I always like hearing how people chose their path no matter their belief or non-beliefs.

So how did you come to believe what you do?

(personal experience, conviction, raised that way, etc...)

I like to search for the truth, I ain't a non-believer or a believer I just use evidence I see to try and come up with an answer. I do believe there are stuff out there paranormal that we cannot begin to understand, and that some stuff is better off hidden. So I guess my choice is just really to know what's going on.

I think everyone will have the same answer. Life experience.

Not nessessarily....many people also tend to stay in the religion they are raised.

I did too for many years.

i believe in a god , but a kind of a distance one .

but i do hope for a near hell, for so many people deserve it

Just like a great show eh? "The truth is out there."

my grandmother hands down, the greatest influence. she taught me to be accepting of other faiths, and believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see. of course, she was a firm believer, yet she always wanted me to keep looking til my answers were there. she could care less what religion i was, so long as I was happy. i miss her.

Anubi

I'm curious, what do you mean by a distant God?

IMO I have allowed the mysteries and wonders of life to show me the truth of life through living my life, I have also devoted myself to getting to know who i am naturally (not be defined by religion or any philosphy) I started by loving myself, by seeing myself as naturally loving and trustworthy and good, this is my core foundation beleiving this has created a life that is joyous, loving, free, rules, restraints and punishmesnts rewards, little do's and little don'ts aren't nessecary for me. when i'm in error life points me in the best direction some call this Karma, I call it learning from life. i don't want to brag but i have a great life a husband that is awesome my best friend kids that are a great joy i love every minute of it and i really know what it means to be free. Namaste Sheri

I was born a Catholic, but grew up in a mixed area with people around me with different religions and I was taught to respect that, well to add I was taught to respect my elders and that included my neighbours & school teachers I dont think there was a moment where I had answered either of them back in any way, but I was taught religion and attended church a lot back then under the influence of my mother
Anyhoo...I am glad I was not brought up to believe that my faith was the only true faith and everyone else is wrong, and lucky that I was given a chance to pick and choose what I wanted to do
So I kept my belief in God and dropped the religion....I will let my daughter do the same when she is older, as religion was never forced down my throat so I dont feel its right to force it down her throat

How did I start to follow my religion?

First, by admitting to myself I had a kind of spiritual sensitivity that a lot of people have, but choose to ignore. Then I started to study religions. All of them, and history and what I learned is that the world used to be a much better place before the Monotheistic, Male God religions appeared and tried to destroy the older ones. And basically, all old religions are the same: the Greek/Roman religion, the Egyptian religion, the religions of the Native American, the old Goddess worship, the african religions...and in studying them I found a group of philosophies I trully believe in and practice.

Some people like to describe themselves as Wiccan, but that´s only a new term for the oldest religion on earth, and that´s what I´ve followed for the last ten years, and its basic philosophy is what I try to live by, practice with my family and hope to teach my son: respect for a higher power, for nature and for others, open mindness and humbleness towards that which we do not understand.

Glacies
Yes that was my grandma as well. She was a major influence in my life but strangely enough it wasn't until she had died that it became so. She was catholic but she kept Buddhas around the house. She was a tough cookie when i was a kid and often forced us to go to church whether we liked it or not. However shortly before she died she seemed she seem to under go a change of sorts in that way. I think she got softer in that respect.
In the end she wanted me to be whatever i wanted as long as I wasn't hurting others.

Oddly enough although we were at odds, it was a change before a sudden death and even after that was one of the greates influences in my life. I miss her too.
Thank you for sharing that

Sheri
Wow what you said was put very eloquently. You wouldn't be bragging to say you think your life is great. I think our perspectives can make our lives great. one person might think something is bad and another might take like a grain of salt. I believe there is karma that some of us might not escape but i also believe there is hope to set and change the course of one's karma. The old addage about what goes around comes around comes to my mind right now. if you put good things into the world perhaps they come back as well.
I think this serves true to one's attitude towards themselves as well. it's a great thing to good for others but you also must love yourself as well. I think your attitude and remarks are very enlightning.

Beckys mom

Such a pretty little baby by the way....i ahve two myself and am very familar with the BM phenomenum!!!!
I'm the same way with my children. They attend church only by their own choice.
I would like them to respect others and make their own choices in life.
i grew up in a mixed home as a matter of fact. My mother was Jewish and my father was catholic. But my mother was very much about choices. I remember her telling me about religion and she said, "people get home in different cars honey." I never quite understood that until long after she died. Although my father's family was a little more pressing of religion I chose my own path. I decided that faith was one of the greatest investments for myself and it was my choice to decided where to put my faith.

