Religions/Beliefs of Browncoats
POSTED BY: EngineAngel
UPDATED: Wednesday, September 10, 2025 01:24
VIEWED: 30205
PAGE 9 of 16
Quote:
Originally posted by fredgiblet:Quote:
Originally posted by DonCoat:
Here's an amusin' tale. A friend of mine was drafted back in the 1960s. He was required to name his religion so that it could be placed on his dog tags for the convenience of the chaplains. Being an atheist, he answered "none". Nope, that wouldn't do. "Atheist," he tried. No ruttin' way. Nor "Agnostic". Seems the Army wasn't going to allow any of *those* in its foxholes.
Finally he tried "Humanist". That was accepted. He has those dog tags to this day.
Actually I've heard of things like this, from what I have heard it really depends not on the Army, but rather the specific person that he was giving his information to. I have heard of people who were forced to put a religion on their dog tags, then later went to someone else to get new tags and got them with "Atheist" or "None".
Yes, I conjure that's right. Depends on the particular induction center's staff.
Still a pretty funny story, though. Especially the way the folks at the right end of the spectrum rant about "secular humanism" these days. But back then people didn't associate the word with atheism. They probably thought it was an offshoot of the Congregationalists or Quakers or something!
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I'm pointin' right at it!
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I, simply don't care. There could be a god, and if there is, I wouldn't care anyways. (one thing I don't belive in is heaven/hell (except the special one 
) regardless of the existence of a god or not)
Frankly, I don't Think it Matters. I mean, where here aren't we? Why do we have to have wars and arguments over how we got here?
“I refuse to prove I exist”, says God, “for proof denies faith and without faith I am nothing”. - The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
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ok, I'm really sorry, but this is really really really long, had to catch up!!!! 
Quote:
written by cozen:
The most significant portion of my respect for those of the Jewish faith is that they do not actively seek to convert others to their system of belief. That speaks to me of respect, and I admire respectful behaviour.
I admire that of my religion as well
Quote:
written by fredgiblet
A little more in depth, I believe that all of our religions are wrong because they are made by people trying to explain natural phenomena.
I understand what you’re saying but actually, Judaism was not created by man; it was created by God. That is, God wrote the Torah and basically created the religion. Of course, that depends on faith as well. Just saying. Of course, the Torah and Judaism in general is all about interpretation, so…technically, some of the different aspects of the religion could be false. But the basis is said to come straight from God. Again, totally based on faith.
Quote:
written by nvghostrider
Thanks for the thread. It helps for those of us who don't really fit in a specific rhealm of religiosity.
There is no real name for religion to our people. It was so intertwined with the lives of the people that it was never named. Hanen't even researched a label for it. Lets see. It is monotheologic, in tune with nature, has good and evil, various rituals, prayer, and meditation.Not really looking for a label. Just like living and dying. It just is.
Welcome, and (for both of your posts explaining your view and faith) that sounds interesting. I agree with Tristan, a very beautiful way of life and belief.
Quote:
written by Tristan:
I am tolerant of all religions, so long as no one tries to tell me I'm going to hell or try to "put me on the path of righteousness"
AMEN. Hehe
Quote:
written by Tristan
I love sitting down over coffee to discuss things like this with people of all types, but something someone says gets misconstrued, and the next thing you know there's a huge arguement about who's right and who's wrong...oy!
Oh I know exactly what you’re talking about. I love the sorts of discussion where you can explore different concepts without getting “I’m right” without any reason. However that happens, and often with people who won’t admit something may be even questionable. (You ain’t them people though. You all seem to enjoy the conversation just for finding out about different people’s perspectives, which is so shiny.)
Quote:
written by casual
The philosophical atheists solve this problem (in a way) by claiming that there is no sound (that is, logically valid with true premises) argument for God's existence; therefore, there is no good reason for believing in God. This is an interesting position, because it does not deny that God exists--merely that there's no good reason to believe that he does.
The dogmatic atheist, on the other hand, believes that there is no such entity as God at all. But because, as you pointed out, "God exists" is non-falsifiable, they must hold this belief on faith without empirical evidence. So in a way, it would appear that to be dogmatically atheist requires faith after all.
Interesting, no?
Oooo, very interesting. Nice.
Quote:
written by paganpaul
On Samhain (Halloween) we believe that the veil between the worlds is thinnest, and we often perform a rite called the Wild Hunt, in which a doorway is dedicated to those that have gone ahead before us, and they are invited to visit with us for a short time.
I could tell you all stories of things I've seen at this time, but most of you wouldn't believe them anyway.
That sounds cool and interesting. You might be surprised who might believe them. If you feel comfortable sharing the stories, I’d like to hear
Quote:
written by casual
First off, faith. Faith is too much associated with religious--and especially Christian--sentiments. While that is one of the definitions of faith (2a1 and 2a2, http://www.m-w.cNOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
I'll end my part of the discussion siding with Ubergeek. We are here. Lets just get on and love as much as possible. Plenty of other folks out there to fight over everything else.
Really liked this board. Much better than the personal attacks in RWED.
'Night. Love all of you. You all rock!
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"while your treating yours like a temple,
I'm treating mine like an amusement park"
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Quote:
Originally posted by EngineAngel:Quote:
written by fredgiblet
A little more in depth, I believe that all of our religions are wrong because they are made by people trying to explain natural phenomena.
I understand what you’re saying but actually, Judaism was not created by man; it was created by God. That is, God wrote the Torah and basically created the religion. Of course, that depends on faith as well. Just saying. Of course, the Torah and Judaism in general is all about interpretation, so…technically, some of the different aspects of the religion could be false. But the basis is said to come straight from God. Again, totally based on faith.
