Jump to content

Share your religion


Beth Aven

Recommended Posts

First of all, the point of starting this thread is NOT for me to find a new religion nor for me to convert you to mine. I am interested in religion in general and it will probably be what I study in college. I want to learn about different ones. I am hoping this does not become a debate thread like my last religion thread. I am going to keep my opinions to myself and just be a listener to prevent that. Please do the same. Anyway, please share because talking with a person and being able to ask questions is a much more fun and broad way to learn rather than simply researching. Also, PLEASE post if you follow or have ever followed one of these, as I have many questions:

Jehovah Witness

Mormanism

Sikhism

Daoism

Wiccan

Hinduism

Buddhism

Thank you!

Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm a Buddhist. If you have any question, please PM me. Threads like this have at best the tendency to develop into an endless for and against discussion.. so I prefer not to post in your thread, if that's ok.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I am an Anglo-Catholic, hoping to become a priest, I am also interested in the work of the Quakers, I think people could learn a lot from their ideas and moral codes :)

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hey, I am becoming Catholic! =) Yes Urban, I am interested. If you feel better with a PM, feel free to =)

Link to post
Share on other sites

i consider myself an atheist and am generally against organised religion, but i do have a natural tendency to gravitate towards "spiritual" sort of stuff and i enjoy thinking about the deeper meaning in things. and even the religions that i think are complete nonsense, i find to be interesting in a socio-cultural sort of way; i actually have a considerable number of books about religion.

Ditto. I'm not religious myself and don't like organized religion. I do like some of the teachings of the eastern religions (Buddhism, Shinto) and I also like some of the stuff Neopagans are into. I'm just not really here or there. I'm Pantheist at best thought. Atheist if I want to spare me the explaining.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Ooh, a favorite topic of mine--I'm very interested in any and all religions.

I was a practicing Wiccan for years before deciding to identify as an eclectic Pagan instead, for reasons I'd be happy to go into if you're interested. My beliefs and practices are still extremely similar to Wicca, except that I don't practice or believe in the effectiveness of magic(k)/spells. Any questions, let me know--I'd write much more if I didn't have class in four minutes! ^^

Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm a Christian Jehovah's Witness but I will not go into detail in the thread. Feel free to PM me with questions. I'm more than happy to inform you of whatever it is you want to know and trying hard not be be preachy about it so go for it! Cake? :cake:

Link to post
Share on other sites
Dylan-Michael

I'm Catholic.

However I love the Eastern Orthodox Church, particularly the Russian Orthodox and the Old Believers.

Link to post
Share on other sites
Dylan-Michael

I am an Anglo-Catholic, hoping to become a priest, I am also interested in the work of the Quakers, I think people could learn a lot from their ideas and moral codes :)

OOH, Ango-Catholics are cool. We don't have many around here, but we have a Few Anglican Missions. (As opposed to all the Episcopal Churches)

Link to post
Share on other sites
Asterion Orestes

Years ago a read some little about the Vajrayana but don't recall Nyingma.

Link to post
Share on other sites
mad_scientist

I'm Church of Reality. (Yes, I'm serious. No, it's not a parody religion. It's just helpful for those of us who are cursed with both a borderline-insane passion for rational empiricism and a predisposition for spiritual and religious thought.)

Link to post
Share on other sites
Professor T. Pollution

Ooh, the Church of Reality is fairly awesome. I'm not keen on the connotations of religion, and while the Church of Reality does not fall within my definition of religion (since it's not faith-based) I'd prefer not to associate with it (though my outlook is essentially the same as that of the Realists) – but it's probably closest to my favourite* religion (Pastfarianism is right up there, though).

*i.e. closest to what I think is highly likely to be correct.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm a Reform Jew. Fire away if you have questions, although I obviously don't represent my entire religion.

Wow, there're actually two of us. :cake:

Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm not religious, being a very lapsed Catholic, but I'm very spiritual in a New Age way.

I've read dozens of New Age books and been involved with New Age groups for many years, my beliefs are very much part of my identity, not just something I do.

