i am totally against religion. i believe that religon makes god sound like a slave driver. im not saying no one should have one. im just saying IM against it. i dont believe in the bible, church or any of that stuff. like ive been saying, i believe god created the first matter and watched evolution from there. i believe he gets annoyed by everyone saying that god thinks all this stuff is sins and everyones going to hell and you have to pray to him and go to church and 'worship'. i dunno, to me i think it makes god sound bad. i believe you shouldnt kill or steal unless neccisary. i think he just wants you to love and have faith in him. not pray constantly and all this other stuff. to me there is no such thing as adem and eve or noahs ark or anything. just god. im sick of hereing ppl like 'livin for christ' or 'worship' and 'turn to god' he doesnt want your troubles. you deal with it. he might help if your really in deep sh*t. and your not going to hell for abortions, cuz your not killing anything but cells. your not going to hell for being gay or anything. god wants you to be u. not wasting time reading bible when you could be reading harry potter or school books. or going to church when you could be playing sports or watching a good movie. i do believe in god. but thats it. i am truly sorry if ive offended anyone. if your fine with your religon good for you i just wanted to get my point out to the world. this is just my opinion i didnt mean for this to insult anyone so sorry if it did.

Yeah thats completly true. I dont think Buffy or anyone has the right to say what God does or does not want us to do. That is pretty wrong to make wild accusations like that. How do you know that God doesnt want out troubles? Isnt God suppost to be their helping us along the way? No one said that you(Buffy)couldnt deal with your problems yourself, although some people turn to God to help them. These are both just peoples personal preferences. No one has real proof of anything, it comes down to faith. It is alot easier to say there is nothing out there, then believing in something you cannot see. It just comes down to what you believe, It doesnt matter if it doesnt suit the person beside you. Just my opinion!
Cheers Steve!

It is so sad to me that so many people on here are so lost and so in the dark. Everyone on here keeps saying "But if it makes you happy then that's all that matters" that couldn't be further from the truth! God is such a loving God and it's such a shame that He is belittled by bad experiences. It's so true that preists ad pastors can be overbearing and most of the time they speak what they think the Gospel means instead of what it's truely saying. It's up to us to study further into it. But for those who aren't religious (which is such a horrible term. Religion isn't what matters. People say oh I'm a religious person but that means nothing if the love and passion and longing for God and His Word isn't there.) than none of what I've sad is important to you. I just wish that all of you could understand it how I do and that you'd come to know Christ too.

What was said above was so appalling to me (by Buffy). You said that God doesn't care if we worship Him or read the Bible but instead gets mad about it.. that is so completely ignorant. And that He'd be more pleased with us if we didn't read the Bible but read our school books.. you have nothing to back any of what your saying on except for your own opinions (and that is how it is with most of hese reponses on here) I doubt if any of you have read the Bible (more extensively than a page or two) so what right do you have to say what God wants for us? It's so frustrating to me that no one has a true foundation of thier own to believe in but rather their own misguided opinions.

Im a Christian although I dont really go to church. I dont necessarily believe we have to go to church to be good christians. A good christian can just be living our lives as Jesus did. Church doesnt appeal to many teenagers anymore. Even though Im Christian, I follow Buddhists concepts. The way Buddhists live life is 10 fold better then how christians teach to live life. They devote and work on being good people their whole life, and they are. I try to live by the Noble Eightfold Path and the Follable Truths. Buddhists are better people then Christians in general, although I think Catholic stories of evolution are more realistic. I totally agree with Katies post though, right on:P
Cheers Steve

How do you know if we reject God, we will go to Hell?

Give me more proof than what you read in the Bible

All we need to do is believe and worship God, right?
If that's truth then that means if someone kill someone else and they don't feel one bit sorry about it but they still believe and worship God, then they will still go to Heaven. People say it's not about doing good deeds or being a good person, it's all about beliveing and worshiping God. That's the only way you could go to Heaven. So someone could kill many people during their time on Earth and not want to be forgiven and they STILL go to heaven. Right? Because all you need to do is believe!!!!!

Many people like Christains or Catholics say all you need to do is believe in God and you will go to Heaven but then they say if you kill then that's wrong and you will go to Hell. What if someone killed someone but want to be forgiven .......... then what, they are still wrong and are going to Hell?

What about War, we could take the life of another person and still go to Heaven?

What about if your in danger, do you still have the right to kill and sill go to Heaven because all you need to do is worship and believe?

