Personally, I wish I could believe in God, but I just can't. I used to as a kid, I really did, but I was given no reason to continue my belief... I'm not really bothered about other people's religions. The only time I do is when you use your religion to hate on others, like when some Christians (notice the SOME, because I know some Christians who don't too) use their belief to say that homosexuality is wrong, or say that you'll go to hell if you don't have the same beliefs as them. That's not at all Christian, is it?!

Well, to be honest about the last part DizzyDotRocks, every religion, that is based on God/Allah has the rule that you'll end up in hell if you don't believe in that religion. As it's one of the 10 commandments. And to answer the topic. I'm pretty far from religious. :p But I respect others believes, as long as they don't come push them on me.

^^ I'm the same way. I sort've like the philosophy against religious beliefs like, this one. To be an all-mighty omni benevolent creator you would have to be the most powerful being to ever exist. That being the case, your strength is matched only by your handicap.. let me give you an example. Climbing a mountain is an achievement but climbing a mountain with one arm is an even greater achievement. So the greatest handicap the most powerful being could have is non-existence. Creating without existing would be the greatest possible achievement, therefore. God does not exist.

I would say that I believe in aspects of religion. I mean I am not a typical go to church every Sunday, read the bible front to back and try to convert other every chance I get Christian, but I do believe in god not in any concrete way but more as a guiding spirit. I find that there is to much hype in following a religion step by step and that there always has to be a very structured version of religion. I am Episcopalian which is Christianity but with more music and a lot less pointing out everyone's sins and condemning them to hell. I love religion and I respect those who dont choose to follow a religious circuit. Everyone is entitled to their beliefs

I'm Christian. O_o Actually, I'm old school Roman Catholic, to be precise. I think few people really are though. Real Christians don't shove our religon down other peoples throat and we aren't as overtly concerned about saving other's souls. We try not to judge (but of course, no one is perfect and I don't have a 'holier-than-thou' thing going on either) and love and accept everyone. So I'm not going to stand here and rant on how 'terrible' (note the parenthesis) it is that you don't believe in God or whatever, cause that's not what I am about. So. Yeah. To each his own, I say. :) *EDITZZ* Also, I don't believe in religion, I believe in faith. Because there are things we can't explain by science. I mean, we can always expand our knowledge of science and see where it takes us (like, Evolution. It took Darwin his whole life to figure that out, and it was proved. I believe in it.) I believe God made science. And it's stupid for 'The Church' to come and attack it. I have so much more to say but then it'll be a rant. If you really want to know a SPECIFIC thing then I'll totally answer, but I can't be bothered to right now.

Well I'm religious, and yeah, I think not everything can be proven in concrete, or atleast not "scientifically", but it doesn't matter what others believe in, their entitled to their beliefs and so are you, just keep to yourself and ignore 'em, that's what I do.

Religion is a pretty sticky subject like, it should really be spoken about with respect and an open mind, in my opinion. Anyway. I'm not religious in any way. I was brought up religious, my grandmother is very religious, but not in a "stick it down your throat way" and I respect that. I do not respect people who shove religion down someone's throat. But you know I went to church and all that because I respected her for letting me make my own decisions as to my religion. I do believe people should educate themselves about different religions and scientific theory for how the universe was created, etc before they made a decision, as I did. I do have respect for those who are religious without shoving it in your face, and I do find all the different religions fascinating, I love reading about them and experiencing different aspects of these religions, not because I particularly believe them, but because I think they are so interesting. And I like to keep an open mind, you never know, maybe there is some sort of "God" or higher power (or whatever) out there. You never know until it can be proven otherwise. :)

Interesting! It's true that Christian beliefs ( or those of any religions for the matter) or philosophies can offend those who chose not to accept them, and that the concept of an afterlife or a "God" can seem impossible to prove( that is because it is a matter of faith). Also,i agree with the fact that Christians should not shove things down people's throat;there are better ways to have discussions of such a manner.However, one must learn to respect others beliefs and religion.Ranting at a whole belief system or religious people is disrespectful.But i understand that you are very offended at this moment.so.. I hope that you find peace :)

it's not just that, me and alot of other calls religion the only accpeted insanity, also i use this quote alot "when one person believe in delusions it's called insanity, when lot's of people believe in delusions, it's called religion" i do not keep an open mind to religion, their way of life might be good enough but the way they talk really annoys me like "jesus sacrificed himself so you could be saved through god's grace and forgiveness" hmmm god forgive? why do we then go to hell? and satan is also looked upon as a evil creature, but he punish the bad? it's like saying the police are criminals, the whole doubble moral in religion and such annoys me, religion kept women down for several thousand years. much hatred for religion grows aswell, i've seen lot's of them like "religion; the root of all evil" "Sane or Insane, Reality or Religion" etc. it grows bigger and bigger. I'm a freethinker; "Freethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds that opinions should be formed on the basis of science, logic, and reason, and should not be influenced by authority, tradition, or dogma.[1] The cognitive application of freethought is known as 'freethinking', and practitioners of freethought are known as 'freethinkers'. Freethought holds that individuals should not accept ideas proposed as truth without recourse to knowledge and reason. Thus, freethinkers strive to build their opinions on the basis of facts, scientific inquiry, and logical principles, independent of any logical fallaciesor intellectually limiting effects of authority, confirmation bias, cognitive bias, conventional wisdom, popular culture, prejudice, sectarianism, tradition, urban legend, and all other dogmas. Regarding religion, freethinkers hold that there is insufficient evidence to support the existence of supernatural phenomena. A line from "Clifford's Credo" by the 19th Century British mathematician and philosopher William Kingdon Clifford perhaps best describes the premise of freethought: "It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence." -wikipedida-

