What is your religion and how did you decide it was the right religion for you? Do you believe all the teachings of your faith or do you struggle with some of them?

That's me in the corner, that's me in the spotlight, losing my religion...

It made the most sense to me in the actual world and touched me deep inside and when I know I failed to live up to it I feel sad inside

I was raised in a strict puritan house of bible worship and old timey Christian devotion.

Ironically, DUE to detailed study of the scriptures coupled with knowledge of modern concepts that my elders were never exposed to...by the time I was 15 I believed in a universal spirit more than a divine being.

I have grown in that belief to feel that all religions are representations of a universal energy as they were perceived, described and passed down through ages of fearful and naïve generations of uneducated leaders. In other words, they wrote the only explanations they could fathom with what little understanding of the world they had at the time. Perspective is everything in what we believe we know.

So in a way I believe in most every religious moral standard as having captured the basic universal knowledge for universal peace and harmony, but not the deity they credit creation, existence and knowledge WITH.

my religion is Christian, I don't prescribe to a specific Christian denomination as I believe they all teach from the same bible


technically, I was 'raised' in the Baptist church

I struggle with understanding all the things of the BIble, which is why I continue to study

but I believe it all to be the truth

I can relate to this. I was raised Lutheran, and was quite devout for several years. However, having read the Bible extensively along with quite a bit of analysis, and having several friends and others close to me who followed different faith paths, I branched out and studied religion in the wider sense. I also took a comparative religions course in college that gave me the tools to see where the commonalities and the differences between faiths are found and the historical progression of ideas between them as they had contact with each other over the millennia. And I realized that I simply could not accept the idea of personal salvation vs damnation on the basis of one's belief or disbelief in a particular narrative. It just felt wrong to me, at the level of heart and soul.

I explored other faiths, read some more, and asked God (as understood said entity) a great many questions. Now, I've had direct spiritual experiences, bidirectional conversations with the Divine, throughout my life. (No, this element of my story is not open for debate because it is a personal and subjective experience. Thank you.) I can distill the answers I received down to one basic formula: No one religion has a monopoly on truth or on God, in any form. The Divine is far too enormous to be contained in any man-made box, but is willing to interact with us through nearly any medium we as mortals find useful, and will wear the masks we make for Him/Her/It/Them -- within reason -- if that's what it takes to facilitate that interaction. We are, in essence, one with that same pool of energy that fuels and forms the Divine entity itself, and as long as we can find ways to love and respect each other, we are doing things right.

I found the Unitarian Universalist faith to be a perfect fit for me, because their beliefs and teachings match up exactly with what I learned in my own search. I joined that church, and am at home there -- so much so that I am considering the possibility of pursuing a seminary degree. Granted, that's something that has percolated in the back of my mind since my teen years, although now rather than doing so in a Lutheran seminary I would attend a Unitarian-Universalist one if I were to indeed take that plunge.

I'm a Seventh Day Adventist....I like their style.

Christian......I don't really align with a particular denomination (that childish separation of the Church is hogwash IMO).

I believe in all teachings of Christianity but struggling with them is an entirely different story. Some of them are daily battles.

I don't affiliate myself with any one religion not even atheism.

I'm a MoonsDragonLionWolf known as Lunar.
I'll only bow to the moon and Luna.

Raised in a Christian home. Could not understand sunday worship. searched why the verse ( The Same yesterday, today and tomorrow) was not practice and found Yahwists others a lot of the time call us The Holy Name Movement

Thanks, everyone! I'm always interested in what other people believe spiritually, how they came to those beliefs and how they live those beliefs.

Are you struggling with believing them or living them? All Christians struggle with living the teachings. But I left Catholicism completely because I couldn't accept many of the teachings as true.

I'm not sure what you mean by their style. Does this mean their interpretation of Christianity rings true for you?

I call myself Pagan and practice honoring the Divine (God/Creator/Universal Life Force) through many of the ancient gods. I believe each of these gods was created by man in order to interact with them in a way humans could comprehend. The technique works well for me and I feel a strong connection to the Divine through my chosen gods.

I agree with Cynderella in that I believe religions evolve (or they should) as man has evolved and our understanding of the universe expands. It can be difficult because people want to hold on to what they know and what they are comfortable with. No matter how much it's not working anymore.

I believe religion is a very important part of the human experience. Thank you for sharing your beliefs with me.

I studied, Buddhism, Islam, Plato, Krishna, Mormanism, New Age, philosophies and philosophers but Christianity was the one that gave me the true answers. Religion is like a horse race, you can bet on whatever horse is in the race, but after researching all the horses in the race, the history, health and breed, I am putting all my money on Christianity to win. For whatever horse you put your money on and why, the stakes are high. In the end it's your money i.e. life, just let me give you a good betting tip, don't bet on a horse, just because it's new or because it's got a nice coat

I agree religion/beliefs evolve. That my belief is that it is for all time but what is the spirit of it in any time or place.

What do you mean by
"No matter how much it's not working anymore."

So you are a Christian because you are afraid you will go to Hell otherwise?

(I'm not attacking your reasoning, just interested in understanding it.)

Not working anymore for the individual who claims the religion. Many people practice (or at least follow) the religion they grew up with. Not because it provides them with any spiritual fulfillment or because it is true for them, but simply because its what they've always been. I don't think this statement is true for most folks who post regularly in the religion forums, however.

William, I'm almost 100% sure that only those who love God (the Christian God) with all their heart, all their soul and all thei mind will go to Heaven. I don't think "betting" on it like a horse race qualifies. It's supposed to be a free choice you make out of love for God and that love makes all the sacrifice here on earth worth it.

I am catholic, raised episcopalian in a quaker community. my ancesttors on my father's side were german baptists from an amish community (I am from Pennsylvania)

many years ago I began to incorporate some concepts from eastern religious thought into my idea. I am not very religious. Stricly a new testament christian, I am interested only in the practical teachings of Christ and the Buddha & incorporating that into my own life.

I am not interested in man's laws as it relates to religion

I do nt worry about understanding intangibles. I understand them as ideas come to me over time.

I am very happy in my religious practice. It is not a struggle. It amuses me when others argue about religion :)

Small world. My family are Dunkard. Why did your OGBB live in an Amish community? Do the Baptists and Anabaptists commune together in Pennsylvania? Hey...we could run the Mingle bake sale together.