The Religious Diversity of GATT

[UltimateGamer]

Ok guys, this may be a long one. Firstly note, I am in no way trying to start a great debate or a trend of bigotry on the boards.

I know you guys to be civilized (most of the time) and recently I have been seeing a lot of hateful remarks being spewed between religious and non-religious groups. The idea here is for us, as gamers, who frequent this board, or just visit it, to help educate and or assist other members who may have a question pertaining to a specific religious denomination to which we may belong. Fact remains, you may read a headline and make a statement weather to yourself or to a group of friends that is less than understanding, assuming that you have absolutely no idea why someone may do something like that. Case in point, suicide bomber kills 10! Some may say, I hope all dem moslems just blow up themselves. But the non-ignorant among us might say, I wish I could ask a muslim why they blow up themself.

Thus, this topic!

What I would like, is if everyone, who of course is not shy about representing his/her beliefs, no matter what it may be, simply post what it is, and why they chose it, and if they will be interested in entertaining questions (weather via the board or pm) pertaining to their faith.

I know alot of you may be saying to yourself, not another religious thing again!!!! 

But there comes a time in a person's life, when they just look back and reflect on what was, what is, and what's to come and just feel lost in the great paradigm. And quite frankly, when that time comes, you'll be better off if you had someone there to assist you along the way.

This topic comes here after dealing with bigots for over a year on youtube and running into a couple right here in T&T! And with this, hopefully the next time you hear one of your acquaintances making an ignorant statement with regards to a specific group, you could have the answer. Sometimes asking someone is better that asking google.

So here goes.

I am UltimateGamer (Ulti) and I am a Muslim. I follow it at first because I was born into it. But when I was a teenager I turned to the typical life of drinking and liming and drifted away from it. Around 17 years of age, when things turn to sh!t in my life, I started to reflect on my actions. Essentially, I never stopped believing in 1 god, but I was intrigued by what everyone else believed and why. Since then, I have never stopped researching aspects of ALL religions, mainly monotheistic ones to try to be understanding, and reassure that the path I follow is right!

I follow this path, because after 8 years of research, it is still, to me, the most logical of all religions I have researched. That is me, logic shall prevail. It is late, I am tired, but haunted by the fact that so many people make hateful remarks to my belief system without even knowing about it. Thus, this thread is born. We will understand each other, and the knowledge we share here, shall spread to our peers in our everyday lives, and to their peers until we attain true peace.

I thank you for reading my semi-rant.

I urge you to participate.

[Arcmanov]

I think I know why Ulti made this post.

Over the years I've become somewhat agnostic, but I do believe in karma.

...and that's all I'm willing to say at this point.  These kinds of threads have a penchant
for getting out of hand rather quickly.


+1 to the OP though.

[Saxito Pau]

I know alot of you may be saying to yourself, not another religious thing again!!!! 

This is EXACTLY what I said when I saw the thread title.

*zips up anti-pyro suit - this thread will NOT end well, though I understand the good intentions...*

These are my perspectives on religion:

- My godmother told me I was baptized as a Roman Catholic

- I was raised as a Jehovah's Witness

- turned away from it as there was no support system for my tough years in secondary school and i experienced discrimination because of it. While some of my living principles are more or less based foundationally on the JW, I actually cross the road when I see them from distance.

- I tried joining a many a different kind of church over the years and I always found the people to be hypocrites. In any case I never felt comfortable around the people in the church, often feeling like they were looking down on me, though that could be my own paranoia. The last one I did join, a prominent member scam me out of a good bit of money.

- I work in a secondary school run by Catholics and realized ultimately that the system they run promotes discrimination, bribery and hypocrisy and ultimately (and legally!) infringes on my rights as a person and that cannot be the way of god.

- I stay far from those I encounter who want to push their religion in your face every minute of the day, become haughty because of it, or use "religion" as an excuse to do nonsense. The WTMC thread has my account of one of those cases. 

- In the case of the Bible, there are just too many damn interpretations of the same frigging book!

- I try to only set foot in religious buildings if I really have to (wedding, funerals).

- I have a copy of both the Bible and [a translation of] the Qur'an at home.

