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Explain your general worldview/belief system

Stherngntlmn

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I'm new to the forum, and interested in getting a little insight into the worldviews of people I'm going to be discussing political and current events with. Please don't attack people for their beliefs in this thread but feel free to ask questions for further clarification if you are truely interested.
 
First, my history with religion, I was raised strict Southern Baptist. Four generations of my family, including my siblings and myself, attend a Southern Baptist church on the southside of Richmond, VA. I grew up, and like all children went through a phase where I questioned the status quo of the worldview taught to me by my parents, I examined many philosophies in life, including atheism. However found upon detailed inspection that I did wholeheartedly believe in Christianity. I don't agree with every decision that the National Southern Baptist Convention makes. I think sometimes Jerry Fallwell talks before he thinks. However, every word he says is under a microscope and is blown up in the press, and he is a falable man. I was recruited by Liberty University for a football scholarship and during the recruiting process, actually met and shook hands with Mr. Fallwell. He is a really nice guy. I stayed at Liberty for a weekend and decided that the rules there were too strict to me. I ended up going to college at UNC. While at college, I kinda lapsed on the practice of my beliefs. I fell into the usual college vices. I had wild rugby team parties, drank a lot of moonshine, and experimented with some controlled substances. I got my girlfriend pregnant (abortion never crossed my mind). She miscarried after we had both become accustomed to the idea of being parents. I'm not perfect, never claimed to be. After I got my degree, I realized how far I had fallen from my original direction. I cleaned myself up. I now attend church regularly. I still have a drink every once and a while, but nothin crazy, and as with every person, I still sin whether I intend to or not.

My worldview has stayed the same through all of that. I believe that there is a God. God's son was Jesus Christ. He gave his life to provide the blood sacrifice necessary to cleanse us of our sins when we repent from them and ask God for forgiveness. I believe that those who ask for forgiveness, and truely feel repentance in their heart, go to heaven. I believe in a very close to literal interpretation of the scripture and have read the entirity of 3 translations of the bible (NIV,KJV, and Jeffersonian). I have studied and read on macroevolution and scientific creationism. I believe the earth is less than 10,000 years old, the earth was created in 7 literal 24 hour days, adam and eve,fall of man, dinosaurs died in the flood of Noah, which also created geologic layers in the earth creating burried animals, techtonic plates, and fossils, that microevolution has taken place because of the drastic change in the earth's electromagnetic field, as well as natural selection. I believe that having sexual relations with someone of the same sex is a sin. I believe that killing babies, born or unborn, is murder, no matter how big they are. I also believe premarrital sex is a sin. I believe marriage is a religious institution adopted by the government, and that the government shouldn't recognize same sex marriage because it goes against the very foundation of the creation of marrital union. I don't let that conflict with my constitutionalist belief in states rights over marrital contracts though. I believe that as it states in the bible, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the light, there is no other way except through him. That means I have a very clear cut black and white belief that Christianity is the only correct religion. Before you start yelling "tolerance" look around... do people of jewish faith believe christians are right? do people of islamic faith believe buddhists are right? No. that's just what belief is, having the knowledge not the feeling, that your worldview is correct.

I don't believe that science is a seperate religion. I believe that science is a tool used to search for truth. I also believe science compliments, not contridicts, religious faith, and I am willing to sculpt my beliefs around any irrefutable scientific evidence I read or find, and have many times before. I believe that there is a concrete reality, and each persons beliefs is just their own perspective on that reality. I believe in a black and white view of right and wrong.
 
How very thorough of you! That's quite an outline of your worldview. I don't think I can be that thorough. At any rate, glad to read your bio.

Like you, I see the world and the issues we talk about in black and white. Oh, there are some pretty fine lines of black and white, and when you step back it all looks gray, but to me there's no such thing as a gray area. I believe in God, and Jesus, and in the world to come. Used attend church regularly but lately have been caught up in life to the point I"ve been working every day. Yes, every day, lol.

