What Are Your Beliefs? (page 2)

neyank

Hi Windy,

I knew there was a reason I liked you.

neyank

Well, it took a good while for me to reach a point I stayed at for any length of time. I went through the gamut, starting with searching for a religion with the same core beliefs - no trinity, no hell, dying soul, etc. Then when I couldn't find anything like that that seemed any less cultlike than the JWs, I widened my thinking out to allow room for mainstream religious beliefs as long as they weren't crammed down my throat (it might help to know that I was raised a southern Baptist, only became a JW after I was grown up, married and a parent, so I already had firsthand experience of mainstream religion). Then I gave consideration to the idea of no organized group at all, just believers gathering together informally... but that didn't hold up to scrutiny either, too many passages rendered meaningless or irrelevant.

Then I widened out a little farther and considered non-Christian teachings. Read up a little on Buddhist ideas and the Tao, considered attending a couple eastern philosophy groups locally, but never did... there was enough idiocy in those philosophies to put me off right away, I having just come from an idiotic philosophy and being keenly sensitive to idiocy at the time.

Next I considered wiccan/pagan ideas, and that was when I had my epiphany. I devoted a whole day to searching and reading up on earth-centered ideas and philosophy, down at the bookstore, looking for the right book to buy to start my quest into the knowledge of paganinity. And when it was over I came away with the realization that those beliefs are the twin, or mirror image, of the Christian beliefs. They're just as idiotic, just as misleading, just as requiring of blind faith; they're steering the believer down a parallel road away from fulfillment.

When I left that bookstore, I was an agnostic. Apart from any logic, I FEEL, inside myself, that there is more to our existence than just what we know here. But logically, I do not believe that. And so I have accepted, and resigned myself to, the belief that whatever the whole reality is, I don't know it at this point and neither does anybody else, and with great assurance we never will during this lifetime.

What remains is to live in the present. Build yourself a set of moral standards of your own choosing, guidelines you can live with, and then be true to them (be true to yourself). Enjoy the pleasurable things of a moment while they are occurring; don't stave them off for a future time. Learn to know yourself and come to love yourself; your are your only true companion on this journey. Even true friends come and go; only you will be accompany yourself to the end. Be good friends, then. And offer yourself advice, when you see yourself screwing up. And be willing to take it!

COMF

Farkel

I'm still looking for a God who is not a deaf-mute.

Know where to find him? Maybe I should ask Shelby..................

Farkel

Windchaser

What remains is to live in the present. Build yourself a set of moral standards of your own choosing, guidelines you can live with, and then be true to them (be true to yourself). Enjoy the pleasurable things of a moment while they are occurring; don't stave them off for a future time. Learn to know yourself and come to love yourself; your are your only true companion on this journey. Even true friends come and go; only you will be accompany yourself to the end. Be good friends, then. And offer yourself advice, when you see yourself screwing up. And be willing to take it!

COMF, this is so worth repeating. Thank you.

Dawn

I am a Christian.

I do not believe in "denominations" - those are man-made things. I attend a non-denominational Church because I enjoy the social activities and the worship - but it is simply a "tool" that is useful in my life presently.

My journey here was a long one - in fact, I am still on it - still studying the Bible and asking questions. I no longer believe that anyone has all the answers, and each person's worship of God (or unbelief of God) is a personal decision that can not and should not be judged by others.

Although I lost a number of life long friends when I left the JW's - what I eventually found was freedom. Freedom of religion & worship is such a precious gift!

MoeJoJoJo

What is true and what is a lie? After being a witness my whole life and finding out all the lies my trust has been completly crushed. Can we ever fully put are trust in any religion again?

Annalice, good question, it weighs heavy on my mind as well.

Thanks to everyone for your comments. Being raised as a JW most of the info I ever read or heard about other religions came from the Society and of course they always portrayed all other religions as evil and wicked.

MoeJoJoJo

Comf, that was profoundly wise advice. Windchaser repeated the best part.

Thanks

Sentinel

Ummmm, what do I believe.

First of all, I believe that I have a right to listen to my own heart, and move around freely searching for what makes me feel comfortable, happy and at peace with my soul. No one on my back about meetings or hours or associations. It feels good.

I tried to read the bible as a history book, and found that it's not actually a very good history book. I got a book on the Dead Sea Scrolls and was enlightened. I believe that I don't have all the answers and probably never will, but am enjoying this road to self-discovery and acceptance of different ideas that I could never before have considered. One of those being the Soul's journey and how we can learn what our place is in the universe.

I believe it's perfectly alright to just live by "The Golden Rule", and not worry about any religion or church. Would it shock you for me to say that I'm not so certain that Jesus is all we have been taught. But, that he was a very wise and inlightened man that walked this earth, like so many others I'm learning about.

I believe that no one should judge me for what I think and believe at this moment, and that I in turn should not make judgment on another person. I do, however, have the option to choose who I will call my friend.

I believe that your post is a very good one. You should get lots of interesting responses.

"The Truth Is Out There",

Karen/Sentinel

SpiceItUp

I believe that I am part of the energy that is a part of the great unknown we lilke to call the universe.

Spice energy

ChuckD

I believe that I will have another Martini.

What Are Your Beliefs?

Share this