| How Strongly are You a Member of An Organized Religion?
Posted: 6/10/2008 7:51:47 AM | Even if you believe in God and are part of this or that organized religion, how strongly do you believe in and agree with every single rule of that religion? If you think you very strongly agree with rules of your religion, is it because of the fear or God's Power or, possibly, anticipated rewards many religions promise?
If you do not completely agree with everything in the religion you belong to, what are the major points on which you disagree?
Now, many believe and agree, but do not live by the rules of their religion. Do you live by those rules of your religion? | |
|
| How Strongly are You a Member of An Organized Religion?
Posted: 6/10/2008 8:04:56 AM |
Do you live by those rules of your religion?
The 'rules' of my faith are simple enough to follow!
1 Corinthians 6
12"Everything is permissible for me"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"—but I will not be mastered by anything. | |
|
| How Strongly are You a Member of An Organized Religion?
Posted: 6/10/2008 9:12:41 AM | Born and raised Catholic.
That being said, however.....
-I don't believe in "right" and "wrong" religions. Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Wiccan, or any other mono- or poly-theistic religions. All gods are one, regardless of the name we choose to worship him/her under.
-I don't believe that in order to get into heaven, everyone has to believe exactly what I believe. Heaven isn't a country club.
-I don't agree with the Church's view on birth control.
-I don't think homosexuals are evil and going to hell just for being who they are
-I don't agree with the sacrament of Reconciliation--at least the idea that I HAVE to do it. If I'm sorry and ask God to forgive me, why do I need a priest to absolve me?
-I don't think everything that happened in the Bible happened exactly as it's written. Some stories are allegory; other things were probably misinterpreted and/or lost over time
-I don't agree with the idea that priests are not allowed to marry
-And I DEFINITELY don't agree with the idea that women can't be priests because the 12 Apostles were all male. | |
|
| How Strongly are You a Member of An Organized Religion?
Posted: 6/10/2008 1:29:16 PM | "Everything is permissible for me"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"—but I will not be mastered by anything.
Sounds like something an enlightened person, Zen master or Buddhist would say.
So I agree with consigliere31 on that one. | |
|
| |
| How Strongly are You a Member of An Organized Religion?
Posted: 6/11/2008 10:31:27 AM | I'm a Roman Catholic and I'm a-okay with every one of the Church's essential teachings. I don't necessarily agree with every single rule, but from an outsider's perpective, I might as well mark "yes" next to that. I mean, I don't agree with many of the "modernizations" that so many Catholic churches have taken up recently. For example, I strongly believe in the value of singing the Mass mostly or entirely in Latin, and I'm for abolishing all rock and folk music in the sanctuary and restoring Gregorian chant and polyphony. And I say that as a heavy metal fan myself. But I hate it when churches try to conform to the modern world. I'd rather have my worship as medieval and mysterious as possible.
I believe my faith's teachings simply because I believe they are true. I converted to my faith out of a decision of free will. I don't think God's judgment has anything to do with it. If God decided to appear in front of me and tell me that I was going to hell no matter what I do, I would still be a practicing Catholic and praise Christ until the day I die, and even in hell if such a thing is possible.
As for living by the rules of my faith, that's a different story. I try, but it can be difficult. The basic teachings of Christ are quite simple, but for some reason, perhaps due to human nature, they become hard for me to follow, especially when it comes to the small things in life.
I would have gone on to be a priest, but I finally decided it was either not my vocation, or it might be but the cup is too strong to drink from. I don't think I can handle living a celibate lifestyle (but even if I had gotten a dispensation to marry and be ordained a priest as some former Anglican priests who convert do, I would only choose one or the other). I could also easily get kicked out many seminaries, anyway, for being too doctrinally and liturgically conservative/traditionalist. I'd probably be the one guy there with cassock, shoulder-cape, tonsure and biretta walking around in some of those places. | |
|
| How Strongly are You a Member of An Organized Religion?
Posted: 6/11/2008 12:14:58 PM |
gonzofanmel:
-I don't agree with the idea that priests are not allowed to marry
Just asking so that I know about where you come from...
(1) Did you confuse this with have married men being ordained?
