StarGateWars Forums

Juliette wrote:Okay, let me add a single rule to this.
NO ONE, and that means absolutely no one, will claim any insults from comments regarding religion made in this thread.
Of course, comments regarding people's intelligence or other personal attributes will be subject to scrutiny.
Religion and comments regarding religion are NO ground for feeling offended or insulted, and any complaints in this regard will be disregarded.

Now that we have made that clear.. game on.

Hitchkok wrote:i'll just say that:
theos = god
A = a prefix that states negation.

Atheism = negation of god.
as god is the focal point of any religion, atheism is not a religion.
that's that.

Mister Sandman wrote:

Hitchkok wrote:i'll just say that:
theos = god
A = a prefix that states negation.

Atheism = negation of god.
as god is the focal point of any religion, atheism is not a religion.
that's that.

So Buddhism is not a religion.

There is no almighty God in Buddhism. There is no one to hand out rewards or punishments on a supposedly Judgement Day. Buddhism is strictly not a religion in the context of being a faith and worship owing allegiance to a supernatural being.

Tan Swee Eng, "A Basic Buddhism Guide." Buddhanet.net (2004).

Atheism = without Gods; in other words, without belief in God(s).

Each religion has their own sets of beliefs variating from one another. Atheism is no different. As long as you apply the main beliefs of an Athiest such as denoucing the belief of God, anything can be applied to Athiesm. Atheism's beliefs are no different from any other theology. You can take teachings from all sorts of religions and omit the teachings about believing in a higher power than human beings and implement that into Atheism.

Also practicing religion doesn't mean you have to organize nor do you have to attend any services. I'm a Christian, I don't have to attend services or be part of a congregration in order to practice it. Just follow the teachings, that's all. In Christianity, there was nothing said about having to organize. There's a difference between religion itself and organized religion. Organized religion is manufactured by humans just like you and me.

Atheism exists as a religion. But it doesn't exist as an organized religion. Then again there's no such thing as organized religion, just organized religious congregrations. Of course faiths do have their celebrations, but you don't have to be in service to celebrate it.

is agnosticism a religion too?
a religion who's set of belief consitutes the denial of religion?

Mister Sandman wrote:

is agnosticism a religion too?
a religion who's set of belief consitutes the denial of religion?

Point: Atheism denies God. Main beliefs of an Atheist such as denouncing the belief of God. It is still a religion.

Agnostics are those who believe that it is impossible to determine whether or not there is a God.

There are types of agnostics:
Agnostic atheists are atheistic because they do not have belief in the existence of any deity, and agnostic because they do not claim to know that a deity does not exist

Agnostic theist believes that the proposition at least one deity exists is true, but, per agnosticism, believes that the existence of gods is unknown or inherently unknowable.

mm since not complains can be stated your past proof in the other subject was the worst evidence I have ever seen I see no law rule only a joke cite stating Atheism as a religion. Next you will probably state science as a religion. Same as Buddhism, Atheism has no god to pray to or sacred premise from which it is derived it is a theology.

England and Wales

In England and Wales 390,127 people (almost 0.8%) stated their religion as Jedi on their 2001 Census forms, surpassing Sikhism, Judaism, and Buddhism, and making it the fourth largest reported religion in the country.[11] In the 2001 Census 2.6% of the population of Brighton claimed to be Jedi. The percentages of religious affiliations were:

* Christian: 72.0%
* No religion: 14.7%
* Chose not to respond: 7.8%
* Muslim: 3.1%
* Hindu: 1.1%
* Jedi: 0.79%

It was confirmed prior to the census that citizens were not liable for a fine in relation to question 10 (on religion).[12] This was based on section 1(2) of the Census (Amendment) Act 2000,[13] which amended section 8 of the Census Act 2000 to state that "no person shall be liable to a penalty under subsection (1) for refusing or neglecting to state any particulars in respect of religion". The change in the law was implemented by The Census (Amendment) Order 2000[14] and The Census (Amendment) Regulations 2000.[15]

Jedi was assigned its own code in the United Kingdom for census processing, the number 896.[16] Officials from the Office for National Statistics pointed out that this merely means that it has been registered as a common answer to the "religion" question. John Pullinger, Director of Reporting and Analysis for the Census, noted that many people who would otherwise not have completed a Census form did so solely to record themselves as Jedi, so this joke helped to improve the quality of the Census. The Office of National Statistics revealed the total figure in a press release entitled "390,000 Jedis there are".[17]

In June 2005, Jamie Reed, newly-elected Labour Member of Parliament for Copeland in Cumbria, declared himself to be the first Jedi Member of Parliament during his maiden speech.[18] The statement, made in the context of an ongoing debate regarding the Incitement to Religious Hatred Bill, was confirmed by Reed's office to be a joke instead of a serious statement of faith. Nevertheless, during a subsequent Committee debate on the Bill, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Beaconsfield, Dominic Grieve, sought to exclude Jedi Knights explicitly from the protection of the proposed Act.[19] Similarly, in April 2006, Edward Leigh, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Gainsborough, asked whether he would be allowed to set up a Jedi knights faith school during a Committee debate on the Education and Inspections Bill.[20]

On November 16, 2006, two Jedi delivered a protest letter to UN officials in recognition of the International Day for Tolerance. They requested that it be renamed the "UN Interstellar Day of Tolerance" and cited the 2001
Census showing 390,000 Jedi in England and Wales.[21]

Juliette wrote:But that is just the thing.
Being 'Jedi' in the sense the religion seems to be interpreted is "accepting the existence of the Force in all things dead and living". Not being a fully trained and accomplished Jedi Knight as the movies depict them..


Kinda like how believing in God doesn't mean you are one. Or that you are a teacher of faith.
Accepting a religion does not mean you advocate it. I can believe Bill sells good books, but if I keep that knowledge to myself, what good is it? It's the whole question, "If a tree falls in the forest, but no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?" If I believe I have found the answer to life, the universe and everything, as any self-respecting religion would claim, how can I keep that knowledge to myself?
And lo! man is in trouble and will pay to hear the message.

Witness the rise of the televangelist. Money, money, money! Hallelujah.