CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

I've been asked the question "Do you believe in religion?".

And I sit there going ".___. That's like asking me if I believe in orange juice. I believe in a God, or I'm religious..."

Contextually, I was at my friends play (called Lysistrata- the sex strike. Very very very dirty play ugh... o.o;;) and some really primitive guy sitting next to me, leaned over, looked at what I was texting on my phone and said "Eh, do you believe in religion? Cos if you believe in religion you'd better get out" and winked.

Anyway, ever have people ask you REALLY stupid questions, or ever experience a week where you just keep getting asked the SAME stupid question?

[quote="xblack_x_rosesx (post: 1355869)"]I've been asked the question "Do you believe in religion?".

And I sit there going ".___. That's like asking me if I believe in orange juice. I believe in a God, or I'm religious..."

Contextually, I was at my friends play (called Lysistrata- the sex strike. Very very very dirty play ugh... o.o]

Well, speaking as an engineer.... yeah, I have lots of weeks like that. <sigh>

The one that I'm always tempted to mess with (although I don't, usually) is "Do you believe in Jesus Christ?" Most Muslims, many Jews, and even quite a few agnostics and atheists believe that a man named Jesus, generally referred to as Jesus Christ, existed. The differentiation is in what we believe about him. In general, we seem to have a problem correctly operating our own language nowadays.

EricTheFred (post: 1355890) wrote: In general, we seem to have a problem correctly operating our own language nowadays.

Seriously. "Believe" implies faith. It's not necessary to believe in something that definitely exists.

Whenever I hear a question like that, I'm tempted to say "No, I don't believe religion exists. All these churches and mosques and temples around the world are merely figments of people's imagination." Then glare.

To believe in religion is not the same as to believe in a religion and that does not necessarily make you religious... all of which are very subtle variations on the same questions with totally different implications thanks to the ambiguity of language.

Most people believe in religion, I hate to break it to the die-hard atheists, but it is true, religion exists.

Of that set, there exists a subset that happens to believe in a religion (only a few in the negation of that set would argue with this, especially considering it follows from the first postulate). That is, in the definition of Burnett Tylor and James George Frazer, there exists human beings who believe in supernatural beings. (This does not necessarily denote the belief in a god. I once had an instructor who believed in angels but did not believe there existed a god as an example.)

And while there are many arguments against this original definition, if we consider it as valid for postulates sake for our basic purposes, it still does not mean that any given individual that believes in a religion necessarily is religious or spiritual (That is, seeking out interaction or understanding of the divine through organized religion (the experiences of other enlightened individuals ) or in the latter through their personal lives and individual experiences). They may simply believe in supernatural beings without that belief holding any weight or interaction in their lives (e.g. Einstein and Spinoza's god).

In a way, I would compare the former (Being religious) to being a student learning science from a textbook, while the latter (one who is spiritual) is like a scientist seeking to learn aboriginal truths pertaining to their interests based off personal experience. (The latter admittedly coming with a certain risk of bad data, but the former also given the wide array of religions in the world and their apparent following)

Then, that clarifies things a little. For me then, I would answer: I believe in religion (thank goodness) and I believe in a religion (uniquely and generally Christianity), of which I am generally more inclined to being spiritual then religious (that is, I would rather seek out interaction with the divine directly about those issues that interest me then answers found by others, recorded in scripture ect.) After which, given that they started up conversation, I'd probably return the favor of asking for their skin deep version of their spirituality (given that they're more likely to strip in front of another before they'll reveal the nature of their soul - it's unlikely someone random will tell you their deeper beliefs and shouldn't be pushed to do so. That is a realm for only deep companions, lifelong friends and loved ones to tread.).

WARNING: If you ever do find yourself in the very difficult but beautiful position of having another share their deepest beliefs with you, it is a very fragile situation. A human soul is even more fragile then a human heart and should be handled with the utmost care and kindness. I'd suggest asking God to do the transformations and revelations and not you, but that is coming from a personal belief system so I probably shouldn't tread to afar afield. Maybe you could give it a little thought though when you act in such situations.

You're right, Pascal. It's a very thin line, but I think typically when the question is asked, I don't think the people asking it are aware of the line. I think they may just be accidentally abusing English. Poor English... It's ok, English...

... I still love you.