Hmmm, seems to me like you follow the label of "new age" which is often
a combination of varying "pagan" and "orthodox" beliefs. Other "rituals"
that are a part of this belief system are Reiki, meditation, and a
belief in the healing power of energy. Often there is an additional
connection to Jungian and Ericsonian disciplines. *Tomo draws
a big box*

Nice

That is something I have always found refreshing in general about those
of the Mormon faith, as a rule they truly LIVE their belief, they don't
just go through the motions.

On the other hand, the other thing I have always found interesting is
that the Bible has this "ultimate copywrite law". In the book of
revalations it states that any book or work which comes after the bible
is from the devil. Just like that, bam. of course, the book of mormon
appeared some 1500 years after the Bible, so the question I always like
to ask is...just how does a Mormon reconcile the two books considering
one says the other is "of the devil".?

Oooh, covering a badger in peanut butter and throwing it into an
ice-cream shoppe, that's pretty original !

I like that, because, quite frankly, I don't let the beliefs and actions
of others determine my behavior. If someone is a moron, racist, thief,
mass-murderer, mime, etc.; it won't effect the way I treat them one
iota.

That's crazy talk. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have the media
to do my thinking for me. Invisible, you so crazy

Scttrbrain, I haven't forgotten you, I just noticed my post was growing
kind of long, and I wanted to make sure it didn't get too long.

Good points, all of them. As far as Atheistic schools, unfortunately
even though this is "the land of the free", we are still limited by
tradition and folkways; the majority tend to control our culture, and
the majority tends to be rabidly anti-atheistic. Besides with the
mis-informed idea that religion can't coexist with science, atheism is
introduced in other, subtle ways. Over all though, I think the biggest
hindrance to the spread of atheism is the lack of culture it inhabits.
Same goes for libertarians (myself included). While we are a political
affiliation, we are loosely connected by virtue of the independence that
is the hallmark of our beliefs.

voileazur, hmmm, I haven't addressed any of your comments yet, and I
always want to-truly you have a unique outlook. Let me start off by
saying that I mostly agree-labels are unnecessary, however, when I say
you look like Locke from Lost, without labels you couldn't tell if that
was Good, Bad, or a death threat. Labels, like knives, have their
purpose. It's the intention that makes all the difference, at least in
my opinion.

"For a religion to exist, there first must be an official body of dogma
and practices wich establish the rapports of practitioners to their form
of divine. It must also comprise a dimension of ritualistic vows or
commitmemts, to respect and obey the dogma and rules of an officiating
body: usually the church. This church then has power over the proper or
improper conduct of its practitioners." -See, I think you are mistaking
religion, for institutionalized religion. An agnostic still has
religion, even as a Samurai religiously follows his code. There are
people who religiously drink coffee at breakfast, and of course there
are schizophrenics who have no known religious beliefs. You don't get
expelled or excommunicated from the Shinto or Bhuddist religions, and
excommunication hasn't been used by even the Catholic Church for quite
some time to the best of my knowledge. Like Scatter said, Not believing
is the same as belief in a non-existence.

Wow Spider, I hadn't realized that was a biblical quote- interesting
comment bl8ant, although I do wonder what your metric is for
determining swine...

Wow great discussion going on over all though.

For starters, neturselia, no worries, my post was not an accusation
towards ANYONE, nor have I taken anything said personally. I don't
debate for the sake of debate, but rather to clarify various issues.

Abra, man we have fun here don't we? Ok, so about my "assumption
of a semantic definition"...
The reason why we have specific language is to establish common ground.
You can call a shovel a pitchfork, but it's still a shovel, no semantics
about it. Therefore, when every accepted definition of religion involves
the phrase "set of beliefs" that negates an argument of semantics. We
aren't talking about the difference between saying off-white and
mother-of-pearl, we are talking about what elements comprise religion.

So let's look at your argument closely.

"Christianity is a perfect example of a religion. It is firmly based on
doctrine and would have absolutely no meaning if that doctrine were
dismissed as being completely irrelevant. That would mean that the
religion would need to survive without any knowledge of any of the
stories in the bible including any mention of the story of Jesus.
Clearly Christianity would cease to exist without its doctrine.
Christianity is all about believing in its doctrine. And that doctrine
requires certain practices and rituals. The simple requirement that a
Christian must accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior is the most
obvious ritual associated with this religion, but there are many other
commandments that are required of the followers of this faith too."

"a·the·ism /ˈeɪθiˌɪzəm/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled
Pronunciation[ey-thee-iz-uhm] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. the doctrine or belief that there is no God.
2. disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings."