Claudoca

i don't really know very much about Wiccan practices. I know one thing, that it is very nature based from what i've read. This reminds me alot of the native american indians.
I've always enjoyed learning about other religion and philosophies as well. i think there is alot to be learned and alot of understanding which opens the door for respecting others.

I've always been quite fasinated by the Buddhist philosophy. I remember reading my first buddha quote and I thought...God this guy is something else how true how true.
I've also really like learning about Hinduism as well. I still have alot to learn but I figure I still have time to take as much in as I can.
Thanks for sharing.

To believe or to disbelieve, that is one hellova question!
To neither believe or to dibelieve is just ... Hell!
So there is neutral...

Why thankyou very much, i agree with you too, great point how important ones attitude is i look forward to more of your posts welcome to UM namaste sheri

Why thank you stargazer123
I respect you chose your own path...it makes you feel you have more freedom to make your own choices rather than have your parents drum their beliefs on to you

I'm an Atheist

Reasons:No evidence of any god,prophet etc.Sciene can answer the majority of mysteries or atleast give credible explanations or theories,we will never see how the universe was started exactly though.

My best friend is as well. Although he might be the only atheist I know that believes fully in Francis Crick's theory of directed panspermia and does not give Darwin much thought or interest.

I am spirtual but I love and accept science. I don't know that we will ever know how the universe but as long as we are here we should keep probing. Thanks for your post.

To Stargazer123

Great that you´re reading up on beautiful religions such as the Native American and Hinduism. Wicca is very similar, deep down they´re all the same. I guess it´s the basic philosophy that matters, and what´s missing in a lot of other religions. Many preach about respect for others, while at the same time putting male as superior to female, man superior to nature and white superior to black...

Hope you keep sharing.

As a kid I grew up with a christian background. My mother would allow me to go to various churches other then our own with friends and felt it was healthy for me to be well rounded as far as religion went. I think she was just glad at one time I was showing an interest in church.

Part of what has shaped my beliefs is keeping an open mind about all religions regardless of the background. I think they all have a background of truth to some extent, and instead of being led like a bull to slaughter I believe a person should question, prod and search for the truth.

Can't remember the exact book and verses in the bible but it goes something like "seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you..." Etc.

When I was young I wasn't really taught that much about the Bible or anything like that, my mom was a believer but she didn't really teach me anything about the Lord......growing up I only went to church about 3 or 4 times. I was brought up with a lot of pets and immediately became an animal lover and a lot of times I would see people mistreat animals and that just made me think that most human beings are stupid, hateful, and ignorant. Believing that, I couldn't understand how the heck anyone could be a believer since there didn't seem to be a reason God would give the Bible to such a worthless race. But as I got older I saw that that wasn't exactly the case, most people were good, but I became a firm believer in evolution and basicly without really reading any scripture I just came to the conclusion that everything else in the bible was true except for genesis, that it didn't happen exactly like it said it did. But once I got into my teens I suddenly started to become interested in religion and spirituality. I was always interested in paranormal stuff....so along with studying that stuff and reading many creation stories from different cultures I noticed most creation accounts sounded the same and that didn't seem likely to be a coincidence.

After that I began thirsting for knowledge and began reading different parts of the bible and watching different preachers on tv. I always considered myself Christian but now I think I really was.... After that I also got into reading other scriptures and biblical stuff not in the bible like the book of enoch. And after reading what I have thus far I've come to the conclusion that there is a God, he is the Lord, and Jesus is THE Atonement for all sins.

Right now i'm trying to finish all the Bible and get into being a Jewish Christian rather than just a Christian.....following all the laws and commandments given to Moses by the Lord while also following the teachings and accepting Jesus Christ.

Thank you Claudoca.
I agree especially about the superiority thing. That was something I could never understand as in regards to some religions. I could never quite wrap myself around why if some religions believed God was loving that this God would tell one child that they were better than the other by race or gender. To me it seems more of a cultural view that has been interwoven with religion. However to each his own. Thank you again. I hope you keep sharing as well.

Newbloodmoon.
I wanted to say firstly that I saw the picture under your name before just recently....chupacabra right? Yeah I sent that picture to my sister because she frequents Puerto Rico... She probably won't be sleeping very well. Mean sister I am!

I'm like you in some respects. I think there can be truth found in many religions. it seems like tiny bits of the larger puzzle. I think its great that your mother allowed you that freedom to experience different churches. I believe that no matter what spiritual or religious path you choose that you should have understanding of other's paths. Could you imagine how different the world might be if more people tried to understand instead of just assuming everyone else was wrong?

We should question and search and prove what we can. maybe when you search you find wisdom in realizing not everything is as you thought. I wanted very much to package things in a box but looking outside the box I find that there is something greater.
I can't remember what bible verse that is either. I like that, "question and seek out the truth." Even if only for oneself I think we all owe that to ourselves...Thanks for sharing.

