Favorite Parts

[TikiRocket]

For the religion you practice, what is your favorite part of it? What is your least favorite part?

(This can include moral practices, practices within the service/ritual, or just whatever it is about your faith that makes you feel good or bad.)  

[quietstorm 2]

I love the learning about GOD and his ways, instruction for my life.
I'm not real paticular about hugs from others, especially strangers Which could be something that I need as I did not grow up hugging.  

[rmcdra]

I like that I'm not a square peg being forced into a round hole per se.

I hate that I'm not a square peg being forced into a round hole per se.

I am a peg and my religion is the hole but the hole does not force you to a shape but forces you to be your shape.  

[VivoDePyre]

I enjoy that my religion, Christianity, accepts and encourages questioning of the scripture.  

[Semiremis]

Good question! I'm going to have to think about this one for a little.  

[Shadows-shine]

I love every thing about my religion, especially going to the temple. The only I have to complain about is the geographical bounderies they set for the wards in which we attend our services. If we move out of a designated area, we have to switch wards, but that's relatively small and nothing I complain about hardly.  

[starfishluvsu]

Great q! I would have to say learning about God and praying. Praying really lets the pressure float awaaaayyy  

[chessiejo]

i like the way mennonites are simple caring people, eager to help.

i like peacemaking too.

i don't much like the suffocating feeling that a really close community can give you sometimes, or all the emphasis on geneology.  

[xxEverBluexx]

I love my God, and being able to serve Him and learn about Him. I love how things make sense when you look at them through the scope of the Bible.

I don't really like having to talk to people. Witnessing is difficult for me.  

[Kosai Avonej]

I don't really know.. so many benefits to being Deist....  

[Jewpanesey]

I'd probably the say the humanitarian aspect, the idea that you ought to give what you can when you can to those in need.  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

I think the part I like best is the building of relationships with my deities, and sharing drinks with them in blot. I like feeling that connection, that bond, and feeling it strengthen.

What I dislike here is mostly related to other people... I don't like feeling so nervous about meeting other Heathens in case they turn out to be the really racist sort, or hate Loki or would frown at me for having outside beliefs and practices. And I hate that we know there was more, so much more lore, and it has all been lost. I'd love to read the story of when Loki and Odinn mixed their blood, for example.

With the other side of my faith, I like the freedom I have to essentially create my own practice. I love that there's so much there for me to discover and how I am slowly learning more about the gods I honour and the different ways I can practise. My favourite part is probably deciding something or forming some sort of belief or opinion or practise and then finding something, however small, on a website or in a book somewhere that's exactly the same.

On the other hand, I hate that I'm floundering around in the undergrowth. I know other people have walked a similar path, but from my perspective it's so overgrown I can't see it. I may as well be breaking an entirely new path. And that's frustrating, as sometimes I don't even know which direction I'm heading in. Occasionally I find something that I think might be a compass or a map or even a vague list of directions but more often than not, it's either irrelevant or a part of a crossroad I left behind already. I also hate that I have nothing against which to match my UPG. I'm working without a net and while that can be exhilarating in some senses, it also frustrates me and makes me nervous.  

[TikiRocket]

3nodding Loving some of these answers. Would love-love-love more depthful answers (Sanguina Cruenta's was wonderful!)

Personally:

I kinda figured out when I was in middle school that relying on adults for answers to hard questions was no longer feasible, so I had to rely on myself to figure out how to deal. For a little while, when I was studying Wicca, I had teachers I could talk to when seeking answers -- but even that fell through (my teachers, being human, had their own problems, and those were starting to show through).

What I like about my beliefs is that I know how to look for answers that people stopped providing me a long time ago. At the same time, this can be really frustrating; I don't always have it in me to sit down, shut up, and tune in to whatever it is I'm looking for. I get impatient.

I also really love those times where life is going along as it does and I have one of those moments where I'm completely there, taking in the wonder of the moment. It might be indoors or outdoors, with friends or alone. For just a moment, everything is really perfect precisely as it is. It's a sort of "One with the Universe" thing. I don't know if that's necessarily a religious thing or a scientific thing or if it can be both ( sweatdrop I believe in science just as much as I believe in a greater power, and I do not believe this makes me a hypocrite). There have been people with sharp scientific minds who speak of things like this, so I don't think it's exclusive to people who believe in God/dess/ the Universe At Large.

I don't like feeling so lost, sometimes. There are days where I just don't know where to go next, or where my ideas feel kinda half-baked and like I'm just avoiding committing to anything. I don't WANT to commit to a specific religion because I think organized religion is a tool originally intended to guide people morally and spiritually but has been corrupted into something to control the weak-minded. I'd rather follow along with what feels right to me, but some days I have a hard time finding what "right" is -- nothing is quite that black-and-white. I'm usually okay with that, but some days the moral compass just spins and spins with no signs of settling.  

[Boudica Celtic Queen]

What I like about my religion (Quaker) is the simple belief that God is in all things. I like the fact that, because of that belief of our natural closeness with God, we don't use ministers to preach in meetings and we can pray straight to God. Growing up, I didn't know a lot. I knew that my mom was a lifelong Quaker and she did tell us some things. She always maintained membership for us in her home meeting house in the Eastern Shore. We knew its rich history as being the oldest meeting house. I started reading books to learn more about the history. It's really not all that complicated of a church. Belief in simplicity, belief in the light of God being in all things including animals, plants, a simple stone. I like the fact that traditional services are done in silence with only those that feel the inspiration get up and speak. It is time to commune silently with God as a community - sermons aren't necessary. The meeting is opened and closed by the Clerk of the Elders. My parents were married in a Quaker ceremony (dad was a non-practicing Catholic). No minister is used for this either as we don't believe a mediary is necessary for marriage. Vows are written by the couple. After a moment of silence, the groom stands frst speaks his vows, then his bride does the same. Vows are said before God with people as witnesses. All who are in the meeting house sign the certificate as witnesses. My parents' marriage certificate is large and my dad had it framed after mom's death. I like the fact that we have a strong history as peace-loving people and conscientious objectors. Quakers were large supporters of the Underground Railroad. Not to say all Quakers didn't own slaves or didn't have a perfect view of the world, but in general, the Quaker view was (and is) one of acceptance of fellow humans.

Some meeting houses have adopted a more guided approach to meetings, but I prefer the traditional. Although I am grateful we don't dress like they used to and don't say "thee" and "thou" anymore...lol

I think that the basic beliefs of my church are the basis of the connection I feel with the Native American, Zen Buddhist, and beliefs of indigenous peoples as they practice the similar tenets of the creator in all things.

P.S. Obama sends his kids to the Sidwell Friends School which is a Quaker school. Totally awesome!!