I'm a Christian, but I struggle with my beliefs at times, because I'm a constant questioner, a doubting Thomas, I ugues.
I believe that everything in the bible is true - but that doesn't mean I believe in the literal truth of every event in the bible. Was there an Adam Jones and an Eve Smith (what I mean is was there a person Adam, and a person Eve) or is the story meant as an allegory, for mankind's quest for knowledge, the moral dilemmas of choosing selfishness over selflessness, and the ultimately unobtainable desire for perfection/sinlessness. When Jesus told parables, was he referring to actual people or telling a story to make a point - which events were historically true, and which are using the literary device of parable to reveal a spiritual truth? I don't know, and I'm not sure I need to know, in order to find truth there (in the bible).
I read a book by a jewish rabbi, How Good Do We Have to Be? A New Understanding of Guilt and Forgiveness by Harold S. Kushner in which he suggests that God was not "forbidding" Adam and Eve to avoid (the tree of knowledge) - but warning them of the dangers of that knowledge. Marking our emergence from the animal world to the human world - animals have no conscience (or any need for it), but with knowldge of good and eveil, comes responsibility to use that knowledge approprietely.
It makes sense to me, but is it "true" or was there a literal Eden (not just the spiritual state of innocence), that Kushner attributes to pre-sentent humans. Did God create the world in six 24 hour increments? To me, neither question really changes my understanding of God. I don't see creating a universe in less than a week any more of a miracle than creating it over eons. In fact, I suppose for me, I find eons to be bigger miracle (I can lose interest in a project after a few minutes).
I do think that often people misinterpret the big messages, by focusing on minute philisophical disagreements. But that's part of the human condition, to struggle for understanding of the world arround us. I do believe in a literal heaven, where I will have all my questions answered (or perhaps I will no longer care about getting them answered).
I grew up Catholic so it has influenced what I do believe but still this is a hard question to answer for me because the answer is neither yes nor no.
I believe there is something, not sure you could even attribute a sex to whatever 'it' is or maybe there are multiple 'its'.
I can say what I don't believe and that is I don't believe we are punished for our actions during our life, at least not in a non-reversible way. I am more apt to believe in reincarnation than ****. Although I'm not sure there is a true afterlife but I think it is possible. I also think its possible that the afterlife could entail living another life (ie reincarnation).
I also don't believe whatever 'it' is needs us to worship. I think that is our more our possible need as humans, not that everyone feels that need. I personally don't.
So for simplification purposes, I do say that I believe in god. I do believe that Jesus lived as a man but not sure if he was 'the son of god' or 'a son of god'. If someone wants to follow a religion, then I can understand that because I think it has historical and social context in belonging to a religion. I personally can't follow a religion because there is no religion I know of that I could believe in its entirety.
I don't believe in religion for me personally. I'm a spiritual person and my spirituality tends to be in tune with nature.
I used to be a Christian, but always felt forced into that because my father was and is a minister. I always disagreed with the organized part of it, you know reading the Bible, dressing up and being forced to sing hymns... As a kid I would have rather been outside doing good. Like collecting food, planting trees, helping animals, things like that... For me I felt like Church was a waste of my time and as a minister's daughter, that did cause a lot of issues. So, one day I realized I do not fit in with other Christians.
Anyhow, I believe in manifestations of nature like the Goddess and God, which basically I'm saying I believe in something more than myself. I do not believe in a Christian God or Jesus though. I don't believe in the Bible or Christian things anymore.
I do believe there are spiritual people and religious people. I think that spirituality comes in many forms and isn't always attached to beliefs. I'm just on the spiritual side of things.
Last edited by Jacquie668; 06-27-2009 at 11:43 AM.
I grew up in a tight religious group. I lost my faith during a serious depression when I was in college. There was no rebellion in it, it just ... was gone. But I do believe there is *something.* I don't really understand the need to know exactly what and define it. I mean, religion sometimes tends to make God too small, if you know what I mean.
But I find myself, now, wanting a religious practice, and to some extent, I think any will do. I mean a practice more than a belief system. But I think the religion you were raised with tends to resonate deeply with you in a way a brand new one might not. Christmas, and the Psalms, the Lord's Prayer, and so on (even Jonah in a whale), will always speak to me in a way that stories about Ganesha will not.
I think it might be that some religions can't take some people as far as they can and will go. But I also think most of us don't even come close taking that from our religions. Trying something new can be just a way of avoiding depth. (Not to say that something new might be exactly what someone needs! It might even be what I eventually need.)
But I find myself, now, wanting a religious practice, and to some extent, I think any will do. I mean a practice more than a belief system. But I think the religion you were raised with tends to resonate deeply with you in a way a brand new one might not. Christmas, and the Psalms, the Lord's Prayer, and so on (even Jonah in a whale), will always speak to me in a way that stories about Ganesha will not.
When I was in college, I felt like this strongly. I really wanted to belong to a religion so I actually explored a bit and went to various religious ceremonies, studied various religions, all Christian based. In the end I decided to go back to Catholicism and started taking classes to finish my rites that I had given up years prior. In the midst of the classes though, I basically knew I couldn't follow a religion if I didn't believe it 100%.
Even now and again, I have the feeling that it'd be nice to belong to a church. I like religious ceremonies as the tradition resounds with me. I also think it can create a social structure that I think sometimes would be nice. I just can't do it without the belief being there.
