NationStates Jolt Archive

Just wondering what religion people here follow, and why they happen to believe in that particular faith. Any stories describing the finding of (G/g)od(dess) is appreciated.

I'll start.

I'm pagan. I use the blanket term because my own views on the higher powers are very difficult to explain, but it is basically that I believe in every god/dess that humans have ever worshipped. But I believe that they were all human-created personifications of one High Power that has no form, thought, or personality. As such an entity is difficult (to say the least) for humans to comprehend, they made up shapes and personalities for it; like facets of a diamond.

As for how I came to believe this: I'm not sure. I was meditating one day and that's kind of what came into my mind. It seemed right to me. Since I am technically Polytheistic, I use the term Pagan to describe myself.

This was an interesting development when I told my parents... They are hard-core Southern Baptist from the Grand Old South. It was almost as traumatic when I told them that I am gay. Klu Klux Klan members such as my step-dad don't take kindly to non-Christian faggots.

Anyway, I'm interested in your views... All of you.

I will not consider "I am *insert religion here* because my parents raised me as that and you're gonna go to *insert Bad Place here* if you don't believe in it, and I don't question it because then I'll go to *aforementioned Bad Place*" as a valid answer. That is ignorant, blind, and shows that you have no real faith in your religion, for faith is strengthened by questioning and seeking answers. If your parents taught you a faith, then you questioned it and eventually found it to be right for you, that's okay... I'd like to hear the story.

I'm curious to see how far this thread gets... Roma Moon, honestly, good luck.

I'm... A lot of things.
Official designation: Catholic.
Practical designation: Pantheist.
Personal designation: Christian Mystic.

Why:
Catholic: Yes, ok. I was raised Catholic. But unlike 90% of Catholics, I continued learning after confirmation. No one in Sunday School teaches you the cool stuff. It's like the Matrix: you can't be told what it is - you have to see it for yourself, I guess. Just don't jump off a tall building.

I chose to remain Catholic for two reasons:
1. All the bullshit in Catholicism is manmade in my eyes, and I can cut it away. I don't care about the Church's history, the Pope's opinion, or anything about sexual offenses. Mere details which have nothing to do with faith.
2. The things Catholics do well, they do REALLY well like no one else. I LIKE praying the 5 first Saturdays, and taking Communion, and praying with saints. It may not be "better" than other religions, but it really really fits me personally.

Pantheist: I don't know if that word actually exists. I believe in just about everything, except for that religion that teaches that when you die your soul goes to a garage in Buffalo. I believe in the Wiccan Law of Threes, Gaia, Faeries, and Allah just as much as Christ. I uphold the 10 Commandments, the 6 Pillars, and Do No Harm. There are smatterings of other religions in there as well, but just minor details.

Christian Mystic: Way too much to explain here, and 90% of it WILL be flamed. I'll plead the 5th here. Sorry. I just thought it would be fair to mention it, even if I won't explain it.

Im a spiritual atheist.

My parents raised me as a secular atheist but i came to realize there is power to be had in belief after learning some of the soft martial arts.

I believe that there might be a spiritual energy of some sort which is currently beyond the ability of humans to understand but one day with better science there might be new ways to exploit it.

I believe that belief itself can be a healing and fortifying force through psychostomasis and i find that prayer to myself can help focus my energy and render me quicker to respond and harder to strike.

I also believe that god is whatever is significant enough to you to qualify as it. To me it would be my knowledge, which is somewhat indicative of humanism i guess.

For afterlife, i believe that there is either no existence or a dull existence of remaining concious until the body decays while slowly growing insane or by leaving imprints in walls and soil and perhaps eventually finding a way to liberate oneself and move about without the capability to interact.

I also believe that belief in a companion of some sort intense enough to be considered a religion of its own will mean everything such an imagined companion supposedly teaches is right for you and the absolute truth for you. No religion is wrong and i dont believe in divine punishment except for those who truly want it.

