Why do you people all have to have a name to identify yourselves. eg Chritstian ,Muslim, Athiest etc etc.?

Question

Me im just me. Im not an Athiest Me and im not a Christian Me and im not a Muslim me . Im just plain old me. I live life for the future and dont live my life by some book or by the way some group of people want me to live. I dont examine how we were created or why , whats the point. I just enjoy living and do what I think is good according to me.

What does something some one wrote or something that might of or might not have happened thousands of years ago have any revelance to how you live your lives now.

Be who you are not what you think some one expects you to be.

Answer 1

Dude, its not really an issue, its just a name, names are given to everything, its like saying 'why is my name massimo or why is your name joe (? lol)'.  We are given names to distinguish ourselves from others, same I am Italian, Im Italian because Im not Spanish, Im Catholic because Im not Muslim, Im Massimo because Im not Joe.

If someone asks what religion are you, you wouldn't reply....I'm me, what's 'me' what belief is there, what God, do you even believe in a God.  If you reply I'm Catholic, people know what the Catholic religion is so they know what your beliefs are 'based' around, and its from that base that we are asked what our interpretations on traditional teachings are.

Atheism in a way is a belief (not religion) whereby you do not believe in the concept of god and religion, so by being labelled an atheist, people know what your belief is.  You can;t just say I'm me, because know one knows who you are, you have to explain who you are, by giving a title of belief/nationality/job/name etc... people can understand you more easily!

Also, beliefs can be what makes you the person you are today, by not believing in religion you live a life without it and make your own judgements, other people follow a way of life, they are not necessarily themselves, although I'm Catholic, I don;t look to God for my path in life, I constantly sin and I don't go to church, but I believe the way I was raised makes me a good person, I don't kill/steal.  That makes me a better person, or would I be me if I went out and defied what I was taught and murdered someone because 'me' shouldn't follow the 10 commandments.

If people thought like you, none of us would be ourselves, your parent's raised you in a certain way, so according to you that means you are your parents, your school teaches you certain rules and resposibility, now you are your parents and your school.  Your friends influence your music, interests, social life, you are now your parents your school and your friends etc....

That doesn't make sense, we are who we are based on what we are taught but we are also able to make our own choices in life, our beliefs do not make us any less of our own selves!

Answer 2

its just a natural social thing

even you have your own labels, you probably just dont consider them to be labels but they are, all words and descriptions of us are

you could say the same thing about your name, its a label, not really who you are, but you use it , and with pride none the less

you identify yourself as that name, hi im blahblah, nice to meet you, and right away it expresses soemthing about youi, without too much effort

THAT is what a label is for

MWSEF, that is your label, on here

its all labels im afraid

we have to identify and understand who we and each other are

and thats how we do this, with using words, labels, descriptions

besides we are on a place that directs its questions TO certain groups and individuals so you HAVE to identify yourself as that

in life i hardly go around saying 'hi im frou, pagan, atheist'

lifes not like that, but this place is

its no big deal, just part of life, and part of here

besides i like these labels, i know them, i dont classify myself as soemthing i dont WANT to be classified as or i dont think is who i am

i AM just who i am

but i AM  pagan atheist, and i AM froufrou

thats who i am, and i like it

that IS accepting who i am

its not for anyone else, thats for me

but the use of labels are, others now understand something about me, and thats what its all about

sure its not all of me, no labels are a whole individual

but it is part, and a part i want to show and express

Answer 3

You make a good point, but while your attitude is a healthy one (and it is), you seem to forget one aspect of being a human - we are, among other things, social beings and we have that primal urge inside to belong to a group. People didn't form tribes and nations for nothing, it's that necessity we're born with that made them do it. So by attaching a tag to our name, we're only expressing our primal sense of belonging. I see nothing wrong in that as long as it doesn't take us over, as long as it doesn't become our priority. I'm an atheist and I like to stress it, because being an atheist is a part of my character, a part of my personality - this way I bring out my individuality while freely enjoying that good feeling of knowing that I'm not the only one. Hope that makes sense to you :)

Answer 4

People don't get it.

