There is a difference...and try to stray from the "I'm both!" cop out...just take some time and REALLY consider the differences...
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I'm more spiritual. I believe in God and Jesus, but I don't go to a church or follow a specific doctrine so I'm not really religious...
2007-08-25 09:59:34 · 25 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I always try to remember that "religion" has the same root word as "ligature".. to bind...and isn't that what Religion does...bind us with rules?
Not saying Rules aren't good. We have them: Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, Jesus' Teachings...
What I'm refering to are the rules "women in dresses only or they are going to hell, make-up is the tool of the devil, a 4-5 beat is satanic music, we can only use this hymn book."
Man starts with "Traditions" (that's the way my daddy and his daddy did it) which can easily become Legalistic requirements (This is the way we've always done it)
As for Spiritual...(oops..realized its part of my nick - would be funny to be called Religious_gunslinger)..
Well, spiritual for me, means understanding there are two realms...this one, the physical, which will decay...and the realm to come - which is eternal.
I try to hold to a spiritual barometer....do I "own" my land, or am I the "steward"? Is what I am chasing going to make a difference 1,000 years from now, or will it even still exist? My small fortune will one day disappear...how I use it today will impact tomorrow.
Yes..there is a difference between Religious and Spiritual. It's a matter of eternal perspective.
2007-08-25 22:18:03 · answer #1 · answered by Last Stand 2010 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i'm definitely more spiritual, but i'm slowly learning to become religious. i've always viewed organized religiosity as a bad thing- just a bunch of memorized lines recited by church robots- but recently i've started learning a little more about certain things, liturgical worship being the latest. believe it or not, once you can learn about religious rituals and their importance, it can help you grow spiritually- a lot more than you probably realize. still, that's not to say that i don't go to church on sundays.
i've always been one of those people that says tradition isn't important until i started to open up a little and say, ''well, if these guys were doing things this way two thousand years ago, and the tradition has been preserved so well, maybe there's something to it that can benefit me.'' i'm finding out that there's quite a bit out there that i had previously shunned, thinking it was too rigid and rehearsed to do me any good.
2007-08-26 08:42:11 · answer #2 · answered by That Guy Drew 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I am spiritual, i have never been to church (apart from weddings and funerals), I find the organized religions seem to be more about their own advancement and less about their followers spiritual advancement.
I know everyone has a spiritual presence and that we all have different paths/goals in life. Which ones are right and which ones are wrong, if there is a wrong path. Every person must take their own journey, my life so far has taken many paths and I have had many experiences both good and bad, which have formed the person I am today.
The answers we all seek won't be found in a book, you have to look within.
2007-08-25 18:02:16 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Well, whether or not you think "I'm both!" is a cop out, it is true for me. I do follow a specific doctrine, and doing so is the reason why I feel spiritual.
"Spiritual," to me, denotes the state of a person's heart. Spiritual people are loving, connected to God, listen to his guidance, etc.
"Religious" people are those dedicated to their particular faith (self-disciplined), performing the outward observances and living by the laws.
The two are not mutually exclusive. For me, the two are inseparable.
2007-08-25 17:06:49 · answer #4 · answered by MumOf5 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I am more spiritual. I believe in God and Jesus, and I go to church some of the time. I have a lot of problems with organized religion.
I do not follow a specific denomination.
2007-08-25 17:06:25 · answer #5 · answered by batgirl2good 7 · 3⤊ 2⤋
I am religious,Jesus is My Lord.
mum spiritual people do not follow God at all.
2007-08-25 17:27:19 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
may i firstly state that if you believe in god an everything in the bible you are religues for are you not living in the biggest church of all the world an universe like me an to answer your question about my beliefs i believe in god etc an i also believe in the living an also dead spirits?an anything to do with spirits is spiritual so have a nice night
2007-08-26 15:13:15 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I never think about my Christianity as a religion but as my relationship with God. I do go to church as I believe it to be the body Christ instigated for His followers, but the continuing development of my relationship with Him is important to me. In that sense I am more spiritual. :)
2007-08-25 18:08:11 · answer #8 · answered by lix 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I am both.
I do not go to church at all, but I follow the word to the T. Which makes me religious.
My spirituality comes from being native american.
BLAH BLAH I am both.
2007-08-26 18:00:34 · answer #9 · answered by white_painted_lady 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You are religious. You just don't practice your beliefs the same as your friends. Your religious practice is your prayer life and your bible study or your meditation or what ever else you do.
Online Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
religious-- having or showing belief in and reverence for a deity; "a religious man"; "religious attitude "
spiritual--
: of or relating to sacred matters; ecclesiastical rather than lay or temporal; concerned with religious values and their practice
2007-08-25 17:05:07 · answer #10 · answered by Gma Joan 4 · 1⤊ 2⤋