What made you finally settle on a religion?

[Adachi 772]

For me, my religion is a mix of Gnostic Luciferianism, Gnostic Christianity, and Zen Buddhism. I believe that all who achieve a Christlike/Buddha nature will go to paradise. I'm guessing what it will be like is constantly being near, or being one with the source. It's more of getting an intense overpowering surge of positive emotions always, instead of having your own little corner of heaven where you can live out your fantasies. It just makes sense when I think about it. Organized religions seem like constructs to trap the soul on Earth and take our money, and salvation should be easy to get for those who want it.

 

The difference is that I also believe there might be a Christ, although I'm not sure whether that's Jesus, Saint Michael, or someone else. I'm inclined to think that Christ is a state of being, and not so much a person who died for our sins, and even if there is a Christ, he would want us to focus on trying to be Christlike spiritually, than focusing on his sacrifice.

 

When I think of returning back to our heavenly father and mother, I just get this feeling of peace.

Edited April 22, 2014 by Pegasus

[yeet 2,026]

i dont have a religion, and i decided to settle with that because there is no evidence god exists, and the bible doesnt count as evidence.

[)O( Scarlet )O( 1,259]

I settled on Paganims/Wicca because I know within my heart and soul that it is what I am meant to be. It is not like organized religion, we are not governed over by any sort of 'leader' (i.e pastor, priest, pope etc), and we do not have our free will taken away from us by some old book which's translations have been lost and twisted over the centuries.

[TheMarkz0ne 962]

I want to make this clear. People who use the Bible god as a method of disproving god is the same as using the Bible to prove god. I find it funny actually. Religion and spirituality are contrary 100% to each other. Science and Spirituality are one in the same. We're entering an age were the Gnostic ancient science is intriguing modern science(metaphysics is physics). We're light beings and we understand the brain and mind are not the same. You know that your heart controls the brain? Look it up! Your heart also projects an energy field, it does more than pump blood.

 

Let's get rid of the elephant in the room. God is real... But it's not in any religion. God is within you , God is in all of us! The Bible is an allegorical tool with science in it. Don't take it literally. It's literary.

[Serbon div 386]

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth and of all things visible and invisible.

I chose Orthodoxy, because it values ancient ideals, and because the Orthodox Church is the true succesor of original Christianity.

[Frith is Magick 1,471]

I hesitate to say I have settled on a religion. For most of my life, I was atheist simply because there was no concrete evidence, the whole deal just seemed...off. A few years ago I examined my beliefs, values, and goals and decided that the best label was Eclectic Pagan. It's not so much that I changed my beliefs or settled on a religion, I simply picked a title that described where I was and where I was going. It is not about a set path or code, it is about life, striving towards ideals and self-improvement, but also about finding joy; seeking the pleasures of mind, body, and spirit. Even the low times are to be treasured, as they not only bring valuable experience, but by contrast they make the good times seem better. Like many things, my religion was affected largely by current and desired mindset.

[Shanks 10,816]

What made me "settle" as you put it was a lot of prayer, thinking, research and learning. I was raised as a catholic christian but became disgusted with the corruption and hypocrisy in organized religion in general but still believed in God. What made me go back to my catholic roots was both the realization that while there is plenty of corruption and hypocrisy in that as well as all religions that I also need to take the good with the bad. When I grew up my church (as in my local one) was like an extended family, they accepted me and loved me even though I was different even with all the behavioral problems and sensory issues I had due to Autism. Faith without works being dead is a mantra that formed much of my early childhood with me and my family being heavily involved in charity some of it through the church, some of it outside of that. Though I have my issues with the church and am not a fan of fundamentalism and pride myself on being an individual I also like that sense of community as well.

Edited April 22, 2014 by EarthbendingProdigy

[Malinter 3,064]

I have no religion, I've never need it, and people twisting it to fit there own sordid "ideals" just pushes me even further way from it. I can understand the appeal of their being a creator but i'm not that interested in meeting him really. 

