Why This, and Not That?

[Kenaz]

Hello all,

Preface: Intent is to share your perspective and not to debate one another.

Let me preface this by saying, I am not challenging you or asking you to debate/challenge one another. This is more of a place to respond to the prompts below, and allow others to see one another's perceptive. These are also questions that I have, without answers, as a 'seeker' or an agnostic, so your shared world views and thought processes are appreciated and helpful for me in my own spiritual journey.

The Questions

(1) What is your worldview (faith/non-faith; belief/perspective)? Please describe it in some detail, as you are comfortable and willing.

(2) How did you come to this worldview?

(3) Given the extremely vast religious views, with varying number of adherents, how can you know that this is 'the one' over the others?

Thanks in advance for your time and shared perspectives!

 

[George-ananda]

(1) What is your worldview (faith/non-faith; belief/perspective)? Please describe it in some detail, as you are comfortable and willing.

Pantheism = non-dual (God and creation are not-two) Hinduism. We are God. God separates Himself from Himself and returns Himself to Himself.

(2) How did you come to this worldview?

From my study of the paranormal and the teachings of souls I consider the most advanced,

(3) Given the extremely vast religious views, with varying number of adherents, how can you know that this is 'the one' over the others?

The others are not completely right or wrong but non-dual Hinduism I believe is the highest philosophy of mankind's wisdom traditions. It is a tradition created from the most advanced souls of mankind.

Thanks in advance for your time and shared perspectives!

You are welcome.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Hello all,

Preface: Intent is to share your perspective and not to debate one another.

Let me preface this by saying, I am not challenging you or asking you to debate/challenge one another. This is more of a place to respond to the prompts below, and allow others to see one another's perceptive. These are also questions that I have, without answers, as a 'seeker' or an agnostic, so your shared world views and thought processes are appreciated and helpful for me in my own spiritual journey.

The Questions

(1) What is your worldview (faith/non-faith; belief/perspective)? Please describe it in some detail, as you are comfortable and willing.

(2) How did you come to this worldview?

(3) Given the extremely vast religious views, with varying number of adherents, how can you know that this is 'the one' over the others?

Thanks in advance for your time and shared perspectives!

I do hope you get a lot of answers full indepth answers on this. Many people see their beliefs as personal. I love freedom of expression and love to write but my beliefs have been repeated so much here that I wish I can find a good thread to answer your questions.

"I don't have a core religion. My beliefs and practices are my religion whether I call myself a Buddha or a Child of Nature."

I'm convoluted. I have one religion and many world-views.
Religion is beliefs and practices I live my life by.
Worldview many ways I see reality regardless (like a rainbow); whether I use it in my practice and call it my religion (live by it) or not.

I'll try to keep it simple because in order to find religion, you really have to learn more about you. Write down your core morals and priorities in life. What do you want in a religion or, as an agnostic, how you define god or what/who you are agnostic about.

I am a pagan. I define this (in my point of view) as someone who lives by the Earth and worships/interacts with the Earth and Spirits. I see this as someone who practices "magic" or basically holistic methods of prayer (not only in word), ritual. I interact with others sometimes like working at my job giving knowledge...to things like dancing or listening to music. I value freedom of expression, productivity, and giving/gaining knowledge. Anything I do that without using artificial means to do so is by how I define living paganism. I also see life through the spirits on earth. I feel my grandmothers protecting me and I wish I learned more about where I live to get in touch with living property as well.

I am a Buddha. I'm not a Buddhist because I haven't taken formal vows. I believe in the Law of causality and life/death. I follow the noble truths and meditation. I have some chanting practices but it's all about the nature of life rather than a religion in and of itself like my relations to paganism. It's a worldview not my religion.

2. Experience and observation. Paganism is easier for me cause I can feel it physically and mentally when I'm not intuned with natural living. It's not really something I put aside. I just try to live it as best I can.

3. If the religion does not follow natural laws which includes spirits so I'm not humanistic, then I dont include that in my practice. If it isn't natural, then I feel artificial, like it's fake. I feel it is right because that is how our bodies live healthy is by natural lifestyle. Anything outside of that I dont see as part of my personal religious life.

In general, our worldview/religion/perspective are multifaceted. I cant understand individuals who only believe in one thing and not see others as creditable even if they disbelief it. I find that very limiting. I see my faith as very free spirited. If I had one name for my religion, although not a religion, it would be a Religious Gypsy.

