| How did you choose your religion?
Posted: 4/11/2007 2:44:28 PM | I wasnt brought up to be religious nor attended church or anything,im interested in religion but dont particulary follow any kind, most wars are down to religion or at least thats what i think.
I do believe that there is an higher existence though and we all come from the same place,i also believe that the soul survives physical death,i say that because of personal experiences i have had when a person has passed away,dont think death is the end of everything just another part of our journey,i started to believe in god when i was in my teens,i was at rockbottom and though it had never crossed my mind before i prayed and was actually suprised to find that my prayers were answered though not in the ways i expected so to me god is real,everyones got their own views though,but its my faith that there is a god and angels and loved ones still around in spirit that keeps me going when the going gets tough | |
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| How did you choose your religion?
Posted: 4/12/2007 5:12:11 AM | I was raised Catholic, but Catholicism could not provide answers for the question I began to ask, so I started looking around. Talking to people. Reading books. Taking classes. Every time I experienced some new 'religion', there was something about it that felt right: every one had some seed of commonality and truth within it...so I began focusing on only that commonality... which eventually grew to include anything that struck a chord with me on some level. Everything from Plato to Boondock Saints, Aleister Crowley to Crawly (from "Good Omens" by Gaiman and Pratchett). Everything has value, even if it is utterly detestable (how can you know what you like without knowing what you *don't* like?)
It's an ongoing process, and even now, I have to occasionally rework things. As far as I know, there hasn't been any other person who shares my views, but then I don't need numbers of adherents to validate them. It makes for very lonely or solemn holidays sometimes, and the emotional satisfaction isn't quite up to par with the rush of a Tent Revival... but to each their own: this is my Path, and I alone can fully appreciate it, as I alone have forged it.
My experiences have been rather varied: the thing is, you can go to a hundred churches of the same denomination and every one will be vastly different, or you can go to a Buddhist temple and a Nihilist gathering and find a great deal in common. MY only advice is to spread your focus far and wide: read everything you can get your hands on, experience as much as you can, until you either find something that resonates within you as Correct, or maybe even absorb the sum total of your experiences and forge your own Path. | |
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| How did you choose your religion?
Posted: 4/12/2007 9:10:07 AM | | A very wise Japanese man once told me "God (or whatever essence/title you wish to ascribe to the higher power) loves all equally, but it is man that chooses to love God in different ways" | |
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| How did you choose your religion?
Posted: 4/13/2007 1:04:12 PM | You Said: Christianity has been denouncing intellectual curiosity, fighting progress and punishing great thinkers for its entire history.
I Say: That is not always true. If that were true, there would be no such thing as a Biblical Archeologist, Creation Science, or the such. You have to know your stuff in order to defend your beliefs, and sometimes that takes a lot more intelligent patience than unbelief. | |
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| How did you choose your religion?
Posted: 4/13/2007 4:43:37 PM | | I really thought about it. I was raised christian. I thought long and hard. I weighed everything. I stuck with christianity because I believe in it. I honestly believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He came down to Earth to die for me and for all of us to save us from our sins and that he was raised formt he dead. I believe that God did that because he loves us and wants a relationship with us that badly. I've read the bible and have seen God throughout it. No matter how many times people turn away from God he remains cosntant. At the end of the day He explains everything. I ask him the stuff like, what does he want me to do in regards to this particular problem. And you know what? he answers back! Prayer is a wonderful thing! | |
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| How did you choose your religion?
Posted: 4/15/2007 1:34:05 AM | I was raised in a Protestant Christian household. And I grew up in Vancouver, which is a hotbed of multiculturalism. So I grew up with many friends that were Catholic, Buddhist, Taoist, Muslim, heck pick a religion.
I have always found religion to be utterly fascinating and refuse to 'pick one'. I choose Pagan as my label due to belief that a name is just a name. Jesus, Buddha, Allah, Innana... it's all good. It's all fascinating. It's all a great way to experience, learn, and express myself as well. | |
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| How did you choose your religion?
