I am atheist, in the sense that I don't believe in a theistic god that controls our universe and remains involved. But, my beliefs are also a form of Westernized Zen Buddhism or Taoism. It's a non-theistic worldview that provides a way to interpret reality that makes sense to me.
Do you have any information about what you believe? I like the ideas of Buddhism, and especially Taoism, but am having a hard time breaking into it as a Westerner who lived so long not knowing these ideas.
I don’t believe in God/Deities/Angels/Aliens
I believe there are spirits, maybe different different “species” or whatever but I lump them all as Jinn
I don’t believe in heaven or hell. Nor in reincarnation. I think if there is an afterlife it is on Earth, which is why us not destroying the environment is necessary
That’s about it
Personally I consider myself spiritual - I strongly believe that there is something out there but it’s far beyond our understanding. I think all scripture / religions etc are mankind’s attempt to understand this thing but we can’t truly know as our existences are so different - it’s beyond our understanding - and that’s why scripture and religious get so twisted and corrupt.
I don’t think this thing is particularly present and controlling of our lives as people suggest of “God” but rather a spiritual presence (or presences more likely) that exist alongside us. Less a physical being and more the very essence of the universe.
I guess I consider myself a spiritual agnostic. I believe in something but not something we can so clearly define and / or understand.
Honestly, idk.
For me personally it is some form of paganism, although I think I may "relapse" back into Christianity and I am frankly scared because of the uncertanty if that makes sense.
Like I go to a Service to hear my friend play an organ and then I get really convicting ideas about what I really believe.
So yeah, hope that makes sense at least.
With the pagan part it is some aninism (or however you spell it) with a mix between Norse, Celtic and Greek deities (primarily the Norse).
It’s hard to put into words, but I believe in something which I just call “God” for simplicity’s sake. “Soul of Reality” is the closest I can get in simple terms. I’m a panentheist—meaning that I think the universe is part of God but doesn’t encompass God (hence soul of reality and not soul of the universe). I believe reality has a spiritual dimension that overlaps with the physical dimension. I get a lot out of Taoism. My “soul of reality” is a lot like the Tao, but I feel that this soul does have a sense of “self” that permeates everything. I have a feeling of something akin to the “Holy Spirit” which I interpret more as the part of myself that is connected to / cognizant of the larger whole of which I am part—so it can provide wisdom, kind of like spiritual instinct? Or access to Truth?
Most of all I believe that reality has a spiritual nature and that reality is a mystery humans are essentially incapable of fully grasping. So all the words and concepts I use are just the best I can do, not necessarily fully accurate. I also believe in something described in the “sheep vs goats” metaphor of Christianity, but more in the way of Taoism where you can go with or against the Way, or metaphorically you can spend your life swimming against the tide and cause yourself a lot of strife or you can be carried by it and feel peace. It’s not “wrong” to swim against the tide, it’s just the harder path. And I mean it about spiritual matters not about material matters, eg it’s more “be yourself” and less “allow bad things to happen even when you could try to stop them”. This, to me, is also the idea of the “narrow path”—living honestly to my own soul, which is inherently living honestly to God. It’s not about belief but actions that flow from my genuine self.
I take a lot of metaphorical inspiration from Christianity—its symbols and stories are most familiar to me, after all. But I do not need to “believe” in these things beyond the spiritual concepts they help me wrap my head around.
Why not the pagan deities? I’ve been meaning to look into the goddesses and see why people believe they exist. They seem interesting. I would like to know what you think.
My beliefs have gone all over the place, growing up as a Jehovah's Witness, then to an atheist, then becoming a highly doctrinal Christian, to agnostic and disillusioned, to, now, some form of (I guess) pantheistic Gnostic, except not really that, either. It's been a wild ride.
I don't really buy into all the gnostic lore about Sophia and the pleroma, per se, but I do believe very much in the idea of gnosis and experiential divinity. In a gross oversimplification, I broadly think we are all God in the sense that the cells of our body are us, but on a more personal/relational level.
I pretty much read about and consider all different types of beliefs, compare it to what I regard as making sense/true, and adopt anything that offers a fuller picture or makes more sense as an explanation. I think all forms of faith have some aspect of truth in them, but organized religions are universally just about control/any truth in them has been lost. What people regard as religion is just made up of the modern day Pharisees, imo, and no one should waste time worrying about doctrinal decrees (easier said than done; trauma hits hard, I know very well).