Essence.
Animal lover here too. I still make the joke that I think my dog is the only one on earth that understands me most of the time. As I was growing up I sunk alot of love into my animals as well. I felt that people were so cruel. as I got older like you I realized that there are alot of good people in the world but sometimes you can't always see it right off. I realized that the world has 5 billion egos locking horns and there is bound to be problems. I had always viewed genesis as more of esestoric than anything. My grandfather was a catholic deecon but believe it or not he did not take many stories in the bible literally. he used to think that some were mankinds way of understanding the complexity of something they could not explain any other way. I always found that interesting because I didn't find very many catholics who thought that way. Although I don't take much of it literally a christian friend once gave me a pretty good explanantion of why he believed Genesis was literal and yet seemed contradictary. he said he viewed it as happening simontaneously and written to try to reflect that. I never quite thought of that before although I still view it different I thought that was an interesting view to have.

I've read the Bible a few times in my Christian years. I always loved parables. Jesus does inspire me but I disagree with the churches view however I don't think it can ever be such a bad thing to want to follow in his foot steps. The one thing though that I struggled with in my church days was taking Paul's words and other's words over jesus's words. I felt somehow it did not resonate with his message of love. But I accept that its different for everyone and maybe thats why they call it "the living Bible." I think its great that you found your own path in the world.

I tried to follow jewish ways at one time because my mother was jewish...i guess at the time it would have made me a jewish-christian. here is a funny story I know you could appreciate. my grandmother was catholic and she used to tell us we had to wash our hands before we ate or we couldn't sit with them. She often said, "Now what if Jesus were here do you think he would be happy you had dirty hands?" I got up the courage one day to look at her and say, "It is not what goes in the mouth that defiles a man but what comes out this is what defiles a man."

Stargazer- yes it's a chupi. and the funny thing is after my mother died I quit going to christian churches all together. Not that I don't like them or had not gone from time to time when I felt the need but I think it stemmed from what she told me when I was 16 in that I was old enough to decide for myself if I wanted to go to church or not. So I figured after she died then there wasn't much reason to go afterwards. (Much to the displeasure of my father and even more so after he got remarried.)

lol. Nice story stargazer123. What did your grandmother say in return? lol.

Nice to know there's another animal lover out there.

Yeah, I also get what you were saying about having a hard time taking Paul's words over Jesus's and stuff. Some of the things said in Romans and such, although I understand what is being said, I kind of disagree with. Which is why i'm trying to be a Jewish-Christian rather than just a Christian. But even if you decide that as a Christian you don't have to follow all the laws in the O.T. I still don't see why Chrisitian's don't see the importance in observing the Jewish Holy Days like Passover, Rashashana, Yom Kippur, Hanukkah, Purim, and such. The way I see it......when the Lord returns the Jewish and Christian peoples will become one anyway, so why not unite the O and N testament now and practice them both?

I was raised to trust in science, reason and logic..I was taught to remain skeptical of everything that wasn't backed up with empirical evidence and double-blind testing..
It served me well my whole life and ensured I was nobody's fool for the greater part of my life..
Last year however; a series of events happened(and continue to do so) that mocked science, made a fool of reason, and tore all logic asunder like so many sheets of lab data in a hurricane..
All I can say is; I now believe in a higher power despite all the contrary evidence, and don't doubt so heavily when other folks make claims about unbelievable events..
And I've never been happier..
So to all who knew be before on this website, and to those who have felt the lash of my unmitigated skepticism, I can only apologize..
To an extent..
Logic and rational thought should never be completely abandoned; but it seems to me there's a lot more out there than just that, and whatever we believe in that gives us strength is a good thing, and should be respected..

Mother was I think they call them pentacostal christian? The ones with talking in tongues, people falling down all over the place, jumping, screaming, hands in the air praise the lord.
My father a Devout atheist. There is no God. Never was. Sunday is for yard work. Logic reigns supreme. Die, your dirt, nothing more. (was VP of J&J International, Linguist for USAF Intelligence, was a spy but he doesn't talk about that... he's a heavy hitter in the intellectual circles)

I came to my belief in my mid 20's after an amazing decade of decadence. Not much I haven't seen or read and not much truely supprises me. Have forgotten more about so many philosophies than many ever learn in a lifetime, and I live a conglomeration of these in a Taoistic way.

I guess I could have just agreed with RagePatriot... life experience. Lots of it. Lots of observation as well as participation. Direct and indirect.

As a child it was impressed on me very early to observe. I actually was the child seen but not heard. And I saw it all, can't lie to me! Already learned it. I heard it. Saw it. Grew up that way to the teens where I went wild doing things instead of just watching/hearing/reading although it's such a part of me I did it out of habit anyway.

