So, what religion are you? And/or what do you believe in?
Keep it clean...GO!
Offically, I am Catholic. My dad makes me go to mass every Sunday and all.
Though, I really dont know what to think religion wise. I am not a very religious person in general. I guess I have a mix of beliefs, some christian stuff, and some paganish. Forget the term for those who dont know/have a particular religion...started with an A I think.
And I have some Therian beliefs as well. I just dont know for sure if I could be one or not. May be a lill wolfie inside Leaning towards reincarnation I think....gah, I dont know Guess I'll find out in the end
I have no idea what kind of church I go to it was once Baptist, but the pastor didn't like some of the baptist things so it's now non denomination if that really can happen. THough what does it really matter Searif is wikka(SP?) and he is a nice guy, a little creepy at times, but nice
"Nam Sibyllam quidem Cumis ego ipse oculis meis vidi in ampulla pendere et cul illi pueri dicerent 'Sibylla Ti cupisne' respondebat illa 'Cupio mortere'."
Shadow Wulf wrote:um Im catholic, but I hate going to church, waste of my valuable freetime.
Me too. I don't see what's the point of going every sunday when I have read the damn book and know how to follow it. Just do the right thing and you'll be alright. Right?
yeah they say that just because your a good person at heart doersnt mean youll go to heaven, that you have to go to church and truly believe in god. I think thats crap, I have my basic belief in the bible and god, and by me not going to church makes me hate the bible even less.
Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories. - Thomas Jefferson
Officially I'm Lutheran, but that's just so I wouldn't upset some of my relatives. I'm a pagan-in-spirit, you could say. Wiccan teachings and cat-goddess Bastet have taken a firm hold of my heart.
One of these days I'll be a pagan, period.
Do we really need the solution? Couldn't we just enjoy the problem for now?
i don't believe in any thing not like athiest (sp?) or anything. i just don't like the idea of believing anything that has no ultra strong proof to support it...
"every set-back, a step foward. every failure, an extra oportunity for success. every day of defeat, a victory!"
Darum wrote:i don't believe in any thing not like athiest (sp?) or anything. i just don't like the idea of believing anything that has no ultra strong proof to support it...
Atheists believe there is no God.
Agnostics believe that whether or not there is a God cannot be proved.
Mormon myself.... yes I know, semi-obscure, considered creepy by some people. To those that loath the religion, I give them a great big respectable "bite me!" ;)
Catholic here. Ugg I hate church...I feel nothing when I go, so I know I'm missing the point. (But if I ever told my parents they would disinherit me...or something)
The times when I know that there is a god is when I am in a remote place, as far from humanity as possible, looking at all the beauty. I feel a connection there. I also feel connected to God, see God, in other people aka: people who need help *yah...I am such a Catholic at heart*
My beliefs include a strong Christian base...buuut I have felt free to diverge slightly (There are some aspects of Catholicism that I disagree with) and come up with my own ideas about Faith and religion.
Oh yeah, I did forget to explain that I am very devout, and as some of you have caught on, very conservative. Though I'm not the sort of person to get caught up in traditions. Don't get me wrong, I think tradition can be very important but I don't think that should keep people from thinking freely and exploring the world for what it is.
Yes, thinking freely is very important to me, as is coming to your own conclusions. When I was younger I did have issues with the concept of God. However no matter what direction I approached it, in the end both my head and my heart concluded that there was a God and that he's interested in my life personally. So I eased up and let myself believe.
Yes, easing up was one of the best things I've ever done. Not only did it allow me to really explore my spiritual side, but it allowed my to explore my quirky and artistic side as well.
I'm an agnostic, though close to atheist, though i've had some things that if i was a bit more religous would definetly make me believe in god- but it dosn't. I hope i don't get struck with a lightning bolt, one of these days...
Wiccan myself, but I'm also on some levels a skeptical scientist. I know, conventions would assume the two were at odds with each other. But, the Wiccan belief in magic is as far as I can see no more out-there than many other religious models, and I'm satisfied that my beliefs are compatible with the observable world.
I was agnostic for a number of years, but I switched over at the end of 1993. I have spent a lot of time putting together a belief structure that fits both my intuition and the world in which we live, but I respect any well-thought-out philosophy.
Taking a Gestalt approach, since it's the "in" thing...
Southern Baptist. Though I'm not some ignorant, arrogant bible thumper, like many people assume all Southern Baptists are. There was a time when I doubted God, but then I noticed that there's too many instances in which God has worked in my life for me not to believe in him.
I believe in evolution. I don't believe we evolved from slime, but I definitely do believe some significant evolution has occurred, which is one thing about me that makes me different from many other Southern Baptists.
I don't go around telling people they're going to hell. I'm not gonna preach to people that what they are doing is wrong and they will burn for it, because that never does any good. I am an accepting, tolerant person. I enjoy learning about other religions and beliefs.
As far as church goes, I do go, but not nearly as often as I should. I enjoy church, but I'm just kinda lazy. To those of you who don't believe you have to go to church anymore because you already know everything about God that you need to know...that's not entirely the purpose of church. Church is not merely to teach you about God. The main purpose is to worship. So although you may know everything you need to know about God, you can never really reach a point where you don't need to worship him anymore. I'm not saying you should go more...I'm just clarifying the purpose. You can go to heaven without church (obviously) but nobody can ever really reach a point where it's pointless for you to go anymore, IMO.
Fenrir wrote:I have no idea what kind of church I go to it was once Baptist, but the pastor didn't like some of the baptist things so it's now non denomination if that really can happen. THough what does it really matter Searif is wikka(SP?) and he is a nice guy, a little creepy at times, but nice
wicca, and thank you for the comment and silver the religion which is a mix would be called agnostic
This is usually the kind of question I try to avoid answering like the plague, but so far this thread has been all but flame-free, so I guess it's safe enough.
