can you tell me about your religion?

Question

I always wanted to know more about people's religions. I always loved hearing the religouse stories. So tell me about your religion, I realy want to know.

and the thing is, some people hate some of you because of your religion. Why won't they listen to your amazing religons, and your stories. The thing is religions are amazing!!

Answer 1

The practitioners of Krishna consciousness movement's principles are based on the eternal Vedas and Bhagavad-gita being the essence of all the upanishads is the guiding scripture. Veda literally means knowledge of everything. Chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra is also main practice as given by
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu around 500 years back.
The maha-mantra:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare.

It is also called Sanatana dharma(eternal religion) of the soul in relation with Sanatana Lord, Sri Krishna.

A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada ,Founder-Acharya of ISKCON(International Society for Krishna Consciousness)
while being interviewed by Mike Robinson of London Broadcasting Company, replied as follows. It is just a small bit. . .

Our religion is a science. When we say that a child grows into a boy, it is science. It is not religion. Every child grows into a boy. What is the question of religion? Every man dies. What is the question of religion? And when a man dies, the body becomes useless. What is the question of religion? It is science. Whether you're Christian or Hindu or Muslim, when you die your body becomes useless. This is science. When your relative dies, you cannot say, "We are Christian; we believe he has not died." No, he has died. Whether you are Christian or Hindu or Muslim, he has died. So when we speak, we speak on this basis: that the body is important only as long as the soul is in the body. When the soul is not there, it is useless. This science is applicable to everyone, and we are trying to educate people on this basis.

Answer 2

My religion, I call the 'religion of one' or in other words, there is only one member, myself. It must seem to be a rather exclusionary form of religion but there are advantages :
a) I don't try to convert people to my ideas, I just offer them when invited to do so with the sole purpose of deepening the discussion;
b) Since, it has such a small membership base, waging religious wars would be suicidal;
c) I don't judge people according to how different their ideas about religion maybe;( In fact, I just assume people will have their own ideas and their ideas have a potential for enriching my ideas.)
d) My religion only imposes one standard on what it considers religion to be and how it expresses itself in thought and deed :
'Right' is defined as fair and compassionate. 'Wrong', simply isn't.
e) I do not need to conduct a synod every time I want to make some revision to my beliefs;(Not all beliefs should be fixed but allowed to evolve.) (Any such revision would be based on what is defined above as 'Right'.)
f) My religion has a core belief that the fundamental purpose for my existance, ( not necessarily your's because you are entitled to your own beliefs,)is to learn and acquire knowledge and wisdom that enables me to understand myself and other others in a better light. Such learning and wisdom will, (hopefully,) help me to live my life in a more meaningful light.
g) My religion revolves around the concept that, 'life is too serious to be too serious'. This translates into meaning that humour has it's proper place in my understanding of what are at times grim aspects of life, either faced by myself or others. Humour serves to ward off feelings of being overwhelmed by some of these grim aspects and hopefully, allows me to create a healthy perspective through which to view the world.

Answer 3

I'm a traditional witch. My personal worship has manifest itself since I can remember. Originally, it focused on the moon, on identifing with and calling up the winds and storms, on researching pagan pantheons, ESP, ghost sightings and witch stories in elementary and junior high, and on personal mythology. My rituals were minimal, and involved candles, objects of personal significance incluing an anthame, offerings to the spirits, etc. Even a seance and guided meditations to my fellow tweens, and writing down spells I had read of significance. I was an ambitious child. When I grew up, I realized I had been practicing witchcraft all my life; right down to the familar cat, hat, knife, cape, and other tools. Well, that's useful to know. So my worship had to incorperate all the elements I have always known, plus the maturity of a more focused and studied learning.

I am a strawberry blond decendant of all the British Ilses and respond best to the Celtic imagry. Therefore, my Matron Goddess is of the Celtic pantheon, and suits my birth gifts, inclanations, and talents. I have icons to a few others of different pantheons that I find useful for my work, such as Tara, Laxmi, a Chinese Virgin Warrior image, a black candle in the shape of a pentangle for the Crone, and a Nigerian Fertility statue for the Mother. Pagans are very egalitarian... I have spent many years studying, reClaiming, and incorperating as much of the known Celtic folk tradition into my life as possible, and plan to spend many of remaining years corrolating with the Folklore depts. of various universites to create a more practical working knowledge for other Celtic reClaimists, Druids and witches around the world.

Or did you mean the personal religious experiences that led me on my Path?

Answer 4

I am Mormon, or a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. We believe that they are three separate individuals united in a common purpose, to help the children of God (us) learn and grow and return back to His presence one day. We also believe in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and are working to help prepare the earth for the Millennium, when Jesus Christ will reign over the earth. We believe in the Bible and the Book of Mormon, and we believe that God will still reveal His will to a living prophet the same as He did in the Old Testament times. Something that is pretty unique to our religion is a doctrine of the pre-earth life. We believe that we existed before our mortal lives here, but this is just another stage of the same life (no reincarnation, in other words). If you are interested in learning more, you can check out www.lds.org - so have a happy day, and I send you a virtual gummy bear.

