Theism without religion

[SabahTheLoner]

I was an atheist without religion. I was an atheist with religion. I'm a theist with religion. I've never been a theist without religion.

I understand people exist who believe in a deity but don't exactly subscribe to religion. Even a mix of religion. To be honest I have a harder time putting that in context, probably because I never personally experienced it.

So I have a little question; If you are a theist who doesn't subscribe to religion, do you believe that religion is wrong about god(s) (by whatever name you prefer to call deity)? If not why did you turn away from religion?

 

[Geoff-Allen]

I guess I qualify. I don't subscribe 2 a particular religion but I do have faith & trust in higher power.

I try to ensure that my thoughts & words & deeds are motivated by kindness & compassion ...

I definitely believe in karma - if you are unkind to others yo will not experience genuine peace-of-mind & happiness.

Any questions - feel perfectly free 2 ask

 

[Sundance]

HARE KRSNA! JAI SHRI RAMA!

A very wonderful question, @SabahTheLoner!

For me, it's not that religions are wrong about the Divine. In fact, my own understanding of the Divine (that the deities – their forms, names, etc. – are all innumerable and various, but at the same time, they are expressions of the same Absolute One) fits perfectly within Hinduism. Rather, coming to accept the aforementioned about The Divine, I have come to a deeper insight into the truth that God is not confined to any one Name or Form or Religion, having been so vexed for a long time about different religions and which one to follow, or whether I could follow more than one, which can be done.

Lord Krishna says in The Gita,

“Abandon all forms of religion, and surrender unto Me.”

and also,

“All paths lead to Me. As men approach Me, O Arjun, so I receive them.”

Ramakrishna was someone who followed more than one religion, realizing that each path led him to a different experience of God.

So ultimately, my decision to disaffiliate with any one religion came as a result of realizing that God will approach us in different ways with vastly different paths (some of us will be led to practice more than one), but that He – not the religion – is important, and to surrender in devotion points the Way back to Him. One can follow any religion or more than one. One doesn't even have to follow any religion in order to do that!

HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA
KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE
HARE RAMA HARE RAMA
RAMA RAMA HARE HARE

JAI SHRI RAMA

Om Shanti Om.

 

[sun rise]

There have been figures in every religion or in no religion who have illumined the path to God - Baal Shem Tov, Kabir, Rumi, St. Francis of Assisi, Hafiz, Ramakrishna and many more. Some have worked inside religion but have pointed to what is beyond religion. When I look at what they "point to", I see that as my goal and don't feel the need to practice the rites, rituals and ceremonies of any one particular religion. And while I find it helpful to understand religion, I don't feel the need join one.

Rumi, for example, says it better than I could. Here's two quotes that are meaningful to me:

“Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.”

"Those who don't feel this Love pulling them like a river, those who don't drink dawn like a cup of spring water or take in sunset like supper, those who don't want to change, let them sleep. This Love is beyond the study of theology, that old trickery and hypocrisy. If you want to improve your mind that way, sleep on. I've given up on my brain. I've torn the cloth to shreds and thrown it away. If you're not completely naked, wrap your beautiful robe of words around you, and sleep."

 

[sayak83]

HARE KRSNA! JAI SHRI RAMA!

A very wonderful question, @SabahTheLoner!

For me, it's not that religions are wrong about the Divine. In fact, my own understanding of the Divine (that the deities – their forms, names, etc. – are all innumerable and various, but at the same time, they are expressions of the same Absolute One) fits perfectly within Hinduism. Rather, coming to accept the aforementioned about The Divine, I have come to a deeper insight into the truth that God is not confined to any one Name or Form or Religion, having been so vexed for a long time about different religions and which one to follow, or whether I could follow more than one, which can be done.

Lord Krishna says in The Gita,

“Abandon all forms of religion, and surrender unto Me.”

and also,

“All paths lead to Me. As men approach Me, O Arjun, so I receive them.”

Ramakrishna was someone who followed more than one religion, realizing that each path led him to a different experience of God.

So ultimately, my decision to disaffiliate with any one religion came as a result of realizing that God will approach us in different ways with vastly different paths (some of us will be led to practice more than one), but that He – not the religion – is important, and to surrender in devotion points the Way back to Him. One can follow any religion or more than one. One doesn't even have to follow any religion in order to do that!

HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA
KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE
HARE RAMA HARE RAMA
RAMA RAMA HARE HARE

JAI SHRI RAMA

Om Shanti Om.

You look very very Hindu to me.

 

[Father Heathen]

I was an atheist without religion. I was an atheist with religion. I'm a theist with religion. I've never been a theist without religion.

I understand people exist who believe in a deity but don't exactly subscribe to religion. Even a mix of religion. To be honest I have a harder time putting that in context, probably because I never personally experienced it.

