Getting to know you: Discuss your faith

Epic Beard Man · Jan 13, 2018

This forum houses a lot of members of different faiths and different philosophies. I know I've engaged in discussion with some of you but I've unfortunately never went into detail in getting to know you and how your faith affects you.

In this thread if you would be so kind in explaining the following:

1) What is your faith (e.g. Religion)/If not religious what secular principles do you live by?

2) What aspects of your faith/philosophies enrich your life?

3) (Edit) What particular aspect of your faith/philosophy do you think others outside your faith ought to live by, and would greatly benefit from?

Unveiled Artist · Jan 13, 2018

Hmm

Epic Beard Man said:
1) What is your faith (e.g. Religion)/If not religious what secular principles do you live by?

I'm a Buddhist. I follow The Buddha's Dharma.

Epic Beard Man said:
2) What aspects of your faith/philosophies enrich your life?

Ending suffering of attachment by mind training and meditations.

Epic Beard Man said:
3) What particular aspect of your faith/philosophy do you think others should live by?

Take politics out of your religion and don't define people according to the politics of their faith.

YmirGF · Jan 14, 2018

Epic Beard Man said:
1) What is your faith (e.g. Religion)/If not religious what secular principles do you live by?

So-called "strong" atheist. About the only thing I work towards is mindfulness. Not much else really matters.

Epic Beard Man said:
2) What aspects of your faith/philosophies enrich your life?

Meditation, experiencing reality from a unique perspective and mindfulness.

Epic Beard Man said:
3) What particular aspect of your faith/philosophy do you think others should live by?

Should? None, whatsoever. I do not see carbon copies. The only thing I recommend is mindfulness (Sensing a pattern here yet?), which is, paying attention to what you think and do while trying to appreciate how each impacts on ones ongoing experience.

Valjean · Jan 14, 2018

Epic Beard Man said:
In this thread if you would be so kind in explaining the following:

1) What is your faith (e.g. Religion)/If not religious what secular principles do you live by?
I identify as an atheist, advaiti Vedanti. Not sure what to make of "live by."
2) What aspects of your faith/philosophies enrich your life?
Don't really connect these ideas to life enrichment.
3) What particular aspect of your faith/philosophy do you think others should live by?Be kind.
Doesn't tie into Vedanta, though. Just my moral outlook.

YmirGF · Jan 14, 2018

Valjean said:
Not sure what to make of "live by".

Whew. Here I thought it was me. It's not something I spend much time thinking about quite honestly.

Eliab ben Benjamin · Jan 14, 2018

Epic Beard Man said:
1) What is your faith (e.g. Religion)/If not religious what secular principles do you live by?

Jewish...

2) What aspects of your faith/philosophies enrich your life?

Clear culture, rules and traditions to build my personal values and morality upon.

3) What particular aspect of your faith/philosophy do you think others should live by?

not my place to decide how others should live.

dfnj · Jan 14, 2018

Epic Beard Man said:
1) What is your faith (e.g. Religion)/If not religious what secular principles do you live by?

My faith is in an omnipotent God of unconditional love. Unconditional means my faith is in a God who lets everyone enter the gates of heaven to experience eternal Heavenly bliss regardless of our earthly sins, how we practiced our religion, or NOT practice any religion. The omnipotent God of unconditional love saves everyone because love is love.

Epic Beard Man said:
2) What aspects of your faith/philosophies enrich your life?

I don't have to understand any strangely worded scriptures, buy Bibles, pay tithes, evangelize, or feel guilty that I am unworthy of receiving God's blessings and love. I don't have to worry about my family and loved ones not making it into Heaven. I don't have reconcile any yucky authoritarianism and weird sadomasochistic ideas around obedience with religion. There is a certain joy and happiness that comes from knowing I will get to experience eternal heavenly bliss just by showing up. I am no longer irritated by people with hate in their hearts telling me I will burn in Hell unless I fully accept them as in charge because they claim to be speaking for God. My faith in an omnipotent God of unconditional love is stronger than anything anyone else can say to me.

Epic Beard Man said:
3) What particular aspect of your faith/philosophy do you think others should live by?

The reason we are here is to realize God's omnipotence in reality. We are our omnipotent God's way of experiencing the thrill of having limitations by sharing in our experiences of joy and sorrow. Since God is sharing our experiences, what makes us enthusiastic makes God enthusiastic. So our sacred divine goal in life is to cultivate our enthusiasm participating in God's creation for ourselves and for other people.

