does faith make you a better person?

[LBJefferies]

Faith is not praying to Jesus and thanking him for everything. Faith is not going to church on Sunday. Having faith doesn't even mean being a moral person all the time.

I believe that to have faith is to understand that there is a fundamental order underlying everything in the universe. At some point in the distant past this order was set into motion by what can only be described as God. No amount of religion or science will unlock all the secrets of this order and explain it in terms that can be understood by our feeble minds. No matter what you do, whether you bring world peace, or murder 6 million Jews, this was all determined by forces that are much greater than yourself. Once you realize this and also that there is no possible way to avoid any of it, you can have faith and give yourself up to God so to speak.

I would also like to point out that I considered myself an atheist in the past but have since renewed my faith in God. I also believe in Jesus. He is an archetype upon which all humans should model themselves. Once you get down to the basics, the message of Christianity is to treat others as you would like to be treated and to love everybody. If everybody would follow this simple message and be more like Jesus then the human race would stop destroying itself.

As for heaven, I think that it is just the mark you make upon the universe and humanity. If you did positive things in your life, the mark you make upon the universe and humanity will be good and you will be remembered well. If you did bad things, the mark you make will be a negative one and you will be remembered negatively. Up until your dying breath you will have the power to do good but once you die, your ultimate fate is sealed.

[Vince30]

I believe that when I die i will go to a long well deserved sleep. And no one better fuck with my sleep or I will kick their ass!

[jconnorstefka]

Religion is for people that can't think for themselves. You can only make yourself a better person.

Religion is for people that once thought "Only I can make myself a better person" and continuing time and time again to fail to these standards, realizing they need something more.

if going to church makes you a christian, does standing in a garage make you a car?

Funniest argument I have heard in a long time. Not sure if the analogy makes a great deal of sense. However, simply going to church does not make you a Christian.




Back to ben312's original question and issue...

First, it sounds like the girlfriend went about this confrontation the wrong way. Sometimes people that are strong in their faith make people with differing beliefs more upset and distant.

Does faith and happiness correlate?

I would have to say there are people who are strong in their faith that are experiencing unhappy times. In the same breathe, there are people who are strong in faith that are very happy. For the most part, people of faith realize that they are naturally flawed and it is impossible to be perfect. They feel strongly there is a reason to remain optimistic and positive about what they have put their faith in, which radiates "happiness" from the outsider's perspective.

[deutschman]

Religion is for people that can't think for themselves. You can only make yourself a better person.

well first off i do not follow any religion. i guess i follow, or try to follow a lot of buddhist teachings... i do not believe in a god.
certain forms of christianity inherently attract people who can not think for them selves because i think some forms of christianity promise short cuts to happiness. there are other religions that do the same thing.
i have read the old testemate, new testemate, and a few other christian religious texts and i see them as gide lines and lessons on how to live a better happier life by improvement of self. i think way to many people understand the bible and things of that natue way to literally and should think of them more like the story of the tortes and the hair.
i would say that religion or religious teachings have helped me threw hard times and made me a better person.

[whiltebeitel]

I have read the old testament, new testament, and a few other christian religious texts and I see them as guidelines and lessons on how to live a better happier life by improvement of self. I think way to many people understand the bible and things of that nature way too literally and should think of them more like the story of the tortoise and the hare.
I would say that religion or religious teachings have helped me threw hard times and made me a better person.

I feel the same way.

[Aptyp]

It's only my opinion, but yes. Faith makes people better. It's not necessary belief in God, that is faith, though. Everyone needs something to believe in, simply because no one know what will happen next. Hope is faith. Wishes, goals, ambitions, desires, they're all faith-based.

So yes, faith makes people better. Whichever way people can find comfort in their day-to-day lives makes society better. There's nothing worse than people, who have nothing to live and die for.

[emoshun]

"does faith make you a better person"

No it does not, what you do with that faith, and how strong it is makes all the difference in the world.

You have PM! ;)

[kishg]

faith in what? have faith in yourself. i don't need to believe in god to have faith.

what i've observed is that many people who "believe" do so blindly, just because some religion or it's text says so. they do not question and they do not analyze. that sort of "blind faith" is anathema to me.

[mar1t1me]

Religion is for people that can't think for themselves. You can only make yourself a better person.

The more fundamental types believe thinking (and therefore questioning) itself is a bad thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeSSwKffj9o

[ck_taft325is]

These type's of threads will only aggravate the numerous sides any one person can stand on at any given time. To stay on point and not stray into the familiar string of, "Faith and religion are for ignorant stupid people that are sheep and worthless in life" pissing contests that everyone who preaches about how intolerant Christians are (ironic?) is a fine line. I'll attempt it.

Does "Faith" make you a better person? Well, you can answer that for yourself, "ben312". You've been participating in a "Faith" on both sides of the spectrum. Christianity (I'm assuming since that's who you're beef is with) and Atheism. Both of which require an enormous amount of Faith. I'm not entirely sure what you're looking for in this thread. You've never lost your "faith". Simply what you put it in.

Or is your question, "Does Religion make you a better person?"

