It was many years ago in conversation. As a Catholic I mentioned attending the Good Friday and Easter Vigil liturgies. They did not because Jesus said nothing of these in the Gospels. Holy Thursday was the only day they acknowledged.
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What religions have you belonged to in your life?
- Thread starter Sand Dancer
- Start date
It was many years ago in conversation. As a Catholic I mentioned attending the Good Friday and Easter Vigil liturgies. They did not because Jesus said nothing of these in the Gospels. Holy Thursday was the only day they acknowledged.
What are some of the core beliefs of the last two on the list? What makes them different from each other?
They're just subdivisions. Monistic Saiva Siddhanta has two teaching lineages, Adinatha, and Nandinatha. Nandinatha was the first Guru in the lineage I follow.
Core beliefs are things like Lord Siva is God, whose Absolute Reality, Parasivam, is beyond, time form, and space. It's a mix of Vedanta and Siddhanta.
Sand Dancer
Currently catless
Lol. Thank you so much.
You're welcome.
I was brought up a non-denominational Christian, which was a fine thing. Very beautiful. Then, from my World Cultures class in sixth grade, I was introduced to all different kinds of religions. I grew especially fond of Hinduism and Islam. I was enthusiastic! Fast forward a bit to early high school, I was New Age, and I did lean really heavily into it. I was into chakras, crystal healing, aliens, and East Asian cultures! Later in high school, I became a Unitarian Universalist while still being New Age. My school’s library had books on many different religions, so I read them all. Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism, African Religions, Native American Religions…all of it blew my mind! It was there that I read the Bhagavad Gita for the first three separate times. I was amazed! It was a discussion of God, individual duty and the struggles of fulfilling it, the nature of the soul, the four different paths to salvation, reincarnation, the ultimate experience of the Divine, all wrapped up in a war. It, even now, remains among the deepest religious text I’ve ever read. From there I explored Hinduism, but continued to explore other religions. There was another book I had read about something called ‘The Bahá’í Faith’, and it clicked. Everything about it spoke to me in a very real and powerful way.
Speed through my college days, turned off by its lack of theological substance and attempting to compensate for that through heavy politics, I’m no longer a Unitarian (and past my New Age days) but investigating The Bahá’í Faith. I decided to officially embrace it in February 2015, though because I hadn’t been deepening in it, I decided to leave and I moved on to exploring Hinduism, delving into my studies of Krishna Consciousness. I was all in metaphysically, but I hit a road block with the regulative principles (specifically the vegetarianism). I couldn’t do it, sadly. So, I explored other religious teachings– Meher Baba’s teachings, those of Hazrat Inayat Khan, Wicca, I later explored Pure Land Buddhism, nothing really stuck. They are all still beautiful to me, but nothing really stuck. 2018, I get introduced to Stoicism and studied it for a few years before briefly returning to the Christianity of my youth, then to Pure Land Buddhism, I investigated Islam, then I trekked back to Stoicism for a while, and recently, I’ve decided to return to The Bahá’í Faith (as that’s where my heart finds peace) while keeping an open mind to knowledge and insight from all religions and philosophies.
Speed through my college days, turned off by its lack of theological substance and attempting to compensate for that through heavy politics, I’m no longer a Unitarian (and past my New Age days) but investigating The Bahá’í Faith. I decided to officially embrace it in February 2015, though because I hadn’t been deepening in it, I decided to leave and I moved on to exploring Hinduism, delving into my studies of Krishna Consciousness. I was all in metaphysically, but I hit a road block with the regulative principles (specifically the vegetarianism). I couldn’t do it, sadly. So, I explored other religious teachings– Meher Baba’s teachings, those of Hazrat Inayat Khan, Wicca, I later explored Pure Land Buddhism, nothing really stuck. They are all still beautiful to me, but nothing really stuck. 2018, I get introduced to Stoicism and studied it for a few years before briefly returning to the Christianity of my youth, then to Pure Land Buddhism, I investigated Islam, then I trekked back to Stoicism for a while, and recently, I’ve decided to return to The Bahá’í Faith (as that’s where my heart finds peace) while keeping an open mind to knowledge and insight from all religions and philosophies.
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Sgt. Pepper
All you need is love.
I was a very devout Christian (evangelical conservative) for 30 years before I renounced my faith and belief in God over a year and a half ago. I then became agnostic for a few weeks as I was trying to deal with my conflicted emotions, during which time I discovered and joined RF. I initially joined as an ex-Christian looking to connect with other ex-Christians who could relate to my current situation.
