I'm a Pantheist and Cultist of John Frum. The latter might be up your alley.

Dudeism. I'd be happy to tell you about it. I'm an officially-ordained Dudeist Priest.

http://dudeism.com

you can find virtuous teachings in almost all religions... finding a perfect religion? hm, shoot me a message when you figure that one out.

I have never heard one religious "teaching" that doesn't just sound like preachy crap.

None.

Quote from: Loaf on January 13, 2015, 11:37:37 PM

Quote from: Azumarill on January 13, 2015, 11:32:16 PM

you can find virtuous teachings in almost all religions... finding a perfect religion? hm, shoot me a message when you figure that one out.

I have never heard one religious "teaching" that doesn't just sound like preachy crap.

well, many religions have variations of "the golden rule." Matthew 7:12 states "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." (NIV) That sounds fair to me- do unto others as you would have them do to yourself. That creates a sense of social obligation and morality and encourages virtuous behavior. Is everything in the Bible virtuous? fuck no, absolutely not. Is the Golden Rule virtuous? Certainly.

You can also find this sort of thing in Eastern traditions. Take Confucianism for example- not necessarily a religious tradition, but Confucianism is an ethical and moral philosophy which stresses social harmony and has influenced East Asian culture for an extraordinarily long time. Of course, there are flaws with traditional Confucian "family roles" (in this day and age, and in our culture especially, family roles and gender/marriage are much more fluid than they would have been in Kongfuzi's time, so we have a different understanding of those things which clashes with the traditional Confucian family roles) but ideas of social harmony and the Rectification of Names (proper designation of things so as to create concrete meaning and foster proper relationships) are certainly virtuous.

Look at Buddhism- at its core, traditional Buddhism teaches us that our suffering stems from our attachment to the transient. We can transcend this suffering by detaching ourselves from earthly things, by practicing mindfulness and meditation. Is that wholly accurate? Perhaps not, but it's reasonable to say that being mindful of our attachment to the transient is virtuous and can lead us on the path to inner peace.

Of course, this begs the question- can we objectively define "virtue?" I think that, by considering established conventional understandings of morality, ethics, and logic, we can objectively define virtue, and many religious teachings can impart virtuous wisdom to those who are willing to consider them with an open mind and proper perspective.

Alright. It seems like religion is really based on culture. It seems to have a very hard time adapting to the shifts of modern times. It seems like a lot of people who are into religion are staunchly into tradition. It seems like a very weak position to hold, to just say "I am happy with things the way they have been for years, and I don't ever want them to change". I have talked to a lot of religious people who just say "well things have been this way for such a long time, and they "work"". No, they don't really work. I think that society has just been able to survive and it has been no better off with religious teachings, and especially not superstition, or the religious dogma of the old ages.

It seems like every religion you point to you also point out how it is flawed in some way. What I see in religion is an institution that adopts a ton of values and calls them it's own values. Anyone can start a religion. Usually a religion is linked to some sort of "important" event, so that way people have some better appreciation of it or something. I think trying to live by some sort of moral philosophy is just pointless. I think if you look at psychology you can tell a lot more about a person by how their parents raised them. I think one of the big tenants of religion is to go and "serve" the lord, or whatever god you worship. That is one of the biggest problems to me in religion. Why would you serve something which doesn't exist? There is no original sin. There is no afterlife. There is no god.

I guess if religion were more about trying to discover your own mind through meditation or something. Maybe if religion actually had proven methods of reaching a higher state of consciousness. Or if it could actually help you with things like mood, feelings. To me the only thing I ever hear about that is that praying comforts some people. It makes them happy to know that the magical sky daddy loves them. I'm sorry to be so condescending. Truly, whenever I hear about religion, I just feel my stomach churn. I have a difficult time listening to religious people talk. If I am in a group of people I have a very hard time talking about it. If I am one on one though then I can usually just hear the person I'm talking to out without going on the offensive side and trying to break down everything they say.

There is but one god Allah and Mohammed is his messenger.

I find Norse Mythology/Norse Paganism/Asatru to be pretty interesting stuff. It's my go-to religion if I have to pick one to believe in.

This, pretty much,

Aside from the raping and pillaging, which was only on the weekends, the Norse were really chill people.

Why do people feel the need to have someone tell them what to do? Why do people feel more comfortable learning someone else's teachings than trying to come up with their own? They try to find one ideology to believe in. They want something that will guide them through their confusing and scary life and give them hope. There has got to be a better way to find hope in the world. There has to be a better way than what people are doing. To worship something that something they don't even know exists. To say that that thing which is pretend in their heads loves them. There has to be a better way than that. If that is the way that you live your life, I think you need to really step back and reevaluate your life.

Well...

