Are you religious or just spiritual?

[Guest walkingdeadman]

Just your thoughts?

[Guest tnvolfan]

If I have to choose between these two options, I'd rather be called spiritual. People who don't understand Christians because they don't have a personal relationship with Christ would call me "religious," because I try to live my life according to what they might see is a high set of standards. You haven't said which option you are . . . . I would like to know your thoughts of how you might relate your "religion" to your use of your gun. This is the question I always get!!

[Chief07]

Well,

since you asked. I'm not overly religious. I haven't been to church in years.

Probably due to the political BS, anti-gun, liberal psyco-babal that they preach.

I do believe in God, and I pray. I try to follow the 10-Commandments.

I believe in an eye for an eye. I help my neighbor as we all should.

I try to see people for what they are without color, sexual orientation,or habits (good or bad). I try to give everyone a fair shake until they prove otherwise.

I guess that's all any of us can do.

[Guest jackdm3]

:popcorn:

[Hotshot]

Both, more spiritual than religious. God pulled me from a pretty deep pit. My faith brings me much happiness. I'm not all that hung up on the Jesus thing and my church pushes some liberal crap that I don't support, but I go and I learn and hang out with some really nice people. I saw a cool bumper sticker the other day...HIGHER POWERED.

[TMMT]

I lost my faith along time ago.

[Mike.357]

I will throw this out there.

I am not a fan of religion. I believe it has good points though. Mostly it teaches right and wrong and has a moral message. I think exposure to religion is good for little kids. Bottom line to me though is religion is about control and money, always has been and always will be.

That said I am not so sure about God. Would God allow a 7 year old girl to end up in a landfill? Would God allow two young adults to be raped and murdered? Would God allow a hospital ward full of little kids with leukemia? All of these things cause great doubt to me.

I believe in living morally and doing unto others as you would want done to yourself.

Live by the Golden Rule in other words.

The rest of it someone else can have.

[Hotshot]

I lost my faith along time ago.

That's sad. I kinda' did too. That's how I ended up in that pit. Just a tiny seed of faith helped pull me out. I don't think I'll ever loose it again.

[Guest Gun Geek]

Ok here it goes. There have been times where I have lost my faith and strayed. There are times that I wanted to believe that there was no God, that being said, I believe in God, I talk to him on a regular occasion. If it wasnt for some life altering experiences, as HotShot says, he pulled me from a pretty deep pit, by all things science and medical I should not be alive. Somehow I am and I cant just call it luck.

Now do I believe that I have to be in church to worship, No. I feel that because earth in itself is Gods creation, that earth is "his house" therefor I am free to worship anywhere that I may be at that time.

Do I believe that I need a pastor, deacon, bishop, pope, to preach to me and tell me about the bible or religion, No. Thankfully I can read and interpret the bible as I understand it.

Do I feel that any one particular religion is completely right, No. I think all religions have a piece of the puzzle and there are none that have it all right.

I dont know exactly what to call it I guess it would be spiritual. But there has to be a higher power and it aint Obama.

[Guest Todd@CIS]

I lost my faith along time ago.

Serious question.

What is your motivation to be a good person?

I ask because if I had no faith in God, man's laws would mean nothing to me.

Not being a smartass, I'm interested in your thoughts.

[Guest jackdm3]

Serious question.

What is your motivation to be a good person?

I ask because if I had no faith in God, man's laws would mean nothing to me.

Not being a smartass, I'm interested in your thoughts.

Without a God, are you saying you would go straight to "Full On Heathen"?

[Guest Todd@CIS]

That said I am not so sure about God. Would God allow a 7 year old girl to end up in a landfill? Would God allow two young adults to be raped and murdered? Would God allow a hospital ward full of little kids with leukemia? All of these things cause great doubt to me.

My answer (admittedly, I'm no theologian).

God's version of tragedy is completely different from ours. His only tragedy is somebody falling away from Him. If those little kids with leukemia were drawn to faith before they died, there's no tragedy in His eyes.