[TheMarkz0ne 962]

What made me "settle" as you put it was a lot of prayer, thinking, research and learning. I was raised as a catholic christian but became disgusted with the corruption and hypocrisy in organized religion in general but still believed in God. What made me go back to my catholic roots was both the realization that while there is plenty of corruption and hypocrisy in that as well as all religions that I also need to take the good with the bad. When I grew up my church (as in my local one) was like an extended family, they accepted me and loved me even though I was different even with all the behavioral problems and sensory issues I had due to Autism. Faith without works being dead is a mantra that formed much of my early childhood with me and my family being heavily involved in charity some of it through the church, some of it outside of that. Though I have my issues with the church and am not a fan of fundamentalism and pride myself on being an individual I also like that sense of community as well.

Autism is not real man. We are unique people shunned by society. I was diagnosed with autism at age 8, just because I was emotionally different from others. At the end of the day...Be a good human being and provide for each other. Because what is money? What are material goods? What is status? Nothing. Because people want people... These past decades have been about what we have, and not what we can do for others. In this material world.. People want to "rationalize" everything. We think we're so advanced and that we're progressing. Some of us are learning what life is and others are stuck in this material matrix. Please don't let anyone tell you that your "autism" is something that should shame you as a fellow human being from society.

[Shanks 10,816]

Please don't let anyone tell you that your "autism" is something that should shame you as a fellow human being from society.

I haven't let anyone do that in the past and won't now, it is real though. I didn't learn to talk until I was 5 and had severe sensory issues, behavioral problems and difficulties interpreting social rules, norms and cues and it tooks years but I advanced to the point where most people can't tell. My brain works differently than most peoples and because of that adjusting to mainstream society was difficult and there are certain things that are still difficult for me but the fact that my brain is wired differently is not a bad thing as we are all individuals.

[Envy 6,128]

I'm bored, so here, a total tl;dr version. xD

 

And I'm sorry if any of this comes off as offensive. I know some of it would be disagreeable for believers, but I'm not intending to be offensive with anything I say here...

 

How I went from Christian to an irreligious atheist:

 

When I was young I settled on belief in a God and Christianity because I was raised that way. I never had any reason to believe for myself, but I assumed that since my parents, grandparents, our church, and community all believed in God, there must be something I was missing.
 

Nonbelief in God may not have even been a concept in my mind until ten years ago. I denied it fervently at the beginning. In fact, this topic is great timing because I just found a diary from ten years ago and was able to refresh myself on this. Quite possibly the very first nonbeliever I knew was a guy in band that I used to go to church with. He was a real jerk, and I could not believe that somebody that I formerly went to church with now rejected God, and was not a "good person" anymore. I called him an "anti-Christian". My mind was in so much shock.

 

Him aside, as he didn't seem to make a lasting impression on me, it was just around that very time that I learned that homosexuality was a 'sin'. I guess, having been raised in such a liberal household and church, that had never been told to me. I was confused on my sexuality at the time, but I definitely was beginning to recognize I was a lesbian. Learning this made me sad and a bit frightened. I think my very first layer of skepticism may have occurred here. For I was raised to believe that sexism, racism, and the like were great 'evils' in this world.  Naturally, having never had a single thing against homosexuality, I began to pair homophobia with those 'evils'. I had experienced it for quite some time, and the idea that it might be rooted in my oh-so-great and moral religion and God certainly must have been a blow. (somehow sexism being inherent in the religion, and the Bible being used to justify slavery had not yet reached me. I do not have any clue why. My parents sheltered me soooo much, I guess.)

 

It was then that I joined an internet community that was run by an outspoken atheist. Unlike the "anti-religion" jerk of an atheist I knew the year before, this admin was a very reasonable individual. He made real arguments for the nonbelief in God, and they very slowly got through to my weak belief in God. This came in conjunction with an AP European History course that showed me a very dark side of the church that I had never seen before (or I might have been 'taught', but it didn't get through to me before).

 

I like to believe it happened pretty fast from there, but I'm not actually sure, because during that time I didn't keep many diaries (I hate myself for that, I really do) and that forum is long-gone.