Well, being an active oposer against religion makes you no better then the religious people who goes around trying to convert you to their religion. Thus also being double moralist, like the people you claim are insane. As you say you don't like them pushing their religion on you. The only way to go in my opinion is to have mutual respect, whether or not your religious or not. As one of the major reasons to wars in the world are religion and oposition of religion. The utopia I'd like to see is that everyone lives in peace and harmony, regardless of blieves. I call this utopia of the fact that I know this will never happen. As long as we got both die hard religious and die hard anti-religious movements in this earth. I still stand for my non-religious belief, but I respect other that believe in a greater power.

It's not the same, i like comparing religion to schizophrenia and other psychological diseases, if you study psychology it's quite amazing how you can find stuff easily compared to religion and different beliefs, people with schizophrenia also believe what they see/hear is real, people who are killers out of psychological reasons think it's right because they have voices or images in their head of a greater being telling them to do so. The smartest people in the world are against religion, Steven Hawkings is an example. the founding fathers of america is another example. here are some quotes. Mark Twain: Surely the ass who invented the first religion ought to be the first ass damned Faith is believing in that which I know ain't so. Robert Green Ingersoll: The hands that help are better far than lips that pray. Nothing could be more idiotic and absurd than the doctrine of the trinity. Ernest Hemmingway: All thinking men are atheists. Mohandas Gandhi I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ. Dennis Miller Born again?! No, I'm not. Excuse me for getting it right the first time. Annie Dillard Eskimo: "If I did not know about God and sin, would I go to hell?" Priest: "No, not if you did not know." Eskimo: "Then why did you tell me?" Arthur C. Clarke "Religion is the most malevolent of all mind viruses." (18th February 2004, The Onion AV Club interview.) Stephen Weinberg. "Without religion, we'd have good people doing good things, and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion." I am a big fan of Thomas Jefferson's religious statements. here is one. "Shake off all the fears of servile prejudices, under which weak minds are servilely crouched. Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call on her tribunal for every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear. " Thomas Jefferson This is perhaps the most important statement on religion ever made. It clarified the intent of the founders of the constitution irrespective of the attempts of modern day religious revisionists... "Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between church and State." -Thomas Jefferson, letter to Danbury Baptist Association, CT., Jan. 1, 1802 another keeper..... "To talk of immaterial existences is to talk of nothings. To say that the human soul, angels, god, are immaterial, is to say they are nothings, or that there is no god, no angels, no soul. I cannot reason otherwise: but I believe I am supported in my creed of materialism by Locke, Tracy, and Stewart. At what age of the Christian church this heresy of immaterialism, this masked atheism, crept in, I do not know. But heresy it certainly is." -Thomas Jefferson, letter to John Adams another great one... "And the day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerve in the brain of Jupiter." -Thomas Jefferson, Letter to John Adams, April 11, 1823 How did Jefferson feel about the people of his day who were the equivalent of our modern day penecostals? You know, those revelation reveling tongue speaking idiots... It is between fifty and sixty years since I read the Apocalypse, and I then considered it merely the ravings of a maniac, no more worthy, nor capable of explanation than the incoherences of our own nightly dreams.... what has no meaning admits no explanation. -- Thomas Jefferson, to Alexander Smyth, January 17, 1825 There are many many more and each one is more profound than the next. "In Christianity neither morality nor religion come into contact with reality at any point." "The word "Christianity" is already a misunderstanding - in reality there has been only one Christian, and he died on the Cross." "The Christian resolution to find the world ugly and bad has made the world ugly and bad." "There is not enough love and kindness in the world to give any of it away to imaginary beings." - Friederich Nietzsche "It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." - Carl Sagan "Fear paints pictures of ghosts and hangs them in the gallery of ignorance." "Nothing could be more idiotic and absurd than the doctrine of the trinity." (paraphrase) - "If God objected to [people with various handicaps], he ought not have created such people." Robert G Ingersoll "This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it." - John Adams "The world holds two classes of men - intelligent men without religion, and religious men without intelligence." - Abu Ala Al-Maari "Creationists make it sound like a 'theory' is something you dreamt up after being drunk all night." - Isaac Asimov "So far as religion of the day is concerned, it is a damned fake. Religion is all bunk." - Thomas Alva Edison "I am myself a dissenter from all known religions, and I hope that every kind of religious belief will die out." - Bertrand Russell "I do not believe any type of religion should ever be introduced into the public schools of the United States." - Thomas Alva Edison "Tell me there is a God in the serene heavens that will damn his children for the expression of an honest belief! More men have died in their sins, judged by your orthodox creeds, than there are leaves in all the forests in the wide world ten thousand times over. Tell me these men are in Hell; that these men are in torment; that these children are in eternal pain, and that they are to be punished forever and forever! I denounce this doctrine as the most infamous of lies." - Robert G. Ingersoll "The Christian god can easily be pictured as virtually the same god as the many ancient gods of past civilizations. The Christian god is a three headed monster; cruel, vengeful and capricious. If one wishes to know more of this raging, three headed beast-like god, one only needs to look at the caliber of people who say they serve him. They are always of two classes: fools and hypocrites." - Thomas Jefferson "Religion is "so absurd that it comes close to imbecility."" - H. L. Mencken "Religion is fundamentally opposed to everything I hold in veneration--courage, clear thinking, honesty, fairness, and, above all, love of the truth."