Forums > Social Chat > religions

Posted: 16th Dec 2002
post nazrene post catholic christian buddhist

( umm that means i was raised by a protestant mum and a catholic dad, but attended the church of the nazarene ,until iwas old enuff to decide then converted to the RC enter seminary, eventually leaving the RC for my own path .. but still christian althought the buddhist lifestyle is very satisfying.. one of the other initiates was a buddhist as well as a priest in training and he hooked me on some of the literature )

pax,
ivan

thats right i look like an albino ape that has had a bad day.. go ahead say something stupid... i dare ya !

Posted: 16th Dec 2002
This is complicated.

Ok, I was raised Jewish. I am Jewish. But being Jewish isn't simply a religion. It's a culture. It's sort of like being Indian or Chinese. We have our own holidays that we celebrate, our own foods, our own traditions and superstitions, etc.

A friend of mine was once doing a research project on religions. She asked a bunch of people if they considered themselves a certain religion. If so, she asked "do you practice?" and "are you convinced?". From most people she only got a "yes, I practice" if she got a "yes, I'm convinced." But from the Jews, she got "yes, I practice. No, I'm not convinced." It's really amazing to me how few Jews actually believe in the literal word of Torah. The fundamentalists, do, but then again, that's the job of a fundamentalist. But even the most religious Jews if you ask them why they are so observant they answer "because it's the right thing to do." Not "because G-d told me to" or something like that. You find very few Jews who are willing to speak for G-d.

So my actual beliefs are something along the lines of panthiest. I was once talking to a man who was a delegate for the United Methodist Church at some "United Nations of Religions" thing that was happening at my college one summer. I asked him how all these religious leaders got along. He said that the theologians could barely get past a terse greeting, but the mystics all got along famously. Shared experiences, and all. See, I believe that the mystics are the ones who write down their experiences from their meditations, but there is no good way to put into words what one sees in meditations, so other people, who don't have this spiritual connection with the universe, fight with each-other over the words while completely losing sight of the meaning. It becomes about Jesus vs. Adonai vs. Allah, etc. when they're all the exact same thing!

So that leaves me in a quandry. See, in Judaism, you don't have to go to temple regularly to call yourself Jewish. But if you go and practice another religion, then you won't be accepted by the Community as Jewish anymore. So on the one hand, I'd love to try going to a Meeting of Friends or to a Unitarian church, but if I decide to become a Quaker or a Unitarian, I'd be forsaking all those traditions and all that heritage, and my identity. After all, the rest of the world calls me a Jew, regardless of what religion I practice, so I'd better know what the heck that means to me.

-Mike

Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella



A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura

Posted: 16th Dec 2002
I guess im a christian a little on the liberal side, but I don't subscribe to any particular denomination.

Sparkie: How did you come to believe in and worship egyptian gods? Did you research them and just decide they appeal to you? Or did a friend or something guide you to them? (Then the question is how did you friend find them) Or did they come to you in some sort of spirtual experience? Im just curious.

Posted: 16th Dec 2002
I'm Wiccan, but it's more than a religion. It's a life style too. I always wonder why I say that shouldn't your religious beliefs have bearing on how you live? If they don't your a hipocrit.
I work with many deities, But mostly refer to them collectivly as the God and the Goddess. I am a Celtic-Eclectic Witch (Yah strang... it's kinda my own little trad). And when you think of about it (I'm gonna start something here I just know it) Christmas is almost completely pagan. Christianity just covered Yule up with there own holiday. Lets examin:

Turkey/Ham Dinner = Yule Feast

Christmas Tree = Yule tree (has Egyption roots, and celtic roots. The Yule tree was brought into the home and decorated in the Celtic regions to celibrate life in a dark time like winter.

Saying Grace = Thanking the god and goddess for the food (and the sucsessful harvest that brought it), and also leaving offerings.