It wasn't long after I joined that I first heard about the Baha'i faith. It piqued my interest, so I spoke with a couple of Baha'i followers and researched their beliefs online. I soon discovered that the Baha'i faith is closely intertwined with Christianity, so I decided that it was not for me. Shortly after that, I came across posts and threads by The Hammer and other pagan/Wiccan members, which piqued my interest enough to conduct my own research into Wicca. I decided that Wicca was a suitable spiritual path for me, and I've been practicing it ever since. Being a Wiccan gave me access to a wide variety of deities to explore and learn about, which ultimately led me to polytheism. I was introduced to spiritualism by another medium, and shortly after deciding to practice Wicca, I also decided to get relatively involved with spiritualism. And recently, I've been studying Hinduism as well as learning more about paganism in general.
A long and winding path, you've had, @Sgt. Pepper ! It might keep winding yet still. I've come to understand religiosity as a journey that is not about the destination - it is much like weaving a lifelong story that brings meaning and grounding to that life. Lots of ways to tell it, and the way you tell the story can sometimes change.
Trailblazer
Veteran Member
We have 'some' similar beliefs about God, but other than that we are not intertwined with Christianity, no more than we are intertwined with any of the other older religions. Moreover, we part ways with most Christians regarding Bible interpretations and we share none of their doctrines.
Years ago, I had a friend at work who was a Wiccan and she liked a lot of the Baha'i beliefs. Kara was such a nice person. Sadly, she got very ill with a rare disease and passed way suddenly. It was so sad as she was quite young.
I don't care if the other Baha'is think it is proper, I am still interested in spiritualism and I believe it has validity and usefulness. I had planned to send you a conversation about something I don't want to share publicly, but then when I saw you were so put off by the Baha'is on that homosexuality thread I decided against it. I have to feel very safe to share what I wanted to share.
Trailblazer
Veteran Member
Wow, that is a lot of religions that you investigated, yet you still ended up being a Baha'i. I always get a lot of guff from people because I never investigated any other religions before I became a Baha'i 52 years ago.
I was not raised in any religion or believing in God and I never had much interest in religion. I did not even think of the Baha'i Faith as a religion back when I joined, I saw it more as a movement, and since I am an idealist I was drawn to the teachings of world peace and the unity of mankind.
Fast forward to 2013 when I came to forums I learned about some other religions, but I never investigated them thoroughly as you seemed to have done. Many people think I should have compared the Baha'i Faith to other religions but I saw no need to do so since I have always been certain it is the truth since one God and progressive revelation from God to man through a series of religions made complete sense to me. Religion was never much of an emotional thing for me, although now I find that I do have emotions towards the God and the Faith.
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Sgt. Pepper
All you need is love.
Thank you for your response about your beliefs. I appreciate it.
I am truly sorry to hear that and I am very sorry for your loss.
You are correct in assuming that I am very put out by that particular discussion, and I have a deeply personal reason for objecting so adamantly to its topic and for supporting those who share my sentiment. I decided not to share my reason for my position in that thread, but since reading your response, I have changed my mind and decided to share it with you (and everyone else) in this thread.
I once knew a young lady who was as devout to God as I was. She made the horrific mistake of coming out to her Christian parents, her siblings, and her extended family. The word of her coming out as gay spread like a wildfire in the church that her parents and extended family had been attending years before she was born. She, her siblings, and her cousins all grew up together in this church. I attended this church with my husband and our children. My husband and I were there when the congregation was told that she had come out to her family. She not only endured condemnation and rejection from her parents, siblings, and extended relatives, but also from the pastor and the congregation. In this congregation of around a hundred Christians, my husband and I were the only ones who did not turn against her and condemn her. We later opened our home and took her in after she had been shunned by her family and kicked out by her Christian parents. After she moved in with us, she eventually became suicidal and was in need of counseling that we couldn't provide for her, so we paid for her inpatient care and counseling out of pocket. We helped her the best we could.
It breaks my heart to once again reveal that she took her life. I knew that she had died before my husband and children knew because she came to me in spirit and we connected. I won't share the sad details of how she died or what happened with her family after her death, but I will say that I was able to help her one last time before she crossed over. She was deeply hurt and very reluctant to cross over into the spirit world, but I was finally able to persuade her to crossover into the light. I feel that she is at peace on the other side.
I have shared this story with you in the hope that you will now understand where I'm coming from. I also sincerely apologize to you for making you feel uneasy about telling me about your personal experience. I'm sure you are already aware of my connection with the spirit world and my many years of experience interacting and communicating with human spirits. My inbox is always open if you should change your mind about sharing your personal story with me. I have a listening ear, and I will never violate your confidence.
