Curious as to which beliefs and/ or religions are followed by ATS members

reply to post by KhaliWitch


Well in that case congratulations are in order, you are now a pope (please note if you are a female poster you are in fact a mome)

en.wikipedia.org...

reply to post by bogomil


oops

ramen

King James Bible Believing Christian here.
___________________________________

I was raised baptised as a Christian Methodist, but I am not one whatsoever. My mom has always encouraged me and asked me if I wanted to go to church. I used to say yes a lot (even though we hardly went) and my dad never went to Catholic church. It made me suspicious that they never went. Church never made sense to me when I went. In the school part, pretty much while the adult services were going on, they were filling the little ones up with bible stories and crafts, etc, I sat there, confused and felt like I didn't fit in. I'm 15, almost 16 now and put on the front for my family. I am Agnostic, (I think that's the right term for it) I believe there might be a god or many (or female deities). I'm honestly not sure but I refuse to go under an religion because they are so fear based. Like I commonly see and hear they the religious groups are all pretty much the same, just a different building with a different sign and a different guy wearing a different outfit, same beliefs, same punishments, same story of a virgin mother who this and that... so forth. I can't believe any of it. And the fact that a religion would ask for an offering is ludicris. How much of that money actually goes to good causes? Probably not much on a world wide level. (not saying all churches abuse the money from the bowl) but it doesn't make sense that Jesus, if he were in fact real, would ask for money. Then make you feel like a sinner if you didn't have any to offer every time the plate passed by. I think people should connect with one another. We are in these eggshells, we constantly block out our dreams and our energies. We can all connect and feel love and unity as a whole. We could be created by science we don't need to go to a priest to talk to a higher power, we are the higher power as a whole and with love and compassion we can escape from the socialist ways that tell us not to feel each other on a spiritual level, or go with the wildness of our dreams, or open the doors to a beautiful place with our minds. Because aren't we all 3D shadows of our 4 dimensional selves? I'm not pushing my beliefs, I'm just saying do more research before you commit your self to something big. You control your own life. Thank you for this thread.

After much study and research on all of the religions, I chose one that fit me, Wicca. Wicca is not necessarily the "Witchcraft" of olden time, but rather a newer, Nature based, and loving religion that recognizes Mother Earth as being alive and sentient, for She provides humankind with all that they have. Most religions, especially the ones based on a "book" see the Goddess, or Mother a a whore not worthy of anything but hate, and that hate includes her followers. A few days ago, in a post right here at ATS, I was reading a Christian group was declaring a "Spiritual War" on Mother Earth. I thought to myself, wow, a declaration on the very planet you live on? Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

reply to post by racasan


I have a list of practiced religions/ beliefs, purely for academic and studious reasons ( it is hobby for me to know as much as possible about things that people take for granted/ disregard), so that i can gain more knowledge of the people which surround me. It is also helpful in helping me understanding the reactions of people who have different religions/ beliefs.

Originally posted by purespirit
I was raised baptised as a Christian Methodist, but I am not one whatsoever. My mom has always encouraged me and asked me if I wanted to go to church. I used to say yes a lot (even though we hardly went) and my dad never went to Catholic church. It made me suspicious that they never went. Church never made sense to me when I went. In the school part, pretty much while the adult services were going on, they were filling the little ones up with bible stories and crafts, etc, I sat there, confused and felt like I didn't fit in. I'm 15, almost 16 now and put on the front for my family. I am Agnostic, (I think that's the right term for it) I believe there might be a god or many (or female deities). I'm honestly not sure but I refuse to go under an religion because they are so fear based. Like I commonly see and hear they the religious groups are all pretty much the same, just a different building with a different sign and a different guy wearing a different outfit, same beliefs, same punishments, same story of a virgin mother who this and that... so forth. I can't believe any of it. And the fact that a religion would ask for an offering is ludicris. How much of that money actually goes to good causes? Probably not much on a world wide level. (not saying all churches abuse the money from the bowl) but it doesn't make sense that Jesus, if he were in fact real, would ask for money. Then make you feel like a sinner if you didn't have any to offer every time the plate passed by. I think people should connect with one another. We are in these eggshells, we constantly block out our dreams and our energies. We can all connect and feel love and unity as a whole. We could be created by science we don't need to go to a priest to talk to a higher power, we are the higher power as a whole and with love and compassion we can escape from the socialist ways that tell us not to feel each other on a spiritual level, or go with the wildness of our dreams, or open the doors to a beautiful place with our minds. Because aren't we all 3D shadows of our 4 dimensional selves? I'm not pushing my beliefs, I'm just saying do more research before you commit your self to something big. You control your own life. Thank you for this thread.

The way you felt as a child surrounded by the church is very much the way i felt as a child, however my family didn't and still doesn't support me in my not wishing to be a church goer. They still tried to push me into church by calling in the parish priest to "save me from satan" as they to this day hold fast to their belief that i am a satanist, because i do not follow their religion.
As for the research: I searched the internet for many years before i found my religion and never looked further, for i am allowed to be myself ( as imperfect as i am ), they do not wish any sacrifices and there is no fearmongering to make me follow the right path ( of which i am truly pleased )
Thank you for your reply to this thread.

reply to post by autowrench


Blessed be and Namasté to you.
They declare war on what they do not understand and instead of learning more about the followers or religion/ belief they decide to fight them, which is not a positive mindset.

