Are you religious?

[Spoonsky]

Do we have any true believers on TTH? Any half-arsed churchgoers or doubtful 'seekers'? No doubt there's a fair share of cynics who think it's all bullshit, too.

[Giggles]

Yes.

[niko_cee]

No.

[SincereTheRebel]

No

[Luca]

Not in the very slightest.

[Shindig]

Not really. I went to church until 14 and my folks still do. I'm agnostic, at best.

[Baz]

No, and I think actually judge people who believe in Christianity.

[Lewis]

No but I am very spiritual.

[randomlegend]

No. I think most religion is something people want to believe because they can't cope with death.

[niko_cee]

No but I am very spiritual.

:D

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Not in the slightest.

[Boydy]

Yes.
I'm surprised by this.

[Kikó]

Despite being properly Roman Catholic throughout childhood, hell no.

[mo]

No. Wouldn't have thought you'd find many on here giving a positive response, given it's all middle-aged cynical blokes.

[Spikey M]

No but I am very spiritual.

You do have a cracking set of Chakra's.

[mugbull]

Spoon, are you LDS?

[Lewis]

Leo 'Dork' Stillinger.

[Lofty]

No.

[Raoul Duke]

No, and I regard people who are as somewhat mentally deficient

[Jimmy Floyd]

In a sense. 'God' is everything we can't comprehend, and as humans that stuff does need explaining or, for the lack of one, a substitute needs to be in place. Specific religions are just institutions rather than anything else, but our (western) values are all Christian anyway so in a sense they have won.

Performative atheists are the dullest people going, go back to 2001.

[Spoonsky]

Spoon, are you LDS?

I'm Jewish, remember?

In all seriousness, my parents aren't from Utah, and I was raised as atheist as it gets (my mom's parents were atheist to the point of not celebrating Christmas, the weirdos). My opinion now would basically echo Jimmy's, especially about performative atheists, who tend to be boring smug cunts; but I still consider myself an atheist and I'd never go to church or anything.

[Boydy]

Do you regularly go to mass, Giggles?

[Pepe]

No, but I consider the church to be a mostly valuable institution, kiddy-fondling aside.

[niko_cee]

What is a performative atheist? Someone who represents their theological views via the medium of interpretive dance?

[-james-]

Nah. I was raised in a religiously apathetic household and those are my feelings towards it now. My girlfriend's extended family are extremely religious and I find that quite weird at times.

[Boydy]

What is a performative atheist? Someone who represents their theological views via the medium of interpretive dance?

Richard Dawkins.

[Spoonsky]

Or Señor Bishop.

The world would be much better place if your version were true, though.

[Boydy]

I'd forgotten about him. That was nice.

[Spikey M]

In a sense. 'God' is everything we can't comprehend, and as humans that stuff does need explaining or, for the lack of one, a substitute needs to be in place. Specific religions are just institutions rather than anything else, but our (western) values are all Christian anyway so in a sense they have won.

Performative atheists are the dullest people going, go back to 2001.

Why?

'Why is the bus late?'

Fair question. We can either say 'I don't know' or 'God made it late'.

What's wrong with 'I don't know?'

[Jimmy Floyd]

Everything is wrong with 'I don't know'. You can't advance a species/civilisation/your own life on the basis of not knowing things. You need to know things, and gaps in your knowledge need to be explained.

The whole point of the modern scientific process is to avoid 'I don't know'. Religion is essentially another take on science, in that instead of getting the test tubes out, you're explaining things you don't know via creative mechanisms like God. God makes real perfect sense, from that point of view.

[randomlegend]

You need to know things, and gaps in your knowledge need to be explained.


No they don't. I'm perfectly happy with "I don't know" or "there is no reason" as an answer to things which defy explanation.

[Spikey M]

Everything is wrong with 'I don't know'. You can't advance a species/civilisation/your own life on the basis of not knowing things. You need to know things, and gaps in your knowledge need to be explained.

The whole point of the modern scientific process is to avoid 'I don't know'. Religion is essentially another take on science, in that instead of getting the test tubes out, you're explaining things you don't know via creative mechanisms like God. God makes real perfect sense, from that point of view.

I can't see it. "I don't know" is irritating, sure. If the bus is late I want to know why the bus is late. Is it coming at all? Will it be 5 minutes? 50? I don't know.

'God did it' just leads to 'why did God do it?' And the answer to that has lead to some pretty dark shit.

And now I'm Richard Dawkins.

Fuck sake.

[Jimmy Floyd]

No they don't. I'm perfectly happy with "I don't know" or "there is no reason" as an answer to things which defy explanation.

Hang on, aren't you a doctor?