Posted: 4/15/2007 8:06:38 PM | | Ive always been very curious about other religions... Growing up Catholic, I had Jewish friends and Baptist friends who all celebrated different rituals and all of them sounded so good...I was 15 when I went to Temple with a friend...It was a wonderful experience...But I had a crisis with the Catholic Church when I was about 20.....Although I loved the rituals of the church, .I did not believe in some of their teachings...Women not allowed to be priests, priests not allowed to marry....Women told to be submissive to their husbands.....Gays not accepted into the church..Being told what to believe, how to think, what not to think.....It did not sit well with me cos Im an independent thinker who tells myself what to believe...It made me feel like a child....It did not feel right to me...So I stopped going and did some searching...Read some books by ousted Catholic priest Matthew Fox..What I found was the Unitarian Universalist church....During a crisis period in my life when I needed the support the most.....It fit in perfectly with my curiosity about other religions and tolerance for those who worship as they wish....and there isnt dogma that excludes people from joining....I attend church with people who are Humanists, Christians, Pagans, Atheists, Jews, Buddhists....We celebrate Christmas, Channakka, Kwanza, Passover, Seder dinners ....as well as all the Pagan holidays and rituals.....Ive had 3 women who have been ministers in my life and it has been very empowering to have a female in a leadership role in the church..Not to mention the female energy that surrounds the whole atmosphere...It doesnt work for everyone but it worked for me | |
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| How did you choose your religion?
Posted: 4/16/2007 8:57:07 AM |
I've seen far too much to beleive that *nothing* exists out there
That right there should tell you alot. My mom and her family are Baptist and thats how I was rasied. We never went to church like we were supposed to but I went off and on. I was Saved at 16 but still went down the wrong path....untill recently when I started going back to church,re-deticated my life to Christ and was Baptized. I've always wondered about other religons and what they believe but havent researched it. About 2 months ago I started going back to church (a Baptist church) and from the moment I started going I felt God in my life more than ever. It has been the most amazing feeling and experience i've ever had!
I cant tell you what religon to believe or what type of church to attend but I would say to visit some different types of churches. They love visiters and should be happy to have you. Just remember dont let anyone make you do something you dont want to and dont feel in your heart and let God lead you. Pray about it and He'll put you where you need to be.
My Christian and Baptist beliefs want to see you go to a Baptist church and believe in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirt (the Trinity). I would suggest reading the Bible (the King James Version preferably) and you will find more answers to your questions than you ever imagined! Most of all I would say Pray about it.
If you have any questions or would like to talk about God, Jesus, religon, or churches or anything please feel free to email me i'll be more than happy to talk to you about it. I'll be Praying that God will lead you in the right direction. I wish you much luck.
Nikki! | |
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| How did you choose your religion?
Posted: 4/16/2007 9:43:57 AM | part of the global manipulators agenda
Create religions causing people to be and feel divided with other religions maybe even non religious people. create more division by splitting a religion into more parts such as for example in Christianity you have church of England Catholicism Methodism etc in Islam you have shiete and sonnie etc this goes for all religion. Religion could also be used to make people feel better and more important than others. Also to create feelings of shame and guilt especially about sex and sexuality creating suppressed thoughts and feelings. And possibly to create a false image of what god is and/or is not, creating the belief in the believers mind of what is possible impossible and a belief they that need god or a god or a saviour to improve them selves and others causing them not to try and improve by themselves
Maybe even the minor religions were created or inflitrated by the global manipulaters. though even if they were created i feel they can benefit as a stepping stone to get elsewhere its like using a boat to get across a river once you get to the other side u discard the boat but some people keep carrying they boat on land that being there religion either through fear habit ego ignorance etc or some other combination i feel some people feel you cant be spiritual or holy without a religion i feel this is wrong
global manipulators = otherwise known as the illuminati
this is why i havent chosen but pick things out that might be useful | |
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| How did you choose your religion?
Posted: 4/16/2007 12:48:21 PM |
I've seen far too much to beleive that *nothing* exists out there, and now consider myself agnostic....
I remember asking my father once if he believed in God. He had the same sarcastic sense of humor that I do, and replied, "I'm an atheist." It was his way of getting a reaction out of me. :) My father was far too smart to have a "shit happens" mentality about the creation of the universe.
I was about nine years old when I decided that religion was lacking something and actually possessed something, "unholy?" I have experienced deep feelings of connection with all things. I have learned that true spirituality is found within. The Esoteric Sciences are based on this. If you want something that will help as a guide to go within, I recommend this path. The Esoteric Sciences are universal and were here long before many of the current paths, especially those that no longer recognize it for its wisdom and deep spirituality that is found in its ancient teachings and mysticisms; it is a path of self-empowerment and a powerful tool to bring you closer to all that is. Use your intuition as your main structure. On this path, you need two tools, self-love and self-trust.
