Aspies & Religion

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I am a semi-practicing Lutheran, but I use a do-it-yourself approach to religion.

Finding other people with that same approach is quite difficult.

Tim

I think we all "find our own god" - even if that means we come to the conclusion that there is no formal "god" in the traditional sense.

As an atheist (y'all cringing at that statement really need to go look up the term, and understand that not believing in a "divine creator" does not lessen respect and awe at the majesty of the universe, nor does it preclude a fundamentally ethical and responsible attitude towards the welfare of others), my belief is simply that we exist because we exist, and I feel grateful that of all the possible people who might have come to be, that I am the one that emerged from whatever confluence of chance and environment that allowed me to exist.

I am happy and astounded that I have been given the opportunity to live. It makes me sad that others see life as an insufferable burden, and that it somehow needs to be changed in order to make it "right" according to doctrine derived from the ramblings of an ancestor.

My only regret at this point is that the world-at-large doesn't accept that a certain minority does not operate in the same reality they choose to, and they're unwilling to adjust their perception to accommodate.

Nick

IronicChef, you should read some atheist philosophers. Tons of different ways for enlightened people to look at the world. You sound like you've already read a bunch though, and I like, and agree with a lot of what you say.

Though, I run the gamut between pessimism and optimism.

well i'm not an aspie i hope i can help.
i know that often it is "Christians" who give the church a bad name, as the saying goes - i like God just not his followers
i just realize that we are all imperfect beings and sometimes even the best of intentions go awry or are taken wrong.
I am very sorry for what happened to you it is too bad that peple in authortity especially in the church use it to do horrible things like that. i have to agree with one of the previous posters who said your religious flip floping may be the result of unresolved issues due to the molestation, which is totally understandable.
i also believe that depending on the degree to which you have participated in the pagan religions has an effect on your spiritual life.
i was raised Catholic but bailed ship to Penticostal when i was a teen, i just found that they emphasized more of a personal relationship with God and explained stuff better in a way i understood. maybe it was just the church i was in i am not bashing catholicism but just telling you what worked better for me.
as far as the karma debate goes in the Bible there is a verse Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. In every major religion there is some version of this as well as the Golden rule (treat others the way you want to be treated). sometimes it just comes down to differences in doctrine and interpretations of biblical wording.
everyone is given a choice -"love that's demanded is no love at all" that's why we have free will.
anyways hope this helps or at least gets people thinking, and seeing that it's not all so different. if we coudl just build on the similarities then we would all get along better.
one of the two greatest commandments is to love your neighbor as yourself. if only we all did it, or did it better.

I cannot believe in a God--there's simply no evidence that a God exists. The often made argument that God must exist, otherwise who made us, is illogical. As soon as you postulate that some entity must have 'made' humans, now you must, to be consistent, explain who made God. You can't coherently say that we are too complex not to have a maker, and then say that God, who would have to be far more complex than we are, just exists without a maker. If you say this, you have undermined your own argument that complexity cannot simply exist except as the creation of a higher intelligence.

I actually think that few persons really believe there is a God. If they so believed, they would wish for death for themselves and others. After all, if you REALLY believe this life is just a prelude to everlasting bliss, you would want this life to be as short as possible. You would congratulate the terminally ill. You would think it a wonderful thing to see children die young and be spared a long life that would delay their union with God. That no one acts this way, that religious persons actually seem to fear death more than I do, leads me to conclude that religioun is a mind game that comforts people who are able to keep its contradictions separate in their minds.

Having said all this in the interest of honesty, I'll also say that I don't hold it against anyone who professes religious belief.

You must think as I do Quirky, because I was going to use the example of suicide bombers as at least being sincere in my post. I left it out for brevity.

I think that having faith should be the center of religion not specific dogma.
quirky as what I hope is a legitimate Catholic I agree with you to bigotry should have no place in religion nor should hypocrisy.

Well, if you ask me, a god is useless. Life makes it's own miracles.
And that's how I explain every miracle claimed by every religion.

I do however, believe in souls, the supernatural and reincarnation.

I wonder if this question kind of stems from the fact that many aspies have a problem thinking of "the big picture" or abstract concepts like god, fate, love, etc.

I was raised Lutheran but haven't been to a church in YEARS other than for weddings, deaths, and baptisms. I guess, like many people here, I have a hard time believing in a higher power. I need the proof. Don't tell me about miracles and stuff. The majority of that stuff has been proven false. I want to see Jesus come back down here and walk on water and turn water to wine. The bible isn't proof either. Those are stories to help demonstrate how the church wants people to live their lives. I mean, there is more proof that UFO's or Bigfoot exists.

I think organized religion is good for certain people who need that driving force in their lives or that need something to give them hope. I've always said that it seems a bit selfish to me that there has to be more beyond this life than what we see. Shouldn't we focus on the life we're living now and try to enjoy that? Why does their have to be an afterlife?

I'm certainly not knocking religion because I think it does help people get through hard times when they need it. I just don't need that in my life.