I can relate to your being Southern Baptist, because I was raised in a Southern Baptist family. My grampa was a preacher, and my dad a deacon. They expected me to kind of follow the same path, I think, but I disappointed them when I went to the Catholic faith. It caused a pretty deep rift for a while.

My worldview is a conflicted one, because I believe what I was taught about our country. America stands for freedom and promotes individual rights. I fear that people have lost track of what that means in today's society. It ends up leaving me with a bitter taste when I consider our heritage and what we live with today...
 
Interesting thread and interesting stories guys. Thanks for sharing them with me.

I am a muslim. I believe that there is only one God. I believe that there have been Prophets in the past. I believe that Muhammad SAW was the final Messenger of Allah SWT and that the Qur'an is the word of God. As a consequence of my belief in the above i believe anything that the Qur'an details, this includes Angels, Satan, the day of Judgement and Heaven and Hell.

I believe that we will all be judged in relation to our actions and intentions. I believe that the basis of good and evil is the Shariah and its basis is Belief in Islam. Any action which is not based on Islam is therefore bad.

My world view is defined by these principles. As I believe that right and wrong is defined then it is natural that i believe that this should be the basis for international governance.
 
mikeangelo said:
My world view is defined by these principles. As I believe that right and wrong is defined then it is natural that i believe that this should be the basis for international governance.
Wow... I find this an extremely profound and telling statement... I don't see a location on your profile. Are you from a muslim theocratic country? if so where?
 
kind of! Bradford England
 
I don't really don't have a long story, but I've grown up in an Assemblies of God church all my life and still do. I had a similar experience as Galenrox in seventh grade ( I enjoyed reading your bio by the way). I didn't worship satan, but just lived a life thinking I could do whatever I wanted. It was a year of a lot of trouble, almost getting kicked out of my house, and a lot of hurt. That summer I just turned around. I got more involved with my youth group and realized how much better my life was with God. I've never really doubted God. I can here these people with like 5 doctrits try to prove there is no God. They don't effect me. I believe like a child believes. I just believe. I've felt his presence, so no matter what you say I'll believe in him.
I believe Jesus was the son of God and savior of the world. Most people here don't believe that. I believe in a right and wrong, blank and white way of thinking.I think same sex relations are sins, and abortion is murder. I have questions about God in the old testament where he lead the Isrealites and killed several people. I just don't understand that and why the Isrealites were the chosen people of God. I've had three people I know die and one very close to me die. That is hard, but I believe that God has a plan for everyone. Even you.
 
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galenrox said:
I've never heard of Assemblies of God, can you describe it to me?

Exact same as Baptist except we believe in baptism in the holy spirit by speaking in tounges. Which probably sounds really weird and maybe a little scary, but it is a different way of praying by speaking in languages you've never heard. It is really cool when someone interprets what someone else is saying in tounges. It happened at my church camp this year, and sometimes people start talking in real foriegn languages. This one girl in India, who doesn't know English, started speaking in tounges and was saying stuff in English. She was saying "Glory to the lamb of God, the savior of the world" it is pretty cool to see something like that. One time this guy and girl were speaking in tounges and this foriegn student from China understood every word they were saying because the were speaking Chinese and they have not learned the language at all.
There might be more differences, but I think that is the big one. What are the other differences you southern bapistis?
 
yeh i was born and brought up there. It is like any other English city i suppose.
 
galenrox said:
I've never heard of Assemblies of God, can you describe it to me?

Read "Don't Call Me Brother" by Austin Miles.
 
galenrox said:
ooh, if that's a book, that'd be a problem. Does it come on tape?

I'm not sure about the tape thing, but it is a book well worth reading. And it does keep your attention.
 
I think I'll be the first atheist to respond to this forum.

I was baptised catholic, but religion was never a big thing in my early life. Church was something that happened when we visited Grandma. The one time it was even close to a constant in my life was when I was sevenish and my grandma talked my parents into having my brother and I attend Sunday school. This, I am told, lasted about 2 months. I don't remember much of the period myself but my father tells me that we stopped attending because the teacher was upset over my constant questions and my inability to just accept what I was taught. She was especially upset with me equating god with Santa Claus.

