What do you believe?

Question

I feel that every person needs to believe in something to form a basis for life (reference material-if you like?)I was brought up in a Christian family, I have nothing against the religion...I just hate the way my parents and the church taught me to believe because even today when I say God I look up to the heaven.He is everywhere and in everything. I believe it is in me.I wish I knew what I believe because currently I am following my own and I would love to join a group of people who believe the same as me.I believe in reincarnation, I believe in energy. I believe the way you think you are, you are because the mind is a very powerfull thing.I have read the book Conversations with God and I agree with almost everything that is written in there.I don't like people(like my old preist) who force me to believe in something what they believe but I do like people's opinions.Please give me your opinions on what you believe and why.I would love to find a religion and currently I am kind of los

Answer 1

I was christened but my mum and dad brought me up to believe in what I thought was right - not what people wanted me to believe. I've never been to church on a sunday, but I do believe in a God - who or what he is, I don't know, but I'd like to think we could manifest our own thoughts, and thats what I do, rather than sticking to the 'white hair and beard' look.

Answer 2

I'm a Theravadin Buddhist, which means I believe in reincarnation, karma, enlightenment, all that jazz. But there's something about reincarnation that non-Buddhists don't generally understand. When you're reborn, you're not necessarily reborn as a human, but there are other dimensions of space with different realities (or realms) where you can be born as, either a human or other animal, a wraith-like ghost (which is always hungry and cannot be satisfied) a hell-being (really just a realm as a metaphor for a really bad life) or as a heaven-being, (a really fantastic place to live. But in those other spirit worlds you can die, because it's a life. There's a lot more, but that's the basics of Buddhism. Oh, right, and Buddha isn't a deity or god, in case you weren't aware. He was a spiritual leader and teacher. His name was Siddhartha Gautama.

Answer 3

Well now, I was reared a Catholic, but my parents always felt the questioning things is good, and I have to agree with them, insofar as it was good for me.

I became a Pagan about 16 years ago, and this is a path that suits me. I come across Pagans of all types: Druids, Wiccans, etc. but I don't ascribe to any particular 'school' (I hate that word, it has some very dodgy political connotations for me) of Paganism.

Generally with regard to religion, I feel that people have the intelligence to choose what's right for them, so I don't try to sway people. Like you, I felt lost, but I found a way that suits me. I tend to avoid the Born Again posse, be they Christian or Pagan.

Basically for the me the Earth is the Mother, and the elements of nature shape our lives: the Father is the Mother's Consort, Hunter and Protector of Animals and Children. But I feel I cannot speak for anyone else, so I don't say this 'is' Paganism. Other people have other takes on it.

Aside from my beliefs, I think you're very brave to come out and question this, but you need to be aware that in pulling away from your family spiritually, you are making a difficult road for yourself. It's not easy to make this kind of change.

Answer 4

You are hungry for Jesus. We all get to a point where religiosity and the same 52 sermons every Sunday or Saturday are just not enough. We want more of the Lord and who He really is. The Pastor or Priest cannot do this for us. We must get into the Word of God the Holy Bible and find out who God is for ourselves.

Get a King James Version Study Bible and read the commentaries as well as the Bible verses and ask God to reveal His Word to you. You will see Israel was to be God's Holy people who obeyed His commandments and who obeyed Him. And Israel couldn't do it, because they let othe r people take them away from God to serve idols. Check out the punishments that God brought upon Israel for being disobedient. Learn truly what Christ came to do and let the Holy Spirit within you increase your knowledge. Jesus said the Holy Spirit would teach us all things.

God gave us His Word. The church is for training and fellowship with other believers. After training it becomes just a place to fellowship on occasion, because we are to be out in the world preaching the gospel and letting our light shine so other people can see us. Ask God every morning to give you someone to witness to so you can change a life for Christ.

Look up my friend, because your redemption draws near. Luke 21:28

From Genesis to Revelation it is all about Jesus Christ and without Jesus there is no eternal life. Keep your eyes on Jesus and not on religion. Why not learn God's Word the Holy Bible and be a light in your own church. I promise you one thing, the judgment of God will begin in the house of God. 1 Peter 4:17

You are commanded to know the Word of God and to not trust anyone's preaching.

Answer 5

I had a different experience to yours my POarents although they wer Catholic di not go to Church but I always believed in God as long as I can remember so I decided when I was in my teens to go to Church on my own, which I did untill I realized that it was a waste of time, and that I was learning nothing there I saw a lot of hypocracy and I therefore went searching for the true God so I found him, I believe that God is the hearer and answerer of Prayer and I have found this to be truemany times over.I believe that the Bible is God's written Word inspired of God and that all the answers to finding true happines in life are in there because God is a happy God and he wants his Children to have true happiness, so he reveals the secrets of how to find true happiness in his Word the Bible. God also reveals his purpose for us and the earth in the Bible, he reveals many answers to questions that are especially asked by mankind, he answer questions like: Who is God, What sort of Worship he requires, Why we grow old and die, What hapens to us when we die,Why God permits suffering,What God has done to save mankind, and how we can have a happy future.Gosd also shows us in the Bible how we can be sure that we are following the right and true religion and how to find it.I have condensed this so that it would not be too long.

Answer 6

I am an atheist because I lack a belief in a supreme being --God-- but this is what I believe.

I believe we have souls. I don't know what a soul is, or where they come from, but I think souls are what give us our humanity. They help us to form morals and values, know right from wrong. Possibly, our souls are our conscience. People who have no emotions or empathy have empty souls, while those who are caring, compassionate, kind, patient and loving have strong souls. I think our souls make us who we are.

