What religon/belief......
 

Okay, what religion or belief do you follow? (Now let's be nice and not pick on the responses....too much :angel: ) I think everyone has their own path and I can accept almost any belief as being valid - for that person- as long as they don't harm another, or try to "push" their views. I have problems with the "organized" religions as they tend to exclude many for silly reasons, or are used for crowd control. "Believe what we do or you are going to a nasty place forever". I don't think god/gods are that strict if your are sincere in your soul. If you find peace and fullfillment in your belief, more power to you. I don't think you need a book or another mortal to contact "a greater force" and that each path has it's own merits. (And then again some are just plain kooky....j/k) Okay...let the games begin..... :eek:

I'm Jewish but I'm not religious at all. I don't go to temple or really celebrate any of the holidays.

I was raised with native american religion, and baptized catholic. But basically the tenet i try to follow, is that everything on the earth has an important place, and some aren't more important than others, and that everything is connected. Also, I try to be accepting of as many things as i possibly can, barring the obvious things which hurt others. I try to respect other people, but it can be hard. It is easy for me to respect other life forms, though. I also believe that rampant consumerism is wrong, and that value should be placed not on what we can acquire, but on deeper, more fundamental truths. I try not to be jealous, or covetous, or cruel. I think that killing things is wrong, but that death isn't, it is a natural part of the cycle of everything. I, personally, believe that the more humans distance themselves from "nature" (of which we are a part) the more soul sickness will abound.
These are just thoughts off the top of my head....

My dad was raised Catholic and I can't recall what my mom was raised. At any rate, they chose to not bring me up in a church. I went to vacation bible school one summer when I was 5 or so with neighbors (my parents thought I should have a bit of exposure). Other than that, nothing. Of course, I have my own beliefs that I like to think come from various areas and honestly, i'm happy with that.

I adhere to the belief that believing is distinct from knowing, & that education, as Epictetus understood it, is the only hope for my happiness on Earth.

I was raised in a conservative Christian home. I was expected to go to church every Sunday, unless I was on my deathbed. I was even enrolled in a private Christian school from 3rd - 8th grade where we had to memorize bible verses and could only wear shorts that were no shorter than 2 inches above our knees when kneeling (talk about controlling :laugh: ). So I was raised in "one of those" homes.

However, I am proud of my ability to reach beyond that kind of upbringing, which obviously tends to be very sheltered. When I left home for college, I just went crazy and did alot of the stuff I never did while living "under my parents roof" for fear of reprisal. :D That included challenging my religious beliefs on an intellectual level, which would never have been acceptable to do while living with my parents.

One issue that I have with organized religion in general (no matter what the faith) is that it is ultimately a business. Thus, some decisions are made based solely on power issues or money. However, by far the worst thing is the hypocracy. I HATE THAT WITH A PASSION. Some many people get up on their "high horse" and like to look down on others as if they are "less than" worthy to be at "their" church.

I don't believe that one church is necessarily the "right" one. However, I do have a belief system centered around the idea of forgiveness and salvation for anyone who seeks it. I will be the first to admit that this cannot be rationalized. It is a faith based belief system, and cannot be supported by any logical proof.

This makes me think of that 21 Grams movie out awhile back. Kinda creepy idea that the body loses exactly that much weight at the time of death :shocked:

An honest question:

For those of you who do not hold any spiritual beliefs whatsoever, and prefer to stick to what is true beyond any shadow of a doubt and not to worry with what cannot be proven, how do you cope with the death of someone close to you?

yeah, you lose a certain amount of body weight (21 grams?) that cannot be explained, ie, where it goes, what it is. We were discussing whether it was the soul, etc. With the possibility that "the soul" could be just, the energy we are made up of, not necessarily something that goes to heaven, or whatever. Then I said energy (matter) can't be created or destroyed, right? etc.

I went to Catholic and Anglican elementary schools & churches as a kid. I was raised Christian by my parents but (gratefully) I was allowed to ask questions and, in the end, make up my own mind about the whole thing.

I have no idea how to describe my 'belief' etc at this point. Basically, anything that works is good enough! :laugh: If I had to give it a name, it'd be 'Common Sense'. :shrug:

I don't agree with organized religion, but on the other hand I applaud the function that a church plays in binding a community and the charity it offers.

Yeah, thanks for correcting me, it is 21 grams. I don't know why I put 27 grams.

My opinion - it is the soul.

I do hold spiritual beliefs but this is interesting...If you're familiar with early American literature, William Cullen Bryant began writing a poem entitled "Thanatopsis" at age seventeen and continued throughout his life to revise it. It was sort of a musing on death questioning how we are supposed to live when a loved one dies and were faced with thinking about our own mortality. He says:

Thou shalt lie down
With patriarchs of the infant world, with kings
the powerful of the earth, the wise, the good,
Fair forms, and hoary seers of ages past,
All in one mighty sepulchre.

To me, it's comforting when you think about it. Yes, it's an unknown but really, so is life until you start living it. He's basically saying that you can take comfort in those who died before you and that you should live with trust (everyone else is there) and that it's always been okay and will continue to be okay. People die and will continue to die. Life will go on but you'll not be forgotten--you'll be one with Earth and carry on and so will everyone else.

That movie made me cry like a baby...great performances in the film and really really touching. Definitely one to watch if you've never seen it and wouldn't mind a good cry.