In a sentence or two

[Katarn]

... sum up what your religion is about. All religions welcome, including atheism.

Please note that I don't particularly want this thread to be hijacked off topic, via debating, "my religion is true", flaming, insulting, etc, etc. I just want to gain a greater understanding of the message of each religion represented here in this forum. I prefer short concise responses rather than links to external websites. If this thread doesn't apply to you then please move on without commenting.

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

I would like to quote one of my favorite passages in the NT/NC here to sum up mine. Peace.

Hebrew 12:21 and, (so terrible was the sight,) Moses said, `I am fearful exceedingly, and trembling.' 22 But, ye came to Mount Zion, and to a city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of messengers, 23 to the company and assembly of the first-born in heaven enrolled, and to God the judge of all, and to spirits of righteous men made perfect, 24 and to a mediator of a New Covenant--Jesus, and to blood of sprinkling, speaking better things than that of Abel! 25 See, may ye not refuse him who is speaking, for if those did not escape who refused him who upon earth was divinely speaking--much less we who do turn away from him who [speaketh] from heaven, 26 whose voice the earth shook then, and now hath he promised, saying, `Yet once--I shake not only the earth, but also the heaven;' [SIZE=+2]
[/SIZE]

 

[evange]

God loves us so much that he sent Jesus to die for our sins, and if we only accept his gift we will gain eternal salvation. Salvation being an eternity ith God.

 

[arunma]

Personally I think that trying to sum up Christianity in a single sentence or even paragraph is a bad idea, since we will necessarily omit important detail. But this comes to mind as a reasonably concise statement of the Gospel:

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)


​

People often also like to summarize the Gospel similar to this: "Jesus Christ was crucified and resurrected, and we may inherit eternal life through faith in him."


And here is the most famous verse from the Bible, which is perhaps the best summary of the Gospel:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (St. John 3:16)
​

 

[Nahienga]

Hmm... Hard to sum up in a few sentences.

I believe in the five elements (Spirit, fire, earth, air, water), those are the neccessary tools for life. And we are our own gods.
I don't think any religion is false, but nor do I believe that any religion is true, including mine. I don't think the truth is discovered yet.
Well, my belief is quite complicated to explain, even if I wrote ten pages about it I'm not sure if anyone would understand.

 

[Tigress_86]

• The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
• Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
• Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth;
• A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
• The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process;
• The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
• Respect for the interdependent web of all existence.

 

[Gardenia]

Kemetic Orthodoxy is the revival of the religion of ancient Egypt. We worship the one God, who we call Netjer, through It's many aspects/names (Ra, Bast, Amun, Sekhmet, etc). We believe in upholding Ma'at.. it doesn't translate to English too well, it is.. truth, justice, order, balance..

My religion does not take any 'official' stance on other religions.. true, not true, it isn't for us to decide. Personally, I believe they're all true. We all worship the same God, just by different names. We're all different, so why would we not all need different paths/ways to know such a vast God?

 

[Abdurrahim]

In the name of Allah most gracious most merciful

112.001
Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.

Islam is to believe in :

...the only one who is deserving of worship, the Living, the Eternal Sustainer.

...the angels, created by Allah and fully subservient to Him.

...the messages and reminders which Allah has revealed to mankind throughout history, culminating in the Qur'an.

...the human messengers and prophets through which Allah communicated His messages to mankind.

...the Last Day, when Allah will judge each human being for his beliefs and actions, and He will admit him either to Paradise or to Hell.

...the control and power of Allah over all things and events, regardless of whether we in our limited knowledge consider them good or bad.


A muslim does :

...the testimony that there is no deity but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

...the ordained prayers based on the Qur'an and the Sunnah.

.the obligatory purification tax on the wealthy.

...the abstinence from evil deeds and talk, all food and drink, and all sexual relations during the month of Ramadhan.

...the pilgrimmage during the month of Dhul-Hijjah to the first place of worship on earth, the Ka'bah.

 

[coyoteBR]

"Love God above everything and your neighbour like yourself".

As Jesus Himself Said, the Whole Law is in this sentence.

 

[stillsmallvoice]

Hi all!

Deuteronomy 10:12-13 summarizes the essence of Judaism & our/my relation to God.

And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul; to keep for your good the precepts of the Lord and His statutes, which I command you this day?

As a(n orthodox) Jew, God, to me, means love, an overwhelming love, that He loved/s us so much that He has given us His precept-filled, eternal Torah as the guide on how He wants us to lead our lives. Everything stems from this. He sent us judges & prophets, whose books, along with the Torah, make up the Tanakh (what we call what Christians call the "Old Testament"), as a further expression of that love.

