Welcome to Gaia! ::

Some parts are dead... other parts are very much alive wink

^____^ Glad I could help. There are some Hellenics floating around Gaia here and there. Nuri's one, if you see her in M&R.

I knew my belief system was right for me....because it felt like coming home, as cheesy as it sounds xd I found my gods and learned a bit more about the hisotry and culture and it was like..."Why would I be anywhere but here?"

I chose my faith because it is what suits me; it feels right to me and with certain gods, I feel called. Being my faith has for the most part made me a better person (and I'll admit in other aspects has made me more severe-but that isn't necessarily bad).

I am a Quaker. In case of emergency, please be quiet.- Bumper Sticker

The following was written by a fellow Quaker and is a great explanation.

When I write about Quakerism, or act on my beliefs, you must know that all Quakers are not like me. We are not like the Catholic Church (no offense), with one central figure and doctrine; we are an international network of meetings with no true hierarchy. We are Christian based, drawing originally from the teachings of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, but Quakers do not focus on Christ as savior or redeemer. Quakers are seekers, and committed to an unfolding spiritual practice where the
Divine Truth is revealed through turning within, reflecting, and our “Faith and Practice” in action.

The five tenets of Quakerism:

Equality - there is that of God in Everyone
Simplicity
Peace/Nonviolence
Integrity/Honesty – seeking and speaking the Truth
Faith in Action



Equality, our belief in ‘that of God in everyone’ led early Quakers to oppose slavery and Quaker houses were safe havens on the Underground Railroad during slavery days. Levi Coffin rowed hundreds of escaping slaves across the Ohio River in the 1850s. My father’s grandparents had a hidden room behind a bookcase where fleeing slaves could hide.

That of God in everyone is often called ‘the Light Within.’ Early Quakers defied the church by saying no minister or priest was needed to connect to the Divine, and practiced silent worship in meeting houses, exactly the way it is still practiced today. Any member of the meeting could rise and speak, if s/he was so moved, and from the early days (1600s) there have been women prominent in the Quaker church as well as men.

Early Quakers were imprisoned, branded and persecuted for their belief in Equality.

Simplicity means that we should live simply that others may simply live. Be kind to the Earth, don’t use too many resources, give away what you don’t need, be moderate. Our worship is also very spare and simple. Our meeting houses are unadorned, because all the stained glass, incense and statues are unnecessary to connect to the divine.

Peace and Nonviolence have made us one of the Peace
Churches known throughout the world. Quakers refuse to fight in wars, and have served their country and humanity in other ways. Quakers helped rebuild Europe and Japan after WWII. We helped train Conscientious Objectors (C.O.) in WWII and the Vietnam War, and
continue this work today

During the Vietnam era, Quaker boys were drafted and practiced nonviolent opposition to the draft by going to jail or serving in non-combat roles.

Integrity/Honesty: Quakers are seekers, always looking within, trying to discern the will of God. Quakers don’t claim to own the Truth. And yet we try to practice it, by always telling the truth and seeking out the truth. American Indians had a positive relationship with the early Quakers during Colonial days. They refused to sign Treaties unless Quakers were there as witnesses to ensure that the Whites were
telling the truth. Quakers refused to break these treaties, and walked out of the legislature in Pennsylvania, rather than be a part of a legal body
whose majority voted to go to war against the Indians and break their treaties.

Faith in Action: Quakers believe in following the Light and speaking ‘Truth to Power,’ even going so far as to defy the law nonviolently if that is what our consciences demand from us. Quakers also believe in service to the community, charity and doing good deeds simply in everyday life. There are no sins to be forgiven on Sunday you simply must practice what you preach, and do your best. The challenge to modern Quakers is to speak Truth to Power now – to oppose the War in Iraq, and all U.S. military aggression, to resist in all sorts of ways, to be the little voice, the conscience of our nation, as we have been before.

In addition, since I am a Liberal Quaker:

Belief in Deity
Diverse beliefs, from belief in a personal God as an incorporeal spirit to questioning belief in a personal God.


• Incarnations
Beliefs vary from the literal to the symbolic belief in Jesus Christ as God's incarnation. Most believe we are all sons and daughters of God, with the main focus on experiencing and listening to God, the Light within, accessible to all.


