Where do your ideas about religion come from? Initially, and today?
Examples: Secular Books; Holy Books; Parents; Media; other people; insight; mystical experience; ecstatic experience though there may be other sources.
My ideas about religion first came through my parents, who were Presbyterian Church USA. Later it came from the Bible, and then historical Biblical scholarship like that of Bart Erhman. Still later I added the anthropological and sociological insights about religion from secular education, and secular books. Mystical experiences punctuated all of this, but not very often (2 total).
I've never had the patience to follow apologist vs. atheist debates, so that was not a source. Also not sources: youtube, social media. Today I am an agnostic atheist. My basic idea about religion now is that it does more harm than good in society, especially as it is tied to conservative politics. I think there are people who psychologically need religion to cope with life, and I understand that, which is why I'm not completely anti-theist. I do think people of all and no faith should be free to be how they are without discrimination, recognizing that disagreement or difference is not persecution.
I guess if you're asking for my history, basically, my first introduction to religion was when I was between 6-8, and it was I'm sure just the Lord's prayer.
When I was in my middle school years, I attended Catholic confirmation, and other pre-baptism classes. I never really enjoyed the classes personally; never felt engaged in the stories I guess. Although I felt there was some sort of higher power out there.
When I was probably 17-18, I began to do a lot of internet reading, and found some blogs, and other websites dedicated to Paganism and Magick. I was hooked immediately on some of the philosophy of respect for Nature and the Earth, and finding the Divine within Nature, and by extension Everything.
It was here that I found out what Polytheism was, immediately hooked on the more common Myths of various pantheons such as Greek, Celtic, Egyptian, and Norse. Nothing stuck for a really time in relation to a desire to work with particular Gods.
But I wasn't really looking either, I figured a God would find me, if they so chose.
Many years go by, as my life was rather busy, so I read up on Magick, divination, philosophy, and anything else I could get my hands on.
Then one day, I'm sitting listening to a rather boring speaker. Looking out the nearby window. And BAM! A God hits me in the head, mystical experience. But I didn't know which one it was. All I knew was It KNEW me. Now I put it that way because I felt like We knew each other, it was a two-way street. So I do some reading and meditation, and the first Deity I thought it was turned me away immediately. But She left me with a direction to look. Which is where I first reached out to the All-Father.
Now, I had had passing blows with Heathenism and Germanic Paganism, but I was never particularly interested in it due to the ties to some of it's fringe elements, and overly folkish emphasis (read racist). But, when the All-Father beckons, you don't really ignore it.
From there I dove deeper into the Norse and Germanic myths, and am still reading to this day.
I've had 2 other mystical experiences, but if I don't stop talking now, I'll just keep writing, because I remember more.and more stuff that I missed. Hahaha.
So I'll end here.