Your religion... and why?

[Monai]

Yes, pretty basic thread, and I'm aware similar threads have been made in the past, but none since TSP opened.

Anyway, I was baptised a Roman Catholic, but I'd say my religion (if you can call it a religion) is Agnosticism, since I have no proof to convince me there is a God, but I'm not fully able to denounce it completely, although I am fairly certain that Jesus was not the Son of God.

If anyone has a different opinion, feel free to voice it and disagree with me, but please don't jump at me because of this post. XP

[Sombolia]

I'm an Andyanitist!

*cough* On a more serious note.. I have no clue. The only churches I've ever attended have been Christian, but I've come to dislike that religion.. I do believe in God, to a certain extent, but I wouldn't say I belong to any religion at the moment.

[Ashara]

Just Christian. Nothing specific....If I had to choose one, I guess Baptist.

[Nephilim]

I have no religion, and I do not want or need one. I am against orgainised religion for the most part, but will not say I am anti-religious; you can worship any deity you like, but you should never let that effect your judgement of other people and your readiness to help them. People should also think for themselves too; do not follow something blindly.

[Neola]

Originally posted by Nephilim
I have no religion, and I do not want or need one. I am against orgainised religion for the most part, but will not say I am anti-religious; you can worship any deity you like, but you should never let that effect your judgement of other people and your readiness to help them. People should also think for themselves too; do not follow something blindly.

That is exactly the way I think...only I actually DO believe in God.

[SIZE=small]btw, Neph...what the hell are you still doing here?! you should be sleeping, young madame![/SIZE]

[Dyani]

Originally posted by Nephilim
I have no religion ... but will not say I am anti-religious; you can worship any deity you like, but you should never let that effect your judgement of other people and your readiness to help them. People should also think for themselves too; do not follow something blindly.

I definatly agree with that. I am a stubborn athetist at times and yet a passionate follower of Wicca in some respects. Everyone needs to fall back on something...

Faith is born out of the thought that this is the one life you have.. there is nothing after this. My guess is that there is religions in order to either come to terms with the fact this is there only chance.. or that there is another chance/another world.

I'm definatly not saying all religions are phony, because I deeply admire religious people for their faith and I am actaully jealous of how mch they trust something they don't always see.

[Lion Roar]

I'm like Monai, baptised as Roman Catholic but actually agnostic. Although I used to think a lot about it, I couldn't find any convincing reason to believe that God exists, nor any evidence to demonstrate it doesn't exist either. I know it's impossible to know if God exists or not, so I don't wonder about it anymore.

[Daniel]

i'm not religious myself, though my family are devout christians, but religion doesnt really appeal to me, but my family know that and they respect my decision, which i guess is more important.

[A-non-a-mus]

I'm a non-denominational christian, and very much proud of that fact ... The reason... well lets see... hmm.. well... umm...

Because of what has been done in history, (read bible, it explains what I mean)
only way into heaven is through christ ... (and, yes, I know other religions have their own heaven/hell... you choose to belive whatever you wish )
it explains a lot to how things work out in this world... (ok, wierd wording but you get what I mean right?)

though... it's not a religion... Christianity's a faith

[Nephilim]

Originally posted by A-non-a-mus
though... it's not a religion... Christianity's a faith

How'd you work that one out?

[Dare]

I was raised Roman Catholic for the most part, but years of having that religion shoved down my throat against my will resulted in my eventual complete rejection of not only Roman Catholicism but all institutionalized religion.

So now I am closest to what some would call "Native American Shamanism". My mother's side of the family has practiced this for ages, so that's how I got into it, however I very rarely practice...Yes, I believe in spirit guides and power animals/totems. No, I do not smoke pot to communicate with them. No, I do not bang on drums and dance around in my backyard. I consider myself very spiritual, but I am not religious by any means.

[Pathfinder]

I was born Jewish, and raised Jewish (though very, extremely, ridiculously reform Jewish). However, I'm not so set on my beliefs at the moment, so I guess I would be an Agnostic Jew?

Also, I personally (I don't mean to irk anyone here about it) think that Jesus was just an oridinary guy who lived long ago. I don't think he walked on water or performed miracles. He was just a poweful speaker who gained many followers with his words. The Roman government or whatever wasn't happy with him, so they nailed him to the cross. He wasn't the first person to be on the cross, and he wasn't the last. People just made a religon out of him and his words (in my opinion).

[TakaTiger]

Atheist here

[Simba_2004]

Originally posted by A-non-a-mus
...though... it's not a religion... Christianity's a faith

exactly

unlike you though I have been raised Baptist and plan on staying that way, I feel it is where the Lord wants me.

I am a Fundamental Independent Baptist Christian

Why am I a Baptist? Again I say because I feel that is where the Lord wants me. Also out of curiousity I re-evaulated where I was in life and whether I wanted to stay Baptist or not and so after doing a lot of research I am very content where I am and no other denomination has the same beliefs that I have with the Baptist. Great thing about my Church though is that my Church is not very judgmental like most other Churches that I have visited, it is very warming and very welcoming to everyone and does not shove "religion" down your throat. That is the reason why most people reject Christ, because they feel that they are being forced to do something that they are not ready for. Man can't save a person, only Christ can. Sadly that is the truth that makes a lot of people upset because they want the credit, they want to boast. But obviously scripture goes against that, but I'm not going to post any verses on Lea, if you want them, pm me, I'm done with shoving verses down people's throats. I have seen the aftermath and was quite devestated, a life changing expierence, adding more tools to my toolbox . I now do visitations with my Church and I have learned several new ways of approaching the unsaved and it is awesome! Not one time have I had to open a Bible with them because obviously they weren't ready but I was still able to perk their interest with sharing my testimony. I am a planter right now, not a harvester. As a Christian I should first meet the needs of what the unsaved need and then share the plan of salvation, this is crucial because if you start sprouting off verses they will quickly slam the door in your face. But if you help them with their needs it will spark an interest in them and they will be curious as to why you would want to help them of all people, then when they start asking questions can you share the Gospel with them .