I've defined my own religion based on both the best ideas and the most plausible likelihood of possibility of existance from other religions.
I found that supporting one religion leads to disrespect of other religions and somewhat large areas of haziness in the search for answers, basically my principles are:

No man, women or animal is above another in rank of deserving life,
Respecet everything even if it does not show respect for you,
Freedom of speach, worship and opinion should be tolerated,
Help your bretheren when needs must,
Status, wealth and property are all fleeting,
There is no one path through life,
With out the bad there is no good,
The santacty of friendship is greater than anything,
The cause of being is trivial, as is the reason for being

Well, this is easy. I don't have a faith, I don't believe in any "higher being", "all-around-us power" or anything. When I was younger I had panteistic thoughts but not any more. I just try to live in harmony.

Status, wealth and property are all fleeting


I like that one :D

I am a non-denominational Christian with a sprinkling of other beliefs. Let me explain:

I believe that Christ is my savior. I also believe that when Christ died and was ressurected he eliminated the need for his Father. Nietzsche was right when he said 'God is dead', for He is no longer creating new things or judging what is right or wrong. I would also point out that currently I do not hold Jesus in high regard, and have a lot of anger directed towards him.

I am studing the art of Polynesian Shamanism, (more specifically Hawaiian Shamanism). This is not the path of the warrior or conquerer, but of the spiritualist. I believe that each of us has energies that we can shape to our needs with a little practice. I am learning heal and improving relationships between people, people and nature, people and themeselves.

Because I grew up around natives, including the Inuit, I picked up a lot of their ancient traditions and beliefs. I hang a dreamcatcher above my bedroom window, and I always have a raven feather when I'm travelling.

I am a non-denominational Christian with a sprinkling of other beliefs. Let me explain:

I believe that Christ is my savior. I also believe that when Christ died and was ressurected he eliminated the need for his Father. Nietzsche was right when he said 'God is dead', for He is no longer creating new things or judging what is right or wrong. I would also point out that currently I do not hold Jesus in high regard, and have a lot of anger directed towards him.

I am studing the art of Polynesian Shamanism, (more specifically Hawaiian Shamanism). This is not the path of the warrior or conquerer, but of the spiritualist. I believe that each of us has energies that we can shape to our needs with a little practice. I am learning heal and improving relationships between people, people and nature, people and themeselves.

Because I grew up around natives, including the Inuit, I picked up a lot of their ancient traditions and beliefs. I hang a dreamcatcher above my bedroom window, and I always have a raven feather when I'm travelling.

Alright! Go Shamanism! It's so good to know that some are still around in such a globalized society. I hope you officially Shamanize (bad spelling) soon. I just have to ask: does it run in your family? Supposedly shamens tend to draw strength from previous generations. Christian Mysticism, while different, is quite similar. After I set myself down that path, I found out my grandmother's a mystic as well. Anyway, pure curiosity. Feel free to say no and beat me with a pointed stick. :D

Athiest.

"It's all crap to me."

I am the first in my family, (so far as I know), to study shamanism. My power is weak at best, but with time and practice I can move on to helping others. (My focus right now is to practice on myself until it becomes second nature.)

I'm atheist, more specifically I believe in the non-existance of god, and most things that would fall under the rubric of supernatural or "new-age", for lack of a better term.

As for reasons for being an atheist, I really don't have any. Rather naturally, I picked up the beliefs of my parents (or what I thought they were at any rate), and I haven't had reason to change these aspects of them.

I am the first in my family, (so far as I know), to study shamanism. My power is weak at best, but with time and practice I can move on to helping others. (My focus right now is to practice on myself until it becomes second nature.)

Hey, don't worry about it. That little fact was from a fairly unreliable source anyway. And yes, white magic rocks. I noticed you said you were practicing healing. What about general blessings? I remain ignorant as to how specific some practices are in pure shamanism.

Well, I am not a religion. ;-)

I don't see any need to believe in anything in particular. I find it sufficient to just be a good human being, and since my behavior is not any god's business but mine alone and I am not the property of any god, that is enough. Viewing the world as is really is does not require submission to a god.
What I find interesting though is the Mesopotamian pantheon where the origins are of what Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have messed up much later.

Hey, don't worry about it. That little fact was from a fairly unreliable source anyway. And yes, white magic rocks. I noticed you said you were practicing healing. What about general blessings? I remain ignorant as to how specific some practices are in pure shamanism.