- H. L. Mencken ". Religions vary in their degree of idiocy, but I reject them all. For most people, religion is nothing more than a substitute for a malfunctioning brain." - Gene Roddenberry "If God has spoken, why is the world not convinced?" - Percy Bysshe Shelley "It is easier to suppose that the universe has existed for all eternity than to conceive a being beyond its limits capable of creating it." - Percy Bysshe Shelley "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion that has ever infected the world." - Voltaire "Reality is what it is, not what you want it to be." - Frank Zappa "To sit alone with my conscience will be judgment enough for me." - Charles William Stubbs "For there is nothing either good or bad, thinking makes it so." - William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Hamlet, II.ii "Faith: not wanting to know what is true." - Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) "The being we call god is merely a pawn working for a powerful and rational force in some far-off galaxy. This force is trying to weed out people who are irrational by seeing who would be stupid enough to believe in his god illusion so easily. Those that believe in this illusion, he will send to eternal damnation and he will deliver the rational beings, those who stoically refused to believe in a god, to heaven." - Nicholas Yee "God for you is where you sweep away all the mysteries of the world, all the challenges to our intelligence. You simply turn your mind off and say God did it." - Carl Sagan (1934-1996), Contact "Religions are all alike - founded upon fables and mythologies." --Thomas Jefferson "It's fair to say that the Bible contains equal amounts of fact, history, and pizza." --Penn Jillette "I don't see any god up here" - Yuri Gagarin - first man in space, while in space. When Jesus Christ came upon the Earth, you killed Him. The son of your own God. And only after He was dead did you worship Him and start killing those who would not. — Tecumseh God is a concept by which we measure our pain. - John Lennon We need more understanding of human nature, because the only real danger that exists is man himself. - Carl Gustav Jung I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires. - Susan B. Anthony If the gods listened to the prayers of men, all humankind would quickly perish since they constantly pray for many evils to befall one another. - Epicurus Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? - Epicurus God Himself, sir, does not propose to judge a man until his life is over. Why should you and I? - Samuel Johnson I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. - Galileo To judge from the notions expounded by theologians, one must conclude that God created most men simply with a view to crowding hell. - Marquis De Sade God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh. - Voltaire God is the great mysterious motivator of what we call nature and it has been said often by philosophers, that nature is the will of God . And, I prefer to say that nature is the only body of God that we shall ever see. - Frank Lloyd Wright Forgive, O Lord, my little jokes on Thee And I'll forgive Thy great big one on me. - Robert Frost To know a person's religion we need not listen to his profession of faith but must find his brand of intolerance. - Eric Hoffer If I were personally to define religion, I would say that it is a bandage that man has invented to protect a soul made bloody by circustance. - Theodore Dreiser A country dominated by televangelism would be unrecognizable to the Founding Fathers, who envisioned religion as personal and spiritua, not social and political. No particular variety of religion was intended to control the political agenda, to set the community's mo ral tone or to judge who are the true believers and members of our society. But this is precisely the objective of the electric church . - Razelle Frankel My faith is that the only soul a man must save is his own. - William Orville Douglas England has forty-two religions and only two sauces. - Voltaire Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to the garage makes you a car. - Laurence J. Peter I think that God in creating man somewhat overestimated his ability. - Oscar Wilde If there is no God, who pops up the next Kleenex? - Art Hoppe "How do I know the Bible isn't the word of God? Well if it was the word of God it would be clear and easy to understand...considering God was the creator of LANGUAGE!" - Bill Hicks. "There's a big difference between kneeling down and bending over." - Frank Zappa. Dan Barker song: "I'm proud to be an atheist - it helps me stand for so much more and fall for so much less." "All religions have been made by men." - Napoleon Bonaparte "But who prays for Satan? Who, in eighteen centuries, has had the common humanity to pray for the one sinner that needed it most?" - Mark Twain "We are all atheists about most of the gods that societies have ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further." - Richard Dawkins "Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beutiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?" - Douglas Adams "We must respect the other fellow's religion, but only in the same sense to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beutiful and his children smart." - H.L. Mencken "One cannot really be a Catholic and grown up." George Orwell "I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect, had intended for us to forgo their use." - Galileo Galilei "Atheism is a requirement for a complete human being. Religion is a crutch that is shackled to you, one you never really needed in the first place, but were convinced by others that you couldn't live without. Once you discover it's only an illusion, that it's not even a real crutch, you discard it gladly." -Brent Yaciw "If there is a God, atheism must seem to Him as less of an insult than religion.” --Edmond de Goncourt "The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike." --Huang Po "Faith is a cop-out. It is intellectual bankruptcy. If the only way you can accept an assertion is by faith, then you are conceding that it can't be taken on its own merits." --Dan Barker, former evangelist "Atheism is not a philosophy; it is not even a view of the world; it is simply an admission of the obvious. In fact, 'atheist' is a term that should not ever exist. No one ever needs to identify himself as a 'non astrologer' or a 'non-alchemist'. We do not have words for people who doubt that Elvis is still alive or that aliens traversed the galaxy only to molest ranchers and their cattle. Atheism is nothing more than the noises reasonable people make in the presence of unjustified religious beliefs. An atheist is simply a person who believes that