is taking over. save me. i know you guys cant save me but advice is more them welcomed. JHadfjkahsdfjhalkdsjhflkjahKJSDHGKJDFHGLDSFKHG;ALSDHF;ASLKJDHFKJASDHFKJHADS;CJVNlskdjfbsdkjfhgjsdfhgkjsdfvnreuishgjvkdfnvslkdjfbnv;ordljfhe rq52 ^^ thats emotion I had to get out and now I will begin: It all started at the end of last year when I was sitting in mass with my family. It had hit me like a rock. Catholicism is not my thing. I couldn't agree with any of it. It so fragmented. I decided as my New Years resolution, I would find a religion that I could agree with. Here it is nearly half way through the year and I still cant seem to agree with anything. Maybe I am asking for to much. I have decided, I do not need religion. Something is happening. It has to do with the lack of separation of church and state. MANY peoples views of homosexuality are different than mine because of the bible. These ideals are being spoken so loudly that they are clouding my mind and I just can not shake it. It has gotten to the point where myself worth is going down. Way way down. I am not even sure if I believe in God. I mean this path of self discovery I have been walking down for six months has only lead me to even deeper confusion and I can not comprehend why a higher power who is suppose to love all of his children would do this to me for so long. :help:
I went through an atheistic phase after I came out. Like you, I questioned why God would do some of the things he does if he was supposed to exist in that way. So I said, screw it, no religion for me. Didn't work out because I always felt that there was something out there. lame I know. Anyways, after looking around for a while, I discovered paganism. Religion doesn't revolve around the god of Abraham or the practices of Asia. I liked polytheism. It made more sense to me and the teachings of Classical and Hellenistic Greece appealed more to me than do Christian teachings. Besides, the Iliad is a much more interesting read than the Bible And that was my personal thing. Perhaps, for you, you could look for churches that are sympathetic or supportive of homosexuals. Those do exist So my main point is, don't completely rule out religion. There's a lot of things out there. You just have to look around.
Wow! i am going through the same thing in thebeginning i toldmy momi didnt believe in the bible or that the christian god is someone i want to believe in, itwasworsethan when i came out to her, but anyways i took a introto religion class to learn aboutdifferent religions and what i found is that they all are very similar to where i dont understand why there is such a big divide between them, so taking that class made me feel like organized religion is kind of like a bunch of people getting together to worship something because everyone else in their culture does it. so i just stopped believing in god, then i started going to a church just to see and it was even worse than before it is like once i clicked with not believing in this religion then i kind of just felt like all the preacher is doing is trying to get money the whole time. so long story short i believe in a higher poweri dont knowwhatitis buti am comfortable in the fact that im a good person and no matter what god is out there, i believe inbeing a good person and that shouldbe good enough for either of them! idk if that helped but i wantedto let you know your not alone
You'd probably best talk to someone else who has gone through the same thing; having been a catholic then lost (or come to compromise with) their faith. I think there are a few around... Anyway, the point is, don't talk to me, i'm militantly atheist =P
Okay, I will start off by saying I am a PROUD Christian-Catholic. I could not be more proud. I know what many go through who are Christian and I see them abandon faith all together. That is not necessarily the answer. What I did, even before I realized I was “Different” is first and foremost find my OWN personal place with God. God loves me for who I am and the reason for that is because He MADE me. As He did you. The sad part is that many of our fellow humans try to interpret what they believe God wants. But I know in my heart of hearts God is LOVE. A classmate of mine asked a priest years ago while we were STILL in elementary “Father, what is God?” and the priest honestly told him “I do not know. But what I do know is that God is all that is GOOD in the world” that is one thing I know for certain. If you must go on a spiritual journey and explore different religions I implore you Although I am a PROUD Christian-Catholic I wear a Wiccan medallion/talisman around my neck, a First Nations dreamcather above my bed, a bronze statue to Krishna on my wall and a crucifix always in my pocket. You see, I am a SPIRITUAL person meaning I have discover my place with God and it is beautful. It is no secret on EC (for I have screamed to the damn mountains) that I almost committed suicide this year (for certain reasons not to do specifically with my sexuality) but can I tell you the ONLY person to tough it out with me? The only person I could talk to, cry to scream to, during this terrible ordeal? It was my Lord. And He saw me through it. I suffered in silence to my friends and family but He heard every single scream. So, I say do not give up on your faith, never ever give up on faith in general whether you be Christian, Jew, Muslim, First Nations Spiritualist, Buddhist, Hindu, Wiccan, and so forth. Find you OWN place with God. Never abandon Him. Because He would never for you. It feels like it but He does love you...don’t confuse God with the Church. The Church does not understand you, God does. In fact, some Catholic churches are turning new leafs and not only marrying gay couples but celebrating them in my country. If you do choose atheism, okay, that is you choice and I support that decision- for it is yours to make I support you always but I know God is waiting for you to talk with Him (or Her or even It). Finding peace with your soul is NEVER easy...I learned that the hard way...many religions believe that no one is ever born with a soul, that it takes hard work to develop through prayer and questioning. I think GOd enjoys questioning. Ask you questions- perhaps you will get the answer. Blessed Be my friends.