Answer 5

Hinduism is a spiritually rich religion. The stories from Hindu folklore serve the dual role of endearing devotees to the deities in the stories, as well as serve oftentimes as an allegory for the spiritual journey. There are so many holidays, ceremonies, and rituals that have been carried down for thousands of years. What I like is that we accept all faiths as legitimate in their approach to reaching God, we never contest the validity of other faiths. Different paths, same goal.

Answer 6

www.religioustolerance.org is great for this.

I am pagan. I believe that there is a god and a goddess, who both have many facets. One of these facets is Jesus, the holy Spirit another. Also on this 'gem' is Ra, Thoth, Frey, Zeus, etc. On the 'female', there is Mary, along with Persephone, Diana, Aradia, and many others.
Within us, we have air, that we breathe, Earth, or our flesh, Fire, our passion, Water, our blood, and our Spirit. Each of these are represented by a cardinal direction (north, south, east, west)
We have one rule:Do as you will, as long as it harms none. This is a biggie. You cant litter because it may harm that little bird. You cant hit your children, you cant gossip about your friends. Nothing to intentionally hurt another living being. The only exception is if someone is being harmful to him/herself or others. Then, you do not hurt when holding is enough, do not maim when hurting is enough.
As to life after death, we are reincarnated.

This is just my beliefs and what effects me directly. I also believe that all other religions are true to the extent that they say they are the only true religion.

Answer 7

I'm Nondenominational Pagan, I grew up Christian, never really felt at home though. I've picked up bits and pieces of many faiths, and am amazed and comforted by the parallels. The Divine created everything and can be found in everything, and that is where I see It. (Divinity is gender neutral) Divinity, being Perfection, knew when we were created that our Imperfect Human mind would be unable to fully comprehend it, and decided to go by many names. Saying "I don't believe in God." is silly. Divinity is also Physics, Mathematics and all of the Sciences. Divinity is what has put Order to the Universe. (Sorry, Atheists, but you do have a diety, you just don't call it one, and I have no problem with that, just want to make sure you know it.)
The Christians (not all of them) say "You don't believe in OUR God or in Jesus, you go to Hell." I say "My God IS your god, and I do believe in Jesus, and he had some beautiful teachings that you need to start following." I don't believe in eternal Hell. I believe that everyone pays off the bad deeds they've done. They see the pain and harm they have caused. When they grasp the depth of their misdeeds and are truly sorry, Divinity welcomes them home with open arms (Or Noodley Appendages if that's what you prefer.) There is no, "Jesus, I repent!" when you're on your death-bed. There is no "Go directly to Heaven" card. Everyone has sin to pay off, and everyone will pay it off. I believe Divinity enjoys it when we enjoy It's Creations and see It in Them. I believe in treating people how I wish to be treated, helping others in any way I can (as long as they're not taking advantage), and not shoving my beliefs down other people's throats, or allowing others to shove their beliefs down mine, but I am willing to discuss the Nature of the Divine with anyone though, because by nature, my beliefs thrive on learning more about other people's beliefs.

This is about to turn into a religious book on it's own... that's all for now.

Answer 8

I call myself Pagan because I don't have a specific term for my faith.

I was brought up Mormon but left when I was 17. I bounced around from faith to faith, from Buddhism to Fundamentalist Christianity to Satanism, but nothing felt right. When I encountered Paganism, I felt that I had come home. I initially studied Dianic Wicca (a branch of Wicca that deals with female deities only), but I worked beyond it to a belief that seems to be unique.

My patron goddess is Bastet, the Egyptian cat goddess (hence my name), but I view divinity in a slightly odd way. Since I cannot understand the true nature of the divine (the divine is infinite while I am finite), I think of divinity as being like a large diamond. Every faith that is, was, or ever will be is represented as a facet on the diamond. Each person finds the facet that corresponds to them, the facet that they understand the best. Some facets are bright and shining, some are dark and foreboding, but they are all part of the divine. Some facets I am drawn to, others I am repelled from. The ones I am repelled from are facets which started out bright and shining but turned dark and foreboding through the actions of the people associated with that particular facet. Just as people can be altered by divinity, divinity can be altered by people. The divine is ever-changing, ever-evolving. Perhaps the actions of people change their perception of the divine, thus changing what the divine is. Our reality is only perception anyway.

The spirit world is all around us and inside us. We can communicate with people who have passed on, with all sorts of spirit creatures, and with beings who either protect us or wish us harm. Ouija boards and mediums are ways to contact the spirit world, but those are shortcuts. Anyone can learn to contact other realms and dimensions through meditation and/or dreaming. Dreaming, mindwalking, mental linkage, sharing your mind with someone else, telepathy, telekinesis, empathy, etc. are all ways to experience the spirit world. There is a whole other world around is that we cannot perceive with our five senses. We have mental senses with which to perceive the spirit world. We have a mind's eye, ear, nose, tongue, and sense of touch. One must learn to walk in both worlds.