[Jimmy Floyd]

I can't see it. "I don't know" is irritating, sure. If the bus is late I want to know why the bus is late. Is it coming at all? Will it be 5 minutes? 50? I don't know.

'God did it' just leads to 'why did God do it?' And the answer to that has lead to some pretty dark shit.

And now I'm Richard Dawkins.

Fuck sake.

Let me put it another way. 'God' and 'I don't know' are the same thing, but expressed differently.

[Spikey M]

Hang on, aren't you a doctor?

:D

'Why did he have to die?'

I DON'T KNOW! THERE IS NO REASON!

[Yevrah]

I'm not at all religious, but have little problem with those that are until they hide behind that religion to do bad things.

[Spikey M]

Let me put it another way. 'God' and 'I don't know' are the same thing, but expressed differently.

I'm going to put this in the part of my brain that holds Modern Art, Jazz and Red Wine as part of my 'things I can't understand people enjoying' range.

[Lewis]

No but I am very spiritual.


Everything is wrong with 'I don't know'. You can't advance a species/civilisation/your own life on the basis of not knowing things. You need to know things, and gaps in your knowledge need to be explained.

The whole point of the modern scientific process is to avoid 'I don't know'. Religion is essentially another take on science, in that instead of getting the test tubes out, you're explaining things you don't know via creative mechanisms like God. God makes real perfect sense, from that point of view.

I Fucking [Live, Laugh, and] Love Science.

[randomlegend]

Hang on, aren't you a doctor?

And?

I want to know things which are knowable and important/relevant/interesting to me. I don't need an answer to the unknowable in order to make me feel OK.

[Lewis]

Sometimes a private flight to Manchester is just a businessman.

[randomlegend]

Sometimes a private flight to Manchester is just a businessman.

*agent

[Spikey M]

I'm not at all religious, but have little problem with those that are until they hide behind that religion to do bad things.

this is me these days. I legitimately was peak Harold, Hitchens, Dawkins at Uni, but I honestly couldn't give a shit now. I Don't get it and I can't get it, but I've never actually met a religious person that hasn't been a good person so I really don't care. I do still find it interesting though.

[Dquincy]

No. I'm in the Ricky Gervais camp on this.

[mugbull]

I never liked the smug argument where God == that which we don’t understand. It’s reductionist and beside the point. God is a being with sentience. If you think there is some sort of universal consciousness, the kind of thing you feel when you’re on acid, then yeah maybe you can say you believe in a God. But spirituality and introspection doesn’t get you closer to a Lord

[mugbull]

I'm Jewish, remember?

In all seriousness, my parents aren't from Utah, and I was raised as atheist as it gets (my mom's parents were atheist to the point of not celebrating Christmas, the weirdos). My opinion now would basically echo Jimmy's, especially about performative atheists, who tend to be boring smug cunts; but I still consider myself an atheist and I'd never go to church or anything.

I didnt know that! I kinda assumed you were mormon this whole time

[Mellberg]

I am and Villa Park is my church. Fucking wheeeeey :rave:

[Spoonsky]

I didnt know that! I kinda assumed you were mormon this whole time

:-/

[Spikey M]

Oy vey.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I never liked the smug argument where God == that which we don’t understand. It’s reductionist and beside the point. God is a being with sentience. If you think there is some sort of universal consciousness, the kind of thing you feel when you’re on acid, then yeah maybe you can say you believe in a God. But spirituality and introspection doesn’t get you closer to a Lord

He's only a being with sentience because, in that context, he needs to be. If you're in 500 AD, you don't know about geography and weather patterns, and a huge storm floods your village, what else explains it than the fact that someone must have sent it?

[Spikey M]

But you're still left with 'why did god send it?'.

[Jimmy Floyd]

To which the answers vary from 'Because he's a cunt' to 'Because we deserve it', the latter being the more constructive of the two (and also the answer most useful for controlling people).

[Raoul Duke]

Those arguments only work up until the point you realise it's all arbitrary and happenstance, and there isn't a big explanation behind it all

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

It's also falls down when people still harp on about "God did it" despite the fact we have evidence to suggest otherwise.

Looking at you creationists.

[Mike]

Not in the slightest. Deffo one of mans worst inventions.

[Giggles]

Do you regularly go to mass, @Giggles (https://www.thethirdhalf.co.uk/member.php?u=26)?

Not weekly but often enough. Been ages though because it was off for a long time.

[Disco]

Not in the slightest, it can get in the bin with all the other regressive medieval bullshit.

[Lewis]

I can see Giggles being religious, but more as part of some weird, mystical version of Irish nationalism than conventional popery. Like what Heinrich Himmler had planned for that gay castle, but with a statue of Hibernia and harp stuff.

[Giggles]

If that means mainly force of habit then yes.