SteveGrayFTW
Member
Okay, so here is my deal.
I grew up Catholic, but have since taken to considering myself an Agnostic Theist, moreso leaning towards being an Agnostic Deist. I believe there is a God, or something greater, but I think he/she/it probably has bigger fish to fry than dealing with humanity all that much. I also attend UU services on a semi-regular basis.
I still have a lot of respect for certain aspects of Catholicism, such as the traditions, rituals, the Churches themselves, etc. I dont consider myself a Christian, but I have gone to the local Catholic Church a time or two, when Mass isnt in session, and just sat silently, prayed (basically a little prayer honoring his existence, the unknown, and wishing compassion for us), or talked to God (ramblings about pretty much whatever is on my mind). I have been curious about checking other religious services, not for the sake of conversion, but basically just to observe. I think all (or at least most) religions are in search of the same truth, so they are all pretty much just different roads on the same path. One of them may even have a better idea of whats up than the others, how should I know?
Anyway, I recently started reading a bit about Naturalist Paganism, and I have to admit, Im intrigued. I really like how it mixes honoring old traditions with a respect for science.
Naturalistic Pagans tend to dismiss the supernatural though, at least from what Ive read, which isnt something Im necessarily ready to do, at least not completely. So if I wanted to embrace these practices, Id be something along the lines of a Unitarian Universalist Agnostic Naturalistic Pagan (with a few leftover traces of Catholicism) Theist (possibly Deist).
I dont mind incorporating different religion aspects into my practices, because like I said before, I think most of them are pretty much just different roads on the same path. I just want to make sure Im not being disrespectful towards any one religion when I do that. I figure Im safe on the UU end, but Id like to be able to embrace Naturalistic Pagan ideas without upsetting that community, while at least showing some respect for my Catholic roots.
Basically, what Im getting down to is this can it be seen as disrespectful to borrow from different religions when trying to form ones own beliefs and practices?
(Sorry it took so long I get to that, I just figured some backstory may be in order.)
I grew up Catholic, but have since taken to considering myself an Agnostic Theist, moreso leaning towards being an Agnostic Deist. I believe there is a God, or something greater, but I think he/she/it probably has bigger fish to fry than dealing with humanity all that much. I also attend UU services on a semi-regular basis.
I still have a lot of respect for certain aspects of Catholicism, such as the traditions, rituals, the Churches themselves, etc. I dont consider myself a Christian, but I have gone to the local Catholic Church a time or two, when Mass isnt in session, and just sat silently, prayed (basically a little prayer honoring his existence, the unknown, and wishing compassion for us), or talked to God (ramblings about pretty much whatever is on my mind). I have been curious about checking other religious services, not for the sake of conversion, but basically just to observe. I think all (or at least most) religions are in search of the same truth, so they are all pretty much just different roads on the same path. One of them may even have a better idea of whats up than the others, how should I know?
Anyway, I recently started reading a bit about Naturalist Paganism, and I have to admit, Im intrigued. I really like how it mixes honoring old traditions with a respect for science.
Naturalistic Pagans tend to dismiss the supernatural though, at least from what Ive read, which isnt something Im necessarily ready to do, at least not completely. So if I wanted to embrace these practices, Id be something along the lines of a Unitarian Universalist Agnostic Naturalistic Pagan (with a few leftover traces of Catholicism) Theist (possibly Deist).
I dont mind incorporating different religion aspects into my practices, because like I said before, I think most of them are pretty much just different roads on the same path. I just want to make sure Im not being disrespectful towards any one religion when I do that. I figure Im safe on the UU end, but Id like to be able to embrace Naturalistic Pagan ideas without upsetting that community, while at least showing some respect for my Catholic roots.
Basically, what Im getting down to is this can it be seen as disrespectful to borrow from different religions when trying to form ones own beliefs and practices?
(Sorry it took so long I get to that, I just figured some backstory may be in order.)