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I have no idea what I believe anymore..

Discussion in 'General Support and Advice' started by choirsmash, Mar 29, 2015.

  1. choirsmash

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    I grew up catholic but learning that I'm not straight has made me think about a lot of other aspects of my life, including my religion. For awhile, I wanted to just kinda give up because I felt like I was being played by this "God." After a month or so of thought and talking with my mentor, I came to some conclusions. I really don't think I believe in God as this man in the sky controlling everything. My God is genderless. In a way, nature is my God. When I see nature, I see pure beauty and that's what I imagine God to be. But I also kinda believe the whole Jesus story. I just don't know how it fits in with the rest of my beliefs, so it's all complicated in my head right now. I imagine Heaven is more of an individual experience for each soul, it's different for everyone (and I don't care what anyone says, my Heaven has dogs haha). Anyway, you can see that it's quite complicated for me to wrap my head around all of my beliefs right now. I literally have no idea what's going on in that aspect. So yeah help would be nice or prayers or something..
     
  2. DaveG123

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    I think I've been going through something similar.. I was a hardcore evangelical-type Christian for a couple years, but the last year or two I've been questioning everything.. I've learned that many of the major religions around the world focus around the one principle that is the "Golden Rule." Treat others how you want to be treated. And do no harm to others. I remember Jesus talking about that one Great Commandment, above all else, to Love one another. Personally, I've been starting to think that maybe he said that because of all the division and hate that exists between many religious people today. Almost like he was saying, "Guys, the details don't matter. Love each other. Treat each other good. God is Love. He who loves knows God and he who does not love does not know God." Maybe it could be just as simple as that? Maybe God is bigger than any one religion? I'm still pretty confused and full of questions myself. We each have our personal relationship with God. I'm starting to think that maybe as long as we are happy and at peace with ourselves, along with treating others how we want to be treated, then we really are on the right spiritual path, which was made special and unique for each one of us by God. I hope this helped a bit.. It's pretty late, and I'm pretty tired, haha, so if something doesn't make sense, I'm sorry. I'm having trouble wrapping my head around everything right now as well.. I'll pray for you :slight_smile:
     
  3. Decandyman

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    It is completely natural to question your faith. I remember that three years ago I was a Catholic just like you and I would go to church at school and pray. But then I realised that Christianity and religion in general seem to have been constructed by man for the purpose to provide structure for human beings and comfort against existential questions such as life after death. Im not saying that religion is evil or bad, there are both positive and negative attributes of religion. Religion in one sense can provide a sense of belonging and hope but it can also be used as a tool to justify ignorance and intolerance.

    Now I consider myself an agnostic humanist and my concept of life and the universe stems from a range of philosophies and even "religions" like Buddhism (most likely considered a way of living rather than a religion).

    That being said, I think that it is very important to follow your own philosophy towards life and believe in whatever you want to believe in. If your religious or non religious then so be it. I believe that you are on this path of creating your own meaning or philosophy of your life and the world around you. If you give it time and thought im certain that with the passing of time, you will come to understand and appreciate your own beliefs regarding life.
     
  4. nohalos

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    Questioning your faith is fairly normal. Religion is such a blurry thing to me. And as I grew older, the more I questioned what my immediate family have taught me through the years.

    I think reflecting on what you believe in could work. Have a quiet time in somewhere you feel at peace, just close your eyes and let your mind wander. In your case, maybe find a Natural Park or somewhere that will instantly connect you to nature.
     
  5. greatwhale

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    It may be that what you are struggling with is the difference between the religion that has been handed to you by your parents and the religion that you yourself could discover on your own.

    You mentioned nature as your god, but nature can be cruel: plagues, hurricanes, scorpions and HIV come from nature...however, as you said, there is tremendous and fierce beauty in it as well.

    When I was in my 20's, which is often a time when a young person makes choices, not only of a spouse, but also what philosophy of life to espouse, I became religious when I started studying science, ironically enough. The reason being was that I learned about the fundamental laws of nature that science had uncovered. I felt a sense of awe, and this sense had sustained the faith I subsequently embraced for many years thereafter.

    The sense of awe; of something that cannot be expressed in words, is the foundation of a sense of something greater going on, of something beyond the reach of our five senses. Organized religion has been man's attempt at recapturing that sense, that feeling that there is no separation between the self and something greater than the self; with varying degrees of success. Walk into any of Europe's medieval cathedrals and you can get a feeling for what I mean.

    But, because organized religion is a human enterprise, with all the faults and imperfections that this implies, it often falls short of its primary mission, which is to bring one to a different place of contemplation and gratitude for the gift of life.

    This is the task you could take upon yourself, to discover that feeling of awe, or what the religious philosopher Martin Buber has called an "I-thou" experience and to cultivate it. Unfortunately, our culture doesn't encourage this; we would rather be distracted by all the noise that surrounds us than sit still and listen with our full selves to the way the birds start singing in the morning, or the thousand colours of a sunset, or the miraculous beauty and complexity of a single, perfect daffodil.

    Like so much else, we too often reach for what has been pre-packaged for us, like the convenience of frozen dinners, we get pre-packaged sets of beliefs that are handed to us and accepted uncritically. Take the time to think about what you are taught to believe, you have the power to criticize it but also to come to religion on your own, through that sense of awe I spoke of, or forgo religion altogether and bind yourself (the root of "religion" is from the Latin "oligo" or to bind oneself, it is the root of the words "legal" and "obligation") to your own ethical and moral choices, there is no one obligating you to simply accept what you are told.

    I would like to end with a quote from Buber:

     
  6. LakanLunti

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    I thought I was the only one who views nature as God's face. This is the reason why I became an environmentalist!

    Anyways, God never plays on us. I think the best word to describe it is test, a hard test. I know it sounds REALLY cliche, but that is what it is. Everything is just a test. Trust me, when this shits are over, you will just look back at it and tell yourself that you survived a test given by God. Sorry if I keep on talking about the Heavenly God, I just feel that there is this small faith in you that is still hanging on and just needed to be empowered a bit to thrive. Try meditating in the woods or somewhere you will feel connected with nature.

    And dont worry, my sister, you will be in my prayers from now on :slight_smile: (*hug*) You can always talk to me, ok?
     
  7. PatrickUK

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    In Exodus 3 Moses asks God his name and from the burning bush God replies, "I am that I am" or "I will be what I will be". It's one of the most significant verses from the Old Testament (a fact that was not lost on the writer of John's gospel) and it's verse that can really help us form a personal relationship with God. It's certainly helped me.

    Exodus 3:14 presents God in a very pure form; speaking through nature and one of the four elements. Here, God is God - simple, free from great embellishment and human construct and I personally take a lot from that. I don't mean I take it all literally, because I think there is a deeper and richer allegorical meaning to the Exodus story, rather like much of the Jesus story from the New Testament. Sadly, most churches don't like to consider scripture in that way any more and that's why we get so much hate and intolerance directed our way.

    Over recent centuries God and religion has been presented to us in a majestic and almost untouchable way with an emphasis on the literal meaning of scripture, and for many people, it's totally stifling. When you have been spoon fed all of that crap often enough it's difficult to escape from the narrow train of thought, but I think it's worth the effort. There are plenty of resources for Christians who wish to follow a different path misterkawhat. I'll gladly share some of them with you, if you wish.

    Keep at it!