Finding my religion, and finding that others are lost too?

Question

I am trying to find out what my set of beliefs are. I was raised in a household with absolutely no religion or sense of worship. I am curious though... it seems to me that in trying to find myself, i find that others are lost too. Are you the religion you are simply because your parents were before you? Do you think that if you were raised with a family of a different religion that you would be that religion today? With this being said, can you say with any credibility that one religion has a stronger case than any other? How can you prove yours versus another religion as being the "way"?

How does someone who has not been raised religious read the bible and believe it as truth? i don't mean this in as any insult, i'm just skeptical because i can't see the events that happen in the bible as facts. Help me believe that they are by giving me a reason to accept them!

i do want you to understand that i'm not a naive person who just says that the bible doesn't ring true for me... i have actually read it. In fact, i've got "idiots guide to...." and reference you could think of just becuase i was so lost with everything!

Answer 1

http://www.sacred-texts.com - many world religions

http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/index.htm - The Bible

The only thing I can say - follow your instincts, look wherever you wish, and if nothing more, if you research various ways at least you'll have better understanding of others. You seem to be interested in Christianity, so, that's why there is the 2nd link.

Good luck

Answer 2

Well the religion of my birth was Christianity. My entire family except me is Christian. I followed the faith for a couple of decades and even taught the religion before I started learning more about it. And getting the answer to why the Jews rejected Jesus.

I went through two different phases before I got ot where I am now. First I became an atheist - I was very betrayed and felt like I was lied to for all those years. I later on started to explore the Pagan religions.

Finally, I got a whack over the head from G-d and returned to him.

My best advice about the bible is just to study it and come to your own conclusions. There are some very difficult parts but also some very beautiful parts - including the covenants.

Personally, for Old Testament I would recommend Jewish sources. They come right out and address the harder issues like slavery or wars. They don't back peddle of offer appeasement. They just explain what is going on.

A semi good book for starting to investigate the Torah is "The Bedside Torah". It is an good book from the stand point it helps you see the Torah in a different light - and if you aren't familar with the Old Testament it is a good stepping stone. Since trying to read some parts, especially without background, can be hard and even trying.

Don't go in with any expectations or prejudices. Just begin to study it for yourself. I'm not fond of the New Testament, but if you want to read that also, stay away from the newer bibles. Such as 'The Message' by Eugene Peterson. They tend to leave out verses that aren't convinent.

Answer 3

What a great question! There is a very simple answer to discovering which religion is "the way". JESUS said "I AM THE WAY, the truth and the life". So, if you find out what Jesus says about being a Christian - and you get that from reading the Bible - you can then compare what He says with what other religions believe.

What's more, because it is confusing and difficult, you can get help simply by praying to God to show you "the way". Just ask Him to guide and direct you, and put your trust in Him.

Regarding your question, are you in a particular religion (or denomination) because your parents were, that is not always the case.

I was brought up from birth into a Jehovah's Witness family. I believed everything I was taught and genuinely thought I had "the truth" and that every other religion was wrong. However, after 1975 came and went without the promised "end to this wicked system of things", I became disillusioned and realised that the organisation was a false prophet.

For many years I wandered in a spiritual wilderness, having nothing to do with Jehovah's Witnesses in particular and religion in general. Then in my early 40's I began to genuinely seek God and I had lots of questions, but didn't know where to go - a case of 'once bitten, twice shy.' I finally got down on my knees and prayed for help. Although I had abandoned God, He had not abandoned me, and He answered my prayers. 11 years ago, I finally "got it" - I suddenly realised who Jesus was and what He had done for me - that He had died for me and that my sins were truly forgiven. God opened my eyes, unstopped my ears and softened my heart to receive Him. What a happy day that was! He led me to fellowship in a Baptist church and it wasn't long before I gave myself to the Lord and was baptised.

All I can tell you is that God knows who will come to Him, even if we don't. I also believe that genuine Christians can be found in all sorts of denominations. So don't worry too much about which religion is right - just get yourself right with God and He will take care of you and show you "the way". God bless you.

Answer 4

You know that I do not believe that any one religion is provable over any other. Yet that is part of the design of RELIGION. It is simply a cultural definition of GOD to separate us from them, that has been present from the onset of the ego. Religion by definition is a cult of individuals with a common belief system. To think that you could possibly learn everything there is to know about the Omnipotent Creator from just one text is completely unrealistic and a mute thought. So if it is religion that you are trying to find then play it smart and pick the one that is the most popular one with the largest number of successful members. This will go far to insure your chances of success within your community. I wouldn't even worry too much about being able to follow all of the rules because ask any member and they will tell you that no one can obey them all. So they have designed an out clause to exempt them from having to do so. On the other hand if you are trying to find out just what it is that you believe then I wouldn't search in religion, for that is what someone else believes in hopes to convince you to subscribe to it as well. Oh if you try reading just the RED Letters of a red letter bible it may make more sense and if it does then religion isn't what you are looking for. GOD Bless and GOD Speed!

Answer 5

If you're shopping around for a religion/philosophy to suit you, you might find the Belief-O-Matic quiz over at Beliefnet.com helpful:

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/76/story_7665_1.html

It's fun, and it matches you up with a wide variety of religions and philosophies based on your answers, with write-ups for each one. The results can be very surprising.

In answer to your other questions...

1) No, my parents were Christian and I am currently Wiccan.

2) Possibly. Possibly not. It was university education that led me away from Christianity; whether that process would have happened with another religion I honestly can't say.

