20 Questions for Theists

[FallentoReason]

1) Why are you a theist?

2) Were you born in a religious home?

3) If you answered "yes" to #2, do you currently subscribe to the religion you were raised in?

4) Have you ever considered other religions/philosophies at some stage?

5) If you answered "yes" to #4, what were they?

6) What reaffirms your beliefs as being correct over other religions/philosophies?

7) Do you ever doubt from time to time the truths of your religion?

8) Do you read your religious/philosophical text(s) daily?

9) Explain why you answered yes/no to #8

10) Do you believe your answers to the past 9 questions sincerely?

(now the fun section)

11) Who would win a fight between a theist and an atheist? Street rules, of course.

12) How do you like your eggs?

13) What did you think of Inception?

14) Favourite mythical creature?

15) Favourite book?

16) Favourite band?

17) Indoors or outdoors?

18) Summer or winter?

19) If you could travel in time, what year/era would you go visit and where would you go?

20) So far, have you enjoyed your stay at AF.org?

[Godscreated]

1) Why are you a theist? No,I'm A Christian.

2) Were you born in a religious home? Yes.

3) If you answered "yes" to #2, do you currently subscribe to the religion you were raised in? Yes.

4) Have you ever considered other religions/philosophies at some stage?
No.
5) If you answered "yes" to #4, what were they?

6) What reaffirms your beliefs as being correct over other religions/philosophies? My relationship with the living God.

7) Do you ever doubt from time to time the truths of your religion? No. Some times I do have questions and seek out the answer, even tell God that I'm looking for the answer.

8) Do you read your religious/philosophical text(s) daily? Most days.

9) Explain why you answered yes/no to #8 To learn more about God so I can have a greater relationship with Him and serve Him for others.

10) Do you believe your answers to the past 9 questions sincerely? Yes, or I would have answered other wise.

(now the fun section)

11) Who would win a fight between a theist and an atheist? Street rules, of course. Theist of coarse, God says who can defeat you I'm on your side. God's street rules include lightning, fire and earthquakes.

12) How do you like your eggs? Most of the time over easy.

13) What did you think of Inception? The movie? Loved it, have been meaning to watch it again, will be forth time.

14) Favourite mythical creature? Ewoks not sure about spelling.

15) Favourite book? Bible.

16) Favourite band? Hard to say I like several of the Christian bands.

17) Indoors or outdoors? Outdoors.

18) Summer or winter? Fall and Spring.

19) If you could travel in time, what year/era would you go visit and where would you go? First day of creation
and would stay for a little while.
20) So far, have you enjoyed your stay at AF.org? I better have, punishing myself for three years would have been a bummer.

[Fruity]

Not fair! This one is way more fun than the one we got. I want to say how I like my eggs.

[Rayaan]

1) Why are you a theist?

Because I believe in God.
I believe in a Creator.
I don't believe that we are simply some accidents of nature.

Got beef with that?

2) Were you born in a religious home?

Not so much. I suppose I just grew up in a 'moderately' religious home. I was never forced to pray nor attend madrassas.

3) If you answered "yes" to #2, do you currently subscribe to the religion you were raised in?

Yes, I do. Got a problem?

4) Have you ever considered other religions/philosophies at some stage?

I did spend some time learning about some of the other monotheistic religions, and I still do, when I have some leisure time.

I like philosophy also.

5) If you answered "yes" to #4, what were they?

Digital Philosophy
Judaism
Christianity
Hinduism
Diesm

6) What reaffirms your beliefs as being correct over other religions/philosophies?

My brain. And the brain in my heart.

7) Do you ever doubt from time to time the truths of your religion?

I doubt, therefore I am.

8) Do you read your religious/philosophical text(s) daily?

Not daily, but almost daily. Like maybe a verse or two, at least. Just to increase my knowledge of the Scriptures.

9) Explain why you answered yes/no to #8

Because I want to. Got beef?

10) Do you believe your answers to the past 9 questions sincerely?

Not really. I lied on the odd numbers.

11) Who would win a fight between a theist and an atheist? Street rules, of course.

Neither of them.

12) How do you like your eggs?

---

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdw3OPEk0hQ

---

13) What did you think of Inception?

I didn't even see that movie.

14) Favourite mythical creature?

Flying Spaghetti Monster.

15) Favourite book?

Quran, of course.

16) Favourite band?

Rubber band.

17) Indoors or outdoors?

Indoors and outdoors.

18) Summer or winter?

Summer and winter.

19) If you could travel in time, what year/era would you go visit and where would you go?

I would travel back to a time when the Prophet Muhammad lived so that I could see him.

20) So far, have you enjoyed your stay at AF.org?

Yes. Very much, in fact.

[FallentoReason]

God's street rules include lightning, fire and earthquakes.

Kudos!

---

Got beef with that?

No sir! I was just politely asking, sir!

[Angrboda]

1) Why are you a theist?



