I am seeking enlightenment of other people's religions (or non-religious beliefs)?

Question

Would anyone mind sharing their religious beliefs with me. I only know one religion fairly in depth, and that is Christianity as I was practically brought up in a Baptist Church. I would like any information that you can give me about the trligion you practice, or don't. And please feel free to dispel any myths about your religion! Thank you sll.

wow guys...it's getting late...I apologize for the above horrendous typo of religion..

and "all"..did someone put brandy in my tea?

If you aren't going to give me a serious answer, don't answer the question.

Maybe I didn't specify, I would like information on the beliefs of other religions. Not bible scriptures from Christians.

Answer 1

I was raised Catholic. There's a lot of great stuff about being Catholic; in particular, there's a lot of "ritual" associated with the church--candles, and incense, and wine, and communion. Until the 1960's, and a revamping of the church called Vatican 2, all mass was said in Latin--now only the "high masses" for special occasions are in Latin. Things that people *within* the church sometimes complain about include the fact that women can't be priests and (unlike with Episcopelians), priests aren't allowed to marry. Myths other people sometimes hold about Catholics include that Catholics aren't Christian -- in fact, the earliest *organized* form of Christianity was Catholicism (the word "Catholic" originally means "worldwide") -- and that Catholics "worship idols," because Catholics hold saints in higher esteem than normal people. But Catholics don't "worship" the saints; they just see the saints as go-betweens, kind of like the way priests are go-betweens to God (for confession, last rites, etc). That concept, "intercession," is one of the things that's different between Catholicism and Protestantism.

More recently I became a Unitarian-Universalist, which is a very relaxed religion that believes that almost all religions are worshipping the same God, just in different guises and traditions, that there's validity in almost all forms of worship, and that what's really important is how we treat our fellow man is a sign of our faith. A myth about UU's is that it's a church with no real rules at all, and anything goes, but that's not true. However, UU's are "progressive" in that we're very accepting of alternative lifestyles, like gay marriage and such.

Another fascinating faith to me is Wicca, often labeled (mislabeled, many would say) as Witchcraft or paganism. Wiccans are pagan, but not all pagans are Wiccans--kind of like how Baptists are Protestant, but not all Protestants are Baptists (you also have Methodists and such). Anyhow, Wiccans believe in a Goddess, sometimes instead of "God" and sometimes as a mate to God. Wiccans celebrate not on Sundays but on the full moon, and on 8 major "sabbats" that take place across the year, and believe that there is a power in nature that, with willpower and skill, can be challenged to subtly change one's reality. But wow, there are a LOT of myths about Wiccans! One is that Wiccans can do BIG magic, like levitating and teleporting and such, which they can't--Wiccan magic works with the natural order of things, so if you did magic for a car, a car wouldn't appear. Instead, an opportunity to earn more money and buy a cheap car might show up. Another myth is that Wiccans worship Satan, which they do not, or that they "curse" people, which they don't -- in fact, the one big rule of Wicca is "harm none." Another myth is that there's some kind of Wiccan church or conspiracy out there, but there is no organized Wiccan church. Many Wiccans practice alone--they're called solitaries--and others get together in loose or organized covens, but there's no statewide, countrywide, or worldwide heirarchy of Wiccans. Therefore, Wicca can't be honestly called a "cult," because a cult must have a figurehead.

I hope this helps!

Answer 2

Hello hello ^_^ I'm a Hellenistic Pagan. I worship the Greek Gods. We celebrate every month because each month is sacred to a certain God, we have many Gods, not just the Tweleve Olympians -although they are highly regarded and worshiped.- Some people have patron Gods, I.E. A God or Goddess they feel a connection to on a deep level, one that they feel understands them and such. -or, that is the usual though pattern behind it.- A lot of our religion is somewhat like a democracy, there are certain things individual groups will vote on, we take that census, and then decide what to do from there.- We have certain rules we follow, we make offerings to our Gods, usually things that is linked with a certain God or Goddess, for instance, when I make an offering to Aphrodite I leave an offering of roses and burn incense that is connected with happiness or love.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me ^_^

Answer 3

Personally I am an atheist - therefore I don't practice any religion. My personal philosophy is that everyone should believe in whatever brings them inner-peace, as long as it does not involve harming others. I don't have any need or desire to try and convince anyone that my point of view is correct (that there is no god). As long as no one tries to "convert" me to their belief system I don't really talk too much about my views. Only when I am confronted by someone who is intent on "conversion" that I will debate the issue in-depth.

Answer 4

Buddhist. I follow the main belief of ahimsa (do no harm). I also believe in the four noble truths, the eightfold path and the 5 precepts (you can google them- I didn't want the answer to be too long). I also believe in studying other religions in a search for knowledge and enlightenment. Buddhists are to take what is helpful to them and discard those teachings that are not. Therefore, Buddhists do not all follow the same path. We do not believe in God, do not believe that Buddha is a god and most of us believe in reincarnation, vegetarianism and pacifism. Good Luck on your journey!

Answer 5

i'm buddhist. I believed heaven and hell exist because we were taught to believe that it exist. personally, i really think they exist too. we donate or gives away water, food, clothing, shelter to priests/monks, who dedicate their lives to achieve enlightment. it is where you've no desire or attached onto worldy things such as sex, money. etc. we believe that if you donate what you can in this life then you will have better chance to go to heaven. Let's say if you give food and water to the priests then you do not have to worry about food or water in the next life and vice versa. there's more to more religion than what i've explained. there are four noble truths, the noble eightfold paths, and more. i think this is enough for some info.

Answer 6

I am a hindu & i belong to india.there are numerous god in our religion &a lot of beliefs.it was considered as a very old religion but it has many wrong beliefs like more communities within a religion,and they are categorized as ahigh or low categories and marriages takes place within a community.But indian government is taking many measures to make all these communities.Sorry if i have said anything wrong.

