Do I need to have a religion/belief?

[aggierocker]

I don't really have a religion. I was raised a Jehovah's Witness. That was a horrible experience. Now that I'm in college and on my own, I've been going to friends' different churches. One of my friends said I need to believe in something. And that just got me thinking.

 

I believe in freedom. I believe in justice for everyone. But I don't really have a religion. I don't believe we should owe our allegience to some God.

[Liam Weic]

there you go. that's what you believe.

 

you don't have to have blindly follow any religion.

 

don't let other people convince you of what you yourself don't believe.

[Dako]

Or, like author and former nun Karen Armstrong, you can draw strength and wisdom from all religions. I consider religion not a science, but an artform that humans use to make sense of it all. Like life, you can choose what has meaning and avoid the fluff.

[Empathy]

This is where I come in and say that not believing in God makes you just as blind as believing in God. There is no concrete evidence to prove or disprove the existence of a higher power. Which is why I'm agnostic.

[Empathy]

Or, like author and former nun Karen Armstrong, you can draw strength and wisdom from all religions. I consider religion not a science, but an artform that humans use to make sense of it all. Like life, you can choose what has meaning and avoid the fluff.

 

Very good point.

[DN]

This is where I come in and say that not believing in God makes you just as blind as believing in God. There is no concrete evidence to prove or disprove the existence of a higher power. Which is why I'm agnostic.

 

I agree - which is why I too am agnostic. I think as human beings it is possible to be a just, kind and honest person without needing a god or religion to be a necessary teacher or disciplinary authority.

[Liam Weic]

I agree - which is why I too am agnostic. I think as human beings it is possible to be a just, kind and honest person without needing a god or religion to be a necessary teacher or disciplinary authority.

 

I agree...however...there are many of those that think otherwise, and will try to lure you to their religion. As much as I love my family, most of them know my stance, and yet a few of them still try to just force their religion down my throat. They lecture me on my life whilst quoting passages from the bible. I don't understand why they just can't leave me be. ](*,) That's usually why i have such a negative spin on religion, but I know that not EVERYONE is like that.

[aggierocker]

That's why I say, I don't think we should owe our worship or allegiance to any higher being. Does that make me a free spirited anarchist?

[BBHFutureAllAmerican]

i believed in God until the last year or so and I felt, if he's really out there why is everyone suffering? i know we are supposed to be able to take care of ourselves but doesn't this higher power know what we are doing is wrong? but then i found buddhism and it has opened my eyes to a whole bunch of doors and my mind to new things that i never knew existed before, but like liam said you believe in all those things you don't need to believe in something you don't want to

[Dako]

I've seen atheists insult believers, too.

I was raised without a religion, and my uncles were ministers.

Over time I saw them condemn my parents, but when one of them had their life collapse over some severely painful life events, my mother became the helpful person that gave them solace. Go figure.

[shes2smart]

I believe one's spirtuality/spiritual belief system is something that is too intensely personal to be shared with a group. I have a belief system that works very well for me. However, I don't expect it would work for anyone else. I'll discuss it if it's an appropriate venue, but I'm not going about preaching the "truth."

 

Consequently, I'm not a big fan of or participant in an organized religion.

 

This annoyed my very Catholic mother to no end....when I still had contact with her. Go figure.

[CarnelianButterfly]

I was raised Methodist, but went to a Catholic school. When I moved and started at a public school my best friends were Israeli. Since then, I started college and made more Jewish friends. I attend Temple with them and found a place I felt at home, a connection I never felt at my previous churches. I also visited non-denominational Christian services at school, too, but I always felt out of place. I've not converted to Judaism, but I found people who are accepting and loving. I haven't converted because I really feel my relationship with God is more personal and doesn't require the dogma of a religion, something my Jewish friends accept and my Christian friends try to change.

[The Hanged Man]

I was in the same boat as you. For years I searched and worried about religion (or should I say I was scared of going to Hell) and suffered greatly. I could not find solace with organised religion, it all depressed me and God just seemed so cruel.

 

I found true happiness by practising meditation and asking God (wether you believe in Him or not, pray, it makes you feel good!) to guide me and let me know when I found the right belief (for me). If He doesn't answer you, then your inner conscience will answer you and it's important to listen to your conscience, it's always right! Not long after I found it and my life ha never been the same! I won't list where I found my beliefs or what my beliefs are as I don't want to preach to you. (If you do wanna know just ask) I'm not religious but I'm very spiritual and now I am not afraid to die like I used to be, which is the best feeling ever after suffering from Hell fear all my life.

 

I hope you find what you are looking for.

[DN]

I agree...however...there are many of those that think otherwise, and will try to lure you to their religion. As much as I love my family, most of them know my stance, and yet a few of them still try to just force their religion down my throat. They lecture me on my life whilst quoting passages from the bible. I don't understand why they just can't leave me be. ](*,) That's usually why i have such a negative spin on religion, but I know that not EVERYONE is like that.

 

Just say: "Thank you but I prefer not to discuss religion. Hasn't the weather been fabulous/horrible the last few days."

[Caldus]

Well the way I see it, not having any religious or other beliefs is in itself a belief. Some people live that way. Never attaching themselves to one or more belief systems. That to me is a belief system.

[JerryT]

Not to some God. " Just GOD "

[jtracy]

I think that having a choice about what to believe about God is one of the most fundamental rights a person has. I also believe that an aetheist who is living a life that is moral and loving is a better person (in God's eyes) than one who goes to church every Sunday and belongs to the Klu Klux Klan or something for the rest of the week. I think that the real advantage in beleiving in some power that is higher than you are is that it helps you to understand the world better when it is often confusing, and to have faith that things will all work out in the end.

[NowandZen]

It might be helpful for you to study philosophy. I don't think that you can get anything out of a system that you do not truly believe.

 

As an aside, I see nothing wrong with Christianity as philosophy. MY problem, was that the philosophy was lost because our entire Western culture was thrown into the blender with philosophy and came out a confusing mess. I was told things that I couldn't get myself to believe.

 

So, at some point in my life, I began to read the Tao Te Ching, and about Zen Buddhism. Did this make me a Buddhist or Taoist? Not really. What I was able to do was to read what they were trying to say without all the cultural baggage, as their culture was not mine. After reading it, I went back to the TEXT of Christianity, and found that there was more common ground than conflict. In other words, my study of another philosophy brought me closer to the central tenets of Christianity. Interesting huh?

 

The problem with any organized group is that they are jealous of their turf. I was told that by meditating, I was allowing demons to come into my soul. Sheesh! What I now see is that prayer and meditation are very similar.

 

Also, as to whether it's important to believe in a higher power, my philosopy is this: It doesn't matter. What is, is, whether you believe it or not. What isn't, isn't, likewise.

 

Ok, so I have been rambling, but I see it this way:

 

The key to a belief system is to BELIEVE. Whatever you choose, it needs to be something you BELIEVE. Look around, read, study, ask questions.