2) Were you born in a religious home? Semi-religious. Mother was religious, father was a non-practicing believer.

3) If you answered "yes" to #2, do you currently subscribe to the religion you were raised in? No.

4) Have you ever considered other religions/philosophies at some stage? Yes.

5) If you answered "yes" to #4, what were they? I've flirted with Buddhism and Shintoism. I was raised Christian. Lost my faith sometime before my teens. Converted to Taoism at age 17, and started adding Hindu elements in college. My worship of the goddess developed over time.

6) What reaffirms your beliefs as being correct over other religions/philosophies? My mind can't be well explained linearly. Skip on down a bit, brother....

7) Do you ever doubt from time to time the truths of your religion? No.

8) Do you read your religious/philosophical text(s) daily? No. I read the Tao Te Ching and the Zhuangzi, selectively, multiple times a year. I read Hindu sources occasionally.

9) Explain why you answered yes/no to #8 I'm very comfortable with my beliefs, so I suppose I feel little need to justify or reassure myself. I dip into the Taoist texts and Sun Tzu for practical wisdom. I trust the goddess to guide me and forge me as she needs.

10) Do you believe your answers to the past 9 questions sincerely? Yes.

(now the fun section)

11) Who would win a fight between a theist and an atheist? Street rules, of course. I'm a thinker, not a fighter.

12) How do you like your eggs? Huevos rancheros.

13) What did you think of Inception? It looks insipid.

14) Favourite mythical creature? Hanuman and Amaterasu.



15) Favourite book? Neurophilosophy by Patricia Churchland.

16) Favourite band? I don't have favorites, but I'm a child of the 80s, so I listen to a lot of old music and new wave, and an awful lot of Puffy Amiyumi.

17) Indoors or outdoors? In the city.

18) Summer or winter? Winter.

19) If you could travel in time, what year/era would you go visit and where would you go? Sometime in the Axial Age, probably between 400-600 BCE, in either China or Greece.

20) So far, have you enjoyed your stay at AF.org? Yes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vh9tU8O1LfY








happiness controls you

[Tonus]

Question 10 strikes me as awkward and unfair. Would anyone honestly answer other than 'yes?'

[FallentoReason]

Question 10 strikes me as awkward and unfair. Would anyone honestly answer other than 'yes?'

I know for myself that when I used to be an apologist I would stretch the truth. It wouldn't be an outright lie, but it would be enough to maybe possibly get someone to see that eternity was really at stake in the hopes of one day seeing that person in heaven with me. I could maybe swing the odds in favour of "God's plan".

It's human nature to resist change. Back in those days, if someone had a legitimate point and I couldn't come back with anything, I would dismiss that thought in fear of losing my own salvation. That person wouldn't have a clue, and neither would I, but those thoughts would add up over time since it's not something that can't be controlled, much like "what has been seen cannot be unseen". So basically I asked that question not to satisfy my own curiosity, because I know the answer will be "yes", but rather to instil the thought within the believer that their heart feels like it could actually be "no". Of course, that's something that I'll leave the believer to ponder on.

[Gabriel Syme]

Hi mate

1) Why are you a theist?

I believe in the existence of God.

2) Were you born in a religious home?

It was half-way religious.

Ie my mum was religious, but my dad was not. None of my Dads family was religious, but my grandmother was on my mums side.

I suppose this counts as "yes", though its important to note that only a minority of my family had faith when I was growing up. In no way was my childhood 'mega-religious'.

3) If you answered "yes" to #2, do you currently subscribe to the religion you were raised in?

Yes. Again, I would add a qualifier though - I was never really interested in religion as a youth, and stopped going to Church age 16, which was as soon as I could.

I didnt deeply resent Church, and sometimes I did like bits of it, but overall - as a 16 year old kid - I felt it was boring / irrelevant and that I had better stuff to do.

After many years of thinking about it, on and off, I eventually returned to Catholicism in my late 20s (28 or 29). Best decision ive ever made!

I never considered myself an atheist or agnostic during the years I was away - rather, the whole thing was a complete non-entity for me, I was wholly disinterested and my mind was elsewhere.

Even saying I was an atheist would have represented way more time than I was prepared to give the subject!

4) Have you ever considered other religions/philosophies at some stage?

Yes, but not in a particularly serious manner - see below.

5) If you answered "yes" to #4, what were they?

Shortly before I began to seriously think about Catholicism in my 20s, I briefly looked into Hindusim, but not in a serious or deep fashion.

This was not an attempt to find God on my part, it was an attempt to find a justification / defence for the fact that I enjoy smoking marijuana (a sometime part of Hindu culture).

I also like Indian/Hindu culture, food and women generally haha!

Some pretty cheap / self-interested reasons there, eh?

6) What reaffirms your beliefs as being correct over other religions/philosophies?

A great many things.

