Does this go under religion or creative writing? They will probably say don't post this in creative writing! I`ll post it here anyway

A little poem of personal experience. I just wrote it a few moments ago. I hope you like!


To experience life for what it is, believe in yourself and talk with him.
That quiet moment alone and deep in thought, we all really pray within.

You've always lived in hope, but thought talking yourself, isn't that just odd?
Doubting something greater for you to explore, unable to imagine there is a God!

Those that speak out about their belief, are merely expressing the happiness whilst still quite sane
Talking to others will help to guide you, discover there is truely a higher plane.

Make the leap of faith, open your eyes and don't be blind.
A discovery will be made, people and the Lord are just kind.

Give it some thought and open your mind, remembering to take your time.
Don't be ignorant of other options, as curiosity is not the crime.

The End.
----------------------------

I`ll be honest, I've lived my whole life with no God or any belief. But saying that is a little lie in itself. It's due to my surroundings and upbringing. I am absolutely neutral on a lot of topics. When really upset (like when I lost my Mum this year, ended my 6 1/2 year relationship, quit my job, moved back to England), I do pray to myself. Now keep in mind, if anyone asks me "do you believe in God?", my response will be no. So if I am praying or talking to myself, I guess I am in denial and do actually believe someone/something is there. I also have to mention that I really don't like religion being forced upon others and rammed down their throats. I think discovering for yourself is the better way, because then that person made the choice themself. Anyway, discuss... because I am actually very interested in a civil and meaningful discussion. Just out of clarification, Atheist is an absolute non-believer, but Agnostic means they're open to possibliies or am I wrong?

Very good poem :)



Religion is about books, it's a way to segregate believers. Christianity is not about "religion". It's about a relationship with our father, our creator. People that lack the believe, segregate us from the rest of the population and give us the title "Christians".

Christianity isn't about having the knowledge that comes from the bible. Christianity is about a personal walk through life with God. Knowledge is in vein if not put to use. And when it's put to use, it then puts the knowledge on a faith level rather then "religion".

saying christianity is not about religion is not unlike saying nascar is not about cars.

Nascar isn't about cars. Nascar is about racing, they just so happen to use cars to race with. And besides that, trucks race in Nascar as well, so that alone ends your theory on it.

Simon. your definitions of atheist and agnostic are correct(According to most dictionaries anyhow, many individuals have their own more detailed views of those terms,,,)


As far as 'ramming', Im not sure what that is. When there are many people and a consensus amongst them about any one thing,,is it ramming for them to discuss things from that standpoint or belief just because others who dont believe it are also present?


I dont feel religion is RAMMED down peoples throats as much as , lets say, the idea of casual sex being good and fun(its on most television shows anymore and commercials, and advertisements, making it hard to get away from). or the idea that beauty is blonde or thin or pubescent. This is something we all face, regardless of or convictions or beliefs, as a result of being part of a rather large SOCIETY of individuals.


As to not 'believing'. I agree with you too. I think people give different names to what they believe and the debate about God or Christianity is often about little more than the words people have chosen to describe their 'feeling' about how people are interconnected, or how people came to be who we are. I call it God, I believe in him completely. Others dont have a solid belief in anything they dont consider scientifically explainable but they still may have the 'feeling' something more is out there and are not interested in giving it any label until Science explains it.

Still others just dont believe in anything unprovable by the five senses. Id say you hit it on the nose , discovery is personal and individual.

Thanks for the clarification. All I know is religion causes quite a few heated debates, as people truely believe THEIR experience/version is the right and only one, yet everyone words their encounters differently.

As for ramming religion into someone's face, I mean when people come to knock on the door or meet you in the street. They say God is this, God is that... but that is THEIR opinion. God could mean one thing to another, yet something completely different for somebody else.

I am personally a believer of what you see with your own eyes, however I don't stomp my foot just on that and that's the end of it. I also believe God is within us, I don't mean this in a spiritual sense. I mean we all say in our heads or alone, please help. These little prayers for some are the last resort to deal with hardship. So as a non-believer, they're actually just not realising something... they're not talking to themself, but their own version of God within.

I told you I take a neutral view to a lot of things, but I've never sat down and said actually... Simon, when I spoke out about my Mum whilst alone, who was I actually talking to then?!

I am into Astronomy as a hobby, now I am absolutely facinated by it, there is that question that will NEVER be answered. How and why did all of this start, if there was a big bang, where did those 2 primary gases come from. Now if you say God, where did he come from. I understand people saying the universe is God's creation, because it's damn beautiful and mystical. My answer... we don't know & will never find out the how or why. This is what makes us human, always inquisitive and discovery is one mans personal experience, as it is to the next person.

I'd like to continue the topic, for those who were never religous and then one day decided to say Christianity or any other religion is for them. How do you say after a long time of your life, you're not sure... then all of a sudden you say "Oh yes, God is real". I'm not after any bible references or a heated debate, purely from a neutral perspective. The reason why I want this opinion from those who found God later in life, is because if you're raised from birth with a religious family, it's simply what you would call 'normal' or the truth, as you know no different.

Once again, thanks for the input.

anytime

I know you are looking for more personal stories from minglers,, but in case you find only a slight response,,

here is a reference of 'converted' atheists to start with

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_former_atheists_and_agnostics

Thanks I`ll have a look. I think we're just trying to put labels on everything, when each religion will abide by different ethics and values. We're just trying to say this is the right way, that is wrong. But that needs to stop, each person to their own. It's like if I pray to myself, I could name the person Dave or anything. Society is labelling that belief all the time, even though it's my belief Anyway, I'm blabbering away. I`ll see if anyone else posts their stories here, of how they were converted or changed their own views.

A lot of people convert to different relgions.