So to finally answer your question, people should live a life trying to cultivate their own enthusiasm in themselves and in other people participating in God's creation.

The other faith/philosophy I have is why having morality is important. Morality is important because we are not just like each other, we ARE each other. None of us invented sex. It just part of what it means to be a human being. The same thing is true with human character. None of us invented or owns our human character. Most of us have ego delusion. Everything we think is who we are exists in other people. Our way of looking at the world is not unique. What makes us happy and what makes us sad is not unique. Since you are not really uniquely alive as your ego delusion would have you believe, who you are lives on in the human race. As long as the human race is thriving none us actually dies. My faith is we all live on in everyone else.

Since we ARE all the same here is how we should live. Once you recognize your own ego delusion, you die and are reborn again to experience what being a human being really means. This new way of experiencing what being a human being means is like the golden rule on steroids. It's just so amazingly fulfilling and meaningful to help facilitate another person's enthusiasm. Especially someone you don't know! Cultivating other people's enthusiasm is like a drug. It's very addictive and you crave for it.

Since we ARE each other how we treat each other is how we treat ourselves. If we sin against someone, absolution doesn't come from God because God already loves you unconditionally. Sin can only be absolved by the person you have sinned against. Although there are some common big ones, what is considered to be a sin is different for each person. So why would you try to absolve your own sins without the threat of eternal damnation? You would do so because it is an article of faith. This means we choose to hold that absolving our sins with other people is important. And taking away someone else's enthusiasm is against serving God. We serve God by serving ourselves and other people with enthusiasm juice.

Deeje · Jan 14, 2018

Epic Beard Man said:
1) What is your faith (e.g. Religion)/If not religious what secular principles do you live by?

I was raised 'Anglican Christian' but lost faith in the church system after observing many breaches of the teachings of Jesus Christ.
In my twenties I began a study of the Bible with Jehovah's Witnesses that confirmed everything I saw in Christendom and explained the Bible's message in a way that made absolute sense to me. It wasn't complicated, but refreshingly simple. What we lost in the beginning will be returned to all obedient mankind in the end.

Epic Beard Man said:
2) What aspects of your faith/philosophies enrich your life?

Following the teachings of Christ meant not leaving any out as if they were somehow unimportant. There is only one Christianity, but many 'lookalikes" sprang up over time, following human leaders and confusing the heck out of many sincere truth seekers....but this was foretold. (Matthew 13:24-30, 37-43)

True Christianity means imitating Jesus in all that he did and taught. Love for God and our fellow man was demonstrated by how much we enjoy speaking to others about our God and the wonderful things he has planned for those who care about his laws. We don't see going to heaven as God's first purpose....we see that God designed humans to live right here on earth in paradise conditions forever. We believe that the "meek will inherit the Earth" just as Jesus said. There are only a chosen "few" who will assist Jesus in his role as King/Priest in heaven. (Revelation 20:6)

To know that God will bring the human race back to his original purpose is indeed good news. I never had a yearning to go to heaven anyway. Earth is my home and I have no desire to leave it. Finding out that it was possible for mortals to live forever on earth was something I had never considered. I found it very appealing.

Epic Beard Man said:
3) What particular aspect of your faith/philosophy do you think others should live by?

You cannot go wrong when you imitate Jesus in everything. His kindness, and patience and his compassion for humble ones was truly refreshing. And his sacrifice for mankind demonstrates what an amazing human being he was and what a wonderful King he will be when he brings his rulership to the earth. (Revelation 21:2-4)
Jesus reflected his Father's personality perfectly, giving an answer back to God's adversary that the Father's will is more important to Christ and his disciples than their own lives.

David T · Jan 14, 2018

I am Christian. Not by choice by locality. If I was born in the middle I would be Muslim in India Hindu, in other regions Buddhist or taoist or what ever.
In this country we have a great folk music tradition. Its everything from Europe Africa and all over. We had this black dude his name was Martin Luther King. The dude had this voice, that voice is that music. My personal favorite is a dude named John Muir, he had that voice.. The bull**** today that pretends to be that voice that elevator muzak bull**** called American Christianity its dead. Just faking with your saints folks.. It's not that voice. Atheism, congratulations southern baptist without jesus who cares, really who cares, just as tone deaf as your Holy roller brothers.

That voice, is a voice that I pay attention to. John Muir ain't no one's Saint over in church deadsville, so I don't waste my time sitting in boxes on Sunday faking with the saints.,

I will be going to church tomorrow morning as I always do. I will be in my home, in the mountains listening to god. God will preach through the trees, I will feel the sermon with my feet as I walk, smell it as I take in the forest hear it in the congregations of various voices from tree to stream, to birds. Sunday it all about home, I go home to the mountains on Sunday, to hear the sermon that's 14 billion years old. Lucky me lucky me.

