What religions have you explored? (Buddhism, Jehovah's Witnesses, translation, hell)

[SmerkyGrl]

Someone posted earlier about how there's only Christian-based threads on this forum. I thought I might as well take the plunge. While I understand there are many on here who were born, raised, and are practicing 100% Christians, surely there are others like myself, who were born into a neutral household and taught to find our own path of spiritual enlightenment? Let's hear some stories, how you became interested, what your thoughts were about that religion, and why you left it (or are staying with it).

For myself, I was born into a typical Chinese Buddhist family. My grandparents worshipped our ancestors and prayed the Goddess of Mercy as well as Buddha. We ate vegetarian on the Buddha's birthday and other various Buddhist holidays (as required). Statues of Buddha and the Goddess of Mercy were in every room of our house and I have vivid memories of my grandmother kowtowing to them whenever she had a worry.

I tried practicing it but I did not find much of a....I don't know...connection? To me, it seemed all very unnecessary to kowtow three times and not to mention, some of the stories of Buddha and his followers seemed way confusing.

And then we moved to America, where the popular religion was Christianity. My first encounter with a religion other than mine was when Jehovah's Witnesses showed up at our door. My mother, not knowing better, started studying the New World Translation with them. They came every Saturday and eventually invited us to go to Kingdom Hall. They spoke well of God and the Bible and Jesus...but their ways seemed, like before, extremely unnecessary and cultlike to me. Not celebrating birthdays? Not celebrating Halloween? Their message was good but their ways were just not fitting for me. So I moved on.

For a while, I was researching other denominations of Christianity. It was during this time that I learned much about Christianity, its history, and read the Bible from beginning to end. It was then that I concluded while God may be out there, we humans sure as heck don't know what his plan is or what he's getting at. The Bible was written by humans, with thoughts dictated by God. But if humans can't even grasp all of what God is, how can they fully grasp what He wishes? The confusion was pretty obvious, given the many denominations Christianity has separated into ever since the days of the Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church. During this period of "soul searching", so to speak, I discovered two truths: One is that God may really be out there, so I don't reject him, and another is that there are some pretty wild ways of interpreting the Bible out there.

And then I hit my rebellion phase. Ahhh the teenager years. It was cool to be different. I explored the religion of Wicca. Because I was neither Christian nor any other religion, I believe I went into it with a lot easier of a transition since I was not engrained with any "beliefs" such as Wicca is Witchcraft is the work of the Devil or anything of the such. I learned the Wicca is actually a very zen-like religion. It is very at one with nature, very peaceful. The "spells" that people whisper about (fearing a witch will turn them into a frog) are equivalent to prayers in Buddhism and Christianity. Like Christianity, Wiccans have their own hierarchy of priestesses and upper clergymen. I also learned how many things in Christianity, like the Christmas Tree, originally came from Wiccan roots. It was all very fascinating but I felt the "big picture" in Wicca was not in sync to what I believed in. Not to mention, since there are so few "real" practicing Wiccans, it was very difficult to obtain official and accurate information sometimes.

So that brings me back to who I am today. An agnostic. I believe in the existence of God, though "God" might not necessarily be masculine. "God" can be a she, an it, an he-she-it. Who knows. God can take active part in our lives or take no part at all and only watch and giggle as humans do stupid things and screw themselves over. I have experienced a few "coincidences" in my life that make me wonder if it was God's presence or if I was feeling particularly superstitious that day. One thing, however, I am sure about. And that is the God that created the universe is ultimately Good. My favorite quote is from Ghandi, and I somewhat share his sentiments: " I like your god, but I do not like your christians, they are so unlike your god."

[Azure]

hi
__This's my first time in this forum since ages! I was so busy with college stuff, but now I'M FREE! final exams 'almost' finished, and also my BS is on its way! :'( finally!
(as u know, happiness and sadness have one common thing: their peak is crying!)

__back2track, maybe I'm not the regular participant you're expecting, since I'm from the country that most people are either hate it till death, or fond of it! rarely you'll find neutrals. The country i'm talking about ladies and gentlemen is KSA (i.e. Saudi Arabia).

