White...Canadian (French-Canadian technically)Mother was Hungarian.
Born and raised Catholic and Catholic I remain;-)
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White...Canadian (French-Canadian technically)Mother was Hungarian.
Born and raised Catholic and Catholic I remain;-)
I am Muslim by birth and proud to be as I had not to think of quitting religion like others.
Spain
I was raised by a non-secular Mom and a more-or-less agnostic Dad. Needless to say, religion never seemed much of an issue in our family! Notwithstanding my Mom was a loving and deeply spiritual person who believed in God and who instilled me with strong moral values from my earliest recollections.
How would I label myself? I'd have to say "Christian reincarnationist." I don't really trust ANY of the organized religions, which I find too narrow and self-constricting. Too often, IMO, organized religions teach the "us-against-them" mindset, causing division and thereby defeating their own ultimate purpose. God---by whatever name you call Him---or Her!---is supposed to be all about love. Unconditional love. As we're told in the New Testament, God IS love. And so God would never promote religious wars or prejudice or misogyny or homophobia. Jesus didn't teach this type of negativity, only the fallible mortals who, coming after him, distorted or misinterpreted the original message. To my mind, all religion can be summarized as "Do unto others..." and "Love the Creator."
As for my belief in reincarnation...Well, a few years back I was hypnotized and had a past-life regression! It turned out to be one of my most memorable
and awesome experiences. While in a light trance I remembered past incarnations I'd had, often in great detail...and realized that some of my half-forgotten childhood games had been simply "re-enacting" these unconscious memories. Also, some of my more vivid dreams had been, and continue to be, clues to the past. In reality there is no death, only evolution and change. We're all of us spiritual beings who just HAPPEN to be in physical bodies at the moment! We have multiple incarnations---I believe---as part of an ongoing educative process. Each life is comparable to a course taken in school...and once you accumulate enough credits, you can graduate, i.e. move on to something bigger and better. THAT'S my belief system!
As to my ethnicity I'm a mongrel, though solidly Northern European. English, German, Austrian, French and Dutch. I grew up in a very liberal area of New England, which is probably a good thing, considering what I'm like, LOL!
I was "born" more or less protestant, went through my angnostic angst phase and I'm now a buddhist.
As for my make-up:
3/4 German and 1/4 Irish
I was baptized a Catholic and I went to Catholic schools. In the second grade, a nun told us that we were lucky to have heard the good news and now that we did know about the gospel and the teachings of Christ, we were better off but I couldn't help but think that I wish that I didn't know at all.
English with French heritage.
I was born without a religion, and given the choice to chose what I wanted to believe. After a few years with a christian group a while back, I went agnostic for a bit, and now stand at Nihilist. However, I'm open to others points of view, and if someone can convince me their god is right, I will probably convert.
I was born a Jew and will die a Jew. I am now a Jew-Buddhist or, a Jew-Buh..
I was raised as a Church of Scotland Presbyterian in the West of Scotland, I did the whole "Boys Brigade thing" as well. Being raised as a protestant in that area it invariably meant that I was supposed to be a Rangers supporter and definitely in favour of the Union. A lot of things are assumed to go along with this, all of which are complete nonsense (for those not aware, as far as Catholic/Protestant "issues" go, after ROI/N.IRE the west of Scotland is one of the most bigoted areas you will find)
I could not reconcile the idea of a God with any of this crap, and so I have zero faith in the existence of any God anymore.
I do believe in Allah (God).
I was born a Muslim, and hopefully die a Muslim.
But, would you please elaborate the reason of losing faith in God`s existence?
I was born to parents who were Seventh-day Adventists. I went to Seventh-day Adventist elementary school, high school, and college. My parents were active members of their church and I was raised to consider the weekly cycle of attending church to be something to look forward to and something to respect.
I became a student not just of the doctrines of the Seventh-day Adventist church but also a student of theology as in, "the study of God and Godly things." I believed that I knew something about Truth with a capital T. I also felt like I had a real relationship, almost tangible, with Jesus.
Then I got married and had children. After raising them and indoctrinating them with my own beliefs, I found myself divorced and childless. Worse, I saw my ex-wife as a threat to the healthy, well-balanced spirituality that I thought was important to the spiritual health of my children. She had become a ranting fanatic, damning to hell anyone who dare to contradict her views, including me.
