God, Religion, & The Burning Questions...

[RogueLeader]

Hello all:
I thought I'd start a thread about Religion. Please read below and choose your answers carefully. Mods, don't delete or lock this thread. I promise it'll be interesting and no one will offend another person.......

The Ultimate Q&A for all to answer as much as or as little of as possible. This thread should:

(A) Respect the beliefs of others
(B) Not filter into arguing


General


Do you believe in God?

If Yes, do you follow a particular religion/lifestyle (Islam, Christianity, Judaism etc...) or do you just follow your own beliefs.

Does your belief in God span all faiths i.e. do you believe that everyone who believes will be saved?

Believers


What for you is the most important aspect of your faith?

Have you ever felt the presence of God in your lives? (please give examples)

Do you believe in a Heaven & Hell as described by your faith or in another form of afterlife?

Do you pray? If so, is it effective and do you pray for other people?

Have there been times when you doubted your faith?

Do you believe in a God-inspired evolution or a literal Biblical/Koranic etc... creation?

Do you desire all to believe like you or are you content to let others live their lives without belief as long as they don't hurt you?

When conversing with non-followers/believers, do you notice any common patterns in the way they answer your statements?

Have you ever left a conversation with a non-believer doubting what you originally thought about your faith?

Do you understand why some people don't believe because of life experiences?

Do you get angry at some statements made by non-conformists?

If you are a former atheist/agnostic, what was it that led you to God?

Have you ever changed religions i.e. gone from Christianity to Islam or denominations say from Catholic to Lutheran... What inspired you to change the way you worshipped God?

Are you a Wicca, Hindu, Buddhist etc..? What influenced you to come to that belief?

Have any believers ever felt real prejudice from people for what they believe? How do you deal with that?


Non-Believers/followers/comformists


In the absence of a belief in the afterlife and doing right by God, what is the main function of an atheistic existence?

Were you once a believer in God and if so, what led you away from that belief?

Does the past crimes of religion invalidate the existence of God for you?

*honest question alert!* Do you wish to come to a belief in God and/or do you think it's conceivable that you will one day believe?

Do you believe that you have everything you need in your life to not warrant a need for God?

Have you ever read a Holy Book such as the Bible, Qu'ran, Torah?

Has anything, any believer ever said to you, even remotely convinced you that there could be in existence an intelligent mind beyond our comprehension?

God itself is easy, but following say, Christianity and it's rules on how to live are really the issue that turns you away. Therefore, is it not more likely that what you don't believe in is the rules of religion rather than God?

If you could ask a believer one serious question about their faith, what would that be? (believers are welcome to answer the question.)

Have any non-believers ever felt real prejudice from people for what they believe? How do you deal with that?

Now come on, admit it... you secretly believe in God, but are too prideful to admit it to others because you fear ridicule

[Tel'Mah]

Do you believe in God?

Yes, I definitely believe in God. I don't care what form God is in, be it Yahweh, Job, Buddha, Zeus or any kind of God ever mentioned. I believe there is a God or some kind of otherworldly power watching over us. I do not, however, practice any faith or religion. I am baptised as a Christian, but I do not lead a Christian life. I do not pray, and I never go to church except in school when it's compulsory, and even then I don't pray or have holy communion. I am against organised religion. I have to say I agree with William Blake on this issue to an extent. I don't agree with the idea (actually an idea, not the only idea) that you have to praise God and pray to him and lead a spectacularly religious and holy and kind life to be saved from damnation or whatever you want to call it. I believe that all you have to do is live life true to yourself without making life unpleasant (to whatever degree) for others. I don't feel the need to pray to God or take holy communion. It's enough for me just to know that God exists.


Do you believe in a Heaven & Hell as described by your faith or in another form of afterlife?

Yes, I believe in Heaven and Hell. I can't recall them as described by my faith, only the things I've seen on film or read in books, such as the fires of hell and the harmony of heaven, and things like the underworld in Greek mythology. I don't know what form Heaven and Hell take, but I do believe that there is some kind of afterlife. Perhaps we all end up in the same place, and the bad are forgiven and placed alongside God with the good. Who can say? I'm no prophet or philosopher.

