My religion

[LucidDreamGod]

There may be stuff in this post that you will not agree on. I use to consider myself a christian But I dont beleive everything the bible says. I decided to create my own religen. here it is. First of all ive never been to church. But i have been to certain activities. I was told that jesus was the only son of god. Later i was told if i got saved i could be a child of god. This confused me. Then they said that god meant love. So if people don't beleive in god they don't beleive in love. It wasent until i found a sight called www.near-death.com That the answers started to come and i realised what it all meant. i was told the best religen is the one that brings you closest to god. Sense god is love the best religen is the one that brings you closest to love. This means to me love every one the best you can and you will have the best religion of all. From what they said about jesus being gods son and all of us being Gods children I beleived Jesus is no different from any of us so why is every one waiting for him.

[Lucius]

Compassion, kindness, love, care for your fellow men, forgiving, tolerance,generosity..and so and so forth(mostly love and compassion. which basically cover all others), every single religion preaches, there is not need to create a new religion because it already exist. Just look at every religion as a piece of a very big puzzle, then you will see these values are the basics and most important values of almost every religion..it is what they are build on. Next to that every puzzle piece contains some other form of wisdom, but ultimately these values are what truly and really matter. Sadly a lot people cannot see the bigger puzzle because they refuse to look at the other smaller pieces of the puzzle and accept and respect them. As the most honorable Dalai Lama once said: "My religion is very simple, my religion is kindness"

[Universal Mind]

That sounds great to me. I was scared out of my mind by Christianity, and even in my atheism I have been unable to shake away what was done. I wish love is what had been preached to me as a kid instead of a bunch of crazy stuff about burning forever for having doubts, even very legitimate ones. Something that will allow me to be tortured forever and ever and ever because I don't worship it is something I can't feel totally secure with. If some guy who has never seen proof of my existence questioned whether or not I exist and had trouble praising me and worshiping me, I would definitely stop him from being tortured forever if I could, especially if I created him and his universe. That "Worship me or suffer forever even though you don't know if I exist," stuff is not love. It is sociopathic narcissism. I want to believe in love.

[Rakkantekimusouka]

Originally posted by lucid dream god There may be stuff in this post that you will not agree on. I use to consider myself a christian But I dont beleive everything the bible says. I decided to create my own religen. That happened with me...except I didn't exactly "create my own religion", an "understanding" came to me through visions, etc. Good for you. Neat.

[Alric]

I dont think any good religion will condemn you if you try your best to follow their teachings. Which you can normally do by just trying to be a good person.

[Tsen]

It's great that all of you people understand that as long as you try to be a good person, you're going in the right direction. That's the problem I have with the world: Everybody's too busy telling everybody that their religion's wrong to provide answers and just try to get along. I mean, the Palistineans (sp?) and the Israelis are still fighting, and have been for years, because they both think that their religion is superior. Ugh. Anyway, to clear up any confusion, generally Christians believe that we are all God's spirit children (Since he created our spirits), but Jesus is his Begotten Son, or literally his child. I don't always believe that they're right, but that's what they say.

[WaveShaper]

Well im christian mainly because of my upbringing. I believe less in God every day (but no by drastic amounts may i add) but I know I can never shake off what I have been taught. Even when I have those days in which I am soo pissed off I am so certain that they cant be a God etc I still say stuff like "oh God, please help me out", basically I will pray. Believing in a god is just like being able to talk about your feelings and having that feeling that somebody is listening to you and sympathising. I like that idea and I stick to it. I dont judge people by what belief's (or lack of) they have. I believe that if your religion works for you and is more relevant to your life and helps you get through each day, then stay with it. No matter if it's right or wrong.

[Belisarius]

I hate this whole vague idea of morality that isn't defined by religion but by obscure societal constructs. This whole, "Try to be a good person." Well what defines good person? The answer is we define good and bad not by specific principle, but by a moral system with its foundations in Pisaen soil over a fault zone.

[Kaniaz]

Originally posted by Belisarius I hate this whole vague idea of morality that isn't defined by religion but by obscure societal constructs. *This whole, \"Try to be a good person.\" *Well what defines good person? *The answer is we define good and bad not by specific principle, but by a moral system with its foundations in Pisaen soil over a fault zone. Yeah okay, but the definition on Planet Earth and not Piasen soil on moral foundations good potato whatever-you-said currently stands as "Help other people," "Donate to the poor," etc etc.

[Belisarius]

Exactly, but why? Do you have any reason behind this morality or do you just hold it because everyone else seems to?

[Taosaur]

Originally posted by Belisarius Exactly, but why? *Do you have any reason behind this morality or do you just hold it because everyone else seems to? Perhaps experience has taught us that this behaviour ends up benefiting us more than the activities conventionally considered "selfish" (theft, intimidation, violence, scheming, rationalizing, lying, profiteering, etc).

[Belisarius]

Yes but that's not morality, that's prudence, you still haven't shown me a reason to consider it a loose moral code.

[Taosaur]

Originally posted by Belisarius Yes but that's not morality, that's prudence, you still haven't shown me a reason to consider it a loose moral code. So you're asking what are our reasons for moral behavior if we're not gawdfearing, then saying if we have reasons it's "not morality."

