What are the beleifs of your religion that attracted you to it?

Question

so in other words you chose it because it had what you desire.

you had made your mind up allready, it was a prejudiced choice...

Answer 1

Strangely enough, it was the lack of required belief that attracted me.

Being raised a moderate Christian, I'd not questioned much about it. Then I spent 3 years attending a fundamentalist Christian church, because of my first girl friend. That, above anything else, got me not only to question Christianity, but the very basis of belief.

The idea, that something as important as the concepts of religion were something you had to take on faith, were truly inconcieveable. If someone came up to you on the street and asked to borrow $100 for a day, not one person reading this would loan it to them. Yet, the inductive evidence that this person could return the money in a day is vastly greater than anything religion offers on faith. Nothing religion offers is testable, it has to be taken utterly on faith. The idea that a supreme being would require this faith is utterly unfathomable.

I am Buddhist because it not only doesn't require any faith, but says that if you are taking it on faith, you've gotten it wrong - that you have to figure it out for yourself. Through meditation.

I am certain there are Buddhist that take it on faith, but there are many people that can't stand the uncertainty of not knowing, so accepting something as true, without any proof, if much more preferable to searching.

Ironically, I've found I've much more in common with many priests and monks of the Christian faith than many of the ordinary Christian church attendees. These folks have not simply accepted what they've been told without questioning it. Questioning it has been their path in life. For this, I seriously respect them and find more common ground.

p.s. I the question you say something about liking aspects of a religion, then state it's a prejudiced choice. Those two rarely coincide. If I've gotten facts about something, then judge it, it's judging, not pre-judging. Without prejudging, or judging before looking at the facts, it cannot be prejudice or a prejudiced choice.

Answer 2

The fact that it strives for balance and harmony, encourages you to have an active hand in shaping your life and meeting your needs rather than leaving it up to God alone to answer your prayers while you sit around patiently waiting, and the recognition of a female deity as important as the male deity.

Blessed be!
)O(

Answer 3

actually, it was the repressive, condependent nature of organized religions that drove me away from them. They cannot be holy with the hate and repression that they have towards anyone other than their own faith.

No wonder more wars have been fought over religion. Just look at the fighting here and also the religious neocons over in the gay lesbian area. The religious neocons will not let anyone live in peace.

Answer 4

Many years ago I converted to Judaism, from Christianity. At he time, my biggest concern was that I could not accept the Jesus is G-d concept. As I study, and have gotten more involved, it is the history of the Jewish people, and their relationship with G-d and his people, and the idea of making the world a better place, for all people.

Answer 5

The fact it admits that it may be completely wrong. That and the promise of a beer volcano and stripper factory in heaven. The FSM, a logical religion. RAmen.

http://www.venganza.org

Answer 6

You see, this is the thing about religion that atheists find odd. People look at different religions and choose between them as if they're trying to find the shampoo that works best on their hair. They jump around, weigh up the pros and cons, and inevitably make compromises. You don't look at a religion for its "spec". They aren't products. Anyone who chooses a religion because it looks good with those shoes doesn't have a philosophical atom in their body.

Answer 7

The oneness of God and the oneness of humanity: All the divine Messengers have proclaimed the oneness of God and the unity of mankind. The divine purpose is that men should live in unity concord and agreement and should love one another....The oneness of humanity is the primary foundation of them all.

All religions are one and must be the cause of unity: "The fundamental basis of all religion is one...the essence of religion is human fellowship....If the reality underlying religious teaching be investigated all religions would be unified, and the purpose of God, which is love and the blending of human hearts would be accomplished."

The right of all people to an education: "The necessity of education for all mankind is evident....Through the broadening spirit of education, illiteracy will disappear, and misunderstandings, due to ignorance, will pass away."

There are spiritual solutions to the economic problems of the world. We must base our decisions about living as a world family on spiritual principles. Problems are solved when people work together in unity.

All people have the responsibility to investigate truth for themselves: "Truth is one when it is independently investigated, it does not accept division."

The equality of women and men: "The happiness of mankind will be realized when women and men coordinate and advance equally."

The harmony of science and religion: "Religion and science are the two wings upon which man's intelligence can soar into the heights, with which the human soul can progress. It is not possible to fly with one wing alone."

The elimination of prejudice: "All the divisions in the world, hatred, war and bloodshed are caused by....prejudices. The whole world must be looked upon as one single country, all the nations as one nation, all men as belonging to one race. Religions, races, and nations are all divisions of man's making only....God is God for all, and to Him all creation is one." "Until all these barriers erected by prejudice are swept away, it is not possible for humanity to be at peace."

Universal Peace: "The greatest need in the world today is international peace. The time is ripe. It is time for the abolition of warfare, the unification of nations and governments. It is the time for love."

A universal auxiliary language: "The day is approachng when all the peoples of the world will have adopted one universal lanugage and one common script," in addition to their own native tongue. "When this is achieved, to whatsoever city a man may journey, it shall be as if he were entering his own home."

Answer 8

1. Hamsters are all-powerful.
2. Hamsters love us.
3. Hamsters are cute.
4. Hamsters have died for our sins.
5. Hamsters taste great grilled!

Makes as much sense as any other religion.

Answer 9

I'm atheist because I get to choose my own beliefs and values, not some set by someone I don't think ever existed.

Answer 10

I am a Jew because the faith of Israel demands no abdication of my mind.

I am a Jew because the faith of Israel asks every possible sacrifice of my soul.

I am a Jew because in all places where there are tears and suffering the Jew weeps.

I am a Jew because in every age when the cry of despair is heard the Jew hopes.

I am a Jew because the message of Israel is the most ancient and the most modern.

I am a Jew because Israel's promise is a universal promise.

I am a Jew because for Israel the world is not finished; men will complete it.

I am a Jew because for Israel man is not yet fully created; men are creating him.

I am a Jew because Israel places man and his unity above nations and above Israel itself.

I am a Jew because above man, image of the divine unity, Israel places the unity which is divine.

Edmond Fleg, "Why I Am a Jew"

Judaism worships a God who is the Father of all humanity, whose attributes of kindness, mercy, compassion, and justice are to serve as examples for all our actions.

Judaism teaches that every person is created in God's image and therefore is of supreme value.

Judaism asserts that people are to be co-workers with God in preserving and improving the earth. We are to be stewards of the world's resources and to see that God's bounties are used for the benefit of all. Nothing that has value can be wasted or destroyed unnecessarily.

Judaism stresses that we are to love other people as ourselves, to be kind to strangers, "for we were strangers in the land of Egypt," and show compassion to the homeless, the poor, the orphan, the widow, even for enemies, and for all of God's creatures.

Judaism places great emphasis on reducing hunger. A Jew who helps to feed a hungry person is considered, in effect, to have fed God.

Judaism mandates that we seek and pursue peace. Great is peace, for it is one of God's names, all God's blessings are contained in it, it must be sought in times of war, and it will be the first blessing brought by the Messiah.

Judaism exhorts us to pursue justice, to work for a society where each person has the ability to obtain, through creative labor, the means to lead a dignified life for himself and his family.

Judaism stresses involvement, nonconformity, resistance to oppression and injustice, and a constant struggle against idolatry.