Religion became a sometime thing once again. I read a lot. In my mind I equated religion with the other books of fiction I read. No one told me God was real and I had to believe in him. I simple had no interest in the subject.

Then came high school and something unusual happened. It was decided I would attend a Catholic high school. This meant religion class. I treated it like science instead of accepting like they wanted me too. I was told I had to accept on faith and I saw flaw in this logic. I was told to read the bible and I'd understand. So I did, read the bible that is, from cover too cover. It took me about a month. I remember thinking that whomever wrote most of it had to be on something because it was the most self contradicting and illogical thing I ever read. (No I didn't use those exact words, but the sentiment was there.)

I was dissatisfied with the world view presented so I decided to read a more modern view. The book of mormon was a decent into idiocy and to this day I wonder what could possess anyone to believe the offal presented in that book.

I needed more research material so I studied Buddhism, American Indian religions, Australian dream time, and I'm sure a few others. I wasn't looking for something to believe in, I was looking for a common thread. I was, at the time, inclined to think that they must all hold a part of the truth since people believed in each of them, and there was no way an all powerful being would allow people to believe falsely. To me, all religions were equal.

So there I was ending my second year of high school (and my last at a catholic high)when I first concluded on a sentient level, "all these religions are made up stories." I had come to the decision without being biases for or against any religion. I didn't dislike religion I simple decided it wasn't worth all the attention it was getting. Content I put the question out of my mind.

Since then my view of religion was filled out by studding history, mythology, science, and of course my interaction with the world as a whole. I don't think it was until college that I realized just how important to some people religion was. It was just there as background noise before. By that time I was an atheist , but I had no malice toward the religions. And of course I ran into that person who was offended by my non belief. She had the two things that made me once again consider religion as a worth wile subject. The first was a burning desire to convert me to her religion (Lutheran.) The second was more important.... she had breasts.

This time I took up religion with a passive acceptance. I had learned many arguments against religion by this time but they paled in importance, because going through the motions made her happy. I never really believed what was being said in the church but it really didn't matter. It made an impression on two levels. First I could apply my theories against religion on an actual model. Secondly it got me what I wanted on a basic level. Shallow yes, but informative none the less.

After we broke up I still went to church for maybe 3 months hoping to pick up on one of the other women who attended.

I went through the entire time as an atheist and exited as such. Since then I've learned more about the histories of religion and became more active in listening to politics. At this point I think religion is one of the worst social evils to ever happen. As such I sometimes lose sight of the good religions preach and so many want to believe in. It is so easy to see the hate it promotes and the evils it upholds.

As much as I hate the idea of homosexuality I can not see myself ever denning others their rights based on my moralities. As such I totally loathe those who would have us treat them as less than human. I consider my view of them as unfounded hatred and something to be ashamed of. It's my problem not theirs.

As for religion, I see the attempts to force it others as the biggest threat and one I'm opposed to. At the same time I believe everyone has the right to practice their own views as long as it doesn't hurt others.

This is of course greatly abridged since the path of atheism is not one of simplistic acceptance. There is much I deleted. I might not even have answered the question of the post. I have so much to say and not the skill with words to say it. But I hope this enlightens you to my world view
 
interesting story dogger

I had the same problem when i was a kid. I got kicked out of my religious school. I was too hot to handle! hehe I am still am. Have you ever studied Islam?

I think there are two types of atheist. One is the type that has no care in the world and does not want to believe. No matter what argument you give that person they will always reject. The second type is the one that has actually considered the other religions out there and found holes in them. They are intellectual atheists. These are the people whom one can have a reasonable discussion with.

To me its not religion that leads to tumult in world affairs. To me it is ideology. As long as more than one ideology exists, there will be conflict. Ideologies exist in the minds of the people that carry them. They will manifest themselves as individuals, groups, political parties and states. Each ideology will self propagate itself over all other ideologies until it is victorious over all other thoughts. Examples of ideologies are Islam, Capitalism, Communism etc.

