What is your philopsophy/religion?

I realise there are similar threads to this subject, but they are rather old and I'd like to see what the current ATS members beliefs are as we are indeed in the year 2012, which so many have different views on.

This interests me greatly.

So here, I'd like anyone to post their beliefs/philosophies/religions no matter what it is. Regardless of it being a widely known religion such as Christianity or Buddhism, or maybe one you have created your own, I'd like to hear them all.

Post a short summary if you'd like, or go completely in depth. I want to hear as much as you are willing to give me.

Please, refrain from arguing. This thread should come without prejudice and you too should be interested in others' belief systems as we are all different!

I will say thank you for all of your posts ahead of time, hopefully I get many.

i believe in non-human beings deciding human fates. no religion in particular.

I worship Dagon the Assyro-Babylonian fertility god.

I worship the God in Heaven, who sent his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for us.

reply to post by icepack


As in, higher divine beings?

Or more evolved beings, more intelligent than us?

Elaborate, please I'd like to hear this

Philosophy = live and let live. Dont try and shove your beliefs down my throat and i wont return the favour
Religion = none (they're all about control)

reply to post by theubermensch


This is new to me, how very unique!
I will have to research this god more.

Thank you for sharing!

reply to post by FFS4000


Interesting, and very simple words to go by.

"Live and let live"

I wish we could all use these as words to live by, hehe. They can be used for no matter what you believe in. I like this a lot.

Thank you for sharing today, friend!

reply to post by GreenEyedVixen

I realise there are similar threads to this subject, but they are rather old and I'd like to see what the current ATS members beliefs are as we are indeed in the year 2012, which so many have different views on.

Hi, Vixen, welcome to ATS. You say in your intro that you've been lurking for years....have you not visited this forum before?

The short answer to your question is that I have a philosophy, but no "religion". I was brought up a good Protestant girl in the Episcopal church, rejected it, struck out on my own to learn other faiths and religions, and have an individual way of thinking about things now. It's a mixture of lots of different things taken from many, many, ancient ideas and styles of thought. Basically, I believe in the things Christ originally taught in terms of humility, kindness, generosity, avoiding pride, harming none, rejecting the quest for wealth, and not following priests and such. He was not the first to teach it, but he certainly did teach it, just as others from ancient times all over the world have taught.

I find the best and most basic (and universal ethical code) to be sufficient. It is stated succinctly in The Golden Rule:
Treat others the way you would like to be treated.

I believe we are all part of the One Divine, and all connected, and will all one day graduate (through a succession of reincarnations here or on other worlds) to being ready to rejoin the Divine in eternal bliss. Until we are ready spiritually, we keep coming back for lessons. Our soul has a goal and a course of study determined between incarnations with help from ethereal guides. It takes many lifetimes to achieve that enlightenment and purification and perfection of the soul, but eventually every soul gets there. It's a personal journey. Call it the "Holy Spirit" if you like; be we all have the Divine residing within us. The goal is to live in accordance with it.

That said, I suggest if you get responses from people who you'd like to learn more about, you read their posts (pull down the menu under "member" at the bottom of the member's avatar for the options to view their threads or posts. There are quite a few "regulars" on this forum, and you have the chance to "get to know what they believe" by looking at their threads and posts.

There are plenty of threads that are not "old" at all.
For more on my current thoughts/philosophy, see this thread: Understanding Gnosticism; or, a quest for accurate knowledge
It's been my experience here that if I want to find out a person's general beliefs and character, looking at their post history is the best way to do that. Then you can choose to interact with them or decide not to attend to their contributions.

Originally posted by theubermensch
I worship Dagon the Assyro-Babylonian fertility god.

how do you worship that god ? do you pray or use rituals ?

reply to post by GreenEyedVixen

not divine, just powerful. they decide for example if a child gets run over by a car or a muderer gets away and lives a 100 years old. they decide if you lead a lucky life or die at birth. their ( i use plural because its not comparable to an individual) methods are things like: inspiring, timing, riding, driving, ideas and physical interventions. they are not visible to the naked eye.

reply to post by wildtimes


Well, I believe a lot of us, including myself, are changing our belief system as it seems it is becoming a more spiritual and psychic stage. I seen a lot of member's beliefs and views in their older posts but I just wanted to see if anything had changed or if the majority of us had become more spiritual over time.

