I was raised Christian, and still am, but...my exact beliefs have changed. As I have stated before, I do not really believe in Hell; more of a Purgatory. I have friends of many faiths and belief systems, and it's just so horribly wrong that God would cast such good people into Hell just because they were wrong. He's merciful. I honestly think that the Bible, while divinely
inspired, has a fair few mistakes--they did their very best, but they still screwed up a little. So I don't think it's completely infalliable, seeing as how man is not completely infalliable. I really believe that one's deeds are what truly matter--that a truly wicked person who identifies themself as Christian isn't as "good", so to speak, as a virtuous person who is not religious, or follows a different path. I think that God created the universe for fun, if that makes sense. He didn't intend for us to get in fights over religion or anything. We should just live and let live, and try to lead happy, fun, and fulfilling lives. That's not to say we should do things that aren't right, of course, but I think you get my point.
I DO, however, believe in the basic tenets of my faith (that there is one God in three persons, so to speak, that Jesus died for our sins, etc.). And I'm actually kinda depressed by ardent atheists who keep saying there cannot possibly be a god and all that. One must keep an open mind. I know I do. I'm also incredibly depressed when people say there's nothing after death. It's so horribly disheartening, you know?
Marshmallow Roast wrote:
But for me, I'm not one to believe in any of those stories without solid proof...
What exactly counts as "proof", though? Would it take God coming down from the sky and saying "lol hay i r gawd"? How would you know that the guy claiming to be God WAS, in fact, God, and not just some random crazy guy? I'm just confused.
Besides, there is a difference between
believing something and
knowing something. I don't
know what happens after you die, or how the universe was created, or what my purpose in life is. I just
believe what I believe, and don't pretend I truly
know all the answers.
In short, I don't really believe that there's a real problem with belonging to any religion (except cults and the like), unless you get overzealous. But mankind was made capable of making decisions, and if they make the wrong one, why should they be punished?