Religion

[AislinnSi]

My own beliefs are somewhere between Gnosticism and agnostic spiritualism. Basically "not sure what's out there but I think there's something"

 

Edited February 25, 2019 by AislinnSi

[Yubelchen]

The Bible has funny & interesting stories, my fave is the Revelation because a seven headed dragon with ten horns sounds quite like a super interesting hydra.

 

But for me its nothing more than that, as i believe we simply are our own gods and influence another and the world to our likes, which is not always right but someone else can change it with thier will and power, animals are the same, tho with less power, it doesnt change thier place besides us as we are the same.

 

Each to thier own believes, or none i guess.

[Sesshomaru]

To put it simply, I am a pantheistic pagan. I see a common thread of truth woven throughout all religions. I believe in all gods and all pantheons, and I believe they are all united by a single power - call it the Supreme Being, magic, the Force, or what you will. I believe in destiny and free will, life and death, darkness and light. I believe in angels, demons, fairies, higher beings, the afterlife, eternal life, and different dimensions. I believe the human mind, though well-intentioned, is too fond of greed and too primitive to realize that it understands only a fraction of the secrets the universe holds. I believe in love, goodwill, and the ageless beauty of the soul. I believe in everything. Because of this, I am able to make friends with people of all creeds, even atheists.

 

I also believe that the power of nature should not be taken lightly, as it governs all living things.

 

I am a born witch, or whatever you'd like to call someone who can activate their sixth sense. ESP runs in my family. I am an empath, or clairsentient, and I can see some things before they happen, with enough accuracy as to be noteworthy. That's probably why everything I just wrote sounds perfectly sane to me. But everyone is different, and I respect that. Infinite diversity in infinite combinations.

Edited November 6, 2019 by Sesshomaru

[SaltySenpai]

My birth father was Germanic Jewish, then turned atheist as he got addicted to drugs and alcohol, and my mom is Roman Catholic so growing up was, different. But I was never forced on way or another. I was allowed to chose. I think there is some sort of higher power and after life, and whatever you want to call it, I respect that. I don't really call myself Jewish or Catholic. We really don't know what happens after we die and it's natural for us as humans to seek comfort in religion. I do. And it's okay not to fit in a group like I do. Be you with your beliefs.

[TheScorpionKing]

On 8/30/2011 at 6:57 PM, Obscure_Trash said:

Religion n.

1. The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, esp. a personal God or gods.

2. Details of belief as taught or discussed.

3. A particular system of faith and worship

4. A pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance

 

This is a topic for sharing your religious beliefs (or lack of), learning about others religious beliefs, asking for clarification on religious texts or passages, or anything else similar.

 

Attacking others' religion or attacking them (for their religion) will not be tolerated here and will earn you a warning.

 

If someone doesn't want to answer questions about their religion, they do not have to, so do not try and force them to.

 

This is also not a place to tear apart someone's religion. We have people of a great variety of religions here, so please be respectful of everyone's' beliefs.

 

You may bring up good or bad experiences with other religions, but you may not bash all people of that religion because of your experience. People have been surprised here in meeting good people of a religion they had previously lost hope in and that's the kind of sharing and learning that we all really enjoy here. ❤️

 

I believe in my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

He has gotten me through the darkest times in my life.

And I know He will get my President and my country through anything,

as He has done before.

I am not the most articulate person

but sometimes one picture can say a thousand words.

 

[Classycal]

I am also a Christian, and regardless of what we think of Trump (I think he's an idiot.), he needs our prayers  .

[Awdz]

On 4/18/2020 at 12:59 AM, Classycal said:

I am also a Christian, and regardless of what we think of Trump (I think he's an idiot.), he needs our prayers  .

Totally agree with you.

[StormBirdRising]

In my belief we honor heroes and warriors.  Warriors and heroes are taken to Valhöll, the Hall of the Slain, by one of the  Valkyrja who have been sent to the to the battlefields by the Alfoor to choose those worthy of having a place there. 

I do not worship or pray. I say things like these for comfort to me when a hero has fallen.

 

Hail Alfoor

Your warrior has come home

We honor him 

We say his name

Aaron Salter 

Hail Alfoor

 

A picture of Aaron Salter who died a hero on May 14

 

 

In my belief we honor heroes and warriors.  Warriors and heroes are taken to Valhöll, the Hall of the Slain, by one of the  Valkyrja who have been sent to the to the battlefields by the Alfoor to choose those worthy of having a place there. 

