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My Religion MAG

By Anonymous

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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JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 764 comments.

Faith-Morgan BRONZE said...
on Jan. 19 2010 at 9:03 am
Faith-Morgan BRONZE, Cochranville, Pennsylvania
4 articles 0 photos 10 comments
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No when things go wrong in your life it is God trying to show you, that you need him everyone does!
fozzy said...
on Jan. 15 2010 at 9:23 am
i just can't wrap my mind around there being no God thats one reason im a christain
acousticalex BRONZE said...
on Jan. 8 2010 at 9:23 pm
acousticalex BRONZE, Garland, Texas
4 articles 0 photos 41 comments

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&quot;To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist. That is all.&quot; Oscar Wilde

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I thought this was going to be a preachy piece about Christianity but I was pleasantly surprised. A very concise, truthful, realistic depiction of a lack of belief in anything but what's here. I like that you are obviously a logical and healthy individual who is simply too much of the previous to buy into the obvious fallacies of religion.
Renegadegirl2012 SILVER said...
on Jan. 8 2010 at 2:53 pm
Renegadegirl2012 SILVER, Columbus, Montana
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&quot;Maybe its true, maybe we don&#039;t know what we have until we have lost it. But maybe its also true that we don&#039;t know what we need until we have found it.&quot; -Unknown

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=D its good to know there are other Christians out there who feel passionately about this too
homewardbound said...
on Jan. 7 2010 at 1:23 pm
homewardbound, Billerica, Massachusetts
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awesome, same here :)
homewardbound said...
on Jan. 7 2010 at 1:22 pm
homewardbound, Billerica, Massachusetts
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I meant to reply to Renegadegirl2012 on her first comment. I don't agree with this author but I can see why she would draw these conclusions
homewardbound said...
on Jan. 7 2010 at 1:20 pm
homewardbound, Billerica, Massachusetts
0 articles 8 photos 78 comments
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cool, same here :)
Renegadegirl2012 SILVER said...
on Jan. 6 2010 at 2:46 pm
Renegadegirl2012 SILVER, Columbus, Montana
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cotig_writes-That is a beautiful story. Im glad you got better. He is amazing. I totally agree beautifulworld. Was the author not talking about how it isn't okay to ridicule other people for their beliefs? And yet there is Besani insulting us Christians.
Renegadegirl2012 SILVER said...
on Jan. 6 2010 at 2:43 pm
Renegadegirl2012 SILVER, Columbus, Montana
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Seriously Besani? Is that necessary? Im a Christian, and that hurts. You are saying that we need to leave the author alone, why don't you leave us alone?
Renegadegirl2012 SILVER said...
on Jan. 6 2010 at 2:32 pm
Renegadegirl2012 SILVER, Columbus, Montana
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You rock C.C. Some of these comments scare me. I had no idea that people felt so strongly against our Lord. I pray that one day they will know His love.
Renegadegirl2012 SILVER said...
on Jan. 6 2010 at 2:25 pm
Renegadegirl2012 SILVER, Columbus, Montana
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Favorite Quote:
&quot;Maybe its true, maybe we don&#039;t know what we have until we have lost it. But maybe its also true that we don&#039;t know what we need until we have found it.&quot; -Unknown

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MadAsAHatter-I totally agree wtih you. Im a Christian too. Jesus is the best thing in my life. I am a JesusFreak!
J. Rae said...
on Jan. 5 2010 at 4:42 pm
I am a christian,but I believe that all religions have a piece of truth, including atheists. I think that there is a greater force that made us. Scientists say that earth was made by the big bang. If the big bang made earth then who or what made the big bang? I think that a higher being did so i believe that there is a God. You were right though when you said people trust in God to help their overwhelmed life because it is easier to believe than to not believe.
Shambler92 PLATINUM said...
on Jan. 5 2010 at 3:34 pm
Shambler92 PLATINUM, Buenos Aires, Other
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“Atheistic existentialism, of which I am a representative, declares with greater consistency that if God does not exist there is at least one being whose existence comes before its essence, a being which exists before it can be defined by any conception of it. That being is man or, as Heidegger has it, the human reality. What do we mean by saying that existence precedes essence? We mean that man first of all exists, encounters himself, surges up in the world – and defines himself afterwards. If man as the existentialist sees him is not definable, it is because to begin with he is nothing. He will not be anything until later, and then he will be what he makes of himself. Thus, there is no human nature, because there is no God to have a conception of it. Man simply is. Not that he is simply what he conceives himself to be, but he is what he wills, and as he conceives himself after already existing – as he wills to be after that leap towards existence. Man is nothing else but that which he makes of himself. That is the first principle of existentialism." Jean-Paul Sartre, Existentialism is a Humanism
~♪Gecko♫~ BRONZE said...
on Jan. 4 2010 at 10:10 pm
~♪Gecko♫~ BRONZE, Lloydminster, Other
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Oh my goodness! I absolutely agree with you! Fate is - no offense to anyone intended - something people make up in order to blame their life's problems on, rather than face the fact that their problems are no ones fault but their own. Your life is in your own hands to do with it what you choose.

This is an amazing piece! Well done! =)

♫

~♪Gecko♫~
Hollywog. PLATINUM said...
on Jan. 2 2010 at 4:13 pm
Hollywog. PLATINUM, Mole Creek, Other
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Ahhh! Agree with this amazing piece of writing solely and wholly. I actually wrote a piece like this, with the same sort of idea, about five minutes ago! It's called How Far Is Too Far?

Anyway, WELL DONE! It's an amazing piece of work and I agree with you 100% - I'm tired of being judged and called 'ignorant' just because I don't believe in God!!

Congrats!

Love and Sunshine,

Holly

xoxo
lost♥in♥love SILVER said...
on Dec. 30 2009 at 12:34 pm
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MadAsAHatter- not trying to affend you or anything, but you do not know, NO ONE knows for sure, nd i dont agree with your "opinion" but good job standing up for what u believe
SerenityMine BRONZE said...
on Dec. 29 2009 at 1:36 pm
SerenityMine BRONZE, Not Saying, California
2 articles 0 photos 156 comments
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Yes, I definitely have seen other Christians force Christianity down others' throats. It makes me sad. :( But that doesn't mean all Christians are that way, it just makes the rest of us- and God- look bad. I wrote an article on this. It's in the Opinion section entitled "Does Christianity=Hypocrisy?"
Zachy_TB said...
on Dec. 29 2009 at 8:17 am
But, could you say that there are people who will shove it down your throat? I'm just curious if you've ever seen it, because I have.
SerenityMine BRONZE said...
on Dec. 29 2009 at 2:45 am
SerenityMine BRONZE, Not Saying, California
2 articles 0 photos 156 comments
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But there is one problem- if we're wrong, none of us have anything to worry about. But what if you're wrong? That's why we are concerned, because we care. Not because we are trying to be hypocritical or force our opinion on someone else. Thanks for saying your opinion and not being mad. :)
Zachy_TB said...
on Dec. 28 2009 at 5:08 pm
Well, that's just it. Most atheists will tell you they don't understand why there are people who do believe in a religion. However, I am agnostic, meaning I am unsure about the exsistence of a god. it simply all has to do with the person, and the fact that you don't see this is not a problem. You were raised one way, I another.