[Chief07]

I hear what Mike.357 is saying.

I like you, can't understand why bad things happan to good people.

And sometimes we can't understand why God would let this happan.

I guess it's one of the mysteries that we will have answered when we get to

where we will ultimatly go.

Just a thought.

( I'm not in a hurry to get there)

I hear there is no beer in heaven. I think I'll stick around for awhile longer. ;-)

__________________

[strickj]

I will throw this out there.

I am not a fan of religion. I believe it has good points though. Mostly it teaches right and wrong and has a moral message. I think exposure to religion is good for little kids. Bottom line to me though is religion is about control and money, always has been and always will be.

Im in that same boat.

I have my personal believes that have pulled me through crap overly religious folks only think their believes will help them through.

I believe in God,and all that,and what the "word" teaches. However,I also know that the other stuff is useless filler to make you feel all warm and fuzzy. Like prayer. Its useless. You see what I've seen,and experience what I've experienced,and you'll see that it's useless.

You can pray all you want that your 7 yo will survive :insert bad thing here: but in the end,its up to medical science and how strong that 7 yo is...not some mythical words.

[Guest jackdm3]

Actually, I think anything with the word "LIGHT" in the name is allowed.

Bud LIGHT

Miller LIGHT

Natty ... no, wait! That's going too far!

Edited October 23, 2009 by jackdm3

[Garufa]

Religious in the modern, church dogma, institutionalized, adhere to the social mores of that particular group, sectarian sense of the word? No.

Spiritual, believe in a higher power? Yes.

That's just me, but I do respect everyone's beliefs regardless of my own.

[TMMT]

Serious question.

What is your motivation to be a good person?

I ask because if I had no faith in God, man's laws would mean nothing to me.

Not being a smartass, I'm interested in your thoughts.

I have spent my whole adult life helping people, before I moved to Tennessee I was a full-time Police Officer and a volunteer Firefighter and EMT.

Now I'm just a LEO Desk Jockey looking forward to retirement.

I guess I really don't know how to do anything but be a good person. I know what a bad person looks like and acts like, but my first reaction is a bit predatory in nature, to hunt them down and capture them.

My lack of faith has nothing to do with me being a good person. my programing as a human being is what compels me to be good person.

My father was a cop, my grandfather was a cop and my great-grandfather was an elected Sheriff in the county I was born.

[Guest jackdm3]

Religious in the modern, church dogma, institutionalized, adhere to the social mores of that particular group, sectarian sense of the word? No.

Spiritual, believe in a higher power? Yes.

That's just me, but I do respect everyone's beliefs regardless of my own.

You said it, preacher!

[DavidCBaker]

My Facebook page says:

Rescuing faith from religion.

I hate religion. Kind don't have much respect for "spiritual" either. But faith, yes. My parents were medical missionaries, I grew up in the church, even have a four-year graduate degree in theology and ancient languages. All that is pretty disgusting, but my faith--it's a very private matter and it impacts my life in many ways.

[Hotshot]

This is some deep stuff.

TMMT-Thank you for what you have done for others.

[Guest Muttling]

Tough question.

I know those who are VERY religious and VERY spiritual, but not christian.

I am christian and spiritual, but question a lot of what I have seen go on in churches. I am a practicing Methodist and am very happy to have found the church to which I belong. I don't know if that puts me as being religious or spiritual, but I will no longer tolerate the two faced crap that I saw when I was growing up.

I am a follower, but I do not follow blindly.

[Guest clownsdd]

Agnostic is as close as I can get. I believe in a Higher Being, but too much fighting between religions for me to side with any...the Buddhists seem to have it right, they don't burn no one but themselves....long as you got it straight between you and your God...it's handled.

Edited October 23, 2009 by clownsdd

[Guest jackdm3]

:rock:HAIL SATAN!!!

I'm sorry, guys. That emoticon was begging to be used!

[Hotshot]

I'm not sure if sorry is a strong enough word.....

[BryanP]

I consider myself an agnostic because calling myself an atheist would imply that I actually cared.