I don't really follow any religion, although i was forced to be christian at birth when i was baptized, still have a burn mark on my forehead today

I am non-religious but very spiritual.

I have been told by others that I fit in with spiritualism, as I prefer to have direct contact with the spirit world over organized religions trying to do it for me.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon)

Originally posted by NOTurTypical
No religion.

Christ is my redeemer.

Forever and ever Amen.

My sister was a christian once. Then she switched over to witchcraft. She ended up summoning an entity she couldnt get rid of via ouija board and use of a necronomikon (however its spelled), a book of the dead. After that she went back to christianity. She still can't get rid of the entity, it talks to her when she tries to sleep and scratches her up.

reply to post by lonewolf19792000


I always say : witchcraft is to used for good and healing and not to try and control people/ entities!

Originally posted by lonewolf19792000
My sister was a christian once. Then she switched over to witchcraft. She ended up summoning an entity she couldnt get rid of via ouija board and use of a necronomikon (however its spelled), a book of the dead. After that she went back to christianity. She still can't get rid of the entity, it talks to her when she tries to sleep and scratches her up.

edit on 14-8-2011 by lonewolf19792000 because: (no reason given)

I cannot believe a single word of that. Why is it the only people who ever get possessed, or have trouble with these so called demons are Christians, and no body else? Doesn't that say something to you? When a Christian "gives his heart, mind and soul" to "Jesus" a man no proof whatsoever has ever been found even existed in the first place, of course they invite inferior beings into themselves. Perhaps this "Jesus" is a demon himself. Why can you people not figure this out on your own?

reply to post by KhaliWitch


I don't believe in tales of gods.
I believe Math and Science hold all the answers to our questions.

reply to post by KhaliWitch


pantheism seems to me to be the most logical religion to believe in, it makes more sense than any other religion.

I am an eclectic pagan who has studied wicca (didn't like the organized bent of it), has studied witchcraft (practice for myself only minor workings. I am uncomfortable with the idea of change or gain for my benefit that might possibly negatively impact someone else.) I greatly dislike any organized religion or belief and ritualization of belief, though ritual in and of itself can be very useful.

I was raised in the United Methodist Church. My great grandfather was one of the founding fathers of the Dutch Reform movement here in the US (think Robert Schuller, et al.) I sang in Catholic Church choirs (love singing the Latin hymns.), and sang in UM choirs. My grandfather and my grandmother were both Ministers. I attended bible school, went to church regularly.

I have always questioned most of what the bible teaches/espouses. I have always questioned what ministers, priests, and the Pope speak. The bible makes sense to me as a history book, written by men and changed throughout history to suit different religious, political, and socio-economic needs.

I studied Buddhism and found things that felt right to me, as I did with Shamanism, and many other religious ideologies and theories. Something that impacted me hard is something rather ridiculous. There was a line in the film Dogma by Kevin Smith that resonated...it said,"Don't have a belief, have a thought." Basically it means that if you believe in something (speaking of religions) then you aren't open to new ideas or change. If you have a thought about something, you are open.

I took what felt right to me from the various things I have studied and created my own blend of ideas and thoughts and that is what I practice. I feel comfortable with each aspect of what I think and practice and it just feels right to me, deep in my core. That doesn't mean it is right for someone else, since I feel that what you think of and practice is incredibly individual and should never be dictated by someone else.

I was luckily allowed by my mother growing up to explore religion and though she remained a fairly steadfast Christian until the end, she embraced my coming to my own conclusions and ideas about what is right for me.

As for deities, I am more a collective consciousness person, but I have researched deities from around the world and found fascinating correlations among them, making me feel that possibly these matching deities are one and the same in each land area/time era. They would be manifestations of the same few, changing behaviors to fit needs in the areas/times.

When I feel the need to call on a particular deity/manifestation of a deity, I call on Cerridwen (see my name) and Bastet. Two very different pantheons, but each deity has qualities that I have needed most often. I have also called on the Morrighan, but I can't say that I have ever called on a masculine aspect deity.

That turned into quite the long post, didn't it? LOL

reply to post by KhaliWitch


A mix of the old and the new.. So I guess I am christian mixed with cunning folk, which is pretty much the standard belief system around here.. much as it always has been.

Tho quite a few still believe that by burning effigies of the pope they will keep Romish slavery at bay, which still causes a few issues and fist shaking.. but that bumping heads has gone on for the last 1500 years so I doubt it will change any time soon.

I am glad so many have posted in this thread, so that we may be able to gain a greater understanding of each other.
@ Cerridwen : The way you have researched which beliefs suit you is the best way to find out what is the best for you. That is also how i have done it. When I speak of Witchcraft i do not speak of using the Earth's Energy to benefit myself, but to benefit the whole human race ( healing, protection. You know, the so called "white magic", i say it like this because to me it is not magic, but the Energy of the Mother, that the Mother allows me to use to help mankind for the good ).

Do not mistake my explanations for attempts to "convert" anyone, i am simply explaining why i am so curious about the religions/ beliefs of ATS members and why and how i came to my religion.
Religions/ beliefs are the most intimate and personal thing a human can have and is something i do not take lightly or jokingly. I am not out to discredit anyone beliefs/ religion, i am just searching for knowledge as is my true path. This is purely an academic search and it is not to be used in any other way by myself, than for gaining a greater understanding of the various religions/ beliefs that are on this world.

Namasté.