__I was born as Muslim (BTW, the 's' in 'Islam' & 'Muslim' is pronounced as 's' not 'z', for God's sake!!) in KSA,...then I moved to.. KSA.. till I relocated in.. KSA..! this means I didn't leave KSA my whole life! (for accuracy, except last week I went to Bahrain -a neighbor country- for an interview with General Electric.. the american company! isn't it a small world!).

__back2track -again-, I knew about Christianity & Judaism as the two other religions that were diverted from a true religion delivered by two prophets, for Jews, it was Moses(or Mosa) -peace be upon him-, and for Christians, was Jesus(or Isa) -peace be upon him-. Whereas the last messenger who came with Islam is Mohammad peace be upon him.

Let's not go in details, you can know more about Islam from IslamQA website.

__In my first grade at school, my closest friend was american, he was blond and looks different, but as kids we weren't noticing those silly things. (we notice it now, but I hope we don't give it a weight or attach it to some sort of stereotype) He was telling me about his Chiristian grandfather, who came to Saudi Arabia with them, but wasn't a Muslim, whereas the whole family are Muslims. Since then, I had the curiousity in knowing others' beliefs, and why do they believe it, and what its source. Fortunately, my family was open-minded and I was able to read some Christians booklets and to listen to a radio station that invites to Christianity. Needless to say them I'm still Muslim after all those readings, but still I realized that people are mainly different types:

1. Those who don't want to think about their belief, they just want to inherit what their parents told them. They either say "let every1 live with whatever they believe in" OR they say "we're the best, period".
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2. Those who search for the sake of knowledge, but don't dare to convert their belief even if they know a better belief.
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3. They know a better belief, but hate it, or blindly loyal to the 1st one, whatever it takes.
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4. They're not totally convinced with their current belief, and they search for what they think is the best, and convert to it. They likely say afterwards 'I was just born again', and I heared alot saying it, when they convert to other belief, whatever the previous or the new belief is, it's motional stuff i guess.

last but not least, those who say they don't believe in God, It's not likely they really mean it, cuz it's an inherent thing. If they don't believe in the God..(the one we refer to when we say OMG!) then they believe in a god represented by nature, sun, animal, temple...etc.

But If they say 'NO, we don't believe in the existance of a god', then simply they are confused with all different religions and prefer not to belief. it is not a belief in the unexistance, but rather not knowing the right answer yet. Before weeks, I heard a wild debate b\w Atheists and Christians on the radio. you probably heard about it.
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...phew! that was alot of typing! sorry 4being a chatterbox, but words were pulling each other out of my tongue... I mean fingers!
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Whatever your religion is, pray for me to succeed in getting the best career, we belief in Islam that prayers can always be helpful regardless of religion, since the God (the one in "OMG" phrase as we said earlier!) is the one who is prayed. However, If you don't belive in God, then just have a nice day!
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PS. I changed font colors so it doesnt look boring, not cuz im a girl! i'm a dude!

[Marks]

None, then God found me and saved me to the TRUTH! Jesus Christ is the end of faith for all those that believe.

[arguy1973]

Ive read alot about what different People believe, and other Religions, not becasue I have ANY doubts about Christianity, but becasue I was in bus ministry for a long time and when you knock on doors(go ahead and flame me-lol) you never know what the person answering believes.

[urbanlemur]

I was brought up Lutheran, then went to a baptist church in my late teens. I went to the catholic church for a few years, left and then joined the mormon church and stayed there for about 15 years. After I left them, I ended up in the best place anyone can be: in a personal relationship with Christ without any of the religious extras.

[Azure]

but still I realized that people are mainly different types

@arguy1973 and all

people, let's read together the word "mainly", once again.."maaaainly". I said mainly cuz there's other ppl ofcourse! im not saying holy stuff that should be correct 100%. let's keep that in mind.

[alicenevada]

I'm a Jehovah's Witness and always will be but I have explored every common religion in our area so that I am aware of their beliefs. Otherwise, I couldnt be 'fully equipped to accomplish my ministry', as the bible commands. I think it's very important to look into other religions so that you can confirm to yourself whether you are doing the right thing for you and your family.

[alicenevada]

Originally Posted by SmerkyGrl

. My favorite quote is from Ghandi, and I somewhat share his sentiments: " I like your god, but I do not like your christians, they are so unlike your god."