 

Either way, it was a combination of emotion (seeing the history of the church, seeing the 'ethics' that the Bible taught/didn't oppose [sexism, slavery, homophobia]), and logic... Although, I can't end this post here, for a couple of years later, I would have some things happen in my life, that I was too weak to handle, that would latch back onto a much deeply-engrained than I realized belief in God. But at this point it was more of a 'want'. Still, that doesn't excuse it. It was just very deep denial. I got around the what I believe to be atrocious ethics of the Bible by becoming a 'Progressive Christian' and distancing myself from the Catholic church (which I thought was the worst, from European history, I didn't learn enough about Protestantism) Shortly after I joined this forum, that bubble was repopped. Being a little bit older, I could now better understand the arguments for atheism. This time around, I also actually studied the religions around me and their histories, and you can say... the nail was finally put in the coffin.

 

So there you have it. Actually, I could expand this by about a billion times more. But this isn't my blog, and nobody probably even cares. lol

 

Edit:

 

To clarify, because I might not have made it clear in the original posting. The emotional reasons are not why I became an atheist. They are simply what led me to explore the idea that maybe Christianity might be wrong, and that there might not be a God afterall. Because obviously (although I don't know that this is obvious to some believers who have a very strange and messed up misconception of atheism) thinking that God's laws are immoral does not have any bearing on whether God exists or not. He can still exist, and be immoral. It's just that everything else comes together to point to the idea of God being fictional and the horrible ethics of the Bible being obviously just a product of people who had the horrible ethics of their ancient culture. Of course, a God-like being still could exist, but there just isn't any reason at all to believe that.

Edited April 24, 2014 by Envy

[Scootalove 10,689]

I don't really believe in a religion. But if I did, I would settle on Christianity.

[TheMarkz0ne 962]

I haven't let anyone do that in the past and won't now, it is real though. I didn't learn to talk until I was 5 and had severe sensory issues, behavioral problems and difficulties interpreting social rules, norms and cues and it tooks years but I advanced to the point where most people can't tell. My brain works differently than most peoples and because of that adjusting to mainstream society was difficult and there are certain things that are still difficult for me but the fact that my brain is wired differently is not a bad thing as we are all individuals.

My issues are turning a passion into something helpful. It has always been that way and I need to channel that energy into a tool and career. I want to help others, even though I am different from society. My brain is very different to. I am actually not talking to my old friends anymore. Just because we have been close since 6th grade and I have been holding onto them like a remnant since 2011. I need to move on and forget the past. That's something I believe we all struggle with, moving forward.

[Some_random_guy 1,857]

I chose my religion based off of what my god has done for the world. He has saved us all.

All hail Gaben and his PC Master race!

 

/silly

But seriously I do not feel like any religion is right, and thus am a non-believer.

[Mr F 1,522]

Well, considering I am only 15 my opinions might change with time and experiences.

<- Dis cat is atheist/Agnostic or something like this I dunno.

To sum it up shortly:

I have had some "not too happy times". When I have tried to look up, I was just staring down an empty hall.

I have never truly felt that I belong somewhere, would I really feel any different in the afterlife?

There are just some problems, no magic can solve.

Edited April 22, 2014 by A CrayZ Cat

[Kurai 304]

I am a spiritual person, but not a religious one.

Ever since I was little, I always saw religion as a joke, its laws, its beliefs and its gods.
Instead I believe that the mind is the spirit, which when its physical body dies it lives on, going into a state pretty similar to a endless dream, no longer bound by the mortal problems.

[Soulcrifice 21]

I'm simply a non-denominational Christian, which basically means I believe what the bible say, nothing more or less. If it's not in the bible, I don't believe in it. I also firmly believe that you can't have a religion based on tangible evidence. Me saying the bible is what I believe in no way says that it's proof of anything. Religion and having a belief in something isn't about proof but about faith. 

Having faith that God is there, and that by believing in him I go to heaven, it's as simple as that. Having a relationship with God is important too, but the simplicity is faith. Those that ask for proof are at the point where they can't believe in something they can't see or feel or hear. You have to believe that God is there, and that all the things he says are true otherwise you have no faith. 