And I understand your position, but every religion claims more or less the same thing. What it comes down to is that you have to have faith that the first person with the Torah, Quran, Bhagavad Gita, etc. actually got it from God and didn't make it up themselves. I have never seen anything to make me believe that that is true.
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When asked about my religious preference, I reply that, "I'm a devout Atheist." I include devout because I find it generally helps fend off the the follow-up question, "Don't you mean an Agnostic?" to which I always reply, "No I don't. I mean Atheist." This seems to trouble a lot of people, particularly my family and friends. Some people need to believe in a higher power, or they need the structure that the religions of the world provide. I'm just not one of them. Nevertheless, I respect their beliefs, and I only ask that they respect my lack of belief. Coexistence is essential.
"The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation."
-Bertrand Russell
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I got to try Crystal Pepsi. You didn't miss much. It was kind of like Pepsi but without the cola flavor if that makes any sense.
Sort of like finding a familiar flower in an unusual color only to realize it has no scent.
Raised agnostic with heathen leanings. Turned into a rogue solitary pagan.
Exist, see the beauty and joy in life every day, take care of the world you live in, love others and yourself.
I got my ordination from the back of Rolling Stone and specialise in weddings and handfastings for people who are already married or do not want to be legally joined at that time. New York State has this thing about the Progressive Universal Life Church (based out of a PO box in Sacramento CA)..something about all preachers no congregation or the like.
The tough part about being pagan is there is no organized heirarchy for most of us, so you can't prove credentials because there *aren't* any. There's not too many colleges out there offering advanced degrees in Wicca, Shinto, or Shamanism.
We've got an interesting mix at work. Me, a Witch, a recent convert to Islam, an atheist (should that be capitalized?),a Jew, and several Protestant/Catholic types.
Most everyone is fairly non discussive on these matters. We tried to have a good conversation in comparative religion (or the lack thereof), but one of the Catholics decided to try to start a fight instead of absenting herself from the room.
We were joking with the Wiccan at lunch when the boss (also Catholic) came in and overheard part of it. She said that she'd been at the ER with her father and someone in the next bed had been telling the nurse that she was a practicing witch. The nurse tried to get her to put something else down, and the patient refused. Our boss said she couldn't believe it, practicing witch? "I mean, what is the world coming to?" was the next phrase out of her mouth.
I felt like saying something along the lines of "you mean when people can state their religious beliefs without fear?" How would she like it if another person's religion were forced on her when she wasn't feeling well?
You fill in that option in the hospital in case of needing last rites, or needing pastoral care. Or to know not to bother you for Mass on Sunday. If someone were to send a Christian spiritual leader in to tend to me I'd be irritated.
I'd probably be OK if a Bhuddist or the like came in, because I'm not as familiar with those rites and they resonate a little closer with my own views.
I can coexist with others as long as they are willing to allow me to do the same.
Treat others well and try not to hurt anyone is what most religion boils down to.
There are a few notable exceptions, I'm sure. I don't want to be part of them.
Every breath is reverence, every laugh worship.
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I'll take the Flying Spaghetti Monster, thankee.
Edit: anyone know how to make a link? I tried [url= www.venganza.org]text[/url], then without the [/url], then with quotations around the address, with and without the [/url]. the bbcode here confuses me...
although it isn't really a real religion, it is a good organization with a platform, good intentions, and... a creed I supposed you could say. we have quite a list of 'suggestions, not commandments' or 'I really rather you didn'ts'. one of which is "Try not to buy too much useless crap"
I also go to a Unitarian Universalist church, and am still figuring out what works for me exactly. so far I've been apatheistic, but I'm looking into Auto-Theism (you are your own god)
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"Do what you want to, but know what you should do"
Blarg!
I think Blarg means yes.... does blarg mean yes?
Blarg.
yes! I'm so good! unless blarg means no. I don't think it does... am i right?
Blarg.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Fizzix:Quote:
Originally posted by Whitefall:
I'm athiest. I respect and kinda envy how people get that comfort out of religion, but i just cant wrap my brain around it.
Bwah, I've always wondered if there was anyone just like me!
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May not be smart, and it may not please you, but you're definitely gonna see what I have to say.
That's so cool! But actually, i'm gonna expand a little more, you may want to withdraw your support.
I believe that there is some really awesome thing looking out for humanity, and maybe it's God. Think about it, earth hasnt been hit with a major meteor in a very long time, for the most part the sun keeps doing its thing, and X form of X radiation from X celestial body isnt raining down on us and throwing the delicate balance that is the human body out of whack, thus killing everyone. And not to mention, we ever evolved in the first place. All that's pretty damn amazing. And lest we forget the aesthetic bits: the way the breeze feels, the way other people make us happy, the way we exist, and are capable of thinking of ourselves as sentient beings. It's mindboggling, to use the exact term. That, I think, is why we have religion.
Humans, by nature of being so incredibly lucky as to exist, turn to religion to explain it. And that's great, especially when religion tells them to go out and be nice to people. But for me, the details of any one doctrine just seem arbitrary.
So there I stand. And to come full circle, I'm an atheist, I respect, kinda envy, and really understand why people believe what they do, but I still can't believe it with them. Cause it seems to me that an awe-inspiringly low probility that all this crazy life stuff i mentioned above would happen, is more likely than an omnipresent, unprovable being. But it's a pretty close thing, in case ya hadnt noticed, life as we know it is pretty danged unlikely.
"But, these strong women characters?"
"Why aren't you asking 100 other guys why they don't write strong women characters?" -Joss Whedon
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