I have one more question but I haven't found the right wording for it so I think I'm going to stop here

Bye N Have a nice day

I'm a Christian and I'm curious as to what I do not knw about Christ... I know that God is my Savior that he gave the entire world grace and all we have to do is accept it. We have a choice on our eternity... we aren't automatically condemned to hell... becuz Jesus died on the cross, we can choose to say, "Jesus I am sorry!" and turn from our old ways and worship him in heaven forever or we can do what we want and reject GOd and go to hell.
People have made religion to be a thing where God is some big God who doesn't care for us at all... believe me I have heard the preachers try to bash you over the head with the Bible telling you to believe or go to hell. Trust me I have heard all of that but you know what? THEY ARE WRONG!
God is a god of love A God of second , third fourth even 1 million chances. He is always there, always protecting always merciful no matter what others may say. THAT IS WHAT I KNOW ABOUT CHRIST
God BLess!
Katie

i belive in the jewish religoen. i'm a conserveitive jew. that means i'm orthodox yet i'm not... i've read about crist in the new testment. did u know he was jewish. did u know he DIDN'T WANT another religoen? there both true. i belive that u can belive what u want 2 belive, and i respect that. i also belive that the christians might not b right about christ. alot of people don't know what i know about christ.

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and your not going to hell for abortions, cuz your not killing anything but cells

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Actually, buffy.. abortion isn't just disposing of a "ball of cells." YOU are a ball of cells with organs and many different constituants that enable you to live. There are partial-birth abortions where a baby is fully grown and about to be delivered, and the doctor inserts a metal, pin-like structure through the baby's neck as he/she is being born. They can feel pain,as well. They're human beings. THAT's murder, and is not right. But yeah, nobody goes to hell if it doesn't exist. That's what I believe, anyway. Take care.

is it because you had a bad experience with a specific religion? i notice everyone in here talking about christianity and stuff...but it's kind of sad that you give up religion all together for one religion that treated you wrong. if you have beliefs at all you can be religious, maybe just not a christian. have you ever thought about any other kinds of religions, or are you just against christianity? what exectly do you believe? you can even be spiritual without being religious...i think that people have the wrong idea about what religion is because of bad experiences with an organized religion like christianity (not that i'm saying christianity is a bad religion). it's just that we all have this idea that religions tell you what to believe and that you have no right to believe things for yourself or decide what kind of life you want to live. i think that this is due to a lot of disgruntled "ex-christians" who didn't like the way they were tought things, but there are so many things out there to learn, when you discover more about religion and your spirituality, you start to realize that you don't have to listen to anything a pastor or preist says just because it's the "word of god" and that you can believe what you want to believe without going to "hell" or living a bad life. i'm not sure why i am saying all this, but i think it is because it hits a personal note with me because i grew up in a strict disfunctional pentecostal christian family. i know for a while i thought that religion was stupid and that they were just trying to conform you to their beliefs (though, really, i admit all of the christians i dealt with were exactly like that), but i have learned a lot since then and found my own religious niche in life, which just happens not to be as horrible as i thought religion was. if religion doesn't work for you, that's fine, live your life the way tyou want to live it because that's what will make you happy, but don't be against "god and religion in general just because you had a bad experience with ONE religion. but that's just my opinion. -e.k.

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Maybe if you keep on repeating that, just because you DON'T believe, It might actually come true...

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I think it is true, you're just to blind to see it. But as long as you're happy, that's all that should matter, I suppose.

I beleive in G-d. That's the truth,a nd I'll stand firm by that affirmation. However, it's also true to say that I'm afraid that if I don't believe in G-d, some kind of holy lightning bolt is going tos mite me or something. However, I agree with the anti-religion factor. I've seen firsthand how twisted religion can make aperson, and how it turns normal, everyday people into closed-minded bigots. Like take, for isntance, my rabbi. He actually told my Hebrew school class that Christianity is a cheap rip-off of Judaism. Now, I'm half and half, so obviously, I was justa bit offended. And then, ata nother class, he told my class(about half of which is intermarried) how he didn't really approve of intermarriage. Let's put it this way: I didn't stay quiet for long. How many wars have been started by religion? How many innocent people died in the Holocaust because of religion? how many hate crimes occur each year because of religion? The numbers are appalling, and I, for one, am scared about what our world is coming to.