So in Iraq (and in this forum unfortunately) we see a political, military and economic drive for the ideology of the Capitalists battling the ideology of Islam. The question i asked myself is what is the basis by which we judge the superiority of an ideology? is it by the resources of the states and people that carry them? Some may argue this. THey will argue that because capitalist nations produce more goods and develop more resources, they are the superior model for the world to live by. I disagree with this judgement. Many empires have risen and fallen. My own nation was once an empire.

The true judgement of an ideology is the soundness of the ideas that it is based upon.
 
I was raised in a middle class neighborhood. Went to Catholic school for 8 years, 3 months, 23 days, 11 hours, 43 minutes and 3 seconds. In high school, I met some friends, learned a little guitar, and formed a band called "the Quarrymen". But those bastards kicked me out after a stupid arguement over a semi-quaver. So we went our separate ways. They made their history, I made mine.

I went on to discovering a cure for cancer, pollio and peace on earth. I was also the person responsible for finding "parenthetical expressions" during the Manhattan Project. During the 60's I was most known for being the 4th "dog" in 3 Dog Night. Although I'm still a little angry with Hendrix for steeling my thunder at Monterey Pop, I did get him back at Woodstock, and have not heard from him since.
Everytime I think the Stones should retire, I hear something off their new album, which leaves me thinking, "Hey, that's pretty good!"

My phylosophy on life is that when God created the universe, HE deliberately put in equal amounts of good and bad for a reason. Without either, you have no idea where you are. With both, you can calculate your point of reference in relation to the world around you. It still stings a bit that GOD had to throw in the monkey-wrench, "free-will". But in the end, this will prove to be a wise decision. Because Karma does exist. What goes around will come around. And by the time you are done with this life, and are ready to move on, you will leave with equal amounts of bad and good. I feel this way, because I believe GOD is balanced, fair and all Loving.

Which brings me to my final thought on Fridays show. Of all the words written in the Bible or Qu'ran, they have only one message, and one message only: LOVE...
 

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I was raised in a middle class neighborhood. Went to Catholic school for 8 years, 3 months, 23 days, 11 hours, 43 minutes and 3 seconds. In high school, I met some friends, learned a little guitar, and formed a band called "the Quarrymen". But those bastards kicked me out after a stupid arguement over a semi-quaver. So we went our separate ways. They made their history, I made mine.

I went on to discovering a cure for cancer, pollio and peace on earth. I was also the person responsible for finding "parenthetical expressions" during the Manhattan Project. During the 60's I was most known for being the 4th "dog" in 3 Dog Night. Although I'm still a little angry with Hendrix for steeling my thunder at Monterey Pop, I did get him back at Woodstock, and have not heard from him since.
Everytime I think the Stones should retire, I hear something off their new album, which leaves me thinking, "Hey, that's pretty good!"

My phylosophy on life is that when God created the universe, HE deliberately put in equal amounts of good and bad for a reason. Without either, you have no idea where you are. With both, you can calculate your point of reference in relation to the world around you. It still stings a bit that GOD had to throw in the monkey-wrench, "free-will". But in the end, this will prove to be a wise decision. Because Karma does exist. What goes around will come around. And by the time you are done with this life, and are ready to move on, you will leave with equal amounts of bad and good. I feel this way, because I believe GOD is balanced, fair and all Loving.

Which brings me to my final thought on Fridays show. Of all the words written in the Bible or Qu'ran, they have only one message, and one message only: LOVE...
 

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I was raised in a middle class neighborhood. Went to Catholic school for 8 years, 3 months, 23 days, 11 hours, 43 minutes and 3 seconds. In high school, I met some friends, learned a little guitar, and formed a band called "the Quarrymen". But those bastards kicked me out after a stupid arguement over a semi-quaver. So we went our separate ways. They made their history, I made mine.