Religious tools, such as the athame, chalice, tarot deck, ouija board, wand, pentacle, etc. are power tools. Each of those tools runs off of human energy. A human being is like a battery, using each tool to focus his/her energy to a particular task at hand. Herbs, stones, gems, etc. are the same. Once you've done a spell enough times or performed a work of magick enough times, you no longer need the trappings of the spell. Your energy knows what it needs to do. The items of the spell are simply foci for your energy. I can use any item I want, but it is with the knowledge that, if I were in dire straits, I could do the working with no items at all.

I am aware of the eight festivals of the wheel (the eight sacred holidays), but I really only observe two: Beltaine and Samhaine. The beginning, the fullness, the end which is only another beginning. I don't do regular meetings and rituals either. I do a magickal working when I feel called or pulled to do so, or when I am in the mood for work.

I would really like to have a name for my path, but no one I have ever met has any belief like mine. I simply call myself Pagan because Pagan is an umbrella term. I would like a word of my own. I don't want a label, just a word. I'm trying to come up with one, but so far, nothing fits. Perhaps part of my journey is finding my word. :-)

Answer 9

I believe in Christ Jesus and I do not associate Gods Word with religion. Jesus Himself, avoided religion while on this earth and told us to stay away from it. Religion is humanities way to try and please a Holy and Sovereign God. Christ Jesus is the only way that pleases God. I love Christ Jesus with all my heart and soul, I pray and worship Him only. A church is just a building where we Praise Him and Worship Him. His word tells me all I need to know about this life and the next life. Avoid religion and simply seek fellowship with God Almighty. Talk to Christ Jesus as you would talk to a friend, avoid repetitious, memorized prayers, like the unsaved recite. God makes it very easy for us to know Him:
Simply acknowledge that God came into this world as Christ Jesus, repent of your sin and ask God to forgive you.
Then read Gods word and get to know about Him.
He will cause you to grow spiritually and give you wisdom.
No hoops to jump through, no man made rules or regulations or merit. It is a free gift from God, to those who believe.
As we grow with Christ Jesus, He will manifest good works in our lives, these works are like a spiritual barometer of our walk with Christ, totally separate from our salvation.
God Bless You....Peace.

Answer 10

Yes, I happen to be a Jehovah's Witness

In most ways Jehovah’s Witnesses are like everyone else. They have normal problems, economic, physical, emotional. They make mistakes at times, for they are not perfect, inspired, or infallible. But they try to learn from their experiences and diligently study the Bible to make needed corrections. They have made a dedication to God to do his will, and they apply themselves to fulfill this dedication. In all their activities they seek guidance from God’s Word and his holy spirit.

It is of vital importance to them that their beliefs be based on the Bible and not on mere human speculations or religious creeds. They feel as did the apostle Paul when he expressed himself under inspiration: “Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar.” (Romans 3:4, New World Translation) When it comes to teachings offered as Biblical truth, the Witnesses strongly endorse the course followed by the Beroeans when they heard the apostle Paul preach: “They received the word with the greatest eagerness of mind, carefully examining the Scriptures daily as to whether these things were so.” (Acts 17:11) Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that all religious teachings should be subjected to this test of agreement with the inspired Scriptures, whether the teaching is offered by them or by someone else.

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe in the Bible as the Word of God. They consider its 66 books to be inspired and historically accurate. What is commonly called the New Testament they refer to as the Christian Greek Scriptures, and the Old Testament they call the Hebrew Scriptures. They rely on both of these, the Greek and the Hebrew Scriptures, and take them literally except where the expressions or settings obviously indicate that they are figurative or symbolic. They understand that many of the prophecies of the Bible have been fulfilled, others are in the course of fulfillment, and still others await fulfillment.

Jehovah’s Witnesses? The way they refer to themselves. It is a descriptive name, indicating that they bear witness concerning Jehovah, his Godship, and his purposes. “God,” “Lord,” and “Creator”, like “President,” “King,” and “General”, are titles and may be applied to several different personages. But “Jehovah” is a personal name and refers to the almighty God and Creator of the universe. This is shown at Psalm 83:18, according to the King James version of the Bible: “That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.”

The Scriptural account that Jehovah’s Witnesses draw on for their name is in the 43rd chapter of Isaiah. There the world scene is viewed as a courtroom drama: The gods of the nations are invited to bring forth their witnesses to prove their claimed cases of righteousness or to hear the witnesses for Jehovah’s side and acknowledge the truth. Jehovah there declares to his people: “Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am Jehovah; and besides me there is no saviour.” Isaiah 43:10, 11, American Standard Version.

Some 6,000,000 persons today who are telling the good news of Jehovah’s Kingdom by Christ Jesus in over 236 lands and 100,000 Congregations worldwide feel that they properly refer to themselves as Jehovah’s Witnesses.

With Bible Studies, we will use any Bible that the person may have, King James, America Standard, Catholic, etc, etc, you may have heard that we have our own Bible, and that it is the only one we will use, that is not true, the TRUTH can be found in any Bible, I personally have a King James Bible with me at all times in the Ministry because many people prefer that version of the Bible.