Are you there God? It's me, Thistle.

[thistlechaser]

Religion Definition
are you mono or polytheistic?	How come "atheistic" isn't an option?
do you subscribe to a major religion?	No.
how do you feel about Jesus?	While perhaps there was once a real man named Jesus, I do not believe he was anything but human.
what holy book do you feel is most accurate (Bible, Koran, etc)	Again, why isn't "none of the above" an option?
do you believe in reincarnation?	I'd like it to be true, but I don't believe it to be so.
do you believe in the traditional heaven and hell?	No.
do you believe in ANY heaven and/or hell?	No.
do you think the god(s) are vengeful or nice?	See above.
do you believe in angels?	No, and I feel sorry for people who do.
do you believe in miracles?	Not at all.
do you believe in predestination?	No. People make choices, then react to the results of those choices.
do you believe in original sin?	*sigh* Of course not.
do you believe in freedom of will?	Yes.
do you believe in souls?	No.
what do you think will happen to you when you die?	"Fade to black". You die, your body rots. The end.
do you think there will be an armageddon?	Probably, but one caused by humans, not by gods, the devil, ghosts, or the Loch Ness Monster.
why do you think we exist?	Because life is driven to go on, to reproduce, to evolve.
do you believe in life on other planets?	There could be life elsewhere, sure. Simple life, complex life, who knows. The universe is such a big place, it's seriously self centered to think that Earth is the only place life could have happened.
do you believe in evolution?	It scares me to the core to think that people do not believe in evolution.
do you think religion and science will always oppose the other?	Yes, because one believes in things without any facts and the other requires facts to believe.
what would you say to God if you met him/her/them today?	"Ehhhh, sorry I was wrong about you? Please don't kill me!" :)
anything else we should know?	It makes me very sad that people willingly give control over their life to something that doesn't even exist. That people need a crutch, that they need to rely on something outside of themselves to get through the day.
CREATE YOUR OWN! - or - GET PAID TO TAKE SURVEYS!

It makes me very very sad to see questions like "Do you believe in evolution?". That's like asking if you believe that the world is round! I don't understand, I don't understand, I don't understand.

A year or so back, my mother told me she believed in angels. She believes that angels exist and sometimes show up in day to day lives of living people. I nearly fell out of my chair. While I knew a lot of people share that belief, I just cannot understand it. If angels did exist, why wouldn't there be some proof? Any proof? It's the same thing as ghosts, psychic powers, and all that.

I took a class in college, and one of the main ideas I took away from it was "extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof". God, angels, ghosts, unicorns, UFOs, all those things are mighty extraordinary claims, so where's the proof? How can people just close their eyes, cover their ears, go "la la la la I can't hear you!" and believe in something there's no proof for?

Sigh. I just don't understand.

Comments

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I've never seen Australia. It's there.

Heehee. But, see, for Australia there are photos and tons of sane people who have seen it. There are animals from there that get shipped here, dried flowers, probably some sort of food products... lots of proof! There aren't any photos of angels, we can't buy products from the angel homeland, all that... (I like that thought though! Maybe we should look further into the validity of Australia! ;) )

Seems to me that if it makes things better for a person, then they are free to believe that black is white and that cows jump over moons. Where's the harm?

I know, and I should feel that way as well. But it annoys me that people need a crutch! When they get fired and can't accept the reasons they can just say "it was god's will". Or if someone dies of cancer or some madman shoots a classroom full of kids, it can all be written off as "god's will". Why don't people who believe in that stuff see it as and accept it as a what it is: a crutch? If your family member is sick in the hospital, you're powerless! Just accept that! Praying won't change anything, it just makes you feel like you have some control. It's nothing but an illusion.

...but yes, I really should live and let live. :)