Ok, so I don't know what I'm talking about maybe I'm not agnostic?

Sounds like Buddhism to me. You know Zen Buddhism doesn't specificly teach that there is no God (as so many would believe). They believe that a higher state of conciousness exists, and that this state, or Zen, may in fact be communing with God (Theism OK!). Kind of like prayer, except that because you've thrown off worldly concerns as part of your meditation to reach a state of Zen. Whereas prayer tends to be wholly concerned with worldly things (make my father well, get me that promotion, etc..).

Buddhism also has no specific dogma concerning sin per se, but teaches insted that whatever most seems good to you, providing it harms no one, is good (the golden rule). Buddhism is essentially, being at peace with everyone and everything, including that which you find repugnant. What you don't like, and can change (while following the golden rule, obviously), do change, there is no reason to accept status quo. What you don't like, but cannot change, accept as a part of life. All things are connected, all things simply are. Why should one thing be bad and another good? Harm is the only true evil. Be true to yourself and true to others. Most Christians (not you, but the fundies) will tell you that Buddhists worship Buddha, or, in Tibetan Buddhism, the Dali Lama. This is simply not true. They aspire to be like Buddha, and Tibetan Buddhism teaches that the Dali Lama is the reincarnation of Buddha himself, and by virtue of that, their religious leader (like the Pope for Catholocism). Buddhist seek peace for all people, in all situations. In fact, the only violence they ever accept is when one must be violent to defend oneself, and even then, lethal force must be the truly last option.

It is a true religion of peace. In fact, Buddhism is the only religion that has never been motivation for an atrocity. Look at the Dalai lama, who was forced to impose self-exile on himself in 1959 when the Chinese invaded and annexed Tibet. He has been calling for a nonviolent resolution for almost 50 years (49 years in fact). Can you imagine that kind of patience and dedication to non-violence?

Now, I'm an Atheist, not a Buddhist, but if I had to have a religion, I would go to Buddhism. After all, you can remain an Atheist and follow Buddhist philosophy. I do follow some of it's tenets, I meditate, I try to be at peace (or, be one) with everything, and I believe that violence is not an answer, but in fact, causes more problems.

As to the afterlife, many views are present in Buddhism, but the predominant one is that if one leads a life that is moral and just, and causes as little harm as possible, that you go to a form of heaven, or Shangri-la, as they call it, while if one fails to live a moral life, or cause harm, then you get reincarnated, to try again. No Hell, just try, try again til you get it right.

Hope I helped.

You have to answer basic questions first. You keep getting so angry over what I have no idea that you never get to an answer.

And of course most people are incorrectly defining both agnostic and atheist which is common here.

Do you believe in a deity?

Yes=theist

No=atheist. Forget for a moment the notion of being unsure.

Okay just stay clam and give it a try. Because as far as the question of belief is concerned either you do or don't. There is no unsure. You're thinking of the question of 'existence' of a deity when you keep saying you're unsure. That has nothing at all to do with theism or atheism so there is no unsure.

Agnosticism deals with the question of existence of a deity. Broadly it's a stance that existence of a deity can't be known or proved. Existence you can be unsure of by the way.

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"I'm really not angry, I just didn't want you all to get lost in all my typing"

Okay. When you said you had problem with most atheists that sounded like anger. Not sure why you have a problem with me but just trying to untangle things.

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"So I am a theist most defiantly."

Great. See I really don't have an interest in which you are as long as the terminology is straight. By the way you could also be agnostic. An agnostic can be an atheist or a theist since it deals with whether you think existence of the deity you either believe in or don't believe in can be known or proved.

You bolded the wrong stuff.

"I believe everything has a purpose. This leads me to the presumption that all things work together. I cannot believe we were all put here for no purpose."

Purpose driven universe does not innately lead to the belief in higher beings.

Panentheism is a possibility, as well as Pantheism.

Not even to mention you might just be Deistic.