- I have openly used the 'f' word in a chapel without remorse. That was last week. It was just me and one other person  in the chapel, don't worry.

- For years now I say I am of no religion and I have found I sleep better at night that way.

- I do believe in god, though, and have been somewhat trying to make a better effort to act to suit.

That is all.

[Spazosaurus]

I know alot of you may be saying to yourself, not another religious thing again!!!! 

This is EXACTLY what I said when I saw the thread title.

*zips up anti-pyro suit - this thread will NOT end well, though I understand the good intentions...*

These are my perspectives on religion:

- My godmother told me I was baptized as a Roman Catholic

- I was raised as a Jehovah's Witness

- turned away from it as there was no support system for my tough years in secondary school and i experienced discrimination because of it. While some of my living principles are more or less based foundationally on the JW, I actually cross the road when I see them from distance.

- I tried joining a many a different kind of church over the years and I always found the people to be hypocrites. In any case I never felt comfortable around the people in the church, often feeling like they were looking down on me, though that could be my own paranoia. The last one I did join, a prominent member scam me out of a good bit of money.

- I work in a secondary school run by Catholics and realized ultimately that the system they run promotes discrimination, bribery and hypocrisy and ultimately (and legally!) infringes on my rights as a person and that cannot be the way of god.

- I stay far from those I encounter who want to push their religion in your face every minute of the day, become haughty because of it, or use "religion" as an excuse to do nonsense. The WTMC thread has my account of one of those cases. 

- In the case of the Bible, there are just too many damn interpretations of the same frigging book!

- I try to only set foot in religious buildings if I really have to (wedding, funerals).

- I have a copy of both the Bible and [a translation of] the Qur'an at home.

- I have openly used the 'f' word in a chapel without remorse. That was last week. It was just me and one other person  in the chapel, don't worry.

- For years now I say I am of no religion and I have found I sleep better at night that way.

- I do believe in god, though, and have been somewhat trying to make a better effort to act to suit.

That is all.

Man I had to quote your entire post because I agree 500% with EVERYTHING you just said hoss. I too follow a similar mantra.

lol @ Arc and Karma. Very true though.

[TriniXaeno]

There are three things I try to make a point never to discuss on the forum. Race, Religion and Politics

They never end well. For soooo many reasons, despite good intentions.

Hopefully that statement will read as a caution and not a self fulfilling prophecy.

[Preston786]

^^Ditto

[chinarakinda]

Is Roman Catholic a religion or isn't it just a denomination? A church is not a Religion. IF you believe in Jesus Christ you are a Christian. Christianity is the religion not the name of a Church.

[VirtueTT]

Is Roman Catholic a religion or isn't it just a denomination? A church is not a Religion. IF you believe in Jesus Christ you are a Christian. Christianity is the religion not the name of a Church.

Correct. Catholics are Christians. It is just the name of the Church just like any others such as Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist, Pentecostal etc etc etc

[Redlum08]

I am a human being! Proud to be a human being, just like everyone else on this forum. We all bleed the same color, we all experience things that make us who we are, we interact with people and learn new things all the time. I believe that as long as you stay true to yourself, don't do anything to hurt others, always help people when you can, everything will be ok! Positive thinking is my thing, no matter what, I always look for a positive vibe... "Live long and prosper!"

[Jarrox]

Let me first agree with everyone and say "THIS WILL NOT END WELL" the MODs should have their fingers on that lock button at all times....

anyhow....I for a few years now have stopped believing in the supernatural i.e fairies, ghosts, goblins, leprechauns, santa claus and gods. yes there is good and evil but not in the spiritual sense. 

if you have not guessed it yet, yes I am an Atheist. since I left religion and its gods behind I can honestly say I feel better about life, I believe we should live this life to the fullest and not enjoy it because of some other life no one even knows exist.

To me there is no difference between God and Godzilla, they are both just stories told to scare children. 

[W1nTry]

I have my finger on the NUKE button rest assured, amateratsu iEmc if it comes to it. I was born a human, baptized a Catholic, grew up a christian and am now somewhere in-between.

