Anyone non-religious here? Please be nice!

[texasgal]

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Unfortunately, you see that alot in "the church". In my opinion, THAT is "religion". Doing all the rituals and and abiding by all the rules , the manmade dos and don'ts, that we place on ourself yet having no RELATIONSHIP with the father.

I am a Christian .. therefore I DO have a set of specific beliefs .. but don't consider myself to be "religious" ..

Interesting thread!

 

[MaggieRae]

Very interesting ideas on this thread. Good mind food.

I'm not religious or overly spiritual. I'm a bit scientific, and I hate to be classified.

 

[redux]

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thank terrielacy for allowing me to. She took a chance.

 

[shadowpaints]

omg reading this thread has brought tears to my eyes! i too do not have a religion. I was Raised LDS, but as i grew older, i just had so many question about so many things, but not one person could answer them! I chose to step away.
Just knowing that there are some people that understand my way of thinking, its wonderful!

I respect my friends and family religions . some stil have a hard time not pushing thier religion on me. but many we can have a nice disscussion about religion.

i feel that its every persons right to choose their belief, and not be forced in to religion.

i like the way i think about things.

there are so many things that i want to say, but i dont want to step on any toes and u would love for this thread to keep going as it has certianly made my day!

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

Another thought, if no one minds: I think religion/spirituality and science are really flip sides of the same coin. I do not think science is some evil anti-Creator thing at all. Instead, if you really think about it, science is about understanding the universe. The Creator's universe. So every tiny new thing science uncovers is a sliver of that huge mystery we all ponder--how he created all of this. We are never gonna understand it all but that is part of the wonder of both the Creator and science.

Rusty

edited to add: It is not logical to me that there is just one right way to live or believe. If you think about how many different varieties of each species there are--hundreds of different butterflies, worms, beetles, fish. In our species there are how many different colors, languages, sizes, shapes, etc. Since the Creator made all of them, it is not logical that he approves of only one. Obviously he likes diversity. If he didn't like it, he would have smudged that variety out right after it appeared. But he didn't do that. That tells me He has a place in His universe for each different variety of everything He created or we would not still be here. He seems to like complexity--look how complex the human body is or the process of photosynthesis, etc--so He's not looking for the simple or easy from us. Instead I think He expects us to look deeper. It's easy to kill one's enemies and a WHOLE lot harder to find ways to live with them. He LIKES complex, so I am thinking He wants us to figure out how to get along rather than how to conquer each other.

JMHO

 

[michickenwrangler]

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Hear, hear

So many times people treat these things antagonistically to each other when they're not.

Galileo had some quote about "science explains how the universe works, not who works the universe" or something like that.

 

[CoopCrazy]

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Hear, hear

So many times people treat these things antagonistically to each other when they're not.

Galileo had some quote about "science explains how the universe works, not who works the universe" or something like that.

I have to third this....

 

[scbatz33]

I was raised Catholic - my religion. But I am a christian - my faith. I walked away from the catholic church in my late teens and have never really gone back. I do see a HUGE difference between faith and religion. I also think people can be one and not the other. I have seen some preachers/priests who have religion, but no faith. I don't think you need a "religion" to have faith.


I agree with 1stepcloser "That is why I really like the Ba'hai belief that there is one God but many, many paths to God. God doesn't care which path you take as long as you live a loving and honest life."

There are many, many paths to God. likewise the evolution/creation debate in my mind is moot - either way, God had a hand in it so it's the same difference. Every religion on this planet has a "creation" story. And in every story a "higher" being was the catalyst for the begining of this amazingly deverse place we inhabit. We should try harder to enjoy it and the gifts we have all been given of friendship, community, discovery and love.

 

[EweSheep]

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How true!

Sometimes the HARD questions can not be answered. A good example of me and my dad having that conversation when I was learning about the Bible and went to Bible School. Not getting the direct answer from my Bible teacher, I had to ask my dad this question "Where did God come from? How did he get here?" His response left me with more questions than answers..."Why you need to ask that question? Where is your faith? You do not need to ask of that question about God because He is the One, and only One". So there you go.

This topic is great brain food! Better than eating fish dinner! LOL!

 

[sourland]

Do I believe? Yes! Can I explain it to you or lead you in the Way? No! It is my way, and it is what works for me. I have heard man's words and I have seen his actions. I do not trust man's way. I have seen nature's actions, and i understand. I do not believe in coincidence. I do believe in a guiding controlling force that lives around and within me that guides if I choose to follow. Your way is as legitimate as mine. I have been touched and protected by my God such as he/she/it may be. As long as I put the Power first, all others next and myself a distant third, my life works, and I remain blessed. Just my way-Geo.