Let us all start with the assumption that everybody is right in her/his
belief, let us all show respect for other posters. Let us ask questions
about a certain meaning before we take offense
where it is not meant to be given.
For me in particular it is sometimes hard to find the
proper words, and what I say might seem distorted. Nobody does that on
purpose, ask first and then judge.

I know this has been tried several times before, and most of the time it
ended in a debate off topic.

I am here to learn, see different views, meet different people.
Arriving at a particular belief sometimes is a long journey, sometimes
something happens that changes our lives.

That is what I want to hear. That’s what this thread is for.

I believe in God, I don't worship in churches because i'm not trusting
in their intentions...i worship with my heart and mind.
I have faith in what the new testament says but uncertain of the old
testament. I believe God speaks to us through our consciousness.

This is my belief

That is my belief, too, but you surely can tell how you arrived there,
can't you?

first off let me state that i believe in God the father n that Jesus
Christ the the only son of the father

now with that said i will tell ya of my church

i belong to the OLD CHURCH MORMON

not latter day saints

we are taught to seek out wisdom from all cuz we dont have all the
answers n maybe never will

we invite other churchs to come in n fellowship with us cuz we learn
from each other (pichin each others fruits ya might say) not in the name
of a religon but in the fellowship of love
some of the members has wifes that attend other churchs cuz thats how
they believe n we incourage it we learn from them

i know alot here dont agree with the way i believe but cant we just
fellowship in love n understandin? i will never tell anyone they are
wrong for believein the way they do
the answer is in each of us n the way we feel
i will support the beliefs ya have n even defend ya n i hope ya do the
same with me

lets all come together in love n understandin in the fellowship of the
father

may God the father pour out his blessins out on each of ya

Thank you twosteper, these posts are exactly the ones I want to see. But
tell me, were you raised in this belief or did it come later?
And if it came later, tell me how.

When I was a child I watched as the church fired the pastor for growing
a beard.
His only reason for growing the beard was to preach a sermon.
Watch on tv as these churches beg for money, but you never hear of these
churches helping anyone. The pastor gets rich!

My grandmother sent money to a small church monthly despite living on a
small fixed income...she did this for years never missing a month. When
she passed away we requested this pastor to preach her funeral, his
reponse was " I can't, me and my family are fixing to go on vacation"

I am a born again Christian who believes in the OT and NT. I was saved
about nine months ago and it's been quite a ride so far. I don't like
music very much, so I was searching for a talk show. I found a
Christian Q/A program and listened to a woman describe her life. The
host's response was (I'm paraphrasing here) "I'm sorry to hear about how
rough your life is, but remember: You don't live your life to please
yourself, you live your life to please God.". Suddenly everything
snapped into place and I understood what I am meant to understand about
God.

I am a proud YEC (Young Earth Creationist) who was formerly a Darwinist.
I have had a long and rocky spiritual journey (I was a Kabbalist before
Madonna or Britney), but I feel that I have finally found a Rock I can
stand on.

i was raised in a differant faith ( i will not say the name) but they
was controlin to all the members


i realy stumbled into this church cuz i got lost..lol...on my own ranch
i got lost n walked to the first buildin i seen (its not hard to get
lost in west texas..lol) but they was all so nice n they took me home
they never asked my full name just my first name so they could pray for
me
to make a long story short i visited that church n made it my home
theres no controlin there n the fellowship is beautiful
now im a elder of the church (most call them teachers) n i try n show
the love of the father to all

in the threads ya see me laughin n cuttin up (n flirtin)

but thats how we are in the church but we have fun n its nothin serious
just fun(even the father had fun...just read it its there)...lol

i hope i answered ya question

Thank you steve for explaining that. It means that at the end of the day
pastors and priests are human with all their faults, even
though they should have more heart and understanding.

And thank you Spider for your story, I wish there were more like that to
come.

I hope everybody posts in this thread, everybody is welcome to tell
her/his story

My beliefs as an atiest.

I BELIEVE:
that that some people find wholeness in having a faith that includes a
God.

that those who believe in a God have the right to extend the good nature
of their beliefs to others.

that those who believe in a God, do so on a personal level and can not
and should not ever try to convert or criticize others for their
beliefs.

that every person, no matter thier belief has a responsibility to the
eco system of this planet and a great responsibilty to the society of
humans in every land.

that when I die, I cease to exist.

that whatever one's philosophy towards life is, that it deserves
credence, for at least one person values it.

