What do you believe?

Getting to know more about a specific belief

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OnceConvinced
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What do you believe?

Post #1

Post by OnceConvinced »

One of the difficult things about debating on a site such as this is trying to keep track of who believes what. Sometimes you can be arguing a point with say a Christian, only to find out that person has a different opinion to what you assumed. Eg Debating the concept of eternal suffering in Hell and finding out the Christian you debated with doesn’t believe Hell is eternal suffering.

I thought it would be handy to create a questionnaire that we can all answer (not just Christians all though it mainly revolves around biblical philosophies) that tells everyone our stance on certain issues. I’m hoping it might be a database we can refer to, to jog our memories of a person’s particular stance. I know I enjoy doing surveys like this, so perhaps there are others here too. It may be that people don’t want to do it, it may be that only a few will even bother, but I thought I’d try it out anyway.

The idea is to answer the questions with very basic answers. Hopefully one word answers, but no more than a sentence. (I have given sample answers, but you aren’t limited to those). No need to back up your views with scripture or anything. The idea of this thread is not to debate issues but just to allow people to know where each of us stands. Some of the questions do assume there is a God, but an atheist should still be able to answer them eg if the question is “Is God omniscient� then you can answer “no� based on the fact you don’t believe in God. Or you can answer based on what you believe God would be according to your observations.

Feel free to skip any questions you don’t want to answer or just can’t answer.

1. Do you believe in God? Yes/No/Uncertain Who?
2. Do you blame God for what’s wrong in your life and in this world? Yes/no? How can I blame something I don’t believe in?
3. The only way to God is through Jesus Christ yes/no/Unsure/Not relevant to me
4. Christianity is a religion Yes/No
5. Christianity is a relationship with God Yes/No
6. Catholics are Christian Yes/No
7. Believing in Christ is a choice Yes/No/You can’t choose to believe something, you either do or you don’t believe.
8. The Bible is… The infallible word of God/Inspired by God/Man’s beliefs about God
9. It requires the holy spirit to understand scripture. Yes/No
10. There are contradictions in the bible Yes/No
11. The gospels are eye witness accounts Yes/no/It’s all heresay
12. The creation story is literal history Yes/No
13. Noah’s Ark and the great flood is a true story Yes/No
It was a local flood Yes/No
It covered the entire world Yes/No
14. God is omniscient (knows everything there is to know including future events) Yes/No
15. God is omnipotent (all powerful) Yes/No
16. God is omnipresent (everywhere) Yes/No/If he chooses to be
17. God is loving Yes/No
18. God is just Yes/No
19. God is merciful Yes/No
20. God is perfect Yes/No
21. God answers prayer Yes/No/Some times
22. God protects his followers Yes/No/Some times
23. God requires works rather than faith Yes/No
24. God violates freewill yes/no/some times
25. God always keeps his promises: Yes/No
26. God sins (based on the bible definition of what sin is) Yes/No
27. Morals: Come from God/Come as a result of evolution
28. Miracles do happen these days Yes/No
29. Hell is… Eternal suffering/Death by fire/the Grave/On Earth
30. God created Hell Yes/No
31. God created Satan Yes/No
32. Young children and babies will go to hell if they are not saved Yes/No
33. People who have never heard the gospel will go to Hell Yes/No
34. Suffering is: God testing us/A result of Satan’s activities/Adam and Eve’s fault/A result of evolution
35. The earth is: around 6-7000 years old/Millions of years old
36. God used evolution to create life Yes/No/Evolution has no intelligence behind it.
37. Sin = Evil things that people do/Actions God hates/ Actions religious leaders hate/Human nature
38. Homosexuality is a sin Yes/No
39. Atheists are evil Yes/No
40. Salvation = Once saved always saved/Requires actions to maintain/There is no such thing
41. You must be baptized to be saved: Yes/No/Unsure
42. Ex Christians were: Never true Christians to begin with/Were Christians but deconverted for some reason
43. Rank in order of importance: Faith, Knowledge, Critical thinking, Belief, Hope
44. What is the purpose of the Holy Spirit = (describe in one or two sentences if possible)
45. What does it take to consider yourself a true Christian? (Try to keep your answer as brief as possible)
Last edited by OnceConvinced on Tue Dec 02, 2008 6:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Society and its morals evolve and will continue to evolve. The bible however remains the same and just requires more and more apologetics and claims of "metaphors" and "symbolism" to justify it.