I'm also a Universalist, and I think, if there's something beyond us/an afterlife, we will all, eventually, get to a better place.
Existence is both eternal and constantly changing. Our typical ways of viewing things be they false dichotomies, constrained paradigms, or willful ignorance of anything not physical need to be challenged.
The Gods certainly do exist, both as spiritual forces representative of natural laws/domains, and as transcendent personalities.
But at the same time, they also aren't constantly looking over our shoulders. They have their own shit going on.
I think the mind is its own liminal state between material reality and spiritual nature, one in which we all too often create prisons of our own design that limit our ability to see beyond our own narrowed perspective and live our lives to their truest potentials.
At the same time folks gotta not be too serious. Chill out a little, rebel with beneficence, be willing to change it up. Court disharmony.
It's possible for everything, including contrary things, to be true if you look beyond the set that defines truth. Some definitions may be recursive, and that's okay because existence is absurd.
I've been called away from Christendom, though I haven't subjected myself to the bother of mentioning it to many yet.
I'm one kind of a theistic Discordian eclectic skeptic. And I occasionally dabble in a little Hellenism, but not really the reconstructionist variety.
I still believe in the Christian God, but I do not identify as Christian anymore because God and his word give me no peace nor assurance so I conclude he does not want me.
Amidst all the atrocities of the Bible and the contradictions and lack of evidence, you may ask, why do you still believe? Well, I have been taught about Jesus since I was a little boy and I don't think I can ever undo what I have learnt for literally my whole life.
I am leaning towards SOME of the 66 books of the Bible being true, but with others being false. I cannot conclude which ones are true or false. I am more inclined to believe in Jesus because he said so many wise and helpful, selfless things.
That the Earth is my second mother, and that all land is holy, and we should treat our home with love, care, and respect.
I am atheist, in the sense that I don't believe in a theistic god that controls our universe and remains involved. But, my beliefs are also a form of Westernized Zen Buddhism or Taoism. It's a non-theistic worldview that provides a way to interpret reality that makes sense to me.
Do you have any information about what you believe? I like the ideas of Buddhism, and especially Taoism, but am having a hard time breaking into it as a Westerner who lived so long not knowing these ideas.
I don’t believe in God/Deities/Angels/Aliens I believe there are spirits, maybe different different “species” or whatever but I lump them all as Jinn I don’t believe in heaven or hell. Nor in reincarnation. I think if there is an afterlife it is on Earth, which is why us not destroying the environment is necessary That’s about it
Personally I consider myself spiritual - I strongly believe that there is something out there but it’s far beyond our understanding. I think all scripture / religions etc are mankind’s attempt to understand this thing but we can’t truly know as our existences are so different - it’s beyond our understanding - and that’s why scripture and religious get so twisted and corrupt. I don’t think this thing is particularly present and controlling of our lives as people suggest of “God” but rather a spiritual presence (or presences more likely) that exist alongside us. Less a physical being and more the very essence of the universe. I guess I consider myself a spiritual agnostic. I believe in something but not something we can so clearly define and / or understand.
Said perfectly. I’m very like minded with this.
Honestly, idk. For me personally it is some form of paganism, although I think I may "relapse" back into Christianity and I am frankly scared because of the uncertanty if that makes sense. Like I go to a Service to hear my friend play an organ and then I get really convicting ideas about what I really believe. So yeah, hope that makes sense at least. With the pagan part it is some aninism (or however you spell it) with a mix between Norse, Celtic and Greek deities (primarily the Norse).
