I am a passionate and strongly motivated thinker whose perspective is religious (or spiritual, for those who make the distinction), very devout[sub]1[/sub], extremely unorthodox, diametrically opposed to religious fundamentalism[sub]2[/sub] and orthodoxy[sub]3[/sub] in any form.
by which terms I mean:
DEVOUT= “having or showing deep religious feeling or commitment; totally committed to a cause or belief”
FUNDAMENTALISM = “strict maintenance of ancient or fundamental doctrines of any religion or ideology”
ORTHODOXY = “a form of worship that revolves around a codified belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a church, political party, or other group, which are considered to be above question or scrutiny”
Excellent! I also have Buddhist leanings - they have a good handle on how to have a less-stressed, more realistic life.
I have neo-pagan leanings, too - I also like the idea of being part of the world, not set separate and above it. Considering yourself above the earth seems to lead people down the path of doing whatever they want, to whatever they want, whenever they want - no responsibility, no consequences.
I’m an agnostic atheist. I picked agnostic in the poll because I’ve been calling myself agnostic since I was a kid, but atheist would probably fit just as well.
I do have some “spiritual” practices that make sense to me on a psychological and aesthetic level, though.
I am devout in my belief in G-d and pray regularly but my practice is not what most Jews would consider devout and surely not Orthodox. I keep kosher and do my best with holidays but don’t keep Sabbath (at least not in Orthodox fashion) and I don’t attend synagogue any more.
Interesting that, as best I can tell, you’re the first Jew I’ve come across who “is not … devout and … not Orthodox” that also refuses to write out the name of God. I have no problem with Jews who do that (as I’ve said before, my “prime directive” is the golden rule, I honour others’ beliefs as long as they afford me the same tolerance) but they’ve all been devout Orthodox Jews (well, at least they say so on the 'net … ) so far, seen plenty of “secular Jews” write out God’s name no problem.
You truly are a mix of all over the Jewish spectrum, ain’t ya tumbleddown?
I hope none of this was taken in offense, as I said, whatever you choose to practice or not, as long as you aren’t being a dick about it (like the Fundies) and is respectful (which not writing out God’s name certainly is - a mark of respect), I say “you go, Doper!”
I am. I converted Orthodox and was a part of that community for a number of years and a lot of things are still a part of my daily practice, little things, while other things, the most visible things, actually, have gone by the wayside.
What exactly do you mean by “Strong believer: evangelical/fundamentalist/orthodox/very devout” and “Mainstream or moderate believer”?
I’d classify myself as a strong believer over a moderate one, but I’m not Christian, and am most definitely not evangelical (I believe proselytizing to be immoral), fundamentalist, or orthodox (I’m quite UNorthodox, actually).
My spiritual community isn’t particularly mainstream (yet?), either, at least in terms of numbers.
I almost always write G-D when writing out of habit. On the iPhone, the act of getting the dash requires just that extra step, so I end up writing God.
Christian; in SDMB terms, I’d be categorized as fundamentalist. By fundamentalists, I’d be categorized as quite liberal due to some of my social and science-based beliefs which I regard as tangential to the fundamentals. Nonetheless, my faith and relationship with Jesus Christ is the single most important thing in my life, so Box #1 fits nicely.
I’m about as atheist as they come. I don’t disbelieve God out of some kind of spite (i.e. “what God would allow bad things to happen?”). I have simply arrived at the (to me anyway) completely commonsense conclusion that religion (or any kind of metaphysical belief) is solely a construct of mankind to provide a moral and ethical framework, and provide comfort in times of trouble, including a nice comfy afterlife myth.
I understand why people believe in religion though - the “comfort in times of trouble” and the afterlife bits are awful tempting sometimes. So I don’t hold believers of most faiths in disdain or anything.
Strong believer, I guess. Most Dopers would probably label me a Jesus freak, or worse, judging from what I’ve seen on the boards. I’m a Christian, not a particularly good one (ok, a downright crummy one sometimes), but there’s no doubt in my mind as to who he was and what he did.
Where’s the option for I don’t know, I have faith that there is a God (despite my faith in science), but he might not be a Christian God, but I consider myself a Christian (but not strong in faith and ceremony) because the God that is will at least know that I’m trying?