Link to post
Share on other sites
under_the_radar

Years ago a read some little about the Vajrayana but don't recall Nyingma.

Nyingma is one of the vehicles to practice Vajrayana Tibetan Buddhist that incorporates some of it's own concepts long with Tantra practice and Dzogchen. There are a few different schools within Vajrayana Buddhism along with many other types of Buddhism that have subsets, which vehicle works is very individual so there is a wide range to approaches and teachings people are drawn to for many reasons. My Nyingma temple and Sangha really clicked with me so after exploration I settled on this path personally.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyingma

Link to post
Share on other sites
LoNeR bY dEfAuLt

I'm not sure whether my personal or 'spiritual' beliefs coincide totally with any of the major religions in today's society, as I believe in a three-way relationship between faith, balance and synchronicity (events interconnected, happening for a reason).

I feel that there are somehow opposing forces at work, and you could liken these to 'God' and the 'Devil', though I choose different words to describe them. One oversees, while the other has a different agenda of which I'm not quite certain. I wouldn't necessarily say that I believe these two forces represent 'good' and 'evil', but certainly one exists to guide events in the proper direction while the other does not. That's the synchronicity part at play.

Faith... well, I do believe in a God of some sort. And I do think that God helps us, but probably by giving us strength and courage, in a similar way to what Christians perceive, I think. I'm not convinced that we're judged at the end of our lives - I think we're more likely being judged constantly throughout, and our behaviour affects what happens to us tomorrow and the next day, and ultimately what happens at the end.

Balance... that's a case of light and dark; yin and yang, I suppose you could say. I think that for all the happiness in the universe, there has to be a converse amount of unhappiness. For all the good, there has to be some bad. That's why some of us appear to be 'chosen' to be unhappy, while others have all the luck in the world. Those of us suffering from crippling physical disabilities, mental illnesses or bad fortunes throughout our lives are perhaps performing the most crucial role of all - absorbing and fighting against the darkness, so that the rest of the world can enjoy the light. It's something which, not only do I believe, but also helps me get through those days when I just wonder what the point is.

But when you think deeply about it, none of those three things could effectively exist without the other two. Life is a triangle, with a map on one side, a set of scales on the other and a rock to represent strength and determination on the third.

Sorry if that bored anyone - I just felt that my own 'religion' required more explanation than just giving it a label :)

Link to post
Share on other sites
Ase of Spades

I'm a Nondenomanational Christian. :)

Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm a Reform Jew. Fire away if you have questions, although I obviously don't represent my entire religion.

Wow, there're actually two of us. :cake:

Now there's at least 3. :) (I'm definitely Jewish although I don't know if I identify specifically as Reform. However, unless I develop my own sect, I guess I would be either Reform or Reconstructionist.)

Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm a Reform Jew. Fire away if you have questions, although I obviously don't represent my entire religion.

Wow, there're actually two of us. :cake:

Now there's at least 3. :) (I'm definitely Jewish although I don't know if I identify specifically as Reform. However, unless I develop my own sect, I guess I would be either Reform or Reconstructionist.)

One of our local rabbis is Reconstructionist and she's not sure she believes in God. I love how wide the spectrum is in Judaism. :lol:

Link to post
Share on other sites
mad_scientist

Ooh, the Church of Reality is fairly awesome. I'm not keen on the connotations of religion, and while the Church of Reality does not fall within my definition of religion (since it's not faith-based) I'd prefer not to associate with it (though my outlook is essentially the same as that of the Realists) – but it's probably closest to my favourite* religion (Pastfarianism is right up there, though).

*i.e. closest to what I think is highly likely to be correct.

Fair enough. It's basically secular humanism dressed up in doctrine for those of us caught in the unfortunate catch-22 of being secular humanists with natural spiritual leanings; the teachings themselves aren't any different. FSM is one of our gods, but we don't think he's real.

(Although I would like to point out that some of the details on the church's website do not reflect the opinions of the church as a whole, but those of the First One, who has refused to change them even when the entire church is against him because he's sort of an overbearing dick. Most of it reflects the general consensus, though.)

Link to post
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...