Look in the eyes of a child or in nature. You will see some of this magic. | |
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| How did you choose your religion?
Posted: 4/17/2007 9:17:11 PM | | yes most people have religion of some form.i have study many religions wasn't sure where i stood except i knew there was and is something greater than man.beings i have yet to see a ape and human produce it's clear i have no monkey genes. and to think every thing is just by chance seems to be unconcivable .i just wasn't sure untill i was told by the lord himself who he was then all the words i fought so hard against because they made no sense became very clear to me.do i have a religion NO! what i have is faith in the strongest since of the word. | |
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| How did you choose your religion?
Posted: 4/17/2007 9:33:58 PM | | Like many North Americans, I was baptized into the Catholic Church basically straight out of the womb. However, I had always been skeptical about the veracity of rmy religious teachings. It wasn't until the age of 12 that I really started questioning the foundations of Christianity. By 14, I was very much an atheist. This is not something I chose. A world without God just makes more sense to me logically. I could delve further into the subject, but I don' t think this is the thread for that. | |
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| How did you choose your religion?
Posted: 4/17/2007 10:58:52 PM | I converted to the Church Of The SubGenius after reading these salient points in their Manifesto :
Are you abnormal? Then you are probably BETTER than most people!
IF you sometimes want to collar people on the street and scream that you're more different than they could possibly imagine...
IF you see the whole universe as one vast morbid sense of sick humor...
IF you are looking for an inherently contradictory religion that will condone megadegeneracy and yet tell you that you are "above" everyone else...
Then...
THE CHURCH OF THE SUBGENIUS could save your sanity!
Oh, yes... their motto : "F*** 'em if they can't take a joke."
Works for me ! | |
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| How did you choose your religion?
Posted: 4/19/2007 6:19:57 AM | | I was born into a strong christian family and have been going to church since i was born. My parents although not perfect live with Jesus in their lives and they are content and good people. I myself am still learning about chrisitanity but I definately believe in God | |
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| How did you choose your religion?
Posted: 4/19/2007 11:43:28 AM | I was raised in a Catholic household. In fact, so much so that I was going to CCD's every Sunday and then later on Wednesday nights while I was aide on Sundays for the younger kids. I slowly began realizing after I went away to school that what I believed was wrong and right and what the church preached didn't go hand in hand. I could go into a lot more detail but I'll save that for another day. Anyway, I started out by checking out the other Christian denominations and realized it wasn't just the type of Christianity that didn't click, it was Christianity in general that didn't call to me. I was lost for a while as that was the only religion I had any experience with. Great thing about college is the exposure to other cultures that it provides. So I explored and still didn't find anything that felt right for me. It wasn't until I had already graduated and met a woman at one of my jobs who finally starting steering me in the right direction to finding my own place and peace. I left Christianity because I felt like a hypocrite.
Follow your heart. Because in the end, that's what is going to lead you to happiness and growth. Decide what YOU believe and find the place that allows you to believe it. Religions tend to tell you what THEY say is right and wrong and you're old enough to decide for yourself. | |
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| How did you choose your religion?
Posted: 4/19/2007 1:11:29 PM | OP,
I am a Free Evangelical Church of America christian. I was raised as a Buddhist in an Oriental society that teaches Confucianism and ancestry worship.
After getting married, I became a Methodist for 20 years. I have a very strong math and science background, so I've routinely questioned some of the verses in the Bible. I also do not like the ritualistic traditions ans doctrines of the old-line churches. That's why the new denomination FECA suits me better. But I still strongly retain many beliefs of Confucianism , but not many of Buddhism.
I've also diligently studied up on Hindunism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Islam. I've found that those religions do not match the requirements of a modern democratic and capitalistic society, even though at first glance, the doctrines and philsophies of the other religions are well-intended for the purpose of helping people to live in harmony with other fellow beings and nature.
The main reason I've stayed as a christian and been advocating Christianity, because I've witnessed many miracles, including mine in the last few years. I suggest you should do some further research and study up on the various doctrines of all major religions. You will probably come to the same conclusion as mine.  | |
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| How did you choose your religion?