Epic Beard Man · Jan 14, 2018

Live by as in principles that you continuously implement in your life daily.

Epic Beard Man · Jan 14, 2018

Eliab ben Benjamin said:
Jewish...

Clear culture, rules and traditions to build my personal values and morality upon.

not my place to decide how others should live.

I'll edit the last part...Not necessarily should but what aspect(s) of your faith would benefit others outside your faith.

Epic Beard Man · Jan 14, 2018

Deeje said:
I was raised 'Anglican Christian' but lost faith in the church system after observing many breaches of the teachings of Jesus Christ.
In my twenties I began a study of the Bible with Jehovah's Witnesses that confirmed everything I saw in Christendom and explained the Bible's message in a way that made absolute sense to me. It wasn't complicated, but refreshingly simple. What we lost in the beginning will be returned to all obedient mankind in the end.

Following the teachings of Christ meant not leaving any out as if they were somehow unimportant. There is only one Christianity, but many 'lookalikes" sprang up over time, following human leaders and confusing the heck out of many sincere truth seekers....but this was foretold. (Matthew 13:24-30, 37-43)

True Christianity means imitating Jesus in all that he did and taught. Love for God and our fellow man was demonstrated by how much we enjoy speaking to others about our God and the wonderful things he has planned for those who care about his laws. We don't see going to heaven as God's first purpose....we see that God designed humans to live right here on earth in paradise conditions forever. We believe that the "meek will inherit the Earth" just as Jesus said. There are only a chosen "few" who will assist Jesus in his role as King/Priest in heaven. (Revelation 20:6)

To know that God will bring the human race back to his original purpose is indeed good news. I never had a yearning to go to heaven anyway. Earth is my home and I have no desire to leave it. Finding out that it was possible for mortals to live forever on earth was something I had never considered. I found it very appealing.

You cannot go wrong when you imitate Jesus in everything. His kindness, and patience and his compassion for humble ones was truly refreshing. And his sacrifice for mankind demonstrates what an amazing human being he was and what a wonderful King he will be when he brings his rulership to the earth. (Revelation 21:2-4)
Jesus reflected his Father's personality perfectly, giving an answer back to God's adversary that the Father's will is more important to Christ and his disciples than their own lives.

Some of the words you said reminds me of this scene

Epic Beard Man · Jan 14, 2018

David T said:
I am Christian. Not by choice by locality. If I was born in the middle I would be Muslim in India Hindu, in other regions Buddhist or taoist or what ever.
In this country we have a great folk music tradition. Its everything from Europe Africa and all over. We had this black dude his name was Martin Luther King. The dude had this voice, that voice is that music. My personal favorite is a dude named John Muir, he had that voice.. The bull**** today that pretends to be that voice that elevator muzak bull**** called American Christianity its dead. Just faking with your saints folks.. It's not that voice. Atheism, congratulations southern baptist without jesus who cares, really who cares, just as tone deaf as your Holy roller brothers.

That voice, is a voice that I pay attention to. John Muir ain't no one's Saint over in church deadsville, so I don't waste my time sitting in boxes on Sunday faking with the saints.,

I will be going to church tomorrow morning as I always do. I will be in my home, in the mountains listening to god. God will preach through the trees, I will feel the sermon with my feet as I walk, smell it as I take in the forest hear it in the congregations of various voices from tree to stream, to birds. Sunday it all about home, I go home to the mountains on Sunday, to hear the sermon that's 14 billion years old. Lucky me lucky me.

Hmmm so you're not Christian by choice but by locality? How does something that is compelling, enrich your life if there was no choice to begin with? As far as what you mentioned about being born in other places in the world well, sure. If you were born in certain places you may be of that faith. But as I mentioned in another thread there are plenty of people who are culturally of their faith but are not religiously/spiritually of it.

That can be dangerous and a misrepresentation of that faith if one aspect is only shown.

Epic Beard Man · Jan 14, 2018

Carlita said:
Hmm

I'm a Buddhist. I follow The Buddha's Dharma.

Ending suffering of attachment by mind training and meditations.

Take politics out of your religion and don't define people according to the politics of their faith.

How long do you meditate?

Jumi · Jan 14, 2018

Epic Beard Man said:
1) What is your faith (e.g. Religion)/If not religious what secular principles do you live by?