the 260 million Americans (87 percent of the population) claiming to 'never doubt the existence of God' should be obliged to present evidence for his existence-and, indeed, for his BENEVOLENCE, given the relentless destruction of innocent human beings we witness in the world each day." --Sam Harris, "Letter to a Christian Nation" "you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32 I know its from the bible, but its still a great anti-religion quote... "Religion is the opium of the masses." -Karl Marx I just read another one in Time magazine by Mark Twain - this was in reply to someone back then claiming that America is (was) a Christian nation: "So is Hell." "Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest" - Denis Diderot. “Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet” –Napoleon Bonaparte “Hence today I believe I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator” –Adolph Hitler “I trust God speaks through me. Without that, I couldn't do my job.” –George W. Bush "Let's face it; God has an ego problem, why do we always have to worship him? "- Bill Maher "I don't know anyone less Jesus like than Christians." - Bill Maher "I would never want to be the member of a group whose symbol was a guy nailed to two pieces of wood." - George Carlin" "I have as much authority as the pope, I just don't have as many people that believe it." George Carlin "One man's theology is another man's belly laugh." - Robert Heinlein "History does not record anywhere at any time a religion that has any rational basis. Religion is a crutch for people not strong enough to stand up to the unknown without help. But like dandruff, most people do have a religion and spend time and money on it and seem to derive considerable pleasure from fiddling with it." - Robert Heinlein. "In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move". ~ Douglas Adams If we go back to the beginning we shall find that ignorance and fear created the gods; that fancy, enthusiasm, or deceit adorned or disfigured them; that weakness worships them; that credulity preserves them, and that custom, respect and tyranny support them in order to make the blindness of men serve its own interests. -- Baron d'Holbach, The System of Nature Nature, you say, is totally inexplicable without a God. That is to say, to explain what you understand very little, you have need of a cause which you understand not at all. -- Baron d'Holbach, Good Sense Few intelligent Christians can still hold to the idea that the Bible is an infallible Book, that it contains no linguistic errors, no historical discrepancies, no antiquated scientific assumptions, not even bad ethical standards. Historical investigation and literary criticism have taken the magic out of the Bible and have made it a composite human book, written by many hands in different ages. The existence of thousands of variations of texts makes it impossible to hold the doctrine of a book verbally infallible. Some might claim for the original copies of the Bible an infallible character, but this view only begs the question and makes such Christian apologetics more ridiculous in the eyes of the sincere man. -- Elmer Homrighausen, Christianity in America I recall the story of the philosopher and the theologian. The two were engaged in disputation and the theologian used the old quip about a philosopher resembling a blind man, in a dark room, looking for a black cat—which wasn't there. "That may be," said the philosopher: "but a theologian would have found it." -- Julian Huxley, The Creed of a Scientific Humanist To fill a world with...religions of the Abrahamic kind, is like littering the streets with loaded guns. Do not be surprised if they are used. R Dawkins "We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us." Joseph Campbell "I'd rather have a mind opened by wonder than one closed by belief." Gerry Spencer "We are inclined to believe those whom we do not know because they have never deceived us" Samuel Johnson "Believe one who has proved it. Believe an expert." Virgil "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit attrocities." Voltaire "Such evil deeds could religion prompt" Lucretius "The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness" Joseph Conrad "Men never do evil so completely and cheerfullly as when they do it from a religious conviction" Blaise Pascale >>> "Faith must have adequate evidence else it is mere superstition"...Alexander Hodge (1823-1886) "A myth is a religion in which no one any longer believes"...James Feibleman (1904-1987) Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man -- living in the sky -- who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do.. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever 'til the end of time! ..But He loves you. -George Carlin "When one person suffers from delusion, it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion, it is called Religion." --unknown "The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully."--Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion, ch. 2. "The study of theology, as it stands in Christian churches, is the study of nothing; it is founded on nothing; it rests on nothing; it proceeds by no authorities; it has no data; it can demonstrate nothing."--Thomas Paine, in The Age Of Reason, quoted with approval by David Mills in Atheist Universe, ch. 6. "The moment we admit that our beliefs are attempts to represent states of the world, we see that they must stand in right relation to the world to be valid." --Sam Harris, The End Of Faith, ch. 2; emphasis in original. "Urging humans to be superhumans, on pain of death and torture, is the urging of terrible self-abasement at their repeated and inevitable failure to keep the rules."--Christopher Hitchens, god is not great, ch. 15. "Imagine a puddle waking up one morning and thinking, 'This is an interesting world I find my self in - an interesting hole I find my self in - fits me rather neatly, doesn't it? In fact it fits me staggeringly well, must have been made to have me in it!' This is such a powerful idea that as the sun rises in the sky and the air heats up and as, gradually, the puddle gets smaller and smaller, it's still frantically hanging on to the notion that everything's going to be alright, because this world was meant to have him in it, was built to have him in it; so the moment he disappears catches him rather by surprise. I think this may be something we need to be on the watch out for." - Douglass Adams I really like Marilyn Manson's "The Fight Song": I'm not a slave to a god that doesn't exist/I'm not a slave to a world that doesn't give a shit here are some from benjamin franklin: "I think vital religion has always suffered when orthodoxy is more regarded than virtue. The scriptures assure me that at the last day we shall not be examined on what we thought but what we did." - letter to his father, 1738 ". . . Some books against Deism fell into my hands. . . It happened that they wrought an effect on my quite contrary to what was intended by them; for the arguments of the Deists, which were quoted to be refuted, appeared to me much stronger than the refutations; in short, I soon became a thorough Deist." . "I cannot conceive otherwise than that He, the Infinite Father, expects or requires no worship or praise from us, but that He is even infinitely above it." - "Articles of Belief and Acts of Religion", 1728 . "I wish it (Christianity) were more productive of good works ... I mean real good works ... not holy-day keeping, sermon-hearing ... or making long prayers, filled with flatteries and compliments despised by wise men, and much less capable of pleasing the Deity." - Works, Vol. VII, p. 75 . "If we look back into history for the character of the present sects in Christianity, we shall find few that have not in their turns been persecutors, and complainers of persecution. The primitive Christians thought persecution extremely wrong in the Pagans, but practiced it on one another. The first Protestants of the Church of England blamed persecution in the Romish Church, but practiced it upon the Puritans. They found it wrong in Bishops, but fell into the practice themselves both here (England) and in New England." . "Lighthouses are more helpful than churches." . "The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason." -in Poor Richard's Almanac . "When a religion is good, I conceive it will support itself; and when it does not support itself so that its professors are obliged to call for the help of the civil power, 'tis a sign, I apprehend, of its being a bad one." . "I looked around for God's judgments, but saw no signs of them." . "In the affairs of the world, men are saved, not by faith, but by the lack of it." "It is much to be lamented that a man of Franklin's general good character and great influence should have been an unbeliever in Christianity, and also have done as much as he did to make others unbelievers" (Priestley's Autobiography) George Washington The father of this country was very private about his beliefs, but it is widely considered that he was a Deist like his colleagues. He was a Freemason. Historian Barry Schwartz writes: "George Washington's practice of Christianity was limited and superficial because he was not himself a Christian... He repeatedly declined the church's sacraments. Never did he take communion, and when his wife, Martha, did, he waited for her outside the sanctuary... Even on his deathbed, Washington asked for no ritual, uttered no prayer to Christ, and expressed no wish to be attended by His representative." [New York Press, 1987, pp. 174-175] Paul F. Boller states in is anthology on Washington: "There is no mention of Jesus Christ anywhere in his extensive correspondence." [Dallas: Southern Methodist University Press, 1963, pp. 14-15] . . "Religious controversies are always productive of more acrimony and irreconcilable hatreds than those which spring from any other cause. Of all the animosities which have existed among mankind, those which are caused by the difference of sentiments in religion appear to be the most inveterate and distressing, and ought most to be depreciated. I was in hopes that the enlightened and liberal policy, which has marked the present age, would at least have reconciled Christians of every denomination so far that we should never again see the religious disputes carried to such a pitch as to endanger the peace of society." - letter to Edward Newenham, 1792 Abraham lincoln: At times religious wording was written into Lincoln's speeches, but such public soothes were brought at the insistence of White House staff members. In 1843, after he lost a campaign for Congress, he wrote to his supporters: "It was everywhere contended that no Christian ought to vote for me because I belonged to no church, and was suspected of being a Deist." When Lincoln was first considered for the presidential nomination, Logan Hay wrote to his nephew, the future Secretary of State John Hay: "Candor compels me to say that Mr. Lincoln could hardly be termed a devout believer in the authenticity of the Bible (but this is for your ears only)." Interviewer Opie Read once asked Lincoln about his conception of God, to which he replied: "The same as my conception of nature." When he was asked what he meant by that, he said: "That it is impossible for either to be personal." His former law partner, William Herndon, said of him after his assassination: "[Mr. Lincoln] never mentioned the name of Jesus, except to scorn and detest the idea of a miraculous conception. He did write a little work on infidelity in 1835-6, and never recanted. He was an out-and-out infidel, and about that there is no mistake." He also said that Lincoln "assimilated into his own being" the heretical book Age of Reason by Thomas Paine. Lincoln's first law partner, John T. Stuart, said of him: "He was an avowed and open infidel, and sometimes bordered on atheism. He went further against Christian beliefs and doctrines and principles than any man I have ever heard." Supreme Court Justice David Davis: "He [Lincoln] had no faith, in the Christian sense of the term-- he had faith in laws, principles, causes and effects." . . "The Bible is not my book, nor Christianity my profession." -Spoken by Abraham Lincoln, quoted by Joseph Lewis No one disputes the faith of our Founding Fathers. To speak of unalienable Rights being endowed by a Creator certainly shows a sensitivity to our spiritual selves. What is suprising is when fundamentalist Christians think the Founding Father's faith had anything to do with the Bible. Without exception, the faith of our Funding Fathers was deist, not theist. It was best expressed earlier in the Declaration of Independence, when they spoke of "the Laws of Nature" and of "Nature's God." In a sermon of October 1831, Episcopalian minister Bird Wilson said, "Among all of our Presidents, from Washington downward, not one was a professor of religion, at least not of more than Unitarianism." The Bible? Here is what our Founding Fathers wrote about Bible-based Christianity Thomas Jefferson "I have examined all the known superstitions of the world and I do not find in our particular superstition of Christianity one redeeming feature. They are all alike founded on fables and mythology. Millions of innocent men, women, and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined, and imprisoned. What has been the effect of this coercion? To make one half the world fools and the other half hypocrites; to support roguery and error all over the earth." SIX HISTORIC AMERICANS By John E. Remsburg, letter to William Short Jefferson again "Christianity...