I don't consider myself a member of any specific religion. I'm not agnostic by any means; I've seen enough to at the very least be convinced that there is some greater power or powers at work in the world. I believe in karma, afterlife and the supernatural, but nothing about them.
And I will admit that I have a stronger inclination towards some faiths than others, but the last thing I will ever do is give my religion a name. Christianity, Judaism and Islam, in all fairness, all preach almost the exact same things in terms of what they consider to be sinful, and only greatly differ from each other when describing how and where they should pray. That's when the hatred and insanity starts; when you allow yourself to be labeled a Christian or a Muslim, you're also making way for yourself to label everyone else pagans or infidels.
I'll admit that some of my beliefs are Christian, but I'll never call myself a Christian. I'm a human being.
Voltaire once said "If there were no god, it would be necessary to invent him" I think this is true, even for all the rational thinkers out there, they have to make a god for someone to look up to.
Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories. - Thomas Jefferson
I don't really have a religion at the moment, but I'm reading about Paganism and I agree with a lot of the beliefs so once I finish my book I might switch over and choose a path to follow For some reason, people keep trying to get me to go to church. I'm not baptised, but they pop up every now and again (did the other day in fact...I thought I got rid of them, lol) I guess I'll need to straighten it out the next time they come over (politely of course, they're polite with me so I owe it to 'em).
Black Shuck wrote:I don't really have a religion at the moment, but I'm reading about Paganism and I agree with a lot of the beliefs so once I finish my book I might switch over and choose a path to follow For some reason, people keep trying to get me to go to church. I'm not baptised, but they pop up every now and again (did the other day in fact...I thought I got rid of them, lol) I guess I'll need to straighten it out the next time they come over (politely of course, they're polite with me so I owe it to 'em).
hmm, paganism is quite close to being a wiccan, just not as many people hate them
I was raised Catholic, but I consider myself Agnostic. (At least...that is the closest to what I beleive) I acknowlage the possiblility that a greater power could have guided the creation of our world and it's evolution so far, but personally doubt it.
Basically, I consider the various religions of the world to be the greatest sources of collected wisdom, but don't feel that any ONE has got it right, so I draw from all of them as I see fit.
I believe in Evolution (yes...I believe that we did evolve from single cell organisms->Slime->Fish->, etc. etc...), and doubt the existance of any kind of afterlife. Depressing maybe...but I'm okay with that.
I really prefer not to give a name to my system of beliefes as it is Dynamic...meaning my beliefs change as I encounter things that challenge what I previously believed.
If I ever experience anything to lead me to believe that God exists, then I will belive. (Ditto with Magic, the Egyptian or Greek Gods, Werewolves, etc.) As of yet, that has not happened.
Please Forgive the Occasional Outburst of my Inner Sage ... for he is Oblivious to Sarcasm, and not Easily Silenced.
Hmm, I suppose I should further explain why exactly I'm Mormon. Well I was born into a Mormon family but nothing really prevented me from going elsewhere if I decided I didn't believe in it.
Long story short though, shortly after I decided to allow myself to believe I concluded that while most of my beliefs fall under the Christian catagory, there were some aspects of mainstream Christianity I couldn't accept.
Namely the Christian model for the afterlife. I've taken a close look at it and to be frank it just doesn't mesh very well with the idea of a merciful and understanding God, where-as the Mormon view of the afterlife, did.
I won't get into the exact details as I'm certain that most of you arn't interested and if one or two of you are you're free to concact me privatly.
Black Shuck wrote:I don't really have a religion at the moment, but I'm reading about Paganism and I agree with a lot of the beliefs so once I finish my book I might switch over and choose a path to follow For some reason, people keep trying to get me to go to church. I'm not baptised, but they pop up every now and again (did the other day in fact...I thought I got rid of them, lol) I guess I'll need to straighten it out the next time they come over (politely of course, they're polite with me so I owe it to 'em).
hmm, paganism is quite close to being a wiccan, just not as many people hate them
True, lol! I might go wiccan, but then I might decide to go the celtic traditionalist route...all depends on what I learn and how well it goes with what I believe (or what I feel like going into). Not like any of it will stop people pestering me about going to church
I'm full-blown eclectic Pagan, been that way since '91. Raised Catholic, but when I turned it wasn't a great angry pronouncement from the mountaintops — just one morning, I woke up, looked at the crucifix on my home altar, and it meant nothing to me. I took it off and gave it to Mom. What's the point of venerating a symbol that doesn't stir your soul?
To me, Pagan means you're free to acknowledge/pray to Anyone that draws you, not just one. I know several other Pagans who are like that. My Pagan mix is pretty eclectic, I believe in angels, I've been revolving around ("Saint") Christophoros lately, and I pray to deities as varied as Shiva-Rudra, Kokopelli, Anpu (Anubis) and Epona. I'm currently searching for a picture of Yamantaka to place on my altar because I want to scare Death away. And as mentioned in another thread, I subscribe to animistic beliefs as well: to me, everything has a spirit and if it exists, it came from God and deserves at least a residue of respect.
A lot of my friends take a very cynical view of Divinity. The current fashion is to sneer "God is only an imaginary friend to adults." [Shrug] That may be so, but I'm perfectly cool with imaginary friends. Whatever keeps your heart happy and focused.
By the way, I still believe in God. I also believe in Goddess. I subscribe to the metaphor that God is like a diamond, composed of facets and you never see all of them at once. I believe in God. I acknowledge the existence of YHWH. I don't necessarily equate Them.
Caveat: These are my personal beliefs and they do not comprise a challenge to anyone else's.
Leaning towards reincarnation I think....gah, I dont know 
Guess I'll find out in the end 
<-- Don't Do Crack (character from South Park)