I believe in fate, that everything happens for a reason. That doesn't mean that I believe some supreme being has written the course of our lives, and it doesn't mean I don't believe we have free will. We do, and our choices can easily change the course of our lives. But the really important things are simply meant to be, and nothing will change that. I've observed this too many times to believe differently.

I believe in angels. Not in the Biblical sense, but as guardians who watch over us and help in times of need. I believe strongly that I have encountered angels on more than one occasion because no other explanation makes sense. I think that all of us become angels upon dying. That's what we do in the after life. We carry on as spirit energy, and we intervene when necessary, when it looks as if the course of one's life will take them too far off the pre-ordained path, past the point of no return. Case in point --I once knew that a tree was going to fall on the sandbox. That would have killed my children, and changed the course of events with no hope of setting things right. I believe an angel spoke to me, warning me of danger ahead. Some might call this intuition.

I don't know what this pre-ordained path might be, or what the great master plan is. I really don't even believe there is a master plan, and I certainly don't believe that one supreme deity is calling all the shots. But I think it's all leading somewhere. Not heaven, not hell, but somewhere unknown to all of us. There's a reason for all of this, we aren't just accidents. There's not a person alive who has the answer, although everyone has their opinions.

I believe in ghosts. Not the haunting, spooky halloween variety, but spirit energy. We all end up as spirit energy --angels -- whatever you want to call it. Sometimes, that energy is visible to the living in the form of a ghost, or "angel." I saw something when I was 19 that convinced me that humans have souls, and that we carry on. Souls, angels, ghosts. They're simply different names that explain the same thing. It's just our energy, our lifeforce.

I believe that 24 years ago I was given a glimpse of the afterlife in the form of a dream, and the strange events surrounding this incident have only served to convince me that what I saw was very real. I think I was shown what one would call "heaven." It's not a place of golden streets and angels singing, but it is beautiful, and calming, peaceful and warm. I do believe I'll go there after I die, and I'm not afraid of death for that reason.

EDIT: You mentioned reincarnation. I'm not sure what to make of reincarnation, but I'm not opposed to believing it. Some people have such old souls that it seems they must have lived before. I believe in karma --what goes around comes around --so I try, I really try, to be a good person. Because I am an imperfect human I fail often, but I don't want to give up and become bitter because I don't want that coming back to me.

Answer 7

I believe something like the bible was a tool written so that tyrannical rulers and despots could exploit the masses. You see it boils down to simple economics, specifically that of game theory; the famous "prisoners dilemna". In the game of the prisoners dilemna, the liar wins and the honest person loses (unless both lie). So a tool like the bible can get people to be honest (i.e. golden rule). If the people buy the altruism story, then it makes it so much easier for rulers to perpetrate their hidden agendas.

I believe in a God, who put us here to use our minds, to seek the best within us... not to give up our drive and desires by sacrificing ourselves for the sake of others... not to give into vices and other material bs. I believe in God in my own unique way, not the way the Catholic church tells me I should.

Answer 8

You will have every Tom, Dick and Harry professing that thier religion is the right one but it is for you to make up your mind. Some families claim to be Christian but do not actually know what a Christian is....... If you wish to find out about true Christianity then please try an Alpha Course at a Church near you. You can find out more at http://www.alpha.org
Hope you find what you are looking for.
Best wishes, Mike.

Answer 9

Very good question.

By the way, have you thought about looking at any of the forms of Buddhism? Might be what you're after. Or being an Eclectic Wiccan might have what you're looking for (Reincarnation, energy, karma, etc). You may have to learn to "open your mind" and accept what you are told not as truth, but as belief in its' purest form. Follow what your heart feels.

I would term myself an Agnostic Thiest to be honest with you. Serious cop-out huh?

Nah, I believe...I believe in Karma, I believe in the Chaos Theory as well.

I believe there is an incredible balance to this life that none of us can truly understand.

I believe we all have our own latent Energies, our own Aura's (but then I am subject to something called "Synethesia", as a result I feel I can see Auras' in the form of colour and sometimes consistency), our own identities and our own "souls".

I believe their are powers and beings that are far beyond anyone's comprehension. I believe we are also partly responsible for the existence of those beings in THIS reality (not their form, but rather the memories and knowledge of them - arrogant as that sounds). I believe in many ways we are possibly the very beings we pray and believe in, or at least fragments of them.

I believe however that actually the "Christian God" as people know it actually has a creator (LONG story). Please don't berate me for that one, I know how most people feel, and it is my BELIEF.

I also feel that in some respects there are spiritual boundaries that we should never cross. I myself when in a trance (as I feel) have been to certain places I hope to never go to unprepared again. As a result I also feel that some things are best never tampered with.

I'm not sure whether I believe in an afterlife or not. I feel as my belief something does happen to us when we die, but I will not make assumptions as to what it is, save perhaps our energies than transfer on as a different form.

I believe there are "daemons" (that is how it used to be spelled too), and in that respect I actually believe in some ways I am a vessel to one (again, long story). I also believe that not all daemons are evil, but perhaps more "disembodied spirits with a will".

And I also believe because of my feelings and understandings of life and religion, I could never truly devote myself to any one religion.

Talk about confused huh?

Toodles

Answer 10

I like the way you think. I believe to have faith in something you must follow your own path. A church or priest are good influences or good council but the relationship with God is your own. When you say you belive that it is in you, this is something that was stated from Jesus. You are a holy temple of God. This is your church, your kingdom.