Pitch your religion!

[angrymoose]

As a Taoist, if I follow the traditions properly, I'm not really supposed to pitch my religion

Taoists are more into sharing which is a two-way thing.

Sometimes, I'm a crappy Taoist and may preach my views somewhat. They just seem so "right" to me but in following their 'rightness", I must perceive my own arrogance in not seeing that you have a reason to have your views.

 

[Primordial Annihilator]

As a Taoist, if I follow the traditions properly, I'm not really supposed to pitch my religion

Taoists are more into sharing which is a two-way thing.

Taoism sounds very wise.

 

[Morse]

As a Taoist, if I follow the traditions properly, I'm not really supposed to pitch my religion

Taoists are more into sharing which is a two-way thing.

Sometimes, I'm a crappy Taoist and may preach my views somewhat. They just seem so "right" to me but in following their 'rightness", I must perceive my own arrogance in not seeing that you have a reason to have your views.

Then don't preach, simply discuss. Humans are social creatures and discussion of these things comes naturally. If the great teachers never imparted their teachings, then we wouldn't have many religions we do today. This thread looks half-joke-proselytizing and half-place-to-post-your-beliefs anyway, just drop the former .

I just want to hear what you have to say, really...

 

[fenrisx]

maybe not the place to ask but I thought Jainism was maybe a little older

 

[The Sum of Awe]

You see God every morning

 

[elmarna]

how wise you are Sum of Awe!
i may not look at it the same way as you,but i do agree whole heartedly!

 

[Orias]

So please, let me know why you're religion is the one.

Yourself, is most definitely the One.

 

[elmarna]

not to be critical-if you write down your beliefs.
write down the way your feelings represent you.
You will find the basis of your beliefs.
Weather or not it follows any formal religion is for you to decide.
As a person who is now facing this question it is more than likely your beliefs that carry you through life are firmly in place.
What you wish to call them is up to you.
If you wish to change them is a decision for you to make.
life is about choices & the thoughts & feelings that move us.
i am sure you will find your service in the very course of action you take each day.
Good luck in figureing it all out!
Stand up straight
Fly right
Forge ahead
to a better & brighter tomorrow!
HORUS

 

[Father Heathen]

You see God every morning

What about overcast?

 

[The Sum of Awe]

What about overcast?

Well, It's still there for us I usually pray to It something along these lines at nights and whenever it doesn't show.:

Oh our savior that is saving us at all times,
Please show yourself again,
Come back and we'll never forget you,
And those who do cannot live without you.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

Lost faith in my God. Found honesty in understanding.

So now, basically lack of faith and lack of disbelief... Only accepting what's real.

 

[Gjallarhorn]

Nothing is True. Everything is permitted.

 

[rockstarwife628]

I consider myself a Christian Universalist, though my beliefs tend to be my own application of my Christian foundation, as well as study, discussion, and consideration about Christianity and its history specifically, as well as world religion in general... But I'll give you a basic overview :

My beliefs center a lot on the idea of humanity - what it means to be human/humane. I believe in an innate goodness and potential in all of us, tied in with our consciousness and higher understanding, which is how I believe we're human/humane. I personally believe this is tied to the "divine spark", or where you could say the soul resides, and I believe the idea of being humane is how we reflect God's own image and character, how we are "made" in His image (with the idea of being humane involving things like love, compassion, etc). Love and compassion seem to be a central theme in most of the religions of the world, and it is a foundational theme in my beliefs.


I believe that all of the various paths are different ways of understanding and relating to God, and are equally valid. As I mentioned, I personally have a Christian foundation and perspective, but I respect and pull from other teachers and faiths as well. I believe the ultimate "point" is cultivating our innate humane potential (you could say, trying to be Christ-like, or you could even apply any other kind of religious language to that - striving towards enlightenment, etc) and our relationships with our fellow man as well as with God, however we understand Him, *if* our religious beliefs include an understanding of Him (I understand some faiths are non-theistic, and I recognize Atheistic paths as valid as well).


I don't really believe in worship (I believe "God is because He is", and my beliefs don't have a whole lot to do with His existence and could actually work without the idea of Him existing, if that makes any sense, lol), and I believe that a lot of Jesus' message was that we can cultivate, you could say, "heaven" here on earth, or what he called "the kingdom of God" (though I do believe in some kind of positive afterlife for all people). That being said, the only kind of "hell" I believe in is the kind we subject ourselves and others to here on earth (which is more a matter of speaking, a kind of expression, and not a literal reality, if you get what I mean), and not some kind of Divine punishment.


I reject a lot of "traditional" or "orthodox" Christian thought, as well, probably bordering more on a humanistic or philosophical version of Christianity, but my Christian identity is something that a very foundational part of my sense of who I am, even if I tend to see what it means to be a Christian differently from most Christians out there.

 

[Orias]

Nothing is True. Everything is permitted.

I love that game

Lost faith in my God. Found honesty in understanding.

So now, basically lack of faith and lack of disbelief... Only accepting what's real.

Just a question, how exactly does your first statement coincide?