Posted: 4/19/2007 9:56:44 PM | I don't know if I feel like I chose my religion, more like my religion chose me.
I was baptized and raised Christian, Episcopalean to be specific (think Church of England lite). I converted by choice to Roman Catholic. Somewhere along the way I lost direction and faith and became a militant atheist; that is to say, not only did I not believe but I did everything possible to convert every one around me to not believing, as well.
I decided to reread the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, and when I was done and still disastified I read the Qur'an.
Reading the Qur'an with an open mind, to me at least, is a funny thing.
Once I read it I had no choice. Having read it, I found that I was a muslim, in both my mind and in my heart. It wasn't even a matter of believing in God or not at first, it was just a sound philosophy of living that I figured if the whole world followed it would be a better place.
The ethical appeal of the Qur'an came first to me, and influenced my life profoundly, the faith came later. But I didn't choose it. It chose me. | |
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| How did you choose your religion?
Posted: 5/19/2007 12:37:29 PM | | I was raised as a christian but today I'm an atheist.I just can't buy the whole god and devil concept. | |
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| How did you choose your religion?
Posted: 5/21/2007 8:35:02 AM | I was a Christian for most of my life. I have a love for learning and I read quite a bit. I bought my first computer seven years ago, and I discovered all these arguements against Christianity, things that I never heard before. Being a reasonably intellegent person they made a lot of sense to me.
I requested books from our library's lending program and read the books that were suggested, books that took my right leaning brain forever to get through as many of them were quite dry and scholarly, but I read them.
I wanted to believe. I didn't want to lose my faith. I read apologetics hoping and praying that I would find one shred of evidence outside Christianity and the Bible that it were true. However, the books defending Christianity were biased and relied on circular reasoning to defend the faith. I just couldn't believe it any longer.
Being an atheist wasn't a choice I made. For me, it was like peeling the layers of an onion and when you are done there is nothing there. Atheism, for me, is the default position. This doesn't mean that I don't have leanings towards beliefs. However, my leanings are Deist. | |
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Ender
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Joined: 2/1/2004
Msg: 48 | |
| How did you choose your religion?
Posted: 5/21/2007 10:27:01 AM | I listen to my heart when it comes to spirituality.
Religion however, is a social institution. I don't need a community of people to tell me how to define my relationship with a higher power. Period. | |
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| How did you choose your religion?
Posted: 5/22/2007 8:09:14 AM | I realize you may have had your fill of answers and I didn't get through all the posts to read whether or not mine is similar to other people's but here goes sorry if it is too redundant. I call myself a spiritualist. I was raised in a reform jewish family. This basically means you go to temple for the high holy days and pretend you are jewish. Anyways I'm an immensely curious person. So at 19 I joined an orthodox jewish temple (you know black hats and the people who have wear the yamachas). Anyway it was actualy very enlightening. I learn a lot about the jewish faith that I was never taught. There are a lot of misconceptions about the seperation of men and women for instance. But I don't want to go too into that unless you are interested. You can always write me back for more info.
So basically after about six months I saw a situation that made me not want to be part of that group. I realized that for me to join any group I have to be comfortable with the actions of all it's members. So then I spent a few years without any faith or religion. Then I decided one day that I had enough of working in corporate america. So I became a massage therapist. This led me into reiki and other forms of spiritualism and alternative medicine. Here I started learning about so many other cultures. For me I never learned from books I met people who practice their personal faiths.
That caused me to be drawn to what people refer to as pagan paths. This is the worship of the earth or multiple dieties at least as I choose to define it. (I believe every one has their own definitions because every one has their own truth.) For me I gravitate toward practices of the cherokee indians as well as the lakota because one of my teachers is half cherokee and has learned on a few lakota reservations out west. I also studied under a wiccan priestess and enjoy many aspects of her practice. I also work with some of the hindu gods and goddesses in the form of traditional mantras. This is why I enjoy people who say they practice a pagan path because there is more allowance for choosing aspects of any faith and mixing them with other aspects. | |
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| How did you choose your religion?
Posted: 5/22/2007 8:47:27 AM | I didn't choose, God chose for me. Many crooked paths, only one straight and narrow. I was given plenty of time for my spiritual age to catch up to my physical age...
So now, the only way to "classify" me is:
Part Christian, part Buddhist, part Secular Humanist, part Objectivist.
Cheers! | |
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