(has become) the most perverted system that ever shone on man...Rogueries, absurdities and untruths were perpetrated upon the teachings of Jesus by a large band of dupes and imposters led by Paul, the first great corruptor of the teachings of Jesus." More Jefferson "The clergy converted the simple teachings of Jesus into an engine for enslaving mankind and adulturated by artificial constructions into a contrivance to filch wealth and power to themselves...these clergy in fact, constitute the real Anti-Christ." Jefferson's word for the Bible? "Dunghill." John Adams "Where do we find a precept in the Bible for Creeds, Confessions, Doctrines and Oaths, and whole cartloads of other trumpery that we find religion encumbered with in these days?" Also Adams "The doctrine of the divinity of Jesus is made a convenient cover for absurdity." Adams signed the Treaty of Tripoli. Article 11 states "The Government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion." Here's Thomas Paine "I would not dare to so dishonor my Creator God by attaching His name to that book (the Bible)." "Among the most detesable villains in history, you could not find one worse than Moses. Here is an order, attributed to 'God' to butcher the boys, to massacre the mothers, and to debauch and rape the daughters. I would not dare so dishonor my Creator's name by (attaching) it to this filthy book (the Bible)." "It is the duty of every true Diest to vindicate the moral justice of God against the evils of the Bible." "Accustom a people to believe that priests and clergy can forgive sins...and you will have sins in abundance." And; "The Christian church has set up a religion of pomp and revenue in pretend imitation of a person (Jesus) who lived a life of poverty." Finally let's hear from James Madison "What influence in fact have Christian ecclesiastical establishments had on civil society? In many instances they have been upholding the thrones of political tyrrany. In no instance have they been seen as the guardians of the liberties of the people. Rulers who wished to subvert the public liberty have found in the clergy convenient auxiliaries. A just government, instituted to secure and perpetuate liberty, does not need the clergy." Madison objected to state-supported chaplains in Congress and to the exemption of churches from taxation. He wrote "Religion and government will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together." These Founding Fathers were a reflection of the American population. Having escaped from the state-established religions of Europe, only 7% of the people in the 13 colonies belonged to a church when the Declaration of Independence was signed. Among those who confuse Christianity with the founding of America, the rise of conservative Baptists is one of the more interesting developments. The Baptists believed God's authority came from the people, not the priesthood, and they had been persecuted for this belief. It was they - the Baptists - who were instrumental in securing the separation of church and state. They knew you can not have a "one-way-wall" that lets religion into government but that does not let it out. They knew no religion is capable of handling political power without becoming corrupted by it. And, perhaps, they knew it was Christ himself who first proposed the separation of church and state; "Give unto Caesar that which is Caesar's and unto the Lord that which is the Lord's." In the last five years the Baptists have been taken over by a fundamentalist faction that insists authority comes from the Bible and that the individual must accept the interpretation of the Bible from a higher authority. These usurpers of the Baptist faith are those who insist they should meddle in the affairs of the government and it is they who insist the government should meddle in the beliefs of individuals. References The writings of Thomas Jefferson exist in 25 volumes. The references for this article were found in the book, SIX HISTORIC AMERICANS, by John E. Remsburg (who interviewed many of Lincoln's associates). Much of his work on Jefferson came from THE MEMOIRS, CORRESPONDENCE AND MISCELLANIES FROM THE PAPERS OF THOMAS JEFFERSON, 4 volumes ed. by Thomas Jefferson Randolph (the grandson of Thomas Jefferson). WWJD What Would Jefferson Do? April 13, 2000 marks Thomas Jefferson's 257th birthday. In honor of this occasion, Americans United has pulled together some of Jefferson's best statements on church and state. Jefferson, along with James Madison, was a key architect of the religious liberty guarantees we enjoy today. What better way to honor the memory of this visionary founder than spending a few moments reading and reflecting on his timeless wisdom? With issues such as voucher aid to religious schools and government-sponsored prayer in public schools pending in Congress and the state legislatures, Jefferson's comments are just as relevant today as they were then. Religious Right activists claim the framers never intended to separate church and state. Christian Coalition president Pat Robertson says separation is a "lie of the left." TV preacher Jerry Falwell calls it "a modern fabrication." Here are Jefferson's own words on the subject. Separation of Church and State "Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church and State." --Letter to the Danbury (Conn.) Baptist Association, January 1, 1802 Taxation for Religion "[T]o compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves, is sinful and tyrannical; that even the forcing of him to support this or that teacher of his own religious persuasion, is depriving him of the comfortable liberty of giving his contributions to the particular pastor whose morals he would make his pattern, and whose powers he feels most persuasive to righteousness....Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly, That no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities." --Excerpts from Jefferson's Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, 1786 Government-Sponsored Prayer and Other Religious Worship "I do not believe it is for the interest of religion to invite the civil magistrate to direct its exercises, its discipline, or its doctrines; nor of the religious societies, that the General Government should be invested with the power of effecting any uniformity of time or matter among them. Fasting and prayer are religious exercises; the enjoining them an act of discipline. Every religious society has a right to determine for itself the times for these exercises, and the objects proper for them, according to their own particular tenets; and the right can never be safer than in their hands, where the Constitution has deposited it." --Letter to Samuel Miller, January 23, 1808 Now I've said mine ;D