So I have a little question; If you are a theist who doesn't subscribe to religion, do you believe that religion is wrong about god(s) (by whatever name you prefer to call deity)? If not why did you turn away from religion?

The way I see it, regardless of whether or not there is a god, religion mostly consists of self-appointed and self-serving middlemen who presume to speak on god's behalf. Their perception and portrayal of god reflects more upon the cultures from which the religions were founded than they do any actual god.

 

[Jumi]

I've never turned away from religion due to the fact that I never really had one. We can experience something we can call 'god' for a lack of better word, but it seems to me that this god either has not much interest in this world or is so alien to human ideas that there's not much point in spreading the belief.

 

[Geoff-Allen]

Here's a huge site - this gallery is all about compassion -

Spirituality & Practice: Resources for Spiritual Journeys | Galleries | Spirituality & Practice

Enjoy!

 

[Epic Beard Man]

I was an atheist without religion. I was an atheist with religion. I'm a theist with religion. I've never been a theist without religion.

I understand people exist who believe in a deity but don't exactly subscribe to religion. Even a mix of religion. To be honest I have a harder time putting that in context, probably because I never personally experienced it.

So I have a little question; If you are a theist who doesn't subscribe to religion, do you believe that religion is wrong about god(s) (by whatever name you prefer to call deity)? If not why did you turn away from religion?

Well, I'm an agnostic-theist and I do not believe religion is wrong at all. I believe religion can provide an environment for an individual to be a part of something that is greater than the individual themselves. Although I do not believe religion is necessary to survive, I do believe it plays a vital role in social interaction as well creating a network where people can join and help each other sustain their faith in what they believe. As far as why I left religion, well, long story short when I was Baptist Christian I just felt that at least in the black community, Baptist Christianity was more about "hooping and hollering" and "yes lawd" this and "yes lawd" that. It became unattractive and Sunday sermons was more like a concert as opposed to an environment. Then these same people that go in Church leave and talk behind the backs of people, and judge people for not being "religious enough." So I left, and dibble and dabbled in studying other faiths. My experience with Judaism was no different. When I want to learn about Maimonides' "Guide For the Perplexed" a few rabbis I came into contact with really shunned me away and really never took the time out. On top of this my uncle converted to Judaism and discontinued contact with my family (he never even went to my mother's funeral--his own sister died) apparently his very Jewish wife did not want my two twin cousins to know their "black side" of the family. My experience with Islam was also no different as when I went to Jummah I noticed after it was over many Muslims segregate themselves based on culture (Ethiopians speak with Ethiopians, Persians with Persians) so it was a turn off for me. In addition I once dated an Egyptian-Arab girl who was beautiful but her mother found out about me and threaten to disown her all because I was non-Arab (she was since that time in arranged marriage and now has a family) . Sikhism was no different as I see that faith as a South-East Asian/Indian faith which is not very welcoming to non-Asian/Indians.

As you can see I've had my negative run-ins so I tend to look at God beyond the concepts of the Abrahamic faith, and although some Islamic philosophies concerning God I subscribe to, I tend to look and perceive God as beyond something not contained in a book or a revelation. It's hard for me to reconcile with the thought that God, "Lord Of All The Worlds" would make a human religion the right one when we live on a young planet when I'm sure there are among the billions upon billions upon billions of solar systems more ancient species than us who may have a higher concept of religion. I guess that is why I stick by myself and just enjoy other people's faith and learn from them.

 

[PureX]

I was an atheist without religion. I was an atheist with religion. I'm a theist with religion. I've never been a theist without religion.

I understand people exist who believe in a deity but don't exactly subscribe to religion. Even a mix of religion. To be honest I have a harder time putting that in context, probably because I never personally experienced it.

So I have a little question; If you are a theist who doesn't subscribe to religion, do you believe that religion is wrong about god(s) (by whatever name you prefer to call deity)? If not why did you turn away from religion?

I am a non-religious theist because I do not find organized religion helpful to me regarding my understanding or experience of the ideal we call "God". I am also an agnostic theist in that I cannot presume to know of the nature or existence of such a "God", though I can choose to trust in the nature and existence of a god of my own conception, and to live accordingly.

However, I am not against organized religion as a general human endeavor. I think it works for a lot of people even though it is so often abused, and used to abuse others.

It just doesn't work for me.

 

[Quintessence]

The idea of theism without religion confuses me. It's basically an "I accept that the gods are a thing, but it has no meaningful impact on my life whatsoever." Religion brings the action, the ritual, the narrative to theism as well as fleshes out the theology in ways that are deeply meaningful. I guess not everyone is religious in that way about the notion of gods, but that's just weird to me.

Of course, nowadays with people conflating organized religion with religion, or dogmatic religion with religion, and religion in general being a snarl word that people don't want to associate with, we end up with religious theists calling themselves non-religious quite frequently. Which is another ball of "that's just weird to me."

