Looking for a new faith!

[TransmutingSoul]

Personally I wouldn’t be running to Belief-O-Matic to assess my spiritual progress or how authentically a Baha’i I really am

I agree, I never usually do these things, but I am bored, in Townsville with One eye, waiting for my follow up Dr Appointment

Regards Tony

 

[DagonVarunaMitraApolloZan]

I'm a former fundamentalist Christian who deconverted because of issues that relate specifically to Christianity: an eternal Hell, lack of evidence for the resurrection, the trinity not making sense, rigidness and conspiracies, and so on. I believe in one God, who is completely perfect in every way and is imminent both out and inside of creation. I believe that everyone will be saved and that the religious life fundamentally comes from purifying the heart. What is a religion that may fit my beliefs?

Hello. I'm a Faith Peddler.

I'd like to get you hooked up with a new religion A.S.A.P

Feel free to email me at [email protected] if you wish!

I bet you there is something out there I am familiar with which can fit you just right!

Lets talk!

You said:

"I'm a former fundamentalist Christian who deconverted because of issues that relate specifically to Christianity: an eternal Hell, lack of evidence for the resurrection, the trinity not making sense, rigidness and conspiracies, and so on. I believe in one God, who is completely perfect in every way and is imminent both out and inside of creation. I believe that everyone will be saved and that the religious life fundamentally comes from purifying the heart. What is a religion that may fit my beliefs?"

Have you considered making your own religion?

What you described as your beliefs may suit something in the "New Age" most, "New Age Spirituality" where God is often omnibenevolent and there is no hell. There are also various groups of Christians and Jews which deny hell but are annhilationists or have other forms of punisment or sufferings.

Hell and punishment exists in just about all the various religions and cultures though, which makes the idea of "no hell, no punishment, all is forgiven" rare and "New Age".

Islam has Hell significantly but has an idea in some writings which suggests all or most humans will eventually be forgiven.

Ideas of eventual or immediate forgiveness also exist in very many other religions.

The strongest or most pristine and clear cut "strong monotheism" is exemplified in the Qur'an, then next in the Bhagavad Gita as the two strongest depictions of the Ultimate God.


Your best bets though may be just practicing your own religion and beliefs by taking aspects and practices that you may be attracted to or prefer from other religions or just whatever you might feel like or which you think is appropriate, and otherwise to look into New Age type ideas and modern God as Spirit, God as Universe, God as Love "New Age" type search terms and see what they are each saying and depicting.

 

[QuestioningMind]

I'm a former fundamentalist Christian who deconverted because of issues that relate specifically to Christianity: an eternal Hell, lack of evidence for the resurrection, the trinity not making sense, rigidness and conspiracies, and so on. I believe in one God, who is completely perfect in every way and is imminent both out and inside of creation. I believe that everyone will be saved and that the religious life fundamentally comes from purifying the heart. What is a religion that may fit my beliefs?

Just a suggestion, but perhaps it's time to start relying of logic and rational reasoning to determine what's real, instead of relying on any kind of faith. Faith is what people use when they have no evidence. Instead you could start to only believe in what you have verifiable evidence for.

 

[Dawnofhope]

I agree, I never usually do these things, but I am bored, in Townsville with One eye, waiting for my follow up Dr Appointment

Regards Tony

I was feeling exhausted having had a couple of days of full on rural medicine so it was a low stimulus distraction.

I mean you, a member of UU!? Com’mon!

 

[shunyadragon]

I guess I'll respond a bit more now! Gonna try to knock out a lot in one response.

I'm looking for a religion, not spirituality. My reasoning is that I want to join a religion that will help me get close to God, while also not betraying my own beliefs about God, as outlined in the original post. I figure that, well, if God is real, then he certainly would have left us some religions that know something about how to love him, right? That's the sole reasoning here- I'm not planning on becoming a dogmatist again.

I still feel close to Buddhism, but found to many koans, and haiku was too noisy.

The Belief-O-Matic said that I was 100% Bahai, 98% Sikh, and Orthodox Judaism and Islam followed right behind. So, clearly, this is where I should look. I'm actually pretty interested in all of these religions, but it's also reached a point where I don't really think I can make a "wrong" choice (at least, not wrong enough to warrant fearing my own salvation), which soothes the anxiety I used to feel as a Christian a lot.

