Defend your beliefs!

[Mock Turtle]

Or at least explain where such did come from, and as to how were you influenced so as to have these (if at all), and were these truly independently formed - but does this matter?

For myself, I didn't have any real education/indoctrination as to religious beliefs, apart from the normal half-hearted education appropriate in most secondary schools in the UK at the time (such being Protestant Christianity), and which mostly passed between my ears so serenely - given that it was so boring. I was a bit of a dreamer anyway then, and looking out of the windows all too often, but RI was just THE worst lesson of the week. As I no doubt have mentioned many times, my suspicions were aroused when I discovered there were so many different and apparently irreconcilable religious beliefs, even before secondary school. This seemed to be the impetus to question religions, and by implication God, and which hasn't yet been resolved - so ending up as an agnostic atheist - but not taking too much as to explanations from all the various religious beliefs. But I did look - as far as I thought reasonable - given that to study in depth all the various religious beliefs might have taken time away from other more beneficial study - like science in general, philosophy, psychology, animal behaviour, and other such.

So, try to explain your trajectory as to why you have the beliefs you now have.

 

[Estro Felino]

Do you know that I wanted to start a similar thread...but I didn't have the time...and forgot about it.

Very good thread.

 

[Estro Felino]

I didn't choose my religious upbringing.
Nevertheless, if I look back, I understand I have always been a rebel.
Because I have never wanted to bow to the common trend.
I have seen how humans can use their own free will...and yet they don't.

This song was stuck in my head for so long, when I was a child.

 

[ChristineM]

Or at least explain where such did come from,

I was a strong protestant, church of England Christian but had a problem, I couldn't read. The church expected teens to read out a passage from the bible during services. The thought terrified me and i refused. The congregation and vicar began to mock me until i had had enough. One service i broke, walked out of the church in tears and never returned.

Soon after i was diagnosed, i had a form of dyslexia caused by red bleeding. Most inks, print and paper contain red to some degree making text on a page a blur (like so). Corrective glasses were prescribed and like magic letters swam into focus.

At age 15 i taught myself to read and write (even now I'm still not brilliant but i get by). The second book i read was the KJV bible. I was looking for reasons the congregation were such ********. I found it in there, the hatred of difference. I also found a lot more which eroded my faith to the point of atheism and beyond.

 

[Gargovic Malkav]

I got hit in the head by the wing of a Dutch windmill.

Edit: In case people don't realize or aren't sure, I was joking.

 

[Secret Chief]

Or at least explain where such did come from, and as to how were you influenced so as to have these (if at all), and were these truly independently formed - but does this matter?

For myself, I didn't have any real education/indoctrination as to religious beliefs, apart from the normal half-hearted education appropriate in most secondary schools in the UK at the time (such being Protestant Christianity), and which mostly passed between my ears so serenely - given that it was so boring. I was a bit of a dreamer anyway then, and looking out of the windows all too often, but RI was just THE worst lesson of the week. As I no doubt have mentioned many times, my suspicions were aroused when I discovered there were so many different and apparently irreconcilable religious beliefs, even before secondary school. This seemed to be the impetus to question religions, and by implication God, and which hasn't yet been resolved - so ending up as an agnostic atheist - but not taking too much as to explanations from all the various religious beliefs. But I did look - as far as I thought reasonable - given that to study in depth all the various religious beliefs might have taken time away from other more beneficial study - like science in general, philosophy, psychology, animal behaviour, and other such.

So, try to explain your trajectory as to why you have the beliefs you now have.

What, worserer than maths?!

 

[Mock Turtle]

What, worserer than maths?!

I was actually good at maths and enjoyed it unfortunately.

 

[Secret Chief]

Or at least explain where such did come from, and as to how were you influenced so as to have these (if at all), and were these truly independently formed - but does this matter?

For myself, I didn't have any real education/indoctrination as to religious beliefs, apart from the normal half-hearted education appropriate in most secondary schools in the UK at the time (such being Protestant Christianity), and which mostly passed between my ears so serenely - given that it was so boring. I was a bit of a dreamer anyway then, and looking out of the windows all too often, but RI was just THE worst lesson of the week. As I no doubt have mentioned many times, my suspicions were aroused when I discovered there were so many different and apparently irreconcilable religious beliefs, even before secondary school. This seemed to be the impetus to question religions, and by implication God, and which hasn't yet been resolved - so ending up as an agnostic atheist - but not taking too much as to explanations from all the various religious beliefs. But I did look - as far as I thought reasonable - given that to study in depth all the various religious beliefs might have taken time away from other more beneficial study - like science in general, philosophy, psychology, animal behaviour, and other such.