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Trailblazer
Veteran Member
Thanks for sharing your story. I can hardly imagine anyone treating this woman that way.
No problem. I was a little uneasy but I understand where you are coming from now and I share the same sentiments about homosexuals, which are quite the opposite of fundamentalist Christians. I cannot help it if there are certain laws in my religion but I am not going to relinquish my religion for that reason alone. Moreover I do not take sides and I have always stood up for the oppressed. I don't know why people have certain sexual preferences and I do not judge them as it is not my right or my job to judge anyone. I believe that only God can judge anyone and God judges each soul on its own merits.
I knew about your research with ghosts and haunted houses but I did not know you had many years of experience interacting and communicating with human spirits. I do trust you so I will tell you my story as soon as I have time and the time is right. I think that it will be soon because there are things I have to know sooner than later.
Sgt. Pepper
All you need is love.
I assumed that my connection with the spirit world was common knowledge on RF by now since I've discussed it and shared my personal experiences as a medium in several threads, either in my own or other members' threads relating to the afterlife and the paranormal. I enjoy commenting on these subjects since I have a lot of experience with both, and researching and investigating the paranormal is a passion of mine. I've also been asked to respond to a few threads on these subjects too. The Paranormal Activities forum is where I post threads about my more recent paranormal investigations and comment more on threads by other members.
Trailblazer
Veteran Member
Probably the reason I did not know is because I do not get off the Religious Debates forum very often, and when I do I am mostly in the General Discussion forum. I am still very interested in knowing more about how you contact the spirit world and I will definitely be sending you a Conversation. I have just been too busy lately, but it won't be long, and thanks for the willingness to talk to me about these matters.
They are very important to me, more than you know, yet.
Sgt. Pepper
All you need is love.
Probably the reason I did not know is because I do not get off the Religious Debates forum very often, and when I do I am mostly in the General Discussion forum. I am still very interested in knowing more about how you contact the spirit world and I will definitely be sending you a Conversation. I have just been too busy lately, but it won't be long, and thanks for the willingness to talk to me about these matters.
You're welcome. Please feel free to send me a private message if you have any questions to ask me. My inbox is always open.
Trailblazer
Veteran Member
Thanks again.... Will do.
arthra
Baha'i
My immediate family were Baptists and I began an off and on reading of the Bible as I matured. Towards my teen years I began reading the poetic words of Sir Edwin Arnold including The Song Celestial and the Light of Asia. In my later school years I had friends who were interested in practicing Yoga and when I was around twenty years old I entered an Ashram for awhile...
I've always encouraged tolerance toward religions and friendship among believers.
When I was twenty five I came across a few volumes about the Baha'i Faith "Baha'u'llah and the New Era" and "Baha'i World Faith," these books convinced me to become a Baha'i and I joined the Baha'i community in my home town. I met Hands of the Cause Bill Sears, Enoch Olinga, Colis Featherstone, Ali Akhbar Furutan and others.
Later when I was thirty three years old I married a Baha'i and soon we went on pilgrimage to Haifa and Akka in Israel. My wife and I have been active in the Faith and raised our children in the Faith.
I've always encouraged tolerance toward religions and friendship among believers.
When I was twenty five I came across a few volumes about the Baha'i Faith "Baha'u'llah and the New Era" and "Baha'i World Faith," these books convinced me to become a Baha'i and I joined the Baha'i community in my home town. I met Hands of the Cause Bill Sears, Enoch Olinga, Colis Featherstone, Ali Akhbar Furutan and others.
Later when I was thirty three years old I married a Baha'i and soon we went on pilgrimage to Haifa and Akka in Israel. My wife and I have been active in the Faith and raised our children in the Faith.
Exaltist Ethan
Bridging the Gap Between Believers and Skeptics
You may have not done that back then, but I see you quoting scripture from various religions and you seem to be very knowledgeable to many different religions. You may have been hasty to join the Baha'is when you first became one, but you are a very intelligent, smart individual who knows more about religion now than the people who initially criticized you for following your passion.
Trailblazer
Veteran Member
Well thanks, but I really don't know that much about very many religions other than Baha'i and Christianity, and I know about Christianity because I have been debating with Christians on forums for about 10 years, so I have had to look up a lot of Bible verses.You may have not done that back then, but I see you quoting scripture from various religions and you seem to be very knowledgeable to many different religions. You may have been hasty to join the Baha'is when you first became one, but you are a very intelligent, smart individual who knows more about religion now than the people who initially criticized you for following your passion.