Anyone non-religious here? Please be nice!

[jojo@rolling acres farm]

Loving every bit of this thread. OP - thanks for having the courage to start it and the foresight to get permission to do so. Great Job to all those posting here.

I was raised Catholic and attended Catholic schools from the third grade through H.S. graduation. I remember going to Latin Mass and not understanding a single word. I just learned to recognize that certain words uttered at a certain time...meant it was almost time to go home. I also attended a bible school for two weeks each Spring when I was really little (K - thru 2nd grade) that I loved! The Bible School was taught by Notre Dame Nuns. I can't even begin to tell you the conflict that I felt even as a little girl. The rules & regulations were all so overwhelming that I never felt like I could measure up. My Paternal Grandmother was a free thinker and although she joined the Catholic Church when she married my Grandfather - she never really participated.

She lived by the creed "Do Unto Ohers" - believed in a higher power and believed that animals had souls. I remember watching goslings, chickens and ducklings hatch or calves and foals being born. Each and everytime - she would welcome them into this world by wishing them well & thanking God for them and asking him to bless them. Her simple approach to life spoke volumns then and even more now. After years of going through the motions...I find myself following her approach. For me, less organized religion in my life works.

 

[TriciaHowe]

Quote:
Couldn't have said it better.... I have considered myself Agnostic for a long time. That being said I have attended Catholic church with my husband who was raised as such (his mother was dying and the church was a comfort to him), my children have attended Mass and love going to Sabbath school (7th day adventist) with our next door neighbbors kids. I am all for them exploring their options and looking at religions from all angles. If they choose a religion, fine. Don't choose one? OK too..... I feel like as long as you are a good person, treat others with dignity and respect and be true to yourself that is more important than anything.

ETA: I feel like I try to have a closer relationship with the world around me and nature. I don't know if it's because of my Native American background (paternal grandfather full Choctaw Indian, maternal grandmother full Blackfoot Indian) but I do try and read a lot about how my distant relatives lived and the beliefs that they had and try to follow as closely as possible with that (while still living in the modern world LOL)....

 

[farmerlor]

This really is an awesome thread. I've read every post and while I'm Pagan, I can identify with everyone of you. JoJo your Grandmother sounds an awful lot like mine.

 

[Bluegem]

I never really know what to say when someone asks whether or not I'm religious. I wasn't raised to believe in any set religion but I was raised to be open minded. I still don't follow any organized religion but I do believe in some sort of higher being or beings. If someone does choose to follow a particular religion I have no problem with it as long as they don't try and shove it down my throat.

As for the alien comments I've read here, if all the stars are other suns then they surely have other planets orbiting them, so why would ours be the only one in the universe with life on it?

Fantastic thread I too have been waiting for one like this to come along.

 

[EweSheep]

Jojo, your grandmother sounds like mine too!

 

[Chicken Chaperone]

Quote:
Silver Phoenix-
I could not have said this any better myself! Bravisimo! I think the only thing I would add is that I do believe in the power of prayer to heal, to send good juju or vibes or whatever folks want to call it. Other than that one thing you hit the nail
on the head for me so completely I'm just gonna say "Um, yeah, what Phoenix says!"

 

[kassy68]

HUh... well, where to start. I believe in God, have a strong Faith in God and knows he provides for me. I was raised in the methodist church all my life. Husband was raised a Jehovahs witness (quit going at 15) I have had Pagan friends, Wiccan friends, Prodistent, Catholic etc.. I find each religion has good and bad points. I am not anti church I just don't feel I need to attend to live a belivers life. I also don't like the hypocrocy found in orgnaized religions... good people of course are in churches and such also... I believe in one God, but may be worshiped in many many ways and called different thing from different cultures. My theory is if you believe in the biblical God and do as he says Kudos.. Who am I to pass judgement if you not the RIGHT religion. Ive met great people through my life and some of the greatest have no religion base at all. I believe God answers prayers and I also believe each person has the right to worship or not worship him.. Did i just confuse everyone , cuz I think I didnt explain that well.. lol

Biggest thing in the bible is we are not supposed to pass judgement , only God can do that and only God knows whats in your heart.. That being said.. too many people forget that very important thing.


LOL..and yes I believe in ghosts, phsycic ability(cant spell it.. lmao looks wrong no matter what) and heck, there may even be aliens out there...

 

[mom'sfolly]

I consider myself an agnostic. I was raised attending a fundamentalist Christian church, but with a non-believer father. We switched to a different church when I was in high school. My questioning mind found it easy to see the inconsistencies in the fundamentalist church we attended, and I rejected that belief system fairly early.

My major issue with most organized religions is the issues of faith and exclusivity. Christianity is pretty exclusive in it's beliefs: Jesus was god, and only through him do you become saved. Belief in any other god is not optional, and all answers come one source. Each church has a slightly different interpretion of what the correct form of worship and belief is. Even those who say they literally follow the Bible are interpreting it through their filter. Islam is also exclusive. I also have little faith that the historical Jesus was divine and that Mohommed was the last prophet of god. I find it equally difficult to believe in a nature based god with a dual aspect. I feel that most belief systems/religious systems attempt to define god, and in doing so limit god.

I believe that there is a god, and that there is something after death. I don't know that any one religion has all the answers. I think that they all try to express the divine. But I feel that most organized religions limit god with their own prejudices and fears.

Of the organized religions, the ones that attract me most are Judaism, Buddhism, and Ba'hai. Judaism because of its emphasis on being a good and moral person. It also allows and even encourages questioning. It also doesn't try to explain what comes after this life. You follow the rules in this life because that is what god wants, and what comes after isn't something to be worried about. I like Buddhism because of the idea that only by separating from the suffering and wants of this world do you escape the cycles of reincarnation and join with the divine. I like the Ba'hai faith for its inclusion and for allowing multiple paths to god. I like its ideas of gender and racial equality.

But I am a sceptic, and I can't quite convince myself that there isn't a god. I feel like a hypocrite when I occassionally go to church (for my mother, mostly) because I don't really believe, and I certainly don't believe in the Christian god.

sorry this is so rambling, and probably full of misspellings. I'm glad this thread was started and has stayed civil. This is such a hot button topic for most people. Here is the south, I'm definitely in the minority.

 

[EweSheep]

Momsfolly, you should not feel like a hypocrite when you go to church with your mom....it is called RESPECT!

 

[debilorrah]

I am Christian but do not agree with most organized churches. I believe in the Bible and it's teachings and I love to listen to different teaches, but got really sick of people telling me that I needed to recruit people because they were either gay or pagan. People are people in my book. I can share my beliefs and if someone doesn't agree, ok then, we will talk about something else. Like chickens.