So, try to explain your trajectory as to why you have the beliefs you now have.

Similar to you early on I guess. RE at school was basically just Christianity*. Religion= Christianity= Dull nonsense. Dropped the subject asap (I was a science groupie). Based on such limited exposure I would have said I was an atheist if I'd been asked, or thought about it. Got on with life (girls, booze and ... er... more booze) then one day I saw an advert (whilst wandering around Norwich outdoor market!) for an introductory course about Buddhism. Why did I find this appealing? I have absolutely no idea; presumably I did at the time... Anyway, I went along and found it resonated with me considerably. Thereafter....began meditation practice, bought books, attended a retreat, attended a local (ish) Buddhist centre, learned a lot on an online religious forum (not this one clearly ), bought more books and then finally shaved my head and donned a robe. OK, not the last bit.

*Thankfully this is of course no longer the case. Religions at the school that I work in fall under the Philosophy & Ethics Dept.

 

[Secret Chief]

I was actually good at maths and enjoyed it unfortunately.

I spend half my working week sitting in maths lessons. Dear god, shoot me now.

 

[ChristineM]

Dear god, shoot me now.

Not compulsory is it?

 

[Secret Chief]

Not compulsory is it?

What, the shooting?

 

[ChristineM]

What, the shooting?

Yup, i hope not.

 

[crossfire]

I've been an avid student of old stories since I could understand language. I will take up a story and/or belief and sincerely hold it whilst applying all sorts of reductionist skeptical doubts until all I'm left with is wonder, which is the tastiest aspect. (Yes, I am a recovering koan junkie..)

 

[an anarchist]

So, try to explain your trajectory as to why you have the beliefs you now have.

My belief now is that I have the freedom to decide what is true, because the question of "Is there a God(s)?" is unanswerable, and asserting there is one is an unfalsifiable notion. So, I am beginning to choose to believe in nothing metaphysical/supernatural.

I was born into a Biblical literalist household, church, and community. All of my authority figures told me Christ is literally God and the Bible is literally from God.

But perhaps I'm too intelligent for my own good. Not saying that Christians are dumb... just the way that pastors and apologetics would dress up Christianity as scientifically sound and obviously true I think is rather dumb. In my teenage years I eagerly dived into Christian apologetics and I let myself be convinced. Truth is I wanted Christianity to be right, for many reasons. Having God as my personal guardian was hella lit, and the promise of heaven made death seem desirable.

Then there is also the cognitive dissonance that was involved with being the type of Christian I was raised to be. God was completely moral and ever merciful but all my friends who didn't believe exactly as I did were going to burn in hell for literal eternity because they deserved it. Then I also read through the Bible several times and sat through several sermons where the Pastor was justifying the violence of Yahweh and the Old Testament Hebrew folk.

Anyways, with that in mind, I came to this site a Biblical literalist but I also came with an open mind. Further study, personal maturation, and debate/banter/discussion on this site led me to completely discard my Christianity.

Now I understand that humanity currently does not possess the capability to definitively answer the question of "Is there a God?". If there is a god, it hasn't openly revealed itself to humanity.

So I am left to decide for myself what I want to believe in. I am not under the illusion that I can believe in a higher power with absolute certainty of it's existence.

So I'm pretty sure I'm going to let myself believe that there is no higher power. Not that I can know for sure, but I'm not gonna pay it much mental/emotional energy as I have previously done with my whole life.

I'm not confident in calling myself an atheist yet, but if I had to choose a religious label, perhaps that.

Definitely leaning towards nihilism.

 

[PureX]

As a small child I spent one very strange afternoon with God. It was fun, but I soon forgot about it as a child will.

By the time I was sent to Catholic grade school I was already sort of protected and immunized against the insistence of organized religiosity. Even though I had forgotten the specific incident, the concept of God that it engendered in me remained, and so I was not swayed by anyone else's admonishments about what I was supposed to think or believe.

Eventually, as a teenager, I had to decide what to do with the Christian dogma I had been steeped in for a decade, and so I did that for myself using what reason and logic I could muster, and I've been OK with the conclusions I came to ever since. What I was left with was akin to that experience I'd had so long before. And that has stood the test of time and circumstance for me ever since.

