show our \'individuality\' (which of course does not exist!). And we mustn\'t forget the wonderful romanticism of all that tree worship and splashing around in ponds trying to commune with water spirits. The joy of feeling at one with elements eh? The elements will win every time.

\"No actual witches in your witch group?\"
\"No. Bunch of wanna-blessed-bes. You know, nowadays every girl with a henna tattoo and a spice rack thinks she’s a sister of the Dark Ones.\"
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer

@Shawn R.L. - try to see it from the view of a religous minority. The Ten Commandments are generally good stuff, I don\'t buy a lot of Christianity\'s more arcane rules but things like \"thou shalt not kill\" and \"thou shalt not bear false witness\" are pretty good ones to live your life by. But if you\'re not a Christian and when you go to court you see the Christian commandments posted outside... that does smack of \"government imposing a religion\" even if it is not actually happening inside the court house. If you want to post a universally-agreed-on sentiment, put the Golden Rule on a plaque... maybe in the form of \"Be Excellent to Each Other\"