Welcome to Gaia! ::

I believe in god...I love music and I dont think books, music, movies make become a devil worshipper or into witchcraft.
I do like pizza preferable Chicken barbecue pizza
I love the twilight series, Harry Potter Because their a good fun read..
I respect others opinions; and I would hope they would respect mine..

Oh man, I hope I'm not about to give fuel for flamings....

I'm a Wiccan, which for those who don't know, is a religion based off of the magyk of the earth and beliefs in the Goddess (although not all Wiccans have to believe in a supreme diety of any kind). Yes, Wicca has been called witchcraft and honestly, while there is a difference, it's not a big one.

Wicca is a very flexible belief system, adjusting to each individuals' spiritual needs. But one law stands firm among ANY sect of Wicca you find:

"Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill-
An' it harm none, do what ye will."

Pretty much, go through life with the goal that your actions don't negatively affect others. Pretty much sums up the main ideal of many other religions/beleifs, yes? It's something I try to enter in my life as much as our current society allows.

Wicca, by the way, has nothing to do with worshipping the Christian devil. I don't think any of us honestly believe he exists... sweatdrop (No offense meant!)

And yes, I get VERY annoyed by certain type sof overly-religious people. There is absolutely nothing wrong in pursuing your spiritual faith zealously. What is rude is trying to impress upon other people that their way is wrong and yours is right. I LOVE theological talks (theology is the one about studying other religons, yes????) and my best friend (LDS) and I get in discussions that go on forever! But she respects my views, and I hers. So people of different faiths (or lack of one, if the mentioned is aethist) CAN get along as good friends.

PIZZA PWNS.

religion is a personal choice and I don't think anyone can be overly religious. However, when people start trying to force their religion onto other people, that I find unacceptable. Like trying to ban people from being able to watch certain movies or read certain books. Or coming into forums and accusing people of being wicked and telling them they are going to burn in hell.

@KinKin-chan--Wiccan sounds cool, but when you say witch I automaticly think of Green old ladys flying brooms with big black clothes lol.


@Crazy Cat Reincarnated-- Trust me, people can be overly religious.

To call myself an Athiest is techincally correct, but an oversimplification. I am a Secular Humanist. That means that I do not need to belive in a deity to have a moral compass. Our common humanity is what drives my care and compassion for others, not any reward or punishment. My worldview is based on science and reason. If you are interested in learning more about Humanism, this is a good place to start:

http://www.americanhumanist.org/index.html

Well we really aren't into proselytizing...but if you are interested, click on the link I put in the other post.

No offense taken, it is a valid question! I have thought alot about what Atheism mean to me personally. This is partly the reason I self-identify as a Secular Humanist instead of just saying Athiest. All "Athiest" describes is Without-Thiesm...without belief in a deity. I do feel the need to develope a life philosophy, I just didn't need a god to do it. I wanted to define myself in a more possitive way, by what I am, not what I am not. Humanism stresses the bond we all share, the responsibility we have to each other, as fellow human beings. So in that way, no I do NOT feel lonely!

I will admit, many times I have concidered that it would be much more comforting to have some form of belief in the supernatural. The injustices of the world would be easier to take if I thought there really was divine retubution and reward. The loss of a loved one and the thought of death would not be so distressing if I believed in a heaven. But, I cannot will myself to believe something I know not to be true. I never chose to be an Athiest, it just happened as I examined the evidence.

Recently I had what you could call a test of my "dis-belief". I don't know if you have ever heard this, but there is a saying "there are no athiests in foxholes"...meaning that when things get tough, even most athiest will "find god" and turn to religion. At the begining of this year I got very sick. I was in terrible pain, but I did not ask god to stop it. I asked the doctors to give me medicine. At this point I didn't understand just how sick I was. Later I found out that my condition was life threatening. I was scared to death, but I didn't pray. I looked to my husband and family for support. I talked to my doctors and nurses about my treatment. I was in the hospital for 2 months. The fact that I could have died did not shake my un-faith. I put my trust in medical science, not the supernatural. I found within myself with help from my loved ones the strength to get through adversity.

Kinda curious if you dont mind saying, what disease?