Euthanasia should be the right of every person, when it is known that
thier body will fail miserably and end any quality of life.

athiesim is not a state of mind, it is an accepted philosophy
of a limited existance. This does not give any athiest the right to
murder, destroy the earth, litter space or knowingly, viciously hurt any
living species.

as an athiest, I acknowledge that there are things in the universe, that
I can never know.

This is not all I belive, but a good start.

While my religion is Buddhist and I am on the path to enlightenment,
there are moments where I can see that there may in fact be a god. Now
having said that, I believe that god is not necessarily a person or
thing, but the spirit within us that is god. What I mean by that is
that we all have a god and it is our spirit.

what form of buddhism do you practice?

wait wait wait, if you're a buddhist... you don't believe in having a
spirit aka doctrine of no self

Thats my point. While I am of the buddhist faith, I guess I get a small
taste of enlightenment when I see things that Not even science or
religion can explain. Its weird. Acctually, enlightenment is release
of suffering. not just physical or mental suffering but all suffering.
So there are some parts of it that are of the self.

yeah but the point of enlightenment is to realize that you have no self,
if you feel that you have a spirit wouldn't the buddhist faith say that
that the fire of your candle is still blazing ( on fire) and that in
fact you have not extinguished it?

ok. I will give you the point on that one. I have only recently began
my religon a few months ago and i am looking for a temple.

ahhh :P yay i win something! lol no it is cool im a religion studies
major looking to go for masters and took a couple of classes on
buddhism, so i wanted to hear your opinion on it, because as you know
sometimes the things that you are taught about the religion is actually
quite different from the followers

Thankyou invisible for a 'safe' thread to post one's
religion/philosophies, beliefs in, without fear of criticism...

As I have posted in other threads, growing up without any form of
religion practised in my home, I was free to explore whatever I chose
to.

And I chose natural order, I chose the natural order of nature over any
religious doctrines and dogmas.

I have also posted that parts of taoism appeal to me, specifically, the
'inactive', passive aspects, and principles of the Tao Teh Ching, as
does zen buddhism, the meditative aspects, as well as the non-attachment
principles of buddhism...

Although, I follow no direct path within the confines of any religion,
and my belief structure has been defined within me through an intuitive,
and inherant desire to be connected to the All, both physically and
universally.

My belief that we are not separate came from childhood observations,
compounded by adult life experience, that we are intrinsically connected
within all aspects of life forms.

And the saying of "the beating of a butterfly's wings in China can cause
a hurricane in America" rang true to me.

The ripple in the pond effect,that my actions can have impact on you..

I have faith in that which is.

I believe in the future of mankind.

Once we grow up.

Hmmm, this is interesting.

This is rough because I like to be precise, and my beliefs wax and wane
according to the information I have .

Still, if I HAVE to describe my beliefs:

Overall I believe that Karma is actually a statistical law that shows
the correlation between a person's€ "goodness" and the amount of good in
their immediate environment.

I believe that everyone knows what is right or wrong, not because we are
inherently good or bad, but because it is common sense.

I think doing wrong, besides obviously being bad, is merely an
expression of a person's imbalance and lack of harmony with their own
life.

Since I do not let others dictate my actions, I can only try to maintain
harmony around me-that is the harmony/world I'm responsible for.

In spite of this knowledge of "good" and "bad", there are behaviors that
we must be aware of to lead a harmonious life. Good deeds are good in
direct relation to the amount of people that know about them. The more
people know, the less "good" something is, and the more it is food for
your ego/pride. Confidence is good, but pride can actually harm yourself
and others.

If there is a supreme deity, which is entirely possible, that deity does
NOT interfere with our lives. We have grown up by now, we have the tools
we need, and there would be no point in life if there wasn't free will.
The quality of your life and your choices in life directly impacts where
you are in life, while prayer may be a part of it, that doesn't mean
that this deity is responding. In other words, it all comes down to
personal responsiblity-there is no one else to blame but YOU.

Being selfish and self-centered is a trait of survival, but if it goes
too far, it is a trait of greed. You need to find the balance of
survival without being greedy. Greed causes disharmony.

The existence of deity is largely irrelevant in the scope of our
physical lives. What is most important is doing good for GOOD, not doing
good because you are supposed to. Forcing yourself to do the right thing
is as bad as making the wrong choice. Thus, acceptance of the now is of
supreme importance.

Intent IS as bad as action. We aren't perfect, so we can forgive
ourselves for unbalanced and bad intentions, but the intent has the same
effect on us as the action has to others.


Hmmm, I guess I could write a manifesto, but I'm tired. Smell ya
later!