why are you religious?

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cognitivefun

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I am not religious in any sense. I am trying to see truth about things and not believe what I think. It's a life's work.

I do not understand religion of any kind. Perhaps you can enlighten me? :)
 
Good question. I am not religious either. Well, loosely pagan, I guess, but it seems more of a lifestyle than a religion sometimes.
 
I'm not religious...spiritual perhaps, but not religious.

And I have sleep apnea...

And I take off my shoes in the house...

.
 
That is a tough one indeed. Initially I guess it was because my folks were religious and raised me that way. Mind you they were not hard core religious types, there were times in my life when we went to church every Sunday but for the most part we did not. It is tough to describe. Defining faith is like trying to define love. You either have it or have felt it or you don't.
 
Although I am guilty of being religious at times, I try not to be. I try to be a worshipper of the God who is there, because he is worthy.

I too want to know the truth, and not just follow some tradition.

There is a man who says, " I am the way, the truth, and the life..."

I believe he has given me sufficient proofs of the verity of all that he claims to be, and that he offers to do.

Therefore, I trust him, acknowledge him as my Lord and my God,and now strive(very poorly at the best of times) to obey him, motivated by love and gratitude.

Thanks for listening, and for asking the question! :)

Tom
 
Not religious in any sense but highly spiritual. For an ndn it is a way of life and not something you 'do" but something that "Is" and it can't be separated from everyday life or tasks.
 
Cognitivefun,
You said you dont understand any religion. Fair enough. Can you tell me how long you have spent studying any one religion in particular?
How much time have you invested in your attempts to understand?
That can have a pretty big effect.
Me, I was brought up a Pentacostal, but after studying the gospels closely as an adult, I am now a different kind of Christian.
The particulars arent important, but the study part is.
 
I am a Catholic but feel that my religion will forever be a mystery to me. He never wrote anything down, but left that to the interpretations of his followers and gaps still remain and will always remain.

Regardless of what you or I or what the world thinks. No one can deny that a man 2000 years ago inspired the world and left a powerful legacy behind.

Alot of people criticize this lack of "concreteness". Not me.

But I don't like to talk about my personal religious beliefs in depth too much. They are mine and I really don't care to share. ;)
 
I'm not convinced it is possible not to be religious or spiritual if you were born a human. It is very possible, and easy, not to know this.

The very senses you think would grasp objective reality are hopelessly tainted or colored. That's a good thing, not a bad thing.

I also believe it is part of living to accept a mystical experience- they are there, they are inevitable- if you are as open as you would believe or hope.

Some folks call them misunderstood science- and that's fine.

That's wrong- but fine. Or to put it another way- it is both a religious, mystical/spiritual experience, and science.


munk
 
but I don't follow any one church. To my mind the world's religions are a bunch of blind men trying to describe an elephant. One feels a leg and concludes it's strong and solid. One touches an ear and says it's soft and velvety. Both are right...sorta. I believe it was Ghandi who said all the religions were like spokes on a wheel.

I try to watch the world around me. God made the sky, man made steeples. God made the grass, man made benches. I see God in the clouds and the wind. The whole world is my temple. I have yet to find solace in man's temple. I'm not saying there's no comfort to be found under stained glass windows. Only that I feel closer to God under the sky. YMMV.

Frank
 
Here's the funny part, Jesus said some pretty similar things...

Some of the less popular gospels tell us we dont need to build churches of stone and we dont need religious leaders.
The Gospels even talk about seeing God in nature.

So, my question remains, how hard have you studied?
 
I'm religious and spiritual and right now my daughter is about to find out just how religious I am when all Hell breaks loose on her attitude :mad: :grumpy: :eek: :rolleyes:
 
I think that spiritual is a good word. I don't want to associate myself with an organized religion, because that seems to be an exclamation that I believe I'm correct. Truly, I have no clue. Nor do any of us, really. We can have faith, of course. I have faith in things, but not a specific idea about a diety. I have ideas and principles that guide my actions. I try to be a good person, as I see it. By this, I mean that I try to be fair and defend the defenseless. I don't always succeed, but I try. I have faith that there is a higher power, or at least a higher cause. I feel that the smoke I send to my friends here really helps them, if only through the knowledge that they have support. I love nature deeply. In these ways and more, I consider myself spiritual.