I went on to discovering a cure for cancer, pollio and peace on earth. I was also the person responsible for finding "parenthetical expressions" during the Manhattan Project. During the 60's I was most known for being the 4th "dog" in 3 Dog Night. Although I'm still a little angry with Hendrix for steeling my thunder at Monterey Pop, I did get him back at Woodstock, and have not heard from him since. Everytime I think the Stones should retire, I hear something off their new album, which leaves me thinking, "Hey, that's pretty good!"

My phylosophy on life is that when God created the universe, HE deliberately put in equal amounts of good and bad for a reason. Without either, you have no idea where you are. With both, you can calculate your point of reference in relation to the world around you. It still stings a bit that GOD had to throw in the monkey-wrench, "free-will". But in the end, this will prove to be a wise decision. Because Karma does exist. What goes around will come around. And by the time you are done with this life, and are ready to move on, you will leave with equal amounts of bad and good. I feel this way, because I believe GOD is balanced, fair and all Loving.

Which brings me to my final thought on Fridays show. Of all the words written in the Bible or Qu'ran, they have only one message, and one message only: LOVE...
 

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I was raised in a non-religious Catholic family. My mom made me and my brother go to church with my grandmother until she died, and then we never set foot in another Catholic church again until my father died. To be honest, all that emphasis on hell-fire and brimstones was alienating. My mother's antique, illustrated copy of Dante's Inferno didn't help.

I began to question the whole Jesus thing around the same time I heard there was no Santa Claus, and considered myself an atheist until I was in my later 20s, at which time I studied a great deal about Christianity and Judaism, along with some Islam. I ended up converting to (Reform) Judaism because it was the only one that would offer me any hope for God's existence, being that it most appealed to my need for logic and rationality. (I should say that Islam is - for me - also fairly attractive in this respect.) I don't believe God, assuming there is one, much cares what we think, but is more interested in how we behave, and this is the worldview of Judaism.

But I am still agnostic, and actually I think that is a good thing because it compels me to consider God on a regular basis. I think that "true believers" and hard core atheists have much in common - they are both so certain they have THE answer, it often becomes unnecessary for them to question whether or not they are right, and they really stop thinking about the nature of God altogether. (I mean, think about it: once you know that 2+2=4, how much time do you spend contemplating it?)

By the way, I wanted to comment on something that was said on the first page of this thread. Someone (Christian) said something along the lines of Jews and Muslims also believing their religion is the only "correct" one, but that is untrue of Judaism, which is a pluralistic religion. Judaism does not concern itself with non-Jewish beliefs about God, but with Jewish beliefs about - and responsibility to - God. Christians and Muslims are not believed to be obligated to behave/believe as Jews, and there is no assumption that they will be punished for behaving/believing differently.
 
I was batised in the Methodist church and attended regularly until about the age of 10. We stopped attending due to my parents being involved in some internal church politics that I never cared to find out about since, by that time, I was already quite tired of the whole religious thing. By the time my parents found a new church, Nazerene, I was no longer interested in attending. Hell, they never even told me what the "Method" was!)

The cause of my very early dissatisfaction with the faith was the inability of the believers to answer the many questions I had and to overcome the contradictions that even I, as a child, came upon every time I read the Bible.
You know the ones: Where did Cain's wife come from, how did Noah fit 2 of every animal on such a small boat, why did God's law change from "eye for an eye" to "turn the other cheek", the list goes on and on. The one that really got me though, as a teen, was when I discovered the mutual exclusion of the ideas of a perfect God, with perfect knowledge of the future, and humans with free will. I've never heard an answer to that one and I guess I never will.

Anyway, as an adult I have dedicated myself to treating all people with respect and go by the rule of "live and let live". I don't much care for tolerance since I don't think anyone is so special that they must "tolerate" others.

I respect the religious beliefs of others but I often have a problem with how they put those beliefs into action. In fact, I usually have more problem with religious organizations than with any individual I meet. (I know many Catholics, for example, but I am quite an adversary of their Church given its past and current behavior.) What I'm most interested in is why people believe what they believe. I have my own opinions on this which I'm sure will come out in the various threads of this board.