I do believe there is a God, I do think there is good and evil (though they are relative and human in nature), I do believe in karma and I do believe that we are born with an in-earth sense of right and wrong, time, experience, friends, external factors effectively wear away at our sense of good/bad until we eventually believe what we 'want' to believe.

I think that many religions are similar and it's all different sides of the same football.

And lastly I will reign down the eternal flame of amateratsu upon this thread should anyone even REMOTELY push this topic into the amber zone. I shall indescriminately deal out the fullest extent of my admin powers (XD) upon whosoever showeth his/her face to be what can be considered a baka....

carry on lol

[Arcmanov]

^^^  Sounds like someone is 'playing God'? 

[woodyear99]

Ok firstly I will admit I've always wanted to start a thread like this to have a mature discussion with my fellow GATT ppl. I know religion is a sensitive topic and as such I avoid discussing it with most people.

Secondly chakra awarded to UltimateGamer for starting a well thought out, considerate thread that does have merit. Sadly it could go the way of the Dodo lol.

Anyway here goes.........

I was raised a Catholic, went to a Catholic secondary school, but always knew that the religion was not for me. As I got older I drifted away from the church and was pretty happy. I had a feeling that later in life the church and I would meet up again though as you will see below.

So I've been engaged for a while and have been making wedding preparations. We've decided to have it in a catholic church to make family happy and continue with that tradition. I had some serious reservations at first but gave in since it would not change my beliefs nor how I feel about the catholic religion. I won't go into too many details however the initial meeting with the nun was a bit awkward since she seemed to be upset when I told her I don't really follow the church etc. Questions like why you want to get married here? Why not go red house etc. Eventually I explained my beliefs to her and asked only to be respected like I respect her beliefs. She told me that it is not a problem but that she was saddened that I wouldn't learn more ie. do confirmation before getting married.

Anyway according to Catholic rules once one member has been baptized you can be married, no confirmation necessary.

We've got to go to the Catholic engaged encounter weekend soon, not really too keen on going but it is a requirement for Catholic marriage preparation. Has anyone ever attended one of those? Would love to know your experience on it. PM me if you want to discuss privately.

The reason why I gave this little story is that I've never really had to confront my beliefs nor to really discuss what I believe and why. Having this ongoing preparation for marriage has really made me think more about what I believe, with me even trying to "classify" myself into a religion. I do believe that there is something more than just our everyday lives, is it god? a sphagetti monster floating around in space? Don't think anyone knows for sure, but we were all put here for a purpose.

The thing is I never really identified with any particular religion to begin with. What I believe is this, similar to what others have said :-
You are free to believe whatever you wish, that is what makes this world so great. Serious problems arise when we try to silence the beliefs of others. Treat people with respect. To me it is that simple.

My personal mantra is to stay positive and enjoy the music while it lasts....

[UltimateGamer]

I understand everything you guys are saying. I thank you so much for your input.

Hard o\c has a great concept in not looking at ppl differently based on religion. Its something that we have had here in trini for a while but since sept 11, some of that seems to be changing, especially within the younger generation who seems to be growing up without moral foundation.

Arc's take is where I see most of "intellectuals" lie. And for the most part, I also understand why he feels that way.

Sax, what I do admire about you is that despite all of your trials you still haven't give up on the concept of god. Losing faith is easy when faced with any type of tribulation. Hopefully one day my friend, you will be lead to whatever version of the truth and happiness which will satisfy you. In the mean time, don't give up and GAME HARD!!!!

Essentially wyatt I don't want us to debate or spread that which we believe. I just want that if we have people on this board who belongs to specific denominations who may be able to answer certain religious questions that we may have for each other.

I personally, am doing this to help clear up any misconceptions anyone on this board has about islam, because quite frankly I know you guys to be very intellectual, but because religion is such a hot topic, no one touches it. And these days islam in the media is proposed as a religion of terror and hate, and since 2006 I have been on these boards and am comfortable enough with you guys to come openly and say "don't whisper about what you see on TV, ask, seek the knowledge and we can stop the hate". (within ourselves towards others, because it exist)

In closing, I'll just like you guys to know that regardless of our beliefs we are all human and gamers and family men and tech enthusiast and much more. I am just trying to release the stigma that has become attached to my beliefs, by sticking directly at ANY question asked with ONLY the facts as it exist in ISLAM, and NO runaround or misdirection of any kind. I think we are all mature enough to help stop the hate/misunderstandings around each other's belief systems.

