Your Religion

[Rival]

This is in interfaith.

Have you ever had a period of doubt regarding your religion? Have you ever left it and returned?

If you have never had such doubts, what is it that has kept you sure in your faith? Have you ever looked into other faiths, not necessarily for conversion, but maybe just out of interest?

 

[Mindmaster]

This is in interfaith.

Have you ever had a period of doubt regarding your religion? Have you ever left it and returned?

If you have never had such doubts, what is it that has kept you sure in your faith? Have you ever looked into others faiths, not necessarily for conversion, but maybe just out of interest?

I've changed my religion at least 4 times. Never look back, there is a reason something else is calling you. I don't even have one at the moment... None is fine...

 

[JustGeorge]

This is in interfaith.

Have you ever had a period of doubt regarding your religion? Have you ever left it and returned?

If you have never had such doubts, what is it that has kept you sure in your faith? Have you ever looked into other faiths, not necessarily for conversion, but maybe just out of interest?

I look at other faiths out of interest all the time. I love seeing the different ways people have experienced or imagined the Divine. It has helped me better understand culture, and given me a deeper appreciation for people whose religions are different than my own.

 

[PureX]

Have you ever had a period of doubt regarding your religion? Have you ever left it and returned?

Yes. But I did not return to 'religiosity'. I only returned to the basic ideology that I felt the religiosity had presented to me. That is that "God's divine spirit" acting within me and through me to others, could heal me and save me from myself, and help me help others to do the same. And that Divine Spirit manifests is us as love, forgiveness, kindness, and generosity.

I am also a philosophical taoist because I find this philosophy suits my relationship with the mystery of existence.

 

[DagonVarunaMitraApolloZan]

This is in interfaith.

Have you ever had a period of doubt regarding your religion? Have you ever left it and returned?

If you have never had such doubts, what is it that has kept you sure in your faith? Have you ever looked into other faiths, not necessarily for conversion, but maybe just out of interest?

I don't have any particular faith, I consider myself genuinely most of them, sticking to a certain framework I feel sufficiently encompasses most of them and matches up to the reality or the truth, is both extremely logical and can be worked out with reason and through language, but most hard to deny of all are the experiences I have had repeatedly and consistently throughout my life, all my life, which make it almost impossible for me to even ever doubt what I am saying or that there is The Power manipulating all experience directly and immediately with utter ease and total control.

I also make sure my beliefs are utterly impossible to honestly deny, so that they can be stated most safely in a backwards fashion, like "whatever at all is responsible ultimately and immediately for what occurs, that is what I consider God", so that is different from saying "this is God, that is God, so and so is God" but rather we are experiencing stuff, and saying that our own definition for what is God is whatever at all is actually responsible for it all, whether consequentially or deliberately or whatever else, it is what we are calling God, so giving that word that meaning and reference.

So one can say any number of things in between, and it wouldn't matter, you would always be leading back to what is Ultimately the cause of it, the source of it, the point of origin for it, and thus responsible for it, and so whatever that is, that alone is what I consider God and use the word for.

 

[DagonVarunaMitraApolloZan]

Also, I think faith, if it means "blind faith" or believing things which there are other strong options and one doesn't have sufficient proof and is taking a leap, is wrong, sinful, dangerous, potentially destructive, risky, and so that no "faith" in the sense of "blind faith" should ever be required, but beliefs should be entirely sound, strong, without doubt, with proof, with evidence, with logic, with experience, so that there can be no doubt at all, and whoever doesn't have that, probably should get better beliefs or ideas that match up with the reality and the experience more perfectly.

 

[Eyes to See]

Never had a doubt about who has the truth.

If you have never had such doubts, what is it that has kept you sure in your faith? Have you ever looked into other faiths, not necessarily for conversion, but maybe just out of interest?

Study, prayer, meditation, reflection. I was taught basic Bible truths when I was a kid such as the soul dies at death. There is one God named Jehovah. His son is Jesus Christ. I was given convincing proof that the Bible is God's word. Studied archeology, history, science, and other facts that all agree with the Bible. And all of the prophecies in the past that have faithfully come true, and see many prophecies that are now being fulfilled.

The words "let God be true yet every man a liar" always ring true in my mind when I see teachings in religions all around me that do not agree with the Bible. I see people that claim to worship the God of the Bible worship the cross, believe in a Hellfire, participate in war, preach a false Trinity. My Bible education showed me all of this was false when I was a little kid. And I know the Bible is true, so those religions don't have truth.

All religions teach that the soul is immortal. The Bible teaches the soul is mortal and dies at death. So it is easy to discard any religion that teaches that we have an inherently immortal soul. Ezekiel 18:4.

I have no doubt in the existence of the one true God Jehovah. That his son gave his life for the sins of mankind so that exercising faith in him we might have everlasting life. I have talked with people of all faiths and creeds over the years, and those with no faith. I have experiences the supernatural. I've fought with demonic entities. I've witnessed angelic protection, and direct answers to my prayers. When I was in despair I saw the loving hand of Jehovah care for me and carry me through.