I guess that's where, for me the people who claim to not have a religion, just do so because they can't find a proof or a definite reason to believe. If you had proof what would be the point of believing in something? "I believe because I saw it happen", well that makes no sense. Of course you believe it! You saw it! If you believe in something you can't see, you're having faith that it'll fulfill what it claims too by having faith in it. 

The problem with most religions and those who don't have one is that they don't see a point, or they see the beliefs as medieval. This is where interpretation can get in the way. The bible for instance has many different translations and all of which "sorta say" the same thing. Sometimes though they could be to a different degree, maybe not as harsh as you'd think.

 

 For example; Mathew 18:9 says: "And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell." Alright so that's pretty hardcore.. In no way is God telling you actually pluck your eye from your head. Instead, he's using such a graphic metaphor to illustrate the severity of the situation. By letting something you see affect you in a negative way or cause you to sin, you should want to pluck your eye out. Or in other words, you should want to not look at it anymore, in fact you should want to tear it down and burn it.

 

The problem with this is some Christians take this to literal too! They decide that they can't own a T.V. because of the things on it that may cause them to sin. This is a dramatic way of handling this, and this is why some people cower away from religion. Too many things are left to interpretation that everyone gets sorta scared they may be doing it wrong. 

This is a huge topic that I could go on forever about so if anyone's interested in hearing more feel free to pm me.

tl;dr?  I'm a Christian, and for those who don't have any religion I hope you find one. 

[Adachi 772]

 

I'm simply a non-denominational Christian, which basically means I believe what the bible say, nothing more or less. If it's not in the bible, I don't believe in it. I also firmly believe that you can't have a religion based on tangible evidence. Me saying the bible is what I believe in no way says that it's proof of anything. Religion and having a belief in something isn't about proof but about faith. 

 

Having faith that God is there, and that by believing in him I go to heaven, it's as simple as that. Having a relationship with God is important too, but the simplicity is faith. Those that ask for proof are at the point where they can't believe in something they can't see or feel or hear. You have to believe that God is there, and that all the things he says are true otherwise you have no faith. 

 

I guess that's where, for me the people who claim to not have a religion, just do so because they can't find a proof or a definite reason to believe. If you had proof what would be the point of believing in something? "I believe because I saw it happen", well that makes no sense. Of course you believe it! You saw it! If you believe in something you can't see, you're having faith that it'll fulfill what it claims too by having faith in it. 

 

The problem with most religions and those who don't have one is that they don't see a point, or they see the beliefs as medieval. This is where interpretation can get in the way. The bible for instance has many different translations and all of which "sorta say" the same thing. Sometimes though they could be to a different degree, maybe not as harsh as you'd think.

 

 For example; Mathew 18:9 says: "And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell." Alright so that's pretty hardcore.. In no way is God telling you actually pluck your eye from your head. Instead, he's using such a graphic metaphor to illustrate the severity of the situation. By letting something you see affect you in a negative way or cause you to sin, you should want to pluck your eye out. Or in other words, you should want to not look at it anymore, in fact you should want to tear it down and burn it.

 

The problem with this is some Christians take this to literal too! They decide that they can't own a T.V. because of the things on it that may cause them to sin. This is a dramatic way of handling this, and this is why some people cower away from religion. Too many things are left to interpretation that everyone gets sorta scared they may be doing it wrong. 

 

This is a huge topic that I could go on forever about so if anyone's interested in hearing more feel free to pm me.

 

tl;dr?  I'm a Christian, and for those who don't have any religion I hope you find one. 

 

I hope I'm not offending you by saying this, because I certainly don't mean to offend. But I believe that Jesus' salvation was meant to be free. Not with the condition of reading through a 1k+ page book, which makes sense sometimes, doesn't make sense other times. The important thing (IMO) is to focus on the message of the Christ, and try to become Christlike ourselves. Although we cannot escape sin, due to having human bodies and non Christlike souls (at least at first), our souls can evolve by learning about the light and embracing it. As we gain more Gnosis (wisdom), we will have an easier time becoming more and more Christlike. And that doesn't require a specific religion. God never meant for everyone to be in different religions, he meant for humans to learn from Jesus, appreciate his sacrifice, and focus on helping each other, rather than focusing on the church. And I believe that our souls have been on a long journey through the ages, we are eternal students until we finally become worthy of going back to God.