This forced me to look at the politics of supporting, exhorting, and defending the doctrines of organized religion in general and the Seventh-day Adventist church in particular. I didn't like what I saw. It looked like totalitarianism, exclusivity, and supreme arrogance dressed in platitudes and supported by a careful weaving of scriptures with interpretations. I began wondering about what love actually was and why it was so elusive. I began wondering how one can love a God that can't be seen, felt or proven if they can't love one another and are willing to tear each other apart, like my ex-wife had done to me when she took my children away. I began to wonder about what God values if he doesn't value his own people.
I tend to approach philosophical things much like Buddists do, but I tend also to question the existance or purpose of spiritual things. These ideas that we call spiritual... What were the motives of the people who laid the foundations of thought that have become ideas that we call spiritual? How much do those to minister to their flock actually believe, how much to they go along with while never expressing internal nagging doubts, how much do they go along with for political, financial or career motives?
I have become a distant observer of religion. I can't completely let go of the possiblity of God and purpose and good and evil and reward and judgement and spiritual understanding, but neither can I embrace these things any longer. I just don't know. I guess that makes me Agnostic.
As for ethnicity, I was born in California. I am 1/4 German, 1/4 Swedish, 1/4 English and 1/4 unknown. I have little to none of the cultural environments from any of these blood lines.
I was brought into this life by two atheists however I became a born again Christian when I was in my late twenties and born again I remain. I find the old adage that if there is no God then I've been as good a person as I could be and that's important and if there is, which I believe, then I may escape somewhat unscathed come Judgment Day.
My father was Black and claims there was no mixing of the races in his family, my mother is part Black, part White, and part Native American Indian a combination that leaves people guessing just what she is. Not me though, there's no mistaking what I am and if you look at my picture you can see I'm just a sweet California girl.
It's a good topic…
I was born Muslim, and I will die Muslim Inshallah.
The reality that I am 100% not Arabic. My ancestors was obliged to leave Islam by some invaders who tried to spread the Christianity in my country .they thought that we had to adopt any religion .we were not Muslims, but we accepted Islam, so It is easy to accept other religions….. They first brought a superstition in order to avoid the reaction of the inhabitants who surely refuse Christianity …. Decade after decade, our ancestor was trapped into believing in superstition, but they stayed considering Qur'an as the right constitution that will guide them to the straight path.
However after a great revolution In the name of Allah whom we know a little,
we got the independence .The Egyptians, Iraqis and Syrians contributed to rebuilt the Islamic background of our society.
Now the question that I often ask is: why do the Muslims consider the Islam as the right religion?
We pretend what the others may pretend.
"Take a look at the previous posts"
Why does each religious man tries to spread his believes?
This and many other questions impelled me to learn other religious texts.
Although there are detailed descriptions and explanations of the Judaism and Christianity in Qur'an, I decided to discover them far from Islamic perspective. So, each time I read about the other religions I become very amazed by Islam.
Do not believe in all that Sartre has said ….
.
What is your birth religion and current religious status?
The second part of The Question was widely spread before Islam .
I worshiped a God Made by dates , but when I felt hungry I ate it,then I worshiped a god made by ballast but I placed it in the bilge of a ship to ensure its stability. Then I believed in pelf, but after hurricane Katrina
I converted into Christianity , but when I read Da Vinci Code , I converted into Islam ,
enjoy to decipher the code of religion. and do not accept what you have inherited unless you are convinced.
Yroos rof ym dab hsilgne.
edited by Logos to remove reference to current politics, as per forum rules.
Welcome back Darlin. :) It's been a while since I've seen around. And I just noticed your photo in your profile, a lovely lady. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Darlin
Quote:
Originally Posted by you_per7
I`m not a 100% Muslim person, yet a complete one.
My granny -may her soul rest in peace- was Maronitte. She got married to my Muslim grandpa -RIP too. I do wear crosses from time to time, but i`m extremely convinced about my religion. I guess I went an atheist for sometime, but later when I wondered about the reason behind this life, nature, people..etc, I was persuaded about the only one Allah.
You said you are not Arabian?
What is your nationality?