Do you believe in a God-inspired evolution or a literal Biblical/Koranic etc... creation?

I believe in the theory of evolution and the big bang theory, and I agree with Darwin's "Origin of the Species". I believe the key difference between the Creation story and the evolution theiry is that the evolution theory is HOW it all happened (the big bang, galaxies form, earth forms, starting with blue-green algae in the seas etc), and the Creation theory is WHY it all happened (because God wanted it to).

Do you desire all to believe like you or are you content to let others live their lives without belief as long as they don't hurt you?

It's not about whether or not they hurt me really. If they do, clearly they've got the wrong end of the religious stick as far as I'm concerned. If somebody tries to tell me there's some God of War who wants genocide then I'll tell them where to go (preferably hell!).

When conversing with non-followers/believers, do you notice any common patterns in the way they answer your statements?

My dad's a non-believer, despite having a protestant upbringing. He doesn't believe in any higher power and says "If there is a God, then why is there so much suffering?". Fair comment I suppose. I don't try to answer him since I'm not one to question anybody's beliefs on that note since I don't know the answer.

Have you ever left a conversation with a non-believer doubting what you originally thought about your faith?

No, never. And I hope I never will.

Do you understand why some people don't believe because of life experiences?

Yes, absolutely. And anyway, who am I to tell them otherwise. Nothing, short of the hand of God, can tell them otherwise.

[RogueLeader]

Thanks for replying!

[Leten Snat]

I have my own set of beliefs that are rather diffrent.

I don't beleave that there is one God running everything. I beleave that there must be many gods and goddess that each have their own job. Much like the The Greeks and Romans. I call my "Gods" The Angels Of Life. For me there are 3 major groups:

The Council Of the Angels: this consists of 7 Angels that represent diffrent age groups. 2 old age, 2 middle aged, 2 teens, and one Child. There are a male and female for each group of two. The Child is female. The younger the age group they represent the more influance they have in the council. This reason is because the younger you are in life the more control you have over others(eg. When a baby cries, people come running to give the baby what ever it wants, when a grown man cries, most people ignore them.). The reason it is a female in charge of the whole thing, is because it is the females that bring new life into the world. The council's job is to send out the other Angels to do their jobs and tell them where to do it.

The Major Angels: these are the ones that do all the major jobs. but they each have one job to do. there are angels for almost everything, from The Angel of Death to The Angel of Minor Miracals(sp?), to The Angel of beauty. It would take me hours to type them all out so I won't do that. These angels use emotions, and Random Acts Of Nature to guide, not control, all living things, along the paths that life has to offer.

The Lesser Angels: these angles help mortals and the major angels do what ever they have to do. This group also has the Gaurdian Angels in it, in which each protect a single person, place, or cause.

All these groups work together to give us life, and all the teachings it brings... I could go on for hours, and hours about this so if you want a more comprehencive discription or discuse this with me, just PM me...I have to go to class now.

[Wei Wu Wei]

General


Do you believe in God?

Yes, of course.

Does your belief in God span all faiths i.e. do you believe that everyone who believes will be saved?

Everyone who believes in God, and more importantly, in his son Jesus will be saved. There are no exceptions.

What for you is the most important aspect of your faith?

The grace and righteousness of God and His son. Without those things, we'd all be doomed to hell.

Have you ever felt the presence of God in your lives? (please give examples)

Several times in my life. Such as when I decided to give my life to Christ. When I decided to change my major, God was there. And when I've felt the worst, God's been there.

Do you believe in a Heaven & Hell as described by your faith or in another form of afterlife?[B]

Yeah, of course heaven and hell exist.

[B]Do you pray? If so, is it effective and do you pray for other people?

I pray all the time. And what do you mean, "Is it effective?" Of course it is. God always hears, and he always answers. I pray for everyone that I can. Prayer works, man.