Santa Cluase = The Holy King

Santa coming on Christmas eve = The take over of the Holy King from the Oak King on Yule.

lol now let's see what I've started with this. But when replying remember:
"Sometimes we will only accept the truth if it is infact the truth we seek."

In the 60's people took acid to make the world weird, now the world is weird and they take prozac to make it normal again.

Posted: 16th Dec 2002
i hate this thread pesonally, not my cup of tea.
each to their own though.
my religion is poi! lol

Posted: 16th Dec 2002
Frost I think your missing the birth of christ part of it.

But yeah the christian religion is full of all kinds of influences from other religions. Especially catholicism. Considering it originated in rome and the romans were super eclectic with their religions.

Posted: 16th Dec 2002
christian all the way

¿

Posted: 16th Dec 2002
I am ummm not atheist but umm I dunno what you would call it.I am being exposed to a new world right now so I am unsure.

There are no obstacles only challenges.
Very funny scotty now beam down my pants.
[colour."green"}What would willie do?

AHH theres too many wee leprechauns i cannae squash them all

Posted: 16th Dec 2002
I am myself. I am Love. I am free.
and that is fine with me...

TAJ "boat mummy." VALURA "yes sweetie you went on a boat, was daddy there with you?" TAJ "no, but monkey on boat" VALURA "well then sweetie, Daddy WAS there with you"

Posted: 17th Dec 2002
Heritage and Family wise, I'm a Catholic. I was raised going to church though thats about the extent of it. I went through all the motions and I don't mind church, it's a nice place and such, but it's not really who I am. It's also not a large part of my parents lives, they attend church alot more than I do, but still, it's also not who they are. My grandparents and my mothers brother, thats another story. More religiously devoted on that side.

Personally, I'm much more spiritual than religious. Though at this point in my life I'm a college student above all else

_________________________________
Fuzzy Dice.......................................

Posted: 17th Dec 2002
Frost, carefy before you end up in a theologian's ponder.

I'm not going into much detail here, due to my chaotic/cheshire tendancies to attract (and sometimes cause) mischief and such, so i'm ending before i start. lol

Personally, I'm a faerie.

life begins between the night and the light.

Posted: 16th Dec 2002
I think it was Sickpuppy who had some great things to say on this issue in a previous post.

This is a topic that I would want to write way too much on. To keep it simple, I do my best to follow the path of Christ. The reason I state it this way is that the word "Christian" imposes so many stereotypes, as does "Buddhist", "Taoist", "Pagan", whatever.
I try to avoid stereotyping anyone, and try to keep the same from happening to me.
I love to study about God/the gods. The way Tolkien described creation in the Silmarillion is breath-taking. Go read it, you'll be fascinated no matter what religion you're from.

I am not threatened if others believe in anything else, or in nothing else. If they've studied, and sought these things out, then so be it, that is there path. I was raised in a Lutheran Church, my mother was a Catholic, I went to a Charismatic Church eventually, was in a Baptist college...you get the idea. Even within Christianity I have found many different viewpoints on the supposed same God. This sucked. I can speak Christian fluently, but when it comes down to it, well, if God be God, let Him answer. I don't think God needs man's backing Him up on any arguements.

I have also studied (but not all exclusively), the Kabbalah, Taoism, Buddhism, read through some Satanist articles, and I am a fan of Ayn Rand, and am pursuing study of Objectivism...the end to all this: I want to be able to see Christ thru as many people's eyes as possible, even if some don't even believe in Him. I like what He had to say, and what He represents: the Unification of the Divine and the Human.

I've already taken too much of your time,

Shaun

PS- One of my best friends is a religion major here in St. Louis, and we've had plenty of 7-8+ hour discussions on this topic. If you PM me, I'll gladly discuss things with any of you. I am always looking to learn more about this world and those in it. Any help along the way is appreciated.

Amateurs practice something until they get it right; professionals practice until they can't get it wrong.