I ADORE this comment of Ghandi's. It's just so profound, isnt it?

[Teach07]

I was a JW, a Baptist and a Catholic (from birth to mid adulthood). I than began to search within and became more spiritual. I gave up all man made religions and searched for the truth in our teachers that have come before us, for we can learn something from all of them (Buddha, Jesus)...there is no such thing as seperations or superiority in the spiritual realm. As a result of leaving religions behind, my relationship with our Creator has been stronger than ever and knowing the deity of humans (which truly is the secret) has changed my life. I will never step foot to organized religion again.

[ADVentive]

I was raised unchurched in a family with many different religious influences, but I have always been a searcher. I have always been interested in what makes some people believe things so strongly while others believe something else so strongly. I have also always rejected the idea that there was one true religion that you must follow because I observed that most people tended to be the religion that their families were.

My father's side of the family is Jewish, but they are all now either reform or secular non-practicing Jews. I was exposed to Jewish holidays and bar mitzvahs and Jewish weddings and such with them, but was never brought up to believe in the religion. It was more of a cultural thing. As I got older, I tried to learn more about Judaism and I learned to read Hebrew and continued to practice certain cultural aspects of Judaism, but I never really believed in the religious part of it.

My mother grew up Baptist and her father was a Baptist minister. We would sometimes go to his church, but I found it to be scary as a child and hated going. My grandparents always wanted to push their religion on us and were always giving me Bibles and religious things for my birthday and such. I didn't like the pushiness, but I did start reading the Bible when I was in high school. I managed to get through Genesis, and also the Gospels, but that was as far as I could get. My grandparents told me that if you weren't "saved" that you would go to hell, but I just could not believe in a god that would punish people because they were born in a family or in a country where Christianity was not the preferred religion. I never felt any connection to Christianity, and because I found Christians to be pushy (I had other negative experiences with peers), I always felt a bit negative toward mainline Christianity.

My best friend is a Mormon, and I have learned a lot about her religion and found many things that I think make sense there. I have sometimes thought that if I was a Christian, I would be a Mormon. But, I really am not going to be a Christain. I really do not believe in the divinity of Jesus, and I definitely do not believe in the virgin birth or the resurrection. Nor do I believe that he performed miracles. Basically, I just think he was a moving preacher. So I won't be a Mormon.

My neighbor is a Messianic Jew, and I have found their beliefs to be interesting and to make sense in a way similar to how I found the Mormon beliefs. But again, I'm not going to be a Christian, so it won't work for me.

My mother had rebelled from Christianity herself and followed an Eastern religion called Sant-Mat. I studied this religion for a while in high school, and though I liked certain aspects of it, I always felt like it was a bit over my head and that there was something that I wasn't getting.

My step-father is what I call a devout atheist, to the point that he would say (privately) that God is a fairy-tale and anyone who believes in God is fooling themselves. I identify well with atheists because I am a scientist and they value scientific reasoning. I can say that I do not believe in a personal god, the kind who answers prayers or who intervenes in our individual lives at all. But I often feel that there is something greater than myself out there. I don't tend to call it "God" due to the social implications of that word, but I often feel that atheism doesn't totally represent my beliefs either. I also identify with agnostics who believe that it is unknowable.

In college I learned about and studied Paganism. I took a class and I read Drawing Down the Moon and StarHawk's The Spiral Dance. Many things about paganism resonated with me, and I felt that I really related to the idea of nature as "god" and that "god" doesn't have to be a "guy in the sky", or even a "guy" at all. But while I liked many of the ideas, I found the practice, as I saw it, to be too "new-agey" for me.

After college, I settled at a Unitarian Universalist church. I had heard some about it since high school, but hadn't really explored it. I really started learning about it my last year in college and went church-hopping, visiting several UU congregations and seeing how they were all a little different. I read about it online, and really liked it. I thought that I could find a UU congregation that suited me. After I moved, I intended to church-hop again to find a UU congregation in my new area that I liked, but I ended up liking the first one, and have been there ever since, so 7 years. It took me about 2 years before I decided to sign the membership book and become a real member. I am active in my UU fellowship, and I also still celebrate Jewish holidays secularly and culturally.