I love being a Christian!

[Xinithian]

I'm definetly agnostic. I used to be athiest, but the whole big-bang thing seems too unlikely. I guess there could be a God, but I'm sure he could care less about whether we worship him or not (actually, I think it would be selfish for a god to create people with the purpose of worshipping him). Also, I don't believe that a god would do much intervention, if any, because that would have a butterfly effect that would make things unbalanced. I would also hate to worship or serve or believe in a god without absolutely knowing that he's real.

[Dyani]

Originally posted by Wicked
So now I am closest to what some would call "Native American Shamanism". My mother's side of the family has practiced this for ages, so that's how I got into it, however I very rarely practice...Yes, I believe in spirit guides and power animals/totems. No, I do not smoke pot to communicate with them. No, I do not bang on drums and dance around in my backyard. I consider myself very spiritual, but I am not religious by any means.

That is cool. I have tried bits of Shamanism but I am rubbish at it. Fantastic faith!

Originally posted by Pathfinder
Also, I personally (I don't mean to irk anyone here about it) think that Jesus was just an oridinary guy who lived long ago. I don't think he walked on water or performed miracles. He was just a poweful speaker who gained many followers with his words. The Roman government or whatever wasn't happy with him, so they nailed him to the cross. He wasn't the first person to be on the cross, and he wasn't the last. People just made a religon out of him and his words (in my opinion).

Well, historical records tell him to be a 'normal' human being.. no walking on water miracles or suchlike, and the Bible was written about 100 years after Jesus' death.. I agree with you Pathfinder. Jesus did indeed exist, but he was simply a powerful speaker and different in his teachings than others at that time.
But look at what wonderful organisations have come out of religions! Religion, although could very well be based on falseness, has done fantastic charity work and aid to other countries as well as in our own, not fogetting the happiness it gives people.

[Shadow]

i dont have a relagion so i think that the one who wrote the bible was just some smart *** guys that hade nothing to do and then the next generation toke over...basing it on whats happening around them...but overdoing it...am sure there was some kind of "normal guy" like jesus...but then they would have overdune it while writhing abut him and everything else...thats what i think atleast...

[A-non-a-mus]

Originally posted by Nephilim
How'd you work that one out?

because it is... it isn't based on works, to get to heaven, only faith ...
2 corinthians 5:7 "We live by faith, not by sight."
(as though we cannot see him, we have faith that he's there)
Also, there's a whole book on this that I have explain how this is classified as a faith not a religion..

Originally posted by Simba_2004
exactly

unlike you though I have been raised Baptist and plan on staying that way, I feel it is where the Lord wants me.

I am a Fundamental Independent Baptist Christian

yes, but there's no real difference there... I mean, we both belive the same... truth be said I have yet to find any real difference between baptist and non-denominational...
when the church broke apart and created the denominations... some groups wanted to not be called under any certain one... thus 'non-denominational'... however, baptist and non-denominational are practically the same beyond that...

1 Corinthians 1:10 "I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought."

[Darkslash]

Well let's see here...

Dad was Catholic, married my mom, who was Lutheran... so I was raised Lutheran.

Dad got involved with "church expansion" project, they didn't like his proposals, really, actually they didn't want to do what they truly needed to do. Mom, dad, sister left that church and went looking for a new one. I kept going to it, for a little while.

Then it moved to a new location, with more land (expansion), and I've not gone since. My dad and I don't go to church any more, only on Christmas, and not even this Easter...

But I would still consider myself a Christian, very much so, but here's a basic summary of what I go by:

I don't like organized religion, hymns, sermons, repeats-after-me, AND I don't like "modern Christianity" -- Christian bands, "cool" Bibles, youth groups, and the like.

I do believe in an underlying purpose to all faiths, that they are instituted for the refinement of behavior in their adherents, and thus are to be respected in all forms and supported as an institution. I believe that people should act on their faith (i.e., I supported the Catholic students' protests at my school when the school tried to put on Da Vinci Code for after-prom). I believe that it is all right for leaders in whatever field, cultural, political, intellectual, to infuse their work with religious principles (i.e., when Tom Cruise does his Scientology crap, I think he's an idiot but support his willingness to be public with it... also support faith-based institutions receiving federal funds... but now we're getting into politics).

I guess my basic guide is Judeo-Christian, with more emphasis on the Old Testament law, that is, the behavioral rules by which to live one's life. I would say that probably there's some Transcendentalist in my belief as well, as I strongly support the enlargement of freedom and the unlimited capacity for improvement of oneself, as well as the sanctity of nature and the environment.

[Xinithian]

Originally posted by A-non-a-mus
because it is... it isn't based on works, to get to heaven, only faith ...
2 corinthians 5:7 "We live by faith, not by sight."
(as though we cannot see him, we have faith that he's there)
Also, there's a whole book on this that I have explain how this is classified as a faith not a religion..

But you need to believe in something to have faith in it, therefore, Christianity is a religion because your faith comes from your belief that Christ was the saviour.

On the other hand, I also disagree with Athiests that do not consider themselves part of a religion. Athiesm is a religion because it's based on a belief that there is no god.