Posted: 17th Dec 2002
brought up christian, ironicaly it was when my parents forced me to get confirmed that I really thought about it and became agnostic. Life phylosophy wise, buddhism fits my views the tightest of organised religions, but the way I live it falls inline with buddhism by chance, i didn't decide on them because i wanted to be buddhist. Does that make any sense? Probably not, it is 6am

Posted: 17th Dec 2002
Some crazy Magnus-style pic'n'mix of Buddhism, Jedi, New Age, Celestine Prophecism, Taoism, Wicca, Christianity, in order of descending significance.

What other way is there to be? Most religions include 'This is the One True Way' as a basic tenet, but they are all just different people's perspectives on the spiritually higher aspects of experience.

All religious teachings centre on the same ultimate points, but dilute them according to culture and history.

The idea that there is one path that will lead to enlightenment/heaven/God/whatever is invented by religious leaders to perpetuate their religion above others. Spiritually, it's a terribly immature idea.

Magnus... pay it forward

Posted: 17th Dec 2002
I'm a me-ist.

The way I look at it, I'm going to live my life the best I can according to how I see fit.

At the end of my life, there's going to be 1 of 2 things happening:
Either I die and that's it - there is no afterlife, in which case since I've lived my life well, I won't be afraid of this.
Or, there's an afterlife and whatever omnipotent being I run into will see that I've lived well and not send me to hell/whatever the equivalent is.

Basically, I refuse to live my life in fear of not getting to heaven/nirvana/whatever - I'm going to use the judgement that I'm told I was given by god to decide what to do with my life, rather than follow someone elses rules.

But there's no sense crying over every mistake. You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.

Posted: 17th Dec 2002
Hey Bovril, how do you know that the omnipotent being will share your views about right and wrong?

In terms of my beliefs, I don't think you should look for simple answers when complicated ones will do

"Switching between different kinds of chuu chuu sometimes gives this "urgh wtf?" effect because it's giving people the phi phenomenon."

Posted: 17th Dec 2002
Hmmmm...I won't get started on theology, I have studied it too much to get all heated up about it.

I will say this. Religion and faith are two different things to me.
In faith I am a spiritualist-pagan. I was raised through heritage this way and it really suits me. This is how I live my life, not by a choice or effort. It is simply who I am.

Religion, I have none. I do not believe I need weekly reminders, rituals, interpretations for faith and divine to enter my life and be strong in me. At one time I was more religion based. I did recieve an extensive education in the many areas of my faith. I have participated, and lead, countless rituals and at one point not so long ago was legal to marry and bury people in NYS. I let that go though, with the bickering amongst the pagan groups, the christian groups, etc.. all trying to figure out who is right for everyone.
I was just telling my best friend that for me faith seems to be a bit lonely but it is a journey in which I am not always alone, and I like that.

In the end, most of the religious doctrines are all the same, at the core. It is just the key players that change. I honestly believe that what you believe, if you believe with conviction, will come to you. That much energy can not be put into something and not manifest itself somehow.

To each their own, I have great respect for all belief structures and have spent much time learning and experiencing many, though by no means even close to most, and I look forward to learning more in my coming travels.

Peace and love to all, no matter what you believe,

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK

Posted: 17th Dec 2002
I am most definately a spiritual mutt. I have studied religion and philosophy for far to many years to be tricked into thinking that the sum of spiritual truth can be contained in one book (or philosohpy for that matter). But were I forced to pin my philosophy down it would be something like 'Agnostic, creationalist practitioner of the philosophical Tao, with Bhuddist, Shinto, Christian and modern new age influences.'

On the subject of Christian/Pagan holidays:

In the early years of the Roman church it was neccessary to incorperate the pre-existing religious structure of the outlying Roman territories into Christianity to comply with Emperor Constantine's decree that Christianity was now the official religion of Rome.

As it moved through pagan western Europe, particularly Germany and all the Viking dominated lands like Norway and the UK, they had to incorperate the festivals and doctrines of the Viking belife.

