What is your religion like?

In My Humble Opinion
41

I might as well try to get everything straight, I have to do this with iampunha tomarrow anyway.

I’m a Christian Scientist. If there is another CS out there and I mess something up awfully, do tell me. And e-mail me, I have a disscussion I want with an understanding but neutral party.

Christian God. That is about it for the dieties. A Father-Mother spirit that loves His/Her children a lot.
No hierarchies, no priests/preachers/hoopla. We have Readers who are elected every four years for each church,by the members, who read from the Science and Health and the Bible. They read the lesson, which is published far a head of time and availible to everyone. (Test me on this if you want, drop by a CS reading room and ask for it.)

Dogmas? Um. Heal. Its a healing religion. “Heal the sick, Raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons” you aren’t really CS unless you practice it.

It runs on the basis that there is no physical reality and all is truly spirit. Man is created in the image and likeness of God, spiritual. Jesus is the son of God, I’m a daughter of God, you are a kid in there too. God loves every one of us bunches and we are all capable of accepting that we are perfect, just like God made us. Jesus was a really wonderful child of God. Like a big brother that you should really try to emulate. Death is not really a big deal, if you haven’t picked up that material isn’t real by the time you get there you don’t notice anything. You still have some things to learn.

People outside of CS are just learning too. Truth will find you wherever you are. (Truth and Spirit are other names for God. Principle, Mind, Soul, Life, and Love are too.)

In a lot of ways CS is a lot like Wicca, the love and acceptance parts anyway. In others… nothing good is unnatural or needs to be willed into existance, it is already, for God has prepared all that is good for his children, you only have to open your eyes and truly see it. A lot of the pain is only ignoring all of the good.

It is a sweet and light religion, warm and comforting, elegant and gentle. I like it. I’m just having a few minor problems with things these days that make facing it difficult.

Much Love!

42

I would, but he seems to have dropped off the face of the earth. I met him online, and i havent seen him around for months (he may have just lost access to the net). Anyway i can tell you he was never really serious about being Muslim. I remember him telling me he’d try to get sick around Ramadan, so he wouldnt have to fast ;). His family also does Christmas, which he says they see as a tradition in American (I think it’s cause they like buying and recieving gifts :))

43

Taoism is something that interests me quite a bit. I have a book on the I Ching, not too sure how I feel about the use of it for “divining” But the book I have has some interesting explanations on the hexagrams.

A little more on the Yin Yang symbol:

From what i’ve read, the yin and yang represent two forces in opposition yet in balance. They are eternally flowing into one another (represented by the curved line). The small circles in each are the seeds of the other, meaning they can give rise to their opposites.

I think I should read up on Taoism more (Friedo and Swiddles, you got any good books on it, or websites we can visit?)

44

The Tao of Pooh is a great book. It looks childish, but it’s actually a very good description of what goes on with Taoism. There are countless interpretations of the Tao Te Ching; read whatever interests you. Here are some books I found very interesting:

The Tao of Pooh
The Tao of Physics <— VERY good, fascinating book
Tao Te Ching translated by James Legge - good version, short, and dirt cheap.

45

I almost forgot to say that I think I could convert to Brookeism if it didn’t have the Yahweh person attached to it. :slight_smile: It sounds like a very insightful religion, Swiddles.

Also, Christian Science sounds pretty interesting. Again, I don’t believe in the Christian God but with all the love going around it sounds like a good religion. How do they feel about gay people out of curiosity?