(cool religions list)
Pastafarians
NADDR
Satanism
Scientology

Jainism is pretty chill, and LaVeyan Satanism is at its core, very atheistic.

I got that sense from Laveyan Satanism too. I've read some brief summaries and talk to a few people. Some were associated with satanists and maybe a few were. If I turned to any religion it would be for shits and giggles. I don't really expect to open up my mind to a new way of thinking or anything. Lavey Satanism seems like the most reasonable of any religion. It doesn't involve worshiping some sort of god or something. Satan represents yourself as just another animal. I get the sense that it's tenants are just an anti religious-dogma stance. I dunno though.

I dunno though. I went to a satanist forum and asked them if that was what it was allow about. They told me that I really shouldn't be talking if I haven't actually read the satanic bible. They said why would it be a religion if it didn't involve following some sort of tenants, or something. So yeah. I dunno if I actually care to read the satanic bible or not. I looked at the pictures of the people on the satanist website and they all seemed pretty edgy looking. I am not really an edgy person. It was an official forum helped set up by some of the founding members of satanism too.

Quote from: Azumarill on January 13, 2015, 11:57:58 PM

Quote from: Loaf on January 13, 2015, 11:37:37 PM

Quote from: Azumarill on January 13, 2015, 11:32:16 PM

you can find virtuous teachings in almost all religions... finding a perfect religion? hm, shoot me a message when you figure that one out.

I have never heard one religious "teaching" that doesn't just sound like preachy crap.

well, many religions have variations of "the golden rule." Matthew 7:12 states "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." (NIV) That sounds fair to me- do unto others as you would have them do to yourself. That creates a sense of social obligation and morality and encourages virtuous behavior. Is everything in the Bible virtuous? fuck no, absolutely not. Is the Golden Rule virtuous? Certainly.

You can also find this sort of thing in Eastern traditions. Take Confucianism for example- not necessarily a religious tradition, but Confucianism is an ethical and moral philosophy which stresses social harmony and has influenced East Asian culture for an extraordinarily long time. Of course, there are flaws with traditional Confucian "family roles" (in this day and age, and in our culture especially, family roles and gender/marriage are much more fluid than they would have been in Kongfuzi's time, so we have a different understanding of those things which clashes with the traditional Confucian family roles) but ideas of social harmony and the Rectification of Names (proper designation of things so as to create concrete meaning and foster proper relationships) are certainly virtuous.

Look at Buddhism- at its core, traditional Buddhism teaches us that our suffering stems from our attachment to the transient. We can transcend this suffering by detaching ourselves from earthly things, by practicing mindfulness and meditation. Is that wholly accurate? Perhaps not, but it's reasonable to say that being mindful of our attachment to the transient is virtuous and can lead us on the path to inner peace.

Of course, this begs the question- can we objectively define "virtue?" I think that, by considering established conventional understandings of morality, ethics, and logic, we can objectively define virtue, and many religious teachings can impart virtuous wisdom to those who are willing to consider them with an open mind and proper perspective.

Alright. It seems like religion is really based on culture. It seems to have a very hard time adapting to the shifts of modern times. It seems like a lot of people who are into religion are staunchly into tradition. It seems like a very weak position to hold, to just say "I am happy with things the way they have been for years, and I don't ever want them to change". I have talked to a lot of religious people who just say "well things have been this way for such a long time, and they "work"". No, they don't really work. I think that society has just been able to survive and it has been no better off with religious teachings, and especially not superstition, or the religious dogma of the old ages.

It seems like every religion you point to you also point out how it is flawed in some way. What I see in religion is an institution that adopts a ton of values and calls them it's own values. Anyone can start a religion. Usually a religion is linked to some sort of "important" event, so that way people have some better appreciation of it or something. I think trying to live by some sort of moral philosophy is just pointless. I think if you look at psychology you can tell a lot more about a person by how their parents raised them. I think one of the big tenants of religion is to go and "serve" the lord, or whatever god you worship. That is one of the biggest problems to me in religion. Why would you serve something which doesn't exist? There is no original sin. There is no afterlife. There is no god.

I guess if religion were more about trying to discover your own mind through meditation or something. Maybe if religion actually had proven methods of reaching a higher state of consciousness. Or if it could actually help you with things like mood, feelings. To me the only thing I ever hear about that is that praying comforts some people. It makes them happy to know that the magical sky daddy loves them. I'm sorry to be so condescending. Truly, whenever I hear about religion, I just feel my stomach churn. I have a difficult time listening to religious people talk. If I am in a group of people I have a very hard time talking about it. If I am one on one though then I can usually just hear the person I'm talking to out without going on the offensive side and trying to break down everything they say.

ah, but now you can acknowledge the virtuous teachings despite the flaws, yes? that's a good jumping off point from which to develop your own unique worldview. learn from all of the different world traditions... learn philosophy and theology and ethics and morality, and you will come to see the world and our culture in a new light

Quote from: Loaf on January 14, 2015, 05:46:08 AM

Quote from: Azumarill on January 13, 2015, 11:57:58 PM

Quote from: Loaf on January 13, 2015, 11:37:37 PM

Quote from: Azumarill on January 13, 2015, 11:32:16 PM

you can find virtuous teachings in almost all religions... finding a perfect religion? hm, shoot me a message when you figure that one out.

