Where are you on the Religion/Belief scale?

[marmar]

Poll question: Where are you on the Religion/Belief scale?

In the interest of full disclosure, I grew up Lutheran, but I don't believe in any particular faith, sect, denomination or creed.....and I'm not a fan of organized religion. But I do believe in a higher power or energy or God or whatever you choose to call it.

Et vous?

[sunwyn]

1. Pagan here

[Mojorabbit]

12. Same here

so I voted other.

[YOY]

2. "I'll believe anything as long as there's a steady paycheck in it." Winston Zeddmore (Ghostbusters)

So far from what I've seen nobody has paid me jack to beleive what they've got.

So far from what I've seen everyone wants the contrary.

[waiting for hope]

3. Here's a good site to go

if you are not sure:

http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Quizzes/BeliefOMatic.aspx

[marmar]

13. Interesting......my top five matches were

1. Neo-Pagan (100%)
2. Unitarian Universalism (98%)
3. New Age (98%)
4. Mahayana Buddhism (93%)
5. Liberal Quakers (91%)

[waiting for hope]

18. Close to mine:

1. Unitarian Universalism (100%)
2. Liberal Quakers (94%)
3. Neo-Pagan (88%)
4. Secular Humanism (86%)
5. New Age (85%)
6. Mahayana Buddhism (83%)

I actually checked out the Unitarian Universalism church in my area, and it has peaked my interest.

[emmadoggy]

30. Mine were..

1. Liberal Quaker (100%)
2. Unitarian Universalism (97%)
3. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (94%)
4. Secular Humanism (88%)
5. Neo-Pagan (81%)

[PassingFair]

79. No big surprises here:

1. Secular Humanism (100%)
2. Unitarian Universalism (93%)
3. Liberal Quakers (77%)
4. Nontheist (72%)
5. Theravada Buddhism (70%)
6. Neo-Pagan (66%)
7. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (62%)
8. New Age (51%)
9. Taoism (48%)
10. Orthodox Quaker (44%)
11. Reform Judaism (44%)
12. Mahayana Buddhism (40%)
13. Baha'i Faith (34%)
14. Sikhism (34%)
15. Jainism (30%)
16. Scientology (30%)
17. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (27%)
18. New Thought (27%)
19. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (22%)
20. Seventh Day Adventist (22%)
21. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (20%)
22. Hinduism (19%)
23. Eastern Orthodox (19%)
24. Islam (19%)
25. Orthodox Judaism (19%)
26. Roman Catholic (19%)
27. Jehovah's Witness (12%)

[Odin2005]

91. No suprise here.

I am a Secular Humanist with Theravada Buddhist sympathies who is part of a UU congregation.

1. Secular Humanism (100%)
2. Unitarian Universalism (100%)
3. Theravada Buddhism (86%)
4. Liberal Quakers (80%)
5. Nontheist (73%)
6. Neo-Pagan (70%)
7. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (62%)
8. Taoism (61%)
9. Mahayana Buddhism (58%)
10. New Age (55%)
11. Sikhism (48%)
12. Jainism (47%)
13. Orthodox Quaker (44%)
14. Reform Judaism (42%)
15. Hinduism (36%)
16. Baha'i Faith (32%)
17. Scientology (29%)
18. New Thought (26%)
19. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (25%)
20. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (22%)
21. Seventh Day Adventist (20%)
22. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (19%)
23. Orthodox Judaism (19%)
24. Eastern Orthodox (16%)
25. Islam (16%)
26. Roman Catholic (16%)
27. Jehovah's Witness (12%)

[enlightenment]

4. marmar, there's a forum for this sort of thing -

why stick it in GD?

[BlooInBloo]

5. There are ZERO angels dancing on my pinhead.

[PDJane]

6. I believe in no religion at all.

If there is a good, she has a really nasty sense of humour.

[cobalt1999]

7. Hey! Where's the Flying Spaghetti Monster option?

You don't want to piss him off!

[hamsterjill]

8. Christian but not out to change the world

I consider myself a Christian, but I also consider it each individual's right to decide the belief system that is appropriate for him or her.

[Warpy]

9. Buddhist by practice, not by faith

Buddha himself said not to believe a word he said but to explore it all through the practice of meditation.