The closer we move toward the end of this system of things in Satan's hands the more I see Jehovah's protective hands operative among his people and in my life. The more I see with my eyes his love and his tender care and his mercies upon his people.

Jehovah's Witnesses preach that God's kingdom is the only solution to mankind's problems. They do not get involved in politics and war. Jesus said his people were no part of the world, and that they would love each other.

World governments use the threat of death to convince people to do horrible things and to betray their faith. But God gives us the hope of a resurrection if we die. He thus removes one of the strongest weapons Satan has at his disposal, the threat of death. By means of that hope Jehovah's Witnesses remained faithful to God when under brutal Nazi oppression, and died with integrity intact in the concentration camps, refusing to Heil Hitler and fight for the Nazi whom the Pope of the Catholic Church decreed was God's messenger on earth.

I have come across many who have tried to erode my faith in the Bible over the years. But none have had convincing proofs. And none have replaced it with anything better.

 

[crossfire]

If you never have any doubt, there is something wrong, imo. You always test the spirit.

 

[DagonVarunaMitraApolloZan]

If you never have any doubt, there is something wrong, imo. You always test the spirit.

Or, don't believe in spirits to test.

 

[Secret Chief]

Have you ever had a period of doubt regarding your religion?

No.

Have you ever left it and returned?

No.

If you have never had such doubts, what is it that has kept you sure in your faith?

Because I consider Zen Buddhism to be expressed as my living.

Have you ever looked into other faiths, not necessarily for conversion, but maybe just out of interest?

In the past I've read about Daoism, because Zen Buddhism is Buddhism via Daoism to an extent.

 

[Nakosis]

This is in interfaith.

Have you ever had a period of doubt regarding your religion? Have you ever left it and returned?

If you have never had such doubts, what is it that has kept you sure in your faith? Have you ever looked into other faiths, not necessarily for conversion, but maybe just out of interest?

I think I never actually left any of the various religions I looked into. Going from religion to religion seemed to add to my overall understanding. I was looking for the truth and each religion seemed to peel off another layer of occlusion to understanding the truth. When one belief would run out of answers, another would come along to teach me more. I think I dragged along with me a core of understanding that whatever I learned from a religion would just add to this core.

Doubts, I had a lot of doubts in the leaders of the religions, the claim of authority to be able to teach a true understanding. This was more about the core set of beliefs I carried with me, I was more willing to rely on my core set of beliefs than whatever they told me my belief ought to be. Pretty arrogant I suppose but I felt I was guided through some internal connection. To learn something valuable from each belief then move on to the next.

 

[stvdv]

Have you ever had a period of doubt regarding your religion?

No.
My religion is "Religion of Love" ... I don't have doubts, even if I don't feel it all the time. I have full faith that my Path is good for me.

Have you ever left it and returned?

No. But I am sometimes a bit lazy in my sadhana, so one could argue I left it the minutes/hours I was lazy

If you have never had such doubts, what is it that has kept you sure in your faith?

Full faith in my Guru

Have you ever looked into other faiths, not necessarily for conversion, but maybe just out of interest?

My Master advises us to study also other faiths, so that we lose our judgmental attitude, because we understand the other

 

[Eddi]

Have you ever had a period of doubt regarding your religion? Have you ever left it and returned?

Yes

For the past few years I've switched between Christianity and Simulation Theory

In January this year I got baptised as an adult, by full immersion

But later on this year I relapsed, back into Simulation Theory again

But for about over a week now I am back on Christinsity

But the thing is, when I embraced Sim Theory I never actually turned my back on Christianity - I basically incorporated it into Sim Theory, so in a way I didn't really leave it. I suppose I just perverted it...

But I never actually renounced it

I now know that Christianity and Simulation Theory are incompatible. I believe the former to be a true religion and the latter to be just plain silly

Have you ever looked into other faiths, not necessarily for conversion, but maybe just out of interest?

I went through a phase in which I wanted to join the Roman Catholic Church

I've always been fascinated by the Catholic Church

I thought they could help me with my demon/spiritual warfare issues, that's why I became interested in them

But since all this Coronavirus business I've been kept away from my local Catholic Church and been spending quite a bit of time participating in a Zoom church run by someone from my congregation, which has made me identify specifically as a protestant Christian - I no longer want to convert to Catholicism

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

This is in interfaith.

Have you ever had a period of doubt regarding your religion? Have you ever left it and returned?

If you have never had such doubts, what is it that has kept you sure in your faith? Have you ever looked into other faiths, not necessarily for conversion, but maybe just out of interest?

I started out culture Christian and sort of very light religious believer. Switched to atheism and got doubt. Now I am in the religious corner of in effect: Unitarian Universalists have diverse and inclusive beliefs

 

[Salty Booger]

This is in interfaith.

Have you ever had a period of doubt regarding your religion? Have you ever left it and returned?

If you have never had such doubts, what is it that has kept you sure in your faith? Have you ever looked into other faiths, not necessarily for conversion, but maybe just out of interest?

I have never been a tightly wound religious person--have always been loose in my ways. I have always been a spiritual person. The closest religion that I can hold some familiarity is Christianity, simply because it was part of my family background.