And let's clarify something, Faith and Religion are obviously not the same thing. If they were, then when is the first Church of Atheism going to be starting up? I have seen, and as I have read in the dreaded, feared and most hated "Bible", that Religion is, as many would have you believe, complete and utter crap. It brings out the worst in a great deal of people. It will tell you not to think, not to question, not to change and grow as "God" would have you since "He" made everyone an individual and quite unique. Religion will and does tell you to stop growing, not press the edges, don't ask the hard questions of your "leaders". Because many of these religious leaders are deifying themselves and not pointing anyone to "God", as is the tendency with nearly all of Man. So instead you have people that don't attend church and bitch and moan about how "judgmental" Christians are, yet turn around and assume that if someone believes in "God" they are and must be a judgmental, naive, stupid, ignorant, sheepish, kool-aid drinking, slack jawed, idiot, retard that should be cast away from all society in a hope to reach some Utopia where no one believes in a "God" and solve all the worlds problems, because that there Religion must be the center of all our woes. Never once did anyone point the finger at People. It's not so much even Religion. It's the People. People are bad. People CAN be good. But overtly, in all of my experience, people are ugly, small minded, self centered and far to soft spoken. Personally, this is my experiences. It's easy to point the finger but if it truly doesn't matter to you, then you would not say it doesn't. The St. Bernard does not say to the Terrier "I'm bigger than you" because it doesn't have to. A Beautiful person doesn't say to the homely how much prettier they are if they really believe it.

To the OP, I suggest watching Ben Stein's movie "Expelled". Very, very interesting and as someone non-Religious, I'm sure everyone that's in this thread wont find it "intolerable". He asks some hard questions to those that preach no-faith, only science and other main stream leaders of Atheism along with a few other "theisms". Interesting stuff if you believe in God or don't. If you're religious, or not.

[ben312]

Does "Faith" make you a better person? Well, you can answer that for yourself, "ben312". You've been participating in a "Faith" on both sides of the spectrum. Christianity (I'm assuming since that's who you're beef is with) and Atheism. Both of which require an enormous amount of Faith. I'm not entirely sure what you're looking for in this thread. You've never lost your "faith". Simply what you put it in.

Or is your question, "Does Religion make you a better person?"

Well in my post I did state that I don't think faith makes you any different. I would also like to make it clear that I have no beef with anyone or anything, I have just made the choice at this point in my life to not believe in a god. I believe there is something out there, not a god, but something. I do believe that if matter is at rest then it will stay at rest, so something had to set everything into movement at one point. I'm not sure what started everything, but I don't think it is a god or anything worth worshiping. IMO there is a great energy out there, but not a god, or anything I would worship.

The "point" of this thread was to find out if you guys think that having faith in a god makes you a better/happier person. And no, the question was does faith make you a better person. Faith in a god, you do not have to be religious to believe in a god.

I know what I believe, and I'm glad no one came into this thread trying to convert me the likes.

[ck_taft325is]

I hope I didn't come across like a butt hole with the " ". I had just woken up and not had my little coffee.

Well, from my experience, Christian's in particular stress too much their "roll" in everything as does everyone in any belief or lack there of. Heh, I have nothing against not believing in God or just in an "energy" as you said. It's not my belief but I can't look down on it. No where in the Bible does it say, "Treat people as if they where ignorant or stupid if they don't believe what you do!!". In fact, it says love those around you and over all preaches the love of your neighbor. Not just your "Christian" neighbor, but all those around you.

I would hope that the core messege of the Bible is not lost upon bigotry and overt hatred of what should be people, not the Bible. It's the same as someone bombing a building of toddlers in the name of "ben312" then everyone hating you because well, the bomber did say you're name before doing so therefore you MUST have done something to warrant blind hatred.

Even if you don't believe in the Christ, you can believe in what he spoke on. He spoke pointedly against religion and every major religious leader of the time. He spoke openly about hanging out with what the "Religious" types counted as the most undesirable of undesirables. When asked what the highest calling of a person is, Christ responded with: "Love thy neighbor as thyself". That's something every man, of every religion or faith can embrace and if they did, this world would undoubtingly be a better place.

Christianity is not about annoying the hell and pushing your views on everyone. Within Christianity there are a very wide variety of views and opinions. The iron fist of Religion will hopefully lose it's hold on the views of Christianity, but unlikely.

Does faith in God make you a better person? Adherence to a set of moral "guide lines" if you will, likely help in living ones life to better themselves in a productive manner and in the wake help others along the way? Sure, that helps make them a "better" person.

Happier? Life has it's up's and down's. Any "Christian" that tells you with a smile on their face that they never feel sad is just another shining example of the liars and cheats in the world you have to be wary of. It's a hoax. A falsehood.

Christ himself had bad days and good. To not acknowledge that this life is hard, and sometimes depressing is ignorant. To tell me it's all terrible and horrible is naive. It is what it is and you make what you want out of what it gives you.

[OrganicMechanic]

energy can not be destroyed only transfered.

we are beings of energy.

when we die we do not cease to exist.

we are part of the huge ever expanding explosion called the big bang--

your faith should come from the knowledge that you know whats real and right--

your morality should come from the fact that every decision will lead to another decision and that you make the choices.

karma is real as is entropy

happy sunday

[pbr87]

Religion is for people that can't think for themselves. You can only make yourself a better person.

That is untrue.
Think of religion as sort of a moral guide. I know some religious people who are very independent thinkers; my GF's father, for example. He always says: "work like everything depends on you, pray like everything depends on God".
He is one of the hardest working people I have met, and he is a very independent thinker.

[Nic01101011]

energy can not be destroyed only transfered.

we are beings of energy.

when we die we do not cease to exist.

we are part of the huge ever expanding explosion called the big bang--

your faith should come from the knowledge that you know whats real and right--

your morality should come from the fact that every decision will lead to another decision and that you make the choices.

karma is real as is entropy

happy sunday

high much?