Religiousity of DUers

[Perky]

Where would you assess your faith?

[Spinzonner]

1. What, no "I am God" choice ?

where's the recognition for us self-appointed deities ?

[AwakeAtLast]

13. LOL! You and my husband! n/t

[BamaLefty]

2. Jesus Was the Son of God

is my belief. But I respect all others, this is America. :)

[Perky]

5. Umm BammaLefty

Jesus "Was" the Son of God....Cmon now...lets not get those fundies living all around you all upset... "IS"?

lol j/k

[shesemsmom]

3. I believe in God and I believe religion has no place in politics

I pray ever day for those kids fighting in in others counties. I pray that the Repuks are removed from the white house

[blueblitzkrieg]

4. atheist

Don't know who Jesus was, don't care. :shrug:

[SammyWinstonJack]

57. Same here

:hi:

[TahitiNut]

6. We're all "of God" ... all of 'creation' ... all that IS.

One that knew this started a cult/religion ... others were locked up in asylums.

[NMDemDist2]

7. not nearly enough choices in that poll

for the depth and breath of DUer's spiritual practice as noted by the groups below

so I didn't vote

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=262

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=245

[CarbonDate]

23. Poll I posted in the lounge

Only 26% of respondents identified themselves as Christians.

The complete list went as follows:

Atheist/Agnostic: 34%
Christianity: 26%
Other: 20%
Neo-pagan/Native American spiritualist: 8%
Islam: 4%
Buddhism: 4%
Judaism: 3%
Taoism: 1%

We apparently don't have any Baha'i Democrats here, though.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x2131686

[MrSlayer]

8. I'm an Athiest but I believe Jesus exsisted.

He just wasn't the son of "GOD" anymore than Charles Manson is. He had nice ideas and fought the power and they killed him for it, end of story.

[Mike L]

9. "nice" ideas, or Phenomenal ideas for the time.

[MrSlayer]

17. Yes, perhaps I understated it a bit.

Revolutionaries are dangerous to power and his ideas were just that.

[Mike L]

10. Vote for Jesus!

Sorry, I just had to say that. :-)

[Thtwudbeme]

11. Go Jesus!!!

:)

[petron]

12. Go Jebus

:)

[Thurston Howell IV]

14. Bush Campaign Commercial if he was running against Jesus

You guessed it. He's soft on crime:

http://atrios.blogspot.com/2004/09/bush-vs-jesus.html

[dand]

15. Atheist, no Gods, Santas, Easter Bunnies, period.

[buckettgirl]

16. I don't doubt that Jesus, the man, existed.

I believe he probably did some good things, but I don't believe in the son of God.
I also believe that Christianity is more a man-made religion than anything. I think that it is possible that Moses lived and was given the commandments by God, but I also think it is possible that Moses was given the commandments by aliens. I think that the bible is not reliable and is more myth and storytelling than anything. I think that because, even if it did come from a divine source, it was written by man - man makes mistakes. Personally I think for the many men that the bible passed through, and the interpretations and translations made, probably much of the true meaning was lost (sadly).
It is these thoughts that turned me away from Christianity. I figured if I was going to believe in a man-made religion, then I should have some choice in what I believe. Paganism allows me that freedom.
If Christianity works for you, I am glad - everyone needs faith in something, as long as you are happy with it.
Blessed Be.

[Perky]

18. If the Bible was at least Inspired by God don't ya think

Hw would have protected its content from being unintentionally or intentionally corrupted by those he inspired to write it? Do you knonestly think an omnopotnet God would have allowed that which He provides by inspiration for the purpose of instruction and correction and general righteous living to be corrupted?

[buckettgirl]

54. No I don't.

If that were the case, then he would have made man perfect. Man is obviously far from perfect and is more than capable of making many, many mistakes in a lifetime. You certainly can't prove that all the translations and interpretations of the bible are correct any more than I can disprove it. It is simply speculation - something that people who follow Christianity have to answer for themselves if that speculation is right or wrong.
I think that if Christianity is "right" (for lack of a better word), then I would have to take the view that our founding fathers did - I would look more toward Deism. If I try to look at the world from a Christian viewpoint, then the only way that I can explain the horrible atrocities of humankind - the suffering, oppression, and degredation of all living things - is to say that one God is the ultimate creator of all life/beings and after creation he let the world go on its own with no divine intervention. IF that were true, then the rest of the "miracles" occuring in the history of Christianity would indeed be manmade and subject to the writer's interpretation. Again, all of this showing man is far from perfection.
Do I believe in divine intervention? Absolutely. Do I believe God created all life? No. It is simply the natural order of things that male and female must join to create life - why wouldn't that be true for the creation of the universe: God and Goddess join as the ultimate creators.
This is one of the ways I view religion. I'm not anymore right than anyone else. I think that it is our duty, however, to question our respective religions and keep an openmind just as we do in regard to political issues.

