I'm really glad this hasn't turned into the type of "debate" that occurs on most internet forums, actual faith discussions only work well in an environment of mutual respect which is rarely found on the internet.

However it's very interesting to see such a diverse cross section of faiths and ideologies on this forum.

Rath said: Ahh so you acknowledge the possibility that there could be a god, even though it is incredibaly unlikely. That was all that I was asking.

 Once again, I'd like to state again that I have the utmost respect for other people's religious beliefs, and that my following statements will be fairly generalized and for the purpose of an easy explanation only.

 

Right, but that can be said about most things that I can state with certainty don't exist. I know Santa Clause doesn't exist. But if he came down my chimney with a copy of Mario Galaxy... Well then I'd have to re-evaluate things.  

 I'm obviously never adamant about refusing to believe in something even if some form of evidence or theoretical evidence can be given for it's existence. But the burden of proof is on the believer, not the other way around.

 

Although, if one day I had a "god experience" I'd probably be more inclined to doubt my own mental state.

Roman Catholic (Christian)

Greek Orthodox (Christian)

Well there are a lot of persons that believe that muslim people are all extremists But that is very far from the truth. I believe it has more to do with the country's culture than the religion itself. There are a few muslims in my country (Venezuela) and I see them all accepting that girls dress the way they like to dress, I also have muslim friends that party with me (although they don't drink alcohol) and they are very peaceful persons.

In my belief, it's the culture from some middle east and african countries that makes a few groups of muslim (because I'm sure the great majority of muslims there are also peaceful) be extremists wanting to destroy the western world and hitting their wives (casue they can have more than one). I remember reading a story about a man who almost killed his wife in Iran just because he cought her alone watching a TV show where a man appeared, and I don't think a religion could teach you that killing your wife is a good thing...

Everybody here (including those that believe in God/a god) needs to read a book called I Don't Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist by Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek.

Atheist. No one believes in Thor or Baal; I just go one god further.

Kim Possiblenainean

-RolStoppaMod

A strong Athiest according to Stof.

And like Stof, if I had a 'God experience' I would question my sanity rather than believe in a God.

Does orginized religion need to exist? Why cant we believe in what we want? If you want to believe in God thats fine, but I think all this labelling people christians, muslims, hindus, athiests etc is just creating hate between people that have never met.

Look at the Catholic - Protestant war in Ireland (ended now). Thousands of lives could have been saved if people werent labelled Catholic or Protestant.

I agree with the christain religion on some things, I disagree on most. People can believe in the Bible without calling themselves a christian, the same applies to other religous texts such as the Koran. I believe this way of thinking would of saved millions of lives in the past and could save millions of lives in the future.

thetonestarr said: Everybody here (including those that believe in God/a god) needs to read a book called I Don't Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist by Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek.

What if i do have? Is this book some pseudo-scientific book from a couple of christian fundamentalists? @Lightbleeder: Good post, but the people who see muslims as extremists are mostly the one-eyed christian fundamentalists or people who have bought the propaganda. It's only a small group of terrorists, that are the so called extremists, which also use their religion instigating hatred between religions to drive their agenda. Which, by the way is the exact same thing, that white house does to drive their political agenda. I think the beating up women etc, is generally accepted in the countries, that are lead by fundamentalists, and the laws come straight from their holy book. After all, beating up women is also a christian value. Historically, only a few cultures have given women similar rights as men has. It's propably industrializing, that have brought women some rights, when they went to work. Thing you should notice, is that women gained their right to vote at the early 20th century, which first happened in Finland, followed by Australia few years later. Anyway, by looking at facts, without a view, twisted by religious propaganda, christian values = islamic values.