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My Religion MAG

By Anonymous

I have a magnet on my mirror stating, “Life is not about finding yourself – life is about creating yourself.” This is the statement I live by.

Many people do not believe me when I say I am an atheist. They don’t understand that I simply do not believe in any sort of god or afterlife. I also do not believe in the devil, in angels, or in souls. I believe in myself and the strength I have gained through the help of my parents, teachers, and friends – and my own hard work.

I am not going to try to dissuade anyone from his or her own opinions either. I know that people enjoy having religion in their lives; some need their faith to help them through hard times. And some do not want the responsibility of their misfortunes weighing down on their shoulders.

I do. I abhor the idea of fate – that everything is already planned out and you have no control to change anything. If you believe in fate, when bad things happen, it is not your fault; it’s just fate. When my life is not going well, I know that it is no one’s fault but my own. When I do well in school, when I fall in love, it is not fate and we are not soul mates. I worked hard and paid attention and did the homework. My love and I simply love each other – that is all it is, and for me that is all it needs to be.

For some, life is overwhelming. How can anyone be successful and happy in such a difficult, horrible world? They need someone to help them, someone to guide them, and someone to have faith in to make sure things get better. Placing my success and happiness in another’s hands breaks my heart. I need to be successful because of my efforts. I must be responsible for my own happiness. That is what I need from my religion.

Who will ever know what the truth really is? All I know is in the same way that some have full faith and trust in God to give them hope, I need to believe I am on my own to be truly happy – for how can I create myself if I spend my entire life just looking?

© Anonymous

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JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 764 comments.

Patriots BRONZE said...
on Dec. 9 2010 at 6:40 pm
Patriots BRONZE, Brutus, Michigan
1 article 0 photos 10 comments

Favorite Quote:
Tackle, Tackle Go Patriots.

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I am not trying to perswade you but i have my own reliogion and you are mising out
horatio13 BRONZE said...
on Dec. 9 2010 at 3:05 pm
horatio13 BRONZE, Ellis, Kansas
1 article 0 photos 3 comments
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the same place as before the author was born.
AnneOnnimous BRONZE said...
on Dec. 8 2010 at 5:58 pm
AnneOnnimous BRONZE, Peterborough Ontario, Other
3 articles 0 photos 146 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Saying 'I notice you're a nerd' is like saying, 'Hey, I notice that you'd rather be intelligent than be stupid, that you'd rather be thoughtful than be vapid, that you believe that there are things that matter more than the arrest record of Lindsay Lohan. Why is that?' In fact, it seems to me that most contemporary insults are pretty lame. Even 'lame' is kind of lame. Saying 'You're lame' is like saying 'You walk with a limp.' Yeah, whatever, so does 50 Cent, and he's done all right for himself."
— John Green

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No offense or anything, but the author has definitely heard this before, and I don't think she needs you to pray for her. None of the atheists I know want religious people to stop believing in God; they know that not everyone can believe in God and not everyone can not believe. So why do you need to bother this girl when you can't change her mind anyways?
DawnMarie BRONZE said...
on Dec. 4 2010 at 10:34 pm
DawnMarie BRONZE, Milton, Florida
2 articles 0 photos 32 comments

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it sings because it has a song. - lou holtz

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To each his own, I understand,

but you're missing out big time :) 

TheBirdman1014 SILVER said...
on Dec. 3 2010 at 2:32 pm
TheBirdman1014 SILVER, Coxsackie, New York
6 articles 0 photos 11 comments
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Puzzlelover, if the big bang could not "just happen," why could God just exist? You can't claim that something had to be there in the first place when your whole faith is based on something always existing. When you provide me proof of a God, I'll believe in one.
deathward22 said...
on Dec. 2 2010 at 9:45 pm
deathward22, Los Alamos, New Mexico
0 articles 0 photos 42 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first." mark twain

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reply to puzzleluver. is it that out there that "God" could make other planets for life. I agree with you saying that there has to be some form of higher power at least some form of conscious energy to help the universe along
KellyR GOLD said...
on Nov. 30 2010 at 8:05 pm
KellyR GOLD, Richmond, Virginia
14 articles 0 photos 258 comments

Favorite Quote:
We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.

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You know it's right for you not someone else.
PuzzleLuver SILVER said...
on Nov. 27 2010 at 8:23 am
PuzzleLuver SILVER, Powell, Ohio
6 articles 0 photos 51 comments

Favorite Quote:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but have eternal life" John 3:16

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I believe it is not rational to not believe in God. I mean it really doesn't make any sense that by chance the 'big bang' happened, that somehow the Earth is the only place that life can exist in this whole big universe. It just doesn't make sense that by chance this all happened, there has to be someone (God) that created this.
Dragonscribe BRONZE said...
on Nov. 24 2010 at 11:13 am
Dragonscribe BRONZE, West Lafayette, Indiana
4 articles 0 photos 303 comments

Favorite Quote:
"A Person's a Person no Matter how Small"
and
"A Rose by Any Other Name Would Smell as Sweet"
and
"God helps those who help themselves"

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Hey, I can barely comprehend it either! : ) Faith is hard, and I'm not a priest or a nun or anything, I'm just a fourteen year old girl! I know this is right because I have faith, but you know it's wrong because you don't. Impasse! Well, I haven't meant to be mean or anything, so God Bless.
KellyR GOLD said...
on Nov. 21 2010 at 5:54 pm
KellyR GOLD, Richmond, Virginia
14 articles 0 photos 258 comments

Favorite Quote:
We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.

