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I like it better than the last one

It's good, but I don't see the need with the discussion thread

It's not going to go anywhere good, just lock it now.

[Vilanat]

Don't forget you'd also have to cut your shlong.

[TD1]

Isn't it an honour to be the one who holds the baby down for the circumcision?

[Cryxis, Prince of Doom]

Pedophilia in the church- I didn't have time to read other responses so I don't know what has been said yet. In my church, actualy my surrounding churches, rape and that sort of stuff isn't at all common in the church. That and my sect isn't know to do that in the first place so ya, it doesn't affect my views on attending church.

[Arcvasti]

RE: Pope:

The Pope is weird. He has authority passed down through the years through all the Popes back to St. Peter, who had authority given by Jesus. Mostly he just arbitrates all the silly extraneous rules the Catholic Church decides are a good idea. He can change basically any part of Catholicism, within a limit. He sure as hell couldn't do anything which goes directly against the principles of Christianity. But he could totally say that priests could be women or that all Catholics should wear hot pink in mass. One of the more interesting things I learned in Religion class is that there are two parts of Catholicism: The Commandments and Teachings and the traditions. The traditions are the stuff like how the mass works, how the priests are appointed and the Church's stance on things not covered by the Bible. He can change the traditions, possibly after a vote of the cardinals[Don't know off-hand]. The current Pope is also a really cool dude, so bonus.

RE:

Christians:
Has the crazy stuff the church has done in the past (at least allegedly) in regard to the pedophilia stuff made you question how good of an idea it is to go to church? (Note: I am not questioning the religion itself. I'm essentially asking if the actions of the church influence your decision on whether or not you actually go to church, or if it's something you've decided you're just going to do regardless or the like. Also note I am not suggesting that if you do go to church you support pedophilia.)

hMMM. This is a tough one. I personally know the staff of the church I usually go to from volunteer work and I'm reasonably sure none of them are mixed up in anything like that. I don't have a particularly high opinion of the Church[Note capitals] as an institution, but most of the people at the lower rung are decent people. I think that the best way to describe this is thus:

I'm not going to church because Church. I'm going to church because God.

Although this would totally influence whether I donate to them.

[Telgin]

Christians:
Has the crazy stuff the church has done in the past (at least allegedly) in regard to the pedophilia stuff made you question how good of an idea it is to go to church? (Note: I am not questioning the religion itself. I'm essentially asking if the actions of the church influence your decision on whether or not you actually go to church, or if it's something you've decided you're just going to do regardless or the like. Also note I am not suggesting that if you do go to church you support pedophilia.)

Since I used to be a Christian I guess I can answer this.

No, none of the pedophilia stuff had any impact on my decision to attend church.  So far as I was concerned at the time, it was a purely Catholic problem.  I'm sure that's not really true and I'm sure Protestants have had similar things happen in their churches, but that was how I thought as a kid.

Aside from pedophilia, yes, things that my church does impact my desire to go there.  In particular, painfully bigoted things are preached as gospel truth sometimes.  I know full well that some of this is just the people involved and not the fault of the church.  For example, there's a woman who believes that another half-black woman shouldn't be allowed to sing in our church.  That's not church doctrine.  She's just a bigot.  There is a subtle overtone of racism in some of the sermons too.  But it's just the people.  They're not getting that stuff from the Bible.

On the other hand, the Protestant churches as a whole also believe things that make me not want to go to church.  The anti-homosexual doctrine is probably the best example.  That does not combine well with the people in my local church.  I'll leave examples up to the imagination rather than derail.

So to get back to the original question: I've basically decided for now that I'll keep going regardless of what is said or done at church.  I'm not going because I'm a Christian anyway.  I'm only going because I'm too scared to tell my family that I don't want to.

[Grek]

Everyone: How did you end up being a part of your religion? Did you discover it later on in life or were you born into it? (Or something else besides.)

I was raised Christian, but stopped believing in it when I was 7 or so and the family cat gave birth to extremely premature kittens with no legs or eyes. They died within hours, even while I begged and pleaded with God that they would get better. This really drove home the point to 7 year old Grek that goodness and justice isn't inherent to the design of the universe and that there isn't a supreme being watching over it all ensuring that things come out right in the end. From there, the idea that we should create such a supreme being came naturally as soon as I realized it was a thing that was theoretically possible to do.

Everyone:
How many of you believe that deities exist but there's more than one? Atheism types and christian types seem common enough, but I'm wondering if there are any polytheistic type religions in here.

Not exactly. I believe that multiple deities are possible, but unlikely.

[TD1]

Everyone: How did you end up being a part of your religion? Did you discover it later on in life or were you born into it? (Or something else besides.)

Born into it, confirmed into it and believed in it.
At least, at the start I used to wake up every Christmas morning, get on my knees beside my bed and wish Jesus Happy Birthday. Needless to say, I don't anymore 

Everyone:
How many of you believe that deities exist but there's more than one? Atheism types and christian types seem common enough, but I'm wondering if there are any polytheistic type religions in here.

I don't believe any exist, but I think early Abrahamic tradition, as mentioned earlier in this thread, did believe in multiple deities?

[Urist Mc Dwarf]

Isn't it an honour to be the one who holds the baby down for the circumcision?

Yes, however, aren't a lot of people already circumcised for health reasons? i remembered reading about that, but I am not sure.

[Sheb]

Well, IIRC, about half of all americans get circumcised for fun and giggles.

[Vilanat]

Isn't it an honour to be the one who holds the baby down for the circumcision?

Yes, however, aren't a lot of people already circumcised for health reasons? i remembered reading about that, but I am not sure.

The WHO seems to think it greatly helps at reducing the chance to get infected by HIV (60% reduction).

I think that if HIV is the only thing it reduces the risk of catching, better use a condom. it probably has higher reductions rates.

[Bohandas]

Isn't it an honour to be the one who holds the baby down for the circumcision?

Yes, however, aren't a lot of people already circumcised for health reasons? i remembered reading about that, but I am not sure.

The WHO seems to think it greatly helps at reducing the chance to get infected by HIV (60% reduction).

and enclosing your neighborhood in a giant Faraday Cage reduces your risk of being struck by lightning, but that doesn't mean it's a good or a worthwhile idea.

[Frumple]

That's actually a freaking awesome idea that everyone should indulge in, but we really should let this particular topic die, or at least move it to a different thread. Maybe one of the other ones the topic's been brought up in, if a new thread isn't made.

[Bohandas]

You wouldn't be able to pick up broadcast signals and it would be prohibitively expensive

[Frumple]

Giant Faraday cage giant Faraday cage giant Faraday cage giant Faraday cage giant Faraday cage

What you actually just said.

I was actually kinda' impressed by the word count ending up being a multiple of three. Perfect coincidence.

[Bohandas]

Per earlier requests to change the subject...

I can amswer questions about Discordianism and the Church of the SubGenius BTW

I'm actually curious... There's not really any polite way to put it, but is Discordianism a serious thing, or is it a parody? Everything I've read seems to be deliberately ambiguous on the matter.

It could be said that these religions (Discordianism and SubGenius) use Willing Suspension Of Disbelief where other religions use Faith

EDIT:
compare Sanson Carrasco's words to Tome Cecial in Don Quixote, Book 2, Chapter 15

"Tge difference between these two madmen is that the one who can't help it will be mad forever, whereas he who is so for his pleasure may give it up when he will"