Have there been times when you doubted your faith?

I've doubted more times than I care to admit. But it's normal. It's part of being a human. As a Christian my faith gets challenged every single day. And there are days when I doubt. but I just have to remember that God is at work, and even though things might not turn around right away, I know they will eventually. Though the sorrows last the night, happiness comes with the morning.

Do you believe in a God-inspired evolution or a literal Biblical/Koranic etc... creation?

God made Adam from the dirt. In Hebrew Adam's name means Earth. Then Eve came from Adam. God did it, and I'm not going to sweat the details because there are some things people just ought not to think about.

Do you desire all to believe like you or are you content to let others live their lives without belief as long as they don't hurt you?

Of course I want everyone else to believe in Jesus and God. But the reality of it is, not everyone will believe in Him. I accept that. If people want to live in a non-Christian way, then that's all right by me. That's their choice to live the way they do.

When conversing with non-followers/believers, do you notice any common patterns in the way they answer your statements?

Say what? Are you talking about conversations about religion? If so, then I'll answer this way. I don't talk about Jesus and God, unless they ask me about it. Elsewise, I live my life in such a way that they can see God through me and my actions. Actions speak louder than words you know.

Have you ever left a conversation with a non-believer doubting what you originally thought about your faith?

Well, I have left conversations with questions about my faith. But I've never doubted my faith. Generally any questions I might have would be the same questions they would have about my faith. So I go and read the Bible and talk to my church leaders and find out the answers to the questions

Do you understand why some people don't believe because of life experiences?

It's their choice to believe in what ever they want to believe in. I have been scared away from churches before because the people there were not the best people in the world, and I understand if other people feel the same way.

Do you get angry at some statements made by non-conformists?

No. I feel a great swell of pity for those people that make various rude comments about my faith because they choose to remain ignorant of what Christianity is all about.

If you are a former atheist/agnostic, what was it that led you to God?

Three words. Jesus loves me. Dude, when I finally realized what it meant by Jesus's death on the cross, and that I was no longer a screw up, that I was good and useful, that I was loved for who I am by the one person who is above the world, I was like, "Sign me up!"

Have you ever changed religions i.e. gone from Christianity to Islam or denominations say from Catholic to Lutheran... What inspired you to change the way you worshipped God?

For a summer I was Taoist. That was wierd. And as for changing denominations, I don't really see a difference in between them. They all worship God in just the right way for me. I'm not choosy, as long as I can worship my God.

Have any believers ever felt real prejudice from people for what they believe? How do you deal with that?

Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in haven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:11-12

That verse says it all.

If I may ask, why did you make this thread? I'm curious is all.

[Ansatsu]

1. Yes I do beleive.

2. Anybody that beleives, I mean truly beleives, in God and Jesus will be saved.

3. Having God touch my life, and work through me to affect other peoples lives with his love. And knowing that God cares enough about me to give His only son for me and others. Just the fact He's always there and loves me no matter what I do. Along with what Wei said.

4. All the time. Days when I was completly down and depressed, and He would smack me in the face and be like, "Look I love you. I hate to see you sad like this. So cheer up, cuz you have all these people who care for you, and they want to see you happy as much as I do."

5. Yes.

6. I pray every day. I used to only pray for myself, and the problems I had. But now I pray moreover for others. I still ask God to help me with my problems, but I ask him to help others first. Cuz some people may need it more than me.

7. I've doubted my faith in the past yes. And I still do sometimes. I wonder why God would let me get so down like this or put so much truth on me at once. But then I realize it's because he wants me to open my eyes, andbe what he wants me to be. So I don't do it as much as I used too. But I still do sometimes.

8. I dont really understand, but I'm gonna answer it the way I take it. Almost all the major religions are actually just spin off's of certain chapters or verses from the Bible.

9. I let others live their lives, and I don't try and force my religion upon them. But if they ask questions I will gladly answer them. And I live through my faith, so they might see how God works. And when they do ask questions I give them the best answers I can, cuz that's all I can do, and God knows that.