And I am tolerant of religious people. I have many close friends who have deep faith in their respective dieties. I don't necessarily share this faith, but I respect the fact that it helps them and guides them in a positive way. My only real qualm is when people decide that theirs is the only way, and thus try to force it on others. Being told, ever so sweetly, that I'm going to Hell, is not polite or necessary.

Don't know where this leaves ya, cognitive. :) Guess that's just a rant, but so be it. I do want to tell you, however, that I can hardly imagine a more accepting place in the world of all walks of life and all faiths than this here Cantina! So, may you find peace in your search. At very least, it will make you take a closer look at yourself. :)

Nam
 
I would say that at my best I realize that God is everything and everywhere and that everything -- God-- is good. There are no problems, really. There is nowhere that there isn't God, nothing that isn't God.

I am working on realizing this as I get glimpses of its truth.
 
Actually it is stated that "Heaven is my throne the Earth is my footstool where is this house that you will build for me to dwell in?"
I have virtually no "religous" compunction. I think communion is a fine thing
and would recommend baptisim but as far as the dwellings of man I would
stay clear unless called. "Religion" is the acknowledgement of something
greater than self and most humans are driven towards at least some amount
of recognition of something greater than self to reconcile the universe to
self. At worst I have hoped in vain but due to "religion" I have been at the
least honorable at best I have pleased the Lord and will ascend.
I think Duke did a study were it was demonstrated that prayer worked and
faith led to demonstrateble quicker recovery from sickness. Some may call
it "the power of positive thinking" I prefer to name it faith in action and if
that makes me a fool in someones eyes than so be it. :)
 
Am am religious and that's how I've always expressed it since I'm old enough to remember a time when the word "religious" didn't have such a bad connotation that anyone felt the need to make it a point to say "Spiritual" instead.

I've also lived long enough to have experienced other religions besides the one I grew up with.I'm an American who was drafted during the Viet Nam war and though I was a protestant I put down "Catholic" on the form I had to fill out for my dog tags so that it I was sent to a war zone and was killed I would receive the last rites which I instinctivly senses were something important. My job in the military was as a technician so I never did end up close to the fighting during the war.

Some years ago I live on someone's property in Los Angeles and the woman who owned the property turned her house into the center for Tibetan Buddhism for the Drikung Order. During that time I met many Tibetan Monks and discussed meditation and religious and philosophical questions. In 1995 I witnessed a miracle in a Hindu temple in Los Angeles. After that experience I came to believe that all religions are valid.

I also like what one person said here that their path was to try not to believe anything. I believe this and also it's polar opposite, to believe everything. This hints at the meaning of the symbol of yin and yang, --Maybe.
 
I came from a family that was totally religious, and was immersed into it from birth. You had to be there to appreciate it. Sunday services started at 7:30 am. for the men, and the last service ended at 9 pm. There was daily school for the children, not to mention mid-week services on Wednesday afternoons, and home services 1 or 2 nights per week, where my Dad would read to us from the Bible and quiz us. Saturdays were for working painting, logging and cutting firewood, collecting papers, or other Church fund-raising activities. Do the math and I was easily attending almost a dozen religious meeting of one kind or another every week.

By the time I was 18 and ready to move out I was so constrained and subsequently rebellious that I went as far and as fast as possible in the other direction, something which was a great disappointment to my father while he was alive, and to my mother now. I was refocused on the basics: I wanted a woman or three, a case of Mickey's Wide Mouths, a carton of Kools, a baggie of killer bud, and enough dedicated time with all of them to really find out about myself! (-:

The one thing I learned from that experience is that the quickest way to drive someone to extreme behavior is to subject then to extreme behavior to begin with. My kids have been treated far more moderately and have exhibited none of the knee-jerk super rebelliousness that I did.

In the end, after many years and getting married, I came back a bit towards the middle and stabilized. I have my own personal relationship with God, and try to be as Christian as possible in my dealings with everyone and in raising my family. It seems to have worked for me. If I am not perceived to be as "Holy" as my brother and friends who stayed in the Church, then so be it. I am comfortable in my own skin, and more than willing to stand up for what I have done that I think was right and repent for the things I know I have done wrong. I don't think you can ask more of anyone. (Or go ahead and ask away, and get told where to put it! (-:))

As my Dad used to be so fond of saying, "Everybody dances, everybody pays", and I think he was absolutely right.

Regards,

Norm
 
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