What do you believe in - and why?

[AnyDream]

I started out vaguely Christian, remember going to Sunday School at ??? church as a small child (I think my parents stayed at home?)...but always had a yearning for the spiritual. My sister (who shares same yearning) and I both joined a Bible class at school when I was in grade 5 - moved away and then spent some time attending Church with the family of one of my sister's friends. Eventually was baptised & confirmed a Catholic...very devout...contemplated a vocation and even starting corresponding with an order of nuns when I was 16. However life took a different turn, I couldn't reconcile the Church's teachings on homosexuality with Jesus' message of compassion and felt excluded by the sexist language etc.

At that point I went my seperate way and began to construct my spiritual/religious belief based on my direct mystical experience & wide reading. There isn't any one word that describes my belief, I believe in a Creator/Source/Spirit which breathes life into everything, I believe we are all essentially spirit but incarnate into human form in order to learn and heal and evolve to become closer to this Source over a number of lifetimes. I have had a number of experiences which confirm my belief in reincarnation and the world of spirit helpers (angels, guides, whatever you want to call them) and I can also perceive energy/information when I am clear & focussed. But I don't hold much chop with what I call "new age fluff" which I think distracts a lot of people who are genuinely seeking to live a more authentic/spiritual life. I believe we all come into this world with a lesson to learn and a gift to share, by learning what we have to and sharing it, we allow the spark of divine consciousness within (ie the soul) to shine into the world and make it a better place for others.

[Arimeh]

These are great responses - thanks for sharing guys

MD - I'm curious - what do you class as "new age fluff"?

[fionas]

I have a hard time believing in God but believe that Jesus existed, really like what he stood for and broadly speaking try to live my life around Christian principles (kindness, treating others as you would like to be treated etc.)

Would like to learn more about Buddhism too. The little I have read made an enormous impression on me.

Really struggle with the afterlife concept given that I find the concept of "God" difficult to have faith in. Am afraid of death and this being IT but don't want to force myself to have faith in God as an insurance policy.

However, Buddhism believes in reincarnation which is partly its attraction for me as is its belief that there is no supreme being. So it ticks both boxes for me as well as obviously its teachings on how to live your daily life.

[slyder]

Ace thread, love it.

Raised by parents who seem to have no firm opinion on the topic, and are thus agnostic I suppose. Many of the older generations in my extended family have some form of belief I think, but I don't really know.

Personally, I have a very low regard for all religion and am a firm athiest.

Here is my favouite quote on these matters:

"The telescope...we weren't ready for that one. Up to that point the Earth was the centre of the universe, and humanity was the centre of God's attention. And then along came the telescope and Galileo and Copernicus and we weren't special any more. We were just desolate dust floating, fragments of bits and bobs that didn't mean a damn thing on a galactic ball of nonsense that didn't mean very much either. God just wasn't that interested. Four hundred years later, I don't think we've ever gotten over the shock" - Blánaid McKinney, 'These Important Messages'.

Peace.

[Matryoshka]

I don't believe in any religion (although "catholic", only got half way with the processes though).

I believe in the power of the universe... that there is an energy that created us, and continues to connect us.

When i need to ask for guidance, i ask the universe to leave me in the right direction, or to give me the knowledge i need.

I also respect the power of water, i believe it to have taken part in our creation and our continual nourishment. It ihas a life force that i believe is healing. This is the exact reason we moved to the coast, we are a couple of minutes from the beach, and i feel no where better than being close to the ocean.

edit:

Oh in regards to the after life.... i believe that we are a spirit, that continues to another body (just a physical shell) and with continue to travel from one life to another. I believe our bodies decompose and go back in to the earth and re-energise creating new life.

[Winter]

Raised by parents who seem to have no firm opinion on the topic, and are thus agnostic I suppose.

Personally, I have a very low regard for all religion and am a firm athiest.

:yeahthat: Please don't shoot me! I just find it impossible to believe in anything...

[Inanna]

Aaaah my Wintery friend you won't get shot in here my love!

I also wanted to here here Nettie - I am with you all the way there...

[Fleur]

:yeahthat: Please don't shoot me! I just find it impossible to believe in anything...

Lol Winter... no shooting
My DD1 is the same as you, she just cannot believe, and we struggle to understand eachother. I don't understand how she can't believe in anything, something...to me it is just so obvious that there is something more, something bigger & yet to her, it's just not there BUT we have learnt to be respectful of our different beliefs & can discuss it just fine (phew!)

[Rowellen]

Ace thread, love it.

Raised by parents who seem to have no firm opinion on the topic, and are thus agnostic I suppose. Many of the older generations in my extended family have some form of belief I think, but I don't really know.

Personally, I have a very low regard for all religion and am a firm athiest.

Here is my favouite quote on these matters:

"The telescope...we weren't ready for that one. Up to that point the Earth was the centre of the universe, and humanity was the centre of God's attention. And then along came the telescope and Galileo and Copernicus and we weren't special any more. We were just desolate dust floating, fragments of bits and bobs that didn't mean a damn thing on a galactic ball of nonsense that didn't mean very much either. God just wasn't that interested. Four hundred years later, I don't think we've ever gotten over the shock" - Blánaid McKinney, 'These Important Messages'.

Peace.

That's me also. I love that quote Slyder. Kind of sum's things up nicely.