Have you ever read the book The Brothers K by David James Duncan? Your ex-wife sounds a lot like the mother in that book. Her fanatical Adventist faith has some very serious repercussions for the rest of her family. It's an incredibly powerful look at the role that that kind of fanatism has in family dynamics. It has a really slow start but you are very well rewarded for that patience in the end. I think it might strike a chord with you.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kelly_Sprout
I'm welsh. english german but if I go back further then probably heinz variety. Don't know whether I'm born into any religion. Family went to protestant church for funerals and weddings. I lean towards buddhism, bon, and native Indian spiritual beliefs.
'The human race, to which so many of my readers belong' GK Chesterton
For Kelly Sprout.
I've always found the study of theology interesting, but the thing that I always have thought to be more important than theology was my own personal relationship to God. Theology is a human study of religion, and unfortunately with anything that has human involvement there is room for error, fanaticism, and bigotry.
Your wife sounds like a difficult person, and I'm sure your children are of course your greatest concern. The best thing in many cases that you may do for them is function like a normal Christian and teach by example, if they see that they don't have to follow the extreme then they will often follow what is reasonably normal in their minds. As for your wife, al you can really do is forgive her, her faults and hope she somehow sees the error of her choice.
Aside from that I'd like to congratulate you. Being a Christian is not an easy task, and we should question what our churches teach us, since humans are not infallible. Hence the reasons I am always learning more, and more, and questioning things. The answers often become clear over time. Good on you.
For the actual thread.
I am British. My families are Welsh/Norman Norwegian/Scottish Scottish/British, and British in descent. I can trace my families back to William the Bastard and great clans.
Has this done anything to affect my religious views, not a twig. My parents were Church of England, but found it to be spiritually dead, so they joined a small born again movement.
I was born into a family that encouraged Christian values, while giving me the freedom of choice. I went through a period of spiritual blindness, where I didn't practice any religion. Then about three years ago, I rededicated my life to Christ and have been a practicing Christian since. I have no spiritual denomination except for born again. I personally don't hold much in the way of churches, (I do attend one though. I like the atmosphere.) and prefer to focus my time on my personal relationship with Christ and God.
Why thank you, Virgil! It's been a long while indeed but I may pop in from time to time. It's good to see you and other regulars keeping the forum going.Quote:
Originally Posted by Virgil
Quote:
Originally Posted by Poetess
nationality = algerian
I was born into the Catholic religion. I later followed my father's Protestant religion. I am now reading about Buddhism. It seems to be what I want to follow.
Is anyone out there that follows Buddhism? I would like to hear how you became involved and how it works for you.
My family follows Buddhism, though I'm not sure yet whether I am a Buddhist or whether I would prefer being Atheist. To me, Buddhism is a peaceful religion that has a history of calmness. Unlike the church or any other religious organizations, Buddhists have never spilled blood because of religious differences. While it is true that there have been occasional quibbles between different sects of Buddhist clans, there has never been bloodshed. This is the one true point I find very impressive. The other thing, of course, is that it is said that people who are Buddhist can feel a certain affinity for it. Just thought that may interest you :)Quote:
Originally Posted by lit-phile
I'm just gonna put my 2 cents into this thread...
I was born into a Baha'i Family and I still am happily a Baha'i!
I'm half Scotish, and half Northern European, Soo Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish...
I don't have a birth relgion, don't follow a religion currently and don't plan to in the 'futurely'
I was born into a Christian life style and raised that way till i found myself in disbelief, i then converted to a non-traditional version of Wicca, and have yet to find anyone who shares a common belief (even within the pagan circles i chat with)
I learned a few years ago that not only my stepmom's family but also dad's has Seventh Day Adventist roots, though dad is agnostic. Nana taught me to say Grace when I was small. :) I've been a member of Eckankar since '89.
Born into christian tradition, but none of my parents were very religious. Went to a christian pre-school though.
Currently I am an Atheist.
Perhaps we should chat.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nightshaper
My father is a Jew and we followed Judaism till I was a teen. My father then converted to Christianity and the family had no choice but to follow suit. My mother was raised Christian (Welsh, Scottish and Irish), but has never "professed" any real faith or ever talked about her faith that I can ever remember.
Neither Judaism nor Christanity ever felt right to me and only served to burden me with guilt. After a lot of long, hard years of searching, I currently call myself Pagan and claim to a Pantheist point of view. I do honor the God and Goddess or Lord and Lady, but see them as representatives/symbols of the Source of All Life which, for lack of a better word, I call God. I honor the Wiccan festivals (sabbats and esbats) though I do not worship in the Wiccan faith.