HUGS!
Sqrl

46

HideoHo, Buddha is not a god, nor is seen as one, but revered instead as a man that brought the Dharma (teachings of buddha) to the people.
I will explain Buddhism only because it seems to be very misunderstood by the general populace. I am not a zen master, or any type of monk that would know the sutras by heart, by i can explain the fundamentals. Buddhism is less a religion, and more a philosophy. The name Buddhism comes from the word ‘budhi’ which means ‘to wake up’ and thus Buddhism is the philosophy of awakening. This philosophy has its origins in the experience of the man Siddhartha Gotama, known as the Buddha, who was himself awakened at the age of 35. Buddhism is now 2,500 years old and has about 300 million followers worldwide.
About Worship
There are different types of worship. Buddhists do not indulge in the type of worship religions with dieties do. The kind of worship Buddhists show is respect to someone or something we admire. When a teacher walks into a room we stand up, when we meet a dignitary we shake hands,when the national anthem is played we salute. These are all gestures of respect and worship and indicate our admiration for persons and things. This is the type of worship Buddhist practise. A statue of the Buddha with its hands rested gently in its lap and its compassionate smile reminds us to strive to develop peace and love within ourselves. The perfume of incense reminds us of the pervading influence of virtue, the lamp reminds us of light of knowledge and the flowers which soon fade and die, reminds us of impermanence. When we bow, we express our gratitude to the Buddha for what his teachings have given us. This is the nature of Buddhist worship.
lastly, i thought i might add:
Albert Einstein,said of Buddhism:
“The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend a personal God and avoid dogmas and theology. Covering both natural and spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual and a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers this description. If there is any religion that would cope with modern scientific needs, it would be Buddhism.”
if you would like to learn more, try this site. It might help some. :slight_smile:

47

Thanks Balance! That site is very interesting and has one serious list of suggested books. I was a bit surprised to find one I own on their list. I already have To Ride a Silver Broomstick by Silver Ravenwolf and like it a lot but wanted to find stuff more in depth.

When I was 12 and naive. :rolleyes:
The only “spell” I tried was the apple peel spell. (peel an apple so it’s one long strand of peel then toss over shoulder to spell out true love’s name) I have yet to find anyone named OOOOOOO. :wink:

chrisbar

48

Friedo and SwimmingRiddles, although I’m not a Taoist, I became interested in the philosophy by way of ethics. (I prefer pinyin spelling, for ease of pronunciation, but will follow your lead here.) You mention the key points of Taoist metaphysics, but what do you both think of the ethics of wu-wei? I have been told that I live this way long before I heard of Taosim. (I was raised Catholic.)

Doobieous – I recommend The Tao is Silent by Raymond Smullyan. Short, easy to understand, and delightful. I’m not sure I can recommend any particular website, since there are lots out there and I don’t know enough to judge them for accuracy. There are also a few translations of the Tao Te Ching on line.

49

emarkp wrote:

Well, all I can say is, I used the word “substitutionary” because I have been reading a book called How Wide the Divide? in which a prominent LDS scholar, Stephen E. Robinson, uses the same word in his essays:

As for the 1,000 years in hell for the wicked, I had the impression that that was LDS doctrine. Mea culpa.

50

Ditto. There is a sequel, The Te of Piglet, which I thought was even better. The main point is Piglet’s “It’s very hard to be brave when you are only a Very Small Animal,” line is quite Te.

Good question. The translation of wu-wei is hard, the best translation I could find without my Tao Te Ching near is “no purposive action and yet do act.” Sort of a Gandhi passive-resistance concept, but MUCH more than that. In the following passage, purposive action equates to violence:

However, purposive action can equate to ANY action that you initiate, as well. I think it is the main reason that Brookeism is not Taoism. There is a passage in the Tao Te Ching which talks about a sage not needing to travel, because he can already see the world. I wrestle with this concept a lot. I think that the more exposure to different theories and people that you learn from, the more perspective you gain. While I recognize the power in wu-wei, I simply am too passionate a person to sit and watch injustice happen.

That wasn’t the best explaination, but it’s a very abstract concept. Try this website for a more involved discussion.

And Sqrl, I don’t believe in the Christian god. I don’t believe in a vengeful god. I believe that the collective unconcious IS God, in that manner we are each a piece of God, and that God is made entirely of us. And that connection of the collective unconcious is what binds us to each other. It’s why I know to call my best friend out of the blue, only to find out her boyfriend dumped her and she’s deeply depressed. It’s how I think about an ex-boyfriend who lives far away, that I hadn’t heard from in months, and he calls me that night. I think we have a deep connection to each other, and that force is one of pure goodness. But as I also recogonize the balence inherant in the world, I believe in a force of pure evil.