I do not worship or pray. I say things like these for comfort to me when a hero has fallen.

 

Hail Alfoor

Your warrior has come home

We honor him 

We say his name

Aaron Salter 

Hail Alfoor

 

A picture of Aaron Salter who died a hero on May 14

 

 

[screwygirl]

On 4/18/2020 at 12:59 AM, Classycal said:

I am also a Christian, and regardless of what we think of Trump (I think he's an idiot.), he needs our prayers  .

If I were still a Christian, I would claim he is the antichrist. His followers are more like a cult. I forget... was intelligence a prerequisite for the antichrist?

I would call myself a pagan, currently. I know that Karma exists because I have seen it at work. I practice free-form witchcraft (meaning I do what feels right instead of set rituals and routines). I am not crazy about any religion because they are subject to interpretation by its followers. Sometimes, it can even discourage learning. Instead of seeking the inner workings of something, religion will chalk it up to "the divine".

[Rosedamai]

Don't have one, never seen the need for one either. 

[DetectivePurple121]

I am religious(Protestant, my faith is more Catholic, because I have been reading my bible.) My family crazily like Trump way to much, and I am just like he is better than Biden, but not by much. I feel bad for Biden's health, I feel like he needs to just try and relax and take a break, but sadly you can not take a break from being the President. My family also hate Catholicism so it makes it hard for me to really express my faith.

[Aries]

Religion and belief are two very very different things, that's all I have to say.

[Dinosaurbean]

i was talking to a person recently because they were saying "religion is ~removed~" and so i started chatting with them, i was wondering why they thought religion is bad and here are some of these statements, i didn't really know how to respond, i wasn't really prepared, so i was wondering if anyone would like to add their thoughts or opinions, the person isnt here to defend their side of the argument... so this will be more of a discussion 

"religion is dumb because why would someone believe that a blind man could see, only because an old book told you"
"religion is bad, it causes events such as 911, and many other terrorist attacks"
"too restricting and controlling, and such a waste of time"

Edited November 14, 2022 by purpledragonclaw
Removing censor evasion.

[AsymDoll13]

I grew up in a Christian household (my parents are very involved in the church, even today). I learned around the age of fourteen that I didn't need religion to feel accepted or liked, since... let's be honest, here I am at almost 32 years old. I'm a bisexual, non-binary person whose own parents would totally flip if I told them (dad moreso than mom); I also have a close friend that is trans (he's terrified to tell my parents as well). So...

 

Also I prayed a lot as a kid/early teen, since my dad did a lot of terrible things involving drugs and whatnot, and God never helped, so I guess now... I'm maybe agnostic. I think something could be up there, but they've yet to help me. So... anyway... I dunno. I'm not against religion, but... Christianity isn't it for me, and that's cool. Wicca was cool, but I never really got into it. I'm not really spiritual. 

[crawlingdespair]

My personal take on religion is as follows:

 

I respect other people's religion as long as they are not intentionally hurting other people. This criteria is very broad, I know, but my way of living is to treat others how I'd like to be treated; I do not know what other people are going through. You might be wondering, "How do you align, then?" Well, I am agnostic/spiritual.

 

It is not my place to say a deity exists or not. I believe there is a bit of truth in every religion. My personal belief system takes certain facets of different religions and spiritualities as well as a heaping ton of science and love of the Earth and Her stars, Moon, and Sun; but overall I am a very skeptical person.

 

I've yet to jot down some more notes on my personal religious philosophy, but to me, Christianity is something I can respect as long as it's not hurting anyone. Religion is fine and I'll respect it, just don't hurt anyone. I've yet to find a church around my area that respects people no matter what their walk of life is. I believe that there's truth in every religion and I can adopt some of what they believe in, but I can't do that with a religion that has shown me multiple times over that they're hateful. Again, this is just my personal experience with a church in my city. It could be completely different somewhere else (and I know it is). I have met people of the Christian faith who share the ideals I live by (Love thy neighbor, care about others, don't judge others, etc.) and it has changed my perspective a bit.  It's just a bit daunting as a queer individual to want to touch base on religion.