I have never heard one religious "teaching" that doesn't just sound like preachy crap.

well, many religions have variations of "the golden rule." Matthew 7:12 states "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." (NIV) That sounds fair to me- do unto others as you would have them do to yourself. That creates a sense of social obligation and morality and encourages virtuous behavior. Is everything in the Bible virtuous? fuck no, absolutely not. Is the Golden Rule virtuous? Certainly.

You can also find this sort of thing in Eastern traditions. Take Confucianism for example- not necessarily a religious tradition, but Confucianism is an ethical and moral philosophy which stresses social harmony and has influenced East Asian culture for an extraordinarily long time. Of course, there are flaws with traditional Confucian "family roles" (in this day and age, and in our culture especially, family roles and gender/marriage are much more fluid than they would have been in Kongfuzi's time, so we have a different understanding of those things which clashes with the traditional Confucian family roles) but ideas of social harmony and the Rectification of Names (proper designation of things so as to create concrete meaning and foster proper relationships) are certainly virtuous.

Look at Buddhism- at its core, traditional Buddhism teaches us that our suffering stems from our attachment to the transient. We can transcend this suffering by detaching ourselves from earthly things, by practicing mindfulness and meditation. Is that wholly accurate? Perhaps not, but it's reasonable to say that being mindful of our attachment to the transient is virtuous and can lead us on the path to inner peace.

Of course, this begs the question- can we objectively define "virtue?" I think that, by considering established conventional understandings of morality, ethics, and logic, we can objectively define virtue, and many religious teachings can impart virtuous wisdom to those who are willing to consider them with an open mind and proper perspective.

Alright. It seems like religion is really based on culture. It seems to have a very hard time adapting to the shifts of modern times. It seems like a lot of people who are into religion are staunchly into tradition. It seems like a very weak position to hold, to just say "I am happy with things the way they have been for years, and I don't ever want them to change". I have talked to a lot of religious people who just say "well things have been this way for such a long time, and they "work"". No, they don't really work. I think that society has just been able to survive and it has been no better off with religious teachings, and especially not superstition, or the religious dogma of the old ages.

It seems like every religion you point to you also point out how it is flawed in some way. What I see in religion is an institution that adopts a ton of values and calls them it's own values. Anyone can start a religion. Usually a religion is linked to some sort of "important" event, so that way people have some better appreciation of it or something. I think trying to live by some sort of moral philosophy is just pointless. I think if you look at psychology you can tell a lot more about a person by how their parents raised them. I think one of the big tenants of religion is to go and "serve" the lord, or whatever god you worship. That is one of the biggest problems to me in religion. Why would you serve something which doesn't exist? There is no original sin. There is no afterlife. There is no god.

I guess if religion were more about trying to discover your own mind through meditation or something. Maybe if religion actually had proven methods of reaching a higher state of consciousness. Or if it could actually help you with things like mood, feelings. To me the only thing I ever hear about that is that praying comforts some people. It makes them happy to know that the magical sky daddy loves them. I'm sorry to be so condescending. Truly, whenever I hear about religion, I just feel my stomach churn. I have a difficult time listening to religious people talk. If I am in a group of people I have a very hard time talking about it. If I am one on one though then I can usually just hear the person I'm talking to out without going on the offensive side and trying to break down everything they say.

ah, but now you can acknowledge the virtuous teachings despite the flaws, yes? that's a good jumping off point from which to develop your own unique worldview. learn from all of the different world traditions... learn philosophy and theology and ethics and morality, and you will come to see the world and our culture in a new light

I can see that every religion probably has pieces and parts that can be adopted. I don't see why someone would follow one. Please don't "ah" me. That sounds rather glib. But again, I also must point out that all these good tenants of religion weren't born out of the religion themselves. I must say that we don't need the religion itself as much as we need the ideas. The ideas that some of them claim as their own. The so called "golden rule" do on to other etc. is not a uniquely christian view. I think that a lot of christians convince themselves that it is. They say that you can't be good to others without fearing punishment if you don't obey. That should seem demonstrably silly to anyone, because it's pretty much common sense; if someone is obeying someone out of fear of punishment they're not doing it for the right reasons.

Greek.
Norse.

Cults are fun

Nope.

"Good religion" is an oxymoron.

what about useful religion?