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I just can't comprehend how you believe someone can't be truely happy without God if you have never been someone else? How do you know I am not truely happy?
I Was Found said...
on Nov. 21 2010 at 3:53 pm
God Bless you because you are brave and you persevere, but I pray you will turn to God and truly see Him. I know you must get this a lot - and I am sympathetic, because it must make you mad - but you are missing the best part of your life. Don't lose your determination, don't lose your willpower, but find a faith that fits you. God is calling you. God Bless.
Dragonscribe BRONZE said...
on Nov. 21 2010 at 3:32 pm
Dragonscribe BRONZE, West Lafayette, Indiana
4 articles 0 photos 303 comments

Favorite Quote:
"A Person's a Person no Matter how Small"
and
"A Rose by Any Other Name Would Smell as Sweet"
and
"God helps those who help themselves"

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I'm not speaking for them, I'm just saying what I know to be true. True happiness can only be achieved in Heaven, and the path to Heaven must coincide with a belief in God. No, I'm not saying nonbelievers will not go to Heaven (even though they don't even believe it exists) but it will be a lot harder if they did not have faith on Earth.
KellyR GOLD said...
on Nov. 21 2010 at 1:52 pm
KellyR GOLD, Richmond, Virginia
14 articles 0 photos 258 comments

Favorite Quote:
We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.

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How do you know? You are you, and you can't speak for others.
LunaLives GOLD said...
on Nov. 21 2010 at 1:04 pm
LunaLives GOLD, South Bend, Indiana
17 articles 0 photos 237 comments

Favorite Quote:
Because I can!-Me "Life is a choice and death is a decision"-Lil Wayne

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I really like your perspective. I'm not sure what I believe in, but I think this article can really help a lot of people.
TheBirdman1014 SILVER said...
on Nov. 19 2010 at 9:24 pm
TheBirdman1014 SILVER, Coxsackie, New York
6 articles 0 photos 11 comments
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There is the same amount of proof for a large pink rabit living on the moon as there is for a God. It is rational to only believe what there is proof for. Otherwise, we might as well believe in the Moon Rabbit. There is no proof for an existence of God. A feeling, a hunh, an assumption is not proof. Until I am shown proof, I cannot believe in a higher power.

And please, spare me the comments that I have to search in my soul or reach out to God. If God wants to be known, he'll get off the couch and send me a postcard.

redhairCat PLATINUM said...
on Nov. 19 2010 at 6:47 pm
redhairCat PLATINUM, Pebble Beach, California
47 articles 20 photos 411 comments

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This article is sooooooooooo good! Deserves to be in the mag. I can relate to what you said. I'm an atheist, too. The word atheist sounds rather harsh, though. It's the long a sound, I think. I prefer saying that I'm nonreligious. Same thing almost. 

I love the title of your article. An atheist's belief is not having a belief! Makes sense. I think that religious people don't quite understand that. They might look at us as lost souls. But we have just as definite ideas on things as they do.

Thanks for writing this! More articles like this one should be written!

 

Lilacs_Smell_Wonnerful PLATINUM said...
on Nov. 19 2010 at 4:53 pm
Lilacs_Smell_Wonnerful PLATINUM, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
40 articles 2 photos 86 comments

Favorite Quote:
When life gives you lemons make grape juice. Then sit back and watch everyone look at you in amazement. :)

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I agree with you, Dragonscribe. He could have ordained everything, our lives could be run by fate alone, we could all be automatons having no free will, forced to love and follow Him, but He loves us so much that He lets us choose how we want to live, choose to believe in Him, choose not to, even.

-Lilac

spiritualrevelationrevealspainandrevolution PLATINUM said...
on Nov. 17 2010 at 9:06 pm
spiritualrevelationrevealspainandrevolution PLATINUM, Eugene, Oregon
23 articles 0 photos 212 comments
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hes referred to as a man because th people who have controlled religion over the centuries have also controlled society and looking back on how sexist society has been a guy viewed god as a man because men were "superior", which is an insult to a being who is supposedly all encompassing and accepting
Dragonscribe BRONZE said...
on Nov. 13 2010 at 7:13 pm
Dragonscribe BRONZE, West Lafayette, Indiana
4 articles 0 photos 303 comments

Favorite Quote:
"A Person's a Person no Matter how Small"
and
"A Rose by Any Other Name Would Smell as Sweet"
and
"God helps those who help themselves"

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No one is perfectly happy without God, whether they realize that now or later.
MisplacedTexan14 said...
on Nov. 13 2010 at 11:21 am
MisplacedTexan14, Saratoga, California
0 articles 0 photos 106 comments

Favorite Quote:
"If you can't stand behind our troops, feel free to stand in front of them."- a Bumper Sticker
"If Obama was the answer, it was a stupid question." - Another Bumper sticker

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Why? is that sexist? Its really not that big of a deal, its just a general term, the way you say mankind when you refer to people.