[Odin2005]

93. OMG, two Aspies on DU who practice meditation, what are the odds? LOL!

:rofl:

[Why Syzygy]

10. . nt

[L. Coyote]

11. Religion needs to be in the waste basket of historic stupidity and the root of evil.

We need a rational world, not one with 1,000s of individuated realities based on what a person believes but cannot perceive.

[BlooInBloo]

16. It already is...

The only problem is that so many people are happy to throw *themselves* in the intellectual wastebasket with it.

[L. Coyote]

17. The story of the origin of religion in ten words.

Slaves needed something to believe that would keep them suppressed.

[el_bryanto]

21. How's that theory working out for you?

Bryant

[Zhade]

58. Already is -- now it just needs to be recognized as such by more.

Happily, poll numbers show it is, which gives me hope for humanity.

[Soylent Brice]

14. atheist.

[barbtries]

15. spiritual humanist

or humanistic spiritualist. take your pick.

eta: ethnic WASP, technically jewish, practically pagan. :)

[kestrel91316]

19. Hmmm. I don't see a category for nonpracticing neopagan ecofeminist

with Anabaptist leanings.......

[marmar]

25. I missed that one.....

:)

[H2O Man]

20. All of the above. n/t

[Uncle Joe]

45. That's the way it is with me as well. Edit for P.S. Except for the atheist part. n/t

[JitterbugPerfume]

22. In my lifetime

I have gone from fundamentalist christain to Athiest

I put a lot of reading and though into it and pissed off a lot of people for my non belief

[Jennicut]

35. Funny, I went from Agnostic to Christian...but my husband got me involved in our church

He is the choir director/organist at our Lutheran Church. Before I met him I had never even gone to any church service. My parents let me choose what I wanted to do. So at 25, I finally choose. I think religion and not being religious is a very personal decision and no one should be judged for what they believe/do not believe.

[Renew Deal]

23. You forgot Poland!

:evilgrin:

[Festivito]

24. Atheists could be separated into hard and soft-atheists.

I would be curious about how many are in each.

As I understand it, soft-atheists lack belief in God.

Hard-atheists advocate a lack of belief in God, as do some of the prior posters here and notably the FFRF who put up atheist postings in public spaces.

[snooper2]

26. you understand it incorrectly...

go to dictionary.com and look up atheist and agnostic

[Festivito]

34. Perhaps you're reading me incorrectly, because you're mistaken.

I did not mention agnostics.
I did mention hard-atheist and soft-atheist, neither of which are in Dictionary.com.

The hard and soft aspects have been discussed here on DU and those concepts are at least close to what I have described.

[Zhade]

60. Wow, you ALMOST got it right!

Strong (your "hard") atheists assert that there are no gods. That's not what the FFRF's public displays do.

Still, you seem to be evolving in your understanding of atheism, if ever so slowly.

[Festivito]

72. Okay, that's strong and soft, not hard and soft.

But, now, let me get this straight: Strong atheists assert there are no gods. That's not what FFRF's displays do. Going back to FFRF's display, it says: "There are no gods, no devil or angels, no heaven or hell." But, somehow FFRF's display does not say what a strong atheist would say.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/390542_capitoldisplay05.html

It seems as plain to me as a nose on a face that that is exactly what FFRF has said.

Since I've already progressed to almost being correct, maybe I could be able to understand this way of thinking that I'm just not getting. It seems indicative of the kind of non-understanding we've been having for a long time.

Here's to evolving into understanding.

[emmadoggy]

27. I'm in the same position as you...

I grew up Lutheran, but am now "non-practicing" (ie. we don't attend church). I also believe in God or a higher power or energy, but am not a fan of organized religion.

Lately, I have been having an internal struggle over what to do with regard to my children and religion. They have been to church once for Christmas services and the only other times have been for weddings, funerals and their own baptism (and those occasions have been very few).

They are now 7, and my husband feels we should be attending church and the kids should be attending Sunday school. I'm conflicted about it, but told him I would go along with whatever he wanted to do, but that I would not be the one to make all the arrangements and to get the ball rolling. He has not taken the initiative to do it either, so the situation remains.:dilemma:

[Fumesucker]

43. If you are not a fan of "organized religion" why would you wish to expose your children to it?

I'm not sure I understand that attitude.