10. Yes. They'll be like, "Well if God does all these miracles, then what has He done for me?" And I'll tell them, "He gave His only son for you. So you wouldn't have to carry your sin or grief. So just let it go." And the next part I leanred from a good friend, "Give it all up to God." You have no idea how many times that has solved arguments, and helped me out.

11. I have wondered and sometimes thought, "Well they had a point." But then I'm like, "No God wouldn't lie. He does things for a reason." And I go check into it, and give them a better answer than the first time we talked.

12. Yes. I have had my points where I thought, "Wow, where are you God? I need you so much right now, and your not here." And then I think real hard about it and sometimes it takes me a while to come around and realize that God is always there. Whether I think he's there or not. So I know he's there. So when people tell me about their life I tell em, "God was there, and He can make things better." But it still is their choice. Choosing to beleive is an effort on their part, you can only help them when they need it.

13. Well no. If they make it towards my faith or me I remeber a single verse. I can't remeber the chapter or book, so I'm sorry. But it goes like this, "Blessed are those that are persecuted for my sake." Okay, maybe it's Matthew. It's that verse Wei has. An I feel sorry for those that make rude comments. Cuz trhta just means they really don't know God's greatnss, and they don't care too.

14. I once thought about becoming Buddhist. The thing that pulled me to Christianity, because after my parents divorced things went downhill and I gave up for a while. But then I realized that God was always gonna be there to comfort me. And the things he did for me, and doesn't expect anything in return.! That's just tottaly awesome! So after that I have done my best to be a Christian.

15. I was batist, non-denominational, all kinds of denominations. But now I realize it doesn't matter, as long as I can worship God, and learn more about Him.

16. I have gotten laughed at so much for reading the Bible at school. But you just have to remeber that verse. Things can only get better. So you just gotta tough it out, read even more, and show them you don;t care what they think or sayt, cuz God is gonna take care of you.

[Xazor Elessar]

Do you believe in God?
Yes, I believe in God.

If Yes, do you follow a particular religion/lifestyle (Islam, Christianity, Judaism etc...) or do you just follow your own beliefs.
I am a Christian but that doesn't make me perfect. I have faults due to human nature, but God is forgiving and he knows all, so what I do is definatly not a surprise.

Does your belief in God span all faiths i.e. do you believe that everyone who believes will be saved?
No. That's quite simple for it states that answer right in the Bible. To be saved, one must have a genuine sorrow-filled heart for their sins. They must confess their sin to God and ask his forgiveness. They must accept him into their heart and ask him to guide their life down the right path. Those who merely believe in God will not go to Heaven, even if their life was filled with good works for the Bible states that it is not by good works that we are saved, but by the change of our heart. Merely believing in God isn't enough. After all, Satan believes in God -- God created Satan and he sat in Heaven with him at one time. Satan isn't going to be saved.


Believers


What for you is the most important aspect of your faith?
That God loves me, forgives me, and is always there for me. I know that if I'm having a problem or even when I'm rejoicing, he's right there with me. The times I feel alone or that he's not there, it's because I have strayed from Him. God will never abandon me.

Have you ever felt the presence of God in your lives? (please give examples)
Yes, many times -- and daily. When I first accepted Christ into my heart, when my grandmother passed away, when my best friend passed away, when my other friend was killed in a car accident, when my Brother got really sick, when my other grandma got really sick, when my mom found a great man to marry after a very abusive relationship, etc. The list goes on and on, but a lot of it is too personal for me to discuss openly.

Do you believe in a Heaven & Hell as described by your faith or in another form of afterlife?
Yes, Heaven and Hell are very real places and I am quite terrified for those that absently choose to go to the latter. Heaven will be magnificent and so beautiful.

Do you pray? If so, is it effective and do you pray for other people?
Yes, I pray. It is extremely effective! God hears all your prayers and answers them according to His plan, not ours despite how different the outcome is. I do pray for other people and God works in their lives. In the end, all is good for those who love Him.

