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Hi Max, You said, “…there's just something about insisting that evolution is fake that doesn't sit well with a biology student...” --> Yes, that’s quite a quandary for you to be in. But I must say that you should never let anyone tell you what you must or must not believe in. (As a matter of...

Hi, Max, and welcome to the forum. It's good to start with a discussion about ideas. Which religious ideas resonate with you the most?

Hi Gaven and welcome to the forum. Which type of religion resonates with you?

Communist China only recognizes and allows five religions, so all other religions are technically illegal in China. But the China Communist government is very pro-Confucianism, so it calls Confucianism a 'philosophy' not a 'religion'. There are also a few local animistic religions in some parts...

I visited the large Confucian temple in Shanghai not too long ago. It looked exactly like a Buddhist temple to me (and I have seen a lot of Buddhist temples in my time), except that the large statue on the central pedestal was not Buddha. People could burn incense there, just like at a Buddhist...

Tea, I am curious. What do you think happens to you after you die?

Exactly. I am amazed that people think they can do terrible things and then escape divine punishment.

Ahanu, It must be comforting to think that we can escape divine punishment for the bad things we do, but I do not think it works this way. The way I see it, "God's love" includes "giving out" divine punishment for the bad things we do.

Ahanu, Ah, I see, you are using the word "annihilation" in the Baha'i sense of the word. I thought you were using it in the Buddhist sense of the word.

Ahanu, No, I do not think that annihilation is real. It doesn't make sense to me. I do not see why we should go through a lot of trouble and suffering in life, go through a lot of work to improve ourselves, just to have ourselves annihilated later. I am also not sure what you mean by...

ED, Did you have any kind of near-death experience during all of this?

Yes, this is the best thing to do, you should stop posting there. I know how you feel, you like to have a place to hang out, and that forum has been a familiar hangout place for you. It feels uncomfortable to give up hanging out at a place you have been hanging out at for some time. But I...

DA, I know some nice atheists. I know some obnoxious atheists. I know some nice 'religious people'. I know some obnoxious 'religious people'. Being atheist or 'religious' does not automatically make a person nice or obnoxious. People are obnoxious because they have personality 'issues', not...

I disagree. I think spending a couple of billion years in hell would do the trick. (Please remember that I think hell is temporary, not eternal.)

DA, I am a Theosophist.

“The two aren't mutually exclusive are they?” --> I think they are. I do not think we can have forgiveness of sins and also have full accountability. I think it is either one or the other. Do you think another way is possible? “I guess it depends on how one defines being held accountable.”...

DA, Do you believe in the forgiveness of sins, or do you think we are held accountable for the bad things we do?

DA, I believe that, after we die, we are not even asked if we believe in Jesus, Buddha, etc. I don't think it even comes up. But I do think we are asked about the good and bad things we did in life.

Yes, there is.

DA, I believe we will held accountable for every bad thing we do (and every good thing too!), no matter how big or small. This goes against the ideas of Christianity, which is why I am not a Christian. I do not think someone like Hitler could have repented on his deathbed and escaped hell.