 

[Vinayaka]

I wouldn't recommend my religion to anyone:
1) you will have to think for yourself, and there's a pretty good chance you may not be able.
2) You will learn to be committed to it, and there will be no easy escape. It will be like an addiction. A contented addiction.
3) You will learn how to lose ego, and not want to argue as much, or discuss as much.
4) You will encounter a lot of things that make no logical sense.
5) No one will be at your door encouraging you. You'll just have to be self-motivated.
6) There will be no great advisers at first, no intermediary between you and God.
7) It will be the norm not to talk much about it, to keep things to yourself. If you do start blabbing off, people will roll their eyes at you.
8) You will probably get removed from a lot of previous stuff that will no longer make any sense.

So only proceed here if you want challenges with your own mind. Otherwise, don't come here.

 

[Gjallarhorn]

I love that game

You made me lose!

 

[Mazdak]

I remember when I was a bit younger and a bit cockier, I tried to cobble together my own religion, in order to make sense of everything that I was studying at the time. It went something like this:

• Belief in the Supreme Being who is without Form, the Creator of all things, who is made manifest through the laws of nature, and through nature itself;
• Time is cyclical and there are many universes and dimensions outside our own; there are many planets in our own universe with sentient and intelligent beings. Each of these beings has a soul a body.
• In addition to the universes and planes of mortal existence, there is also a heaven and a hell.
• The Supreme Being exists outside of the mortal plane of existence, in the highest realm of heaven.
• There are four ages of Revelation to Mankind: The Golden Age, the Silver Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age, or the "Kali Yuga". In each age, the condition of mankind degenerates. In the Kali Yuga, humans are beset by innumerable pains and evils.
• Each age has its own revelation and its own teachers. The Golden Age corresponds roughly to the time of the creation of Man, until his fall. Man's fall was not because Adam ate the Apple, rather because society became arrogant and strayed from God's will.
• Silver Age: The Age of the Buddhas: From Dipankara buddha to Gautama buddha.
• Bronze Age: Age of the Prophets: The great teachers of the world from Zoroaster, to Confucius, to Moses, to Jesus.
• Iron Age: Age of the Saints and Sages: Various personages, who attempt to hold onto the dying light of divinity. Mohammed is regarded as one of people who preached God's message to the Arabs.
• Life should be lived according to the principle of piety, modesty, honesty, and renouncing excesses.
• Reincarnation occurs, however those who did extraordinarily bad deeds will be punished in Hell. Once one is sent to Hell, there is no return. Those who committed major sins, but not worthy of being punished in eternity will be sent to Purgatory.
• Similarly, those who did good in their lives, and are exemplars of a good life will be given refuge in Heaven. Heaven is also an end point, and ends rebirths.

All seems a bit silly now that I think about it.

 

[Heathen Hammer]

If my religion wants you, it'll call.

 

[Bob Dixon]

Point one:
You are a soul and body, chained to the material world.

Point two:
Being chained to the material world is undesirable for the soul.

Point three:
You must liberate yourself. How you do this is up to you, although certain methods work much better than others.

Point five:
What is beyond this life cannot be known. It is best to focus on this life, to liberate yourself here and now, as soon as possible.

Point six:
There is a Supreme Being who has brought into being that which has been brought into being. He (genderless, not comparable to anything) is immanent and transcendent within everything.

Point seven:
Good luck.

 

[Siddha Buddha]

Enbrightenment: God Only Is ~ The body/mind is Enbrightened through a process wherein the consciousness (all states of bodily consciousness) realizes the transcendent light of consciousness beyond the 'point of view' of the body/mind, and the individual subsequently practices self (ego) surrender/sacrifice/letting-go for the transcendent light of consciousness. The body/mind is used to living from a point of view, and that kind of consciousness is functional, but it is Not the true, eternal form of consciousness. Enbrightenment teaches through a tangible bodily communion of the transcendent consciousness of existence, Enbrightenment uses language and the intellect, but Enbrightenment always teaches that the actual/tangible bodily awakening of the transcendent consciousness is the EVIDENCE (beyond words); thus, a conscious bodily communion with the Guru of Enbrightenment becomes (overtime) the primary Way of teaching and commune-icating Enbrightenment, and all others are secondary. Therefore, by an actual bodily (progressive) awakening of the full esoteric anatomy of consciousness (what I call the Spiritual Cross) an actual/tangible manifestation of the transcendent consciousness of reality becomes the individual's inherent and perpetual steady-state of that one's living experience; even though life continues to change, that one is consciously realized as the eternal conscious Light of existence in an unending, perpetual on-going (even in dreams - if you have any) Way (all moment of your conscious existence, in all possible worlds, all possible times, and all possible places). All the questions, doubts, and wonderings about what-if are dissolved by the progressive awakening of the individual's bodily consciousness as the eternal consciousness of existence. The time and place all this takes place Is right Now, and even though change appears, all that Is, Is right Now. The Self Realized a zillion trillion eons from now Is the Very Same One right Now.

The transcendent light of consciousness does not change, it is not influenced by conditional reality, and it is the true everlasting quality (substance) of existence, which all forms of existence (consciousness) are simply modifications of the transcendent light of consciousness. Enbrightenment teaches that reality, ItSelf, Is consciousness, and through the everlasting consciousness (of existence) all forms (of consciousness) appear.

I have a thread dedicated to Enbrightenment here. If you want to know more, google 'Enbrightenment tradition' - I offer all my books for free (digital copy). Just message me. Hope this is short enough.

:cross2: