I am not sure of what religion to believe in.

[S.gal83]

I am currently not sure which religion is the true religion. I used to believe in Jesus. I used to believe in Satan, and in a way, still believes in him. But now, instead of seeing him(Satan) as God that I should worship, I see him more as a friend to help me in time of uncertainty.
I see many miracles in many religions. I think all religions are valid. I am moving towards not relying on any god, not Yahweh the christian god, not satan. I think I am my own god. That is, I do good deeds because I want to and I love to, not because I want to please any particular god.
During my free time, I am reading up on religions. Any and every religion.

 

[awitch]

I am currently not sure which religion is the true religion.

Don't worry, no one else does either. Sure, most have a lot of elements of truth, but none of them as a whole can be authenticated.

I used to believe in Jesus. I used to believe in Satan, and in a way, still believes in him. But now, instead of seeing him(Satan) as God that I should worship, I see him more as a friend to help me in time of uncertainty.

What changed your mind? How does he help?

I think all religions are valid.

Define 'valid'?

 

[dewaddict84]

Well that's a little disturbing. As an ex-christian, I'm sure you're aware that satan is primarily the antagonist. By saying you are reversing his role, you're either going down a very self-destructive path or your young and going through a rebellious phase.

I'd caution that some religions are very much invalid shams. The bebop suicide cult and the groups of the televangelist preachers who get arrested for embezzlement and tax evasion. These are religious leaders who are taking advantage of an aspect of for their own gain (or their own ego crazy suicide).

Calling yourself a god, as you define it, isn't so bad. But as anyone else would define it, or if there's any extra baggage there, then that's a historically "bad thing". So I'd just caution that if being your own god makes you think you have any power other then free will, you might want to re-think that.

Reading up on the subject is a good thing. Try to go for independent third parties who can give you a removed unbiased perspective. Stick with big publications, and stay away from, well, internet sites where anyone can say anything.

But overall, I'd just say "relax".

 

[Völuspá]

Confusing, isn't it? But then, does one have to choose a religion? It's good that you like reading up on religions, but that doesn't have to lead to choosing one. Just learn as much as you can and maybe in 5 years you'll have some idea of where you're headed.

My favorite book on the subject of religion is Osho's The Book of Understanding. He tears down all organized religion and shows a satisfying alternative. You only owe it to yourself to learn and become a better you. No single religion can give you everything, in my opinion. They're better at turning peoples' brains off.

 

[Arthra]

It's good I think to recognize the spiritual oneness of the world's great religions and to appreciate them... In my view they have all made great contributions to human progress and advancemnet..

We also need to use discernment and weigh carefully our own spiritual approach but at the same time know that there is a purpose for our life and that we use what time we have left on this plane of our lives on earth to reflect the attributes of God and advance spiritually..

 

[Stinker]

I am currently not sure which religion is the true religion. I used to believe in Jesus. I used to believe in Satan, and in a way, still believes in him. But now, instead of seeing him(Satan) as God that I should worship, I see him more as a friend to help me in time of uncertainty.
I see many miracles in many religions. I think all religions are valid. I am moving towards not relying on any god, not Yahweh the christian god, not satan. I think I am my own god. That is, I do good deeds because I want to and I love to, not because I want to please any particular god.
During my free time, I am reading up on religions. Any and every religion.

My religion still revolves around Jesus (Jehovah) in the Old Testament. Logic keeps me tied to Him. I think everyone knows deep down that there is a terrible, terrible, problem with the human condition. Not even the most intelligent animals do the kinds of things to each other that we humans do. This is the problem Satam afflicts us with. He manipulates our carnality against ourselves and ourselves against others and especially against...............God. However, God has thrown us the life-rope, if we will only grab it. His word.

 

[awitch]

My religion still revolves around Jesus (Jehovah) in the Old Testament. Logic keeps me tied to Him. I think everyone knows deep down that there is a terrible, terrible, problem with the human condition. Not even the most intelligent animals do the kinds of things to each other that we humans do. This is the problem Satam afflicts us with. He manipulates our carnality against ourselves and ourselves against others and especially against...............God. However, God has thrown us the life-rope, if we will only grab it. His word.

Nope. I completely reject the notion that there is something fundamentally wrong with the human condition. We are not diseased. Intelligence and technology brings us power, but with that power comes great responsibility. We are all responsible for our own actions, and blaming some character in a book for humanity's evils is foolish.

 

[S.gal83]

My religion still revolves around Jesus (Jehovah) in the Old Testament. Logic keeps me tied to Him. I think everyone knows deep down that there is a terrible, terrible, problem with the human condition. Not even the most intelligent animals do the kinds of things to each other that we humans do. This is the problem Satam afflicts us with. He manipulates our carnality against ourselves and ourselves against others and especially against...............God. However, God has thrown us the life-rope, if we will only grab it. His word.

I disagree. I don't think of human as bad or evil. I think everyone, yes, even evil people like Hitler, want to be good. Somehow, along the way, they get misguided by power, fame and bad experiences.

I see goodness in children. They tend to want to help those less fortunate than themselves. And most human beings tend to feel sorry for those less fortunate than themselves. I see that as a sign of human goodness.

(I don't think Satan is good, I don't think he is evil. I am not sure how I think of him right now. But he does answer my prayers.)

Animals can do to each other things misguided human beings can do. Tigers eat sheeps. A lion will kill the cubs of another lion to gain dominance over the female. Animals are not that perfect.

Human beings aren't perfect, either. But at least most of the people have that seed of goodness in them.

 

[Aesjn]

That is, I do good deeds because I want to and I love to, not because I want to please any particular god.

Anyone that does good to try and please god is not being "real". We should do what is good, because goodness begets goodness, and evil begets evil. If you love what is good you will do that which upholds it and abstain from evil - that is what is best for us. I don't think god wants us to do good to try and please him but rather he wants what is best for us, like a good parent - not a tyrant.

 

[CRfan]

I am currently not sure which religion is the true religion. I used to believe in Jesus. I used to believe in Satan, and in a way, still believes in him. But now, instead of seeing him(Satan) as God that I should worship, I see him more as a friend to help me in time of uncertainty.
I see many miracles in many religions. I think all religions are valid. I am moving towards not relying on any god, not Yahweh the christian god, not satan. I think I am my own god. That is, I do good deeds because I want to and I love to, not because I want to please any particular god.
During my free time, I am reading up on religions. Any and every religion.

Thinking you are your own god does not make you god. Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, but he is evil...the father of lies and seeks whom he may devour. He cannot help you, but instead enslaves you and blinds you to the truth. Jesus said He was the only way to God.
As humans we live in fallen condition because of something called sin. Sin is going against God. All of our good works are as filthy rags to God. Adam and Eve chose to sin, and we all sin. Death and sickness came into the world because of sin.
You can just read the 10 commandments in Exodus 20 of the Holy Bible.
"You shall have no other gods before Me.
"You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.
"You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
"You shall not take the name of the LORD you God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy."

Okay to make this shorter, the next commandments are to Honor your father and your mother, You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor, and You shall not covet your neighbor's house, wife, etc....anything that belongs to your neighbor.

If you have disobeyed even one of these commands then you are guilty of all. Jesus even said that looking after a woman to lust after her is committing adultery...in your heart.
A person's believing something does not make it true. If you think you are a god, then what's to say someone else who thinks they are god is wrong if they want to hurt you in some way? Do you have absolute power? What control do you have over the world or even your own life or someone else's? Satan also is not all-powerful. He was cast out of heaven and is limited by what the true God will allow him to do. In thinking you are god, you are still serving Satan. If you had truly known Jesus, then you would not be confused. Even the existence of the earth and humans and animals and the stars in the sky show the existence of an all-powerful God. Disease and death show the existence of sin and our own frailty. All of the Old Testament was looking forward to Jesus' coming in the New Testament with a New covenant. The old sacrifices were a foreshadowing of the ultimate perfect blood sacrifice for sin...Jesus. This death atones for sin for all time for those who will believe. It is for those who are sorry for and turn from their evil and believe and give their lives to the One true God who can rescue them from the power of Satan, sin, and death. Satan is to be rescued from, but he has lied to you as is his habit. He is lying to you even now. What can you truly do? Do you have the power to create something out of nothing? Can you stop evil or bring anything back to life? Satan cannot even create a world. You as a human can only make things from what has already been made.

Jesus rose from the dead conquering even death, and one day all will be resurrected either to death and eternal hell and punishment separated from God for those who have not believed, or to life for those who have believed in Jesus the only begotten of the Father. It has to be more than just an intellectual assent, because even the demons believe and tremble.
God offers forgiveness of sins and a right relationship with Him if you believe and trust in His Son Jesus and His death on the cross taking the punishment for sin. I long for you to believe. I long that the rebellion that all have in disbelieving will be removed, and that God will open your eyes to the Truth.

If you want to search out the truth, try reading the book of John and the book of Romans from the Bible for starters. I would recommend the NAS, the ESV, the New King James personally. I will pray that those who are truly seeking will find. Miracles alone are not the only proof of truth. There are many magicians and false signs and wonders used to deceive as many as possible. Not all religions can be valid or true. There can only be one right way, and Jesus claimed to be that way. I believe. Will you? Taste and see that the Lord is good.

 

[Eudaimonist]

During my free time, I am reading up on religions. Any and every religion.

Try reading up on secular philosophies as well.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[Dharma Wheel]

I disagree. I don't think of human as bad or evil. I think everyone, yes, even evil people like Hitler, want to be good. Somehow, along the way, they get misguided by power, fame and bad experiences.

I see goodness in children. They tend to want to help those less fortunate than themselves. And most human beings tend to feel sorry for those less fortunate than themselves. I see that as a sign of human goodness.

(I don't think Satan is good, I don't think he is evil. I am not sure how I think of him right now. But he does answer my prayers.)

Animals can do to each other things misguided human beings can do. Tigers eat sheeps. A lion will kill the cubs of another lion to gain dominance over the female. Animals are not that perfect.

Human beings aren't perfect, either. But at least most of the people have that seed of goodness in them.

You seem theological wise to me. As a Buddhist I do not believe that man has to worship any god nor do I believe that man is sinful or ''evil''; ''sins'' are just ignorance or, as you put it, caused by humans being misguided.

I don't even believe that Mara or any Asuras are evil either just ignorant and misguided.

 

[awitch]

A person's believing something does not make it true.

Can you apply that to your own religion?

 

[CRfan]

Can you apply that to your own religion?

Yes, what I hold to be true is not true just because I believe it. There is much historical evidence that also supports Christianity. Jesus Christ is a historical person, and there were eye witnesses to His resurrection. The Bible is the Word of God, and whether or not someone believes it is not what makes it true. It is true, because it is God's Word. While other religions claim miracles, Jesus' resurrection has more weight because of the witnesses. His claim to being God is affirmed by this.
The Bible is amazing in it's unity, and God's fingerprints are seen in it. Just think of how many writers and styles He used, and yet it is all about one God and one salvation plan. Isaiah 53 even points to Christ and describes His death in an amazingly accurate way. With all the differences in people and places, there is one awesome story told. You can reject it, but that doesn't determine it's veracity. I have experienced God's grace, but my faith is also based on evidence.
I can't change what you believe. I do believe in an all-powerful God, and as I hear thunder tonight I can testify that God has a lot more power and knowledge than I can possibly fathom.
Thank you for asking the question. I actually used some help in my reply, so I hope that it will be clearer than if I just ad-libbed.

 

[awitch]

...The Bible is the Word of God, and whether or not someone believes it is not what makes it true. It is true, because it is God's Word.

I don't seek to change what you believe either. I'll bite my tongue...er...fingers about your circular reasoning. We can save that debate for another thread.

 

[S.gal83]

Try reading up on secular philosophies as well.


eudaimonia,

Mark

I will. (But to be actual, I am pretty slow in reading up on religions/secular philosophies. I prefer fiction, and to be exact, science fiction and fantasy).

 

[sidhe]

<cheap plug>

Read up on Thelema (as in, go find some Lon Milo Duquette and Rodney Orpheus books, look over the Thelemapedia, read Liber AL, don't read every crackpots opinion of What Thelema Really Is, etc.) - it functions both as a secular philosophy and a religion separately, or alternately can be followed as both.

</cheap plug>

 

[dewaddict84]

<cheaper plug>
You've read Frank Herbert's DUNE, right? Asimov, Douglas Adams, and Tolkien are also required. And you should suffer through at least one Arther C. Clark novel just so you can say you did.
</cheaper plug>

 

[Wicked Willow]

I will. (But to be actual, I am pretty slow in reading up on religions/secular philosophies. I prefer fiction, and to be exact, science fiction and fantasy).

Ooooh, I recommend the "Kushiel"-series by Jaqueline Carey! It includes a very enticing fictional religion as well, one that is partially inspired by real-world equivalents.

 

[sidhe]

Ooooh, I recommend the "Kushiel"-series by Jaqueline Carey! It includes a very enticing fictional religion as well, one that is partially inspired by real-world equivalents.

^This. Kushiel's Dart = AWESOME.