• Origin of Universe and Life
Emphasis is placed on spiritual truths as revealed to each individual. Many believe that God created/controls all events/processes that modern scientists are uncovering about origins. Many believe in scientific accounts alone or don't profess to know.


• After Death
Few liberal Quakers believe in direct reward and punishment, heaven and hell, or second coming of Christ. The primary focus is nondogmatic: God is love, love is eternal, and our actions in life should reflect love for all of humanity.


• Why Evil?
Beliefs vary, as the focus is not on why, but how to eliminate wrongs, especially violence. Many believe that violence against another human is violence against God. Many Quakers believe that lack of awareness of God's divine Light within all may result in wrongdoing. Many believe that evil is simply an unfortunate part of human nature that we all must work to eliminate.


• Salvation
Beliefs are diverse, as dogma is de-emphasized. Most believe that all will be saved because God is good and forgiving, and the divine Light of God is available to all. Good works, especially social work and peace efforts, are viewed as integral to the salvation of humanity, regardless of belief or nonbelief in an afterlife.


• Undeserving Suffering
Liberal Quakers do not believe that Satan causes suffering. Some believe suffering is part of God's plan, will, or design, even if we don't immediately understand it. Some don't believe in any spiritual reasons for suffering. Quakers focus on reducing human suffering, especially that which is caused by social injustice or violence.


• Contemporary Issues
Views vary, some maintaining that abortion violates Quaker commitment to nonviolence, but some view the right to choose abortion as an aspect of equal rights for women and/or as a personal matter between the woman and God. The American Friends Service Committee (an independent Quaker organization with participants of many faiths, which provides international programs for economic and social justice, peace, humanitarian aid) supports the woman’s right to choose abortion according to her own conscience.

I am a Hindu and I believe in my religious views without 'bagging on' other religions. Certain aspects like reincarntaion and karma and the role of fate in our lives became reaffirmed in my mind through experiences.

I was raised a Hindu, still am being raised a Hindu and when I was old enough to really understand and question my religion, I found answers that made me want to stay a part of it. There's a certain unexplainable beauty to Hinduism that I can't explain but utterly love. Also, being a Hindu has so many cultural aspects to it as well as religious; it's a way of life. Although I am not a, let's say, devout Orthodox Hindu, I stick to my religions morals, guidelines and rituals not because I have to but because I want to. I wouldn't change for the world.

Concerning the Creationism/Evolution debate, I believe in evolution but there's a powerful part of us that simply could not have come from a amoeba- our souls. In my opinion there is definately a higher power in the Universe but we also have more control over our destinies that we think.

Make of me what you will smile

I was raised Roman Catholic, but, as a result of what was later diagnosed as bi-polar and then later diagnosed as chronic depression, in my high school years I entered a time of "silent atheism" in which I attended mass and even received Eucharist but believed the Church to be nothing more than a beautiful lie which I let myself slip into like a common daydream. Also at this time I made myself aware of other religions (theology always being an interest of mine) and studied their concepts often. Near the end of my "silent atheism" God was finally made clear to me as a fact exempt of denial, but he remained nothing more than a fact, a fact which haunted me. I quickly grew angry at this God whom, in my pride, I felt had cheated me and reduced my being to nothing more than a marionette. I attempted suicide twice during this year of my life, and I have the scars still to prove it. God's grace saved me, and I slowly began to shatter my views of existence and all which I had believed myself to be. I began to search for Him, in a form which I could love, but always he brought me back to the Church. Frustrated, at last I immersed myself into all knowledge which I could find of the theology of the Church. At last, my pride was murdered, my misconceptions and knowing of that which was not God were lost, and I fell in love with the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. Since then, I have continued to study and have joined the third order of the Carmelites. Now, I am even discerning a call to the Catholic priesthood. In spite of all, my eyes remain open and the beliefs of others still intrigue me, but I have every doubt that any will replace Roman Catholicism in my heart.

Oh, no worries. This is a religious TOLERANCE guild, so luckily, people don't automatically assume, or else they're not as 'tolerant' as they'd claim to be.