mjmooney Posted June 18, 2007 VT Supporter Share Posted June 18, 2007 I'm not practising but I'm catholic and although free will and a modicum of intelligence prevents me from blindly believing every silly thing I was taught, I do believe that my own personal moral code and ethics are built firmly on the religious teachings of my childhood. I also think that is true for most moderate people with some level of religous background regardless of creed. So do you think that atheists cannot have a moral code? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasthevillan Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 I do like how Sikh has been spelt incorrectly, and incidently is it not possible to be a non practicing Sikh, I thought I was one but it looks like that it is only possible to be non practicing if you are a Christian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b23avfc Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 The list suggests that you are only a practising Christian if you are C of E. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted August 19, 2007 Author Share Posted August 19, 2007 Bump to an ancient thread, and pissing into the wind as MotD is on the other channel but a TV heads up non the less. On ITV at 23:15 (30 mins) there is a show about the Islamic view on some fella called Jesus Christ. Apparently Muslims, Jews and Christians largely believe in the same thing1 (admittedly they are prepared to kill each other over the details, but still..) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted August 19, 2007 Share Posted August 19, 2007 ah the figurehead that's provked wars and the death of millions over two milennia, ironic considering how peaceful he was supposed to be. Caught a part of it, but had to switch over due to the ridiculous tone of some of the commentators who take it all so seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted August 19, 2007 Share Posted August 19, 2007 Jesus=Laursen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted August 20, 2007 VT Supporter Share Posted August 20, 2007 I do like how Sikh has been spelt incorrectly, and incidently is it not possible to be a non practicing Sikh, I thought I was one but it looks like that it is only possible to be non practicing if you are a Christian. Can you explain that? I know loads of people who identify "culturally" with the religion they were brought up in but don't necessarily "believe" in the myths, or practice the rituals. This includes Sikhs, Muslims, Hindus, Jews and Christians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted August 20, 2007 VT Supporter Share Posted August 20, 2007 ah the figurehead that's provked wars and the death of millions over two milennia, ironic considering how peaceful he was supposed to be. Caught a part of it, but had to switch over due to the ridiculous tone of some of the commentators who take it all so seriously. I've just finished reading a really excellent book called "The Happiness Hypothesis". Towards the end, the author quotes a fellow academic who explains beautifully why this whole "peace-and-love-religions-practicing-mass-violence" phenomenon makes perfect evolutionary sense. I'll try and sum it up: We have evolved to be competitive to ensure the survival of our genes. This obviously works for individuals, and also for extended families/tribes. However, we have also evolved a predeliction for "ultrasociality" - effectively forming larger communities like cities and nation, giving us advantages in defence, commerce, etc. Within these large conglomerations, "selfish" genetic competition can be counter-productive. But.... those of you who have read their Dawkins will know about "memes" - cultural traits which are not in any way "genetic", but are subject to natural selection just as if they were. This includes fashions, ideas, etc. - and religions. The theory is that religions have "evolved" in order to bind larger communities together, based upon shared myths, practices, etc. These "religion memes" are in effect in competition with each other. So from an evolutionary viewpoint, it actually makes perfect sense for them to violently oppose each other. Interestingly, part of this process usually involves a taboo on "marrying out" of one's religion or caste, so that any minor genetic mutations will stay within the group, and cultures may over a long period actually become more physically/racially/genetically diverse. Which in turn is used to instensify the "they are not like us" attitudes. That's massively oversimplified the idea, but it makes a lot of sense to me, and I intend to read further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldFart Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 The poll was only giving Christians the chance of "voting" to be non-practising ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted August 20, 2007 VT Supporter Share Posted August 20, 2007 I do like how Sikh has been spelt incorrectly, and incidently is it not possible to be a non practicing Sikh, I thought I was one but it looks like that it is only possible to be non practicing if you are a Christian. Can you explain that? I know loads of people who identify "culturally" with the religion they were brought up in but don't necessarily "believe" in the myths, or practice the rituals. This includes Sikhs, Muslims, Hindus, Jews and Christians. Sorry Jas, I just re-read your post and I can see you were saying the same thing as me and questioning the wording of the poll. You're right, the poll should really restrict itself to "practicing" religions, otherwise it's just asking: "what is your cultural background?" - interesting in itself but not, I suspect, what the original pollster wanted to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted August 20, 2007 Author Share Posted August 20, 2007 I do like how Sikh has been spelt incorrectly, and incidently is it not possible to be a non practicing Sikh, I thought I was one but it looks like that it is only possible to be non practicing if you are a Christian. Its also only possible to put 10 options in the poll, and as the UK is a Christian nation by some considerable distance i felt i could afford to allow for a little more choice amongst the Christian vote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulTheVillan Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 Budhist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted August 20, 2007 VT Supporter Share Posted August 20, 2007 Still 0% Jewish. Come on, there must be some out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tegis Posted August 20, 2007 VT Supporter Share Posted August 20, 2007 Mike! I'm trying to find a rant from you on here where you sort of mock the stories in the bible. Did it disappear? Found it very funny and wanted to share it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted August 20, 2007 VT Supporter Share Posted August 20, 2007 Mike! I'm trying to find a rant from you on here where you sort of mock the stories in the bible. Did it disappear? Found it very funny and wanted to share it You mean THIS? Christianity: A belief in a cosmic Jewish zombie, who was his own father, and will let you live forever, if you pretend to eat his flesh, drink his blood and telepathically tell him that you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that he put there a long time ago, as punishment for all humanity because a rib-woman made from a dust-man was convinced by a talking snake, to eat fruit from a magical tree. (It's not original BTW, I found it somewhere on the web). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tegis Posted August 20, 2007 VT Supporter Share Posted August 20, 2007 You mean THIS? Christianity: A belief in a cosmic Jewish zombie, who was his own father, and will let you live forever, if you pretend to eat his flesh, drink his blood and telepathically tell him that you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that he put there a long time ago, as punishment for all humanity because a rib-woman made from a dust-man was convinced by a talking snake, to eat fruit from a magical tree. (It's not original BTW, I found it somewhere on the web). Thats the one! Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy178 Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 This answer has always eluded me. What do you call an agnostic who doesn't actually care? I.e. they don't know about the existence of God, but don't care anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amo69 Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 you've spelt sikh wrong mate. there is no e. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 apagnostic ( apathetic and agnostic? ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy178 Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 apagnostic ( apathetic and agnostic? ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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