So, using your argument, the only thing needed to make your belief
without meaning, is to dismiss it's doctrine, which you describe
throughout your post. As for "rituals", those are merely things that
comprise belief. For example, the Universal Life Church has only 2
doctrines, no rituals, and is an established religion. Their doctrines
are "Only do what is right." and "You determine what is right."

By contrast, you have a number of doctrines in your "religion" (I'll put
it in quotes for now). 1. Belief in God (you have a disagreement as to
the nature of this entity/being/etc. but it does involve belief.) 2.
Keep in mind lack of association does not equal denunciation- however
you not only denounce religion, but also disassociate yourself from it,
categorically. The only apparent reason is that the word "religion" to
you has a negative connotation, seeing as you don't agree with the
definitions that lump your beliefs in with that of Christians. 3. Your
assumption that atheists believe in God is slightly flawed because
atheists, by definition, believe there is no God. Those that believe in
God but do not associate with religion are generally considered
non-secular or Agnostic.
4. Claiming you can experience you God via direct experience is similar
to Christian statements of "experiencing the divine", and about as
verifiable as near-death experiences.
5. I had mentioned this before, but cave-man is a nice segue way, but
cave-men would likely be Shinto, a religion you might find appealing if
you can rationalize the idea of Kami.
6. A semantic point, but a point none-the-less, people don't worship
doctrine. They worship a deity. The doctrine is just how they choose to
worship. Whether that be by enjoying life or eating an unsalted cracker,
doctrine is doctrine and a deity is a deity.

"It’s totally unimportant to god what a person believes. But
what is taught about god may very well be important to the future of
humanity." - I just like this quote of yours, because I feel the same
way.

Hmmm, as far as prenups go, I think if you feel you have to sign one,
then you aren't ready to tie the not. Marriage has become devalued
because "divorce" has become as banal as "breaking up". What sort of
value can you have on something that isn't permanent.

The bottom line is this:

Fellas, my brothers, if you can't look your woman in the eye and say,
"Statistically speaking, there is a good chance that we may end up
divorced. If that were to happen, how much do you want?" Look gents,
unless you are willing to lose it all on a woman, then you aren't ready
to get married. Love is about being able to risk it all no matter what
the cost. Not only that, but love is willing to take the plunge again
after you've already had your heart-broken.

Ladies, you wonderful and sometimes confusing people, ignore everything
I just said. Marry, and marry often. As a woman you are entitled to 50%
percent from each and every man that you marry and subsequently divorce.
Now that means that those monies stack, making divorce one of the
greatest financial windfalls next to the lottery

Now, just to clarify, we are talking nice person who is caring special,
not olympics special, right? (nyuck nyuck-I love corny jokes)

But then who tells you what to think and when?

That was exactly my point trade

However, there is one extra caveat to that, they underestimate faith,
and denounce religions when religions are nothing more than a system of
beliefs. Really, everyone has religion, its whether its
institutionalized or not that seems to be the real issue.

In my business, language is important, and I often find that
disagreements can arise because people are too lazy to pick up a
dictionary and use a word correctly. When people denounce "religions" as
a group, they are not only "attacking themselves", but they are
offending and insulting people accidentally.

Yeah, I'll admit, that's a sexy sexy midriff.

Hmmm, I'm special, I'm someone...ah crap, I've got to get to work >_<

Yeah, it seems journalism has lost the integrity it once had, changing
new into "reality tv" with brain damage.

Yeah, I couldn't agree more. It seems like I'm preaching to the choir,
but why wouldn't you want to "hook-up" with your best friend. I have one
friend who I always say, "Dude, if you weren't a dude, we'd totally be
doing it right now."

Then he runs out of beer and I leave. And that's what marriage is all
about

Nah, my self-portrait is easily the sexiest

cmon, you know you love me in red.

Yeah, to be honest I thought Australia had a Prime Minister, so shows
how much I know. BTW, love your people, love your country,love the
accent. Although, is their a language for Australia, or just a national
accent (BTW love the accent, even if its stolen )

Ah vis, the wonderful thing is that NPR is radio, no looking
required!

Hehe, mmmm tasty labels.

Well, labels are just ways we define things. Sure we don't NEED to call
someone blonde, but it sure helps if you want to describe somebody.

Religion is defined as a belief, especially in regards to existence and
creation of the universe. Atheism is a belief that there is no
God/Supreme being. So in that sense, they are a religion, but not in the
way I initially posted. Apologies. I guess my real question/issue has to
deal with the folks who say, "I have no religion. I'm an Atheist." To
me, that's like saying, "I'm not stupid, I'm just not smart."

Check out NPR and BBC, that's the only news that's actual news.