What does your religion mean to you?

[Andrew]

[I]For the longest time (probably started when I was like 5) I have dispised all religions because I always thought of them as a form of control and rules that must be followed if one wants the ultimate salvation and peace.

My mother, although she doesn't go to Church, believes that there is a God and I suppose her beliefs are a very basic idea of Christianity and my father believes in the real, what can be proven by fact.

I have always believed that things should be proven, which is why I've had such a problem with religions. But lately I've woken up a little and now have my own take on Religion.

Religion as I see it now is an expression of a person's being, much like musical tastes and the personality. I still believe that things should be proven with facts and so on but now I feel that maybe there could be something or some being that governs over existance and decides who goes where upon their death.

Despite all that I have said above I have found my own method of prayer or meditation. I really like to sit by myself at night in the dark with a window open looking out at the world and thinking to myself.

And people will be happy to know that my tolerance for other peoples religions have grown although I hate it when people try to force their beliefs on someone else.

Rambling complete.[/I]

[O-Ushi]

Personally, I'm a bit of a Freudian. That is to say, I belive that God is the necessity of Man. Now, I'm not saying that everyone should belive in God (being an atheist myself), but it makes sense why people do. For example:

[I]A caveman looks up at the sky and sees the sun crawl its lazy journey above him. "Why does the sun do that?" he ponders.
"There must be something moving it, otherwise it would stay where it was." he concludes.
And thus he called the thing that moves the sun God.[/I]

Simplistic, I know, but it makes sense if you think about it. God is man's way of answering the questions he cannot answer himself. Of course, I do philosophy and have thought long and hard on subjects such as this, and asking my own questions, like:

[I]Why would a perfect God create an imperfect universe?[/I]

Or, more soecifically

[I]Why would a perfect God create a universe at all?[/I]

But then you get into the problem of personification, and the Problem of Evil and so on and so forth. To conclude, I think that religion is a nice idea...in moderation.

Cheers

[Japan]

[quote name='O-Ushi']Personally, I'm a bit of a Freudian. That is to say, I belive that God is the necessity of Man. Now, I'm not saying that everyone should belive in God (being an atheist myself), but it makes sense why people do.[/quote]

[COLOR=Navy]If you believe that God is the necessity of man, then how come are you atheist. If you are atheist then you belive that there is no God. You contradict yourself right there.

Anyways, unto my post...

[i]What does Your religion mean to you?[/i]

Well first off. My religion isn't a religion in the first place. It is a relationship. That's what Christianity is; a relationship with Jesus Christ. A religion is something created by a man. For example, Islam was created by Mohammad, and Mormonism was created by Joseph Smith in Utah in 1830. Christianity was created from Jesus who is God.

My relationship with Jesus is very important to me. I couldn't survive one day without him. He's my best friend. He will never let me down. He loves me so much that he died and rose again so that I could be forgiven and go to Heaven when I die.

If I didn't have a relationship with Jesus, life wouldn't be worth living.[/COLOR]

[O-Ushi]

Actually, Japan, you misintepreted my post. Basically, I believe that the original idea of God was a necessity of man to answer the unanswerable questions. Now I believe we have moved on through science and such (I mean no slight on religious people with this, though(, an god is no longer a necessity.

[ChibiHorsewoman]

[quote name='Japan_86][COLOR=Navy'] A religion is something created by a man. For example, Islam was created by Mohammad. Christianity was created from Jesus who is God.[/COLOR][/quote]

[color=darkviolet]This is where religious debates usually get a bit uh...ugly. Let's see if I can make this one not too ugly.

Yes, Islam was created if you will by Mohammed, but it is bnelieved (Outlawstar where are you?) that he was sent by God himself to bring salvation to his people. They believe that Jesus is one of the great prophets. And Muslims have a deep relationship with God as well they just believe that God is one.( I really hope I got that part right, I haven't read a book on it in a while) So by your definition of religion being a relationship with God or Jesus well, it is.


Okay, claws back in.

