Ridiculous Religion vs Absurd Atheism

[S1mb4 D4 L10n]

One person wrote an article about it being used in the 60s to justify the Vietnam war. Other than that, there is no movement to take it down as far as I know of. The writer even apologized for the article, I thought it was dumb as well. What news station is saying that people are trying to take it down? Also, this post wasn't related to this thread. XD

[Ultra Fox]

I'm an Atheist, and I grew up in a Christian family. There are plenty of really cool, down to earth christians, but growing up in such an environment, I am more than familiar with the screwed up logic and bigotry that religion can cause in some people. Don't care what people believe in if it makes them happy, as long as you keep it out of politics, other people's livelihoods, etc.

Not enough evidence for a god for me to believe anymore, and I really don't feel the need for one to make me happy. I'm just happy enough to be alive and experiencing my family, friends, the good parts of the world. I can find plenty of wonder in nature and humanity's existence without having to think some sky-god made it all.

Though trust me. It took me a long time to accept all of this considering my huge irrational fear of death I've had for years. I always wanted to believe an afterlife was waiting for me, but now I don't care so much either way.

Hell, my finace and I's new roommate is a Mormon, so yeah, different view-points sometimes, but we don't really care.

[FireAndSun]

I've always had a mixed relationship with religion. I used to technically be Catholic, but I certainly wasn't a practicing Catholic, though I did believe in the God of the Bible. I've always questioned aspects of the religion. I only fully transitioned into being an atheist my freshman year of high school, though. For a time, I hated all religion with a passion. Now that I've grown a bit I recognize the role it plays in many people's lives, and I respect that. I'm all for people believing what they want, as long as it doesn't hurt other people, but I still have many issues with it. I have no tolerance for people who use religion to justify ignorance, bigotry, or anti-intellectualism.

[AwkwardPastel]

I do think Wicca is quite a nice religion; it's not too harsh and doesn't have a strict set of rules.

[SlayerOfLight]

But it does sound kind of ''wicked''.

[Carl]

I myself am an atheistic Wiccan, which I've mentioned a few times. Wicca has many different sects pretty much all of which I know absolutely nothing about. Many of them worship a Goddess, some a God alongside her, some a God by himself. I personally don't believe in any gods at all (thus the "atheistic" part), and my Wiccan heritage/aspects don't really have much impact on my life at all. There's the one rule, "If it harm none, do as ye will." I've kind of always lived by that even before I knew it was the rule. Wicca doesn't typically involve wickedness or dark magick of any kind, but of course there are those who will attempt to go that road. I lean heavily towards the "atheistic/non-practicing" side, though.

I investigate things myself before coming to any conclusions. Organized religions are typically too "don't ask, just listen" for my liking, and I simply don't see any reason to believe in a god, can't find any evidence in my life or investigations to support such a thing. I have some evidence (even if it's just experiences I've had) for what I do believe. That said, I also can't prove there isn't a god of any kind and I certainly don't mind people believing in them.

My general stance is, believe what you want, but don't force it on others in any way, and we're good. As the rule I stated goes, "if it harm none, do as ye will." That's my motto.

[SlayerOfLight]

Ah I see, makes sense. I kinda thought Wicca was all about casting spells and stuff like Harry Potter (LOL!) but now that you mention it, atheistic wicca reminds me a little of atheistic Satanism.

[Carl]

There are some spells and magick involved, but I mean, it's nothing like Harry Potter. It's more about the kind of energy you put off. For example, what little practicing we do is reading tarot cards for ourselves (which we take with a grain of salt) and when a place feels wrong or "evil" we will cleanse the area with incense and salt to ward off evil (it seems to work). We occasionally try to cast spells to improve things for people (never to hurt people or do anything Harry Potter-like), but it doesn't usually seem to have any effect on things. That's pretty much the extent of it for us.

However, others focus more on the "magick" part and spell-casting, rather than the basics, and some of them get rather weird about it. Technically Wiccans are called witches, but there's not as much practicing of magick in my family.

Personally, I think most of what magick I have experienced will someday be scientifically explained (probably won't be called magick then) as none of it involves flashing lights or transformation or flying on brooms or any of that, and instead is mostly the energy/atmoshpere/that kind of thing. It's probably got a logical explanation somewhere. And in general, for those who are familiar with Star Wars, I feel that what we'd call magick is more akin to the Force, but obviously without the jedi/sith powers, sadly. It's just an energy that can be influenced, I guess.

And obviously none of you have to believe any of that, just further explanation from my experience for anyone who is curious.

[SlayerOfLight]

Allthough I'm a Christian (but not practicing it much) I'm kinda into Norse mythology and it's religion. Not that I believe anything of it of course, I just find the lore and the characters interesting. I can see why Marvel decided to adopt it into comic books, lol

[Troll Berserker]

Wicca is well... something that was invented in America based on mutliple Pagan systems and witchcraft, but I've never seen any european Pagan calling themselves Wicca so just to make clear I will not call myself, refer to to mention Wicca here.

I was raised as a Christian and I used to be very devoted to this religion when I was a kid, but then I started to drive away from it as I disagreed with the ideology.
I hate when people use religion to keep people down. To tell them what to think, say ,wear or like, how to live, who to love because their one true god said so.
I dislike "holy books" because they were written in different times and for different purposes. 2000 years ago people made a rule not to eat pork and blood, but the thruth behind it is because they lived in the climates that made meat and blood spoil very fast, so to avoid food poisoning or getting low on food supplies (fasting) they have forbidden certain things. But nowadays these rules are outdated, yet some fanatics are eager to beat you up because you eat ham sandwich next to them. That's completely ridiculous!

Currently, I found myself comfortable in my own atheist-ish pagan-ish ideology. I live by the rule "Live your life and harm no one". If you are happy and comfortable with yourself, no matter how weird, but as long and you don't affect me and don't purposedly do any harm to another living beings, that's okay with me.
I was attending Pagan rituals because I love the feel of harmony with nature. I was praying to Pagan deities but it's okay with me. I don't believe in any "true god" or "gods". To me thay are all symbols of nature powers that we need to respect. I believe in magic that comes from the will of man. I aslo believe in spirits.

So as long as nobody tells me what to do, I respect all religions and aI don't think of religion as a bad thing if it makes you happy, but I don't support living by some ridiculous, unecessary boundaries, but again, that's your own choice.