[emmadoggy]

44. I know it's strange and contradictory...

But that's what I mean by being conflicted about it. Essentially, I guess that conflict comes from a sense of guilt, duty and obligation. It's the way I was raised and so I feel a sense of tradition and duty to do the same with my own children. Not only is it the way I was raised, but it's the way that most people around here are raised - it is the societal norm and expectation. Most people just assume that you are a church member somewhere and at least occasionally attend.

In addition, my feelings about it are not necessarily the same as my husband's. He was raised the same way I was - with even more regular attendance - and he doesn't really feel the same way about it that I do. Although he has never pushed for us to be regular church-goers, I think he also still feels a sense of duty and obligation that it's what we "should" be doing and what's expected. I respect his feelings on the issue.

I also wonder if it will cause any issues for my children as they grow up. When it comes time that they want to get married, will it be a road block with some churches/pastors? Will they be upset that we never exposed them to it so they at least have an understanding of what it's all about and how it works? Also, they are baptized but what about them being confirmed?

On the other hand, what I meant by not being a "fan of organized religion" is simply that going to church has always just felt like a chore and obligation to me. It has never been that I ENJOYED it or "got something out of it" the way that other people seem to. All of the repetition and repeating and little chants just seem silly to me. And most pastors that I have come across are pretty dry and boring speakers (although I have seen that when you do encounter a "good" one, it can make the experience more enjoyable.) Part of it may also be that even as I was being raised we were also never really regular church-goers (probably averaged going once every three to six weeks, sometimes longer). It was something I never got really comfortable and familiar with the way other people were. I never got to the point where I knew all the little chants and verses etc. by heart like "the regulars" did. The Lord's Prayer is the only thing I can recite from memory. Also, many churches require a level of participation that I am not comfortable with (or interested in) - ie. being a greeter at the door, doing readings during the service, helping with communion, ushering etc. In the Lutheran synod that I was raised in, congregation members did not do most of those things (that particular synod is not a common one though and most other synods work differently.) So basically, I'm just more comfortable having a more private and personal relationship with God, in my own way.

It's not that I "hate" organized religion, really (although I take issue with certain aspects of it). Just that I don't derive the same sense of deep meaning and whatever else it is that most other people seem to get out of it.

Sorry for the long and convoluted response. It's just a hard thing to try to explain and put into words.

[seabeyond]

28. all of the above and then some. n/t

[QueenOfCalifornia]

29. Atheist.

That is all.

[AB_Positive]

31. Wow, majority of non-believers?

I KNEW I liked this place for a reason :D

[BirminghamExaminer]

33. I'm sure there's a link to above average intelligence and atheism.

Not to be conceited but I am an atheist.

[Zhade]

62. There is. Studies show that the less unsupported beliefs a society holds, the smarter...

...and more prosperous that society becomes.

That is not to say that all religious folks are unintelligent. There are many smart people who are smart despite religion. But there is a documented inverse correlation between religion and intelligence (I am compelled to acknowledge that correlation is not causation).

[bananas]

71. 33% is not a majority.

[PassingFair]

92. Take another look. n/t

[bananas]

97. 35% is not a majority.

:rofl:

[marions ghost]

32. where's shamanism?

:) I guess that's other.

[rampart]

36. recovering catha-holic

learned, morality guilt, and DISRESPECT for authority.

[baldguy]

37. Recovering Catholic

[pink-o]

38. I'm pretty sure there's nothing like a "creator" who brought us here

...and also, I don't think that if we've lived a "good" and "moral" life, there's gonna be a "reward" waiting for us when we die. I doubt that "God" and "Satan" are in an eternal battle for every human soul, because it seems the height of arrogance to elevate our species above all others.

As for "Intelligent design": what's so intelligent about a species that has the windpipe right next to the food pipe?? A species so fragile that it can bleed out and die in an instant--or, tragically, fall down on a beginner ski slope and be brain dead??? If the "Creator" made us in "His" image, he must be one helluva flawed creator!

However...

The honest answer that you, or I or anyone can give when asked how we got here and what is our purpose: "I don't know".

Which puts me firmly in the agnostic catagory.

