....sigh

Wait, Buddhism is a cult? I've seen people argue that it's not even a religion!

all religions are cults

@vinny_says:

But we haven't established if Buddhism is a religion.

I'd wait for a few months and then join the inevitable Giant Bomb cult.

At least then you'll already know all the major figures and texts.

That's pretty much all you needed to say.

Sorry about the Buddhism=cult thing. I started off thinking I was only going to write about Scientology, then I got on a different track.

ಠ_ಠ

As an Atheist the prospect of death used to terrify me when I was younger. But it has something I learnt to deal with over time. Hey the end is the end, nothing I can do about it. To me the universe is something that is well beyond our comprehension, seeking a religion just comes across trying to find a quick and easy answer to everything.

Note: Scientology can just fuck off. Buddism is ok.

Time for a random comment! KITTEHS!

I've always thought of it like this, even if you don't believe in God or whatever omniscient deity, you can still take positive messages from a lot of religions. I mean really, what have you got to lose? Right?

There is nothing wrong with seeking spirituality. Buddhists on the one hand do not require you to give their organization much more but your time and attention while Scientology are much much much more dubious.

If no other cult, you should consider the Cult of Cthulu. I saw them at PAX East, they were pretty cool... ironically at the Rock Band stage playing "Tribute" by Tenacious D.

A little more on-topic, I didn't know Buddhism was considered a "cult"?

Fuck.

Why not, I'll take this moderately seriously, and say why not just read about religions? even if they're mostly archaic BS they're still very interesting from a historical and often comedic stand point. A lot of human history revolves around them.

Also Atheism is way to strict, I say go agnostic, even if there is a supreme being (or at least something powerful enough to create worlds) we don't know, probably never will, and really it shouldn't matter either way, if you're a good person you'll behave in a good way with or without angry penis snipping cloud man.

Except that the "RPG" element of scientology, as you call it, also involves you paying a shit-ton of money to "access" the next levels of information.

If your reason is really just to fall back on something when you need it, don't. Just don't start getting into things you don't actually believe in. If you want to get informed and read up on it, sure, but don't fall down that hole.

Also, who cares about death, you're living now aren't you? Make the most of it and enjoy what you have, end of story.

You can be spiritual without being religious. Shop around the different religions and pick and choose the aspects you think are cool. Maybe drop the parts which tell you to hate others.

...so i guess what you're saying is scientology is an mmo. makes sense.

A "free to play" one sure

this thread is only going bitter angry internet athiest directions so yeah dont bother.

real-life atheists seem like sensible normal people. internet ones are SO GOD DAMN BITTER and angry its annoying as fuck

That just reeks of Pascal.

OP, instead of joining a dangerous cult no one in their right mind would join, or becoming a Buddhist because it sounds cool, why not just come to terms with the idea that there's no real reason why things happen and that you really shouldn't worry about dying because if you do die, you won't notice or care because you won't exist.

To be fair, 'internet-everyone' sucks.

Most atheists follow flyentology, where they go about there lives then look to God only when the shit hits the fan.

i dunno. "internet atheists" are by far the most insufferable annoying, arrogant douchebags on the face fo the earth. im not even religious. im apathetic on the entire concept.

anytime i see anyone even remotely reference religion on the internet you see a swarm of douchey comments bashing the guy for being religious. its insane. why it bugs me when im not even remotely religious? well i dunno, it seems disrespectful to the highest degree to me.

No comment.

@whamola: ? the mathematician or the user?

Interesting thing about Buddhism is that Buddha never wanted a religion to be formed based on him and neither that he be revered as a god ...

@notdavid: Yes, it's a bad idea to join a cult. Joining Scientology is not something anyone should do.

And joining a religion you don't believe in is also a bad idea. A really bad one. There's no reason to be a part of a religion if you don't believe it. None whatsoever. If you had to choose, Buddhism isn't an awful thing to look into, but don't join it because of non-belief reasons. Pursue a better understanding of it because you want to, not because you feel you need to as part of a group. I'm a servant of Christ, but I would never, -ever- encourage anyone to state belief in Christianity if they didn't actually believe it. I can understand your desire to address serious spiritual questions, but the answer to that is researching about it, not just jumping into some organization. No religious belief should ever be about some structure or institution; it should simply be about what you choose to believe, whatever that may be.