This resembles my Belief-O-Matic outcome with more Quaker and Unitarian. Wrong choices are very much a part of human nature. but I will paraphrase something I read from Hindu traditions; 'To say yes or no is to be immobile on two feet.' therefore everything is in pencil and I carry a big eraser.

Furthermore, this is a very old account of mine. You may be thinking, well, don't you believe in Zen? This account is really outdated, and the last time I used it before this post was before I became Christian. I would very much like to leave Christianity behind as a whole, quite frankly, no offense to any Christians who have responded to me. Those rites of blasphemy seem a bit complex and lengthy, but I have been trying to think to myself things like "Jesus was just a man." They've been helping with that remaining psychological fear.

I have found putting ancient religions like Christianity, Islam and Judaism in the context of history and culture of their beliefs. Actually, no religion must be what it claims to find value and inspiration from the scripture, and teachings. I do embrace fellowship in all religions in their services and dialogue, but I am also Frank Frank in my dialogues which at times makes some uncomfortable.

I am a philosophical agnostic in that in reality I do not know. I just 'go with the flow' and accept the fallible nature of humanity in all its flaws, as well good stuff.

 

[Mindmaster]

Belief-O-Matic®

I should be a Taoist, lol. Though seriously, I do admire that belief system.

Regarding the OP though @JeremK -- why do you have to pick? I think the best spiritual paths are just the one's that well up from within. The best path is the one you create.

 

[Valjean]

Normally when people join a religion they are the ones who adapt to the beliefs of that religion, not the other way around.
The only advice I can give you is to research and study. Keep learning so you can make an educated decision instead of quickly joining whatever looks good, only to be disappointed some time later.

Good points, and this speaks to what a religion is.

Is it a club, a social group, a community group, a psychotherapeutical modality, a discipline, a self-help community? Is it a school of metaphysics, a research modality, a code of ethics or morality? Is it a cultural or political identity? Is it a series of rituals designed to keep threatening supernatural forces at bay, or to manipulate them to one's advantage?

All of these things get called 'religion'. Which one is JeremK seeking?

The research modality seeking objective truth is science, but clearly religion is something different. Science is falsifiable, it encourages skepticism and questioning. Its methodology requires attempts to falsify it's claims. Its beliefs are constantly changing as new facts are uncovered.

Religion, it seems to me, takes exactly the opposite approach: knowledge vs faith; evidenced belief vs revelation To join is often to forgo reason and unquestioningly accept an immutable, refractory, unevidenced doctrine. Questioning, research or skepticism is actively discouraged.

So what is a religion? What does one seek in one?
As Honestjoe asks: if one already has a set of beliefs, why does one need a religion?

As a practical next step why not make contact with some of these communities where you live and hang out with members of these faiths both in person and online? In that way you can ensure which of these faiths is the best fit. Also explore what the sacred scriptures or writings of these faiths have to say about each of the issues that concerns you? Its good to narrow the field somewhat but you need first hand experience with a faith to ensure its what your looking for.

Good advice, but fit?
I don't see what fit has to do with a set of beliefs purporting to be objective truth. Why would religion be expected to 'fit' an individual? It's either true or it's not.

 

[Valjean]

JeremK said: ↑

I believe in one God, who is completely perfect in every way and is imminent both out and inside of creation. I believe that everyone will be saved and that the religious life fundamentally comes from purifying the heart. What is a religion that may fit my beliefs?

I think, all religions believe that. Pick whichever religion you like. There are plenty.

I think only a few religions believe this. Not all religions even believe in God.

 

[Dawnofhope]

Good advice, but fit?
I don't see what fit has to do with a set of beliefs purporting to be objective truth. Why would religion be expected to 'fit' an individual? It's either true or it's not.

For many people religion is just as much about community, culture and practice as it is about truth. Think of a chair with four legs. If one leg is weak, unstable or missing then the chair is unstable. A Faith community needs to be a spiritual home for peoples of all walks of life whether young or old, veteran believer or newbie, male or female, in good health or sick and culturally diverse. So a religion may look OK on paper but the experience could be quite different.

 

[Sand Dancer]

Liberal Quakers are darn nice folks.

 

[February-Saturday]

Belief-O-Matic®

I got "New Age," which is admittedly pretty close.