I'm not really religious but I do have my beliefs, my beliefs are based on pagan religion, but living in a Christian household I still go to church for major holidays, and try to show my respect for the Chrstian religion... I feel that everybody needs some type of religion to fall on but I don't know that's just me Oh and your quote of: Mohandas Gandhi I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ. isnt exactly an athiest comment, he was a religious man, he was Buddist, and he's simply saying that he doesn't like how the christians are acting not that he doesnt like Christ...

Actually, despite the fact that I don't have a religion, I believe in the afterlife and in reincarnation xD And I also study psychology, and there are many differences between religion and mental health problems...

I believe in the land in between known as "summerland" and I believe in reincarnation... and I'm not studying psycology 'til next year sooo i wouldnt know :P

but how would you know it's your afterlife, how can you be transferred through thin air? The British Comedian Ricky Gervais is actually really smart, and he also says, you have one life, one chance, one reality...what would the afterlife be? a perfect life is no life at all cause you don't have to strive, and live is all about striving for your survival, without that there's no reason or want to live, so why then have an afterlife, and how would you know it was? Religion is based that you have a soul, but the concept of soul is the same as the concept of your brain, so the brain is you, a non-existent thing inside you called a soul would therefore be impossible. The darkness is another factor, when you're in a light room, your mind doesn't play tricks on you, but if there was no light in the room you would feel fear and confusion. Also the fact that religion was made to scare the common masses so the wealthy could get more power and dominance and control is built the same way terrorism is, terrorism is control via terror/fear therefore religion would be a form of terrorism. You might haven't found but i have found lot's of similarities between mental disorders and religion. I have no respect for religion nor should i, the whole concept of something supernatural or religion is pathetic and unreasonable. the only reason one would believe in such is because 1 reality is either boring or sad 2 you're either trying to fit in or get a hope for a second-chance cause your first was rejected by the masses of people acting bad towards you 3 you're just to lazy to think for yourself and therefore strive to accomplish a belief so that you have no need to think about the questions you want answers for or search for the answers yourself. 4 you're afraid of reality and shield your eyes with myth and superstition to feel safe or you could just be dumb. I've been raised christian, i was born into the christian belief system, i actually believed until my little brother died, i actually prayed to god that he would survive, but he died, i blamed it on the church for it's lies and hypocritical way of living. Belief is when you don't know, so saying you know is the same as saying you don't believe. Believing in an afterlife is like saying you want there to be one, but you're not sure. For some reason after that episode with my brother, seeing the character Jesus on the cross makes me smile and for some reason seeing churches and holy places burn makes me happy (yeah sound mental i know, i am, i have different mental disorders such as social anxiety disorder, Agoraphobia, Generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder) But still I manage to comprehend reality without doubting it, i doubt at lot's of things in science i find unreliable. I'm not one of those "all science is right" kinda guys cause science doesn't always have significant evidence. I'm probably getting alot weird or angry replies, but i don't really care, you can't harm me anyways, but i can, i know how to break down a person psychologically, it's easy to learn, but you should use it for good reasons not out of selfishness. It could be used to help people having a hard time, help people who are confused. And yeah I'm crazy not my fault, shit happens that affects your everyday functions, and over long periods these things change your mind drastic. End of discussion, i hate religion/superstition and those who claims it to be real doesn't believe, they lie. Big difference of claiming to know and saying that they aren't sure. So are you sure?