And one other thing: I've said this before, but it bears repeating. Why does it matter so much how we got here or what's gonna happen when we're no longer here? No matter what you believe--if you think a creator brought us forth or if you think it's all a marvelous lucky chance that you are a sentient being, the objective is the same. Life is a gift, right? If there's a god, he'd want you to enjoy it. If there's no god, you better enjoy it, cuz it's all you have.

Either way, you gotta live life to the fullest, love as many people as you can, take care of yourself and others, and take pleasure in every day you're alive.

Because this moment right now is all we know. And I, for one, want to make it count!

[Zhade]

63. You may be an agnostic atheist. But let's face it, EVERYONE is an agnostic.

After all, no one *knows* that gods exist. No one. Thus, lacking such knowledge, we're all agnostic.

And since you appear to lack belief in gods, that puts you squarely in the atheist camp.

I like your point about living life, btw. Very well-said!

[Marrah_G]

39. Other: I am WIccan

[LostinVA]

55. Ewwwww

hehehehehe

You know I don't mean that.

:pals:

[Marrah_G]

77. Don't make me come down there woman !!!!!!!!!

[Kazak]

40. Poor choices.

About three of those apply to me. Further, virtually everyone is agnostic, theistic and atheistic alike...nobody KNOWS.

[dkofos]

41. I just don't worry about it.

[damonm]

42. Other...

I go to Unity Church, tenets of which can be found at the link.
It's welcoming, and a LOT less nonsensical than most religions with which I have experience.
(A plus: My fundie cousins are CERTAIN I'm going to hell for being in this "cult"...)

[Ohio Joe]

46. Atheist

No invisible friends for me.

[handmade34]

47. I believe in a good story

...did a year in Seminary (ANTS in Newton Centre, MA) candidate for MDIV, United Methodist Church. Fantastic experience("Transformational Power of Ritual" was best!) but also opened my eyes to the politics and games played. One pastor I worked with claimed that fundamentalist Christians were the biggest problems society has. Dogma is BAD! I learned, and I tell this to everyone, Jesus' only message was "Life is a Bitch and we have to help each other!!" and I paid thousands of dollars to learn that. Oh, yes, I believe in a good story!

[Critters2]

73. Welcome to DU! I'm an ANTS grad. and would like to do my DMin there.

I'd like to do more work in Girardian anthropology under Mark Heim, but being 1000 miles away makes that difficult. My ANTS years were the best of my life. I still miss it, 20 years later.

[handmade34]

75. Hi! Critters2 I tell people...

that are thinking about getting counseling to just go to seminary- great experience and the campus is so peaceful, hard to believe it is just outside Boston. I had to leave because my husband was dying and then couldn't get back because of crazy people messing up my plans- long, long story. So sad. I probably would have gotten thrown out of the church anyways... I did love to do 'pulpit supply' when I was in the church.

When I had to leave to take care of my husband, I did a few Online classes through ANTS. Not quite the same, but I was impressed by the quality of discussion in the classes. Are you preaching??

[Critters2]

76. Yeah. I've been ordained for 22 years now. UCC.

Serving a church in Illinois.

Sorry to hear about your husband. Sorry you couldn't get back to school afterwards.

I know what you mean about the campus being so peaceful. I always say it was like being at church camp for 3 years. Such a beautiful spot.

I've taken one online class. Can't do a whole degree online, yet. I've been trying to get Mark to teach one of his Girard classes on line, but so far he hasn't. He did send me the syllabus for his Atonement class, and I did all the readings and did some e-mail correspondence with him, and my association counted that as meeting my continuing ed requirement last year.

I'm off to bed, but it's good to meet you!

[ShadesOfGrey]

48. Atheist and Agnostic...

I'm an Atheist because I absolutely do not believe in the Judeo Christian God. I'm also agnostic because I'm open to the idea that there might be a higher power that is not an entity. I doubt there is, but I don't know for certain.

[SoCalDem]

49. Raised catholic here...now just a Golden Ruler... n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

50. I grew up Jewish, but these days I find myself

closer to either believing in nothing, or best case a deist...

Yep, like oh folks like I don't know Jefferson

The great clock maker, who intervenes not in the affairs of humans... which is a pretty damn huma-centric view of the world anyway

[Meshuga]

81. Your beliefs or non-beliefs are not so incompatible with Judaism

http://www.outofmyjewishmind.com/post/index/13/A-DIFFERENT-WAY-OF-THINKING-ABOUT-THINKING-ABOUT-GOD

[TripleKatPad]

51. Atheist

My path to atheism began in early childhood. It was all deduction and common sense (to me).