But I also know that those thoughts aren’t new, and that Jesus preached about His Father lying in each of us. For that reason, Christianity does play a part in Brookeism, but not modern Christianity. I’m talking what Jesus said, not what the Pope tells me to believe what Jesus said. Just as much as what Mohommed said. And what Buddha said. They were all brilliant teachers that I try to learn from.

Alright, I’m shutting up now.

51

Swiddles, may i suggest a book that though relates more to the christian/islamic idea of god, holds some very interesting points of view on your “wrestling” with the issue of the sage not needing to travel. Very light reading, very charming, easy on the mind. The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho.

52

I have more questions for you all later, but I’m away from the board for a week or so so I’ll tackle them when I return.

Ok so this was just a gratuitous bump. Fine. :slight_smile:

-S

53

I’m a Dinoysian, although it is ptrobably more accurate to call it Neo-Dinoysianism.

Dionysus was the Greek god of wine and theatre (with madness and orgiastic joy thrown in). He died and came back and was essentially born of a virgin birth–familiar to anyone? Christianity is basically a castrated and less joyful version. Dionysus is a force, not a “personal friend of mine” type of deity. Also, I think of magic/miracles/etc. as essentially silly.

Very simple belief system–get drunk on something as much as possible. It can be wine,booze, sex, watching squirrels chase each other, playing with your dog, teaching a kid how to make farting sounds–but be intoxicated with life! Increase joy for yourself and those around you without hurting the joy of others. Toss in a bit of Stoicism (in accepting what cannot be altered), and you’ve got the thrust of it.

Afterlife? Unclear, probably part of a collective whole–we’re like fertilizer, and good lives lead to better crops of future souls.

As pretty much the sole practioner, I am the self-appointed and self-annointed Pope of Dionysus. Anyone willing to join should bring something to eat, something to drink, and a brain to go along with a heart. Oh, and nubile dancers to serve the Pope would be nice, too, especially if they would find joy in dressing up as cheerleaders, and…

Pope Bucky

54

Actually, consubstantiation is a little bit more than just the belief that the bread/wine is a symbol. A transformation is believed to occur, it’s simply not a physical one. Ie, with transubstantiation the bread physically becomes the body of christ, with consubstantiation it spiritually becomes the body of Christ. There is also a separate belief (think the Anabaptist movement) that considers it to just be a symbol. This was, interestingly enough one of the major splits between the proto-anabaptist Hermann Zwingli(just a symbol) and Martin Luther(consubstantiation).

Of course, I’m not completely sure of all that, and very dubious of much of the spelling. I’m a godless athiest myself, which means that I worship Satan and attempt to lure young children into secular humanism by advocating the teaching of such inventions of Satan as science and logic. Also I am completely amoral and the cause of all modern societal problems. :smiley:

55

Really shouldn’t dive into this at a time when I’m likely to be rushed, but I’ve been thinking about this for some time, half-expecting to start a thread on it, but this seems as good a place as any.

Kyla fairly accurately expressed the state of American Conservative and Reform Judaism in her post. Re-read it, if you will, and note how much of her post deals with what Jews believe, and how much with what Jews do. This, more than anything else, is the thing that, IMHO, most Christians fail to “get” about Judaism, and it leads to a variety of misunderstandings.

As a convert to Judaism from Christianity (Methodism, to be precise), one of the things I find so curious about this type of discussion is the way in which the dominance of Christianity in Western culture frames the very nature of the discussion. Namely, and we see this in most of the posts in this thread so far, in the emphasis on what you believe rather than what you do. One of the most compelling factors in my conversion to Judaism was the emphasis on living a righteous life, obeying the mitzvot, and being personally responsible for one’s actions. A Jew can believe practically anything – though belief in God is pretty much a given – but what matters Jewishly is how he or she behaves: whether he observes the commandments and (to slightly paraphrase Micah) “does justice, loves mercy, and walks humbly with God”. In this, Judaism gets at something fundamental in human nature and our experience of reality: spend enough time behaving as if a particular precept is true and valid, allowing it to inform your actions, and the effect on the world and on yourself is essentially the same as if it were in fact true. Torah is essentially a set of rules for behavior that, if followed, result in a better world, furthering the process of tikkun olam, perfecting the world, that is the obligation of all Jews.