Answer 7

personaly I am "christan" (apostolic beliefs.. live by acts 2:38 / john 10:30 )) BUT I have a rather "mixed" view on things aside from that.

I am verry sensitive to spiritual vibrations and energy and have since I was a child and I'm personaly drawn wo plants / stones / animals.. nature basicly. so when I got a little older I started researching "properties" of plants and stones because I always seemed to feel more then ppl around me did. people consiter this "witchcraft" but I'm no witch, I serve and bow to one god and one god only and his name is jesus, but I believe he created all plants and stones for a purpose and gave some of them an exrta little something. I guess you could say I'm a "mystical" type of person, I seek the hidden depth to things most ppl dont but I ask the lord guide me in my ways.

I also practice necromancy.. this is completely shrouded in darkness and I cant completely explain it because its not allowed but I can tell you it is not evil.. the thing is, only very few people are chosen to follow it.

Along with what I said as a child, I've always had beings around me and once I was old enough I was praying in my new room in a new house ((deep prayer, speaking in tounges and all)) and I was basicly told some of the things around me that wouldnt go away where meant for me to take care of. years later I take care of spirits ((human or not)) this is done with nothing like wiccan or any "craft" spiritualy there is a world after this, in that world are beings not of the physical body and that world can sometimes be dangerous, my job is to only provide a place for traveling beings to rest safely. through this whole time lots come and go but most of them stay and act like angels. you see, when lucifer fell with the angels that followed ... some where right out supportive and aware of what satan was doing, but others where truly deceived. there are actually fallen angels out there that divide themselfs from satan and wander away from the darker fallen, some of them find their way to me. In the end even those fallen will still have a judgement after this ((Jude 1:6)) and I was blessed with a compassionate heart and I believe I am protected by the lord from things that may try to hurt me.

all in all I'm basicly christan blessed with a deeper perseption / connection tho things that arent "normal" because I was gifted with a sensitivity to the spiritual world in many different ways.

((just like there are many dietys and spirits of stature but they where all created by God and none are above him.. he is the one who even created evil afterall))

Answer 8

The Rig Veda mantras propound all the speech or all
the ideas and thoughts leading to all-sided
perfection;

the Yajur Veda develops the mind which is the source
of all actions;

the Sama Veda makes us fully develop our life energies
or
prana for completely developing our potential.


The Atharva Veda gives the methods of perfection of
our body and senses like eyes (chakshu) or hearing.


http://www.vedah.com/org/literature/PDFs/Yajur_Veda.pdf

Vedic texts speak of four different varna,

Brahmins = Priests
Kshatriya = warrior princes, chieftains
Vaishya = agriculturalists, merchants, traders
Shudra = laborers, servants to other three varnas


Now Brahmins or priests are intellectuals in society,
not just by birth but also by actions. May be we can
assume them to be the dreamers, the ones who take life
as dream and try to realise that.

For them direct or indirect practice of Rigveda with
the theme "Prajnanam Brahma" (Consciousness is God)
shall give some good plans for developing a good
society with good practices. perhaps ie why that
deduction came Rigveda for the Intellectuals or
Brahmins.

Now the next class in any society, the Rulers or
Kshatriyas with Stern Mind to play longer innings of
games in life. For any Chieftain in any society a
Stern Mind is the primary requirement.

So practice of Yajur Veda with the Upanishad Mahavakya
theme "Aham Brahmasmi" can give really good rulers and
chieftains for the society. Perhaps that's why that
deduction was there that Yajur Veda for Kshatriyas. It
is also said that Yajur Veda is the Canvas upon which
Rig and Sama Vedas are painted.

Now Vysyas are the artists of life force to any
society. It is said the verses of Sama Veda are
extended into all the other Vedas, perhaps making a
cloudy merger and overlap of all Vedas into One Unit.
May be that's why the theme Mahavakya of Samaveda
Tatvamasi (Thou Divine Art THAT) takes a very
important role in any society. Perhaps that is the
reson the Sama Veda is assumed by many to have given
to the Vysys community comprising of Businessmen and
Artists giving the life energy to any society, acting
the life in a good dramatic fashion.

Now, the Atharva Veda with the theme Mahavakya "Ayam
Athma Brahma", promotes the perfection of body and
senses to meet the challenges of life with meekness.
Of course Atharva Veda of which the Ayurveda and
Sthapathya Veda (herbs for cure and ways to build)
are considered parts, promotes better perfection for a
stronger and diseaseless body with sharp senses which
are required for Shudras to meet the challenges of
life very well. The healthy and stable General Masses,
the working community, the common men are very
important for any society to present a beautiful
picture. So this could be the reason Atharva Veda is
said to be given primarly to Shudras.

..................

Now also see this post in athmavidya group regarding
the guide to Indian Culture and Spirituality. Perhaps
this is a deduction analogy from Vedas.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/athmavidya/message/420

Also see this Q. in Y/A to read some more into the
deduction and induction processes into Veda and
Vedanta.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AujjTZh2B7F3ZPpu1zDDlqPsy6IX?qid=20070424094710AARztGU

SAI RAM

Answer 9

I have my only personal system of beliefs and theories which would take far too long to explain. As well as containing philosophical elements it also contains mythic figures (most of which relate to aspect of myself or human generally in some way), "power words" and physical symbols.

It's an evolving system and reflects my spiritual journey through life.

Answer 10

what is salvagable from each religious system in the light of extreme and patient scutiny is the coherent basis of much of my belief system tempered by modern psychology and justice and people like Richard Dawkins ,Stephen Wienberg and of course A.Einstein.
I am a deeply religious nonbeliever - this is a somewhat new kind of religion.
Albert Einstein