I have but one rule in religious discussions (one of my two favorite subjects, politics/law being the other) - I will not be offended by anything someone of faith says (and I mean anything), and they must not be offended by anything I say (again, I mean anything). I find that most believers would rather not discuss the subject than follow this rule.

I have looked into many religions and that is why I'm an atheist.

See you in the threads.
 
dogger807 said:
I think I'll be the first atheist to respond to this forum.

Oh you're not the first.

I kind of feel that religion shouldn't be about following a church. I really think that it should be more spiritual and more individualized. I consider myself an atheist, because I too have studied and observed religion (and even given it a shot by attending various churches and such) and come to the conclusion that I don't believe in a god. And I can't really find a single organized religion that encompasses everything I believe. The Bible does have some good things to say, but whenever I find something I really like, a couple of lines or chapters later, I read a passage that contradicts it. I liked Thomas Jefferson's take on religion: he just cut out the parts of the Bible he didn't agree with. That's how I feel we should be. We should all find the parts we agree with or believe, and become our own religion or our own god. Does that make sense? I personally have found that my views have a lot in common with the views of the Buddhists and many Native American cultures. I believe that we should all love each other and value the Earth and treat ourselves with respect, both physically and emotionally. And I am happy with my spirituality. I don't know, I kind of feel I'm just rambling now, but what does everyone else think?
 
In Islam we question the basis of the source. So we question the existence of Allah SWT. Then we question the Basis of Muhammad SAW being a prophet. We question the Qur'an. Once we are satisfied with these three issues then I submit willingly to whatever comes from them. I know that my purpose on this Earth is purely to worship my creator. The methodology of worship is through the study and implementation of the divine orders given to mankind. Hence my own personal views on right and wrong are automatically what the Quran orders of me. Ultimately when i die i will be judged by the Creator in relation to right and wrong as defined by God through the qur'an, not defined by me.
 
Story you all have been waiting for!

I grew up in Southern Baptist (First Baptist Church) in my little town of Hillsborough, North Carolina. Growing up I've been to Caswell Music Camp (went last week as well!) almost every year of eligibility, about 7-8 Times.

I don't do drugs, I don't smoke, nor do I drink.


I have my own modified views on my religion, I believe there is "god" not a singular figure, and not more than one.. just god (with divine powers). I believe God works through nature and science to make the things of which we see, God didn't make men out of clay and women out of man's rib. I believe one very evident showing of God is gravity, as well as Natural Occurrences.
I believe Jesus Christ is the son of God, in-fact, I believe we're all sons of God. Jesus was just an excellent prophet who understood more about God than we can only imagine (think Alexander "The Great" and War, we'd never understand strategy like that). I don't believe that Jesus Christ was a perfect person, I don't believe that Sins decide rather we gain entrance into Heaven. I believe that Hell is just a fairy tale, that it's nothing at all except some valley back in biblical times. I believe Heaven is what our brains "live" moments before death, those 20 or so seconds could last for an eternity... you can't define time.
I believe that the position of the Pope is blasphemy, no one should be praised right next to God. The Pope isn't a prophet, the Pope isn't an apostle, instead The Pope is the worst of them all... one who uses their religion to claim political power and economic wealth.
 
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I hope this doesn't sound TOO corny....

thanks to all of you for all of the new perspectives!
 
I am an atheist. I think that good and bad come from within us, and not from anything outside. We can be influenced by others, of course, but the basic good / bad is there inside.


I think that "bad" can be defined, in a very simplistic sense, as anything that, by act or ommission, does harm to another. (and that in itself raises lots of complex issues, such as how do you define harm - e.g the issue of euthanasia).

I think that we should try to do with our lives something that will have a positive affect on others - that is partly why I am a nurse, and also partly why I choose to work in the field that I do. I think that we should try to do this because I feel it is the right thing to do, and not because it will get me a reward in the next life. I do not believe there is a next life.

I think that we do not need to invent any kind of deity or supreme being in order to be good people.
 
The word 'Believe' is not in my vocabulary. Things either exist, do not exist or are indeterminate. The existence of God is indeterminate, whatever God might be.
 
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