Anyone non-religious here? Please be nice!

[onthespot]

I prefer to completely avoid organized religion. I don't pray for a get out of jail free card when i screw up. I pay the piper myself and try not to screw up again. I take my lumps, do my best, remember the golden rule, try not to allow unneccessary guilt to cloud my judgment in situations. I try to give more than I get, hold the door for people who need it, remind Gigi (the ninety some year old lady that lives on our street) to walk on the sidewalk instead of in the road when I see she gets off course. I don't expect much from people and am rarely disappointed. That pretty much sums up my experience. I was raised religious and prefer to abstain.

 

[Birch Run Farm]

Great thread! I can say I fit into this group very well. You have all said it the way I feel, think and live.

I pray often for others in my life mostly, sometimes for me. I can say I have seen some private miracles and often feel I am being watched over in a very good way. While I have no affiliation with any church I lean towards Catholic. When I have questions I seek out my friends that are monks and priests. They never try to force anything upon me which I really appreciate. I do pick the bible up on occasion and read. I have a peacful life and strive to be a better person each day to those around me.

That said I enjoy learning about other religeons as well, if I weren't a closet Catholic I'd probably go Jewish, one of my great grandfathers was a Jew.

 

[Kismet]

This is a thinking man's thread. I also consider myself spiritual, but not religious. But, (today anyway) I believe that there is within each of us an animus bigger than ourselves. The Quakers call it "an inner light", the Chinese call it "qi' (pronounced chee). I am sure that around the world, this force has many names.

I have always thought that these big ideas should be talked about, discussed, challenged. I marvel at people whose faith is absolute, and I feel uncomfortable (and depending on how it is phrased, downright angry, occasionally) when it is implied that I am on the wrong track for thinking more deeply and for questioning intellectually.

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

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This is pretty much the way I view things as well. I really don't want anyone standing between me and my maker. I feel the need to talk to Him directly without any interpreter telling me what I should think or believe. My mistakes are my own and not anyone's fault but mine. I believe He gave me this brain to USE and not just blithely accept whatever I am told by someone who thinks they have all the answers. It's my job to find my own answers. And I don't think the right answers are the same for everyone, which is why He gave us this bit of intelligence in the first place!


Rusty

 

[MuranoFarms]

What upsets me about this thread is the fact that you have to tread so lightly in talking about your beliefs. Unfortunately there are people who believe that their view point is the only correct one. I am Christian, actually I'm an ordained Deacon in my Presbyterian church. My best friend is Wiccan. I'm talking 'moon ceremonies, casting spells, belongs to a coven' wiccan. We sometimes talk about how many things are similar between the two. We both believe that there is room enough in this world for all religions and that is a very personal choice. It's sad really that people feel the need to push their beliefs on other people. I think a lot of people refrain from organized religion because of the overzealous few. I think if people had more places (like this thread) to discuss their beliefs without fear of getting attacked, there would be more understanding between religions. My view is pretty much 'why can't we all just get along?' lol

I like you thread

 

[teach1rusl]

redux...my general beliefs are similar to yours. I attended primarily baptist churchs growing up, but my best friend was Catholic. And I always questioned things that were brought up in church, even as a youth. Some things just didn't sound right to me, and I witnessed a lot of hypocracy and a lot of hate and intolerance from people who preached otherwise. The attitude of "anyone who doesn't follow OUR religion is going to end up in Hell" just didn't wash with me. Plus there was the scientific aspect and timelines that didn't mesh with the bible version I grew up with.
The times I felt closest to a higher power (whom I refer to as God) was when I was alone, walking or sitting or praying. 30 years later it's the same. I guess I believe in the golden rule of olden days, try to do right by folks, treat them kindly, honor your word, respect what God put on this earth. Church for me is more about feeling close with people, not God.
I will go to anybody's church or synagogue for a visit if invited, because I am interested in learning different views. And I don't mind chatting with Jehovah's Witnesses or folks of the Muslem faith, but I would be a hypocrit myself if I joined a church and claimed to believe and adhere to any particular religion.
Now I'm off to read others' responses...I'm so glad you posted this

 

[PeepsInc]

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...I'm with you!
I believe religion is simply guild lines for respecting life.

 

[CoopCrazy]

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I like you.... I truly pray that more people will see your line of reasoning.. If you get a chance we would love to here about some of your conversations with your friend on the Official Pagan Thread... I have had some amazing conversations with Clergy from all beleifs and love to an "insider" opinion on their beliefs...

 

[gertsgal]

I'm loving this thread!Living in the Bible Belt and having so many people worried for my immortal soul gets very lonely at times. I was raised in the Lutheran church and my Granny was the matriarch of our church. My FIL was a Methodist minister. When my child was born my FIL wrote and performed a wonderful baptism into the family of man. That wasn't quite enough for Granny. She secretly got a special dispensation from the Lutheran pastor to perform a baptism in her home. I remember her asking if she could bathe my child in the sink.I didn't think another thing about it.( I just thought my child must smell bad). Years later my mother told my child she had been baptised 3 times.Mom also did a little secret baptism I guess in case Granny's didn't stick. It made me so happy to know Granny loved my child so much she would do this.
Even though I'm an atheist I still hold out the hope that I will see her again!

 

[michickenwrangler]

My background is similar to a lot of you here.

I was raised Polish Catholic ... the Mike Ditka denomination. We went to church early so we'd be home in time for the football game, we would include Lou Holtz in our prayers, I was taught the Notre Dame fight song along with the Our Father. Strange how I decided it wasn't for me ...

High school I went through a Pagan/Wiccan phase although now that I'm older, I believe more in respect for nature and living a good life. Through college, I got my degree in Medieval History and Spanish Language, so I kind of got back into Catholocism simply because I was so bombarded with it. Although at this point, because it was a part of studies, I tend to view religion more intellectually than spiritually. I feel like I KNOW too much rather than simply being faithful.

Does this make sense?

DH was raised by a strict Lutheran minister father, so both of us have been ambivalent about religion with our daughter. We'd like to teach her about some Bible stories simply because they convey messages of perserverance and good morals, but I'm not certain how to do this in a secular way. I'm a firm believer in evolution--if God created us to be better than animals, we wouldn't have some of the same issues of animals (fighting over mates and the whole digestive thing). But things in religion, Jesus for example, permeate the larger culture and I don't want her to be ignorant of it.

Anyone else feel the same way?