Now, as I said earlier at the beginning of this thread I've started looking into Wicca as my religion. I believe that it's helped me so far in quite a few things-when I first began looking into it back in June 2003 it helped me to calm down a bit better than I used to and now I like the fact that instead of feeling like I have to go through people to be in touch with a diety that always seemed a bit out of reach to me in the first place.

The guy that teaches the Wicca 1 class I've been going to in my area always stresses that you can't practice Wicca with a chip on your shoulder about Christianity-or any other religion for that matter. I kind of like that idea too. Along with when you do magick you're actually working with the devine and the whole idea of how you need both the God and the Goddess to work together and neither is greater than the other.

The biggest impact Wicca has made on me so far though is that I'm not only responsible for my own actions, but there can be some pretty nasty consequences if you end up doing harm to someone. That actually helps me to be a bit nicer to my mother-in-law instead of trying to make her forget about stuff...like my little family.[/color]

[Miryoku]

absolutely nothing its a bunch of horse sheeummma.........yeah that

[Retribution]

I'm a Protestant Christian, and my faith isn't as solid as a rock, but it's still there to say the least. I believe that all religions are correct, as long as you try to do 'good,' attempt to 'love thy neighbor,' and try to live a good life.

Religion, really, is a human invention, as stated before. All religions are different due to geographic, cultural, moral differences. Some extremely early religions worshipped the sun, and why not? It lets your food grow, keeps you warm, lets you see, and it never lets you down -- always rising everyday. It even 'magically' hovers in the air. Other religions held water in high respect -- especially in desert religions. Water keeps you alive, keeps your plants growing, but its also rare, and therefore very precious.

[DeathKnight]

[color=crimson]Interesting, most interestin-.. wait..


[quote name='O-Ushi']Why would a perfect God...[/quote]

I've always imagined him to be quite imperfect. I'm sure that followers of any deity would embellish his image and portray him as infallible to strengthen their stories/beliefs/whatever, yet in the Bible I have noted a few stray events that tend to point to he/she/it making mistakes. I'm not trying to disagree with you, I just wouldn't take everything religious books say to be the total truth when you consider human nature.

[quote name='Japan_86']Christianity was created from Jesus who is God.[/quote]

No.. Jesus clearly states that he is the son of God. Jesus was the first creation of God, the first experiment, the first attempt, whatever you want to call it. He isn't one and the same with God in the least, from my understanding. If you are implying that you believe in the Trinity, I hate to inform you that the Trinity as a dogmatic belief was created well after Christ's death. It is not apart of the pure scripture in the least, lol.

[quote name='Adahn']It takes a strong will to embrace oblivion.[/quote]

And an equally strong will to have the dedication and loyalty to a mystical figure/figures/whatever that exposes you to ridicule or persecution. Don't imply that only weak people believe- both paths take equal amounts of dedication, whether you be focused on oblivion or your idea of an afterlife.

[quote name='Meggido']Religion is one of the most dangerous weapons we have.[/quote]

Human nature is to blame for most of the historical events you are alluding to. Anything in human hands can be twisted from it's original purpose- not all humans, just a few corruptible ones.

I'm dwelling somewhere in the realm of animism or shamanism. I'm unsure of the existence of a God. I cannot disprove he exists, I cannot prove he exists- but I lean towards Integrated Polytheism [I had no idea that what I thought to be true in regards to the Gods was already a theory, thanks Xion]. I was originally raised as a Jehovah's Witness- I attended their meetings, partook in their public speaking courses, went to houses to wake people up, so on and so forth. I'm not too fond of Christianity because of my experience in that religion, but I do my best to be tolerable of other's beliefs no matter how eccentric they might seem to be.

My life has meaning without spirituality. Whatever/whomever endowed this world with existence is currently being too enigmatic to follow- leading to the myriads of religions of men trying to explain how they think spirituality is. I'm not content with declaring myself to be of X religion when this figure, whatever it is, is so enigmatically absent when mankind goes through, what I perceive, as being extremely horrid trials and tribulations.

