Bonjour!

[Plu]

And now for the kicker: where and how were you raised?

[Krampus]

And now for the kicker: where and how were you raised?

I was raised a Catholic though my mother was not really practicing and had little knowledge of theology, and my father had his own beliefs (more akin to New Age).

So... I followed catechesis at school but it hardly left any lasting impression on me. In fact, I had very little understanding of Christianity until the age of 22. At home, we very seldom talked about religion and God. In my teenage years, I was far more interested in sex than in religion.

Now, however, for some reason, I've become very interested in religious and ethical stuff. So I've studied religion and theology at university.

[Hydra009]

Of all the world religions, I do think that Christianity is the one that makes most sense. Still, Deism and Atheism are possibly even more rational. Let's see the evidence.

Indeed, let's see the evidence.  Except for people's say-so (which shockingly, tends to support whatever they currently believe), there's really not that much to go on.

As far as world religions go, Christianity isn't that great.  If I had to list them all by order of rationality, it'd probably be near the bottom, just slightly above Scientology and Mormonism.  As if the whole God thing weren't a big enough bone of contention, there's belief in a miracles, afterlife, trinity, virgin birth, God-human, and self-sacrifice to oneself.  It's the sort of thing that Muslims can make fun of as overly superstitious.

[the_antithesis]

I hope we can have interesting and civil discussions here.

Good luck, kid.

[viocjit]

Bienvenue sur le forum ! Maintenant je ne suis plus le seul Francophone. (Translation for non-French speakers : Welcome to the forum ! Now I'm the lone Francophone anymore ).

[Mister Agenda]

Welcome, Krampus!

Freethinker might be a good description of most of our contributors.

[Krampus]

Bienvenue sur le forum ! Maintenant je ne suis plus le seul Francophone. (Translation for non-French speakers : Welcome to the forum ! Now I'm the lone Francophone anymore ).

Tiens, il y a un Français ici.  :P

Il y a quelques libres-penseurs français qui sont intéressants, comme Comte-Sponville ou Albert Jacquard, mais pour ce qui est de la subtilité de l'argumentation, les philosophes analytiques sont pas mal en avance.

[Krampus]

I hope we can have interesting and civil discussions here.

Good luck, kid.

I'm a fan of Grumpy Cat, too.  

[Solitary]

Welcome aboard Krampus! Out of all the different religions, which is the correct one? Solitary

Hi,

Of all the world religions, I do think that Christianity is the one that makes most sense. Still, Deism and Atheism are possibly even more rational. Let's see the evidence.

I think the original teachings of Buddha make the most sense. Solitary

[Krampus]

Welcome aboard Krampus! Out of all the different religions, which is the correct one? Solitary

Hi,

Of all the world religions, I do think that Christianity is the one that makes most sense. Still, Deism and Atheism are possibly even more rational. Let's see the evidence.

I think the original teachings of Buddha make the most sense. Solitary

Well... the truth of the matter is that it took many centuries to write down the buddhist sutras so there is little we can know about the historical Buddha.

But the problem I see with Buddhism is that its goal is Nirvana, which is a state of lonely, autistic peacefulness. I'd say humans are made to relate to other people, not to seek an autistic liberation from the world.

Another problem is that Christianity, despite the appearances, has been this-worldly, so it has brought forth the right conditions for science and technology to emerge in Western Europe. Buddhism, however, is other-worldly, so it has done little to address the real causes of suffering (parasites, gene defects, brain dysfunctions, social inequalities, etc.) Instead, it has taught that somehow the real cause of suffering is desire, which is only a small part of the truth. Besides, to have material desires is a normal part of our human condition. We need some self-restraint, to be sure, but there is nothing wrong having some worldly goals.

[Youssuf Ramadan]

Welcome to the forum, Krampus!  8-)

[the_antithesis]

I'm a fan of Grumpy Cat, too.  

Who?

[Krampus]

I'm a fan of Grumpy Cat, too.  

Who?

The cat on your avatar. What's his name? I know him by "Grumpy Cat".

[the_antithesis]

There's a cat on my avatar?

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