Welcome to Gaia! ::

Sorry I forgot a lot confused well , just put other if its not there
once again i apologize

You should check the introduction and the Belief-O-Matic thread.

Deist, proud of it too. Although my views of things are derieved from other things.. I don't know if Deism is the word for it but it's a start.

I am a Gnostic. Gnosticism is a heretical sect of early Christianity. It differs from mainstream Christianity in two big ways: we have a different creation story that makes a distinction between the True God talked of in the New Testament and a lesser being that is the Creator in the Old Testament and salvation is obtained by gnosis rather than faith. Gnosis is Greek word meaning experiential knowledge, in this context the experiential knowledge would be that of God. An example of gnosis would be a religious experience. Another example would be the knowledge that those canonized as Saints possess since they are believed to have had direct experience with God.

Reconstructionist Jew, a break-off sect of Reform Judaism. We follow the tenet of Tikkun Olam in a different way than the rest of Judaism. Instead of waiting for the messiah to come fix the world, we believe it is humanity's duty to fix the world, as we do not believe in god or the messiah. We are essentially cultural Jews that are, in belief, secular humanists. We are also anti-Zionist.

I consider myself less religious and more spiritual. Religion is a great tool for people who need the ritual of, for example, going to church on a Sunday morning to remind them of the importance of God in their lives. However, religion often makes people feel like they are entitled to tell other people how to live their lives simply because their religion has a prescribed set of beliefs.

Christians are not the only ones who do this, though they're the loud US majority. Pagans are just as guilty, and it's ugly no matter which side of the line you're on. I think a lot of this stems from reaction to their own Christian upbringing ( whee 'cause let's face it, a LOT of them were born Christian). Rather than make peace with what they once were, they remember all the parts they didn't like about it -- the parts that made them feel rejected and unworthy -- and they use that as a sort of empowerment within their own beliefs. Really, that goes for anyone who converts from one faith to another. Some people don't feel angry about it, but a lot of people do.

I can understand that kind of hurt, though. Gay kids being told God doesn't love them because they happen to find someone of the same sex attractive, or because they've genuinely fallen in love with someone whose genitalia matches their own, has got to be painful. Personally, I don't accept that God would turn his back on someone because they fell in love. I also don't think souls have a sex, which to my mind renders the argument pointless. Love is love is love.

Uhmn.... Back on topic.

Meditating is a powerful practice, and I do that. From what I've heard described of prayer done by spiritually powerful Christians, it's basically the same thing.

I believe there's spiritual power in establishing a sacred space -- also a function of multiple religions.

I believe "God/dess" is a face for whatever holds the universe together, something humans can process. It may be purely psychological -- a person may only be able to come to terms with certain things or with their own inner voice/truths by ascribing a godhead to it -- but I don't think that makes it any less powerful.

I believe in a universal life force -- Qi, Chi, Ki, mana, whatever -- that flows through everything. I don't think this goes against science. I get a little irritated with small-minded, "scientific" people who get stuck on the idea that, if science can't prove it, it doesn't exist and never will, no matter what someone else's experience might be. If we still ran on that kind of logic, the Earth would still be flat and the universe would be rotating around it. We may learn to measure it eventually. It's a little too subtle for what we have now -- but hey, we figured out electricity, didn't we?

I believe that whatever you need to feel strong in your faith is important, as long as it doesn't involve hurting anyone else. You have absolutely no right to use God as a weapon. Your beliefs are not more valid than anyone else's just because you believe them. I'm pretty content to let anyone believe whatever they want, as long as they aren't using their beliefs to mock or justify injuring others.

I keep a mezuzah on my door, I do not eat pork/shellfish, I celebrate Hanukkah, I follow the Reconstructionist tenant of Tikkun Olam, I celebrate Passover, and those are the main ones I can think of off the top of my head.