First off, I hope this thread doesn't turn into a flamewar. Second, I am a Roman Catholic. I believe in God, but do not completely dismiss evolution (being a theistic evolutionist). I have many bibles as well.

I have:

NRSV-Apocrypha
NAB St. Joseph Edition
Ryrie KJV Study Bible
Zondervan KJV Giant Print Reference Bible
ESV
GNT/GNB
NLT
Gideon NASB New Testament & Psalms

So, my question is, who on Gamedev is a Christian, and if you are, have you read or are you reading the bible?

Another note is that, although I am Catholic, I find non denominational Christianity to be interesting - that and the Anglican Church.

Also, what is your beliefs on Creation? Theistic evolution? Intelligent Design? Young earth creation / Old earth creation?

Oh and, if you are Catholic or Anglican, have you ever prayed the Rosary? (I own one, and don't use it as often as I should.)

Post away! [smile]

At first I was supposedly Hindu, because thats the culture I grew up in. After moving to america, I was exposed to Christianity. And after slightly reading the bible, I have to say that I cannot dispose of logic, and believe that the world was created in 7 days... So this is what I believe in. I believe in God, Jesus. I do not completely believe the bible. I am more of a science guy in terms of beliefs. No matter what one believes in, as long as one believes in a higher order person, then it should be fine. God should see that as a worship to him, and see that if it wasn't intended to him directly, then at least indirectly. Anyways, in the name of jesus, god bless.

I am also a roman catholic. You say you do not completely dismiss evolution. Do you dismiss it at all? The complete theory of evolution as the likely methodology of creation is a part of church teaching. Actually, if we want to discuss additional scientific theories on creation, it was a Catholic Priest who first proposed the theory of the Big Bang. Intriguingly, most of the secular scientists of the day didn't like the theory, because although it was correct mathematically, it violated their philiosophical preference for the universe existing in a steady-state.

I have prayed the rosary, and I found it deeply moving, but there is an inherent theological danger with prayers like it that if you do it without understanding it and pouring your heart into every single line, then you are actually harming yourself spiritually, because you think you are praying when in actuality you are daydreaming. Trying to pray the rosary with the fullness of heart that it deserves exhausts me, so I don't do it very often.

Isn't praying with the rosary akin to prayer beads used by Buddhist monks?

And I'm a Catholic but I subscribe to the theory of evolution but I also believe that God had something to do with that too [smile]. For all you Catholics, what's the difference between Catholic and Roman Catholic? I tend to see alot of churches labeled one way or the other. I've never knew if it was a throwback to the old days or an actual differentation between the two.

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Original post by Alpha_ProgDes Isn't praying with the rosary akin to prayer beads used by Buddhist monks? And I'm a Catholic but I subscribe to the theory of evolution but I also believe that God had something to do with that too [smile]. For all you Catholics, what's the difference between Catholic and Roman Catholic? I tend to see alot of churches labeled one way or the other. I've never knew if it was a throwback to the old days or an actual differentation between the two.

Technically speaking, "Catholic" is a larger category that includes Roman Catholic and Eastern Catholic churches. However, realistically speaking, there is like, no-one who is Eastern Catholic who you are likely to meet in the US, so "Catholic" generally means Roman Catholic in most western countries.

Well, what I dismiss about evolution is the atheistic viewpoint - that God had nothing to do with it. I sort of 'input' the theistic side (as the Church teaches).

Thanks for all the responses everybody, much appreciated.

Also, I didn't realize I'd get rated down. Cansarnit!

Anyhow, about the rosary - yes, it is very draining, although I doubt I do it with as much care and love and dedication and compassion as say, a priest or a monk. [smile]

I'm a Christian. I grew up in the Lutheran church (ELCA), read a lot of C.S. Lewis (Anglican) in middle and high school, and have mostly been going to Methodist churches since college (Mostly a matter of convenience). On the surface, I never noticed much difference between them. The Roman Catholic and non-denominational services I've been to showed a greater difference. I find that I can't participate as well in a Roman Catholic service both out of ignorance (it seems that there are many motions that I don't even know I should be going through) and out of respect (e.g. I usually don't take the Lord's supper in a Catholic church). Non-denominational services tend to ask for a level (or sort?) of devotion, even at first meeting, that I'm not willing to give to such a group, especially since I've seen similar groups abuse such devotion.

I usually read from the New King James Version of the Bible, but have a copy of the NIV and have been meaning to get an NRSV copy. I still haven't "read" the Bible, though.

I've never really felt the conflict between religion and science. To me, they always appeared complementary. I find similar ideas in John Haught asking, "Why is the water boiling?" or Aristotle's four causes.

Not being Anglican or Catholic, I haven't prayed the Rosary, but like the idea. It's mostly Mary's central role (e.g. all those Hail Mary's) in the Rosary that keeps me from it, but I've considered of adapting it for my own use (e.g. by praying the Jesus Prayer in place of the Hail Mary).

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Original post by Pipes McGee ...

I am a Catholic. I have "The Family Rosary Edition of the Catholic Bible". It's far older than I am. I have read the bible once, and skimmed/referenced it many times.

I believe that God created the Universe, and that the Big Bang theory is essentially correct. I believe that life evolved. I believe that the Universe is 13.7 billion years old. I believe that the Earth is 4.5 billion years old.

We used to pray on the rosary in school, but like... over a period of weeks. That's a lot of prayer! :)

I was raised Catholic and went to a Catholic high school. I don't recall ever praying the rosary in school, only at funerals.

I'm a christian.

I don't think that evolution and creation are related. You could just as easily believe that god created the world through evolution as you can believe he created it in 7 days. Or in the case of an atheist, you can disagree with evolution and still not believe in a god.

I find the mechanics of evolution fascinating, but I don't necessarily buy all of it. I find that much of the literature/studies out there use circular reasoning, and/or are politically biased (which I think is too bad). I'd like to see more emphasis placed on the data and the methods of the studies, than trying to fit said data into a nice politically correct and easy to understand model for public consumption.

If I were asked to concretely state what I believe, I would say at this point there is not enough evidence to make a conclusion either way. Which is good IMO, because discovering new ideas, creatures, methods of dating, ect... is quite interesting. I'd hate to live in a world where we knew everything, it'd be so boring.