 

[metis]

So I have a little question; If you are a theist who doesn't subscribe to religion, do you believe that religion is wrong about god(s) (by whatever name you prefer to call deity)? If not why did you turn away from religion?

I'm probably gonna be the odd-man out here, as my approach is to feel it's important for me to be involved in a religion/denomination, and yet my "theology" is pretty much "I-don't-know-ism".

 

[pearl]

I gave a friend who lives in central Fl. She is a widow who lives alone and facing Irma She had decided to spend the night in the bath tub with her cat and Bible. No expectation that God will 'save' her from the storm, but conscious of His presence. She is opposed to all religion, but yet has a solid faith in God.

 

[pearl]

"I-don't-know-ism".

I think it was Aquinas who would agree, 'If you claim to understand God, it is not God whom you have understood'.

 

[metis]

I think it was Aquinas who would agree, 'If you claim to understand God, it is not God whom you have understood'.

Thank you for that as I had never run across that quote before.

 

[Brickjectivity]

So I have a little question; If you are a theist who doesn't subscribe to religion, do you believe that religion is wrong about god(s) (by whatever name you prefer to call deity)? If not why did you turn away from religion?

Its hard to fit in, and its easy to be lazy. The problem for me is that I know what religion is. Therefore anything less feels alien.

If I were really religious I'd go to nursing homes every day and visit the prisoners, or I'd do in home care and wipe butts. I'd write letters, and do all kinds of good deeds and burn myself out doing them. Maybe I'd join a Big Brother program or volunteer at an orphanage. That would be very religious, but then I could do all of that without believing anything in particular. So then I am not very religious, so I should go to a Hallelujah church and experience aromatherapy, psychobabble, guilt trips and eccstatic exoneration? (All of which I consider insidiously evil.) So then I am not very religious, so I should mouth the formula of the trinity and refuse to take communion without a deacon present? (Horrendously overbearing in my opinion.) In either case I am not inspired. I know that I am just not religious, just not very good. It doesn't matter if I sing or listen. If I go to church I feel like I'm hurting people by affirming the whole situation. If I pray, it is generally inspired by things that I want, so its not a Christian prayer to begin with.

Did you see the film Nacho Libre? That was pretty good. It was actually a very religious film.

 

[PureX]

The idea of theism without religion confuses me. It's basically an "I accept that the gods are a thing, but it has no meaningful impact on my life whatsoever." Religion brings the action, the ritual, the narrative to theism as well as fleshes out the theology in ways that are deeply meaningful. I guess not everyone is religious in that way about the notion of gods, but that's just weird to me.

I start from the premise that "God" is an idea about reality rather than a reality in and of itself. It becomes reality to us only if we accept the idea as valid. And that's a determination that we make based partly on our desire for it to be valid, and then on our experience of it's application.

"God" is an idea that we choose to accept based on faith, and then on the results of acting on that faith. We can do this through religious dogma and practice, certainly. But we can also do it on our own. I prefer doing it on my own because no religion's dogmas and practices work for me as well as those I can generate for myself.

Of course, nowadays with people conflating organized religion with religion, or dogmatic religion with religion, and religion in general being a snarl word that people don't want to associate with, we end up with religious theists calling themselves non-religious quite frequently. Which is another ball of "that's just weird to me."

Well, the term "religion" is a lot like the term "art". It refers to a very big category of human endeavor, specific aspects of which are often antithetical to other aspects. But most "religion" is organized and socialized religion in that it is not engaged in alone. And in that it is the active result of a shared theological proposition.

 

[columbus]

I think it was Aquinas who would agree, 'If you claim to understand God, it is not God whom you have understood'.

This sounds like a western Christian version of "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him."
Tom

 

[shunyadragon]

I was an atheist without religion. I was an atheist with religion. I'm a theist with religion. I've never been a theist without religion.

I understand people exist who believe in a deity but don't exactly subscribe to religion. Even a mix of religion. To be honest I have a harder time putting that in context, probably because I never personally experienced it.

So I have a little question; If you are a theist who doesn't subscribe to religion, do you believe that religion is wrong about god(s) (by whatever name you prefer to call deity)? If not why did you turn away from religion?

The word religion becomes an unfortunate 'whipping boy' or 'scapegoat' for those who claim what others believe is faulty and called 'religion,' and what one believes is true and not religion.

Religion is simply a word that is used to describe what one believes or not believes. It may be organized, disorganized, sanforized, digitized, or simply one person's belief system. It is not a stone to throw at other people who believe differently,

 

[pearl]

Thank you for that as I had never run across that quote before.

I was mistaken as to the author, it was not Aquinas but Augustine, "

" if we claim to fully understand God, what we claim would not be God."