Religions?

[Draginon]

I put other because I don't identify as any religion, but my being non-religious also stems from pushy Christian's in Texas who act all "you have to be a Christian or you're a spawn of the devil". I'm fine with others being religious but if they try preaching to me to try converting me then I have a problem. But when I was in high school a classmate assumed  I was atheist just because I said I wasn't a Christian.

[Ammanas]

4 minutes ago, Draginon said:

I put other because I don't identify as any religion, but my being non-religious also stems from pushy Christian's in Texas who act all "you have to be a Christian or you're a spawn of the devil". I'm fine with others being religious but if they try preaching to me to try converting me then I have a problem. But when I was in high school a classmate assumed  I was atheist just because I said I wasn't a Christian.

I'm curious did you come from a small town? I had a different experience living in Dallas. I love the south...currently living in a state (Colorado) that is gorgeous even if I do not mesh well with the general attitude and values of its citizens.

[Draginon]

1 minute ago, Ammanas said:

I'm curious did you come from a small town? I had a different experience living in Dallas. I love the south...currently living in a state (Colorado) that is gorgeous even if I do not mesh well with the general attitude and values of its citizens.

I was originally from Irvine, in the Orange County area of California, and my parents moved to Waxahachie, about 30 miles south of Dallas. Until we moved here I didn't even know what religion was so that shows how much faith ran my life growing up. When people kept talking about Jesus and God and all that I had no clue what they were talking about. Heck some acted surprised that I never did church growing up (I thought they were just places for weddings at that age). In high school my classmates kept harassing me with questions on what I believed in and whether I believed in heaven or not. The answer to that last question is yes I do believe there is a place where people go when they die, but that it's shaped more on the life the person lived so if they were horrid, nasty people they get hell but if they were decent then they'd get heaven.

There were actually times I was sick of seeing anything Christian related because of the way the people here acted. Also the people I work for claim that they're good Christians but they show the same nasty attitude I've seen that even my mom, who is piscapalion or however it's spelled, says they don't act like good Christians. So that shows the kind of attitude I've had to deal with here.

[Ammanas]

@Draginon Sorry you had a bad experience there. I can that it was not a good fit. Hopefully you are in place where you fit in better now! Everyone should be around people that make them feel happy. Just avoid the south and Utah...I personally would be very happy living in both, but can see how it would drive other people insane!

[Draginon]

3 minutes ago, Ammanas said:

@Draginon Sorry you had a bad experience there. I can that it was not a good fit. Hopefully you are in place where you fit in better now! Everyone should be around people that make them feel happy. Just avoid the south and Utah...I personally would be very happy living in both, but can see how it would drive other people insane!

I'm not at a point where I can fit in right now. The place one working at is just getting to the point that this might be my last year working here. I'm thinking maybe to get a job at Barnes & Noble. Better hope you're not including Florida in there because the people there are very friendly.

But I have this girl I like and she lives in Denmark and from our talks I wouldn't mind moving there, mostly because despite loving my country even I get sick of the 'Murica attitude sometimes and would rather live someplace that's more put together.

[Hood]

@Draginon I find the 'MURICA attitude quite funny. There's even a popular sub-reddit regarding it. We have similar themes in our country too. But they are more on religion lines. I find it extremely irritating. Plus, it is very divisive and can be dangerous in multi-religious and multi-cultural populations.

[Draginon]

4 hours ago, Hood said:

@Draginon I find the 'MURICA attitude quite funny. There's even a popular sub-reddit regarding it. We have similar themes in our country too. But they are more on religion lines. I find it extremely irritating. Plus, it is very divisive and can be dangerous in multi-religious and multi-cultural populations.

I just don't understand the whole 'MURICA thing at all since we most definitely are not the greatest country out there. What country are you from? Since you had put earlier that you were Hindu i'm guessing you're from India?

[Hood]

Yes yes I am from India. Punjab (state in North India) to be specific.

Edited July 21, 2017 by Hood

[Draginon]

1 hour ago, Hood said:

Yes yes I am from India. Punjab (state in North India) to be specific.

Neat. It's great how international this fanbase is.

[Darkness Ascendant]

On 22/07/2017 at 1:45 AM, Hood said:

Yes yes I am from India. Punjab (state in North India) to be specific.

Awesome I'm from Karachi and @Mark IV is from India too

[StormyQueen]

On 21/07/2017 at 5:52 AM, Draginon said:

I put other because I don't identify as any religion, but my being non-religious also stems from pushy Christian's in Texas who act all "you have to be a Christian or you're a spawn of the devil". I'm fine with others being religious but if they try preaching to me to try converting me then I have a problem. But when I was in high school a classmate assumed  I was atheist just because I said I wasn't a Christian.

See, I have always found this idea of pushing forwards Christianity (or any religion) just so strange and foreign. Where I grew up, you were more likely to be teased for actually being religious (or really, more specifically Christian). Just shows the different cultures in the different countries I guess. Would you say that preachy Christians are the norm, or just the people that are the loudest in Texas?

[Draginon]

1 hour ago, StormyQueen said:

See, I have always found this idea of pushing forwards Christianity (or any religion) just so strange and foreign. Where I grew up, you were more likely to be teased for actually being religious (or really, more specifically Christian). Just shows the different cultures in the different countries I guess. Would you say that preachy Christians are the norm, or just the people that are the loudest in Texas?

Part of that whole culture drew me closer to the Eastern faiths like Shinto, Buddhism and Hindu.

I would say anywhere in the south (if you're not from the States, I hate calling it America since to me that means the continent, that means Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky and South Carolina and everything south of them minus Florida for some odd reason) you'll get the religious culture, but Texans mostly are very vocal about it. I've been to other southern states and the faith is prominent but not done in the threatening way the people in Texas go about it. Heck the people here talk about how good Christians they are. If the way they act is good, I don't want to go to their heaven.

[StrikerEZ]

3 hours ago, Draginon said:

Part of that whole culture drew me closer to the Eastern faiths like Shinto, Buddhism and Hindu.

I would say anywhere in the south (if you're not from the States, I hate calling it America since to me that means the continent, that means Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky and South Carolina and everything south of them minus Florida for some odd reason) you'll get the religious culture, but Texans mostly are very vocal about it. I've been to other southern states and the faith is prominent but not done in the threatening way the people in Texas go about it. Heck the people here talk about how good Christians they are. If the way they act is good, I don't want to go to their heaven.

This is basically how I feel all the time. It's not too bad because I live near Dallas, and big population centers like that tend to lean more liberal and/or less religious, but it's far enough away where lots of people are overly religious. Plus, my parents are overly religious and biased about it. How my parents have treated me under their religion is part of what pushed me away from it, along with doing some research and thinking on my own.

[Calderis]

4 hours ago, Draginon said:

everything south of them minus Florida for some odd reason

Florida operates like two completely different states culturally. The coastal tourist/retiree areas are more liberal. 

Inland Florida is very much still the south. 

[StormyQueen]

10 hours ago, Draginon said:

Part of that whole culture drew me closer to the Eastern faiths like Shinto, Buddhism and Hindu.

I would say anywhere in the south (if you're not from the States, I hate calling it America since to me that means the continent, that means Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky and South Carolina and everything south of them minus Florida for some odd reason) you'll get the religious culture, but Texans mostly are very vocal about it. I've been to other southern states and the faith is prominent but not done in the threatening way the people in Texas go about it. Heck the people here talk about how good Christians they are. If the way they act is good, I don't want to go to their heaven.

You always hear that stereotype, but I never knew how much to believe it. I guess it was somewhat accurate?

In Australia as a whole, and in the different states, theres generally over a third of people who aren't religious at all and you don't really get too many preachy ones. It almost makes it harder to be religious as friends make fun of religions a fair bit. Opposite to Texas maybe 

[Draginon]

7 hours ago, StrikerEZ said:

This is basically how I feel all the time. It's not too bad because I live near Dallas, and big population centers like that tend to lean more liberal and/or less religious, but it's far enough away where lots of people are overly religious. Plus, my parents are overly religious and biased about it. How my parents have treated me under their religion is part of what pushed me away from it, along with doing some research and thinking on my own.

I know someone from Denmark who's not very religious because she chose not to be religious but that mainly stems from her parents being a little strict on gender roles since they're Kurdish and a little old school. Because of those issues she has with her parents she drew away from a lot of that stuff.

7 hours ago, Calderis said:

Florida operates like two completely different states culturally. The coastal tourist/retiree areas are more liberal. 

Inland Florida is very much still the south. 

I've been to the Orlando area and my mom has cousins in Lake Placid so that's the area I know. Have stopped in Tallahassee and other towns up north to refuel and eat.

7 minutes ago, StormyQueen said:

You always hear that stereotype, but I never knew how much to believe it. I guess it was somewhat accurate?

In Australia as a whole, and in the different states, theres generally over a third of people who aren't religious at all and you don't really get too many preachy ones. It almost makes it harder to be religious as friends make fun of religions a fair bit. Opposite to Texas maybe 

Geographical stereotypes exist for a reason.

Is that because the wildlife takes care of the preachy ones? JK  I know that the majority of the world doesn't make a point of showing your religion on your sleeve except where the laws are governed by the religious texts, like the middle eastern nations I believe, but they don't seem to go around trying to force you to believe what they do, just respect it. Australia just sounds like an awesome place, especially when watching what Geography Now! said about it.

[StormyQueen]

1 hour ago, Draginon said:

Is that because the wildlife takes care of the preachy ones? JK  I know that the majority of the world doesn't make a point of showing your religion on your sleeve except where the laws are governed by the religious texts, like the middle eastern nations I believe, but they don't seem to go around trying to force you to believe what they do, just respect it. Australia just sounds like an awesome place, especially when watching what Geography Now! said about it.

Yeah, the dropbears get to them and eat their brains off while the locals hop off on their pet kangaroos   

[Draginon]

44 minutes ago, StormyQueen said:

Yeah, the dropbears get to them and eat their brains off while the locals hop off on their pet kangaroos   

Not the dropbears!!! Learned about those after watching a video where someone made a speculation on a Australia based Pokémon region and mentioned a region version for Komala based off of this.

I think the snakes in the toilets scare me more.

[ParadoxicalZen]

I have a question for anyone versed in genesis/pre-eden if anyone can answer it

When Lucifer rebelled/was cast out/etc, was this before or after Eve and Adam's creation?

[Draginon]

1 hour ago, ParadoxicalZen said:

I have a question for anyone versed in genesis/pre-eden if anyone can answer it

When Lucifer rebelled/was cast out/etc, was this before or after Eve and Adam's creation?

I think that was pre-genesis, but some have reinterpreted the serpent as being Lucifer but as far as I know that's non-bible theory.

[Jondesu]

1 hour ago, ParadoxicalZen said:

I have a question for anyone versed in genesis/pre-eden if anyone can answer it

When Lucifer rebelled/was cast out/etc, was this before or after Eve and Adam's creation?

 

33 minutes ago, Draginon said:

I think that was pre-genesis, but some have reinterpreted the serpent as being Lucifer but as far as I know that's non-bible theory.

That’s actually fairly clearly said, albeit not in a very specific “The serpent is the Devil, also known as Lucifer” phrase. I think most Christians would agree or even just assume that the serpent in the garden was Satan. 

Lucifer’s fall from heaven is actually much more up for debate, considering it’s only mentioned in allegory or poetic sections, but I think it’s pretty safe to say it would have to have been before or during Creation, and prior to the Fall and Adam and Eve being cast out from the Garden. I like Tolkien’s version, in which Melkor (his version of Lucifer) wanted to outshine and replace Illuvitar’s (God’s) plan for creation, so he tried to make something on his own. That’s very definitely fantasy and fiction, but it’s based on one version of how it could have actually happened, and one I think is at least metaphorically accurate. I suspect Lucifer’s fall happened during the time of Creation.

[Draginon]

1 hour ago, Jondesu said:

 

That’s actually fairly clearly said, albeit not in a very specific “The serpent is the Devil, also known as Lucifer” phrase. I think most Christians would agree or even just assume that the serpent in the garden was Satan. 

I had heard before that the serpent and the devil being the same was a more recent invention to have things make more sense, similar to how Adam's first wife was a more modern invention to explain where the demons and monsters came from since she is supposedly only mentioned once and only in passing mention, so the source I heard it from must've been misinformed since I haven't read genesis myself. Also I've also heard that Satan and Lucifer aren't the same person, similar to how Laura Ingalls used three different girls she knew to make the all in one character of Nellie Olson in her Little House books, so that whole thing could just be speculation.

[Calderis]

41 minutes ago, Draginon said:

Also I've also heard that Satan and Lucifer aren't the same person, similar to how Laura Ingalls used three different girls she knew to make the all in one character of Nellie Olson in her Little House books, so that whole thing could just be speculation.

Lucifer is the name, devil, Satan, the enemy, are all pretty synonymous for him. 

The one I always found interesting is the title "The Morning Star." it was Lucifer's title as the leader of the choirs of heaven, but in later works, through coincidence or misunderstanding, some later used the title for Jesus. 

@ParadoxicalZen from everything I always understood, the expulsion was pre-creation. 

[Jondesu]

1 hour ago, Draginon said:

I had heard before that the serpent and the devil being the same was a more recent invention to have things make more sense, similar to how Adam's first wife was a more modern invention to explain where the demons and monsters came from since she is supposedly only mentioned once and only in passing mention, so the source I heard it from must've been misinformed since I haven't read genesis myself. Also I've also heard that Satan and Lucifer aren't the same person, similar to how Laura Ingalls used three different girls she knew to make the all in one character of Nellie Olson in her Little House books, so that whole thing could just be speculation.

The whole idea of Adam's first wife is something I can't even fathom where it comes from, though I haven't looked into it.  The serpent and the devil being the same is something I know has been around since the early days of Christianity.  There's old carvings and paintings depicting Jesus stepping on a serpent's head (fulfilling the prophecy from Genesis of "and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall crush thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."  Satan is referred to as the "ancient serpent" or just "serpent" a number of times in the New Testament, which appears to be a reference to that, though admittedly that could just be because serpents are seen as dangerous and crafty.

[Calderis]

10 minutes ago, Jondesu said:

The whole idea of Adam's first wife is something I can't even fathom where it comes from, though I haven't looked into it.  

The idea of Lillith as Adam's first wife is a product of the Jewish Kabbalah.