[Universal Mind]

Originally posted by Belisarius I hate this whole vague idea of morality that isn't defined by religion but by obscure societal constructs. *This whole, \"Try to be a good person.\" *Well what defines good person? *The answer is we define good and bad not by specific principle, but by a moral system with its foundations in Pisaen soil over a fault zone. Are you saying that if you weren't religious, you wouldn't be a good person? I hope not. I am an atheist, and I have seen plain as day that my conscience is much bigger than the average religious person's. Why do I have a conscience without a religion? Conscience is a brain function just like the will to eat, breathe, or have sex. The nervous system works those desires into consciousness. Similarly, the will to not hurt people is a desire that is a scientific reality. The nervous system makes hurting people seem horrible. The idea of hitting a cashier in the head with a hammer seems horrible to me. I could never bring myself to doing it. I know what the neurological consequences would be. My life would be a nightmare from then on, based on the knowledge of my having hurt someone severely and deliberately out of selfishness. No religion necessary. Do you have the same feelings, or do you just say, "Well, I would, but my religion says not to."? A lot of religious people are great people, but I have never seen a case where religion made a sociopath grow a conscience. Based on what I have seen, the conscience brain function is a much better source of good morality than religion. A non-religious person with a conscience has much more concern for the well being of others than a sociopath with a religion.

[AirRick101]

After switching so many different religions and beliefs, I gradually grew impartial in my dicussion and judged other beliefs less. Because I saw how I was kind of a part of everything. Unfortunately, I have some leftover emotions like rage, grief, and sadness from feeling spiritually abused and such. I'm working on this. I agree with potential fallacy of the primary Christian beliefs about Jesus, and am quite offended when I am told I cannot have a true conscience without their God. I'm backing you up, Universal Mind!! Just expressing my opinion, but Christians sort of have a double demand, a lot of which is misleading. And not always in harmony. Getting forgiveness for any sin in any case by Jesus makes way for people to feel provoked to do more bad things, but at the same time, Christians are charged to be moral people to get God's approval and to escape condemnation. Which one is it?? Both?? I prefer to see the Bible in a figurative way. And I kinda resist the thought of requiring forgiveness from an outside source to feel forgiven. I mean, it's nice to have forgiveness from somebody else, but if someone outside of you forgave you, how would you really know? Even if they told you, could you really know if they forgave you? The Christian who fails to question this will find security in his faith, but I took rather dangerous leaps in questioning what used to make me feel good, haha. If you asked God for forgiveness and felt better, wouldn't God have to pretty much actually be you in order for you to feel connected to forgiveness, therefore not be outside of you, therefore making you God in a sense? This coincides with the concept of true self-forgiveness. Also, forgiveness is only granted if one believes in someone else's wrongdoing and holds a grudge. Does a loving God do that to his children? True love is not banded by damn laws or compulsive justice. Or maybe law isn't the right word. Law is simply God's desires which are reflected through us. I thought this was all contradictory to itself, but it's probably just my thinking. I know Christians say God is a just God, I hear them. But why would God create laws that could be broken? Wrongdoings and evil and crime is a result of creating laws, I'm sure God knew that. No laws, no crime. What I trust more is virtues like love and empathy. Lastly, we don't truly know if we have a sinful nature or not. We only do things that other people call us sinners for. Maybe we feel sinful, doesn't mean we are. Conversly, maybe we can feel holy, but don't necessarily mean we are. It's all relative. But I'm up for good feelings nonetheless!! If I sounded wrong, shoot me down if you like. I gave it all I got. The problem with affirming one single group of sacred texts is that it probably reinforces one's tendency to be stubborn to change. I used to hate religion so much. But now, I believe it can help, but it can also become the most atrocious curse for a person. Nothing should be taken on hearsay, but taken for checking.

[Universal Mind]

Great points, Air Rick. As I said, a lot of religious people are great people, but I too have seen problems with the forgiveness aspect of Christianity. That principle seems to make a lot of Christians think they can be as evil as they want to be because they are with Jesus or because they will be forgiven. What they overlook is that repentance, according to Christianity, is supposed to be sincere. Insincere repentance is a lie. God said in the Bible that he will spit you out if you are luke warm. Besides, evil people don't really believe in Christianity. If they did, they would be compelled to act how God wants them to act. It is probably impossible for anybody to be morally perfect, but if you aren't trying really hard to get as far as you can in the direction of it, you aren't taking Christianity seriously and therefore don't really believe in it. If I believed in that stuff, I would pray constantly and be obsessed with obeying every letter of Christian law. I really question what is going on deep down in people who call themselves Christians but treat their own religion like it's a joke when it comes time to act like a Christian in the world, especially when they claim to believe that Jesus is right there around them, in the same room, everywhere in the room. If you really think Jesus is everywhere in the room with you, you are going to act like it. I also liked your point about how God would have to be all things to be everywhere. I went from Christianity to Eastern philosophy via agnosticism, and I came to the same conclusion a while back. For God to be everywhere, he would have to be everything, unless two points can be the same point. That is impossible, according to the basics of geometry. (Points are infinitely small, so do they even exist?)

[AirRick101]

Yeah, I although I'm reckless in a lot of my posts, I put a lot of thought into my recent ones in this philosophy section. I have a romantic side, dumb side, smart side, horny side, and an enlightened side. You name it. I'll reflect all of them from time to time. I hate absolutes! Glad to see someone can resonate with my insights, though. Although I admit to feeling uncomfortable about being wrong sometimes, I must admit that I may be wrong indeed. Everything I say is questionable. About God's characteristic being omni-whatever, since he's described as so infinite...first of all, it wouldn't feel right to prescribe a gender to him. Permanently personifying him doesn't really give dignity to the perfection of the universe...but it's still nice to imagine! I don't think hypocrites should be condemned as much as we should allow everybody to admit and be open to being a hypocrites, so nobody feels pressured to be true. And we know, truth doesn't require pressure to be known. And pressure always screws up a solid intent or search. The thought came to me that if somebody really knew absolute truth, absolutely in it's perfect sense, he wouldn't really have a desire to tell people. Because a lot of preaching is based in the motive of insecurity, so they want somebody else to carry on the message to keep it alive. False preaching is done out of fake-love. Many Christians (not all) are indeed wolves in sheep clothing.