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Religiously Confused

Quintessence

Consults with Trees
Staff member
Premium Member
I was low, a while ago and while trawling the net, I came across a pic saying call to God if your low. I called out to God. At the time I was a total non believer in any religion/God. None. Still do not follow any of these man made religions now. But have a belief in God, in my own way. Called out. Next day, I was helped. Something happened that had never happened before. I was gobsmacked. Still am. Just confused over religion. Is it really needed?

Not a question we can really answer for you - each person to their own religious (or irreligious) path. If you want to learn more about religion in general, your local public library should have several books that provide basic overviews of what are commonly referred to as "world religions." That'll be a starting point for you, at any rate, on a more academic footing.
 

sun rise

The world is on fire
Premium Member
So what is religion then?
Can anyone help me with the/an answer please?

My personal answer is that religion comes into existence to commemorate the appearance and preserve the life and message of a "World Teacher"/Avatar/Prophet. For some, it serves as a help to get closer to God. For others it does not.
 

JayToka

Member
Not a question we can really answer for you - each person to their own religious (or irreligious) path. If you want to learn more about religion in general, your local public library should have several books that provide basic overviews of what are commonly referred to as "world religions." That'll be a starting point for you, at any rate, on a more academic footing.


Thank you.
 

JayToka

Member
My personal answer is that religion comes into existence to commemorate the appearance and preserve the life and message of a "World Teacher"/Avatar/Prophet. For some, it serves as a help to get closer to God. For others it does not.


Thank you.
 

Kenny

Face to face with my Father
Premium Member
We all agree that there is only one God? Most religions, if not all, will say yes?, I'm assuming.
God has no religion. All agree I'm sure?.
So what is religion then?
Can anyone help me with the/an answer please?
Thanks.

I guess that would vary from person to person. James, the half brother of Jesus, said it this way: James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
 

JayToka

Member
I guess that would vary from person to person. James, the half brother of Jesus, said it this way: James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

Thanks. Yea, I guess each to their own. That's a bit cryptic from James, if he existed.
 

rrobs

Well-Known Member
We all agree that there is only one God? Most religions, if not all, will say yes?, I'm assuming.
God has no religion. All agree I'm sure?.
So what is religion then?
Can anyone help me with the/an answer please?
Thanks.
Religions are man made. The Bible was inspired by God, so God has nothing to do with religion.

That's a good thing because most, probably better to say all, religions make the Bible a senseless tale, starting with the insane idea that God is three in one, i.e. the trinity. Most Greek and Roman religions had trinities, but the Bible says God is one and that Jesus is his son. How nonsensical is it to say that a son can also be his own father? But, as if that's not crazy enough, they also say Jesus was some kind of ghost person, holy or not makes no difference.
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
We all agree that there is only one God? Most religions, if not all, will say yes?, I'm assuming.
God has no religion. All agree I'm sure?.
So what is religion then?
Can anyone help me with the/an answer please?
Thanks.

Certainly not all. The Abrahamic religions agree on the abrahamic god. That's about 57% of humanity.

Although that agreement is contentious, ive heard many Christians say that the god of Islam is not the god of Christianity.

Other religions have their own god or gods.
 

QuestioningMind

Well-Known Member
We all agree that there is only one God? Most religions, if not all, will say yes?, I'm assuming.
God has no religion. All agree I'm sure?.
So what is religion then?
Can anyone help me with the/an answer please?
Thanks.

Nope, numerous religions postulate numerous different gods.
 

robocop (actually)

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
We all agree that there is only one God? Most religions, if not all, will say yes?, I'm assuming.
God has no religion. All agree I'm sure?.
So what is religion then?
Can anyone help me with the/an answer please?
Thanks.
Right, so the only true religion is "God's religion," that of human genius.
 

URAVIP2ME

Veteran Member
Right, so the only true religion is "God's religion," that of human genius.
True, the Bible was written by humans (who else on earth writes) but does that have to mean of human genius.
I find Jesus believed the Scriptures are ' religious truth ' at John 17:17.
Worship to be based on such religious truth according to John 4:23-24

Adam was human and Adam had No particular ceremony or a particular means to approach his God.
Even so, Adam could serve or worship his Creator by faithfully doing the will of his heavenly Father and God.
Adam was to have reverence for God's law and Not break God's law.
 

URAVIP2ME

Veteran Member
So what is religion then?
Can anyone help me with the/an answer please?
Thanks.

I find if we trace back to Adam, 'religion ' was the keeping of God's Law.
Adam was to listen and respect his God's wishes Not to eat from his God's tree.
So, Adam could serve his Creator, serve his God by faithfully obeying his heavenly Father.
 

URAVIP2ME

Veteran Member
.......... Just confused over religion. Is it really needed?
I am wondering what you think of the teachings of Jesus, or any thoughts about Jesus ' Sermon on the Mount '.
The reason I ask is to me Jesus was Not confused over his religious beliefs.
Jesus used logical reasoning on the old Hebrew Scriptures as the basis for his teaching explaining them to us.

