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My Religion MAG
I have a magnet on my mirror stating, “Life is not about finding yourself – life is about creating yourself.” This is the statement I live by.
Many people do not believe me when I say I am an atheist. They don’t understand that I simply do not believe in any sort of god or afterlife. I also do not believe in the devil, in angels, or in souls. I believe in myself and the strength I have gained through the help of my parents, teachers, and friends – and my own hard work.
I am not going to try to dissuade anyone from his or her own opinions either. I know that people enjoy having religion in their lives; some need their faith to help them through hard times. And some do not want the responsibility of their misfortunes weighing down on their shoulders.
I do. I abhor the idea of fate – that everything is already planned out and you have no control to change anything. If you believe in fate, when bad things happen, it is not your fault; it’s just fate. When my life is not going well, I know that it is no one’s fault but my own. When I do well in school, when I fall in love, it is not fate and we are not soul mates. I worked hard and paid attention and did the homework. My love and I simply love each other – that is all it is, and for me that is all it needs to be.
For some, life is overwhelming. How can anyone be successful and happy in such a difficult, horrible world? They need someone to help them, someone to guide them, and someone to have faith in to make sure things get better. Placing my success and happiness in another’s hands breaks my heart. I need to be successful because of my efforts. I must be responsible for my own happiness. That is what I need from my religion.
Who will ever know what the truth really is? All I know is in the same way that some have full faith and trust in God to give them hope, I need to believe I am on my own to be truly happy – for how can I create myself if I spend my entire life just looking?
© Anonymous
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This article has 764 comments.
BOBBY_KELVIN_JAMES_VI BRONZE said...
on Apr. 13 2010 at 4:15 pm
Well God can sometimes be heard, probably not seen, and can definitely be felt. The problem with many people is that their minds is biased to other ideas whether from personal experiences, family values, or being contempt. I'm not accusing you of any of these, and forgive me if it does sound like it, but what I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't say "it doesn't make sense" if you haven't studied the religion. I'm Christian, but I would say some other religions do make sense when you look into the reasons that people believe in it. One example would be atheism. Many people think, "why is this person atheist??!" but it does make sense if you look from that person's perspective. In all, religion is almost like a root, revealing a wide area of opinion and a person's experience with life. I didn't think Christianity made sense until I went through the bible and specifically looked through everything. According to the bible, if God showed himself to you COMPLETELY you would be forced to worship him. People in they bible have seen God and this happened to them;however they were not skeptical about God, they knew God existed. So why did God reveal himself only to them? Because God wants us to worship him willingly. He didn't make us slaves, or else he could have just created robots! He wants us to CHOOSE to worship him, and since those people in the bible already chose to worship God, God's not FORCING them to worship him when he appears to them, because they already do! In addition, true worship would be from the heart and not just words or songs. Thus, to answer your question, God doesn't want to force you to worship him which is why he doesn't show himself completely. He DOES show his word though and through it, you can get to know God, just like a friend. If you want to talk more about it, just send me a message :) but sorry for the long post xP
See, the reason i dont like christianity is because it forces everyone to be a "wretched sinner." What have you done that was so bad? And dont go into that whole "origional sin' thing. We werent there, so its not our fault. "No matter a parent's sins, the child is always innocent." remember that.
I'm Atheist too! I liked your writing, I liked your ideas. They are very different from the way I see the world. I'm glab your not one of the other types of Atheists who bash other religions and such. I've met some, and it seems their Atheists that are based on hate instead of what they think is morally or spirutually correct for them. You actually give good points. This is great! =)
zinder1995 said...
on Apr. 2 2010 at 6:38 pm
Dude that's awesome! I'm a Christian too and my youth pastor is always telling our youth group, "It's not a religion, it's a relationship." and having a relationship with Jesus is awesome! God has done so much in my life including persuading me to step out of my comfort zone and tell others about Him.
chlofish said...
on Mar. 31 2010 at 2:54 pm
....How can you not believe in atheists, but you CAN believe in God? You can't see him. You can't touch him. You can't smell, hear, or taste him. You can, however, see, touch, smell, taste (If you must), and hear an atheist. Your argument makes absolutely no sense!!
paperflowers said...
on Mar. 24 2010 at 7:39 am
well written! though it is nice to be able to ask God for things and get them - that does happen, has happened for me. and my friend would have been smashed by a horse rolling over if she had not heard the voice of the Holy Spirit telling her to get off the horse. but you wrote this well.
