Not sure if this topic should go here but there isnt anywhere else to put it.
So what do u like or not like about your faith?
What are you against or for?
So what do u like or not like about your faith?
What are you against or for?
What religion are you?
- Thread starter Novella
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Hello, Novella.
Just wanted you to inform you that we have the Religious and Spiritual Writing sub-forum with the Comparative Religious Philosophy Discussion that seems more appropiate for this type of discussion.
Please don't forget to be polite and sensible since this forum was made for every that respect its fellow human being and has a passion for writing, oh, and welcome aboard!
Just wanted you to inform you that we have the Religious and Spiritual Writing sub-forum with the Comparative Religious Philosophy Discussion that seems more appropiate for this type of discussion.
Please don't forget to be polite and sensible since this forum was made for every that respect its fellow human being and has a passion for writing, oh, and welcome aboard!
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This belongs in the Religion and Spiritual Writing subforum athttp://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=61. It would be worse than foolhardy to mix religion up with this board.
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Ruv Draba
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Welcome, Novella.
My moral code is a humanist one. I think that people should help people become better people. But I'm a secular humanist -- I don't believe that religion has any mandate to tell people how to behave. My basic faith is that most people have the capacity to be decent and to care, but I'm aware too that some can only ever fake it. I think it's up to us to work out what to do about that.
I'm against people making up stories and telling each other it's the only story. I'm for people starting off with an open mind, and investigating and then sharing what they learn in ways that others can verify.
I think there are some questions we can legitimately ask, and some we might reasonably answer. I think there are some that it makes no sense to ask -- like 'how did everything come to be', and that it's ludicrous to try and answer.
What I'm wondering about your post is -- why do you care what other people think? What would you do differently if you understood others better?
My moral code is a humanist one. I think that people should help people become better people. But I'm a secular humanist -- I don't believe that religion has any mandate to tell people how to behave. My basic faith is that most people have the capacity to be decent and to care, but I'm aware too that some can only ever fake it. I think it's up to us to work out what to do about that.
I'm against people making up stories and telling each other it's the only story. I'm for people starting off with an open mind, and investigating and then sharing what they learn in ways that others can verify.
I think there are some questions we can legitimately ask, and some we might reasonably answer. I think there are some that it makes no sense to ask -- like 'how did everything come to be', and that it's ludicrous to try and answer.
What I'm wondering about your post is -- why do you care what other people think? What would you do differently if you understood others better?
While I grew up a lot more religious than I am now, I still consider myself to be Jewish. It's not so much about the faith--as far as the question of a higher being goes, I'm more of an agnostic. But I love the feeling of belonging to such a tight-knit community that shares a long and colorful history and culture, both of which I love as well.
I'm Catholic, as God intended. Just kidding about the tacked-on phase. Although our church is still changing (as it has for a couple of millenniums), I'm deaf and one thing I like the missals every church provides with print so that I can follow mass nearly word-for-word from wherever I sit in church.
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I've answered this before, but I'll try everyone's patience and post the answer again. I'm a Quaker, the formal name for which is Religious Society of Friends, or just Friends. It was founded by George Fox in England the mid-17th century and is regarded by most (but not all) as a branch of Christianity. It has several varieties, but mine is the traditional, silent meeting branch.
A large number of Quakers came to America (due to persecution in England), with William Penn's establishment of Pennsylvania being the most well-known example. It was the first colony to tolerate all religions (other colonies actually persecuted Quakers), which is why Pennsylvania became a magnet for Dissenters of all sorts, particularly those belonging to Pietist sects such as the Amish and the Mennonites. Lancaster County, PA, remains a sort of Mother House for both groups to this day. All you really need to know about us to understand us is embodied in what we call the Testimonies, which is the basis for what we believe, and, most importantly, how we (try to) act:
Like all religions, it's not for everyone, but, in the original words of George Fox, it "speaks to my condition." He encouraged us to "walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in everyone." It's good advice, I think.
A large number of Quakers came to America (due to persecution in England), with William Penn's establishment of Pennsylvania being the most well-known example. It was the first colony to tolerate all religions (other colonies actually persecuted Quakers), which is why Pennsylvania became a magnet for Dissenters of all sorts, particularly those belonging to Pietist sects such as the Amish and the Mennonites. Lancaster County, PA, remains a sort of Mother House for both groups to this day. All you really need to know about us to understand us is embodied in what we call the Testimonies, which is the basis for what we believe, and, most importantly, how we (try to) act:
- Simplicity -- live simply
- Peace -- we are pacifists and oppose the death penalty
- Integrity--tell the truth ("speak truth to power" is actually a centuries-old Quaker expression recently co-opted by others.)
- Community--we are all in this together.
- Equality--no human is better than any other (hence the long-standing equal rights for woman and anti-slavery positions)
Like all religions, it's not for everyone, but, in the original words of George Fox, it "speaks to my condition." He encouraged us to "walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in everyone." It's good advice, I think.
Catholic at my own way. 
Even though I don't agree with some opinions that the Church holds and feel ashamed by some of her acts, I still have admiration for the institution and hope of some reform in the future.
Even though I don't agree with some opinions that the Church holds and feel ashamed by some of her acts, I still have admiration for the institution and hope of some reform in the future.
I don't prescribe to any religion, though I've studied them all. I've read the bible cover to cover, as well as the Koran. I've been to Temple, church and to Mosque.
I take the best parts of all of them, and live as I believe a higher being would want me to.
I take the best parts of all of them, and live as I believe a higher being would want me to.
Roman Catholic. Although I grew up Catholic, I chose to come back after a lapse because the church is truly global. Whenever there is need (Haiti, China, Myanmar, inner-city Washington DC, even) the church is there working to affect real change. We have boots on the ground and the church is one of the few places where I feel there is a true home for the Religious Left in a meaningful way. I also think that we have a much more realistic view of human nature than many other denominations.
What I don't like so much is that we do a lot of theological connecting the dots (if verse A says this, and verse B says that, then extra-biblical teaching C must be true) rather than saying we don't know. I also believe we could be more real world about a few things, but on the balance it suits me keeps me active in faith and works of charity.
What I don't like so much is that we do a lot of theological connecting the dots (if verse A says this, and verse B says that, then extra-biblical teaching C must be true) rather than saying we don't know. I also believe we could be more real world about a few things, but on the balance it suits me keeps me active in faith and works of charity.
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I did not grow up in any religion; my outside influences were atheist and Christian. I chose carefully, and while I still do not belong to any religion for me the best answers to the Big Questions are provided by Advaita Vedanta, a philosophical branch of Hinduism.
I believe that all world religions have the very same truth at their core, and their differences in dogmas and stories simply reflect a net cast wide, to draw humans in all their vast variety.
I believe that all world religions have the very same truth at their core, and their differences in dogmas and stories simply reflect a net cast wide, to draw humans in all their vast variety.
johnnysannie
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Catholic by both birth and choice. I was raised Catholic; went out exploring a little post college but came home to the same faith because nothing else came close to providing for my spiritual needs.
I just came home from Ash Wednesday Mass and have my ash-smeared cross on my forehead.
I just came home from Ash Wednesday Mass and have my ash-smeared cross on my forehead.
That would be my belief, too
The Quakers and the Buddhists appeal to me very much. I go to lots of churches, and a spiritual yoga group in the gorgeous NC mountains. I also like the incense-laden Greek Orthodox church and High Episcopal services-- I don't mind formality, either
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Mormon, as the name suggests. Officially The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints but thats a huge mouthful. Was born into the church, and have never left. Most of the time I enjoy it, though some days it seems like a lot of work. But so is anything worth doing.
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