[Venomous 18,862]

When I started college and became more independent, I just came to the realization to what religion I wanted to be a part of. I'm not really sure what triggered it.

Edited April 22, 2014 by Samurott77

[Fluttershyfan94 5,742]

Well I'm protestant and didn't change that. I may not be a religious person but I still choose to believe. Though I don't know I just want to believe that there's an afterlife.

[Dddrgn 450]

I settles on my agnostic-atheism without too much trouble. I was born and raised a Christian, no specific denomination though. Eventually, I started using the internet. On forums I would go on, I would argue why Christianity is the right religion, but I was too young to understand how to debate properly and to even understand most of the arguments the atheists I was talking to were presenting. Regardless, through multiple forums I met many atheists, and they continued to show evidence that planted doubt for my religion. Eventually, I bought the book "The God Delusion", and read straight through it. Afterwards, I considered myself agnostic, but as I found more and more evidence showing that the bible is inn accurate, full of flaws, and portrays the God of the Bible differently than church did, I gave up on it entirely and became Agnostic Atheist.

[Soulcrifice 21]

I hope I'm not offending you by saying this, because I certainly don't mean to offend. But I believe that Jesus' salvation was meant to be free. Not with the condition of reading through a 1k+ page book, which makes sense sometimes, doesn't make sense other times. The important thing (IMO) is to focus on the message of the Christ, and try to become Christlike ourselves. Although we cannot escape sin, due to having human bodies and non Christlike souls (at least at first), our souls can evolve by learning about the light and embracing it. As we gain more Gnosis (wisdom), we will have an easier time becoming more and more Christlike. And that doesn't require a specific religion. God never meant for everyone to be in different religions, he meant for humans to learn from Jesus, appreciate his sacrifice, and focus on helping each other, rather than focusing on the church. And I believe that our souls have been on a long journey through the ages, we are eternal students until we finally become worthy of going back to God.

I am in no way offended. We're all entitled to our own beliefs, but I don't want what I said to be confused. I in no way meant that you have to read the bible in order to be a Christian (in my opinion of course). I meant that the bible is just what I believe in, it helps me understand the Lord better. By reading the scriptures I learn about how to handle my life based on the stories that are within its pages. In no way is that a requirement to being a Christian though. I completely agree that salvation is totally free, and I also agree that we are to become Christlike ourselves. I believe to become Christlike though you must understand his commandments and hist teachings, which can only be found in the Bible. 

[Yellow Diamond 7,565]

The question is, quite frankly, a bit puzzling to me. I didn't settle on being a Roman Catholic Christian, nor do I think it is necessarily right to assume we might settle on faith. We can work our way through understanding our faith (fides quaerens intellectum), but faith is a gift, not a spontaneous surge of good feelings or thoughts. If faith boils down to feelings and nothing else, then the following question is begged: are we responding to the call of faithfulness to God, or are we responding to faithfulness in ourselves? It's hard for me to say that the latter is more than a dead end of self-justification.

 

In short, if we have to settle on a faith, the compass is already pretty skewed in the wrong direction.

[I used to be a stranger 7,993]

This post has been redacted by the author.

Edited May 6, 2021 by Blue

[Adachi 772]

The question is, quite frankly, a bit puzzling to me. I didn't settle on being a Roman Catholic Christian, nor do I think it is necessarily right to assume we might settle on faith. We can work our way through understanding our faith (fides quaerens intellectum), but faith is a gift, not a spontaneous surge of good feelings or thoughts. If faith boils down to feelings and nothing else, then the following question is begged: are we responding to the call of faithfulness to God, or are we responding to faithfulness in ourselves? It's hard for me to say that the latter is more than a dead end of self-justification.

 

In short, if we have to settle on a faith, the compass is already pretty skewed in the wrong direction.

Yeah, I've come to realize that spirituality is something that should be ever evolving. As one learns more and more about different faiths, they become a better and better person, for all faiths have bits of wisdom in them.