Former Catholic here. By former Catholic, I mean I was formerly very Catholic. I could, and still probably can give you detailed explanations on any Church teaching, I loved going to mass, I truly believed everything the Church taught, and at one point I told my partner we could no longer have sex. Now I am an atheist. If you insist that atheism is bad or scary, then you can call me a secular humanist if it helps. Either way, becoming an atheist is one of the better things that has happened to me in my life. Being without belief in any god is not scary either, it is very empowering and it feels like you can finally see the world for what it actually is. Religion is useless, and I view faith in any of the big religions of the world as pretty ridiculous. You say you're not even sure if you believe in god, and my suggestion would be for you to try living as if god didn't exists and see what it feels like. Listen to a few atheist podcasts (The Atheist Experience is great and is on youtube as well) and read a book or two about atheism. By all means look into other religions too and investigate the facts and evidence. Look into the humanist philosophy and see if maybe that can provide you with a secular outlook on life that still fulfills some things in you that religion does now. Obviously I am a staunch atheist, but I was also a strong Catholic. There is alot more I could say about religion (Catholicism in particular) that I will not in this thread. If you would like to talk though, feel free to shoot me a private message or post on my wall.
I will only say one thing: God is love and religion is flawed because human is flawed. You also don't need any religion to have a relationship with God. I rather you be spiritual than atheist because you just don't abandon Him who won't abandon you ever. That's my two cents.
I used to 'believe in god'. But I don't think I really ever did, it was just one of those lies my daddy told me. Which I accepted until I learnt to think. I'm not a militant athiest, so I'm not going to try and convert you, just tell you to think about things logically, and not search for a religion or deity. If you find something you like, you feel like you believe in, thn great. But use your brain, and not your 'soul'.
Wow there are like 50 threads on Religion right now. The problem with Religion is that, like most things, everyone has to be "right" about it. Everyone has to have this My God can beat up your God attitude. plus its full of hypocrisy, and that people are not smart enough to have Religion. They pick and choose what parts they want to follow, and exclude others for breaking some rules, while all the time they've broken plenty themselves. Leviticus 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. Damn those gays!!! however: Leviticus 19:28 Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I have yet to see anyone holding a sign thats says God hates people who have tattoos! Plus people always seem to forget this one. Leviticus 19:18 Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.
Maybe you don't need religion to feel happy anymore; I'm mostly atheist, but I also know people who are neither Protestant nor Catholic but take on other ideologies such as Humanism.
I phrased it that way in order to exclude people who may say they have "faith" in something but do not mean it in the same way that the majority of religious people such as Christians do.
Same thing going on over here...and then I found Wicca! Don't laugh, I know I sound like every Christian's worse nightmare--a lesbian witch, lovely. But it's been wonderful; I invest more in the basic ideas that beauty and divinity are everywhere, especially in nature, and I don't wander around casting spells on people or feeding love potions to the girl I like (although on second thought...) . I think it's totally normal to go through an agnostic phase, especially when something really shakes the foundation of the religion you've grown up with. Good luck figuring everything out! (*hug*)
Just in this thread you can pretty much see that there are VARIOUS takes on religion out there, but the important thing to keep in mind is that you need to find something that works for you. For many people the best thing is religion, whichever that may be, and for other people is better to not have one. The important thing is that you are happy with your believes, whichever those may be, and nothing else If you feel like you need religion as part of your life then I would completely encourage you to keep on looking for a religion that best fits you. Yes, the whole topic can be very annoying and frustrating, but also don't feel like you have to have everything figured out right now. Most of the time it is a whole process that people go through to find the thing that best works for them. Best of luck and just know that you are by far not alone when it comes to this topic
It's worth noting that the Bible has been used to promote slavery, racism, and sexism. There are a lot of good sites that are gay positive and are Christian. Steps to Recovery from Bible Abuse is one of the best sites I have come across written by a man who was an openly gay and self-affirming Christian: Steps To Recovery From Bible Abuse ...Just to be aware there is another side to the coin of even one of the most homophobic religious groups. Religion should not be for self-destruction. Now, we all know the arguments that homosexuality is self-destruction, but our own lives tell otherwise where the real destruction lies (staying in the closet and not feeling good about being gay, for one). In my view, it's important to find out what YOU believe and why. What are your beliefs? Meaning, what do you believe about the universe, yourself, etc? No need to rush it. Eventually you should find what you believe, why, and make it to work to make your life better, stable, etc. You don't need to subscribe to any religion or lack thereof. You just owe it to yourself to be honest with yourself and find where your faith really lies...what you believe is the true reality of this universe and of the world around you and your world.
Well, I'm catholic, kinda. But, I don't really follow any religion as such. I believe there's a god, but I also believe in karma etc. I'm still catholic, because most of my religious views are such. But I hold other views, which originate from other religions too. I believe in some of the teachings of confucious (sp?). But really, religion doesn't overly matter to me. And if you're questioning your religion, try writing down what you believe in. If there's a religion with similar beliefs, then great. If not, that's ok too hope this a) made sense and b) helped
I was told in a private Catholic Jesuit school by a Jewish religion teacher when I was questioning, "if you believe in good you believe in God." Albeit, I had a crush on him at the time, too - so that's probably part of the reason it stood out - ever since then I've stopped believing in organized religion and believe every religion has some basis of truth and some misconceptions along the way. As per sexuality being non-heterosexual, putting that in there as a bi guy, I look at it this way - God theoretically created you, therefore he made you like the same gender. How can being what God made you be a sin? Also we're talking about the same book that teaches kids to stone old men to death who work on a Sunday. Plus the terms used back then aren't what they are today, thus the bible never really said it was against God's will only homophobics trying to grasp straws to show how "right" they are do. Thus, it's more select people rather than the bible. Because it's not in there.
