Welcome to Gaia! ::

I guess that I'm wondering how you knew that the beliefs you're a part of were "right."

If you were raised that way, why did you stay a member of the religion?

If you weren't raised in the religion you currently are, how did you chose to become the religion that you are now?

Not that it's the correct religion, I meant how it feels like the right religion for you. :]

I can't truly say since my beliefs are a mix of different religions that I have come in contact with all my life. I tend to pick up things that make sense to me and add them into my life.

I think it's because my parents raised me with such an open mind that no one religion seemed to fit.

The Roman Catholic Church is that which Christ established. heart

I see your point!

From my understand of the Big Bang is that some space stuff exploded and created planets and such, but even so where did all that matter come from in the first place?
I believe through whatever means, we were created, we didn't just happen and I believe in a creator, God.

I guess it's just a feeling. I've dabbled in some other stuff, but nothing felt right. Although, learning stuff about other religions is still so interesting. The religion section of my Anthropology class my senior yes was my favorite. I wrote pretty much everything down. :]

Anyways, like I said, it was a feeling. I wasn't really raised any which way. My mom is a Methodist, although not too serious about it. She believes, I can tell, but she only goes so far to say she's Methodist. That's all you'll ever hear from her. My dad is an Atheist, and a hardcore one at that. His parents were Mormon, and they made him go, despite his wishes, so it's made him hate Christianity. I don't know that he hates religion, but definitely Christianity.

Anyways, I was one of those Atheists who didn't want to hear anything about Christianity and who just made fun of and called it all lies without even giving it the time of day. What changed me is the man I currently love (And no, he didn't threaten to leave me if I didn't believe, before anyone jumps to conclusions). Really, I could see his love for God, and seeing that I love him so much, I decided to look into it, being something he cared so much about. Well, we went to a concert, and basically, despite me saying in my head the whole time, I got this overwhelming feeling of love. I felt God. It was very amazing.

Oh sure, I have doubts. But when I get these feelings, and God's overwhelming love goes through me, well, I just know.

That, and what some others have said. This world, life, everything. It is far too beautiful and complex, in my eyes, to have just happened, or to not have been specially designed.

I was a nominal Christian up until about age twelve, but never really believed in the Christian god and decided at that point to just drop the mask. Now, being twelve I thought the only alternative to religion was atheism, which I adopted for about two years before reading about agnosticism and what it entailed. That was really the case until I read The Satanic Bible a couple months ago and found that not only did I agree with pretty much everything in it, but that I also realized not only why the mystical element was contained in Satanism but what the actual base purpose of the mystical element for almost any religion out there was. So...now I'm a Satanist.

Being of an eclectic frame of mind, I find this question difficult to answer. My practices can vary and so can my beliefs. My religion is just the sum of these beliefs and practices. So why this religion? Because this is what works for me, and this is what I believe. That's really just it. I have to separate things out more to explain them properly.

Why am I a Heathen? not just because these gods call to me, because other gods do that too. It's mostly because this is the culture that works for me. It's the entire culture that I find a home in, not just the pantheon. Maybe this is ancestry, maybe the residual elements present in our own culture... I don't know. But it works for me far better than Hellenic culture (where the role of women is uncomfortable to me) and Kemetic culture (which at this stage is largely alien to me), which would have been the other directions I would have gone.
And largely because of Odinn, and Loki, because these gods have a huge influence on me. (I can't just say 'Loki' here, because I suspect not every Lokean is a Heathen wink )

Why am I a Hedgewitch? Well, essentially because I practise witchcraft and what one might call "shamanism" if one was groping for a word. But that's not... not really what hedgecraft is when you look at it. We don't use circles, but other witches who practise witchcraft and journey might do. Here, read this. (It was wonderful to actually find that.) I worship two deities that I link to this craft, but that's me doing the linking. Worship of Them is not intrinsic to hedgecraft. Other hedgewitches may worship different deities or no deities at all. In fact the latter is probably the most common.
At any rate, I went on a tangent and haven't explained why I am a hedgewitch. I am one because that term best describes the path I am following at present. This path is distinctly individual and personal, and I follow it because this is who I am.

Why am I a Pagan, generally? I suspect I always was one on some level. I know everyone always says that, but hey, maybe it's true wink I remember reading the Greek myths as a child and wishing wistfully that the gods were "still alive" and that people still worshipped them. I used to dream of those times and imagine how wonderful they must have been, where everyone worshipped someone different. Imagine my joy to discover that yes, they were still alive, and people still worshipped them. I've also been a nature-lover and a feminist since I was old enough to articulate these ideas, which was pretty damn young. I didn't know what feminism was, but I knew girls were every bit as good as boys and that I would do as I pleased, thank you.

So there you go.