 

[Dawnofhope]

I think it is normal and healthy to have doubts about faith and to question. If you can't have doubts and questions then what foundation are we standing on? Its healthy to look at other faiths and see what works and what doesn't. I've been a Baha'i for 30 years but have never regretted it or felt the need to have time out.

 

[Quintessence]

Doubts? Not since I discovered contemporary Paganism, no. It is who I am, what I am, and whose I am.

Considering I deify the Spirit of Learning in my path, being an eternal learner kind of comes with the territory whether it is studying other cultures/religions, the sciences, various crafts, or whatever.

 

[Trailblazer]

Have you ever had a period of doubt regarding your religion? Have you ever left it and returned?

I have never doubted that my religion is true in the 50 years I have been a member, but I did not take religion or God very seriously for most of those years. Not until the last eight years have I taken my religion or God seriously. Now, I wonder if I take it too seriously, but then I realize that nothing could be more important than God, logically speaking, and I believe that is what the scriptures of all religions say, even if all religious people do not understand that or live accordingly.

If you have never had such doubts, what is it that has kept you sure in your faith? Have you ever looked into other faiths, not necessarily for conversion, but maybe just out of interest?

I have looked at other faiths out of interest, and to see how they compare with my religion. What I have found is that all religions contain the same eternal spiritual truths, although each religion had a different purpose and different social teachings and laws.

 

[Hockeycowboy]

Never had a doubt about who has the truth.



Study, prayer, meditation, reflection. I was taught basic Bible truths when I was a kid such as the soul dies at death. There is one God named Jehovah. His son is Jesus Christ. I was given convincing proof that the Bible is God's word. Studied archeology, history, science, and other facts that all agree with the Bible. And all of the prophecies in the past that have faithfully come true, and see many prophecies that are now being fulfilled.

The words "let God be true yet every man a liar" always ring true in my mind when I see teachings in religions all around me that do not agree with the Bible. I see people that claim to worship the God of the Bible worship the cross, believe in a Hellfire, participate in war, preach a false Trinity. My Bible education showed me all of this was false when I was a little kid. And I know the Bible is true, so those religions don't have truth.

All religions teach that the soul is immortal. The Bible teaches the soul is mortal and dies at death. So it is easy to discard any religion that teaches that we have an inherently immortal soul. Ezekiel 18:4.

I have no doubt in the existence of the one true God Jehovah. That his son gave his life for the sins of mankind so that exercising faith in him we might have everlasting life. I have talked with people of all faiths and creeds over the years, and those with no faith. I have experiences the supernatural. I've fought with demonic entities. I've witnessed angelic protection, and direct answers to my prayers. When I was in despair I saw the loving hand of Jehovah care for me and carry me through.

The closer we move toward the end of this system of things in Satan's hands the more I see Jehovah's protective hands operative among his people and in my life. The more I see with my eyes his love and his tender care and his mercies upon his people.

Jehovah's Witnesses preach that God's kingdom is the only solution to mankind's problems. They do not get involved in politics and war. Jesus said his people were no part of the world, and that they would love each other.

World governments use the threat of death to convince people to do horrible things and to betray their faith. But God gives us the hope of a resurrection if we die. He thus removes one of the strongest weapons Satan has at his disposal, the threat of death. By means of that hope Jehovah's Witnesses remained faithful to God when under brutal Nazi oppression, and died with integrity intact in the concentration camps, refusing to Heil Hitler and fight for the Nazi whom the Pope of the Catholic Church decreed was God's messenger on earth.

I have come across many who have tried to erode my faith in the Bible over the years. But none have had convincing proofs. And none have replaced it with anything better.

Hey! I was gonna say this! (Well, most of it fits.)

Very good!

 

[Deeje]

This is in interfaith.

Have you ever had a period of doubt regarding your religion? Have you ever left it and returned?

If you have never had such doubts, what is it that has kept you sure in your faith? Have you ever looked into other faiths, not necessarily for conversion, but maybe just out of interest?

As one who was raised in the “Church of England” in Australia (as the Anglican Church was then called) the older I got, the more I doubted the veracity of what I was taught.

I saw justification for going against Jesus' teachings, especially when it came to supporting the bloodshed of the military or support for government actions that also go against Christian teachings.

It was the era of the Vietnam war and the church fully supported the situation by salving the consciences of those who were conscripted into a war that messed up their minds more than any other war their military had ever fought. The enemy did not wear a uniform and they could use a small child wearing a concealed explosive to approach a group of soldiers and blow them up. Those who witnessed such things could never lose that image, resulting in debilitating PTSD.

Once I found a brotherhood who refused to participate in politics and bloodshed, I knew I had found those who cared more about what their God required of them, than what their governments did.

It’s not about being anti-government, but about being pro-God. (Acts 5:29) He tells us to obey our governments, unless they ask us to disobey him. We will not kill for them when Jesus tells us not to.

I have never looked back, nor had reason to doubt my choice. The more I learned, the more I realized why I found it so difficult to remain in Christendom.