Why Did You Chose Your Form Of Religion?

[Bangbang]

don't really expect a great detailed reply for me, the advil hasn't kicked in yet

:biglaugh: Either has my drink.

 

[Ody]

*Bumps*

 

[Ðanisty]

Well, I wasn't really raised with any religion really. I have been around Christianity my whole life, but my parents taught me very little and we didn't go to church. When I picked up the bible, it was out of curiosity...not out of a desire to join a religion. When I read it, I was appalled by God's behavior and confused why Christians saw him as a good god. For awhile, it left a really bad taste in my mouth and I became a LaVeyan Satanist, which was good for me in many ways, but still unsatisfying. From there, I decided to read up on Lucifer because I was aware of him as the lightbringer. My research and meditation opened my eyes to Luciferianism, which at the time was something I had never heard of but was something I was willing to create from scratch. Since then I have met other Luciferians, but all have said that they also forged their own path. There is really nothing organized about it. What we hold in common is our admiration of Lucifer and our desire to become enlightened. I have been a Luciferian for about 3 years now. I've never been happier.

 

[Bangbang]

Well, I wasn't really raised with any religion really. I have been around Christianity my whole life, but my parents taught me very little and we didn't go to church. When I picked up the bible, it was out of curiosity...not out of a desire to join a religion. When I read it, I was appalled by God's behavior and confused why Christians saw him as a good god. For awhile, it left a really bad taste in my mouth and I became a LaVeyan Satanist, which was good for me in many ways, but still unsatisfying. From there, I decided to read up on Lucifer because I was aware of him as the lightbringer. My research and meditation opened my eyes to Luciferianism, which at the time was something I had never heard of but was something I was willing to create from scratch. Since then I have met other Luciferians, but all have said that they also forged their own path. There is really nothing organized about it. What we hold in common is our admiration of Lucifer and our desire to become enlightened. I have been a Luciferian for about 3 years now. I've never been happier.

Tell me more........my happiest days were as a solitary practitioner.

 

[Majikthise]

I was raised christian (episcopal), became an agnostic (and considered judaism) in my mid 20s and became an atheist around 29, I'm now 40.
I found I can live with myself just fine without any belief in a god or other higher power. I take personnal responsibility for whatever I do instead of claiming the devil made me do it.
Besides , you don't need god to be empathetic, giving, fair or appreciate the wonder that is the natural world. I live without fear of eternal damnation or any feelings of spiritual inadequacy.
The dumbest saying I have ever heard is ," the road to hell is paved with good intentions.".
That is just ignorant. Such arrogance was a sign post on my road to atheism.

 

[YmirGF]

My personal experience has always exceeded my expectations. Sadly religion never seemed even remotely relevant to me. I could no more bow to another than I could extinguish my inner light.

I could tell you about my travels through Buddhism, Transcendental Meditation, Sri Chinmoy, the Hare Krsnas, Carlos and Don Juan, the Plains indians et al, but you have to understand one small facet of my sojourn. I was looking for outside validation for inner experience. Big mistake, and in some cases a jolly good waste of time.

Finally, I simply gave up doubting and began to erase my fears. Now, I am beginning to figure out how to explain it. I do have a tendency to stumble and flail around, but I am at least trying to describe reality, as I see it. Am I alone right? Frankly, I never pretend to be, but I do believe that perhaps I just might see more of the puzzle than most.

I can't help but feel that those who settled for religion, have settled for second best. It is almost as if they cannot understand their own reality, so they leave the spiritual "heavy lifting" to their male dominated leaders and their slightly demented gods.

Sad, really. In all honesty, we <human beings> are far more, than we have ever been told and I feel it is time for some of us to stand up and say so. There is hope. Surely, we have had our fill of fear.

 

[Engyo]

But why did you chose your religion or lack thereof? After all in our lives we always have the ability to chose our forms of thought and worship. Why does your religion of non religion appeal to you? How does it fit into your logic? Has your religious views been affected by your parents or environment? I know its a very generalizing question, but I thought it would be a great way to understand others viewpoints on the matter....

Alan & all -

I was attracted to Buddhism for two reasons; first, it actually seemed to make sense, once I got just a bit below the surface. Second, I was taught that Buddhism functions regardless of belief; like exercise, it is a *practice* and doing the practice will have results, whether one believes in it or not. I found this to be perfectly true, and so I was able to prove the truth of Buddhism in my life before I ever began to believe in it. I still do so to this day, although my belief has grown from nothing to unshakeable.

In terms of parents, nothing there would have led me to Buddhism. As for environment, I am in the engineering business; anything which isn't logical AND demonstrable is something I will have a hard time with, so maybe there is something there after all.

