Atheism and Truth...where is one to go in a world of extreme religions and Athiests?

[DennisJ]

As a believer in God and a free thinker(philosophy is my passion lol)
I must say that I respect everyone and they're beliefs. I don't interpret the Bible literally,yet I live by my principles as best I can everyday(not just sundays) Is my journey through a secular society going to be more difficult?

I must admitt that I love reading from different religious text and taking the core truths of each and notcing a stong comparrison.(i'm a christian,but I also love Hinduism,buddhism,Judaism and even Sufism aka Islamic Gnostisism)

In my opinion,I don't get mad at atheists because they don't believe in God,it's actually a very logical thing to feel like religion is mostly taught,not understood. and that religious institutions try to control the life styles of the lands/people/nation in which it exists. I believe in God and i also believe that atheists have a right to believe that most plausible thing that they are able to understand. God has no church,no country, no material ties to this world,only in truth do we live in unison with God. He's not some being that lives separately from us,but with us...he is after all.. "all in all" aka the universe as we know it.
And yes,I know what atheism implies my friend. I suppose my question is...how am I suppose to relate to a society that is mostly trying to dismiss God as a fantasy.
I know this sounds like a poorly written(confusing) question...but why may I ask am I being torn apart about being afraid? i'm not afriad of atheists(whatever floats your boat,that's my thing)
oh..and the statement about "understading whatever is plausible" I meant that on all levels,including myself. I only understand what i know and I try my best to live in respect to others. Atheists also live by this

Oh lol and i'm not one of those "God FEARING" people...God is love and love along...not wrath or punishment.
ummm...God fearing implies that we're afriad of being destroyed if we don't embrace a certian churches beliefs

 

[NoChanceWithoutJesus]

You say extreme....like it's a bad thing

 

[EeFeHutton]

I would argue going through a secular society is easier than a religious one. One can live by their principles as best they can without god belief. In fact doing so makes those principles genuine instead of behaving oneself out of fear of punishment and promise of reward. True principal comes from within.
Atheism is not a result of not understanding, it's quite the opposite. Don't confuse disdain for religion with lack of god belief. While they often do go hand in hand, even theists can be against organized religion. God belief is another matter. In order for the atheist to have such a belief they need evidence of one.
Deep thought is not the same as free thought.

"...we live in unison with God."
This requires proof that such a god exists. It doesn't get any simpler than that.

As for trying to relate to a society hat is trying to dismiss a god as a fantasy, embrace it.

 

[WhatWouldDylandom]

I have to agree. I was once an atheist full of ignorance, my problem was I interpreting religion in too literal of a sense. Through my own direct experience I have come know what people refer to as 'god'. God is not some old man in the sky, god the spring to all creation. God interpenetrates every part of nature and timelessly extends beyond it as well. There is truth in all religion, they all have the same spiritual cores, beneath their cultural frameworks. I have a hard time even talking about god with people, because the debate is so shallow. People make it out to be that you have to either believe in the literal story of the bible or scientific reductionism. I personally do not see a conflict between science and spirituality. The society we live in is spiritually dead. Its all about materiality. Man has forgot that he is part of nature, not something outside it. The pollution in the external reality is only a reflection of our collective internal pollution. All these problems like world hunger, global warming, and nuclear armament all could be solved if each person really strived to live by the principles of christ, buddha, or whoever.

 

[KlDog]

You seemed pretty respectful until you made the comment about atheists have a right to believe the most plausible thing we can understand. Now you, of all people, know that stuff like this is good only to incite anger. I just finished my first philosophy class and my professor is a baptist minister. I have the utmost respect for him, and he respects my position. I can tell your an intelligent guy, but don't assume that the reason an atheist does not believe in god is because we simply cannot understand the arguments for his existence.

 

[ShadowDown12]

I'm sorry... I missed the question.

 

[mmmkish]

I'm kind of like you too. I was born into a Muslim and Kabir Panth home, I went to a Catholic school and I married a Sanatanist (Hindu) so I'm all over. I know lots of things about all the religions even Atheists. So I can understand where you're coming from. At night I say one prayer from each of my religions and I try to follow the "major" teachings of all of them. I don't steal, try not to lie, etc. All of them have similar commandments/doctrines or whatever you want to call it, so i think I'm pretty much covered. My children will chose their religion when they grow up as my parents have done to their children. So in the end I guess you chose where you want to go except that my mom always said that you should never ever change your religion because of the fact that the religion cannot change to work for you but you have to work for/with it. Nothing good in life is very easy. So good luck and Merry Christmas.