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Religion Thread

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Geordie

Geordie

Geordie
Be careful... Because this thread is necessary for people with autism. But this is also the thread where Aspies get polarized, because most Aspies I know are either very religious or very irreligious.

my parents are Buddhists (registered as Taoists in Singapore's identification system, still).

However, Buddhists in Singapore are under-represented in Singapore's parliament and other social institutions, because Buddhists seem to have an inferiority complex. The social network amongst Buddhists are not as strong as those in Christian churches. Well, the rich list in Singapore is always dominated by Christians, but very few Buddhists.

Result - I don't want to be a Buddhist. I'm more attracted to Christianity, despite my parents' inclinations and expectations for me to pray to their Buddha.

If I do indeed convert, I'll most likely attend a Methodist or Presbyterian church, and be a member of the church.

Also another article that affects my decision... Jesus Camp was closed by the Singapore authorities when it was about to set up in Singapore, but in nearby Malaysia, Buddhist monks can get extremist:

Brainwashed into quitting medical school

I have to add: I hope this thread will remain respectful as it always is.
 
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I do not believe in any God. I am completely fine in accepting people who do believe and I do enjoy talking about the differences between religions. Born and raised as hardcore Catholic, most of my knowledge is about the the Roman Catholic variety of Christianity. I have also been Christian for a long time, Baptist to be exact. I enjoyed the Baptist church way more than the Roman Catholic one.

I met a lot of people from India. I like their many of their views. They have a way of talking about their views without making any references to the religion itself. I guess is to avoid having people bashing their views because of their religion. Instead, they like to discuss each view independently on it own merits. I agree with that.
 
Religion is really one of those areas that a person must choose for themselves. That is why I never indoctrinated my children to have to believe in or not believe in anything whatsoever. Geordie, if you personally feel drawn to the Metodists or the Presbyterians, I'd encourage you to explore them both in more depth to help you choose the one that you prefer. I think Loomis is a well informed & very sane non-fanatical Methodist: you may benefit from writing to him & bouncing a few questions off of him.

Many parents mistakenly believe that if they believe something, their kids have to as well. The human mind doesn't work that way! the religion that speaks to a parent may be irrelevant or even ridiculous to the child. As that child grows into a young adult, they'll begin thinking very critically about everything from politics to clothing styles to religion. Everything goes under the microscope. Some parents are terrified that their child will face some kind of divine retribution for changing religions or abandoning the concept altogether but I think a person must be free to choose for himself.
 
Today, one of my aunts visited me and my family, all the way from China. China is an atheist, communist country that recently experienced a revival in its own folk religions. She asked me what's my religion. I don't give an answer, because in the presence of my parents, I can't give my answer. But I know I am a non-denominational Christian.

I really envision the day I could be a pastor, organiser or board member of a decent church that holds a community together. But before that, I'd love to serve God in whichever capacity I can - and hopefully be good enough to serve at a higher capacity for the good for more people, which give me more satisfaction in the positive impact I make on other people's lives.
 
It is different for every denomination but maybe you could be part of the laity (members of the church who assist the pastor)
Lector (readings), altar server (helping set up for services decor etc), help with collections or serve in the many charities your parish
serves. I was an altar boy when I was younger and then a eucharistic minister which means I helped distribute communion and could
bring it to the sick.
 
With your strong conscience, interest in others & desire to teach, I really could see you in the role of a pastor or as a part of the laity as Nolan describes. Is your Aunt one of the people who is participating in folk religion revival? Pagan, Neo-Pagan/Wiccan folk religious practices are undergoing a revival in most Western countries too. Many people feel detached or disenchanted with the conventional religions they were raised with & seek something they feel connects them more to nature, the Earth & natural cycles. They also want to step aside from dogma & ancient books written by 'foreign' (to their experience) cultures. Others see it as a democratization process wherein they become the authority in their own spirituality & the sole arbiter between themselves & whatever divine forces they believe in.
 
I've been Atheist since I was 14. My parents are Christian but they don't follow it much, so they don't mind that I don't believe in it.
 
Pagan
I have been pagan since I was 18.
I have always felt safe when participating in pagan ceremonies.
Tried church, was bullied into quitting....
 
ravendragonwing said:
Pagan
I have been pagan since I was 18.
I have always felt safe when participating in pagan ceremonies.
Tried church, was bullied into quitting....
Click to expand...

I'm also pagan. But it wasn't that way before May of 2006 when I became an ordained minister than upgraded to Reverend which to this day I'm still a Reverend. But things quickly changed after reading the Holy Bible along with research to help me to understand. My beliefs quickly changed and I no longer believe that Jesus was God, but what Cosntantine believed in before he became Christian. It makes a lot of sense because without it the earth would have no plant or animal life and all we have to do is look up in the sky to see it. If you notice there are many places in the bible that speaks of it. Anyhow after all of the reading and research I decided not to preach the teachings of Jesus.

But, I'm not going to force my beliefs on anyone because everyone needs comforting through the religions they believe in and gives them hope.
 
I'm a scientist to every fiber of my being. I'm not against religion in principle, and certainly not against people having the right to live their beliefs, but until you give me a mythology that doesn't break every known law of nature and that is (at least in principle) provable existentially, I ain't subscribing to one.

