Is your religion your identity?

Question

ex: I'm a christian/muslim first rather than a parent/spouse or lawyer/bricklayer? or is it the other way around? All religions are welcome to answer, even atheists. What about free will does it take precedence over religion and faith or not?
This is a serious question. It got me thinking about it when I saw God's Warrior by Christiane Amanpour on CNN.
P.S. I'm not going to pick the best answer. I'll let the community pick it.

thank you for answering there were very good answers and opinions.

Answer 1

Not for me...just the jokes about the stereotypes...

Answer 2

I have to say my spirituality is part of my identity and influences how I live and interact with people. I'm guessing the story by Christiane Amanpour involved someone obsessed with the Lord I don't watch much CNN

I'm not a daughter or employee first, don't like to put myself in that kind of box. I pray if I'm not sure how to respond to a situation or a person sometimes I just react on instinct. I don't believe in religion though I do believe in God and Jesus, but freewill was granted to us by God and part of universal law which affects human actions but I can't say freewill has preced. over faith, I believe they go together. Our freewill should be influenced by our faith whatever it may be, hopefully our faith has a positive influence in our lives

Answer 3

God's Warriors was excellent. I would have hoped everyone has seen it. It seems to me "religion" is made for man by man. When Religion interferes with politics it is wrong. To follow a religious belief is fine, to have like beliefs is fine and to share those beliefs with others of like beliefs is fine too. But remember a belief is not necessarily a truth. Belief comes from within itself - it does not validate anything outside of itself. To use a religious belief system as a weapon of power is wrong. Each of us has a belief system within ourselves, we might bend more toward others with what may seem likened to our own beliefs, but it is predicated on a belief, nothing more. I hear Christians, Jews and Muslims tell of their beliefs - which is fine - but when I ask them questions about those beliefs they become annoyed with my asking. Why? Because most know nothing about the belief they claim to love. They know little about what their faith proclaims, what they know is what they are told by a leader of that religion. All faith believers claim to have read whatever book heads their faith but most cannot interpret it because those book/s are possibly the most difficult thing to interpret, yet they all validate the great book/s. [Somehow they forget that those books were written a very long time ago. Some of the writers lived in caves. Civilization was quite different then, people were not capable of reading or writing, they were un civilized. Everything was a miracle - wind, rain, rainbows, thunder, earthquakes, sunshine – on and on.] People today are still 'told' what the book/s mean, via the interpretation of their religious leaders..

All things depend on interpretation and given the wrong one to the wrong person/s at the wrong time is detrimental to everyone. . Faith is like a dream, sometimes good, sometimes not so good. We all innately know good from bad, to hurt, to mame or to kill is wrong, and to base it on a religion is utterly dangerous. The end result is the “free will” to do what is right –not a religion.

Answer 4

I have no religion I belong to, mine fits none. However, if I do not make my belief control how I live then I am a hypocrite. My faith guides the decisions I make in any situation. I may not do as I know I should, but who can? But I always end up back on my path again, with a lot of gratitude I am back. When I am able to unconditionally love another, when I want to hate and get revenge, I feel good about me. It’s a lot easier to hate than to love.
Blessed Be

Answer 5

My religion is not my identity. It is merely another facet of my life. I equate the terms religion and faith.

To go into deeper detail, I must say that my religion is a thread that goes through my life. It is a part of every decision that I make, as it is is the sum total of my many beliefs.

As for the question of free will, I can say simply that it plays only slightly well into the question, as a whole. It is a subject in only, that I use free will in guiding my actions, with my faith/religion as a guiding set of principles and rituals.

Hope this is a suitable answer,

Good Luck and Goddess Bless.

Answer 6

People will always REJECT God and His LOVE.

Well, it is God 1st, Parents 2nd, then work / activities.
After marriage, would be God 1st, Spouse 2nd, Children, Parents, then work / activities.

Identity is what we appear to hold most valuable, or a membership.

God's warrior is only someone whom you would meet and enjoy on the street, at your job, in a class. They KNOW Jesus.

If you do not understand LOVE, how are you to understand JESUS? What about JOY?

A simple ANSWER to YOUR question starts at the back of the Bible, in the "1st Letter of John".

1st 3 verses would hold up in your Court of Opinion. In verse 2 you might find the Purpose of the Bible.

Read it here - http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=69&chapter=1&version=31

here 1st 4 verses, as in most Bibles:
---- ** 1 John 1st chapter **
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.
2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.
3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
4 We write this to make our [a] joy complete.

FREE WILL is your choice to do right or wrong. A SEARED conscience is "burnt" with wrong choices that focus our path against God. God BREAKS people along those paths till they have no hope in this world. Humility or death, yes.

God PREDESTINED events to prove His GLORY in Omniscience - He wants all people to know Him, but He has given free will to choose - He "knows" who will do either, and who needs a little help in understanding.

THE PROBLEM is that the DEMONSTRATION has been ineffective in human vessels, BC and AD. So, be prepared for MASSIVE problems in a world society joined in ONE government for at least 5 of 7 years.

THEN, the DEMONSTRATION will prove that even if you SEE GOD for 1000 years, people will still reject God.

Answer 7

well, yeah, i guess my religion is probably the first thing people "see' when i go out... i am muslim, and i wear hijab (head covering)... however when i'm at home, i am a wife and mother (i am both when i'm outside also)

i try to tie everything from life, into my religion, because that's what Islam is: a way of LIFE... not going to masjid once a week and picking up our Qur'an once a week... but we have things we are supposed to do in our daily lives.. as muslims...

so yes, i guess my religion IS my identity.

Answer 8

Yes. I'm Wiccan and live, act and believe as a Wiccan. You can tell what path I follow by the pentacles, rings and bracelets I wear. I'm a Wiccan first, then a mom and a painter, because being Wiccan first makes me a better mom, painter, all around better person. Free will, to me, is defined by the path you've chosen. Because of my path, free will is of great importance.

Answer 9

No, not usually. It depends on the company that I'm in and what the general topic of conversation is. For example, here I'll first identify myself as "Wicca-based Pagan". In the "Pets" group, I'd be more likely to identify as "dog owner" first. Or "wife" in the "Relationships" section.

In real life, I tend to identify by my marital status, home ownership, and career. Religion is further down the list of "things that I am".

Answer 10

since i am in Christ by Gods calling, you share in Christs life. Whatever is true of Christ is now my true, because my life is hidden in Christ. He is now my identity.

It is not what i do as a christian that determines who i am: Its who i am are that determines what i do.

My identity is not based on how i perform, the wealth of my possessions, or my physical appearance, but on who i am. being born again transformed me into a new person.

Faith is another word for trust, but trust must have an object.
The object of the Christian's faith is God and his words.

Answer 11

if it's your way of life it may play more of an intregal part of your identity than a job you didn't chose ? I for one am not religious or affiliated with the two party system for that matter either I prefer to take each thing in kind on it's merits ,not along religious or party lines . so the answer is not with me .