Religion and Programmers Poll

Hopefully this doesn''t spark a debate, as these things tend to.

I was born into a Christian family, although my family doesn''t really partake in church activities or discuss the religion. Being from Finland, we''re Lutheran, although I don''t pay much attention to the division into sects. Even though I was in a way told to be a Christian, I have continued to be one out of my own free mind. I think about the religion in a way different than the stereotypical Christian would; I once took a test that said I was like an Old Seeker, whatever that means.

As for what other programmers believe in, it doesn''t matter to me. I''ll never tell someone else to change their religion.

What are your beliefs : I'm personally an atheist. Many of my friends (who aren't programmers) are too, but I know a lot of programmers who are religious, so don't think we're all atheists .

How do I feel about other programmers with different beliefs : The same way as I feel about any other person with another religion; amiable as long as they aren't trying to convert me. I get pretty bothered when people take their religion too seriously .

For example: The extreme fundamentalist Christians who think the rapture will soon occur, that the Earth is less than 6000 years old, and believe they're going to heaven simply because they acknowledge Jesus even if they kill four dozen people. I try not to show how annoyed I am, and I certainly don't take it out on them, I just accept that I personally think they're incorrect. I understand that most religions attempt to better people, but it doesn't always work out correctly. Look at the crusades: some of the worst misinterpretations of religious ideals to date.

Do I believe that people shouldn't be moral since I'm an atheist? No, I agree with most existential ideology. Life itself is meaningless; you have to find your own meaning. Death is just another event, not really good, but not bad either. I can't (or, shouldn't) make choices for others, only myself. If making choices for myself happens to affect others, so be it. My flavor of atheism is like a pacifist's flavor of anarchy.

Wow, I wrote a lot more than I though I would . Well I hope it helps. [EDIT: Fixing my grammar, and spelling due to Densun's post ]

[Resist Windows XP's Invasive Production Activation Technology!]

Edited by - Null and Void on September 21, 2001 12:38:43 AM

If you''re going to be an atheist, you might as well learn to spell it correctly.

Ah, Null & Void, you said exactly what I feel, exactly.

I''m also an atheist, I also have no problems with other religions with the exception of those that are insistent .

I do admit that I''m a bit less tolerant than I should be towards New Age, mostly because an old girlfriend is hardcore New Age and is constantly dropping one Mayan / Nostradamus / End of the World prophecy on me after another. Though she''s a friend now, I swear I sometimes just want Carl Sagan to rise from the dead and demonically possess her, filling her with some science in the process!!!! *Ahem* Anyway...

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Just waiting for the mothership...

My horrible vowel reversal is now corrected .

[Resist Windows XP''s Invasive Production Activation Technology!]

I''m a christian. And as most( who have posted ) i don''t mind people of other religeons as long as they don''t preach to me or something like that.

I''m a Christian. I try not to be overbearing about it. I can''t stand those that are. At this point Christianity is less of a focus while I examine other ideas. I''m quickly running out of philosophy classes to take at the local college.

Ben

[Icarus Independent | Jump Down The Rabbithole | Tombstone: Vendetta ]

