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> Forums > Teen Ink Forums > Personal Opinions > Christianity vs. All Other Religions/Atheism/Agnostic
Jan. 1, 2012 at 11:17 pm
Okay, guesswhat. Since you asked. :)
TheUsualSuspect: No, atheism is definitely NOT scientology. Scientology is not atheism. Scientology is recognized as a religion in the United States and other places. Scientology's practices are fairly secretive, but what I've read about them, their so-called 'science' is far from conventional science. Scientology teaches that people are immortal beings that have forgotten their true nature and that souls (which they call 'thetans') reincarnate and have lived on other planets before living on Earth. Atheists believe there is no God or gods and generally believe there is no such thing as reincarnation (although there are exceptions). Does that answer your question?
Jan. 6, 2012 at 6:36 pm
I'm agnostic . . . I think. I just heard of the term a few days ago, lol. :) But I'll talk if anyone wants to.
Jan. 7, 2012 at 12:18 pm
Sure, I'll talk with you, IceFox. I'm atheist. So why are you agnostic? Were you always agnostic? And if you weren't, what did you believe in before?
Jan. 11, 2012 at 7:59 pm
Sorry, I forgot to check back. No, I haven't always been agnostic. I was sort of Christan untill a few months ago, when I started to realize that I really didn't beleive in Christianity, and I was only doing that because my parents were Christan. So I've never really believed in a religion. And I'm agnostic because I don't want to say, firmly, that there is no God. I think that what happens a lot in religions is that people mistranslate what they believe to be "the word of God". It's really hard to know if there's a God out there beyond humanity's search for something to worship, or we've just made it up to feel the goodness of having a higher being that will give you good things and protection from "evil". That's what I think at least.
Jan. 12, 2012 at 8:03 am
That's a pretty fair assessment and I hear your type of story all the time. It's actually pretty similar to mine.
Jan. 12, 2012 at 7:27 pm
Were you in a Christan family too? I find it sometimes kind of hard to live with two Christan parents with stuff like church and prayers that I'd rather not participate in.
Jan. 12, 2012 at 9:51 pm
Not really. Both my parents are kind of agnostics, but I'm in a very, very religious community. Coming out as an atheist was...difficult to say the least. I can understand where you're coming from with two Christian parents, though. I take it you haven't told them? How do you think they would take it if you did tell them?
Jan. 13, 2012 at 5:30 pm
I've been planning to tell them for a while, but I've always chickened out. So I really need to tell them. I think they've kind of been picking up hints that I'm not really into Christianity, but we've never really talked about it. So I hope that when I do tell them, they'll be at least okay with it. I'm not sure though.
Jan. 14, 2012 at 11:01 pm
IceFox, I think you really need to tell them. Things will snowball and get worse until they finally confront you about your lack of belief. If you tell them now, in a calm and reasonable manner, things won't get so bad and hopefully they'll understand. I know it's not easy, but I think it's something you need to do.
Jan. 15, 2012 at 12:16 pm
i actually agree with Carrie, im a strong Christian but i believe that you should be honest with yourself and friends and family with what you believe or dont believe. keeping what you feel hidden from the people you live with can be a very dangerous road. i dont think telling them could do any harm if you remain calm and rational about the situation like Carrie said.
Jan. 18, 2012 at 3:18 pm
Yeah, I really should tell them. I might set a date or something so I don't chicken out again. It's pretty stupid of me to keep this up. I will tell them. Hopefully. :)
Jan. 19, 2012 at 6:35 pm
Let us know how it goes. And just remember, don't put it off too long or you'll never do it. Just be calm, collected, reasonable and explain why you don't feel Christianity is right for you.
Jan. 20, 2012 at 4:41 pm
I told my dad last night. It actually . . . wasn't that bad! :DDDDDD I told him that I really didn't believe in Christianity, and I wanted to have some room to grow and learn about other faiths (and non-faiths) without having to continually say that "God is everything." We ended up having a long talk about religion and things I didn't agree with about it, and he told me some of his reasons to be Christan. It definitely gave me something to chew on for a while. And I'm so glad it went over well! :)))))))
Jan. 20, 2012 at 6:37 pm
That's great, IceFox! Just ponder what he had to say and I'm sure you'll decide what is best for you.
Jan. 22, 2012 at 12:50 pm
Yeah . . . but I was still forced to go to church today. And to pray at dinner. I want to be able to learn about other religions WITHOUT continually having Christianity shoved down my throat! Any suggestions on that?
Jan. 22, 2012 at 5:39 pm
Well, you could tell your parents how uncomfortable you feel having Christianity forced on you. And as for learning about other religions, you can do that the same way I did. Go online and look up some of the major ones like Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism, etc. You can probably even find the Qur'an online if you look. Read their holy books just like you would the Bible and you'll learn about them quite a bit.
Jan. 23, 2012 at 3:50 pm
Yeah, that's a good idea. Hopefully it will work, though I don't know with my parents . . . and hopefully they won't mind me reading books about other religions. But I'd also like some real life experience, if it was possible too. I doubt they'd agree to that . . .
Jan. 23, 2012 at 10:04 pm
I think if you present a good argument, they might. If you live in a city, there's a pretty good chance there's a mosque or a synagogue near where you live. They need to accept that you're just checking out other religions. There's absolutely no harm whatsoever in doing that.
Jan. 24, 2012 at 6:26 pm
I know . . . I'm just not the best with talking rationally. I'll try though. And I live in the suburbs near a college town, so there isn't any local mosques or singagouges. (How do you spell that, btw?) But one of my friends goes to a universal-religion thing church. Maybe I could go one day with her or something . . .