Hawaiian shamanism is quite different from the Native or African concepts of shamanism, and I have done little research into them. Personally, I don't have the desire to do any 'general blessings', but to simply teach what I know so more people can harness their energies themselves.

Hawaiian shamanism is quite different from the Native or African concepts of shamanism, and I have done little research into them. Personally, I don't have the desire to do any 'general blessings', but to simply teach what I know so more people can harness their energies themselves.

OK, that works. But I do know that each culture treats its shamens differently. After all, the shaman is the most individualistic spiritual person of them all. I'm personally not focusing on that aspect of reality just yet, but my general goal in life (spiritually) is to become a priest, shaman, mystic, and monk all at the same time. So far, I've got two down, with a head start on shamanism. Anyway, thanks for the insight. I'm really glad I found someone on this forum more interested in sharing information than argueing.

This is a great book. (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0671683071/qid=1095152182/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/104-4782687-3483937)

I got my start from it, and it gives a modern view of shamans.

This is a great book. (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0671683071/qid=1095152182/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/104-4782687-3483937)

I got my start from it, and it gives a modern view of shamans.

I'll try to keep it in mind. I've got a lot to read yet.

Apathetic agnostic.

don't know, don't care.

Proudly and Loudly Pagan ...

Why? Because nothing else make sense.

Im a spiritual atheist.

My parents raised me as a secular atheist but i came to realize there is power to be had in belief after learning some of the soft martial arts.

I believe that there might be a spiritual energy of some sort which is currently beyond the ability of humans to understand but one day with better science there might be new ways to exploit it.

<snippity>




So you're a Taoist ... why didn't ya just say so? :D

up-lifting and reassuringI am a non-denominational Christian with a sprinkling of other beliefs. Let me explain:

I believe that Christ is my savior. I also believe that when Christ died and was ressurected he eliminated the need for his Father. Nietzsche was right when he said 'God is dead', for He is no longer creating new things or judging what is right or wrong. I would also point out that currently I do not hold Jesus in high regard, and have a lot of anger directed towards him.

I am studing the art of Polynesian Shamanism, (more specifically Hawaiian Shamanism). This is not the path of the warrior or conquerer, but of the spiritualist. I believe that each of us has energies that we can shape to our needs with a little practice. I am learning heal and improving relationships between people, people and nature, people and themeselves.

Because I grew up around natives, including the Inuit, I picked up a lot of their ancient traditions and beliefs. I hang a dreamcatcher above my bedroom window, and I always have a raven feather when I'm travelling.

This is a great book. (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0671683071/qid=1095152182/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/104-4782687-3483937)

I got my start from it, and it gives a modern view of shamans.


would like to know the publisher......

Atheist, because that's the only sensible choice.

Atheist, Secular Humanist.

Lutheran, more specific "The Church of Sweden" - type of lutherism...

Atheism, humanism, freethought, hedonism, rationalism, existentialism, etc, etc.

Lutheran, more specific "The Church of Sweden" - type of lutherism...
i.e. strongly ant-semitic like Luther?

100% proud atheist. I just think these different religions are useless.

Self proclaimed god.
I'm willing to accept followers.
For only 49,95 a month.

Self proclaimed god.
I'm willing to accept followers.

Use your divine powers to conjure a large amount of cash for me, and I'll think about it.

Use your divine powers to conjure a large amount of cash for me, and I'll think about it.
Sorry. But you are supposed to worship me with large amounts of money. It's the very foundation of our religion.

HONORIFICABILITUDINITATIBUS - ism

Glad to see that no one's arguing yet... That happens far too often in threads like this. People are getting a little off topic, but I don't care, because it's still about religion and not about random crap that has no relevance.

As for the atheists, I personally cannot understand your lack of beliefs (though I can and do appreciate them). I had doubts about a higher power at one point in my life, but I got over them.

The reason I can't understand why a person would not believe in a deity is rather simple... You can tell that a building has an architect because the building is there. In my views, you can also tell that the universe has an Architect because the universe is there. The exisistance of a structure proves that it had a creator.

Sorry for the architect analogy. My grandfather is a Freemason, so the correlation is natural to me.

i'm a non-practising catholic, meaning that i go to church ast christmas and if you are lucky at easter aswell. but recently have been thinkin of becoming a born again christian

The reason I can't understand why a person would not believe in a deity is rather simple... You can tell that a building has an architect because the building is there. In my views, you can also tell that the universe has an Architect because the universe is there. The exisistance of a structure proves that it had a creator.