I loved mythology, learning about the Greek Gods, etc. At some point I wondered why the ancient humans' belief in a Sun God, Leaf God, Mammoth God, and etc., could be wholly discounted.

And how could today's popular religions, founded hundreds or thousands of years ago by primitive people (by today's standards), be any more "right." Who says? And why are "they" right and everyone else wrong? A few more growth spurts in my logic and then, by my early 20s, I reached my own conclusion that religion is based in fear, hatred and a need to subjugate others. That wasn't for me.

I don't begrudge anyone their right to believe as they will. I do expect that my right to NOT believe in gods, fairies, ghosts and all their brethren, be respected, too.

[beac]

61. Interesting. I had the same childhood obsession with Classical Mythology and

also grew up to be atheist. I also wondered how seeing 'gods' in every leaf and stream was any crazier than the whole virgin birth story.

[Odin2005]

94. Same here!

:wow:

[Mike 03]

52. Buddhist. Lately, a struggling Buddhist. NT

[sense]

53. As soon as it

can be scientifically proven, I'll believe in a god. None of the current or past gods can be proven, but you never know what scientists will discover going forward.

[LostinVA]

54. Raised Catholic, became Atheist for a bit, admired Neo-Paganism, but am Zen Buddhist

[MrSlayer]

56. Agnostic non-theistic evolutionist.

I don't know if there is a god or gods or not. No one does. It seems a silly thing to worry about or base your life on.

[Zhade]

57. Atheism isn't a religion or a belief, and so I could not vote.

Atheism is the LACK of belief or religion. I won't endorse a false concept.

[Name removed]

64. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Zhade]

66. Accuracy isn't semantics.

NT!

[marmar]

67. ....... and rather strident as well.

:eyes:

[Zhade]

68. I do not think that word means what you think it means.

NT!

[demwing]

99. Atheism is absolutely a doctrine

and whether you believe in a deity or disbelieve, you still follow a system of belief.

[Constance Craving]

59. I follow my father . . .

Deist all the way.

I am still trying to figure out how I fit into the web of life that was here long before me, and hope will be long after I am gone.

[GiveMeFreedom]

65. Here's my results

1. New Age (100%)
2. Mahayana Buddhism (97%)
3. Neo-Pagan (97%)
4. Unitarian Universalism (92%)
5. Theravada Buddhism (85%)
6. Liberal Quakers (80%)

and I am happy with this list. Although Scientology was 8th on the list, I guess I need to watch some Cruise and Travolta flicks.

[SalmonChantedEvening]

69. Atheist. Non Practicing. n/t

[Goblinmonger]

70. I picked atheist, but I'm a member of a UU fellowship

so it was a little confusing.

[rrneck]

74. Other. I'll make my own nt

[saltpoint]

78. marmar, I agree with you on organized religion.

But I don't oppose it any more formerly than to cite the occasional wacko on the Far Right who wants CATCHER IN THE RYE removed from a public library book shelf in Topeka or Indianapolis or Cincinnati.

On the back of Arlo Guthrie's HOBO'S LULLABYE album is a photo of Arlo sitting on the back porch with his family. He's eating potato chips, I think, and reading a THOR comic book from the Marvel Silver Age.

That exactlly is my religion. Well, not exactly. But it is a strikingly close depiction.

I think it pays some personal dividends to be a kind of hybridist / observer. Monotheism bores me to bits, by and large. I'm more drawn to the Greek pantheon, to choose one of the polytheistic systems, from a decidedly pagan age.

War gods, or invocations of gods and goddesses in support of cultures' war-waging, really stinks up the place, whether it's a monotheist or a polytheist doing the invoking.

On the other hand, we can't get the blood-charged rush of EQUUS if we don't have an unexamined, 2000-year old Judeo-Christian religious tradition to bank off of.

In EQUUS, the psychiatrist reveals to his teenage patient, Allen, that he yearns for the ancient sea (the pagan Mediterranean world), and says it is the sea "where the gods bathed."

"Which gods?" his patient asks.

"The old gods -- before they died."