Hi all!
It's marvelous to hear everyone talk about their religious beliefs.
I'm a Muslim. I was born into a Muslim family, and now in my mid-twenties I'm still a Muslim. I'm not naive about it though, I've read a lot about other faiths, and for me, as a woman, Islam is the only thing that works.
The thing is, I'm from Trinidad, that lil' island in the West Indies. So, our Islam is very orthodox, very free from cultural constraints that Muslims in the Middle East and Asia have been accustomed to. And I'm very glad that it's so! I have friends of all different faiths and non-faiths! And we appreciate one-another for our differences.
Trinidad and Tobago [our twin-island Republic] consists mainly of Christians [of various sects] Hindus, and Muslims. There are minorites such as Buddhists, Jews, and then there are some atheists as well.
I was raised in a baptist environment but have been an atheist (non-theist and scientific rationalist) for about 30 years now.
Due to my background, I at first thought about starting my own religion - "The Baptist Atheists" - based on a two-part creed:
1. There is no god.
2. Nevertheless, anyone who disagrees with us is going to Hell.
"The Baptist Atheists" sounds interesting, JGL. ;)
I was born into a Roman Catholic family. However, I no longer follow the church. I'm not atheist, but I care less about God...because if I did it would make me a slave. :)
Well, words don't have absolute meanings, just common usages. I am also an agnostic and I have little if any problem with pantheism or deism - as long as followers of those concepts do not proselytize and preach - which in fact they generally don't.Quote:
Originally Posted by hyperborean
Many so-called "liberal" Christians are ok and I can get along with them well, simply because they are not absolutists - and the fact they have no real problem with modern science – and the fact that they don’t preach. Ditto Buddhists and Hindus - most of whom are not maniacs either.
I was raised as a Lutheran, and because of circumstances, changed churches 3 times while I was still quite young. In high school, I convinced myself that I was agnostic and rebeled against religion, but mostly against my parents I think. I have actually come full circle, not really through faith or religion, but through logic. The more I studied about my faith, the more it, logically, made sense to me. I am not at the moment an active member of a church, but I have a very strong faith in God.
Was it the Lutheran variety in particular or Christianity in general that you found "logical"? And why?Quote:
Originally Posted by Adudaewen
Besides your childhood religion, did you ever study or explore in depth other religions like Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, pantheism, or deism, etc., etc. to see if one or more of them were more "logical" - or not? If not, why not?
Just interested.
I really found my logical faith in Christianity as a whole. I think the number one mistake of most Christians is turning against other denominations. Because, let's face it, no one single denomination has hit the nail precisly on the head yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by JGL57
I did do some extensive research into several religions such as Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, Taoism, Wicca and Hinduism. The surprising thing that I found is most other major religions share serveral things in common with Christianity.
I struggle to keep my faith fluid and dynamic. I don't want to be the kind of person that is close minded enough to say my religion is right and yours is wrong. For me, Christianity is a good fit.
Now who can argue with that?Quote:
Originally Posted by Adudaewen
If all Christians agreed with the thoughts expressed above, we wouldn't need atheists.
None of us know who will be saved and why - and thankfully none of us are in charge of that decision (because heaven would be empty).
But: all religions cannot be "right" because they all have exculsive claims to the truth. There may be "pieces" that coincide, which may suggest the larger truth each is trying to find, but they can't all be right.
True storyQuote:
Originally Posted by JGL57
I have been an Episcopalian for many years, though I don't believe in women or "gay " priests. I don't even like this distortion of the word.
Hehehe frankly I doubt that americans would be "ashamed" of having german ancestry. Some americans even seem to be german wannabees. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Virgil
I have also never understood these statistics. If you pick up any phone list (even one from Iowa, for that matter) it seems that english surnames are in the majority. Maybe they just consider themselves "german"?
Take a look at this: http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/c2kbr-35.pdf --
Ancestry is a broad concept that can mean different things to different people; it can be described alternately as where their ancestors are from, where they or they parents originated, or simply how they see themselves ethnically.
Maybe they just "see" themselves as german?
I am Perisan with Azeri ethinicty, and i am Muslim