The most prominant example is (as before mentioned) Yule and Easter. In the Pagan tradition Yule symbolizes the death of the God, who represents the harvest, the hunt and most things dealing with the earth. The God spends the winter in a time of regeneration untill the spring when he is reborn again rejuvinating the earth, and following the Goddess trough her stages as Maiden, Mother, and Crone.

This has obvious paralells to the life of Christ and what Christ represents. It is also the duality of God and Goddess in the pre-existing culture that caused the Roman Church to put so much emphasis on the Virgin Mary, when her actual (biblical) part in the salvation of mankind is small at best.

[ 18. December 2002, 21:05: Message edited by: SickpuPpy ]

Jesus helps me trick people.

Posted: 17th Dec 2002
In many Pagan beliefs the Goddess and God have four faces, not three...SickPuppy....
Goddess: Maiden Warrior Mother Crone
God: Rover Hunter Guardian Guide

I am not disagreing with you in that the histories of beliefs are very entwined, I just wanted to add a little perspective that even in the pagan beliefs, there are MANY differences.
In faith, as with life, there are no absolutes!
Just wanted to throw that out there.

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK

Posted: 18th Dec 2002
I was speaking generally, I was trying to stay factual and informative as well as concice. But modern paganism which is most largely attributed to the more aincient cultures of what is now the UK actually come from the intigration of the Viking gods and system of belief. As the Vikings were a people of warriors, explorers and conquerers the variations of thier traditions are immense. In fact tuesday through friday we still honor the old gods though most of us don't know it.

Tuesday = Tyr's day
Wednesday = Woden's day
Thursday = Thor's day
Friday = Frigga's day

But basicly I was making a comparison based on the most commonly accepted view of the God/Godess, which you have to admit, you will find in better than 90% of all books written on the subject.

Jesus helps me trick people.

Posted: 19th Dec 2002
Astar...

i found my path of egyptian paganism pretty much by my self.

it started out in yr 8 history in my anceint egypt lessons... i have always had a love of it... just not religiously...just in a historic way.

it wasnt until a few months ago i found my path by reading through books in a book store. i saw a book called "circle of Isis" had a read and said to myself... WOW! this is for me!

i have been a pagan since yr 9, just floating and tryin things out, tryin to find my path. i have tried so many different paths its not funny! but really... all along i had been on my path... just not fully realising it.

And wherever you've gone and wherever we might go. It don't seem fair. Today just disappeared.

Posted: 19th Dec 2002
No religion.

I am similar to Bovril. I feel that if I live up to the standard of what I consider well it is good enough for me.

As for the afterlife part - I like to think that if I die and there is an afterlife and I don't like the options, bugger it I will start my own franchise

Courage is the man who can stop after only one peanut

Posted: 21st Dec 2002
Unsure.

I was brought up Christian, but more as a culture than a religion (even though I learnt my Sunday school lessons well and could spout some strange things if pressed). I grew up in a small town, where the churches were a main community focal point, not in religious terms, but they provided social circles.

When we came to Australia, my mum enrolled myself and my sister in a Christian school, because she knew people who sent their children there, and hoped it would make the country tranisition easier by providing a community too. It was a little bit more strange and full on than she expected, and in high school we were transferred to another school. At the same time we stopped going to our local church when a new minister arrived, who was a little weird (very "ladies bring a plate" if you get what I mean ).

So you see, more of a cultural thing than religious.

I hold strong beliefs, but they tend to be independent of a religion. I have considered finding out more about Buddhism, as a guide to living, more than a religion. In fact, who knows, maybe that will bring me back to Christian beliefs by awakening a little more spirituality in me.

It was a day for screaming at inanimate objects.

What this calls for is a special mix of psychology and extreme violence...

Posted: 21st Dec 2002
I strongly believe that the best thing you can do for your personal faith is study all all religions and philosophies. If you have a core belief it will only serve to strengthen it, or it will serve to give you a solid base to build one upon (though it may take many more years than you might expect...).

Jesus helps me trick people.