sing... when i said that people lose because they sin a lot, i wasn't insinuating that they die because they are sinners, though that is also the case. i was saying that when the ground starts to tremble and the floods start to come, i want to be on solid ground. i'll be able to get through it easily because i've got a solid foundation in christ. people who ignore god usually find it more difficult to get through things and as a result, usually gripe about how god isn't doing anything for them. too bad they don't just open their eyes and realize what he did do for them. when i say that it is also the case that we die because we are sinners, it can be traced back to adam and eve. had they not sinned, we wouldn't have mortality to deal with. and because people sin today, they die after only living a short while. the bible says that sin is only fun for a season, then ends in death. drinking for instance, or smoking. defiling the temple of god results in cancer and serosis of the liver... etc...

gemini... i really wish i could "force" my religion on you for just one minute to make you see what i see and realize what i've realized. of course i can't, but i know you wouldn't say that if you could've seen my church tonite.
god bless,
snoop

Maybe if you keep on repeating that, just because you DON'T believe, It might actually come true...

Maybe people live and die because there is no God...

Snoopy you said that maybe the reason people loose is because they sin alot. God will not let someone die because they have sinned alot. People who are strong christians and don't sin "alot" die every day from car accidents and cancer.

maybe the reason so many people lose is because they sin a lot. maybe the reason there are stillbirths or dying children is because of things people in this world do. accidents happen, i'll admit, but it's still not an accident to god. take for instance columbine. that girl died... she was only what... 15, 16? had it not been for that story of faith and devotion and courage, many people, including myself, would not have decided to become a christian. you see, though this tragic event ended one life, it saved thousands. that a good enough example for you?
god bless,
snoop

It's so touching to see people caring about each other despite their differences… I forgot people could do something other than argue and debate on this site!

I really hope your sister is ok, gemini. I've been in a similar situation so I can empathise to an extent… I truly hope she's ok, and I think you'd be surprised how many people do want to know… Not to pry into your private life! I'd pray for her too if I wasn't an atheist… So I'll just say good luck, and hope for the best.

Snoopy: How do you explain people who didn't make it? Was their faith not strong enough? How do you explain stillbirths? Babies cannot sin, or believe anything. Why do children die? How is that part of God's plan? For every 'miracle' there are those who have lost everything and your God doesn't answer their prayers.

Atheists exist because there are too many loopholes. 'God works in mysterious ways' will only stretch so far when people have lost, and cannot find a reason why. I don't understand how anyone can believe in God unquestioningly, when so few prayers are answered.

Bex

Thank you, snoopy and jstar. Even though I'm obviously Atheist, I appreciate your prayers. I suppose it's the thought that counts. I don't get offended when anyone prays for me, I just feel it's a waste of that person's time, since nothing happens as a result of it. Anyway, I haven't gone to sleep in roughly 41 hours.. if you saw the times when I sent my posts, you could see that I've been online for quite awhile, heh. But if I hear anything about my sister's condition, I'll be sure to tell you. I may noisemail you both so I'm not spamming the boards with my personal life, which most youthNOISE members don't care about anyway. And snoopy, unless god was a seatbealt, I don't see how he/she/it could have saved your life. But I'm glad that you're safe and I apreciate your concern, along with jstar. Take care.

very sorry to hear your sister was in an accident... is she going to be ok? i know what it's like. i was recently in a couple of accidents myself. one was very minor, but the other would've killed me had i not had god with me. this is one of my many testimonies to the reality of god. i slid around a sharp "s" curve on my road after swerving to miss a deer. my mini-van barrelled off a small cliff-like drop off, and rolled several times before coming to a stop. when it stopped, upright on its wheels, the windshield was completely powdered, but not broken out completely, tools from my tool box were stuck half way in/out of the windshield directly in front of my face, and a 70 lb tow chain was wrapped around the steering column... keep in mind that 70 lb tow chains are close to seven feet long, not that it's common knowledge, but hey, i'm a northern mainer. anyways, it wrapped all the way around the steering column enough times to have only a few inches of slack and it never hit me once. my hands were on the steering wheel the whole time. chardes of class from the windshield and other windows were planted into the steering wheel, yet none even touched my ungloved hands. i didn't even get a scratch. i don't understand how others who go through similar experiences can just count that a lucky event in their life and not the work of god. it's all a matter of how much we are willing to receive. it's as simple as that. anyways, i really do hope your sister is ok, and like star said, 'too late...' i'm sorry if that has annoyed or offended you. at least know that i care as well, and i'm sure many others are concerned for you if that means anything. i hope you fell better as well. again, i apologize for possibly having offended you.
god bless,
snoop

By the way, that wasn't meant to be antagonizing or patronizing...just truthful. I guess none of this is really my business...but will you please let me know what happens?