[Jamari]

500 years before Jesus' birth, in the book of Daniel in the Bible, there's a verse that reads "behold the Hand, behold the nail." There was no such thing as crucifixion in Daniels time. Study the Bible before making flip casual remarks about Christianity. I don't go to a special building and wear special clothes and give money not seeing where it goes. I'm an outsider. A loner. I talk and give money to homeless people and talk to drunks about how to get sober instead of looking down at these people like most people do. When was the last  time you gave a homeless person a $20? Or even said "God Blesss you to someone? But I am a follower of Jesus Christ. Every moment of every day of my life. We're all look for a sign. of proof of the Truth. Jesus says "I am the sign". God gave us an instruction Manual and the Teacher. Christianity is not just a belief system you just pull out of the air like Buddhism or Hinduism. both which I have studied. It's made of a real book with real answers and a Real Human Being. And if that's not enough I don't know what is. 

'

Edited October 4, 2023 by Chusi

[dracornithologist]

34 minutes ago, Chusi said:

Christianity is not just a belief system you just pull out of the air like Buddhism or Hinduism. both which I have studied. It's made of a real book with real answers and a Real Human Being. 

I admire and respect your value system that leads you to do so much work towards good! I just want to quickly point out that neither Buddhism nor Hinduism have been pulled out of the air - they're very old theologies and traditions, with very many Real Human Beings who have spent their whole lives studying and perfecting their traditions. There are even lots of real books with real answers! It sounds like you've spent some time studying them, so I'm sure you know some of that already. 

[Jamari]

Do you know how old Hinduism is? Have you read the Bagvad Gita? I have. They have permission to kill. Read the book. study. Jesus says "turn the other cheek" If someone wants your coat give him your  sweater also. Hindu religion is the first religion at 4,.000 years old. Hindis  have to go  through many  reincarnations  perhaps thousands to achieve Nirvana. Buddhism is doing good too but like Hindis, they must earn Nirvana through many reincarnations. But Buddhism has no book. Jeus took my bad karma. He washed me clean with His blood. He was tortured in the worst way possible/ He asked God to forgive his murderers. He died for them too Read books readd the  hundu biblne read the koran read the Bible. Then you will know  what you're talking about.. The Universe is all about balance. KARMA, Jesus took all my bad Karma so I don' t have to come back because I have a debt to pay.  follow the  Word. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I'm golden, man. I know where I'm going when I take my last breath. 

Edited October 5, 2023 by Chusi

[Kaini]

A general reminder to keep discussion respectful - to the beliefs of each other, as well. 

[Brite]

I was raised Christian, and still kind of am. But I believe we're our own God, all connected back to Infinite himself. 

[Jamari]

3 hours ago, Kaini said:

A general reminder to keep discussion respectful - to the beliefs of each other, as well. 

I apologize for the misstep Kaini. I will keep that in mind.

[Rosedamai]

5 hours ago, Chusi said:

But Buddhism has no book.

Actually Buddhism does have texts. And please stop putting down other religions-I would appreciate if you erased your statements abt them, but that's up to you. 

[Jamari]

I apologize for my misstep Kaini.  I will keep that in mind. 

Also great point Brite. There is one Source of

 

 Energy that fuels everything. From the universe to the fly on. The wall. He needs to explore and learn, and He does that through us. So in a sense we are all gods. That is why we all need to love one another. The most important thing is, that when we take our  last breath on this earth,  we know we are going to a good place. Hopefully we can all cross over knowing that we've done the best we can no matter what we believe in.

 

 

Edited October 6, 2023 by Chusi

[SoftyViceMaster001]

Here is my beliefs, to put it simply.

 

The closest analogy I can think of is the Shadows/Personas in the SMT Persona series. Basically, there is another world where gods and such exist (Purgatory basically - there's different realms for these deities but mortal souls can go wherever they want freely). But these beings are created from the human conscious, we give these beings power and give them purpose. They are a reflection of us, but they are also their own beings with thoughts and feelings outside of us. This is why a deity will sometimes outright deny working with someone, while others may end up being 'born' to work with that same deity.

