do you have to belong in a religion to prove to yourself and your god that you have faith in him?

Question

i mean,i cant imagine a god who would want to divide everyone besause of contradictory beliefs where they set their own rules and proclaims that if you dont live by that certain conduct,you'd go to hell...i was raised a catholic,but i dont like to be in any kind of religion,mainly because their preachers have laws that they themselves doesnt follow and some teachings are just downright stupid for me...i believe in god,budha,allah,the force,or whatever you'd call it and i respect religions,but being raised a catholic im obliged to go and think that i wont be saved by not having a religion(catholicism, specially).
confused........helpp!!

Answer 1

God does not want any thing from you except that you achieve the highest degree of morality, intelligence, tolerance, compassion and love for all things including God
who will reciprocate

Answer 2

I was a Catholic too and i've grown to find out that religion as a whole creates the guilt complex that u r suffering from because of 2 related words... belief & believe. They r encouraged by religions and it can be a good thing but it has nothing to do with knowledge/ fact or truth.

Belief- the acceptance of things as though they r true. This means u can believe in anything and be 100% wrong because there is nothing to verify / compare it with. So when we say the prayer "I believe in GOD.." we r really saying that we don't KNOW God.

Knowledge- (accurate) information which leads to facts that can be checked out and confirmed.

Ask yourself this. How much has ever been proven to be true to u by the church's teachings? All the miracles, mystical appearances by Mary or the Saints, bleeding/ crying statues and angelic visions are nice stories but have u witnessed anything like it yourself? If not and u accept it then u r trap in the belief system and there is no growth 4 u unless u equip yourself with RIGHT knowledge/ information.

Answer 3

All that God and Jesus require of you is to follow the commandments in the Bible. Live your life observing these laws, pray, study to gain accurate knowledge of the word of God. Do unto others as you would have done to you. You don't have to Belong to any religion to do this. Religious Leaders are corrupt anyway, and are likely to lead you away from the truth. Instead of trying to find a religion, try to have a relationship with God first and get to know him. If you believe in Buddha or Allah, do the same. Don't get involved in corrupt religions like Catholisism because then you will turn Atheist and cynical.

Answer 4

most religions have the similarity of living purely and holy to go to "heaven" or whereever u go after life. Just be a devout prayer to your god, it doesnt matter as much to be in a religion, just have faith. If u do good, most likely ull get good. You say preachers have laws they dont follow? Thats not everyone, so follow the rules and be a true preacher. Thats all that matters!

Answer 5

The answer to your question is no










































































































The answer to your question is no, because God did not ordain any form of religion , He choose a specific way of life with all the code of good conduct so that man could live in peace and harmony with each other .We are the ones who choose to have religion.Therefore if you follow the codes of conduct that was ordained by God you would have full filed your faith in him.

Answer 6

I don't believe it's necessary to belong to a particular religion or denomination, but many people do find it helpful to have a clearly delineated belief system and set of spiritual practices lined out for them. To me, the only problem with organized religions is that they tend to want to be the ONLY right way, thus making everybody else WRONG (and therefore probably evil and to be stamped out). But if you can work within an established system, such as Catholicism, I do believe you can make a lot of spiritual progress using the ideas and practices it offers.

I grew up in the Lutheran church, and felt pretty much like it sounds as if you do at one point. I was losing my confidence in the literal truth of the Bible, and went through a lot of angst and fear on behalf of my immortal soul. With time, though, I was exposed to other belief systems -- mainly Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi, and Native American -- and came to value what I see as the underlying unity of all these religions, with their differences being mainly cultural. At this point, I am at a place where I can in good conscience go back to worshipping with Lutherans (or other Christian groups such as Catholics), as long as they do not require of me to accept certain precepts as literal truth. I'm also comfortable meditating with Buddhists or attending a Native American sweat lodge ceremony. I believe God is much, much greater than we humans often give Him/Her credit for being -- we are, after all, finite beings contemplating the infinite, and don't have the vocabulary or concepts to deal with it in its entirety. But I believe God is our source, and is by definition Infinite Love -- and is capable of reaching human beings by as many ways as there are people, if we seek sincerely and with our deepest hearts.

Answer 7

My view on this is just that it depends on what religion, and what God that you believe in. If you don't mind me sharing, I'm Baptist, and to show that you have faith in God, all you have to do is say a simple prayer confessing your sins, and he is with you for your whole life. The next step, is to be Baptised. This is showing the World that you have faith in God, and it makes God happy. Hope I helped!!

Answer 8

Congratulations, your Agnostic! We believe the Divine is out there, but there is no way to define it. We can't know for sure what it wants of us, or if it even acknowledges us. Therefore it is absolute foolishness to fight over man made details of religion. Find your own Spirituality. Be happy with your place in the universe. And please, base your actions on logical ethics rather than arbitrary religious morality.

Answer 9

Think about how many religions and religious sects there are in this world. There are people who believe as strongly in Christianity as others believe in Buddhism. I personally believe that every religion is a small part of a larger picture. That is just my opinion, and I could be wrong. I think it is just as silly to say there is unequivocally a god as it is to say there is not. We can have faith in god- but not direct knowledge of god's existence. I think there are things we can never know, and perhaps we aren't supposed to. If there is a god- I don't think god would want you to obey some form of dogma out of guilt. If it does not resonate in your heart, it is not your truth. Hindus believe there are many paths to nirvana, and one is not more correct than another, because in the end you come to the same place. Religious divisiveness is, in my opinion, a man made situation in which one's beliefs are used to justify intolerance and claim superiority, and I believe divisions only serve as a detour from the true path.
There is a story Bill Moyers told recently that I think is pertinent to your situation:

'One of my favorite stories is of the fellow who was about to jump off a bridge when another fellow runs up to him, crying: "Stop. Stop. Stop. Don't do it."

The man on the bridge looks down and asks, "Why not?"

"Well, there's much to live for."

"Like what?"

"Well, your faith. Are you religious?"

"Yes."

"Me, too. Christian or Buddhist?"

"Christian."

"Me, too. Are you Catholic or Protestant?"

"Protestant."

"Me, too. Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist?"

"Baptist."

"Me, too. Are you original Baptist Church of God or Reformed Baptist Church of God?"

"Reformed Baptist Church of God."

"Me, too. Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God Reformation of 1820, or Reformed Baptist Church of God Reformation of 1912?"

"1912."

Whereupon the second fellow turned red in the face, shouted, "Die, you heretic scum," and pushed him off the bridge.'

I hope this helped, and I hope you find your path......

Answer 10

God doesnt have to mean God as we are brought up to know it. God can mean (Good Orderly Direction) as long as you believe that you don't have control of what goes on in your life and that there is a much higher being then you running the show, it doesn't really matter. That's my theory and my God is the Earth and the Sky.