 

[rocala]

I was raised Christian, in a family where nobody went to church. My Parents did not believe in baptism either. We called ourselves Church of England and I went to a Congregational Sunday school. None of it made any sense to me. My grandfather was interested in Spiritualism and that did interest me.
From my teens onwards I read a lot and discussed things with people. Buddhism attracted me and later I found much in Modern Druidry. These two form the basis of my spiritual beliefs.

 

[sayak83]

Or at least explain where such did come from, and as to how were you influenced so as to have these (if at all), and were these truly independently formed - but does this matter?

For myself, I didn't have any real education/indoctrination as to religious beliefs, apart from the normal half-hearted education appropriate in most secondary schools in the UK at the time (such being Protestant Christianity), and which mostly passed between my ears so serenely - given that it was so boring. I was a bit of a dreamer anyway then, and looking out of the windows all too often, but RI was just THE worst lesson of the week. As I no doubt have mentioned many times, my suspicions were aroused when I discovered there were so many different and apparently irreconcilable religious beliefs, even before secondary school. This seemed to be the impetus to question religions, and by implication God, and which hasn't yet been resolved - so ending up as an agnostic atheist - but not taking too much as to explanations from all the various religious beliefs. But I did look - as far as I thought reasonable - given that to study in depth all the various religious beliefs might have taken time away from other more beneficial study - like science in general, philosophy, psychology, animal behaviour, and other such.

So, try to explain your trajectory as to why you have the beliefs you now have.

From a very young age I had a philosophical bent and was curious about ultimate questions. I have investigated and absorbed in my evolving beliefs, practices and worldviews what I found were the best methods and processes and explanations to these ultimate questions. For the natural world, I look to science. For moral, rational and metaphysical questions I look to philosophy (Indian and Greek as well as some modern philosophical systems). For questions and experiences concerning spiritual matters I look to Hindu and Buddhist insights gained from yoga, mediation and associated reflections and mystical experiences.

 

[Secret Chief]

From a very young age I had a philosophical bent and was curious about ultimate questions. I have investigated and absorbed in my evolving beliefs, practices and worldviews what I found were the best methods and processes and explanations to these ultimate questions. For the natural world, I look to science. For moral, rational and metaphysical questions I look to philosophy (Indian and Greek as well as some modern philosophical systems). For questions and experiences concerning spiritual matters I look to Hindu and Buddhist insights gained from yoga, mediation and associated reflections and mystical experiences.

Always best to seek mediation.

 

[RestlessSoul]

Always best to seek mediation.

And on occasion, medication.

 

[Nakosis]

Or at least explain where such did come from, and as to how were you influenced so as to have these (if at all), and were these truly independently formed - but does this matter?

For myself, I didn't have any real education/indoctrination as to religious beliefs, apart from the normal half-hearted education appropriate in most secondary schools in the UK at the time (such being Protestant Christianity), and which mostly passed between my ears so serenely - given that it was so boring. I was a bit of a dreamer anyway then, and looking out of the windows all too often, but RI was just THE worst lesson of the week. As I no doubt have mentioned many times, my suspicions were aroused when I discovered there were so many different and apparently irreconcilable religious beliefs, even before secondary school. This seemed to be the impetus to question religions, and by implication God, and which hasn't yet been resolved - so ending up as an agnostic atheist - but not taking too much as to explanations from all the various religious beliefs. But I did look - as far as I thought reasonable - given that to study in depth all the various religious beliefs might have taken time away from other more beneficial study - like science in general, philosophy, psychology, animal behaviour, and other such.

So, try to explain your trajectory as to why you have the beliefs you now have.

My beliefs came from God.

Or what I accepted as God at the time.

I at one time had occasional conversations with God. "God" convinced me of a number of rational, what seemed like rational ideas through conversations/visions.

"God" told me that all religion, religious ideology was created by man. That the being of God was beyond the understanding of man. So there was no point for God to teach anything about themselves to man since man could never comprehend. Then "God" showed me their true/actual nature which as they said, I couldn't comprehend. So I was convinced by "God" that God was truly unknowable so there was/is no point in trying. Nor was God requiring that we make the attempt.

So the funny thing is, if it wasn't God then it was my own psyche that managed to convince me of this. I managed to talk myself into this belief with no conscious intent to do so.