One of the conversions mentioned on the site , was about an

atheist who became a born again christian,and THEN converted

to being a Muslim.


MEANING...this person was NEVER NEVER NEVER EVER truly BORN

AGAIN!!!

NO christian , who is truly BORN AGAIN, can suddenly become

UNBORN !!!

Being BORN AGAIN means to become a NEW CREATION in Christ,

and NOT just to join or convert to some christian

religion !!!!

Born again means having a brand new .LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS.

NO ONE WHO IS TRULY BORN AGAIN, can suddenly STOP being born

again..and then decide to try something else.

IF that happens, it simply Means ,that that person was NEVER

EVER BORN AGAIN in the first place.




Again....becoming born again means to join Jesus.

It's NOT about just joining or converting to a christian religion.


Just like ,once a baby who is born in the natural cannot become

unborn....

the same goes with the spiritual rebirth of a christian.

Once BORN AGAIN, a NEW CREATION in CHRIST CANNOT become UNBORN.

Amen, actions speak louder then words.

i stand corrected so i'll rephrase in a manner even a true nascar fan can understand:

saying christianity is not about religion is not unlike saying nascar is not about racing in cars and trucks or whatever will bring in big bucks for the organizers. better, cowboy?

yep, you're wrong. many atheists are open to the possibility of god's existence. they simply will not consider god without some evidence. an agnostic does not even consider the possibility of god existing. we think that the human mind is incapable of knowing god, the afterlife or any supernatural phenomena.

A LOT of what is called Christianity today, is just religion.

People practicing a religion, nothing more...without ever

having come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Chrsit , which is

the CENTRAL THEME of Christianity .

The teachings of Jesus may START OFF as beong just a

religion, but when

the TRUE MEANING of Chrsitianity is RECEIVED INTO ONE'S HEART,

and that person becomes BORN AGAIN , THEN christianity to that

person TAKES ON A WHOLE DIFFERENT MEANING NOW...

MEANING......


Christianity is NO LONGER just about being in the christian

RELIGION,

but is

now about being in a RELATIONSHIP , that the person NOW has with

Christ(which came thru becoming born again).



That's what it means when it is said:

"Christianity is not about joining a Religion...

but Christianity is about Joining Jesus(relationship)

lol. you just got religion crammed in your face through the back door. and she used wiki to do it. hey cowboy, did you see that? get off quoting all tha scripture and wiki us to death.

Also, a lot of christians Might THINK they have

relationship, simply becaue they believe and accept the

teachings of the christian religion.


They may even believe in Jesus, and confess Jesus with their

MOUTH...but never have BELIEVED and RECEIVED Jesus within their

HEART.

And here's the thing:

the devil ALSO believes in Jesus....and trembles!!!



The point again is, has one just believed on Jesus IN HIS/HER

HEAD ONLY,

or..... has one

BELEIVED JESUS WITH THE HEART.....AND RECEIVED JESUS

INTO HIS/HER HEART.


See the difference?


It is good to go to the Lord in prayer , and ask God to make

this clear to us.

One thing however...the Lord will gently CONVICT us if we

have NOT been truly born again yet....

BUT

the devil will always CONDEMN us, if we truly HAVE been born

again, cause he hates that we have become born again....so he

will try and make us think we are not born again, thru condemnation!!

(addressing baby christians here now).



BUT, by the same token , the enemy can ALSO mislead some into

THINKING

they are actually born again, when nothing ever happened at all.

Because nothing happened in the heart, but just in the head.

Only.

And that is why a life change never took place either...cause

nothing ever happened in that person's life.

lol, how did I cram anything,,lol

His request was for stories of people who didnt grow up religious but later came to realize God. I gave him a resource. I didnt know cramming could happen upon request,,lol

common usage of atheism and agnosticism, as defined in WEbsters


atheism: a : a disbelief in the existence of deity b : the doctrine that there is no deity


agnosticism: : a person who holds the view that any ultimate reality (as God) is unknown and probably unknowable; broadly : one who is not committed to believing in either the existence or the nonexistence of God or a god
2: a person who is unwilling to commit to an opinion about something <political agnostics>

jrbogie seems to be off...

1st he says I am wrong regarding the definitions between the 2 words, which as you've quoted above is the correct version as I know it aswell, or is the dictionary wrong?

2nd he says you've slapped me with the religion book, when all you did was provied a website link? Strange. I requested information on how people can actually be converted or come to realise on their own accord (later in life) about the exsistence of God. Instead we go off talking about Nascar and the other woman gives her opinions about you can't be born again.

Nobody has actually given me their own story about finding God.

Also try and put across something without capital letters or exclamation marks!!! It's just a civil conversation

Agnosticism is purely about knowledge, if you want to go into semantics this is the breakdown of agnosticism:

Agnosticism (from the Greek - a (without) gnosis (knowledge)) is a claim concerning itself with knowledge, or rather, the lack of knowledge. Someone who claims that they are agnostic when it comes to gods is simply stating that they don't know or cannot possibly know.

Atheism, as in the prefix a(without) and the suffix theist(Gods) is just as the name implies, someone who doesn't believe in any deities, you can be atheist and still be "spiritual", that's why Buddhism is considered to be atheist. The thing is, most atheists are skeptics, this is what lead to their atheism, so it's kind of ironic to be a skeptic, but say believe in astrology.

Also, this is why atheism and agnosticism is not mutually exclusive. You can be agnostic atheist, meaning you don't have knowledge to that Gods exists or not, but because there is no evidence you don't have to "believe" one exist. If you refer to Dawkins scale, i would consider myself a strong 6:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectrum_of_theistic_probability

Then I am correct in classing myself as Agnostic, as I simply don't know... not that I am skeptical, but neutral. I am wondering about those didn't know, but now do I'm trying to understand that leap.