Have there been times when you doubted your faith?
No, never.

Do you believe in a God-inspired evolution or a literal Biblical/Koranic etc... creation?
I believe in the literal Creation that is written in the Bible.

Do you desire all to believe like you or are you content to let others live their lives without belief as long as they don't hurt you?
Of course I wish everyone knew the love and power found in Jesus, but that isn't going to happen. If they choose to live differently than I, more power to 'em.

When conversing with non-followers/believers, do you notice any common patterns in the way they answer your statements?
Yes, mostly when posed with the creation question -- none of them really have a definate answer. I propose ideas to them about such things and they stutter while trying to support things such as evolution. Other things I notice is that they say they don't believe in God -- yet turn around and blame Him for something. How can you not acknowledge God, yet all of a sudden you do when everything is going wrong?

Have you ever left a conversation with a non-believer doubting what you originally thought about your faith?
No, never.

Do you understand why some people don't believe because of life experiences?
Absolutely, but it's those people who won't even consider God because of past experiences, that I worry about especially. Those who ponder the idea but have been hurt or whatnot in the past at least are giving it a shot.

Do you get angry at some statements made by non-conformists?
Of course I do, I'm human with real emotions and feelings. I can be hurt just as much as the next person. When they downtalk my Faith or blatently harass me for the way I believe, I become very angry -- but in a zealous sort of way such that I seek to make them see and understand my reason for believing.

If you are a former atheist/agnostic, what was it that led you to God?
I've always believed in God since I first heard about Him -- but as for accepting Christ into my heart, it was through His calling. I was drawn to Him for it was my purpose to become a follower. Through reading His Word, studying about Him, and hearing others testimonies, I too came to know His love and grace.

Have you ever changed religions i.e. gone from Christianity to Islam or denominations say from Catholic to Lutheran... What inspired you to change the way you worshipped God?
I went from Catholic to Christian because I don't believe in the worship of Mary or the celebration of Saints. Indeed, Mary was the mother of Jesus Christ who died for my sins -- but she was just as sinful as anyone and she was not Holy. Holy means to be perfect, sanctified, and set apart. God chose her to be the Father of our Savior, and that is a wonderous thing, but it was not because she is perfect. The Saints are not perfect either, they were people who did so many good works, the Catholic church felt they needed some recognition. It matters not, though, I don't believe in it so I call myself a Christian and choose to worship as one.

Are you a Wicca, Hindu, Buddhist etc..? What influenced you to come to that belief?
No -- not any of these.

Have any believers ever felt real prejudice from people for what they believe? How do you deal with that?
I've run into some heavy prejudice against my Faith, but I deal with it in the only way possible -- leave it in God's hands. What those people do to me is between them and God and though I suffer here on Earth, this is but a blink of an eye compared to the wonderful eternity I will share with Him. Jesus even stated in the Bible that we as his followers would be mocked, hated and ridiculed because of Him -- and I have been all of those, but I am not ashamed. It says in the Bible that if we are ashamed of God, then He will be ashamed of us and on Judgement Day, he will turn us away saying we are not in the Book Of Life and He never knew us. That is not what He will say to me, not matter how much prejudice is placed upon my shoulders -- I am strong in the Lord for it is a small thing compared to what He did for me.

[Clay Dennatta]

General


Do you believe in God?
Why yes....Yes I do :)

If Yes, do you follow a particular religion/lifestyle (Islam, Christianity, Judaism etc...) or do you just follow your own beliefs.
I am a Non-Denominational Christian

Does your belief in God span all faiths i.e. do you believe that everyone who believes will be saved?
Pretty much what Xazor said is actually what i believe also. Couldn't have said it better myself.


Believers


What for you is the most important aspect of your faith?
The most important aspect of my faith probably has to be the fact that i know God is always there. No matter how hard my life may seem and how down in the dumps it is I know he is there rooting me on to keep going. Cause I know that if i just keep believing in him and worshiping him with all my heart, he will give me the greatest gift anyone could ever get.....Eternal life in Heaven with Him.

