does faith make you 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.

[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.

[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.

[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!

[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.

[Holland]

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

The amount of truth in this statement is unreal. People don't want to think for themselves, they want to be told that everything will be alright. They want to watch football and go to church on Sunday. It is because people don't want to think for themselves that this world is in the position it's in.

[Holland]

DO NOT let someone else persuade you! Do what you feel you should do in your life. Believe in yourself and your actions and what they result in. What you know for sure is that right now you are living, so don't spend your entire life preparing for something that may or may not happen. In the end it really doesn't matter what the outcome is as long as you live your life without regrets. Doing what you feel you need to do is the only way to live a worthwhile life. I think hat organized religion is fear based and hypocritical, but that is the opinion of myself.

[Fast Frankie]

Just another fine example of women wasting our time by talking. Who cares what she thinks?!?!?

God may love us all... but he loves hot oil wrestling babes just a little more. That's what I've heard.

[PeaveyBassist]

This will be good. I believe in God, however do not go to church and curse a lot. Believing in God does not make you happier. Some people who do are happier but generally like the OP said, everyone is happy, sad, or angry because they are human.

[ben312]

So there is no hell.

I hate ppl that tell me I'm going to (enter name of their hell here) if I don't believe in their religion. God is terrible if he requires you to believe in X religion without proof.

*the bible is not proof. It was written by man and therefore can not be proven to be directly from god. Could have just been some guys on acid trips.

They didn't have acid untill the mid 1900's ;) but i agree with your point. I feel that if there is a god out there, then he would love me no matter what I say about him, or how I feel about him. If god loves us all the same then I can feel how I like and in the end he would still love me.

It just blew my mind a bit when she said I was a sad case and that I would never be "truely happy." I know people who are all about god, and who IMO I am much happier then. She also said I was blaming god, which made me laugh. If I don't believe he is there, how do I blame him?

[SLUCK]

Religion can make you more aware of how you act towards people. but it dosent make you a better person. In some cases religious people are the worst people on the planet

[shiboujin]

The Lord loves equally all those He created in His image.

So there is no hell.

I hate ppl that tell me I'm going to (enter name of their hell here) if I don't believe in their religion. God is terrible if he requires you to believe in X religion without proof.

*the bible is not proof. It was written by man and therefore can not be proven to be directly from god. Could have just been some guys on acid trips.

[ben312]

I feel these emotions everyday.

Being a Born Again Christian does not make me better than anyone else. The Lord loves equally all those He created in His image.

Again, I was not trying to include everyone who believes in god in that statement. I was just saying, around here it seems like everyone who shows faith is a jesus nut, and doesn't show anything but happiness. I have no problem with anyone who has faith, god just isn't for me at this point in my life. You would think someone who says they love me would understand, but she is doing nothing but being a bitch about it.

What she said just really pissed me off and I wanted to see how others felt on the topic.

[Jean]

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

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

Also, there are so many people that are religious only on sunday...it's pretty funny/sad?

[markseven]

I mean as a human there are times when everyone should be happy, sad, or angry

I feel these emotions everyday.

Being a Born Again Christian does not make me better than anyone else. The Lord loves equally all those He created in His image.