I'm going to steal the following from Billege's post and add my own two cents worth at the end.
Quote:
I can't pick one of yours.
I believe that there may be a god. I don't know for sure, and I doubt I ever can. I reject anyone who says they DO know for sure (either way), which means I also reject aethism.
I loathe, let me repeat that, loathe organized religions. I summarily reject and abhor the ideas that they:
1) Know there is a god.
2) Know how this god prefers to be worshiped.
3) Know the mind of this god, and how he would view one's actions.
4) Have a list of god's rules, straight from god.
5) Know that if you don't follow their god, you go to hell.
6) Insist on control of their followers through their rules.
7) Believe that one can not find god by oneself.
8) Know that a 2000 year old book, translated over and over, has the word of god in it, untainted or changed by human motives.
9) Celebrate ignorance by dismissing ideas that shake their faith structure.
10) Presume to tell others how to correctly worship god.
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My two cents worth:
I try to avoid organized religion at all costs. I believe and have always believed that there is a supreme being and that we are accountable for the way in which we live our life. By this same token I believe that it is for me to decide how I do these things, not someone else. I was raised by an ultra-religious hard-shell Baptist preacher (until I was 12 by my adopted grandfather). When I was young I was taught that if you went into a movie theater, or a dance, or even a restaurant where beer was sold you'd go straight to hell with no chance of passing 'GO' or collecting your $200. $200 was a whole lot more money then than it is now! I regret that I was raised in this manner - it didn't hurt me and quite obviously didn't have any influence on my future. (Hence the Liquor Dealer).
We all go by a set of rules - Why? How can one say one has no beliefs and still have your own personal set of rules? It is not a fear of civil repercussion - it is simply because you realize the difference between right and wrong.
An agnostic, by my definition is one who does not believe in organized religion - nothing more and nothing less.