 

[michel]

Why did I choose my form of Religion ?


I was never given any education in religious matters (probably I was too young in Africa - where maybe they taught older children, and when I got to Europe, I was too old ). Somehow or other, I never had classes about religion at school.

My parents never spoke of religion (I later found out that that was because my Father was an ex-communicated Roman Catholic, and my Mother Anglican Church). I suspect my father was bitter at his church for having told him he could no longer be accepted (Goodness knows what else they told him; all this took place at the end of WWII).

I had an awful childhood (I won't bore you with the details), but, in short, I was mercilessly bullied at school, suffered from very bad depression, and my Parents were always travelling. (That menat no stability, and no friends that lasted any length of time). When I was seventeen, I went through another crisis. After having tried to commit suicide, I decided to 'take stock'. I read books on all sorts of subject. A bit of the Bible, a bit about Christianity in General, about Buddhism, about all kinds of things.

I 'made' my own brand of religion. The only thing it has in common with any structured doctrine, is that I believe in a Supreme being (God), and I believe that Jesus Christ lived, to give us an example on how to live, and that he died to atone for our sins.

 

[Scuba Pete]

I chose my religion because I saw sacrificial love for the very first time in a church in Gainesville Florida.

 

[BruceDLimber]

Greetings!

why did you chose your religion or lack thereof?

I suppose the shortest answer would be "great good fortune!"

I'm a Baha'i, and I chose this path after extensive reading, prayer, research, investigation, and observation, because it so impressed me with its unity, love, peacefulness, constructive approach, and respect for the other great religions!

That was over 34 years ago, and since then I have NOT ONCE had any reason to regret this decision!

Best,

Bruce

 

[Green Gaia]

I chose my religion because it made the most sense to me and was the most inline with my own beliefs.

 

[BucephalusBB]

I chose my disbelief because I can see too much evidence against religion.
The concept of God makes no sense for me AND scares me. I can explain everything in the science way for myself, and in religion I would have only one answer wich doesn't make sense..

 

[Ðanisty]

I 'made' my own brand of religion.

Satisfying, isn't it? It's a lot of work sometimes, but it has been invaluable to me.

 

[Scarlett Wampus]

Ch'an (Zen) and Taoism appeal to me because their practices are of immense personal benefit. I need something that works regardless of what I believe, that works when everything breaks down.

 

[lunamoth]

I chose Episcopalian primarily because it is the religion I grew up in and so all the values and traditions taught to me by my family and those that have served me well in life are part of my religion. These values include a love of God, a desire to nurture my relationship with God, a dedication to service of others, a deep love and respect for the sacredness of Scripture and the Eucharist, open-mindedness and emphasis on continued search for truth and knowledge. More specifically I like the combination of tradition in worship with progessive attitude and openness about social issues like homosexuality and scientific issues like evolution. I like it very much that we have women priests and I am glad that the Episcopal church welcomes homosexuals and recognizes their spiritual gifts, up to and including service in the priesthood. I like it very much that even if the person next to me in church does not agree with me on many things (and says so!), we can come together to worship God and share the spiritual food of bread and wine. I think all of these things reflect Christ's message of love, God's perfect grace, and the work of the Holy Spirit in the world.

So that you won't think I just followed the easiest path and blindly followed what I was taught, I'll add that I formally left Christianity for five years. After many years of agnosticism (or more accurately, secularism), I joined the Baha'i Faith. I loved being a Baha'i with its message of peace as you have seen described by others, but I came into great doubt so that I could no longer remain a Baha'i. To the credit of the Baha'i Faith it encouraged me to learn more about the Christianity I had left, as well as the other major religions. My search for truth lead me back to Christianity, but I remain, in my way, a pluralist without being a relativist.

peace,
lunamoth

 

[Bangbang]

I am a JW today because my mood changed for the day.

Ummmm...have you heard of the good news of everlasting life under Gods Kingdom?

 

[Master Vigil]

Actually, I am not sure if I "chose" my way of life or not. To me, it feels more like it "chose" me.

 

[Lindsey-Loo]

Why does your religion of non religion appeal to you?

Because my religion is the one that will save souls.

I was actually raised in Christianity, as is often the case. But when I was deciding whether or not to be baptized last October, I really looked at 1) the evidences for God and Christianity and 2) what God has done for me in my life. Now I am completely convinced that there is a God and that I was right to be baptized into his family.

 

[turk179]

Because I believe it .

It just sounds right to me and nothing else does.

 

[Cerrax]

Because I believe it .

It just sounds right to me and nothing else does.

Same here. Well sort of. I came across my religion while I was camping. It was such an exhilarating experience. It has changed me forever and for the better.