[gater]

19. Didn't Jesus play 3rd base for the Mets during the Casey years?

And what does his middle initial "H" stand for?
Don't worry...I'm Catholic. I can get away with these jokes! And speaking of Catholic...since I am not "born again" does that mean I got it right the first time? Just wonderin'.

[Perky]

26. Well obviously not...You are a Mets fan!

Somthing certainly did not take...Haha

[Chicago Democrat]

I believe Jesus was "of God" and so are You and so am I

Namaste - Means The God in me Recognises The God in you.

God - Is in everything and is not "a person".. The concept of God is similar to the concept of Tao

[DemBones DemBones]

20. One of these days, we'll have marshal law banning athiesm.

Probably right after we loose another election.

:argh:

[quaker bill]

21. I am quite faithful

I simply do not fall into one of the options.

I know that there is "that of God" in each of us, some speak and listen to it, others do not.

[greendog]

22. My love she speaks like silence...

Love Minus Zero / No Limit
by Bob Dylan

My love she speaks like silence,
Without ideals or violence,
She doesn't have to say she's faithful,
Yet she's true, like ice, like fire.
People carry roses,
Make promises by the hours,
My love she laughs like the flowers,
Valentines can't buy her.

In the dime stores and bus stations,
People talk of situations,
Read books, repeat quotations,
Draw conclusions on the wall.
Some speak of the future,
My love she speaks softly,
She knows there's no success like failure
And that failure's no success at all.

The cloak and dagger dangles,
Madams light the candles.
In ceremonies of the horsemen,
Even the pawn must hold a grudge.
Statues made of match sticks,
Crumble into one another,
My love winks, she does not bother,
She knows too much to argue or to judge.

The bridge at midnight trembles,
The country doctor rambles,
Bankers' nieces seek perfection,
Expecting all the gifts that wise men bring.
The wind howls like a hammer,
The night blows cold and rainy,
My love she's like some raven
At my window with a broken wing.

[Beam Me Up]

24. "you are the sons of the living Father"

Apocryphal Book of Thomas:

(3) Jesus said: If those who lead you say unto you: Behold, the Kingdom is in heaven, then the birds of the heaven will be before you. If they say unto you: It is in the sea, then the fish will be before you. But the Kingdom is within you, and it is outside of you. When you know yourselves, then shall you be known, and you shall know that you are the sons of the living Father. But if ye do not know yourselves, then you are in poverty, and you are poverty.

http://www.goodnewsinc.net/othbooks/thomas.html

[PurityOfEssence]

25. "Other": deluded narcissistic mortal with some good ideas

Boy, talk about a "when did you stop beating your wife" poll, this leaves out many--and the most reasonable--explanations.

It's pretty clear he actually existed, but the idea that he's some supernatural being just rings silly. I'm not an atheist; I'm an agnostic, because there's no proof either way, and people who puff up and pronounce that their is are equally silly.

Many Christians have a reasonable belief system that doesn't go to the extent of extreme absolutes, and looking at it all as a loose parable to delineate a moral code is just fine.

He was a political revolutionary on a minor scale, and he was a messianic rabble rouser. Where he screwed up was messing with the hustle of Religion, Inc.; that's always gonna shorten your earthly dalliance.

[Minstrel Boy]

27. "What I know of God is this:

he has hands, for he touches me.
I can testify to nothing else."

- Milton Acorn, Canadian poet

[Boosterman]

36. Nice

Very sarcastic. Dont know much about him to be honest but that seems kinda wrong on the surface of it. Perhaps you would care to extrapolate or is that the summation of your knowledge of religion?

[Minstrel Boy]

38. I never read it as sarcastic.

I think it's a gentle and humble confession, and a testament to the inadequacy of doctrine.

From where I'm coming from, this makes a whole lot of quiet sense to me.

[Boosterman]

45. Well you know what they

say about perception. In this case I misunderstood your intention. My apologies. I was evidently completely wrong.

[pacifictiger]

28. no place for "other" in the poll

I believe Jesus was an enlightened soul, like the prophets before him, buddha, and others. He was a also a political activist who ticked off those in contol and so had to be eliminated. The following he had was then manipulated and his teachings mythologized over the centuries by those who sought political power and wealth. And we wonder why Jesus talked about his 'sheep." Ever watched their groupthink?

[hollowdweller]

29. Jesus said that we were all sons of god John 10 v 33-36

[Perky]

32. He also said:

I am the Truth I am the Life...No one comes to th Father except by me.

[DoYouEverWonder]

49. That quote is why I've started passing out this pic

to the fundies that I meet. Anyone with a Bush sticker and/or Yellow Ribbon on their car is fair game as far as I'm concerned.