There's some subtlety between the definitions of those broad groups. And really, if you keep looking, we're okay if you get your categories off a bit.

Well, based on your biography, you qualify to be a theist. A person who believed the existence of god.

Heaven or Hell does not come into play with regards to being a theist or an atheist. The only question is : Do I believe in a supreme being? "Yes or Maybe" qualifies you to be a Theist, "No or Maybe not" qualifies you to be an atheist.

A Religion is a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects.

If this god is defined only by yourself and no other people, then it does not qualify as a religion. However, if this god is what the so called "Non-denomination" christian define, then it is still a religion.

You need to personally explore this more

"I tend to be more open to the idea of Abraham's God simply because this is what I was raised with - but if I found something that made more since to me (oh the possibilities) I would accept it"

And find out what you really mean, and what this does mean, before you can really move on.

AGNOSTIC – Does not believe anything can be know about or proved about a god. Thus they can still believe a god exists. This description obviously fits a lot of Christians!!!

ATHEIST - someone who does not believe in a God – any God – not just the Christian one. But that does not mean they do not hold strong moral or religious beliefs! They can follow any religion that does not have a god and there are a lot of those!!

PANTHEIST - believes god is identical with the material universe or the forces of nature. It can also mean a readiness to worship all gods.

Take your pick!!

If you believe in a higher being, you are a theist. If you believe in a higher being but aren't sure, and believe you can never truly know if there is one or not, you are an agnostic, specifically an agnostic theist. Of course, there is also deism, which is the belief that god created everything, and then stepped back and has nothing to do with the world now.

You're an agnostic deist perhaps.

Agnostic can have many different meanings. There are many different variations of agnosticism. I notice this because people who call themselves agnostic have their own meaning for it.

You can be agnostic but lean to another belief system. You may just not be religious at all. You may just be too afraid to admit you're an atheist (this is me a couple months ago). You may not care if theres a God or not (this is referred to as apathetic agnostic I think). Hell, you may just call yourself agnostic because you don't even really put thought into religion.

It can mean a lot of things.

Religion is a man made thing. Thats why there are so many different ones.I was raised a catholic. 12 years of catholic schools. You couldn't eat meat on Friday or you go to hell. Now you can. Hmmm are the friday meat eaters paroled or is this mans change of heart. Or maybe God made a mistake?.

The bible is not a history book..it's just words of man.

But someone had to design this intricate system of what we are and where we live.

Faith...That is all it is.. No proof.

you're a youthful spirit and you nevertheless have an prolonged thank you to bypass. could right here be the mirror of your previous, recent and destiny: Atheists no longer in trouble-free terms no longer "have faith". no longer all Theists "have faith" the two. Believing is a passive theory. The rational interior the passive theory ultimately overtakes a extra mature form it particularly is "doing-loving", as a replace of "watching for-being enjoyed", the two with the aid of mysticism or residing alongside the strategies. that's regarding the Unconditional Love of God-mom, it particularly is the "cradle". the common strategies of spirituality are: love, justice and fact. A much less mature theist believes - acts passively in direction of God-Father. A mature theists does not point out God, does not pray nor asks God for something. It is familiar with that it is familiar with no longer something approximately God. For a mature non secular individual, God is image of the expressed totality of our non secular seek. residing by using the strategies is a thank you to Oneness. one other way is transcending with the aid of meditation (mysticism). Oneness can not be reached with the aid of theory (rational) on my own. The rational theory leads monotheism God-Father subsequently into atheism, with the aid of God-I. Atheism isn't a assure of adulthood. Our adulthood relies upon on exterior factors as plenty because of the fact the actual high quality of our love in direction of God (theory) lays interior of our subconscious, coated and rationalized by using a extra mature seen the prevalent of this love.

A Deist, maybe. That would be someone who believes that a god or gods exist(s), but does not necessarily interfere in human lives or expect them to follow a certain religion. You could still be agnostic, if you believe that there is a god, but do not claim to know that there is a god.