Be well!

ssv

 

[9Harmony]

I am a Baha’i. The Baha’i Faith teaches that all religions come from the same source. Its essential message is Unity; unity of God, unity of religions, unity of humanity. Some basic tenants of the Baha’i Faith are:

Equality of women and men
Elimination of all forms of prejudice
Harmony of science and religion
Independent investigation of truth
Working towards establishing universal education, a world auxiliary language, more equitable distribution of material resources, oh, yea, and peace.

 

[tulc]

Well I'm a Christian (no really! I am!) but if pressed I like this one:

"This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for
complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the
philosophy is kindness."
- The Dalai Lama

and this one:

ONLY Breath
Not Christian or Jew or Muslim,
not Hindu, Buddhist, sufi, or zen. Not any religion or cultural system.

I am not from the East or the West,
not out of the ocean
or up from the ground,
not natural or etheral,
not composed of elements at all.

I do not exist,
am not an entity in this world
or the next,
did not decend from Adam or Eve
or any origin story.

My place is placeless,
a trace of the traceless.

Neither body or soul.

I belong to the beloved,
have seen the two worlds as one
and that one call to and know,
first, last, outer, inner,
only that breath breathing human being.
-Rumi

tulc(sorry those were a bit more then one sentence)

 

[BruceDLimber]

Greetings, all!

I, too, am a Baha'i.

9Harmony already gave an excellent summary of the Baha'i Faith (to which I refer you).

I will just add that we do all this without any clergy or hierarchy whatever.

Best,

Bruce

 

[Lokisdottir]

Being Asatruar is about finding one's inner strength. It's about honoring the old Gods because we respect and love them, not because we fear punishment; this is true free will.

 

[vajradhara]

Namaste all,

interesting thread.

mine would be:


Meditation brings wisdom, lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back.


metta,

~v

 

[Eudaimonist]

... sum up what your religion is about. All religions welcome, including atheism.

Atheism isn't a religion, but Eudaimonism, as a philosophical path, is perhaps close enough.

Eudaimonism is about achieving personal flourishing and happiness in this life through the use of the faculty of reason, in particular through self-examination, self-actualization, and self-esteem.

 

[Abbadon]

I'm a Christian, I'm actually more traditional in beliefs (see Nicene Creed), but liberal in philosophy. Because of this, there's plenty I believe that I don't think is necessary to be a Christian. Monotheism, or at least nigh-monotheistic henotheism would be one thing I say outright would be required to be a Christian. Belief that Christ is divine and was human would be another.

After this is stuff that really isn't absolutely required in my book.

I like some ideas from other philosophies from other religions. I sometimes use concepts of Yin and Yang to gauge moderation in all things (and I admit to using it to decide what would be nice for lunch, but usually whenever I do that, I get Chinese for some reason).

I'm a panentheist. I'm not a pantheist: I don't identify God and the universe. But, I'm a panentheist, I believe that the universe is contained within God, since God is infinite, there's nowhere else for existence and non-existence to be contained, but that there is more to God than that. I believe that evil and hell are when one their souls within the non-existence within God.

I believe that the Bible is inerrant, but as it was written by humans, and in a different culture and language, it's inerrant in an esoteric sense, not always a literal sense.

I'm a day age creationist/theistic evolutionist: I believe we don't have any right to tell God His days are 24 of the unit of time we made up called hours.

I believe that Pat Robertson should be denounced, and dethroned. I do not believe in divine right of leaders, be it kings, or congressmen, or presidents.

I believe in separation of church and state, because government will and has tried to use religion to control the people.

I guess this was more than a few sentences.

 

[Skillganon]

Greetings, all!

I, too, am a Baha'i.

9Harmony already gave an excellent summary of the Baha'i Faith (to which I refer you).

I will just add that we do all this without any clergy or hierarchy whatever.

Best,

Bruce

Do you know that bahai heavily rely on Islamic principles.

Tell me who was the founder of you religion, what claim did he make, e.t.c.

 

[tulc]

Do you know that bahai heavily rely on Islamic principles.

Tell me who was the founder of you religion, what claim did he make, e.t.c.

Uhmm this thread isn't really for that, if you have a question maybe you can PM or start another thread? That being said, did you have something to add to the OP? Because I'd love to hear it!
tulc(always likes these kind of threads!)

 

[Achichem]

God said : "be holy even as I am holy" that is my devotion.
God said: "I am who I am" that is my faith
God said: "I have mercy on whom I have mercy, I shall show pitty on who ever I like" that is my belief
Moses wrote: "the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul;" that is my path