Have you ever felt the presence of God in your lives? (please give examples)
Yes on a daily basis actually. Everything i go through, all the hard times, I can feel him right beside me, telling me everything is going to be ok. And everytime it does work out. Most the time its just me being stupid but God helps me too see that its not the world who has the problem its me. And it has really changed my attitude on life.

Do you believe in a Heaven & Hell as described by your faith or in another form of afterlife?
Shure do. Heaven is for the saved, and hell for the rest. But then theres that issue of, what if they never were introduced to Christianity and had no clue about it. Where do they go? Still don't know where i stand on where they go after death.

Do you pray? If so, is it effective and do you pray for other people?
Yes i do actually, on a daily basis. I always pray for those who i know need prayer. Like when my mom had the possibility of having cancer a few months back. I prayed everyday for her at home and in school and last tuesday she had her surgery and it turned out to not be cancer sho she dosent have to worry bout it coming back. I know that was God working in her life. So yes it is effective, very effective actually.

Have there been times when you doubted your faith?
Yes, back when i was first saved 5 years ago. I doubted my faith all the time. But not not anymore.

Do you believe in a God-inspired evolution or a literal Biblical/Koranic etc... creation?
I believe in the God-inspired evolution. But we didn't evolve physically. We evloved spiritually and mentally.

Do you desire all to believe like you or are you content to let others live their lives without belief as long as they don't hurt you?
Heck ya. Everyone should know about the love that God has given us. But also i am content with them not believing as long as they don't bad mouth any one elses religion including mine.

When conversing with non-followers/believers, do you notice any common patterns in the way they answer your statements?
Yes most of them just say how God isn't real and stuff. But then, like Xazor said, they turn around and blame God for all there problems and all the problems in the world. It is funny to hear these hypocrits talk and how they dont realize they are doing it even if you point it out to them.

Have you ever left a conversation with a non-believer doubting what you originally thought about your faith?
Nope, can't say that i have.

Do you understand why some people don't believe because of life experiences?
Yes i do understand. I used to be that way but I really feel for those people who don't believe cause they don't know or don't understand. Theya re the ones i pray for eveyday that they may be able to find God and share with use all his Joy and Love.

Do you get angry at some statements made by non-conformists?
Yes very much so. But i dont show it too them. Instead I try to show them why I believe in hopes they at least understand and stop harrasing me and my fellow people just because we don't believe what he/she does.

If you are a former atheist/agnostic, what was it that led you to God?
I was actually Catholic before i got saved. I always believed in God but i never did have a personaly relashinship with him. The Catholics are good people bbut most of them are too tied up in tradition to realize they really don't know God and don't know the love he has given us. Once i found Christian Faith Cnter, and became saved, I realized how much of God i was actually missing. My church showed me that God truely does love me and truely does want to get to know me more.

Have you ever changed religions i.e. gone from Christianity to Islam or denominations say from Catholic to Lutheran... What inspired you to change the way you worshipped God?
Yes. Kind of funny, i explained why I changed up above then i come to this question.

Are you a Wicca, Hindu, Buddhist etc..? What influenced you to come to that belief?
Nope.

Have any believers ever felt real prejudice from people for what they believe? How do you deal with that?
I deal with it by just letting it fly by meif it was directed at me, but if it is directed at someone else i get angry. I always explain that there is no reason to badmouth others because they don't believe what you believe. Then i pull the whole 'What if you were badmouthed for what you believe? How would you feel?', on them and i just drop it from there.

[RogueLeader]

Thanks for replying all! I hope this topic keeps going!

[Gurney Devries]

- Do you believe in God?

Yes.

- If Yes, do you follow a particular religion/lifestyle (Islam, Christianity, Judaism etc...) or do you just follow your own beliefs?

I feel that the concept of religion is an entirely bad idea.