Also lyrics that describe my form of misanthropy and mind http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-end-of-all-things-to-come-lyrics-mudvayne.html

Ohhhhkay. I am actually very offended that you would, in a sense, call me a LOON, so then... Here goes the massive rant. I'm not going to be disrepectful, but I am very skilled in destroying arguments of any kind with COMMON SENSE. Note that I am not sticking up for the people who are crazy radicals who think everyone is going to hell, but for the real Christains and honestly, any other religion/person who respects others. Oh, and you being a radical anti-religious person doesn't make you any better than them. Respect (I'm not even asking for tolerance, just simple human kindness please) One: I noticed you used a lot of quotes that really honestly don't say much except for the persons personal belief. Two: Several were Napolean. Enough said. Three: I have studied psychology since I was six, I do understand what you may think is 'mental disorder,' so you are actually right there. Relgion is often used by man for power, but does that mean the original message is evil? Four: The Devil does not punish man, if you actually did your research, you would know that. The Devil is also in punishment. The unrepented sinners are in the pit with him, suffering. Five: It wasn't God who killed your brother, okay? Why blame God? If you don't believe in him (Even though you once did) then there is no one to blame but society itself. It was his time. If you do not believe in a higher power, there are no miracles. And if you do not believe in God, why do you seem to continually blame him? This whole tirade against religion is based on this moment here, which has blown way out of proportion. Six: Belief is not a theory, it is faith. That's why I don't believe in relgion, but faith. And not blind faith either. You can do your research. Seven: The idea of the soul is proven by science, somewhat. The body releases energy when it dies, some electromagnetic. This can transpire into what is called a ghost. If you don't believe in the afterlife, what about all the science that supports it? There is a whole division of science dedicated to the paranormal. Most of it can be explain, I'm sure, but there in unscrupulous evidance that points to an omnicient presence. What about the anti-matter studies? What about the ever expanding universe? What about the odd patterns of distribution of it? Nature, as you might know, is specific in its patterns. Why is the universe going in odd directions? If there is nothing out there to block it, why is it stopping in some places and in others it moves on? Eight: Religious people are not lazy. Maybe in the dark ages we used religion and other nonsence to describe things we did not know about, but how can we avoid the science nowadays? I certainly don't. Nine. Appearantly dumb lazy people believe in religion, and smart people don't. What do you call an IQ of 142? Does it make me lazy and stupid now? I am certified highly gifted genius, nearly to the halfway mark to Immeasurability. Ten: The bible was written by man, and I believe it has merit because these people where chosen by God. But over centuries people have defiled it for their own personal gain. I agree it has become a detestable book. But it is to be respected because it has remnants of the original Word. Eleven: I just realized your sources come from WIKIPEDIA. Holy Fu*king Failsauce. Twelve: The founding fathers where Christians, if you can remember the whole reason why we started America was based on religious oppression. As in, they believed in God just in a different way. (Oppression, obviously, is wrong.) And they built America on Christain believes (even though they wish for church and state to be seperated. Which I also believe, it isn't the gov't business.) Thirteen: God is able to stop evil, he permits it because with out evil there is not good. And goodness is a gift. Fourteen: God does not always give us what we want because (like any parent) he knows what is best for us. And it may not be the right time, or what we are asking for isn't right for us. That sounds like an excuse, I know. It's hard to reason with insanity such as yours without automatically sounding like a hypocrite; because you are already against what I am saying. Which is also known as a self-fufilling prophesy. Fifteen:Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to the garage makes you a car. - Laurence J. Peter ^This. Is right. That's why I don't go to church much. People defile the building when they go for show. I don't think you realize what this statement was trying to say. I have doubted God's existance, I was like you once. You will find many faults in my arguments, I'm sure. And I'm not saying I am perfect, and neither is my religion. But of course it would be, since I'm such a ignorant, pathetic, insane girl, right? Did I miss something? If I did, excuse me.

i never concluded with being better, i look at myself as a worthless waste of human pity which cannot accomplish shit and will end up dead before i reach the 30s, so no, im not saying i'm better, my lack of self-respect and lack of self-esteem makes me worse, but that doesn't bother me

it was his time, he was 7 days old FFS SEVEN DAYS, most of my quotes weren't napolean read them all and you'll understand

I am deeply sorry for your loss, honestly. There is a lesson to be learned with everything. You are not the only person who has loss someone; we have all had this test. Like I said, I was like you once. My cousin (Who was like my sister) died at a very young age as well. My mother went into depression (she was driving the car that got into an accident) and suddenly my whole life changed. My household was blamed, alienanted. My childhood was destroyed. I thought it was unfair that she died, she was so good. She was going through a tough time, but she was so lovely and the best person you could ever meet. She was smart and athletic and everything that I wanted to be. But she was gone, taken away. Now I know, from her death, we have to live life to the fullest. I hated God, I hated everyone. I hated my mother for ignoring me; but I realize now she was in terrible mourning. More than I care to mention here. On another note, I did not say most where from Napolean. I said several: meaning 'Some.' I actually did go through it all now, and I think that... Honestly, you found something to obsess over to cope and deal with the death of your little brother. I think that this is your way of healing, and honestly... Having so much hate isn't good. I hope you find peace, I really do. I'll pray for you, even though you don't believe in it. I wish you well. *EDIT* Thinking this over further, I must ask. Is this a cry for help? To post something like this, it seems so. See, I think you really do believe. I think this was your way of asking someone to step up and make you believe again. I think you're just an angry Christian. That's what I think.