The New Age movement actually draws from Gnosticism, too, they just pull from the Theosophical Society and Thelema way more than me. I tend towards the historical scriptures. There's a lot of overlap, though, I find myself getting most of the "community" part of religion from New Age groups.

 

[iam1me]

I'm a former fundamentalist Christian who deconverted because of issues that relate specifically to Christianity: an eternal Hell, lack of evidence for the resurrection, the trinity not making sense, rigidness and conspiracies, and so on. I believe in one God, who is completely perfect in every way and is imminent both out and inside of creation. I believe that everyone will be saved and that the religious life fundamentally comes from purifying the heart. What is a religion that may fit my beliefs?

You can address pretty much everything on your list while remaining a Christian - just not a fundamentalist one. The fundamentalist mindset is dangerous w/e your belief system happens to be. As a Christian I don't believe in eternal hell (but rather destruction Matthew 10:28), I don't believe in the Trinity (Moses, the angels, and those who have received the Word of God are all referred to as God (even YHWH) or as gods in scripture - we should interpret Jesus being addressed as God in the same manner), etc.

Exodus 7:1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I make you as God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.​

Belief in a perfect God who is imminent everywhere, who wants to save everyone, and where true religion is a matter of living righteously and loving others is Christianity.

James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained ac]">[ac]by the world.

Romans 13:10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

1 Timothy 2:4 [God] desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.​

Rather than being quick to look elsewhere, ask if you properly studied Christianity apart from the fundamentalist view point you have so much trouble with

The only thing that you can't address is indisputable evidence for the crucifixion. If you have a problem with unscientific miracles and such, then you are going to have a problem with basically any religion. This isn't a problem for religion mind - science isn't the end all be all of knowledge. It has a very particular domain of knowledge where the scientific approach is applicable. However other domains of knowledge (math, history, the arts, etc) don't fall under that paradigm (though they may make use of applied science - as does religion).

Deuteronomy 4:29 But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.

Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Luke 11:10 For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.​

 

[DagonVarunaMitraApolloZan]

I got "New Age," which is admittedly pretty close.

The New Age movement actually draws from Gnosticism, too, they just pull from the Theosophical Society and Thelema way more than me. I tend towards the historical scriptures. There's a lot of overlap, though, I find myself getting most of the "community" part of religion from New Age groups.

I can't even get the belief o matic to work. It saw me and broke.

 

[DagonVarunaMitraApolloZan]

Liberal Quakers are darn nice folks.

I've never met one. Can you lure some to this website?

 

[Samantha Rinne]

I'm a former fundamentalist Christian who deconverted because of issues that relate specifically to Christianity: an eternal Hell, lack of evidence for the resurrection, the trinity not making sense, rigidness and conspiracies, and so on. I believe in one God, who is completely perfect in every way and is imminent both out and inside of creation. I believe that everyone will be saved and that the religious life fundamentally comes from purifying the heart. What is a religion that may fit my beliefs?

You'd be a Muslim based on belief set closest to non-Trinitarian beliefs, view of their deity as perfect, and indifference to the resurrection.

But you'd immediately be disappointed because they are at least as rigid, also believe in eternal Hell, and generally would reject that stuff about God being imminent inside and outside creation.

My advice? Don't look to another religion to provide answers for you. Either adapt an existing one to fit your needs (such as monotheistic Shintoism), choose a syncretic religion, or pick up a pen and start writing your beliefs together.

 

[DagonVarunaMitraApolloZan]

I should be a Taoist, lol. Though seriously, I do admire that belief system.

Regarding the OP though @JeremK -- why do you have to pick? I think the best spiritual paths are just the one's that well up from within. The best path is the one you create.

I was thinking that the original poster might like Taoism but might feel its a bit too foreign for their tastes with not much translated material available possibly due to an overall lack of interest.

I don't even fully understand what they are looking for, a community? I've never felt a sense of belonging or acceptance anywhere at all or in any group or hierarchy, but when I've talked to former Christians they seem to be very much often seeking a kind of communal Church group type setting to be recreated with different beliefs. They used to want to do Church-like activities like food drives and fund raisers or going out together in groups or performances. Such an annoying mentality or habit from my perspective as a recluse and anti-communal. Totally drained by social groups or pressures to go out places or do things or spend money and pay fees or expenses or all that goes into a very social lifestyle. Taoism mainly wouldn't be too great for a person who is very social, its early history and two major texts seemed anti-social whereas Buddhism had a lot more "sangha" communal stuff going on, but they mainly lack emphasis on the God that the original poster speaks of. Iskon and Hindu sects which accept converts seem to believe in a similar God.