"Gods don't die," his patient insists.

"Yes, they do, Allen. Yes, they do," the doctor tells him.

Which brings us to the summer day's back porch Thor-and-chips depiction by Arlo Guthrie.

[Meshuga]

80. I'm a Jew but that doesn't say much about where I fit in the belief scale n/t

[Why Syzygy]

82. 109 - profess faith ... 121 - no faith ... = difference of 11 . nt

[varkam]

83. And that means....something?

I'm sure you'll tell us how it means those with no faith are somehow being mean to those with faith.

[Why Syzygy]

84. It's simply an accounting comparing poll results with a view that may be held by some

that DU is dominated by an overwhelming majority of those who disclaim faith.

This poll was posted in GD for awhile before being moved to R/T, so it has a wider response than just those who post here.

[varkam]

85. Well that would mean...something...if it weren't non-scientific.

It's not a census - it's self-selecting and so the results are going to be inherently skewed by reporting bias.

[Why Syzygy]

86. Claiming for oneself (sorry Charlie)

to be among the majority at DU isn't scientific either.

[varkam]

87. I never claimed that (sorry Betsy).

So you're going to fight fallacies with fallacies? That...well actually, that sounds about right.

[Why Syzygy]

88. Even though

you lack willingness to be reasonable, you do possess a spot of clever. :rofl:

[varkam]

89. So what does me being clever have to do with...

the fact that you accused me of claiming something I never claimed and your tendency to argue fallaciously? I mean, neither of those are hardly my fault, are they?

[Odin2005]

90. I'm an Atheist, Pantheist, UUer, or Theravada Buddhist depending on one's definitions.

Or any combination of the above, of course.

I was raised as an ELCA Lutheran, and I credit it for infusing me with a strong sense of social justice, but I can't beleive the mythology.

[rd_kent]

95. Devout Atheist here

And until someone offers proof of something else, that is what I will remain

[GliderGuider]

96. I'm an amalgam of Taoist, Zen Buddhist, pantheist and Deep Ecologist

With just enough shamanic and New Age seasoning to keep it fun.

I used to be a Unitarian/strong atheist, but it just didn't work for me.

[Neo Atheist]

98. Atheist/Anti-theist

[NancyBotwin]

100. atheists baby!

I was actually surprised by how many votes Atheist received. AWESOME.

[MikeH]

101. Former Protestant Christian, now Deist, and just on the believing side of agnostic

I selected I believe in God, or energy, or a higher power but no particular faith or sect (or deist).

I used to be a Christian, but found that the Christian faith, and my supposedly having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, had not been of any help to me in enabling me to deal with any source of pain, frustration, or unhappiness in my life. That being the case, I am definitely not a Christian any more.

However I do not consider myself to be an atheist. I think that there are reasons which, even if they do not prove the reality of God or some higher power or intelligence, at least make the idea of God or some higher reality or intelligence to be not entirely absurd or ridiculous.

One of my favorite authors when I was a Christian was the noted apologist C. S. Lewis. I no longer accept his arguments regarding the person of Christ or tenets of the Christian faith, but I have always liked his argument that our sense of reason and our moral sense must be rooted in some intelligence higher and greater than our own, and in some reality higher and greater than ourselves and the natural universe. He makes this argument in the first six chapters of his book http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracles_(book)">Miracles.

I would now consider myself to be a Deist, and I think I have arrived at being such by a process of elimination as much as anything else. I accept the idea that there might possibly be a God or an intelligence higher and greater than ourselves. However I do not accept any alleged revelation from God, such as the Bible or the Koran, as actually being such. I think there are many more problems than benefits from actually believing that the Bible (or the Koran) is an authoritative revelation from God. (One obvious problem is that Christians consider the Bible to be the "Word of God", and Muslims consider the Koran to be the revelation from Allah; who is right? I refuse to believe that any "salvation" or any bliss in any future life depends on a person guessing correctly that the Bible, or the Koran, is the correct revelation from God. If that is the case then God is simply an arbitrary tyrant.)

I also consider myself to be just on the believing side of agnostic. I realize the fallibility of human reasoning. Even if I might personally find that my reasoning leads me to conclude that there might be a God or a higher intelligence, I also realize it is possible that I might be mistaken in my reasoning.