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I was raised by my mothers side of the family, as a Baptist Christian. Then as a young child after my father gained custody of me I was raised in a very strict Muslim household. As an adult I grew more & more confused with religion as a whole & began separating myself from it. But there is no doubt in my mind that there is a God. Because of feeling unfulfilled spiritually as a young adult, I began researching & experimenting with different religions until one felt real, natural and like the ultimate truth. Anytime I would get close to that feeling something would be off to me. Like Id question or disapprove of some ideals or ethics of that certain religion. After much frustration I would seek council from different religious/spiritual leaders & they would tell me that "Im letting my mind lead my spirituality & instead I should use my heart." Perhaps this is true but I just want the truth & I want to understand the truth. With all of the different religions in the world, how do we know which is the truth? How do we put so much trust in the prophets to tell the whole truth?
I do believe in God 100% & that God is the creator of all & He is everywhere. I believe Him to be faceless & bodyless. I believe that He is pure spirit. I believe that if I believe in Him, live life righteously w/ love, compassion & live as His servant I may enter the kingdom of heaven, whatever that may be. I also believe that after this life, we will all be taken aback at how wrong we all were about Him. Religion confuses me. I mean no disrespect to any religions. Im just lost. What does this sound like? Please help me understand.
Last edited by Leahsantiaga; 09-18-2016 at 09:57 AM..
Why do you require a label for your beliefs? You stated them quite elegantly:
Quote:
I do believe in God 100% & that God is the creator of all & He is everywhere. I believe Him to be faceless & bodyless. I believe that He is pure spirit. I believe that if I believe in Him, live life righteously w/ love, compassion & live as His servant I may enter the kingdom of heaven, whatever that may be.
If you need to call yourself something that feels accurate, try "Believer."
If you absolutely must give yourself a label, deist or theist will do. You might also check out unitarian/universalism, pantheism, vedanta, yoga, or zen buddhism to see if any of those ideas appeal to you and you want some kind of community with like-minded folks.
I'd be careful of the word "believer", because in some contexts, your listeners might assume that you believe in what they believe in.
Im just lost. What does this sound like? Please help me understand.
It's your personal spiritual journey. Follow what resonates with you and forget the rest.
Since it's your personal journey there is no need to prove or explain what you personally believe to anyone unless you want to.
Spiritual development is a lifetime journey. It will evolve as you grow and evolve. Your spiritual development will no doubt evolve the more you engage in deep personal introspection, self-reflection, exploration, education, all leading to increased wisdom and knowledge.
Walk the path that works for you. Keep in mind it's really no one's business either, unless you want it to be.
What does this sound like? Please help me understand.
We used to say "Seeker," and that probably applies well if you want a "label." Just a notion, but Religioustolerance.org gives some fair descriptions of a wide range of religions which might serve as basis for further investigation. Belief-o-matic has a quiz to determine what you might want to look into, but considering your background in Islam, you might want to read My Neighbor's Faith: Belief-O-Matic and Me | Huffington Post before taking it.
I do feel that it is appropriate to find a faith tradition that works for you and the community involved with that.
If you absolutely must give yourself a label, deist or theist will do. You might also check out unitarian/universalism, pantheism, vedanta, yoga, or zen buddhism to see if any of those ideas appeal to you and you want some kind of community with like-minded folks.
I'd be careful of the word "believer", because in some contexts, your listeners might assume that you believe in what they believe in.
Ditto. Very good. They WILL presume OP shares THEIR faith. That's human.
We used to say "Seeker," and that probably applies well if you want a "label." Just a notion, but Religioustolerance.org gives some fair descriptions of a wide range of religions which might serve as basis for further investigation. Belief-o-matic has a quiz to determine what you might want to look into, but considering your background in Islam, you might want to read My Neighbor's Faith: Belief-O-Matic and Me | Huffington Post before taking it.
I do feel that it is appropriate to find a faith tradition that works for you and the community involved with that.
Seeker is a Self that seeks the truth. By no means is it a theist or deist. As there is no god in humane meaning. This is the truth.
I was raised by my mothers side of the family, as a Baptist Christian. Then as a young child after my father gained custody of me I was raised in a very strict Muslim household. As an adult I grew more & more confused with religion as a whole & began separating myself from it. But there is no doubt in my mind that there is a God. Because of feeling unfulfilled spiritually as a young adult, I began researching & experimenting with different religions until one felt real, natural and like the ultimate truth. Anytime I would get close to that feeling something would be off to me. Like Id question or disapprove of some ideals or ethics of that certain religion. After much frustration I would seek council from different religious/spiritual leaders & they would tell me that "Im letting my mind lead my spirituality & instead I should use my heart." Perhaps this is true but I just want the truth & I want to understand the truth. With all of the different religions in the world, how do we know which is the truth? How do we put so much trust in the prophets to tell the whole truth?
I do believe in God 100% & that God is the creator of all & He is everywhere. I believe Him to be faceless & bodyless. I believe that He is pure spirit. I believe that if I believe in Him, live life righteously w/ love, compassion & live as His servant I may enter the kingdom of heaven, whatever that may be. I also believe that after this life, we will all be taken aback at how wrong we all were about Him. Religion confuses me. I mean no disrespect to any religions. Im just lost. What does this sound like? Please help me understand.
I've been going with the label of "heathen" lately. It works for me.
a person who does not belong to a widely held religion (especially one who is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim) as regarded by those who do.
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