the pupose of your religion

floydkeith · Post by **floydkeith** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 12:47 pm

I am very intrigued by some of you folk on this site. I can see that many are very intelligent and some are very well read and well studied. But I am interested to know if your debate has a goal. If you have no goal or agenda, are you just pleasuring your own minds?

What is each of your personal reasons for participating on this site? If you can't state clearly your reasons, then you probably don't have one and you just want to feel intellectually superior.

I dare any and all of you to compose a brief paragraph stating as clearly as you can what your goal is in life, and what agenda you would like to further by your participation on this site, with no punches pulled and no lies or exaggerations. Just the facts.

Coyotero · Post by **Coyotero** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 1:16 pm

floydkeith wrote:I am very intrigued by some of you folk on this site. I can see that many are very intelligent and some are very well read and well studied. But I am interested to know if your debate has a goal. If you have no goal or agenda, are you just pleasuring your own minds?

What is each of your personal reasons for participating on this site? If you can't state clearly your reasons, then you probably don't have one and you just want to feel intellectually superior.

I dare any and all of you to compose a brief paragraph stating as clearly as you can what your goal is in life, and what agenda you would like to further by your participation on this site, with no punches pulled and no lies or exaggerations. Just the facts.

My goal in life? To enjoy my time here, love my wife, and raise my children to be good people.

My 'agenda' on this board (Kind of a funny way to put it.)? To discuss and learn. That's it. Religion is a fascinating and passionate subject for me, and a lot of people. I enjoy being able to discuss it in a peaceful, moderated, respectful arena.

TXatheist · Post by **TXatheist** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 1:31 pm

floydkeith wrote:I am very intrigued by some of you folk on this site. I can see that many are very intelligent and some are very well read and well studied. But I am interested to know if your debate has a goal. If you have no goal or agenda, are you just pleasuring your own minds?

What is each of your personal reasons for participating on this site? If you can't state clearly your reasons, then you probably don't have one and you just want to feel intellectually superior.

I dare any and all of you to compose a brief paragraph stating as clearly as you can what your goal is in life, and what agenda you would like to further by your participation on this site, with no punches pulled and no lies or exaggerations. Just the facts.

I was brought up in a casual Christian household all my life, mainly going to church because my father went, and my father mainly going because his employer and fellow employees went. My mother (my parents were divorced) became more serious about Christianity when I was a teenager and I attended many denominations with her. As an adult I spent quite a bit of time seeking god and trying to settle into Christianity as a serious religion. Then, about a year ago I realized that I had only been fooling myself and that my relationship with Christ was one sided; it was then that I became an Atheist. I eventually found myself missing the structure and guidance that I had found in Christianity and I began seeking a non-supernatural equivalent. I found what I was looking for in Theravada Buddhism and have been enjoying it since.

My goal in life now is to become the best person that I can be; to be honest, kind, caring, considerate, productive, content, and to be a benefit to others as well as a good influence.

My original intent when I joined this site (back when I was an Atheist) was to prove Christians wrong. I felt cheated because I had devoted so much time and attention to what I had finally decided was a lie and I wanted to take my frustration out on those whom I felt were perpetuating that which had wronged me. My earlier posts probably reflect this attitude. Since becoming a Buddhist, however, I have realized that my anger and frustration was unnecessary and that blaming those around me for my own decisions was very unfair as well as unproductive.

My reasons for visiting and posting on this site now are 1) for intellectual stimulation, 2) to learn more about people's various religious beliefs, 3) for entertainment, 4) to participate in civil debate (I simply enjoy debating), 5) and to passively promote Buddhism and guide others by example and by running my own Buddhist subforum.

I know that my earlier posts reflect an angry, inconsiderate person. But I hope my more recent posts reflect an attempt to be a more considerate and civil debater with the intentions I listed above. If I have offended you or anyone else, I welcome your PMs to correct me.

floydkeith · Post by **floydkeith** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 2:41 pm

I am dedidedly Christian in my personal faith, but unjudgmental of others who see things from their own perspective. I would rather hang with an humbel Buddhist than a arrogant Christian. I would also rather hang out with a kind and generous athiest than self-center, judgmental Christian preacher. Romans Chapter 2 clearly says that God fells the same way.

I don't feel compelled to judge anyone of any faith. The only people I do feel a need to judge and speak against is the numerous preachers of the Christian faith who give people ample reason to scoff at Christianity. Against them I will speak, but not because I am more righteous than they, because I am not, only because they inflect great injury on the young and weak Christians. But I do no judge them as individuals, only as worthless shepherds.

My goal is to maybe help someone who has been wounded as deeply by religion as I have been, and I as decieved and misguided as I was, and maybe help them find their own way of truth.

I would also seek unity of mind and spirit with other believers who are also seeking for truth. Unity of the spirit and the bond of peace is my goal.

I hope to find others to bond with.

kayky · Post by **kayky** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 7:56 pm

I enjoy debate for the sake of debate, but I also enjoy the people here very much. Posting here often helps me to clarify my own thinking, and I have the opportunity to learn from others as well.

a_Pirates_pride2000 · Post by **a_Pirates_pride2000** » Wed Apr 21, 2010 2:49 pm

I debate here for several reasons.

First of all, I am a committed Christian. I know that my faith will be challenged throughout my life by nonbelievers, and I want to be able to state exactly why I believe what I believe. This gives me, if I may say it, practice for real-life situations. Of course, Bible study is even more helpful in this area!
Secondly, it is stated in the Bible that the job of a believer is to spread God's word. Though many people are on here to state their beliefs, I have encountered people who are truly undecided, and have come here to hear both sides. I pray God will give me the right words to say to these people.
Third, I have met some interesting people and heard some interesting arguments for and against Christianity.
Fourth, really having my faith challenged and defending it has strengthened my relationship with God. I prayed more often and with more sincerity and dedication the first week I began this that I think I've ever prayed before. To live and speak your faith truly does strengthen it.

cnorman18 · Post by **cnorman18** » Wed Apr 21, 2010 8:08 pm

I might begin by pointing out that the question at hand is not the same as the title of this thread.

The purpose of my religion is tikkun Olam in Hebrew, roughly translated as "the repair of the world." Jews believe that God intentionally left the Creation incomplete and imperfect, and that it is our (humans') job to complete and perfect it. We are also to learn to become fully human, thinking for ourselves and determining our own individual purposes in life, as opposed to thinking and believing what we are told or expecting to get easy answers from a magic book. Judaism expects its followers to be grownups.

I participate in this forum to learn about the beliefs and reasoning of others, to subject my own to their criticisms and insights, and most of all to make the point - over and over and over again - that not all religions are the same. There is an unfortunate tendency on the part of the nonreligious to view all religious belief as fundamentalism, and all study of the Bible as literalism. I'm here to counter that. Few non-Jews have much understanding of modern Judaism, though most think they understand it quite well - though most know no more about it than the misrepresentations and distortions of a two-thousand-year-old text, the New Testament. One might say I'm here to educate (as opposed to evangelize).

Miles · Post by **Miles** » Wed Apr 21, 2010 8:31 pm

FWIW guys, floydkeith has left the premises. Like 10 months ago.

cnorman18 · Post by **cnorman18** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 10:43 am

Miles wrote:FWIW guys, floydkeith has left the premises. Like 10 months ago.

That's one of the beauties of this forum; members come and go, but their arguments and questions live on and on...

I suppose resurrecting a long-dead thread is appropriate enough, on this forum at least...

Debating Christianity and Religion