In other words, I'm a Reductionist, and proud of it.
 
Don't worry so much about finding a label. Just seek the truth and follow your heart. Then, you will naturally gravitate towards the right path for you.
I am not religious, myself, but I am highly spiritual. I am Pantheist. I believe that all is sacred and all is united. Nature is my "god," and all is of nature, so we are all "god." I do not believe in a "higher power" because I believe that all is equal and one.

"You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop." ~Rumi.

I believe in science and believe that all can be explained by science, however, just because we cannot see an explanation, does not mean that one does not exist.
All in all, I think that all religions and spiritual paths are really just saying the same thing, just expressed in a different way. However, I am not attracted to those religions which focus so much on what a person should and should not do. I see these types of attitudes accomplish little else than create separation and violence. If people focused more on what they are doing themselves and on understanding, then I believe the world would be much better off. You mention that you are not attracted to Buddhism because you think the social network is not as strong, but it seems to me that there is just so much of a worry with what others are doing. Christianity, to me, is very focused on conversion and recruitment, and doesn't seem to pay much attention to what's going on inside the individual, but more the group activity. If you want to be Christian, then that is fine, but please don't forget to take care of your spirituality.
 
ravendragonwing said:
Pagan
I have been pagan since I was 18.
I have always felt safe when participating in pagan ceremonies.
Tried church, was bullied into quitting....
Click to expand...


I am curious if you believe in your Pagan gods literally or if you believe in them as helpful symbols? I have met Pagans of both ideologies. I am Pantheist, so I am attracted to earth-based paths and often attend my local Pagan pride festival.
 
ravendragonwing said:
Tried church, was bullied into quitting....
Click to expand...

It's almost the same for any organized religious classes - I must be lucky there is at least a nice group that accepted me as I am, but I'd been missing a fair bit lately.

rainbowdragon said:
Don't worry so much about finding a label. Just seek the truth and follow your heart. Then, you will naturally gravitate towards the right path for you.

All in all, I think that all religions and spiritual paths are really just saying the same thing, just expressed in a different way. However, I am not attracted to those religions which focus so much on what a person should and should not do. I see these types of attitudes accomplish little else than create separation and violence. If people focused more on what they are doing themselves and on understanding, then I believe the world would be much better off. You mention that you are not attracted to Buddhism because you think the social network is not as strong, but it seems to me that there is just so much of a worry with what others are doing. Christianity, to me, is very focused on conversion and recruitment, and doesn't seem to pay much attention to what's going on inside the individual, but more the group activity. If you want to be Christian, then that is fine, but please don't forget to take care of your spirituality.
Click to expand...

True.

For spirituality, I feel that Theravada Buddhists (the sort of Buddhism Thais practise) tend to display the highest form of enlightened spirituality, amongst all religious groups I know. And the good thing is, the monks in my local Thai-style Buddhist temple are open and ok with me practicing another religion, so yes, I am happy with them. I do read both the Bible and Theravada Buddhist scriptures from time to time. They really focus on the individual's spirituality, more than other religions I know in Singapore.

But I just want to explore the different religions out there - and I will keep exploring.
 
I'm an atheist and have been for 13 years. Even before that, I wasn't religious but I was too young to realize what that meant.

Like a few others in this thread, science is it for me. To say "I believe in science" doesn't even apply, because there's nothing to believe. It's just fact, and I like that.
 
rainbowdragon said:
I am curious if you believe in your Pagan gods literally or if you believe in them as helpful symbols? I have met Pagans of both ideologies. I am Pantheist, so I am attracted to earth-based paths and often attend my local Pagan pride festival.
Click to expand...

both I think, I am very earth-based, but I do really well with candle spells. I wish there were pagan festivals here, I did a lot more circle and things in AZ then I do here in CA.
 
I had a hard time deciding if I wanted to post in this thread because I wasn't sure what to say about myself. I am a pagan/wicca mostly. I practice wicca. I tend toward the wiccan side of paganism have waffled in high school as I felt pressure from my private religious school that I was supppose to be Christan but that didn't help me any. I felt more alone there than with my wiccan culture. Now I am a practicing wiccan I am more earth based in terms of what I believe. However I am lone wiccan I do not have a circle to belong to...though I honestly thing that is more to do with being an Aspie than anything else....I love to answer questions about pagan and wiccan I love to just share info.
 
I'm an agnostic theist. I've been all over the map with religion from Orthodox Judaism to practicing Wiccan and the bottom line is that I do believe in an afterlife, I believe in something infinite outside of the finite; I didn't say that "something" was necessarily kind; I think life is something of a game and a race. You can't be purely objective and be kind. Trying to explain my beliefs makes me sound not only wacky but a bit offensive. So, organized religion doesn't work for me; too much of a scientist. Most of my thoughts lean towards atheism, but I'm not an atheist.

 
I am a Christian, specifically, a Catholic.

I was an Atheist until I was 28 and was vehemently against the Church. At 28 years old, I found God, though.

I do not go to Church often (I rarely leave the house), but I try to have an active prayer life. This truly helps me survive.
 
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