Sorry for the architect analogy. My grandfather is a Freemason, so the correlation is natural to me.

i am an atheist because i have a deep need for what i believe in to be TRUE. these days most believers recreate the god(s) that their religion is based on to be some whole nother kinda of creature than what is in their religious texts. (because the god that was believed in 1000 years ago in the same religion is obviously not true so he has to be rehabilitated)

so they make up a new "all knowing all loving all powerful non male god who doesnt live in the sky like he used to but now he is some kind of pandimensional being with no physical substance"

but where is the TRUTH in that? what, besides your own imagination, do you base THAT on? are we really to believe whatever pops into our heads and seems right to us? that seems ridiculous to me. there is no reason to believe that MY imaginings are more truthful than YOURS.

i never get an answer to my problem with the "there has to be a creator of all this" theory of believing in god.

why must this creator be GOD?
why must this creator be all knowing all loving all powerful?
why must this creator WANT to be worshipped?
why must this creator still even EXIST? (frank lloyd wright is dead eh?)
and how in the world do you go from "there must be a creator" to "jesus christ is my personal lord and savior"? meaning that the existance of a creator doesnt lead to any particular religion that i can see. '

to me these are insurmountable obstacles to my ability to believe in any relgion. so i am an atheist

I am Jew, and by choice.

There are a few things that make more sense to me about Judaism than otehr religions:

Judaism stresses morality over belief and spiriuality. You are not a "real Jew" by just saying so and believing in one God, you have to live your life, especially with respect to how you act towards freinds and foes alike, by a higher moral code.

Judaism discourages blind faith. You are not supposed to believe or act a certain way "just because." Am I supposed to believe something just because someone with a fancy robe or a title tells me to? Of course not. You not supposed to believe what you do not understand, and you are supposed to use your intelligence to come to your beliefs and values. You are supposed to question absolutely everything.

Judaism doesn't proslytize. Jews are not in the business of changing other peoples beliefs and have no form of missionaries. It's not about what you worship, it's about how you act. Jews believe peace will come not when the world is Jewish, but when the world begins to act in a moral way (the standard in Judaism is called the Noachide Laws, a pretty basic moral code.)

My own personal beliefs about God are FAR from the common Judeo-Christian creaton of an old white guy in the sky, but I still subscribe to the Jewish moral code, and therefore I identify myself as Jewish.

Officially Roman Catholic, in fact a member of a religious order (Franciscan Friars, Third Order Regular). Unofficially, moving more and miore to a kind of eclectic Christianity. My base remains Catholic but I was heavily influenced by
evangelical/Pentecostal Protestantism in my college days, in fact had a born again experience and left the Catholic Church for a while. I ultimately came to a belief that God wanted me back in the Catholic Church where I grew up. I have retained some good things from the evangelicals while having to toss a lot of baggage. Also Eastern Orthodoxy, the great Rabbis, and more recently the Twelve Steps have influenced the way I express my beliefs. Haven't realy gone too much outside the Judeo-Christian framework (some interest in Islam); it's the only way I have been able to make sense of my experiences.

Personally, I've always liked the sound of Shamanism, but I never really learned much about it, so I guess technically I'm undecided. In the meantime, if I'm in a 'playful' (for want of a better word) mood, I tell people I worship Cthulhu, the giant squid. ;)

I was baptised as Roman Catholic when I was seven years old. Now, at the age of 18, I am Wiccan. I came to the decision to convert when I was 13. I had no sense of faith at all. I was always searching for something that could fulfill me, but it didn't happen until I met this one girl, Anna. She and I no longer speak to one another, but she introduced my to Wicca. I was completely lost at that time and Wicca seemed to be just the thing to put me on track. I'm not just some air-headed teenager who is trying on Wicca like a cheap suit. It is part of my everyday life. I've met a lot of very great people through my religion. I live right near Salem, Massachusetts, where I did part of my growing up. In case people don't know, its considered the witch capital of the United States. I'm very fortunate to live so close to there. I've even had the fortune of meeting the official wich of Salem, Laurie Cabbot, herself.