- Does your belief in God span all faiths i.e. do you believe that everyone who believes will be saved?

People can believe in God and still be sinners.

- What for you is the most important aspect of your faith?

Simply believing in God and knowing what is morally right and wrong. I think the absolute most important thing, to me, is that you don't tell anyone else how to live their life.

- Have you ever felt the presence of God in your lives? (please give examples)

Can't say as I have. But then, I don't look to Him for help or guidance. I simply do things on my own. And he's never seen fit to randomly pop up and say "Hello", either.

- Do you believe in a Heaven & Hell as described by your faith or in another form of afterlife?

I suppose I do. I never give it much thought. I'm sure that there's some form of purgatory, at least. My concept of Heaven and Hell is something between the Divine Comedy and What Dreams May Come. But I've always been a tad fanciful.

- Do you pray? If so, is it effective and do you pray for other people?

No. I don't see the point to prayer on a regular basis. Perhaps praying for something in particular (eg, for someone to get better). But more to reassure yourself than to actually ask for help.

- Have there been times when you doubted your faith?

I have no doubts in what I believe.

- Do you believe in a God-inspired evolution or a literal Biblical/Koranic etc... creation?

I believe in evolution because, quite simply put, there's no way to deny it. Evolution, by definiton, is "A change exhibited over a period of time". Everything changes over time. Now, I have my reasons to doubt Macroevolution, but I don't believe in literal creationism.

- Do you desire all to believe like you or are you content to let others live their lives without belief as long as they don't hurt you?

I think that the world would be a much better place if everyone believed as I did, and I'll relate my beliefs like I'm doing here, but no more. The only time when I'll get really zealous is if I'm seeing someone use their religion as an excuse for what I consider inexecusable behaviour (eg, the people who're a part of "God Hates Fags").

- When conversing with non-followers/believers, do you notice any common patterns in the way they answer your statements?

Yes. Most Christians I speak to will attempt to quote the Bible to refute my beliefs - as if they can have the only possible answer because it says so in the Bible. Other than that, people of other religions seem willing to accept the fact that I have different beliefs than them.

And if you're reading this and you feel personally offended: I'm sorry, but that's my experience with a large number of Christians. You may not be like that - I'm not stereotyping here. Simply answering the question in the manner it was asked.

- Have you ever left a conversation with a non-believer doubting what you originally thought about your faith?

Nope. I base my beliefs on what I consider the most logical conclusions; What I believe is right. Perhaps some minor things can change, but the basis of what I believe will not ever change.

- Do you understand why some people don't believe because of life experiences?

Well, since I'm basically the non-believer here, for the sake of this question, allow me to put it this way: I do understand why some people DO believe because they were brought up that way. And I can understand that certain circumstances in a person's life can lead them to take up a specific faith.

- Do you get angry at some statements made by non-conformists?

I get angry if a person won't listen to reason, or if they insist on doing something irrational because their religion tells them to.

- If you are a former atheist/agnostic, what was it that led you to God?

It simply is hard for me to deny the presence of a greater power.

- Have you ever changed religions i.e. gone from Christianity to Islam or denominations say from Catholic to Lutheran... What inspired you to change the way you worshipped God?

Even though I was brought up strictly Catholic, I can't recall a point where I ever believed any of it.

- Are you a Wicca, Hindu, Buddhist etc..? What influenced you to come to that belief?

I take concepts and parts of belief as I go and merge them into my beliefs. I find many concepts from Wicca and Buddhism very admirable and I'm sure I've incorporated them into what I believe, to some degree.

- Have any believers ever felt real prejudice from people for what they believe? How do you deal with that?

Of course some people have been on the receiving end of prejudice for what they believe. For the most part, I haven't.

- Does the past crimes of religion invalidate the existence of God for you?

I don't really fall into this category, but I'd still like to answer the question: No, of course not. Religion != God, and that's a mistake I think too many people make. I don't believe in religion, but I do believe in God. The past crimes of religion only help invalidate religion itself, to me.