Who knows, maybe one day we can see manning, rowley, kamla and panday all holding hands and singing kumbaya, because a couple of us decided to stop being arrogant and just ask a question 
** Edit
@woodyear, my friend, if you ever want to discuss anything pertaining to faith, feeling lost (where the whole god thing is concerned), be it from a catholic, agnostic, atheistic or "spiritual" perspective, I welcome the opportunity. I frequently engage in such discussions, and usually never use Islam in the discussion to get a point across (unless explicitly asked). It is a spiritual sense that guided me and years of research. Perhaps after some talks and your own research, you can come to your own conclusion.

And mods and admins, I myself have no tolerance for flaming, block the topic if it goes to the crapper!

[W1nTry]

^^^  Sounds like someone is 'playing God'?  

That was intentional, glad someone picked it up, I ALMOST used 'holy flame amateratsu' XD

On a related note, i'm also somewhat glad to have someone to answer questions about islam, because the websters dictionary and reading wikis eh really go cut it when I want a direct answer about something. That aside just another 2c, I look at many religions (I do consider or rather DON'T consider some that deal with the darker elements of humanity as those aren't what I constitute my path) the way I look at govenments or governing systems. In theory both democracy and communism are great ideas, they have pros and cons and if they were implemented to the letter our world would be a better place, same applies to religion, the Holy books regardless of which do have great life stories and do give (subject to interpretation) similar and good guidelines to follow. Humans are what ^&*( up the whole dance. It's greed, lust, etc etc that totally spoil it for the rest of us and sadly as the saying goes power corrupts (and in the case of those in high positions in government or religion) 'absolute power' as they tend to think they have corrupts absolutely. Just my 2c

[UltimateGamer]

A post as W1n's is exactly why I reiterated as to the level of intellectuals on this board!

[Preston786]

lmao @ "born human" as opposed to what..... ?

born mer-men? and at puberty we grew some lungs and evolved ? hehe

I would like to think everyone here was born that way otherwise

I'll be ringing up Mulder an Skully pretty soon

[woodyear99]

I look at many religions (I do consider or rather DON'T consider some that deal with the darker elements of humanity as those aren't what I constitute my path) the way I look at govenments or governing systems. In theory both democracy and communism are great ideas, they have pros and cons and if they were implemented to the letter our world would be a better place, same applies to religion, the Holy books regardless of which do have great life stories and do give (subject to interpretation) similar and good guidelines to follow. Humans are what ^&*( up the whole dance. It's greed, lust, etc etc that totally spoil it for the rest of us and sadly as the saying goes power corrupts (and in the case of those in high positions in government or religion) 'absolute power' as they tend to think they have corrupts absolutely. Just my 2c

That is a good point, I feel the same way.

@UltimateGamer thanks! I am actually more comfortable now with my beliefs than when I was growing up. I remember the priests, teachers etc. would always tell us if you don't go to church etc. you are going down a bad road. Now I can look back and smile hehe.

[W1nTry]

lmao @ "born human" as opposed to what..... ?

born mer-men? and at puberty we grew some lungs and evolved ? hehe

I would like to think everyone here was born that way otherwise

I'll be ringing up Mulder an Skully pretty soon

Hoss, the kinds of things ppl do out there, I want to believe they were born lagahoo... cause dread imho you have to fall REAL REAL REAL FAR to do the attrocious acts some ppl do, esp to OTHER ppl children... so like I said I was born human, some ppl though I not sure about.

P.S. I modified the poll, as more than 1 person pointed out Catholics ARE Christians. Also changed the last option to something more PC XD

[Redlum08]

lmao @ "born human" as opposed to what..... ?

born mer-men? and at puberty we grew some lungs and evolved ? hehe

I would like to think everyone here was born that way otherwise

I'll be ringing up Mulder an Skully pretty soon

Read my Gamertag backwards...