Wicca is a very important thing to me. It always will be. When I'm older and (hopefully) have children of my own, I won't force them to choose their religion. I intend to let them choose whatever path speaks to them most, even if its Atheism. I hope to find a partner who will share my beliefs in this, and will accept my religion.

I'm an atheist because I don't see how (a) physics and (b) living a comfortable middle class lifestyle are compatible with Christianity. Other people may be able to reconcile the two, and that's fair enough; but I can't.

I was raised a Christian, but I wasn't that old when I realised that having such beliefs didn't seem to be doing me any good. However, I do subscribe to some fundamental Christian ideals - basically, live as good a life as you can; partly for your own good (I suppose I would like to believe in the doctrine of 'what goes around, comes around'), but moreover, to prevent hurt to others. It seems that a lot of those that describe themselves as religious (in the Christian sense) are more about preaching and keeping up appearances. If they really believe in God etc, fine - but that does not give them any right to make judgements (indeed, it contradicts their beliefs; only God can be allowed to judge on a person's final day, after all). However, I really do respect Christians who have their beliefs, abide by them and let others get on with their lives.

I am interested in other religions, most notably buddhism and wicca. They fascinate me, but ultimately I can't believe in any religion at all. I want to make my own choices in life and be in control of my own destiny, and I think in the majority of circumstances wanting that choice and control fundamentally clashes with religious beliefs.

Agnosticism:

You can't prove that there is a god, but proving that there is no god is equally impossible.

However, I think that all currently existing (large) religions are full of contradictions and are quite unbelievable. The existence of a god often creates more questions than questions are answered by it.

Most of those religions try to force others to follow their rules too, think of Islamic law and the pope demanding all governments to not allow gay marriage and to not promote the use of condoms.

To all religious people: please don't force others to believe what you do, as you can't prove a thing of it. So keep state and religion seperated.

Yo all. I'm an Atheist/Buddhist.
No belief in god, but Buddhist values suit me well.

Yo all. I'm an Atheist/Buddhist.
No belief in god, but Buddhist values suit me well.

Ditto here. (BTW saying one is an atheist-Buddhist is akin to saying one is a theist-Muslim, as a rejection of theism is one of the "Basic Points Unifying The Theravaada and the Mahaayaana" (http://www.serve.com/cmtan/buddhism/Misc/unify.html) ;))

Me = like the first poster ("Pagan" as a blanket term for some really complex beliefs. However, I usually just say "athiest" when asked.) Zen Buddhism looks appealing though.

I'm a "Filthy Pagan" according to the charming Born Again Christian across the road from me. Now, I don't have anything against Christians... but damn, that fellow is preachy and annoying.

Anyway, you could probably class me as 'pagan' if you wanted to. Basically, I revere one animal that I feel a very strong connection to and try to emulate that animal as much as I can in my life. So I suppose you could call me a 'Totemic Pagan'.

Why? Because it works for me. It gives me something to aspire to, a spiritual focus and a way to express my spirituality in a way that feels good and right to me. It's unrestrictive while still giving me a feeling of spiritual fulfillment.

Aside from this, I have a few beliefs about transfer of energy after death and such, but nothing really major.

Messianic Israylite

None because it just isn't my cup of tea. I understand that religion can do positive things, though; however, I don't like the "fear-factor" bit to scare the bejesus out of people into believing. There's so much more that religion can do than serve as a literal interpretation.

666Judaism666

That is to say, I make alot of references to Satan, for my own amusment, but officially I'm Jewish.

Not-really-all-that-observant Jewish. I wear a Darwin Shirt.

Not-really-all-that-observant Jewish. I wear a Darwin Shirt.

Actually, to my knowlege, Darwinism doesn't contradict Judaism in any way. The Torah is not to be taken litterally, and the evolution theory and the order of creation are very similar, and since no one was around to keep track "one week" in the Torah could have been billions of years.

If anything, the Satan part is all that really is not Jewish. Judaism does not believe in any sort of outside evil force out to get us. Evil comes from the evil inclanation within a person, not some imaginary scapegoat.