I'm a Christian and I'm NOT religious. I have a relationship with an eternal lord and my Saviour from sin, Jesus Christ . I'm not a Christian because I need help during the bad times. I'm a Christian because Jesus died for a wretched sinner like myself and came back to life three days later, proving the awesome power and love of God. I love and respect Him because He didn't have to do that. He did it because He loved the sinful world He created and wanted to live forever with them. Many people believe in God, but only a few believe in the one and only true God, Jesus Christ , Yashua Hamasia, Jehovah.
ElephantGirl523 SILVER said...
on Mar. 22 2010 at 5:34 pm
I don't believe in God, but I'm Jewish . I like my religion because it brings me together with other people, and even though I don't believe in God, there is something comforting in being part of a community. I think that the only problem with religions is when they clash, and people argue over it, like we all are now in these comments. Can't we agree to disagree?
IsobelFree DIAMOND said...
on Mar. 22 2010 at 4:30 pm
I think you did a really good job with this. I'm actually of the opposite opinion of you for most of these things, but one we can agree on: I also think that we control what we do with our lives, yet we can't control everything. I am a Christian , and I love believing in God and the afterlife, but I don't rely on my faith to bail me out of guilt or regret. I am still responsible for my own happiness - I just believe that someone created us, is watching over us, and is waiting for us somewhere above. Thank you for this article - it's refreshing to see someone else's point of view! :)
Snwoyjade said...
on Mar. 22 2010 at 1:10 pm
I agree with your readings! I grew up Wiccan & came from a Wiccan family. Its about what comes from inside us. We may not be able to control our whole envioronment but we CAN control how we react to it. We can control what we think and feel. Its not about who tells me what to do !
Boulangere said...
on Mar. 22 2010 at 10:41 am
Yes! It just makes me sad that Christians have gone so far from what we were meant to be that there are people who shy away :(.
I believe in God when an earthquake hits, lighting strikes, meteorites crash, and when cancer blooms. An atheist's view might be 'sound' and an agnostics view might be safe but a Christians view relies on faith. Its isn't safe or sound by any means this world will understand but its our ability to believe despite what scientists tell us is what makes us strong, makes us safe, makes us sound.
blanking_out GOLD said...
on Mar. 17 2010 at 10:38 pm
I respect your beliefs on the fact that you think religious people are missing out. But seriously I don't agree with you. I think everyone regardless of their religion goes through similar events that shape who they are. Eventually we all end up in the same place, the ground, and regardless of how we get there, our choices are what have led us to lead a full life or not. For example, a Christian can be into drugs and alcohol just the same as an atheist. It does not make either of them "miss out" on the horrors or hangovers, drunkenness, or mistakes made while under the influence. And I think that people in general who set boundaries for themselves and try to live up to a higher purpose rather than those who focus on self satisfaction, or instant gratification, live a generally more energetic and satisfying life.
Dustfingers DIAMOND said...
on Mar. 17 2010 at 6:41 am
That is what I love most about God...his faithfulness is so strong that even when I make mistakes or purposely do something he's still there for me making things happen
I understand if you think there is no god and try to argue that (but i could give u some of the million reasons that I now believe in Him), but trying to substantiate it with "who made God" is just not a legit argument. Could someone really "make" God if He is God?
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Favorite Quote:
Hey, I'm not religious, I just happen to have a personal relationship with God thanks to Jesus.