1) Catholic means "Universal" - ie for everyone. It stands to reason that, if God exists, then he wants a relationship with all his children. Unlike Catholicism, some other religions / philosophies are exclusive.

Eg, I learned that some Hindus do not accept converts - for them, you can only be a Hindu by being born a Hindu. Such is clearly a man-made, exclusive system.

2) Catholic Christianity is the only religion to have been instituted by God Himself, in the person of Jesus Christ.

3) Catholicism is hugely intellectually satisfying. Its moral arguments are well considered and informed by the best knowledge available to humanity.

For example, Catholics are currently heavily criticised over all of homosexuality, abortion and contraception, because our values and opinions here diverge from secular opinions.

And yet, in every one of these cases, our position is borne out by Science and empircal data. Secular society is shown to be ignorant in comparison. The difference comes because Catholicism argues from the stand-point of "what is the truth?", whereas secular society argues from "what suits me?".

The former outlook is one which values impartial knowledge - the truth - the second is a purely self-interested outlook, where all that matters is a persons self-interest, which eclipses even the truth.

For me, the great solidity of Catholic moral positions casts credibility on the faith of the Church.

7) Do you ever doubt from time to time the truths of your religion?

I recognise that I might well be wrong about the existence of God, but I do not think I am.

Sometimes I attempt to identify parts of my analysis which may be weak, or illogical, but its stood up well!

8) Do you read your religious/philosophical text(s) daily?

No. I think about God and faith daily, and pray daily, but do not read the Bible or other religious books daily.

9) Explain why you answered yes/no to #8

I am not obliged nor particularly inclined to read religious texts daily.

10) Do you believe your answers to the past 9 questions sincerely?

Yes, most sincerely.

11) Who would win a fight between a theist and an atheist? Street rules, of course.

Ooh, it would depend on the circumstances. Both are capable of a good deal of violence, sadly.

12) How do you like your eggs?

Fried, with mildly soft yolks.

Add - tomato ketchup, a slice of potato scone and a dry roll = bliss.

13) What did you think of Inception?

The film? I aint seen it.

14) Favourite mythical creature?

Dont have one.

15) Favourite book?

Phew so many.......

If I had to pick, maybe "The Man Who Was Thursday" by GK Chesterton, or "Catch 22" by Joseph Heller.

16) Favourite band?

I like Metal, funk, pschydelia and folk music mostly.

Its hard to pick just one band, but I will go for AC/DC - who I fell in love with aged about 11 or 12, and who have never let me down since.

17) Indoors or outdoors?

Outdoors (weather permitting!)

18) Summer or winter?

Summer (not much difference where I live though lol).

19) If you could travel in time, what year/era would you go visit and where would you go?

Maybe the Colonial Era, (America), in an attempt to prevent the American Revolution.

Or the Reformation era, (Europe), in an attempt to prevent it (or at least its extent, especially in the UK).

Or maybe directly before the battle of the Milvian Bridge (just outside Rome, a few 100 AD) to see what it was that Constantin saw, which made him convert to (Catholic) Christianity.

Or maybe Id go to 1995, and nail that amazing girl I liked, but was too hopelessly shy to talk to properly.

Yes, I like that - 1995 it is! lol

20) So far, have you enjoyed your stay at AF.org?

Very good thanks. I have found most people pleasant and fun to talk and debate with.

I have been in one or two "rows" and I regret my part in them.

I think the fourm is good and convers a lot of excellent discussion topics. Although the forum is branded "atheist", I would say its breadth and depth could meant it could be branded various other things - eg a debating site, or a general chat site.

Nice to meet ya
Cheers
GS

[Neo-Scholastic]

1) Why are you a theist? Duh
2) Were you born in a religious home? 'spose
3) If you answered "yes" to #2, do you currently subscribe to the religion you were raised in? kinda
4) Have you ever considered other religions/philosophies at some stage? sure
5) If you answered "yes" to #4, what were they? RC
6) What reaffirms your beliefs as being correct over other religions/philosophies? not much. makes sense to me.
7) Do you ever doubt from time to time the truths of your religion? everyday
8) Do you read your religious/philosophical text(s) daily? usually
9) Explain why you answered yes/no to #8 because its fun
10) Do you believe your answers to the past 9 questions sincerely? generally
(now the fun section)
11) Who would win a fight between a theist and an atheist? Street rules, of course. the girl
12) How do you like your eggs? after sex
13) What did you think of Inception? It was trying too hard.
14) Favourite mythical creature? Gnomes
15) Favourite book? Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
16) Favourite band? Moody Blues
17) Indoors or outdoors? Inside with the windows open!
18) Summer or winter? We only have two seasons in Chicago winter and Construction. I'll go with Construction
19) If you could travel in time, what year/era would you go visit and where would you go? London 1851, the Crystal Palace Exhibition
20) So far, have you enjoyed your stay at AF.org? It's a nice room, but they need to change the sheets more often.