james2ko
Well-Known Member
Hi everyone. I have no idea what religion would fit me best and I was hoping you all could help me out. Here is an overview of what I believe:
That is all I can really think of right now. I'll add more if it comes to mind. Thanks!
- There is no Hell. There is no eternal punishment of anyone because all religions lead to the same place, Heaven/Paradise/whatever.
- There is, however, consequences for evil behavior (basically murdering someone, depriving them of their basic human rights, abusing animals, etc is what I would call evil behavior). These consequences may either be a lack of rewards in Heaven/Paradise/whatever or it could involve a place where people are cleansed of any "bad karma" that they received through their evil behavior. Or possibly maybe they just won't be as important in the afterlife as those who did the most good.
- There is one God but he/she is not the kind of God that would demand worship or else you are going to be punished.
- God manifests his/her truth(s) in all of the various religions. There are many different ways of interpreting the truth.
- ALL people regardless of race, religion, sex/gender, sexual orientation, political views, national origin, etc are created equal and all deserve the same basic rights.
- All animals are deserving of basic rights as well. This does not necessarily mean that one should feel obligated to be a vegetarian/vegan. It is okay to eat meat so long as the animal that was slaughtered was slaughtered in as humane and compassionate manner as possible. It would be preferable, for example, that the animals are given a hefty dose of pain killers before they are slaughtered so they feel as little pain as possible.
- Religious freedom is a must. No religion should be prohibited so long as it does not pose a physical danger to society.
- Reproductive freedom is a must. Abortion is not a sin or something that will bring you bad karma. There should be absolutely no restrictions on abortions. However, the abortion industry should be regulated more so as to prevent dangerous abortions and unsanitary abortion facilities. Abortion clinics should be required to notify law enforcement personnel if they have reason to believe that the client has been abused in any way. The client should also have the right to protection from any further harm from abusers.
- Freedom of speech is a must so long as it is not speech that is threatening violence. Hateful speech should be allowed but strongly discouraged as much as possible. We should seek to end such hate speech such as the Fred Phelps type.
- Freedom to assemble peacefully is a must.
- Heath care should be free as it is a basic right of all people.
- Oppressive governments should be opposed with any non-violent means possible. Either that or the least violent alternative should be used if all other methods of changing the government fails.
That's quite a list. Would it not be wiser to look for a God whom you would conform to His/Her beliefs instead of imposing your beliefs on Him/Her?