ihavethemic

Sorry to hear you've been struggling with your beliefs a bit.

I'm agnostic as well, although I suppose I lean a bit more towards the religious side of things. I am a firm believer that anything is possible, so I'll never go so far as to completely deny the existence of an all powerful entity. In fact, I actually hope there is an afterlife of sorts because our lives are so fragile and so very short.

To me, religion has always just been a suggestion or guideline on how a person should live their life. Heaven and hell are what becomes of your life based on your decisions. If you live immorally and make poor decisions, then your life becomes a living hell; if you do what's right and live a good life, then your life becomes better (Like heaven). My understanding of religion is basically the concept of projection...What you project onto others and onto the world projects back onto you. So if you're an asshole, people are going to be assholes to you; if you are loving and caring, then people around you are going to be loving and caring as well.

I've never been uncomfortable in religious settings because I know that I am trying my hardest to live a good life. I try to be the best friend, son, brother, and human being that I can be. So when I'm surrounded by religious friends or at a religious gathering, I don't feel any pressure at all. What can they judge me on? I like to think that I have a good set of morals and follow them pretty well...That I live a good life. I hope that is more important than believing in a god...That should there be an afterlife that I am judged on my actions and how I lived my life, rather than whether or not I believed and worshiped in whatever.

I imagine I would be a bit more uncomfortable in a completely atheist setting however. Sometimes those type of people are a lot harder to talk to than followers of religion. I've never had any problems with my atheist friends though, as most of them aren't all fanatical in their beliefs.

Wow...Once I got started there I apparently couldn't stop I think I'll end this post now Hope you are well!

..I'm a firm agnostic..I believe a higher power may exist, or at least a higher power may have set the existence we can sense today into motion at some time..now whether something is in control now or we control our own destiny completely has never been shown to me..

..my problem with organized religion is twofold..first how can one, single religion be absolutely right, while so many others are not..doesn't make sense..and second, it doesn't work..the hypocrisy I see from practitioners and clergy combined with the vast bloodshed throughout history based on differences of faith continue to prove to me the obedience to a particular faith doesn't correlate with people being good, the stated goal of most organized religions.

..my particular agnosticism tells me to gather the main positive precepts from as mainly religions as you can study, lump them all together in easy to understand terms..then make this list your credo..and not in order to gain entrance to a glorious afterlife or to avoid the opposite (what happens after death is left for another rant), but rather to do what is right..something that honest people can usually define. And my belief is the power to do right comes from within each of us and is the responsibility of each of us..not to be left to an outside, uncontrollable force. And sometimes..shit just happens!