What does my religion mean to me? It's spirituality. It's a set of beliefs in something mystical. Without it, I will exist. With it, I exist. It's nothing concrete, I cannot prove to you what I believe. It's just what my *dramatic music* heart is inclining me to believe. I think the key to that question is who it is talking to- what does it mean to you? Not your friends or your clique, just you- what does it mean to you? Is what you are believing your belief? Or have you been sold someone elses idea?

I hope you are following your gut instead of folding to the social situation at the time, as spirituality can become something very important to people on a more mystical level.[/color]

[Rhym]

[FONT=Times New Roman]Well this is certainly a spiritually diverse buch. Catholics, Christians, Wiccans, Mormons, Atheists, Agnostics, Animists...

Let's add another viewpoint, shall we?

I suppose I am somewhere between Agnostic and Deist. Deism was invented by the Natural Philosophers of Europe circa late 1600's. They compared god to a watchmaker, who merely has to construct the watch, as it operates according to its own principles, e.g., physics, gravity, etc. This is how I choose to explain all the horrors humanity has inflicted upon itself and the world.

But, just recently, I finished reading Lullaby, by Chuck Palahniuk, which I STRONGLY recommend you all read. The following is a segment I found particularly thought-provoking.

"Centuries ago, sailors on long voyages used to leave a pair of pigs on every deserted island. Or they'd leave a pair of goats. Either way, on any future visit, the island would be a source of meat. These islands, they were pristine. These were home to breeds of birds with no natural predators. Breeds of birds that lived nowhere else on earth. The plants there, without enemies they evolved without thorns or poisons. Without predators and enemies, these islands, they were paradise."
The sailors, the next time they visited these islands, the only things still there would be herds of goats or pigs.
Oyster is telling this story
The sailors called this 'seeding meat.'
Oyster says, 'Does this remind you of anything? Maybe the ol' Adam and Eve story?'
Looking out the car window, he says, 'You ever wonder when God's coming back with a lot of barbeque sauce?'"

It is an interesting thought, and, while I don't believe that God is coming back to eat us, it does make you think. A later quote of Oyster's compares humanity to alligators flushed down the toilet. My beliefs are not written in stone, but I do believe that whatever god/goddess that created this universe is taking no responsibility for its outcome.[/FONT]

[Roxie Faye]

[color=#9933ff][size=1]Gosh. I'm kinda of afraid to post now, because I'm pretty sure I'll screw up this thread. Okay, I'm going to try not to. *_*; I'm going to start by responding to some things that were mainly on page one. I didn't know about this thread until after Ken posted, so sorry. ><;

[quote name='DerelictDestiny']I enjoy studying literature in English and the fact is a lot of it has biblical references, due to my upbringing I can spot them and actually discuss the significance in an intelligent manner. I get why people want a separation of Church and State. I don't know a lot about the other religions, but many of them haven't been around or have had as much influence throughout societ.[/size][/quote]Yes, it is important to read the bible for literature purposes. 90% of all allusions (indirect references to something) relate to the bible.

[quote name='Lady_Rin][size=1']I don't think I need the blessing of a rabbi to tell me if I'm jewish or not or what my beliefs should be.[/size][/quote]BTW, Kane said everything I wanted to, about what you said about Catholicism. And I totally agree with the above quote, plain and simple.

[quote name='Lore][size=1']I had many questions that were only answered with "Read the Bible, Sara." or "This is what the Bible says." I suppose it's an admirable answer, but I've read the Bible, and I simply don't agree with certain beliefs that have been derived from it. I don't see where they come from...or if I do, I personally believe that something else outweighs it.[/size][/quote]I don't completely agree with the Bible, either.

I decided that the Bible is imperfect because it's written by [b]humans[/b]. They might or might not have had a good intention, but it was by no means written by THE deity. I don't believe it just appeared out of nowhere, or "magically fall from the clouds" one day.

[quote name='Lore][size=1']"Having that to hang on to, and being with others who believe the same way, can get people through extremely harrowing situations emotionally intact. I can't agree that religion is nothing more than a tool to manipulate people."[/size][/quote]I'm willing to guess you're not a fan of Nietzsche? Heh.

