How many of you believe or do not believe in God?

[Johnboy74]

What non-belivers tend to forget or not like to think about is that a lot of people have mystical/transcendental experiences...

I wince when I hear things like mystical/transcendental

[KaliBaby]

I'm muslim. AM I THE ONLY ONE HERE?

It's a pity there is a lack of ethnic diversity on this forum

There's an apparent lack of ethnic diversity at least.

where are my Jewish sisters and brothers at?!?

[vegan hal]

I'm muslim. AM I THE ONLY ONE HERE?

It's a pity there is a lack of ethnic diversity on this forum

There's an apparent lack of ethnic diversity at least.

where are my Jewish sisters and brothers at?!?

Jewish by birth, BUT atheist my entire life.

[KaliBaby]

Jewish by birth, BUT atheist my entire life.

what turned you off? Manischewitz?

[xJimx]

I'm muslim. AM I THE ONLY ONE HERE?

It's a pity there is a lack of ethnic diversity on this forum

Ethnicity & religion are 2 entirely different issues though.

[xJimx]

Jewish by birth, BUT atheist my entire life.

Interesting point here. I guess I could say that I'm Christian by birth as I was Christened as a baby & occasionally dragged to church until I was old enough to resist, despite the fact that I've been an atheist since before I even knew what the word meant.

[Johnboy74]

I'm muslim. AM I THE ONLY ONE HERE?

It's a pity there is a lack of ethnic diversity on this forum

Ethnicity & religion are 2 entirely different issues though.

yeh I know, but athenafro's footer had some very poignant quotes about race which made me think about ethnicity. Religion doesn't really register with me...

[KaliBaby]

it's arguable but I consider being Jewish part of an ethnic group. for example, religion can't explain why I have a characteristically Jewish nose.

[xJimx]

Indeed there are people who class themselves as 'Jewish atheists' i.e. consider themselves Jewish due to their heritage but have no religious affiliation e.g. Marx, Einstein, Freud.

Apparently there are also 'Christian atheists' too (atheists who follow the teachings of Jesus) which seems rather strange to me.

[emm7]

a lot of people have mystical/transcendental experiences. I imagine that if a person feels they've met God, they don't need proof in the scientific sense of his/her existence...

yep I was atheist and then changed after a couple of these experiences
if you have emotionally/physically experienced a connection with a higher power then you don't need someone else to come along and prove it scientifically any more than you need a scientist to come along and prove scientifically to you that boiling water hurts if you spill it on your hand.

[vegan hal]

Jewish by birth, BUT atheist my entire life.

what turned you off? Manischewitz?

boy oh boy, i remember getting loaded on that stuff when i was a kid at seders. the good thing about the seders we went to as a kid, was they were super relaxed. we wore any hat we wanted. so it was pretty wild. we didn't do a ton of reading.

it's arguable but I consider being Jewish part of an ethnic group. for example, religion can't explain why I have a characteristically Jewish nose.

it's a darn cute nose

Ethnicity & religion are 2 entirely different issues though.

yeah. i consider myself ethnically Jewish. I respect my ancestory and the struggles they had. But that's really it. I don't believe in God, except LEMMY of course . I NEVER had a bar mitzvah. Wasn't married by a rabbi. Don't celebrate any of the holidays. I'm not even spiritual. Was an atheist before i even knew what the word meant.

[thestoatyone]

Apparently there are also 'Christian atheists' too (atheists who follow the teachings of Jesus) which seems rather strange to me.

Dunno, seems like an alright bloke to me.

[Linnéa76]

I wonder what impact the newer translations and interpretations of the Bible might have. Mary being referred to as "young woman" instead of "virgin", thus making the immaculate conception unnecessary. "Son of God" was apparently an epithet given to several "enlightened" men apart from Jesus. I've also heard that the word that's been translated as "omnipotent" really should be translated as "all-knowing", which seems to make the theodicy problem go away...

[Fallen_Horse]

Apparently there are also 'Christian atheists' too (atheists who follow the teachings of Jesus) which seems rather strange to me.

Dunno, seems like an alright bloke to me.

Agreed. I'm not religious but Jesus said some pretty badass stuff.

[KaliBaby]

Jewish by birth, BUT atheist my entire life.

what turned you off? Manischewitz?

boy oh boy, i remember getting loaded on that stuff when i was a kid at seders. the good thing about the seders we went to as a kid, was they were super relaxed. we wore any hat we wanted. so it was pretty wild. we didn't do a ton of reading.

ahhhh I miss big family seders! once my parents got divorced, everything went down hill and things aren't the same now we have a home-made family haggadah with pictures of my dad's side of the family and me and my brother. there was a mix of both English and Hebrew and a lot of singing and laughter. I miss that.

it's arguable but I consider being Jewish part of an ethnic group. for example, religion can't explain why I have a characteristically Jewish nose.

it's a darn cute nose

hahaha thank you.

Ethnicity & religion are 2 entirely different issues though.

yeah. i consider myself ethnically Jewish. I respect my ancestory and the struggles they had. But that's really it. I don't believe in God, except LEMMY of course . I NEVER had a bar mitzvah. Wasn't married by a rabbi. Don't celebrate any of the holidays. I'm not even spiritual. Was an atheist before i even knew what the word meant.

I went to Hebrew school from 6 to 14 years of age, had my Bat Mitzvah at 13 etc. once I got to college and was away from my family during high holidays things changed. there are aspects of Judaism that I appreciate and there are other things that make me angry... most notably the treatment of women in orthodox and Hasidic communities (my aunt being one in the former).