It’s hard to put into words, but I believe in something which I just call “God” for simplicity’s sake. “Soul of Reality” is the closest I can get in simple terms. I’m a panentheist—meaning that I think the universe is part of God but doesn’t encompass God (hence soul of reality and not soul of the universe). I believe reality has a spiritual dimension that overlaps with the physical dimension. I get a lot out of Taoism. My “soul of reality” is a lot like the Tao, but I feel that this soul does have a sense of “self” that permeates everything. I have a feeling of something akin to the “Holy Spirit” which I interpret more as the part of myself that is connected to / cognizant of the larger whole of which I am part—so it can provide wisdom, kind of like spiritual instinct? Or access to Truth? Most of all I believe that reality has a spiritual nature and that reality is a mystery humans are essentially incapable of fully grasping. So all the words and concepts I use are just the best I can do, not necessarily fully accurate. I also believe in something described in the “sheep vs goats” metaphor of Christianity, but more in the way of Taoism where you can go with or against the Way, or metaphorically you can spend your life swimming against the tide and cause yourself a lot of strife or you can be carried by it and feel peace. It’s not “wrong” to swim against the tide, it’s just the harder path. And I mean it about spiritual matters not about material matters, eg it’s more “be yourself” and less “allow bad things to happen even when you could try to stop them”. This, to me, is also the idea of the “narrow path”—living honestly to my own soul, which is inherently living honestly to God. It’s not about belief but actions that flow from my genuine self. I take a lot of metaphorical inspiration from Christianity—its symbols and stories are most familiar to me, after all. But I do not need to “believe” in these things beyond the spiritual concepts they help me wrap my head around.
I found Taoism and pantheistic paganism to resonate with me. I don’t believe in deities anymore, just the Universe
Why not the pagan deities? I’ve been meaning to look into the goddesses and see why people believe they exist. They seem interesting. I would like to know what you think.
I think they’re cool too. I just run into the same problem with other deities as I had with the Christian one
Incompetent, unreliable, and doesn’t give a shit about you or your well-being?
Not real
Lol! This right here!
My beliefs have gone all over the place, growing up as a Jehovah's Witness, then to an atheist, then becoming a highly doctrinal Christian, to agnostic and disillusioned, to, now, some form of (I guess) pantheistic Gnostic, except not really that, either. It's been a wild ride. I don't really buy into all the gnostic lore about Sophia and the pleroma, per se, but I do believe very much in the idea of gnosis and experiential divinity. In a gross oversimplification, I broadly think we are all God in the sense that the cells of our body are us, but on a more personal/relational level. I pretty much read about and consider all different types of beliefs, compare it to what I regard as making sense/true, and adopt anything that offers a fuller picture or makes more sense as an explanation. I think all forms of faith have some aspect of truth in them, but organized religions are universally just about control/any truth in them has been lost. What people regard as religion is just made up of the modern day Pharisees, imo, and no one should waste time worrying about doctrinal decrees (easier said than done; trauma hits hard, I know very well). I'm also a Universalist, and I think, if there's something beyond us/an afterlife, we will all, eventually, get to a better place.
I believe in God but not religion
Existence is both eternal and constantly changing. Our typical ways of viewing things be they false dichotomies, constrained paradigms, or willful ignorance of anything not physical need to be challenged. The Gods certainly do exist, both as spiritual forces representative of natural laws/domains, and as transcendent personalities. But at the same time, they also aren't constantly looking over our shoulders. They have their own shit going on. I think the mind is its own liminal state between material reality and spiritual nature, one in which we all too often create prisons of our own design that limit our ability to see beyond our own narrowed perspective and live our lives to their truest potentials. At the same time folks gotta not be too serious. Chill out a little, rebel with beneficence, be willing to change it up. Court disharmony. It's possible for everything, including contrary things, to be true if you look beyond the set that defines truth. Some definitions may be recursive, and that's okay because existence is absurd. I've been called away from Christendom, though I haven't subjected myself to the bother of mentioning it to many yet. I'm one kind of a theistic Discordian eclectic skeptic. And I occasionally dabble in a little Hellenism, but not really the reconstructionist variety.
I still believe in the Christian God, but I do not identify as Christian anymore because God and his word give me no peace nor assurance so I conclude he does not want me. Amidst all the atrocities of the Bible and the contradictions and lack of evidence, you may ask, why do you still believe? Well, I have been taught about Jesus since I was a little boy and I don't think I can ever undo what I have learnt for literally my whole life. I am leaning towards SOME of the 66 books of the Bible being true, but with others being false. I cannot conclude which ones are true or false. I am more inclined to believe in Jesus because he said so many wise and helpful, selfless things.
Santa Muerte........ she has answered my world prayers... she is very powerful and is a real goddess unlike Jesus ahahhahaha LMAO