I never did understand the 666 thing being so evil. I'm sure there is some historic reason for it., (like Posidon's trident becomming the devil's pitchfork to try and stamp out Roman Paganism) but I really don't know. Any numerologists out there?

I'm a non-practicing Pagan. I admit that gods and goddess exist, I just don't see any point in worshipping them. Kind of like tables. I know tables exist and I use them when necessary, but I don't light candles to tables or pray to them.

I am an atheist and a Communist.

I'm a Christian, and have been for about three months. Why? Because I've looked at historical evidence (well, some books/websites on it) and studied some apologetics, and it became overwhelmingly clear that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. I didn't really want to become a Christian, I'd have much rather remained in a world where there wasn't really any meaning or anything to subscribe to- a world where you can make up your own rules- but in the light of the evidence I felt I rather had to.

However, I would like to point out that actual Christianity (ie. what Jesus taught, recorded in the Gospels) is quite often rather different to what people percieve to be Christianity (ie. the church).

I'm a weak atheist.

I'm a weak atheist.
Me too

Strong Atheist.

As for the atheists, I personally cannot understand your lack of beliefs (though I can and do appreciate them).
In this case the feeling is mutual.

The reason I can't understand why a person would not believe in a deity is rather simple... You can tell that a building has an architect because the building is there. In my views, you can also tell that the universe has an Architect because the universe is there. The exisistance of a structure proves that it had a creator.
Ah, but hurricanes have structure despite being the result of natural processes. And I don't find a deity as a compelling explanation for why the universe is, and is the way it is, as that explanation raises questions as to why the deity is, and chose to make the universe the way it is. I suspect the universe looks designed to you, but not to me. I have come to accept that perfectly reasonable, rational, intelligent people perceive the universe differently than I do, but I can't indentify with those perceptions.

Jedi

The Force guides us all....

from Kazcaper:
It seems that a lot of those that describe themselves as religious (in the Christian sense) are more about preaching and keeping up appearances. If they really believe in God etc, fine - but that does not give them any right to make judgements (indeed, it contradicts their beliefs; only God can be allowed to judge on a person's final day, after all).

This is the exact reason I stopped attending church when I moved away from home. There was a lot of "Do as I say, not as I do" going on at every church I attended. The holier than thou airs everyone put on put a damper on eny enthusiasm I may have otherwise had.

I was raised as a "non-denominational" Christian and, by choice, still have the foundational beliefs (heaven and hell, Jesus as my saviour, love all thy breatheren, etc.) Why Christ? Valid or not, I chose him because that's how I was raised and I've never had an interest or need to seek anything else. I was a science major in college and these beliefs were often challenged. That's where my faith came in. Like someone else here mentioned, the universe exists because something started it and I believe it was God. There's no proof, there's no concrete understaning, but I don't believe I was meant to understand. It's all so much bigger than us to comprehend. That's what I have resigned myself to believe and I can understand that for many people that makes no sense whatsoever. It's actually strange to for me to describe my faith that, since I'm so analytical when it comes to everything else in my life.
I guess it's just comforting to feel like there's something bigger than me that I can turn to for support and guidance...something bigger than these so-called great teachers and leaders that so often disappoint.

Christian Mystic: Way too much to explain here, and 90% of it WILL be flamed. I'll plead the 5th here. Sorry. I just thought it would be fair to mention it, even if I won't explain it.

You're not the only one here with an interest in Christian Mysticism. I'm just now learning about it and trying to see if it describes my personal understandings. Perhaps you could TG me if you're concerned about the flaming (I already sent you one).

I consider myself a liberal Methodist, and I am influenced also by the Christian Reformed Church, Anglican, and Catholic beliefs. Pretty eclectic, but that's what you get for living in so many parts of the US! ;-) Upbringing had a definite part to do with it, but personal experience has also made me believe that I'm following the right track. I don't want to discuss the nature of those experiences, but they were very profound for me.

Yeah... Strongly atheist here... I used to be agnostic but I realized that was just BSing. Anyway I'm an atheist because I believe theres a scientific answer for everything, just not nessecarily one we can ever comprehend. I believe people are hard wired to believe in religion (History backs me up on this, especially in the way the same types of religion tend to emerge amoung the same types of ppl). I recognize that religion has some value but ultimently it is holding back the progress of humen kind.