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What religion should I follow based off my beliefs?

Pear

Pear

Member
I believe in henotheism. I believe there is a God who is higher than all other Gods, whom we worship. We also believe there are other Gods that are worthy of our worship, but we praise them slightly less. I also believe that all objects have a life force, and spirit, to them and that we can be assisted in our lives by having a spirit for the house, a spirit in the workplace, etc., but we must invite them into our lives. I believe that the basic teaching I would like to follow is that there is suffering in this world and we can solve it by becoming wakeful and by learning the path given to us by the God(s) to stop ours and others suffering. I believe that we should gather for worship together, with other mortals, in a meeting room similar to a church building. The room would have a podium at the front in which members speak to the congregation. There would be no clergy, although there would be a leader for each community who organizes who talks at that meeting, and also coordinates with others around them. There would also be a higher leader that helps with basic organizations, but they wouldn't have any special privileges. I also think the meeting place would have small niches for private, personal reflections. I do think there would be a special being, a prophet, who would come down to this planet to inform us of the holy being's doings and that they would help us write our scripture. I also believe in reincarnation. We are reincarnated until we have learned enough in life about the path to salvation then we are brought up to a paradise of sorts to feast with the Gods, be with our families forever, and have no problems. I also think that families are eternal and that we should and always will be with our families.

I know I didn't go into tons of details, ask questions if you need to. I just need advice on which religion fits into those parameters, even if some things aren't exactly the same. Thank you for reading this.

If you have any questions you want to ask, please, let me know.
 
Mindmaster

Mindmaster

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
Pear said:
I believe in henotheism. I believe there is a God who is higher than all other Gods, whom we worship.
Click to expand...

You've eliminated nearly every mainstream religion under the Sun with your first line, so your alternatives are:

1) Various Pagan Sects. Most pick a patron deity if you will, and may recognize others. Heathenry and Druidism have a particular focus on the family/ancestors as well, and might be your "first stop". Druidry also for the animistic ideals you have. Most Druid/Celt Reconstructionists do not specify pantheons, so you can use what you like but still celebrate with others.

2) Various Hindu traditions expose beliefs similar to yours, another possible route. Not my subject, but there are many here lurking in the Hinduism DIR that will be happy to help.

3) Check out some local Unitarians, probably the best way to get exposed to a variety of beliefs. You might find them your first and last stop.

However, being a Theistic Satanist myself, I feel picking a religion is like picking a life mate. You really aren't going to get to "pick" your religion you are just going to fall in love at some point. :D
 
Pear

Pear

Member
Mindmaster said:
You've eliminated nearly every mainstream religion under the Sun with your first line, so your alternatives are:

1) Various Pagan Sects. Most pick a patron deity if you will, and may recognize others. Heathenry and Druidism have a particular focus on the family/ancestors as well, and might be your "first stop". Druidry also for the animistic ideals you have. Most Druid/Celt Reconstructionists do not specify pantheons, so you can use what you like but still celebrate with others.

2) Various Hindu traditions expose beliefs similar to yours, another possible route. Not my subject, but there are many here lurking in the Hinduism DIR that will be happy to help.

3) Check out some local Unitarians, probably the best way to get exposed to a variety of beliefs. You might find them your first and last stop.

However, being a Theistic Satanist myself, I feel picking a religion is like picking a life mate. You really aren't going to get to "pick" your religion you are just going to fall in love at some point. :D
Click to expand...
Thank you! I have already checked out Heathenism and Druidism, I didn't really get into that. Thanks for the other options though!
 
D

Desert Snake

Veteran Member
Pear said:
I was always told that if you believe there is a God or life force, you're agnostic? Has the internet lied to me again?
Click to expand...
Yes, it has.

Agnostic means /common usage, like "I don't know'.

On the forums it takes other meanings, but it isnt what you read
 
Guy Threepwood

Guy Threepwood

Mighty Pirate
Pear said:
I believe in henotheism. I believe there is a God who is higher than all other Gods, whom we worship. We also believe there are other Gods that are worthy of our worship, but we praise them slightly less. I also believe that all objects have a life force, and spirit, to them and that we can be assisted in our lives by having a spirit for the house, a spirit in the workplace, etc., but we must invite them into our lives. I believe that the basic teaching I would like to follow is that there is suffering in this world and we can solve it by becoming wakeful and by learning the path given to us by the God(s) to stop ours and others suffering. I believe that we should gather for worship together, with other mortals, in a meeting room similar to a church building. The room would have a podium at the front in which members speak to the congregation. There would be no clergy, although there would be a leader for each community who organizes who talks at that meeting, and also coordinates with others around them. There would also be a higher leader that helps with basic organizations, but they wouldn't have any special privileges. I also think the meeting place would have small niches for private, personal reflections. I do think there would be a special being, a prophet, who would come down to this planet to inform us of the holy being's doings and that they would help us write our scripture. I also believe in reincarnation. We are reincarnated until we have learned enough in life about the path to salvation then we are brought up to a paradise of sorts to feast with the Gods, be with our families forever, and have no problems. I also think that families are eternal and that we should and always will be with our families.

I know I didn't go into tons of details, ask questions if you need to. I just need advice on which religion fits into those parameters, even if some things aren't exactly the same. Thank you for reading this.

If you have any questions you want to ask, please, let me know.
Click to expand...

Like other posters here I think that sounds closer to Christianity than anything else, 'other Gods' gets into definitions perhaps, but at it's core, I think you reach the same conclusions as most of us- there is a God, we have to want to find him, it's about love ultimately- we have to want suffering to end- and figure this out, with his guidance, for ourselves.
 
HonestJoe

HonestJoe

Well-Known Member
Pear said:
If you have any questions you want to ask, please, let me know.
Click to expand...
Yes; why?

You ask what religion you should follow which comes across as if you believe that following a religion is somehow required and the only question is which one. In truth, there is no religion you should follow. Even if your beliefs and preferences were a perfect fit for a particular religion, that wouldn’t in itself be a reason that you’d have to practice that religion.

You seem to be focusing very much on the practical details of religion rather than the infinitely more important aspects of the underlying principles and the ultimate purpose. I can’t see anything about the beliefs you describe to imply that the specific structures and practices you talk about are necessary or even useful. Maybe you have thought that though in much more detail than you explained here but if you’re stuck on these specifics, I doubt you’ll find any existing religion capable of fully accommodating it all.
 
C

Confucian Mormon Buddhist

Member
It doesn't quite fit what you listed, but Mormonism has enough similarities that you might want to look into it.

1. Henotheism
- Mormonism acknowledges the existence of many gods, but they're not worshiped because they're not relevant to life in our world.

2. All Objects
- Living things all have eternal souls. Inanimate objects don't. You know, because they're inanimate... I can't really see the point in the "soul" of a paper plate...

3. Suffering
- That's basically universal to all religions.

4. Clergy
- On an institutional level, there is a clergy and it's as fat and power-hungry as any other out there. At the level of the individual church, though, clergy and congregation are basically the same thing. The bishop isn't paid, services consist of members taking turns speaking, and they'll make up a job for you to do if they don't have a real one.

5. Prophet
- Well, there's no alien prophet, but no other religion has an alien prophet. Because aliens are no more real than objects have souls. But there is a prophet in Mormonism.

6. Reincarnation
- Doesn't exist in Mormonism in a meaningful sense.

7. Afterlife
- Yes, though this is also universal to all religions.
 
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