However, some words when they were translated into English did cause confusion.
For example: take the word Gehenna. King James Bibles translated the word Gehenna into English as hellfire.
Gehenna was just a garbage pit outside of Jerusalem where things were destroyed forever, Not burning forever.
So, Gehenna is a fitting word for: destruction. As Psalms 92:7 says the wicked will be destroyed forever.
It does Not say the wicked will be on fire but simply gone forever.
 

Deeje

Avid Bible Student
Premium Member
Called out. Next day, I was helped. Something happened that had never happened before. I was gobsmacked. Still am. Just confused over religion. Is it really needed?

Did Adam and Eve have a religion? I don't see one....but if they had remained obedient to their Creator, then all their children would have obeyed him too....would you call that a religion?

I believe there is only one God who is the Creator of all things. I also believe that he is intensely interested in all his human creation and those in whom he finds a spiritually receptive heart, he will plant the seed of truth and see if the person responds. Jesus' parables help to teach us how this works....this one in particular...

Matthew 13:3-9...."Then he told them many things by illustrations, saying: “Look! A sower went out to sow. 4 As he was sowing, some seeds fell alongside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Others fell on rocky ground where there was not much soil, and they immediately sprang up because the soil was not deep. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them. 8 Still others fell on the fine soil, and they began to yield fruit, this one 100 times more, that one 60, the other 30. 9 Let the one who has ears listen.”

Vs 18-33..."Now listen to the illustration of the man who sowed. 19 Where anyone hears the word of the Kingdom but does not get the sense of it, the wicked one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart; this is the one sown alongside the road. 20 As for the one sown on rocky ground, this is the one hearing the word and at once accepting it with joy. 21 Yet, he has no root in himself but continues for a time, and after tribulation or persecution has arisen on account of the word, he is at once stumbled. 22 As for the one sown among the thorns, this is the one hearing the word, but the anxiety of this system of things and the deceptive power of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23 As for the one sown upon the fine soil, this is the one hearing the word and getting the sense of it, who really does bear fruit and produces, this one 100 times more, that one 60, the other 30.”


All of us fall into one of those categories. Our hearts react to what God has 'planted', but ultimately it is not we who determine the growth, but it is God himself. (John 6:44) Christ's disciples were the sowers and waterers, but only God can make the seed grow. (1 Corinthians 3:6-7) He is looking for "fine soil". We each have to ask if he will find that in us? Are we obeying ALL of Christ's teachings, or only the convenient ones? The "road to life" is not an easy one, which is why it is "the road less traveled". (Matthew 7:13-14)

But the major religions all have one God?

No, there are many gods worshipped in the world....but the God of the Bible existed before any of them were even invented by human minds. Religion is not necessary to worship God, but it is necessary to separate the true worshippers from the false ones. That is why God chose Israel to serve as his model. They alone had his laws and they alone were accountable for breaking them. God's relationship with Israel was to act as a model for Christ's disciples to come. We were to see what happened when they obeyed their God and enjoyed his blessings, compared to the (many) times they disobeyed and felt the sting of his anger. He told them exactly what he required of them and they had to remain obedient to all of it.

Worshipping God isn't about "religion"...its about our attitude to obedience.....it is all God has ever required of his earthy children from the beginning. If those who want to worship God in truth all believe the same things, then they are going to attract one another in amongst the confusing rabble that is Christendom. "Birds of a feather" will flock together. So I guess that describes "religion".
 

danieldemol

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
We all agree that there is only one God? Most religions, if not all, will say yes?, I'm assuming.
God has no religion. All agree I'm sure?.
So what is religion then?
Can anyone help me with the/an answer please?
Thanks.
Hi Jay,

If you believe the major religions were inspired by one God you should check out the Baha’i faith.

Baha’is believe that God progressively reveals His will to humanity through time in accordance with the spiritual capacity of humans to collectively receive it.

For more information about religion for the modern age head to www.bahai.org
 

Ponder This

Well-Known Member
We all agree that there is only one God? Most religions, if not all, will say yes?, I'm assuming.
God has no religion. All agree I'm sure?.
So what is religion then?
Can anyone help me with the/an answer please?
Thanks.

'Til mosque and minaret and torn down there can be no true religion​
Is the saying of one Rumi, Jalal ad-Din, who was a teacher to teachers from many different religions. It may mean that the things that men build (mosques and minarets) are sometimes confused with the truth of God ('true religion').
The Tao that can be named is not the eternal Tao.​
was the saying reputedly of Lao Tzu in the Tao Te Ching. To say God has no religion is strange... would there be any religion in the first place without God? But the outer form is merely the vessel within which the essence resides. If someone offers a cup of wine, the wine is in the cup, but the wine is not the cup.
 

BilliardsBall

Veteran Member
We all agree that there is only one God? Most religions, if not all, will say yes?, I'm assuming.
God has no religion. All agree I'm sure?.
So what is religion then?
Can anyone help me with the/an answer please?
Thanks.

If Jesus is the Christ and risen from the dead to pay for human sin, the true faith would be Christianity and the true religion, personal communion with God. One would simply trust Jesus for salvation, having died a horrible death for our sin, guilt and shame, to be in a perfect relationship with God.
 
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