I think it comes with having to categorize fruit.

You know, it's not just fruit, there's bananas, oranges, pineapples, all that sort of stuff.

I don't think there's a poison fruit, but it helps to know this sort of thing so that people have information and they don't eat something they're not supposed to.

yes, it gets extreme, but even attitudes are certifiably categorized.

How would we know if someone needs help with say, a mental problem?  We communicate and try to find an understanding.

It's not fair to judge someone without fully knowing everything about that person, but sometimes it's pretty d**n convenient to know, and the ramifications can be as high up as political/corporate circles.  You would not believe all the studies done on human nature by Wal-Mart.

Answer 5

I don't see anything wrong with it.

FACT: I am female.

FACT: I am 16

FACT: I am brunette.

FACT: I am a New Zealander and Australian.

FACT: I am a singer.

FACT: I am a Christian.

None of these things constrict who I am as a person, they all come together to define me. None of them put me in a box, I simply am what I am and there happens to be a term that describes that. Being a Christian is not the end all of who you are. Every Christian is different, just like every other person is different.

To me, what the authors of the Bible wrote, and the life of Jesus Christ, has every relevance to me because the same God is present today.So many things have changed, but not everything. Our lifestyles have changed, but not us as people. If there was a God then and these things happened, then there is a God now so knowing Him through the past is incredibly important.

I am who I am. I am not who I am because I am expected to be that way, I have grown on my own, searched for my own answers and found myself. What is wrong with myself being part of a bigger body of people. That is not constricting. If anything, it is more freeing because by being part of that group I have the opportunities to explore myself further than if I was floating around on my own.

Maybe you don't like these titles, but they are not bad, wrong, negative, whatever words you might use.

Answer 6

I would love to rid myself of the title Atheist.  To me it seems pointless.  Like having a title because I don't believe in the little invisible green trolls that live in your a**s.  It's so obvious that they don't exist to everyone, that I don't need a title letting people know I don't believe.  Unfortunately a large portion of people believe in god(s) so it is necessary at times to have a label that defines me as different from them.

Answer 7

People have labels. What you just described, is me! I was labeled an Atheist by people who believe there is a god.

Answer 8

Just because I accept a label does not mean I am not thinking or living for myself. Labels are a very convenient invention of human language that allows all of us to know in a word what someone is talking about. I can either say I am a Christian, or I can explain to you what I believe in detail every time it comes up in conversation. I prefer to stick to the ease of labels.

Answer 9

Okay

Answer 10

good one.

Answer 11

I prefer Spiritual..this is R& "S".but my beliefs tend to lean more so on the Christian side..."Spiritual is NEVER a choice on a questionnaire...grr

Answer 12

"Im just plain old me."

Well then you have a word to identify yourself too... whats the difference?

Answer 13

Every body gets labeled.

Some label them selves, others get labeled.

Labels enable us to identify each other, who and what we are, and easier to communicate that information.

Your first label, was probably "Our/My/The baby".

Then you became "John", or "Fred", or whatever.

To your parents, you were "My/Our Son",

To some of your peers, you became "My Friend", and to others, less complementary things.

All your life you have had labels, soldier, sweeper, farmer, police man, even "just me", is a label that you have applied to your self, and you will continue to have them, for as long as you live, and even after you are dead.

It is the nature of man, to label things.  We are uncomfortable with the unknown, so we label it.

It may not give us any protection from it, but by naming it, we can imagine that we know what it is.

Answer 14

To identify ones self here is helpful sometimes, so the readers can better understand the perspective of the answerer.

Answer 15

Peace and blessings be upon you.

You have never asked yourself about this world? its creator?

Is it alone ; we came to the world and leave it without cause?

i suspect ; you must asked someone when you was young , who own this sky? who created these animals? who made this water?

We created with this motivation to know the God.

Our need for the justice was our proof that the just is present as our need for the water was our proof that water is present.

You may think the things good according to you but after that recognize that it wasn't.

may be what is good for you , carry harm for others , so we do the right , which we learnt it.