56

SqrlCub- As far as I know there is no offical Christian Science opinion of gays. (Official opinions come few and far between. Love God, Love Man, Heal. That about covers the official opinions. There are a few business rules like if you want to be a memeber of the Mother Church in good standing you have to donate at least a dollar a year to some fund run by the church. Personally I fund the restoration Committee because they are working on restoring the complex in Boston that is really beautiful.)From logic, I can deduce a non-issue opion of gays. It would more depend on how you were gay then if you were gay. There are many ways, IMO, that one can live a spirtually giving and fulfilling life as a gay. Just as there are many ways to muck it up as a hetero. How you deal with you sexuality is more important than what your orientation is.

Pope Bucky-your next service, may I be invited, or must one be of the faith to join in?

57

I really like what Soulsling said.

I was first exposed to Buddhism in SE Asia, I went back a few times. When I returned home I had a very difficult time explaining to people what was so appealing about the Buddhists. They see prayer in the tinkling of a bell or the waving of a flag. They are like children in some ways, they laugh so fully and freely.

My first exposure to Tibetan Buddhism lead me to study at a monastery in Nepal, yet it was several years before I actually became a Buddhist. You do this by taking refuge in the three jewels of Buddhism, the Buddha (the historical Buddha), the Darma (his teachings), and the Sangha (the monks or practioners).

Buddhism is not a religion, it is a philosophy, it fails to be a religion because it lacks dogma.

Not matter how uneducated a Tibetan may be, he knows that prayer flags represent more than what the average westerner sees. The Tibetan knows that it’s not the flag that moves, nor the wind, it’s the mind.

To Buddhists all life is sacred, and compassion is all.

58

My religion is quite private actually. It involves squirrels, cursing at and talking to my god/ess frequently, and giving thanks and making wishes. I share it with no one else.

59

I’m glad you’re an atheist too, since I was about to spout off, and I’m new here.

There are kinds of atheists, though. Some who believe in odd things like UFO’s or premonitions.

Me, I’m fully of the here and now school. If it sounds like a made-up story, it is. Ghosts, 6th senses, knowing the future, remembering past lives, flying carpets and easter bunnies are all the same to me as any particular god or godess or saint or level of heaven. Fun to tell gullible children, but sad when they believe you later.

60

thank you elbows.
it’s difficult to explain Buddhism to many westerners even though it’s so widespread in the west.
as rackensack stated, the western world is dominated by a christian idea of what things are like the world over. IMO that also makes most people pretty closeminded.
an example i can give is that a buddy of mine today actually asked me why the Jews only work in accounting, law, or medicine, and the Chasidic Jews in diamonds. I was completely amazed at his ignorance. I had to explain to him to get out of his mind the idea that they were not just people. And that Jews like anyone else work at every type of job there can be just like anyone else. And that he’s living in a very Jewish dominated area of NYC, and that for the most part, the Chasidic Jews stand out because of the way they dress, so he only sees what he was stating, but that in actuality, there are Jews the wolrd over that dress just like he and I do. I am in fact a Jew. I cannot change that, i was born a Jew, and i am proud of my heritage, but i have found my “Religious” beliefs to fall into the areas in which Buddhism holds the Dharma. More of a philosophy than a religion. My roots are my roots. Judaism is more than a religion, it’s a culture as well, and a nation of people. The western world needs to open it’s eyes, especially the USA, becuase there is a whole world out there with ideas and beliefs that are different and other than that which we are brought up with. Here in the USA, we take for granted what we have, it’s a shame. Not all of us, but most. I’m glad this thread was brought up because it allows everyone to share the knowledge, without the preaching or pushing of one faith onto another. thanx shadenwawa.