I wonder if a person seeking a religion is hoping for a peer group validation?

I can't imagine any religious group ever satisfying me at all, I can scarcely look at people, let alone wanting to be around a whole bunch of them.

One at a time is fine. I tried talking to two people at once, and they got angry because I could only treat them like crap in private and they didn't like being treated like crap in front of another person.

 

[Samael_Khan]

I've come up UU the last couple times I've taken it. I don't know too much about Quakers but they seem like lovely people overall.

The Wikipedia entry of them sure says they are nice! I haven't checked out UU at all so dunno what it is about.

 

[syo]

JeremK said: ↑

I believe in one God, who is completely perfect in every way and is imminent both out and inside of creation. I believe that everyone will be saved and that the religious life fundamentally comes from purifying the heart. What is a religion that may fit my beliefs?

I think only a few religions believe this. Not all religions even believe in God.

My mistake. I focused solely on the purifying heart.

 

[DagonVarunaMitraApolloZan]

Take as many as you like, appropriate all you desire, and whose really got the right to bother you about it anyway? Especially when one doesn't even believe in Hell or punishment or Judgment or Karma or whatever, then I'd imagine one can just do whatever and not even need the validation or have anything to fear. It would not be meeting their requirements though if they sought out a community that already exists and might have to make one on their own from scratch and ads.

I don't know, I'm starting to understand why people often report feeling desperately attached to their religions and religious communities. If I had friends, or believed in such things even being possible, I might feel attached to them or that it is necessary for me to conform to certain standards in order to maintain the relationships. I don't know, its all so alien to me, I can barely understand it.

I've always been vocal and forceful about my beliefs and ideas and its never really been an issue except with militant polytheist literalists on Discord or forums full of loons. In other words, most people don't even talk about this stuff or care, and when they do care a lot its usually that they seem a little coocoo in the coconut.

Most of me seems to think religion is a totally fruitless endeavour for most people and should be entirely skipped.

Its mainly suitable for us crazy people who think we are talking to God and hearing back from God and have to save our bums from roasting. Its completely irrelevant and pointless except to just relac maybe or something if there is no concern about the afterlife. Why not just live your life and do whatever seems best always, have your fun, chill out, nothing is at stake, you're not perceiving experiencing miracles or messages or anything right? Like most people, so who cares then? Why would anyone ever "want" the bondage of any set religion or organization or hierarchy or scriptures? Take them all or discard them all, its all in all the same whether you believe in one or dance around in one costume or another, if God doesn't care and you're going one place regardless, what does it matter?

 

[DagonVarunaMitraApolloZan]

Practically every religion that has substantial followings and influences had the carrot and the stick, some reward promised for following the steps and some sort of bad or at least less good consequence for not pursuing that reward.

Most everyone eventually promised goodness for goodness or heroism and badness for badness or villainy, and something beyond this life for where people end up experiencing the results or consequences of the culmination of their deeds calculated, facing a kind of Judge and scales which measure and calculate whether to let the person live on in a peaceful state after life or be tortured in some terrible existence.

Even the people who then came up with ideas like reincarnation also had hell realms and hell states and then also terrible experiences or lives as punishments.

This was likely meant to incentivize doing good and give people every reason to fear doing nasty things that were thought of as harmful, threatening, or destructive to society, fidelity, order, and peace in some way.

The Narakas in some beliefs would last such extreme lengths that they would seem an eternity and not worth it. The Buddha apparently even decried even things like acting, claiming the state of the actor was after his death, to experience flying around as a living flying skeleton being harassed by birds or vultures or something really wacky.

I think most of the people on Earth have always believed in some kind of "higher power" one way or another, tried to be moderately kindm just because it often comes naturally to do so and makes life a little less likely to become troublesome or hostile by avoiding irritating people and not giving them much cause to despise a person.

That seems to be pretty much it. They called upon various names and groveled to satisfy their disturbed feelings about things which felt out of their control. They did everything we do, and maybe a little more, and then would simply die.

So the focus should maybe be on making your life, days, and few waking hours in those days, your surroundings, your experiences, all as nice and pleasant as you possibly can for as long as you live.