[quote name='Adahan][size=1']It was an understandable response to a fear of death. [/size][/quote]I'm not so sure it was a response to death, but also to the things people had trouble understanding; not just scientifically, but just spiritually. Everyone wants to know where they came from and/ or why they're here. I know this generalization will probably come back to bite me, but I don't think anyone here can honestly say they've never said/thought "Why am I (or we) in existence?" and I think religion helps people cope with that. ^_^



Okay, so what do I really believe? A lot of stuff. I was baptized a Catholic, went through CDD, just made my Confirmation in September (yeah!), etc. I don't agree with them on many things, but I just keep my opinions to myself because I think my mother would have a mental breakdown if I told her that I didn't like a lot of the things they believe - she's already terribly upset with my sister for not being a Catholic and she thinks it's all her fault (when it's not). Talk about family issues.

I don't really like Catholicism - there's too many problems with it - more than I could shake a stick at. But I go to Church for the sake of my mother, and because I'd feel incredibly alone if I didn't go to church. Being with other people in a peaceful setting makes me happy - that's why a church makes me safe, because the people in it, regardless of what the believe, at least try and be peaceful for an a hour. I like that peacefulness. (That makes no sense at all, and labels he a hypocrite, doesn't it?)

I believe in a God/Goddess (actually, I think the deity has no sex, but let's just go with God for the [b]sake of convenience[/b]), who is the ruler of everything in and outside of our universe. BTW, remember the very end of the movie MIB when the aliens are playing with marbles? Yeah, I think there are other universes.

I believe that God is the All-Knowing. He knows everything about the present, the past, the future. He knows everything about science and how our universe works, which makes sense, seeing how I believe he made it. He remembers all the things anyone has ever said, all the books every written, all the ideas ever expressed. I believe he knows the choices we are going to make in our lives. That is NOT to say he chooses for us (i.e. FATE) - he just knows which choice we're going to make. He knows everything everyone has ever done or said. Thusly, he is all knowing. Or, at least, that's what I think.

I'm currently undecided as to whether God is the ultimate judge of humans (I flip my position so often it's not even funny). If he is, then I believe he has incredible compassion and the only way you don't go to Heaven is if, when you die, you tell him "I renounce you completely and I don't want to ever see you again." If he doesn't decide, and nobody decides, I seriously hope that when I die, I have no soul - that would be really crappy to just "exist" out there for all eternity. Actually, that thought scares the hell out of me (pardon the expression). And, I could also argue that not everything God says is right, and not everything he says wrong is wrong. But then that would defeat the purpose of God being the almighty deity - the most powerful - the end of the line, wouldn't it? o_O

Another belief that I flip-flop on is whether or not he put us here because he loves us so much. Sometimes I believe he has some divine, justified, and wise reason for putting us all here - there's a reason why he wants us all to experience suffering, depression, agony, happiness, ecstasy, love. And on the other hand, I don't know why we're really here and if it was because of him. I guess if I want to stick to what I said earlier about him knowing everything, there must be a valid reason why we're here - but obviously we just don't know it.

I believe that all the gods and goddesses ever thought up by humans are all the same thing - they're all just a different way we express ourselves to the same thing. The deity can also be explained as Nirvana, as well. I believe, as I think someone in here said they did (Nefertimon?), that God is something, a force that binds us all together. So yes, I believe we are all connected through that force; we're all "children of God" if you really want to put it that way.

I guess I believe in the elements to an extent. I don't think every thing ever made can fit into those categories (earth, fire, water, air, and possibly wood and metal, in the Chinese sense). I think they're a good way to categorize a lot of things, and account for many of them, but when I think about space, and the universe beyond the earth, the elements aren't really for me. ^^;;

Faeries, dragons, phoenixes, mythical creatures? My belief in them depends on my mood - isn't that dumb?

I'm open to a lot of ideas, but it's so hard for me to completely break away from Catholicism. Even my beliefs above reflect my Catholic upbringing, which is why I can't totally break from them. It's so hard for me - it's like trying to go against Pavlovian conditioning that's been engrained in you since day 1. But yeah - I'm open to ideas, and I guess that's what counts? ^_^;;[/color]