Having said that, I am interested in learning more about many different religions especially paganism but it's not high on the to do list. I sort of imagine myself being a little old lady with a walking stick before I have the time to learn anything! I have been browsing on BB, & learnt a bit already though.

[AnyDream]

Arimeh, new age fluff = variants on a theme which basically involve the ego. for eg, I get tired of hearing about people who went for a past-life reading and get told they were ancient priestesses or some other similarly romantic sounding thing. Genuine past life regressions (in my direct personal experience) usually involve fairly mundane (but traumatic) incidents, and my reading on the topic supports this. Starships, Lemuria, Atlantis, Ascension theory pretty much all fall into the "fluff" box IMO. People like to feel they belong to something special, so getting caught up in this stuff often means they don't get down to the real business of sorting themselves out and living their best possible life, kwim? I won't say it's all blatantly untrue (I admit the possibility that there are truths that lie outside of my own experience/framework) but I have a problem with it when it holds people back rather than helping them to heal and evolve, or when it keeps them ungrounded. Probably because in my own journey learning to stay grounded has been so important.

ETA - wanted to add - didn't mean for that to come across as a blanket criticism of the new age movement, as it encompasses many things of great spiritual significance and value, it's more the flakey practitioners - not grounded in reality - that give the rest of it a bad name. Also happy to acknowledge that many people would consider my beliefs to be "new age fluff" .

[luna moth]

FSM - there's as much logic behind it as any other religion, so why not?

But - as I eluded to in the other thread - I disagree with evangelism. Which includes evangelical atheism. I'm cool with lots of religions existing, and I am definitely cool with people believing in them, even for the various illogical reasons that they do. But I am NOT cool with trying to change someone else's belief.

[squidipa]

Lets start with im pentecostal Christian.

i was raised Catholic as good as my mom could. Church on Easter and Christmas and Sunday school and weekly school and from time to time depending on where we moved i also done daily religious instructions. I was baptized catholic. Holy communion too and continued with regular religious instructions in school and out side of school.

As i got older i needed more and more questions being left un-answered regarding what the bible was saying and moved from being a catholic to a pentecostal christian. I felt more at home here and had a better understanding of things and made more sense of things. I did resist it to start with but the more understanding i got the better my heart felt at home.

My eldest kids at school do religious instructions non denominational and they attend church and my eldest goes to weekly youth group. They did have other weekly activities but we moved on from that.

I have not found the right church yet locally and honestly been so busy havnt looked as much as i could have but my heart remains the same. All the kids are and hubbie to christian. Hubbie was baptist now pentecostal baptist lol he comes form a baptist family who is heavily involved in church. Actually we met in a Christian chat room lol

EDIT

i believe profoundly in free will and that opening gates. oh and also the kids have had dedications but not baptized i believe thats there choice when ready.

[Indadhanu]

I was not raised any religion. My parents were very spritual but not very religious. I discovered Buddhism when I was about 15, and found when I read about Buddhism it was what I already felt, and knowing the specific details seemed to light up a part of me that was in darkness.

I follow Buddhism as a religion, not just a philosophy.
I don't believe in a God or any Gods or Goddesses.
I believe in rebirth or reincarnation, onto one of 31 planes of temporary existence.
I believe in Karma. But not that 'karma is a b~tch' (and I absolute detest that phrase...).
I don't believe in fate or predetermination. I believe that we do start life with lessons we need to learn or experiences we need to have but I believe these could come in a range of forms and they aren't 'set' to happen. I don't know how to explain it, thats as good as I can do without going quite deep

Ummm, so, yeah

[sneakysparkle]

Great thread Mel!

Well, I'm a Christian.
I believe that God is in 3 persons (the trinity) the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
I believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for humanity's sins, and that he rose again 3 days later
I believe that faith in Jesus is the only way to God and eternal life with Him
I believe in Heaven, and I believe in Hell and that Satan is a fallen angel, who has other fallen angels (demons) working with him

I grew up in a Christian home - going to church and Sunday school, but as I reached my teen years I chose to reject God and stopped going to church. Its funny, because I never stopped believing in God, I just didn't want to acknowledge him in my life.

When I was 16 I started having singing lessons - and my teacher - through example more than anything, taught me what having a relationship with God is all about - not about being a "good Christian" or following religious rules.

That started my journey back to God. Now - I feel like I have purpose and confidence in my life. God is a very real and present part of my life and even though life is still tough sometimes I wouldn't have it any other way

Does that answer your question? Sorry if that was a bit of a sermon, just trying to answer the "what" and "why" as honestly as I can

[meow]

I wasn't raised with any religion- rather just to respect all religions and keep an open mind that I may choose to join one of them when I grow up.

I am an atheist. I don't believe in any gods or supernatural events such as life after death.
I believe we all have the power within ourselves to dictate our lives.
I believe in the magic and power of nature- the mind blowing universe we live in, the phenomenon of evolution and the interconnectedness of life such as communities and eco-systems.

These beliefs stimulate my spirituality as I reflect on the beauty of a sunset, moss on a tree, the meaning of a spider in my life and the purpose of life in the here-and-now to be a good and respectful person to the world around me (which includes all living creatures). I am a vegetarian, take care of the environment and try to be a good, kind person. I find my knowledge and understanding of the wonder of our universe to be very empowering and inspiring.