3) No, I believe that all religions are potentially valid paths to the Divine; it's a matter of finding the religion (or lack thereof) that best suits the individual. For that reason, Wiccans very seldom prosyletize -- we simply don't see the point in it.

4) I can't. All I can say is that to me finding Wicca felt like coming home -- its core philosphy and forms of worship suit me down to the ground. If you find fulfillment in a different religion, I say more power to you.

5) I believe that the Bible is a mix of myth with some history in it, and when read as such it can be a very interesting book. But the people who insist on interpreting the Bible literally make me shake my head, I'm afraid -- there are simply too many contradictions in it for my taste.

Answer 6

I want to say, as I've said many times before, that spirituality is the search for truth - religion is the set of rules you decide to live by. It is true that many are lost, but a lot of that has to do with the fact that most people today really don't know themselves - really don't know who they are, where they came from, and what their purpose in life is.
You cannot live your life based soley on what someone else has told you is right or wrong. You cannot prove that one or another religion is right or wrong.
I would suggest that reading the bible, or the talmud, or the koran, or any other of the sort is a good thing to do in order to get a good understanding of different religions and cultures.
Ultimately, the decision of what's right or wrong for you has to be made by you, based on the results of your studies and you own personal judgement.

Answer 7

I understand what you are saying, because I once felt the same way. For me I needed help with understanding the scriptures and what the bible was teaching. To simply pick up the book in start reading would be difficult and time consuming. Get into a bible study at a Christian Church where they want you to ask tough questions and where being skeptical is okay. Good Christian churches understand the struggles of learning about the Christian faith. It will take some time, but if you are truly seeking you will find what you are looking for.

Answer 8

One certainly has an advantage when raised in a solid religious home. I'm not a Christian because my parents were. I am a Christian because they guided me to the place where I could accept and recieve Christ and His teachings for myself and practice them throughout my lifetime.

I had no religious instruction until I was about 10, I'm a different denomination than my parents but they certainly got the ball rolling.

God created us for worship and relationship for Him. This is evident in that even the most remote tribes will erect totem poles or worship the villiage cow.

I believe that I would be what I am today, even if raised in a different religion, because God is the one who takes the iniative, not us. You have a curosity because God, through the Holy Spirit has made you curious. Your journey will take you where you need to be.

Religion is a "system" of beliefs; Hindu, Juadism, Islam etc... are based upon dead prophets. Christianity is all that and more. It is based on a personal relationship with a living, risen Savior Jesus Christ. One of our old hymns express it best, "I serve a risen Savior, Hes in the world today;
I know that He is living, whatever men may say;
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer, And just the time I need Him, Hes always near.

He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me
A-long lifes narrow way.
He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart."

C.S. Lewis, famous British professor said it best: Jesus Christ is either a Lord, liar, or lunatic? What he meant was that because Jesus claimed in many ways to be God in the flesh. This led Lewis to conclude that Jesus was lying, delusional OR He was who He said He was.

Moslems say Jesus was a great prophet? How could this be? A great prophet, by the Old Testament Standard embraced by Jews and Moslems as well as Christians, says that a prophet is only a prophet if 100 percent of what they say is true, or he's at best no prophet or at worst a false prophet. In order for Jesus to be a great prophet; because He constantly claimed to be God, He would have to be or he'd be a liar, in which case he'd be a false prophet at worst. Thus Islam contradicts itself.

Many early Jews embraced Jesus as their long awaited Messiah. In fact, Christians started out as just another sect of Judasim. Why the shift? They were booted out because they embraced Gentiles.

Hindism oppresses people and keeps people in their caste. There is no love or compassion, their is no hope except to live a better life and come back at a higher level.

New Age, Wicca, others worship "self" you make up your own rules, but why do that if your confused already?

I'd start reading the Gospel of John in the Christian New Testament. Get something like the New International Version or the New King James Version, pray before you read and ask God to open your eyes and make Himself known. Don't worry about what you don't understand or get hung up on it, keep reading there will be things that you do understand and be clear to you.

May the Lord bless and keep you, may He make His face shine upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Answer 9

There a religion or no religion you inherit from your parents. That not make you more or less believer or non believer.

When time comes to be a mature person, religion or non-religion is about personal choice. That is the fact.

My religion (catholic) says God loves you the way as you are, with all the sins you commit and will commit later. God says to you the way you must live to be spiritually happier. It is not easy, but in order to be a true catholic, you must understand that God really loves you and only let God to guide you, that is the only way to be a real catholic.

I am a religious person because i like the way my religion says me to life. I prove to life that way. And it is better that others like atheism i already know about. It not an easy task to be a catholic but a rewarding one.

Answer 10

I can understand what you are saying here, I have had the same experience, was raised without any religion or sense of worship, but we did have a religion (Catholic)though my parents were not practicing, only went to Church for wedings etc.I searched for truth and I found. Of course, how could you believe the Bible as truth if you have not seen it for yourself?The rest of your questions are impossible to show you here right now because it takes time and space all of which I do not have right here,but I can show you how you can truly believe the Bible if you give me some time and a bit of space.(email)

Answer 11

I was raised Episcopalian (Catholic lite) but always questioned many teachings. I had my own epiphany when I was about 18 and read "The Spiral Dance" by Starhawk. I was a happy Wiccan/Pagan/Witch since before then, but this book gave a name to what I felt in my heart.

I don't think any religion is "better" than any other. It's a personal thing. 'An it Harm None.