This is your life, and you must choose for yourself. Do your own research, reach out to people, and try to gain a better understanding of where you're going. Pursue the truth and don't accept anything less, because your life and what you do with it matters.

Make your own.

probably the mathematician. unless there's some other religious argument of Pascal's he was referring to, what you said didn't 'reek' of Pascal. like, at all.

where the wager says that you should be religious in case God happens to actually exists so you'll go to heaven, you said that whether God exists or not, you should be good for goodness sake.

Good of you to speak for atheists considering that you obviously aren't one. I can't speak for everyone I guess, but for me personally, if "shit hit the fan", I have no one to blame but myself. I don't get to beg for forgiveness from some all powerful being in the sky, I get to look inside and realize what I did to cause said shit hitting said fan, and then I get to go on the long road to fixing those problems or I just accept that I'm messed up in one way or another.

To the OP, no. It's not good to join a cult. It is good to question what you believe in though, it's not something you come to overnight.

@theht: Yeah I didn't think the comparison fit too well, but I'm always open to the possibility I misunderstood.

You might find this interesting:

Best thing I've read all decade.

Scientology is like EA in religion, its all in the nickel and diming..

You can join my cult duder. All it takes it is ten easy payments of $10,000.* In return you get the sastifaction of having given me a bunch of money for no reason.

*Also payable in equivalent value in Brad Bucks.

Islam is your answer me breda

Yes, the censoring of dissenting opinions by Scientology is "kind of shitty" in the same way that the Third Reich was "sort of bad".

Dude don't join a cult. Just don't be a dick. You can steal rituals from religions if they help make you sleep better, but no need to follow them step by step if you're not a true believer anyways.

I feel like the internet is becoming too much for me these days...

@cloudenvy: What do you mean?

@alexandersheen: How do you even get to the point of the original poster? At what point do you think it's sensible to either: Join a cult, become a scientologist because you like the "RPG" aspect of it or join a religion you don't believe in?

Everything about the opening post is a good mix of the dumbest/best crap I've ever read except for the part where he wants more structure and goals in his life.

Being a buddhist is pretty easy. It's basically the same as the number one rule for Giant Bomb.

1.) Don't be a jerk

Other than that, there isn't really all that much to it.

@cloudenvy: I see. For me the Kickstarter scam comments were the end of me. People after people showed evidence indicating the whole thing is just a cash grab and a publicity stunt, but still, some folks are so moronic and unable to believe that the genuinity of the "project" is non-existent. The stupidity of poeple shows again and again and I'm not even angry about it anymore, it's just makes me sad.

If you aren't going to believe, then I would just join whichever one is most popular in your community; Improve your social life, maybe get a girlfriend, escape from a life of asking retarded questions on the internet.

I'm an atheist. I dislike Bronze Age superstition and the strange combination of maximum solipsism and maximum servility that Abrahamic religions demand. And I urge all rational people to abandon it. Even if merely for the half-measure of agnosticism.

I love the religious playing the 'tolerance' card, you can't say anything that might offend them. Same as it ever was, the only difference is nowadays they can't execute you for hurting their precious fee-fees.

Edit: on wait unless you're Islam. And then not only can you execute people who offend your religion, you can issue death contracts on foreign citizens who offend you. And the supposed 'moderate' Westerners will tacitly endorse it. Islam is the one religion who can demand that non-believers the world over follow the precepts of their religion.

Man, that just sounds like a cool church. I am not religious, but that is the kind of thing I can totally get behind. A religion which basically accepts reality for what it is and just says "hey, be good to eachother". If they were all a lot more like that, I'd have no issue with religion what so ever.

try talking to a monk about this maybe?

They'll probably be better at answering your questions than anyone here.

also becoming a scientologist seems like a terrible idea, especially for the reasons you provided.

@troll93: So you go to a "reform" church twice a year to appease family members? What a waste of time for all involved.

On another note, the meaning of your paragraph directed towards me continues to elude me, so feel free to make yourself clear unless you were just living up to your username.