Prayer is like rubbing an old bottle and hoping that a genie will pop out and grant you three wishes.

There is much about this world that is mind boggling and impressive, but I see no need whatsoever to put it down to magical super powered beings.


Check out my website: Recker's World

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Post #41

Post by Goat »

mormon boy51 wrote:Its like going back in time here, I was looking at my answer and realized how much i have changed in what I believe and my process of thought, I think it was quite interesting.
And it's only been 3 months! I suspect you will keep on changing for a while at least. Some people never stop. Other stop by the time they are 5.
“What do you think science is? There is nothing magical about science. It is simply a systematic way for carefully and thoroughly observing nature and using consistent logic to evaluate results. So which part of that exactly do you disagree with? Do you disagree with being thorough? Using careful observation? Being systematic? Or using consistent logic?�

Steven Novella

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Post #42

Post by Kuan »

Goat wrote:
mormon boy51 wrote:Its like going back in time here, I was looking at my answer and realized how much i have changed in what I believe and my process of thought, I think it was quite interesting.
And it's only been 3 months! I suspect you will keep on changing for a while at least. Some people never stop. Other stop by the time they are 5.
Yeah, I dont think it will stop but a lot has happened in the 3 months since ive joined. Left home, gone to college, taxes...I hate taxes....
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Post #43

Post by Question Everything »

mormon boy51 wrote:Its like going back in time here, I was looking at my answer and realized how much i have changed in what I believe and my process of thought, I think it was quite interesting.
What beliefs of yours changed, and why did they change?
"Oh, you can''t get through seminary and come out believing in God!"

current pastor who is a closet atheist
quoted by Daniel Dennett.

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Post #44

Post by Kuan »

Question Everything wrote:
mormon boy51 wrote:Its like going back in time here, I was looking at my answer and realized how much i have changed in what I believe and my process of thought, I think it was quite interesting.
What beliefs of yours changed, and why did they change?
Heres what changed:
12. No
13. A. Yes
B. No
27. Morals: Come from nature.
31. Yes, and no
35. I dont know anymore.
40. Depends on your definition, but that everyone goes to hell unless they are saved, no.
41. Yes and No
42. What was I talking about here?
45. Want to be christian
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Post #45

Post by Kuan »

Why did they change? Thats a very good question. I'd have to say that I have been thinking more about these topics. I find it very thought provoking which I enjoy. The more I thought and the more I learned, I became better at making inferences and creating better opinions. I also would have to contribute some of it to my science 101 class, which made me think about the possibility that the bible is wrong. (Noah's flood, the creation.) I still retain my belief but I got creative I guess you could say, I didnt stick strictly to scripture because it didnt make any sense.

I.e. I find it hard to believe that the flood covered the whole world. I believe that it probably covered a large amount of area and seemed to the "primitives" at the time that it was the whole world being flooded although it wasn't. I dont know if I answered your question there. I have found it interesting though that the more I learn about science, the more I believe in my religion. Am I different or insane? I always thought that religion and science were complete opposites and one could not live with the other.
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Post #46

Post by Darias »

mormon boy51 wrote:Why did they change? Thats a very good question. I'd have to say that I have been thinking more about these topics. I find it very thought provoking which I enjoy. The more I thought and the more I learned, I became better at making inferences and creating better opinions. I also would have to contribute some of it to my science 101 class, which made me think about the possibility that the bible is wrong. (Noah's flood, the creation.) I still retain my belief but I got creative I guess you could say, I didnt stick strictly to scripture because it didnt make any sense.

I.e. I find it hard to believe that the flood covered the whole world. I believe that it probably covered a large amount of area and seemed to the "primitives" at the time that it was the whole world being flooded although it wasn't. I dont know if I answered your question there. I have found it interesting though that the more I learn about science, the more I believe in my religion. Am I different or insane? I always thought that religion and science were complete opposites and one could not live with the other.
You are not insane. The same thing happened to me. The more I had to deal with the realities of this natural world and the difficulty of moral absolutes, the more I had to examine my faith, and it's teachings. I can truly say I feel closer to God now more than ever. This is because my faith is something I have worked hard to maintain and to rationalize. It's a lot simpler to say "God did it" or "God said it" but it takes a mental, emotional marathon to keep the faith in God in a rational, reasonable way.

To explain this to a non-theist, think of it as my left and right brains living in harmony - one totally accepting of natural rationalism - the other ever more spiritual, mindful, and loving.