[phattyt]

30. I believe...

that Jesus was the son of God. That being said I would like to think that I hold all other religious views in the highest regard since respect and tolerance are the two greatest assets this world has in creating harmonious existence between all creeds and denominations. On the flip-side, however, I get very pissed when people like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell get huge media exposure and call themselves Christians because it gives us true Christians a bad wrap

[Sleepysage]

31. There really isn't a good choice there for Buddhists... heh

[CalebHayes]

37. I chose the "My religion does not believe Jesus is the son of god" one

Some argue that Buddhism is a form of atheism. I just think of Buddhism as a set of guidelines, I simply try to run my life by the guidelines of the basic Buddhist concepts.

[Sleepysage]

52. Well, that would work for you...

...and, technically, Buddhism is a-theistic in that it isn't monotheistic, but arguably, one could be a Buddhist and even believe that Jesus was divine, in a fashion.

Whatever raft one needs to reach the farther shore (to a point), either philosophically or religiously, is okay. :)

[Boosterman]

33. nm

the post I was responding to seems to have dissapeared.

[RevCheesehead]

34. I believe Jesus IS the son of God. n/t

[depakid]

35. So why is this all about Jesus

Pretty ethnocentric poll, if you ask me.

[cboy4]

39. How about a category that says you

believe in God -- that you're spiritual -- but you've, like myself, been sadly driven away from religion by all of these vicious,hateful, extremist right wing fundamentalist evangelical "bible thumpers" like Fallwell and the Southern Baptists who try to shove their beliefs
down everyone's throats???!!

And the only reason I say "sadly" is because my parents,
who are certainly not wealthy, sacrificed so much to pay for myself
and my two sisters to attend a Catholic school.

[Perky]

48. I trust you were driven away from a church and Not God

I certainly recognize the issues caused by the Fundies They have become awfully exclusionary replacing or perhaps simply confusing conservatism for piety.

[Taxloss]

40. I'm not an Athiest, I'm an Atheist.

Take a bit of care. I assume you have religion, because of the way you worded the question, but please don't suppose that those of us that don't don't care about it.

No God, no afterlife. No reward and no punishment. Mankind - brutal, boring and beautiful mankind - is the best and the worst that it gets.

[bobo4u]

41. Jesus is for wimps.

Start taking responsibility for your own actions. This is it folks. There ain't no more.

Love your neighbor. Love the earth. That's all you need to know.

[Perky]

47. Put me in the Wimp Category then...haha n/t

[u4ic]

42. I swing between

him being a revolutionary, or being an ideal to which one is supposed to aspire to.

Don't believe he was the manifestation of god on earth.

[immoderate]

43. I don't believe in anything supernatural.

No mumbo-jumbo.

--IMM

[DoYouEverWonder]

50. Neither did the early christians

all the supernatural stuff came later, when Saul decided to become Paul.

To the Jewish and gnostic christians, Jesus was their teacher but they didn't claim that he rose from the dead or any of that stuff.

[StrongbadTehAwesome]

44. um, your poll's a little Jesus-centric, don't you think?

and it's athEist.

For the record, I'm agnostic, not so much in an "I don't know" kind of way, but more in an "I don't think any god that's likely to exist really cares if we believe in its existence or not" kind of way. Grew up Christian.

Regarding Jesus, I think if the New Testament is at least partially correct in its description of him, then he was a pretty cool guy with a great deal of insight. Of course, us non-Christians think it's a little hard to tell just how accurate the NT is.

[Egalitarian]

46. I agree with all of the options

Jesus was the son of God and so are we all.

He was a great philosopher and not the (physical) son of god.

Myths give cultures inspiration and hope.

I am an atheist who believes in most myths of god.

I belong to a religion which presently has only one member. Wanna join?

The ability to live with uncertainty, to reserve judjement, is one of the hallmarks of the truly religious.

[DoYouEverWonder]

51. I am god

and you are god, so I suppose you can assume that Jesus was god, too.

[Mockingbird]

53. I get a trill...

Wow.

Does this question matter?

[bluedonkey]

55. I

didn't vote.

[Swamp Rat]

56. .

[JerseygirlCT]

58. I voted "1"

but perhaps only in the sense that we are all God's children.

I'm a Christian, but the divinity issue is truly secondary to me. His teachings matter so much more.

[KT2000]

59. Religion = Christian??

Really think we need to realize how common it is to interchange the concept of religion and Christianity.

Assumptions abound. When politicians talk of prayer in schools, it goes without saying they are referring to Christian prayers only.

I'm sorry but your poll does the same thing. The title was Religiousity but most of your options concern one's opinion of Jesus. Maybe your title should have said Christianity or not of DUers.