I think to really believe you have to have a relationship w/Jesus. This is what I believe. You have to really just know . Which I do.I went to church for years before'and went through the motions,and it ment nothing.Now ,I am not going as I stated before,and feel closer to God.But,I do know I should go,and when God
leads me in the direction,I think he wants for me,that's where I'll go.
I believe in God and Jesus Christ. I was raised in a family where Christianity and our church was very important. After I left home, I left God and church for awhile because I had to decide for myself what I wanted. I came to the conclusion that life as a Christian was better for me than life without God and Christ.
I take to heart very much the teaching that Love is the most important thing.
Location: i am neither greek nor athenian, but a citizen of the world.
Posts: 328
Wow, that's a question and a half.
I would say I am a deeply religious person, but I reject the word 'God' (and 'god/gods'' for that matter) because there are so many crude personifications attached to it that are blatantly human invention. The Bible (which was put together from a great many sources over many centuries by many people of different levels of education and interpretations of religion) the Gita, the Upanishads and the Quaran are outstanding works of literature and as a writer and postgrad literature student I obviously believe in the sacred nature of true literature. I certainly don't believe in the personified deity of Western mainstream religion, or indeed that my personal human consciousness will continue after I die. (I used to find the concept of 'no more me' an appalling tragedy but I've gotten over myself). I do believe in the sacred and eternal nature of the energy that forms the universe, in the sanctity of life, and the value of human endeavour. I would seriously encourage anyone who considers themselves religious to find a good translation of the Bhagavad Gita, the sacred book that has had the most profound influence on my religious thought so far.
I'm an agnostic - one who is skeptical about the existence of God but does not profess true atheism. I was born into a non-religious family and spent 15 years in Catholic school, but all it did was make me question whether there really is a God.
I believe that all of the holy books, Bible, Koran, etc., were written by man to help explain the unexplainable and our place in the world and to establish rules in a chaotic society. And in the absence of the truth, stories were created to give answers where there were none. I also believe that since the beginning, man has used religion and the name of God as a tool to bend people to their will and, more positively, to give comfort and a sense of safety where none could otherwise be found.
I do believe that it is a miraculous world we live in. The beauty of nature and it's infinite complexities leave me in awe of how blessed we are to be here and be able to do the things humans can do - reason, love, laugh, cry, create life. Whether this gift was bestowed on us by a God or is simply the glorious result of happenstance, I don't know. But I am grateful to have experienced it.
Do I believe in religion? Well it exists, whether I like it or not. lol. I think that all religions and spiritual paths lead to the same end result- comfort and spiritual fulfillment for the practitioner. There are as many religions out there as there are types of people- and in some ways this is good and in others bad.
As for me, I identify most closely with Pantheism and Paganism, however I don't practice any set religion or anything. I do not believe in any higher power or god or goddess.
This is an interesting thread. I like that people can just post about what they believe without getting upset. There are so many options in everything in this world...
I just joined the Catholic church. Our priest gave a 4-part lecture series on Darwin and evolution. Many in the Catholic church accept the theory. I was a genetics major in college. I think of myself as a spiritual person as well as a religious person, I feel like I see the spiritual in many things. Our priest has told us, and I don't feel like many of the stories in the Bible are meant to be taken literally, but I realize there are other Christian faiths that do take them more literally. I find it very comforting, it brings me a lot of peace, and I enjoy many aspects of it, including all the charity work involved.
Hmm... I've always really been into different religions and philosophies, since I was 10.. I was born into a Muslim family, not terribly strict, though. We had a lot going on in our family and religion wasn't the biggest thing.. I tried to get into it, I tried to become very religious, but I always had questions ever since I was 7 or 8. I had a lot of qualms about it, a lot of unanswered questions regarding contradictions and illogical statements.. then when I got older I started to learn about different philosophies and ways of thinking. This basically opened me up.
I don't believe in God, I believe in Spinoza's God, which is basically that God is the Universe/Truth, etc and we are just extensions of this truth (this is a very very basic/simple explanation). I believe in bits and pieces of Buddhism, as well. I believe in science and ethics.
I'm basically a humanist. I can't say that I know 100% what I believe in because though I am beyond certain I don't believe in God, there is no way sure-proof way to prove or disprove his existence.
I know religion drives a lot of people, but being an atheist/Spinozist, I still believe in this search for truth and knowledge, in ethics, etc. My perceptions are ever-changing as I increase my knowledge and readings.. and for me, that is pretty much my drive.
I actually don't like religion.. If you look at history, religion has been shaped mainly around politics and has caused many wars. I think the guise of ethics allows people to buy into it. I think people feel a need to belong or identify to a group and the community and easy friendships that arise are good. I believe that because religion has been around for so long, it is hard to let go of.. it is still rooted in politics and power. In the past, people used mythology and gods to explain certain phenomena (such as lightening) and that is perfectly fine because how could anyone know? It was all faith-based.
Then the age of science came about and people learned WHY, for example, lightening occurred. I think as a human beings, we can live better unified and in a continual pursuit for knowledge. I think religion is very seductive and it can leave a person closed off to this pursuance. It is impossible to argue faith and logic because by definition faith has no reason, just belief.
I could go into more detail, but these are just my personal thoughts.
Last edited by Starrynight; 06-28-2009 at 01:40 AM.
So, one day I realized I do not fit in with other Christians.