They are not opposite or conflicting with each other - For my Right Brain, my faith in God is spiritual, but within the confines of practical rationalism.

For my Left Brain, my ideals of love, and being moral/spiritual are rationalized logically.

I guess that's how everyone's dual brain works at some level.

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Post #47

Post by Kuan »

It must be, it really is weird for me at the beginning but it really satisfies you after thinking about it rather than just saying god said it so its true.
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Post #48

Post by Question Everything »

mormon boy51 wrote: 35. I dont know anymore.
Do you agree with our current understanding of geology and plate tectonics that South America and Africa once fit together? If so, how long do you think it would take for them to separate by thousands of miles?

Do you agree that the Grand Canyon consists of layers of ocean bottom sediment that formed into rock, and then the Colorado river carved the canyon as the land rose above sea level? If so, how long do you think that took?

Do you agree that coal and oil deposits really are "fossil fuels", the remains of long dead plants and animals? If so, how long would it take a layer of coal thousands of feet thick to form?
"Oh, you can''t get through seminary and come out believing in God!"

current pastor who is a closet atheist
quoted by Daniel Dennett.

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Post #49

Post by Kuan »

Question Everything wrote:
mormon boy51 wrote: 35. I dont know anymore.
Do you agree with our current understanding of geology and plate tectonics that South America and Africa once fit together? If so, how long do you think it would take for them to separate by thousands of miles?

Do you agree that the Grand Canyon consists of layers of ocean bottom sediment that formed into rock, and then the Colorado river carved the canyon as the land rose above sea level? If so, how long do you think that took?

Do you agree that coal and oil deposits really are "fossil fuels", the remains of long dead plants and animals? If so, how long would it take a layer of coal thousands of feet thick to form?
Yes, It probably took millions of years.
Yes, again millions if not billions of years.
Yes, millions of years again.

I accept both the fact that the earth is millions if not billions of years old. What I am curious is that how it fits into the creation story.
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Re: What do you believe?

Post #50

Post by Abaddon »

1. Do you believe in God? Yes
2. Do you blame God for what’s wrong in your life and in this world? No, we make our mistakes and problems on our own.
3. The only way to God is through Jesus Christ That's one road to take.
4. Christianity is a religion Yes
5. Christianity is a relationship with God That's one form of a relationship with Him.
6. Catholics are Christian Yes
7. Believing in Christ is a choice You believe what you believe, whether by choice or faith.
8. The Bible is… A good guideline to life, when not taken too literally
9. It requires the holy spirit to understand scripture. No
10. There are contradictions in the bible Yes
11. The gospels are eye witness accounts Who knows?
12. The creation story is literal history No
13. Noah’s Ark and the great flood is a true story No, at this point of time I don't think so
It was a local flood No
It covered the entire world Hard to say...
14. God is omniscient (knows everything there is to know including future events) Yes
15. God is omnipotent (all powerful) Yes
16. God is omnipresent (everywhere) If he chooses to be
17. God is loving Yes
18. God is just Majority of the time, yes
19. God is merciful Majority of the time, yes
20. God is perfect No, I don't believe in perfect beings
21. God answers prayer Some times
22. God protects his followers Yes
23. God requires works rather than faith No
24. God violates freewill No
25. God always keeps his promises No
26. God sins (based on the bible definition of what sin is) Haven't thought about it
27. Morals: Come from God through results of evolution
28. Miracles do happen these days Yes
29. Hell is… Not sure, but at this point I say eternal suffering
30. God created Hell No, not directly
31. God created Satan Yes
32. Young children and babies will go to hell if they are not saved No
33. People who have never heard the gospel will go to Hell No
34. Suffering is: A result of Satan's acitivities
35. The earth is: Millions of years old
36. God used evolution to create life Yes
37. Sin = Evil things that people do / Human nature
38. Homosexuality is a sin No comment at this point
39. Atheists are evil No
40. Salvation = Requires actions to maintain
41. You must be baptized to be saved: Unsure
42. Ex Christians were: Were Christians but deconverted for their reasons
43. Rank in order of importance: Faith, Critical thinking, Knowledge, Belief, Hope
44. What is the purpose of the Holy Spirit = I'm still in the middle of grasbing this concept so I'll have to get back to you on that...
45. What does it take to consider yourself a true Christian? (Try to keep your answer as brief as possible) To me, it would be faith in God and his teachings, as well as some form of trust to Jesus and the salvation he offers.
And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon - Rev 9:11 (KJV)

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