From whence does your current beliefs or non belief come from? (hell, churches)
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More precisely, how did you come to be where you are now? Were you raised in the same faith or non belief as you hold now?
If not, how have they changed, and why have they changed? What was the impetus for change and the path to the current status?
I grew up a nominal S Baptist. When getting more serious as a young adult raising a new family, I returned to that. For decades I was an every Sunday Christian, SS teacher, and at the last a deacon. Eventually the concept of hell and the church's rejection of evolution caused me to look elsewhere ( along with some other minor stuff ) . I went looking for "original Christianity" , and ended up attending, but never joining, an Eastern Orthodox church for about 2 years. That didnt fully work out, plus the church disbanded, so I started attending an Anglican church for about a year. We moved to another town, and I just didnt bother looking anymore in the new location. Eventually became more or less agnostic. That didnt really satisfy either, something felt like it was missing, so I turned to the one sure thing. Nature. Its indisputable. Through some twists and turns I have come to consider myself a nature mystic who believes in non duality, and who (sort of) uses Druidry as a way to ritualize and express my spirituality.
At this point ( 3-4 years in) I am at peace with my methodology towards growing spiritually. Nature exists, science teaches us that non duality is valid at the physical level ( we are all made of star stuff, as astronomers like to say), and I am exploring whether this physical Oneness is also experienceable at the spiritual level. What many teachers call non duality or Oneness, Awareness, satori, whatever.
Born and raised in the Society of Friends. Not many around where I live so it is more difficult and sometimes attend other and certainly help out other churches' charities.
I have always admired the Quakers. I have often wanted to attend an unprogrammed meeting, but have never had the chance. My daughter moved down the street from a meeting, but alas, it was in the covid lockdown and the meeting wasnt having in person services. I may have to go check and see what they are doing now.
I had the book the SoF sends out to inquirers, but I cant remember the name of it now. It was book size, not a pamphlet. Interestingly, the two Christian faiths I admire the most are polar opposites, the Eastern Orthodox church and the Quakers. I regard each of them as the most authentic and sincere sects out there. But when I attended the EO church, I discovered that the Quakers were one of the faiths the EO was banned from marrying. The EO is the most ritualized of churches, while unprogrammed Quakers are the most stripped down version. But both are simply concerned with their own spiritual growth and with meeting God rather than following a bunch of rules, and dont bother with trying to stick their nose into others business. And neither proselytize.
I have always admired the Quakers. I have often wanted to attend an unprogrammed meeting, but have never had the chance. My daughter moved down the street from a meeting, but alas, it was in the covid lockdown and the meeting wasnt having in person services. I may have to go check and see what they are doing now.
I had the book the SoF sends out to inquirers, but I cant remember the name of it now. It was book size, not a pamphlet. Interestingly, the two Christian faiths I admire the most are polar opposites, the Eastern Orthodox church and the Quakers. I regard each of them as the most authentic and sincere sects out there. But when I attended the EO church, I discovered that the Quakers were one of the faiths the EO was banned from marrying. The EO is the most ritualized of churches, while unprogrammed Quakers are the most stripped down version. But both are simply concerned with their own spiritual growth and with meeting God rather than following a bunch of rules, and dont bother with trying to stick their nose into others business. And neither proselytize.
That is sad that one group of Christians would forbid themselves from marrying any other group of humans. I am not perfect either...when my non-religious husband first asked me out on a date, I told him I would only go out on a date if we ever married and had kids that the kids would be raised as Quakers. So...some might take issue with that just the same. But I technically told him this before we started a relationship.
As far as books go, I like "A Quaker Book of Wisdom: Life Lessons In Simplicity, Service, And Common Sense" by Robert Lawrence Smith. There is no perfect book on any religious group I suppose, but that is a good place to start in my estimation if you are interested in Quakers.
This was one of the first websites I ever used . It’s a good source for learning about Quakers . It is also the first chat forum I ever participated in. He shut it down some years ago, it seems .
I left a fallen church at 17 years old and some years later I dabbled in the occult in writing astrology with gambling which did not have time to pan out, but I did come even in winnings and then my home got haunted by fallen angels. So I ran to Jesus and got saved, and He cleaned me and my home Glory to God ....... When you run to Jesus and demand your bread of life, which God will honor, as God will take persistence in faith.
How does life experiences lead you to Advaita style Hinduism ? Have you always embraced this belief or converted to it ?
The others that answered this way are atheist.
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