 

I also believe that, no matter how fictional a story may seem, there is a grain of truth to it. Maybe the person had a similar experience in their own life, or read it somewhere else. It's why the bible is a collection of stories from other religions/beliefs, there is a grain of truth if you look back far enough and do the research.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

On 11/13/2022 at 3:25 AM, Dinosaurbean said:

i was talking to a person recently because they were saying "religion is ~removed~" and so i started chatting with them, i was wondering why they thought religion is bad and here are some of these statements, i didn't really know how to respond, i wasn't really prepared, so i was wondering if anyone would like to add their thoughts or opinions, the person isnt here to defend their side of the argument... so this will be more of a discussion 

"religion is dumb because why would someone believe that a blind man could see, only because an old book told you"
"religion is bad, it causes events such as 911, and many other terrorist attacks"
"too restricting and controlling, and such a waste of time"

 

- The old belief that 'god can cure the blind' was definitely from a time where science was not a thing yet. Just a lot of con artists going around saying they were the 'hand of god' or whatever to get a quick buck. And people bought into it, because there was nothing else. People want an easy out, to have the hope that cruel things can be erased/cured and that they can be normal like everyone else. But what they were missing was the desire to grow in knowledge, because then the religious leaders would lose power. Also, 90% of the population are statistically NPC's (no higher awareness).

 

- It was both religion, and the people in it. Not everyone who follows a religion is evil, but a lot of them use it to cause harm.

 

- Religion is restricting and controlling, but saying it's a waste of time is more of a personal opinion. I'm Wiccan, and it's not a waste of my time to do the practice because it improves my mental health by a lot.

Edited November 22, 2023 by SoftyViceMaster001

[blah]

On 11/13/2022 at 9:25 AM, Dinosaurbean said:

i was talking to a person recently because they were saying "religion is ~removed~" and so i started chatting with them, i was wondering why they thought religion is bad and here are some of these statements, i didn't really know how to respond, i wasn't really prepared, so i was wondering if anyone would like to add their thoughts or opinions, the person isnt here to defend their side of the argument... so this will be more of a discussion 

"religion is dumb because why would someone believe that a blind man could see, only because an old book told you"
"religion is bad, it causes events such as 911, and many other terrorist attacks"
"too restricting and controlling, and such a waste of time"

This is a year late, but-

 

1) The bible, at least the NT, is really not as scientifically unsound as many people like to claim. Sure, it’s an old book but that alone is pretty spectacular in itself because not many books that old exist and putting it in historical context makes it possible for many parts to pinpoint when they were written down and by whom. Even what is definitely false, because for some of the letters in the bible no scholar would claim they are authentic. It’s really not as easy to dismiss the bible as a bunch of nonsense as people make it out to be. Conversely, it’s also completely impossible to realistically claim that it’s the word of god, written down verbatim and in one sitting by the same person. So dismissing the bible as “just an old book” isn’t a great start for a well thought out argument.

 

Secondly, it’s important to look at the actual time period a text was written in and what both the written word and the telling of stories meant for people in that time period. At the time, our modern definition of “truth” didn’t exist as such. In that tradition, people didn’t expect stories to be like newspaper arcticles, reporting the facts. They expected stories to sort out the world around them. It also didn’t mean it wasn’t true. It’s difficult for us to wrap our head around that today and it leads to many unnecessary fights. For the blind man it could mean that it happened exactly like that. It could mean that God helped someone see the truth instead of giving them eyesight. It could mean there was a con artist, it could mean something happened that at the time wasn’t medically understood. The man could also be an entire city or family and the story be about a shift in society. Or a hundred other things. The texts also come from a culture of oral tradition and these stories had been told for generations before they were written down. All of that doesn’t mean it isn’t true but it doesn’t mean it’s cold, hard facts either.

 

So who knows whether or not to believe it, that’s up to them. Or up to all of us really. But “just an old book and doesn’t sound realistic at first glance” isn’t a very good argument against it. 

2) it’s an interesting point. There is another side that claims religion is actually an evolutionary advantage. During a time when societies hadn’t yet worked out a political system but more sophisticated systems were becoming necessary, religions were an excellent effort at self-governing a society and those with well thought out belief systems were able to survive because they were governed effectively. I’m actually not sure where I stand on this argument but I find both sides fascinating. Religions developed in every corner of the world, completely independently from each other. Why? Are they an advantage or a disadvantage or maybe simply true so there was no choice?
 

3) For many people it provides stability. Both for their mental health by believing in god and what he promises and by providing a community. Many charities are funded and overseen by churches, often there are activities for kids or the elderly, or help for people who are sick or out of a job. So I think that’s a very personal choice, it might be beneficial and needed for some and unnecessary and restrictive for others. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong here.