Atheist here.
I am extremely tolerant, so whatever any of you believe is fine with me

~~~~~~~~~~
Martee

Atheist, but I find religion pretty interesting. And like most people, I have no problem with religious people except those "Belive in my God or go to hell" kinda people...

I'm not religious, and I dont mind people who are.
I'd like think I somewhat understand its functions.

However, I believe that religion can be bad when it becomes "fanatic". I mean that this happens when people are willing to do anything to protect and force their religion upon people.

Now, I might not the one to say what "fanatic" is, however this is my point of view..

/Fredrik Olsson

EDIT: Agree with Rudan already formulated this in a better way...
PS. Atheist = not religious?


Edited by - FXO on September 22, 2001 8:56:32 AM

I'm an atheist. And I do have a (small) problem with religions in general... it scares the hell out of me - so I suppose I'm not THAT tolerant, but rather tolerant still. Being in a (christian) church makes me feel 'sick'. I have problems with fundamentalists as well, and people who believe in what the bible says litterally - it's just so full of 'lies', gender discrimination, paradoxes and god knows what.

The sad things is, even though I don't believe in God or a religion I've been brainwashed by christinaty just like the rest of our population, just to a lesser extent.

The bottom line is, IMO,
religion is a tool of power and opression (and a last resort when you run out of reasonable arguments - just look at the teodicé problem (speaking from a jewish/christian/musilm perspective here - this doesn't apply to hinduism for example), there's only one explaination that works well enough and that is stating "There is no evil, what we see as evil is indeed good - we're only too dumb to see the apparent good in Gods actions")!
Just read some Leibniz and then, behold how he's mocked in Candide over these very opinions and see which one you think sound more reasonble... Enough ranting for today...

NOTE: I'm NOT troubled by people with different beliefs than me...
I'm just a psychotic crazy marxist sympathizer with ambivalent thoughts about mindcontrol a la 1984... Blah.

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"This album was written, recorded and edited at Gröndal, Stockholm in the year of 2000. At this point in time money still ruled the world. Capitalistic thoughts were wide spread. From the sky filled with the fumes of a billionarie's cigar to the deepest abyss drenched in nuclear waste. A rich kid was a happy kid, oh..dirty, filthy times. Let this be a reminder."
- Fireside, taken from back of the Elite album

Edited by - staffan on September 22, 2001 9:51:33 AM

Im agnostic. Says it all.

I''m an atheist. The only thing that annoys me is evangelism. If people go round trying to convince me that there is a god I can get fairly annoyed.

I''m not religious per se, but I do browse through some religious texts occasionally looking for universal truths and such. If you ignore stuff about gods and the supernatural, the Tao-Te King and the Holy Qur''an are pretty interesting, philosophy-wise. Also, the Analects of Confucius and the Art of War are pretty interesting as well, and they hardly deal with religion.

I think I''d have to say I''m an agnostic too. I feel pretty certain there''s some kind of higher power of some sort but I''m not sure what that higher power would be.

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A CRPG in development...

Need help? Well, go FAQ yourself.

I''m an atheist and feel that, while religion can promote good moral values and be of benefit, it can cause a lot of harm. An example of this is the crusades and, more recently, Osama Bin Laden''s holy war against America.

quote:

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Original post by Jimmy The Nose
I''m an atheist and feel that, while religion can promote good moral values and be of benefit, it can cause a lot of harm. An example of this is the crusades and, more recently, Osama Bin Laden''s holy war against America.

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I agree with you there. When I think about religion I am looking for an answer to "how did we get here" or why are we here and religion often just ends up being about "here''s how you should live your life"

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A CRPG in development...

Need help? Well, go FAQ yourself.

I'm an Agnostic. I'm open to the idea of God, but I'm VERY skeptical. I disdain New Age and Paranormal stuff. I rarely say any of this to anyone, since I'm well aware of how easy it is to annoy people or make them uncomfortable. Or maybe it's because I'm shy.

sweet16sab: Did you ever find a date for your friend?

If life is a waste of time, and time is a waste of life, then let's all get wasted together and have the time of our lives! - Armand's Pizza. Washington, D.C.
Look for me(WimpyKiller) at Zhing! MUD

Edited by - ArchWizard on September 22, 2001 3:50:08 PM

Edited by - ArchWizard on September 22, 2001 3:52:23 PM

I'm not a part of any religion nor do I believe in any higher supernatural force. But I don't like to call my self an atheist, I don't like to be cataloqued. I do have some strange opinions of existance though, but they are all based on logic. I don't believe in anything, I'm always ready to throw aside my old beliefs and accept new more logical ideas. I don't even try to answer questions that I have no chance of understanding(why isn't everything just a big void, is there a purpose to anything...), but I do enjoy thinking about such things.

Here's an info-bit on atheism : http://atheists.org/visitors.center/because.html
It's great stuff, but I still don't like other people defining me.

Edited by - Afterlife on September 22, 2001 5:23:27 PM