And yes, I'd been lurking for years but never as much as I have been recently as I'd lacked the freedom of internet access.

Regardless, thank you for sharing your post. It is very similar to my own belief system, as I have no structured religion, but that doesn't make me more prone to harming others. And I believe it makes me less likely to judge others for their differing opinions.

I call myself a Christian agnostic.

I grew up in a Christian family. It's an integral part of who I am.

At the same time, I dislike organized religion. And I have no idea who, or what, God is. Currently I'm seeking for something Higher, but all my thoughts are nebulous at best.

See my sig.

I used to follow the tenets of Objectivism, the philosophy of Ayn Rand, but I got out of that. Later, I was a Libertarian, and got out of that. I was even involved in Christian Libertarianism. I was part of a "Jesus-Freak" group, but it devolved into a a cult calling itself the Great Commission International - got out. Later, I was a Seventh-Day Adventist, and got out of that. I went to a Southern Baptist church for years, but never joined. So, here I am today, not Catholic, not Orthodox, not Evangelical, not Protestant, not Charismatic, not Fundamentalist, but a Christian. I look to the book of Acts for my faith, well, the Gospels and Epistles too. Lately, I have been inspired by the primitive Celtic Christianity of pre-Augustinian Britain. Did you know that Rome was converted from Britain, not the other way around?!

I recently read the Tao Te Ching - what an amazing document! This old ex-Libertarian recognized a kindred spirit. It is not really a religious book.

reply to post by GreenEyedVixen


My Philosophy is almost identical to that of "Wildtimes". With time everything changes and I broaden my view of the cosmos and or God on a daily basis. Its an obsession really. Love feeling the closeness to the Source of everything. It just feels like home to me.

[self-snip]

reply to post by MamaJ

My Philosophy is almost identical to that of "Wildtimes". With time everything changes and I broaden my view of the cosmos and or God on a daily basis. Its an obsession really. Love feeling the closeness to the Source of everything. It just feels like home to me.

Cool! That makes two of us obsessed (for now) as well! I've felt that way since I was a pre-teen, actually....and as an adult I love finding things that unexpectedly support it!

Thank you for sharing everyone!

These are all very unique and some surprising aswell. I can say I have learned a bit from the posts already.

Hope to see some more!

reply to post by GreenEyedVixen


I'll tell you what I tell everyone who asks about my beliefs; I'm too old for imaginary friends. It's usually enough to stop anyone from trying to convert me or trying to "save" me.

That being said, I don't look down on anyone who subscribes to organized religion, I respect their right to do so and understand what it is they get out of it. I don't feel that I personally need any kind of faith and the opiate it brings to get through hardships in my life, and believe that history has shown organized religion to be a tool for those in power to control the masses.

My absence of faith is not for lack of trying, I come from a religious region and spent much of my adolescents traveling to different churches of various sects of Christianity trying to find one that would give me the faith that all the friend's I had growing up possessed. I left each one more confused than the other, unable to comprehend how these people blindly accepted these ideas without question. My analytical mind desired proof before it would be able to wrap itself around the idea of an all powerful creator, and unfortunately there was none to be had.

As for my personal philosophy, I tend to take a more laissez-faire, constitutional approach. I value personal freedoms for an individual to whatever is necessary to pursue life, liberty, and happiness above all as long as that individual's freedoms doesn't restrict those of another.

I have basically 4 theories:
-Continuation of other world religions :Baha'i,Mission of Maitreya
-Only One God and this is the final religion:Islam
-Existence/Absence of God is not central to salvation:Buddhism
-There is another ultimate God: (Gnosticism etc.)