2) What aspects of your faith/philosophies enrich your life?

3) (Edit) What particular aspect of your faith/philosophy do you think others outside your faith ought to live by, and would greatly benefit from?

1) I don't have a religion, but I'm a gnostic monotheist. My strongest principle(and version of the golden rule) is that I treat everyone kindly unless they step on my toes purposely. If they do, but apologize I give them chances. I'm a big believer in forgiveness for the small things.

I also don't believe in telling others what to believe, I strongly believe in free will. Everyone should have complete choice of their beliefs, but actions should be limited to those that don't allow harming others.

2) They let me be as I am, often there are belief systems that would have me change myself and leave my self behind.

3) The golden rule.

Unveiled Artist · Jan 14, 2018

Epic Beard Man said:
How long do you meditate?

About fifteen to thirty morning and night

SalixIncendium · Jan 14, 2018

Epic Beard Man said:
1) What is your faith (e.g. Religion)/If not religious what secular principles do you live by?

While I don't have a religion, I consider myself a monist whose spirituality can best be described as nondual mysticism with emphasis on Self knowledge/realization through meditative awareness.

As far as principles are concerned, I live by the four agreements of the Toltec.

Be impeccable with your word.
Don't take anything personally.
Don't make assumptions.
Always do your best.

2) What aspects of your faith/philosophies enrich your life?

Personal experience through meditative states and study of these experiences resulting in esoteric knowledge of the Self/Absolute.

3) (Edit) What particular aspect of your faith/philosophy do you think others outside your faith ought to live by, and would greatly benefit from?

It's not my place to think or say how people ought to live. But I think people would benefit greatly by keeping an open mind and learning to just be.

Terese · Jan 14, 2018

1) What is your faith (e.g. Religion)/If not religious what secular principles do you live by? - Vaishnavism

2) What aspects of your faith/philosophies enrich your life? - The beauty of God, his cerulean appearance and his great kindness, that we are not the body but the soul, and that reality is mind-bogglingly huge, so much to fathom and can't fathom. There is something much greater than me, God's forms and personality, which include the universe. They make me quite joyful.

3) (Edit) What particular aspect of your faith/philosophy do you think others outside your faith ought to live by, and would greatly benefit from? - Dharma. Non-violence towards people and animals, etc. It would also be great if everyone took a nice dose of spirituality. Caring for the soul over the body, to not feed the ego, and see that there is a oneness, a fantastic oneness that exists, be it personal or impersonal.

Epic Beard Man · Jan 14, 2018

Jumi said:
1) I don't have a religion, but I'm a gnostic monotheist. My strongest principle(and version of the golden rule) is that I treat everyone kindly unless they step on my toes purposely. If they do, but apologize I give them chances. I'm a big believer in forgiveness for the small things.

I also don't believe in telling others what to believe, I strongly believe in free will. Everyone should have complete choice of their beliefs, but actions should be limited to those that don't allow harming others.

2) They let me be as I am, often there are belief systems that would have me change myself and leave my self behind.

3) The golden rule.

Tell me more about gnostic monotheism. At what point did you refer to yourself as one? What are your views on God in relation to humanity? (e.g. Is God personal or impersonal).

Liu · Jan 14, 2018

Epic Beard Man said:
1) What is your faith (e.g. Religion)/If not religious what secular principles do you live by?

I'm a pantheistic devil worshipper and LHPer. In layman's terms, a Satanist.

2) What aspects of your faith/philosophies enrich your life?

All of them. The main principle of my religion is that one should adjust it to fit one's own purposes.

Having a deity to pray to and to adore is a blessing in and of itself.
Believing in amorality, or rather, that one can't do wrong and that one's own will is an expression of the divine will, is a well-spring of catharsis, enjoyment, and inner strength.
I basically see the divine in everything, but unlike most kinds of Pantheism that tend to lead to either a stasis of nature-worship or to an ideology of wanting to improve the world, the LHP-approach means a focus on spiritual development and self-work, keeping one's inner fire burning for what one truly cares about.
It thereby also makes me more open-minded and encourages me in my pursuits of life-long learning, ultimately making me stronger, healthier, and more experienced and skilled.

I guess it could in short be summarized that it provides me the balance between self-development and self-care and supports me in both.

3) (Edit) What particular aspect of your faith/philosophy do you think others outside your faith ought to live by, and would greatly benefit from?

There are no oughts, and what people would benefit from will depend on the person. But some general virtues would be critical thinking, and self-love.

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