Unrelated,
(2) Have you read Humanae Vitae? | |
|
NERO1
|
Joined: 3/8/2008
Msg: 8 | |
| How Strongly are You a Member of An Organized Religion?
Posted: 6/11/2008 12:45:10 PM | | I was raised Roman Catholic as a kid (of course, most Italians are after all), went to Catholic grammar school (or grade school or whatever you call it) up till high school. I'm not into that at all anymore due to many reasons (see: http://forums.plentyoffish.com/datingPosts10130919.aspx) but my family are all still at least moderately to "cafeteria" Catholic (although my dad is more devout than the rest of them I'd say, but he was actually born in Italy and raised in that kind of old country environment). In my later teen years I started to gradually move away from it, and from Christianity in general. I'm an agnostic I would say, probably, for all intents and purposes. Having studied all three of them intensely for years, I'm pretty much fed up with all three of the so-called "Abrahamic" religions. | |
|
| How Strongly are You a Member of An Organized Religion?
Posted: 6/11/2008 4:34:39 PM | How Strongly are You a Member of An Organized Religion?
Cant say that the relationship between my God and I is "organized" (I'd use the adjective disorganized if any) but I'd say that it ranks in the top say....1%? | |
|
| How Strongly are You a Member of An Organized Religion?
Posted: 7/1/2008 12:23:33 PM | How? In a scale from 0 to 10 I would give it a 0.
Let's see, I was raised in a non-religious family, schooled with the Nuns, have Buddhist beliefs and I don't belong anywhere except than to my own consciousness, but I visit churches, cathedrals, jehovah kingdom's halls, and even islamic mosques. | |
|
| How Strongly are You a Member of An Organized Religion?
Posted: 7/2/2008 10:50:50 AM | | I don't agree with everything my religion teaches. But, I look at what is most important. If they have that right, then it's ok. There are very few perfect things in this world. People like to church hop. But, they will always find something wrong. You just gotta decide if it's bad enough to worry about. | |
|
| How Strongly are You a Member of An Organized Religion?
Posted: 7/2/2008 5:02:34 PM | When I first read this I thought the subject was:
How Strongly are You a Member of Organized Crime?
Then I realized it didn't make any difference.
The only organization I strongly belong to is life. | |
|
| How Strongly are You a Member of An Organized Religion?
Posted: 7/2/2008 9:52:31 PM | | I'm not sure how to answer this question exactly. I'm a practicing Catholic, and when I say I practice, I practice. I have a long way to go to get it right, but I do go to Mass weekly, support my church and it's works, am a music minister, and give not just financially but time as well. I guess I'm a work in progress. | |
|
| How Strongly are You a Member of An Organized Religion?
Posted: 7/3/2008 7:10:12 AM | I think in my case it has to do with the pastor. He preaches about our behavior to others. The way Jesus treated others. He expects us to be a warm and friendly church, welcoming to all. He expects us to be non-judgemental of new members. He tells us that we are suppose to be helpful to people who are living sinfully so that they may know Jesus Christ and turn their lives around.
Everything he says is Bible based. So, I think now I am a stronger member of an organized religion. Although I was always a member of organized religion I didn't used to be a strong member. But this pastor is in reality, in real life situation, in todays world's happenings. And in the way we should represent ourselves as Christians by the way we behave. He leaves it all to our own behavior, he makes it a personal responsibility.
Even if you take out the religious aspect, he encourages us to be better people. | |
|
| How Strongly are You a Member of An Organized Religion?
Posted: 7/3/2008 4:11:25 PM | The more organized, the more it becomes needy to collect bodies to fill the membership rolls and money to fill the coffers, and the more segregationist it becomes and the more finger pointing it becomes and then come the threats that to not be a member makes you wrong/evil/deranged/doomed.
Loose organization can be a good thing. | |
|
| How Strongly are You a Member of An Organized Religion?
Posted: 7/3/2008 7:55:02 PM | not at all
zero, nada, zilch
my spirituality is so deeply personal and eclectic that although I find the odd kindred spirit, there are few I could "practice" with. I do find some fellowship at festivals and online.. and strangely, here.
Peace | |
|
Home
login 