Thinking back, several times my heart races thinking about some things and I say to myself "why in the world aren't I dead yet!??!?"

Yep, life experiences have *LED* me to my beliefs. I was brought to it by my life. Like a big road sign saying "This is the way" and after having just climbed up the cliff I fell off trying the other way I'm going to start listening to the signs...

its funny how much alike some people on this thread are although everyone has different beliefs. My mom past away as well when i was a kid. When my father remarried they were even more adament....very similar to your situation. I understand completely.

Essence
I remeber my grandmother and everyone at the table laughing her reply, "its two thousand years later and this is my house." LOL I think I got her on that one.
Well I can see your point about Jewish holidays. perhaps its that at the time after jesus the church did make changes in observances and those that followed jesus centered more holidays and such around him rather than the jewish ones. It carried down after that.
I was talking to a lady at church a while back about Roshashanna. She had never heard of it and remarked, "I don't celebrate jewish holidays." But that was actually the day that jesus rode in on the camel....Im just suprised how its kind of forgotten in that respect.
I think if you want to do that than more power to you. I have a friend who is christian but observes Mosaic law. I believe if its something that you feel would deeper your faith or connection spiritually than go for it. I think its wonderful. I'm more of that i personally believe in concentrating on my heart and spirit but deeply respect other people's observances in their religion. I wish you all luck and blessings for that.

Falco
Wow....your post took a big heart and alot of guts to apologize like you did.
You know no matter what one believes, whether they believe in god or don't I think its the approach that is important. Doubt is okay but to ridicule is something different ya know?
I've had people tell me I'm nuts, take my meds, lay off the acid...etc...
I don't think that helps show their own thoughts in an intelligent way. I like the line in that movie "the sixth sense" when he said, "because they only see what they want to see."
From a religious or non-religious stand point I think its never bad to think outside the box.

I try to rationalize and place logic and when all that fails than I run with the possibilites.
There is so much we don't know and I can dig that! Thanks for sharing your story.

I just love your story telling! yeah it would probably be Pentecostal. i've been to one of those once in my life. very interesting.
What a mix, Pentecostal and atheist. I had those teen years too...HELLLO I don't know how I'm still here either! Not when you have motorcycle friends named "roadkill"

Sometimes the signs are a little fuzzy....I've been watching but at times I feel like I'm headed to a dead end or a one way road. And yeah, I've tried to climb the mountain a few times from different angles and fell off the cliff multiple times. But you know I'm starting to think perhaps thats what lifes all about and perhaps its not so much as making it to the top as it is braving the climb in the first place.

I am a strong agnostic. I would be an atheist but I can't prove there is no higher intelligence anymore than someone can prove there is so I have to settle on that.

I came to this conclusion through much thought, study and scrutinization of religion. No religion is logical to me and nothing in any religion has ever proved to me that it wasn't the creation of man.

Science and logic have been the only steadfast forces in my life and I will never abandon them. Neither is perfect but they are concepts unafraid to be proven wrong. In fact, each idea proven to be false or true only adds to the greater knowledge in my opinion. My quote from Carl Sagan sums it all up nicely.

Well I can appreciate that. I like the fact that you add balance. You go by what you know to be truth but do not lean too much either way unless its been proven or disproven.

Science and logic are infact great things. They give us understanding to something we otherwise might not understand. There is still so much we don't know but I think in realizing that much we at least do not abandon wisdom. Somethings might never be proven or disproven but its pretty amazing the level science has unfolded some things in our lifetime alone. Thank you for your post.

Science and logic are concepts and creations of man. They are newer terms than religion and ethics but both are very similiar in developement and in results.

There is bad science, scientific results changed or doctored to meet the expectations of an agenda or to just to aquire money or fame.
This is not different than what has transpired through the years with religions.

To wish to discount and throw away all the knowledge and wisdom of human nature aquired through thousands of years of observation done in religions is as insane as trying to abolish all science because of the stupidity and greed that produced the bad science.

Without logic there is chaos. Without morality and ethics there is chaos.
In chaos all civilizations are destroyed.

The only problem with your sagan quote is that it assumes that science has grasped the world as it really is. While all the time it is changing it opinions and theories. It should rather read 'better to grasp the world/universe as we think it is, but we cannot be sure' this would be a more scientific statement.

Science is a state of knowing and something that is as old as the curiousity that drove it as well as logic. if you believe that we were created by God how can these things be seperate from God?

Free will?

I have been this way since the dawn of time,why should I change what I believe??
There are many whys and wherefores that make us all up,first and foremost I know who I am and what I am,and that is a lot of what I do what I do.