 

[LuisDantas]

(1) What is your worldview (faith/non-faith; belief/perspective)? Please describe it in some detail, as you are comfortable and willing.

Religion is important mainly because it structures ethical values and the social relationships involving those values

Religion should be approached in what I call a Dharmic way, meaning that people are expected never to resort to scripture nor to supernatural belief. Not as an attempt at validation, at least.

A religious person (or "Dharmi" as I understand that word) is expected to take full responsibility for his or her beliefs, expressing them on one's own words, writing his or her own scripture, and deciding on the spot whether such scripture makes sense for any given situation, as well as why.

(2) How did you come to this worldview?

It just feels right. I had some experience with alternate models and they seem to very consistently fall short.

(3) Given the extremely vast religious views, with varying number of adherents, how can you know that this is 'the one' over the others?

Because I made it my business to correct its course as needed.

 

[raph]

1. The same God appeared multiple times in history, to teach mankind about Himself, and how to behave. The last time in the 19th century in Bahaullah but there will be more.

2. After being an atheist I suddenly felt that the common holy scriptures are all true and from the same God.

3. I dont think that other religious paths are false, except for beliefs that cause disunity and hatred among people. This will sound strange and crazy
I have some kind of a God radar, that can distinguish between word of God and word of men. I cant help it, but believe that Bible Koran and Bahai scriptured are true. I also read some other scriptures but didnt feel the truth in them. So there is no other path for me personally.

 

[wizanda]

(1) What is your worldview (faith/non-faith; belief/perspective)? Please describe it in some detail, as you are comfortable and willing.

(2) How did you come to this worldview?

(3) Given the extremely vast religious views, with varying number of adherents, how can you know that this is 'the one' over the others?

1) We're in a place between light and dark, we are closer to hell.

2) Because of all religions, a NDE, questioning it for years.

3) Because Oneness is the name of Heaven, and it is found within most religions.

 

[Aupmanyav]

(1) What is your worldview (faith/non-faith; belief/perspective)? Please describe it in some detail, as you are comfortable and willing.
(2) How did you come to this worldview?
(3) Given the extremely vast religious views, with varying number of adherents, how can you know that this is 'the one' over the others?

1. Hindu philosophy and science.
2. Contemplation on Hindu philosophy and science.
3. No hole hypothesis.

It is quite simple and does away with all super-natural. At the time of Big-Bang, we started with energy and none other. That is what constitutes all things in the universe (Hindus call it it Brahman). Now the question where does this energy originated? This is a question that cannot be answered at the moment, so desist. Is the energy eternal or arises out of 'absolute nothing'? What is the relationship between existence and non-existence? The answer will be available only in future.

 

[popsthebuilder]

My Faith/ perspective;

All faithful under God will unite for the sake of existence and the betterment of. I base this off of what has been shown to me after over 20 years of atheism. It has been verified to me on the innermost level via multiple media, least of which is not scripture of peaceable faiths such as Bahia, Druze, Islam, Judaism, Christianity, even paganism on some level. Surely there are more. What I speak of us written in the writings of the Bahia, Bible, Qur'an, Torah, book of Enoch, and the Bhagavad Gita, Exeter book, and also surely others.

I believe all will eventually unite peacefully in reciprocal thanks and giving without want or desire for personal gain, or prejudices or priveledge over one another or other life for that matter, but for the sake of what is right under the direction of God.

All have a conscience and the potential to remove the selfish wants of this world from there being. This is the universal connection to the creative force of all existence and the means of which one can selflessly follow the direction of God.

How I came to this world view; through much self inflicted tourment and the real attempt to change for the better I found myself in a precarious position regardless of my perception at that time. I was furtunate enough to literally be saved after much affliction and the onset of hope and perhaps some level of helplessness.

My entire existence changed that day. I wrote some things that night pertaining to my experience as best I could. Approximately five years later I could an outlet of some sort and began reading scripture. To my delight, nearly all scripture I have read thus far has verified and strengthened the things that were imbedded in me before birth, and shown to me outright through my personal salvation. I am thankful to GOD and try very hard to take my duty seriously.

I know what I speak of is the truth as it has been verified on many levels and is no way discriminatory towards any who have hope and the understanding that there is ultimately a singular creative force responsible for our existence, and potential, and we should be thankful and giving in show of our appreciation and respect in Faith that mercy will be shown us all.

Sorry, probably hard to read.

Peace

 

[Quintessence]

(1) What is your worldview (faith/non-faith; belief/perspective)? Please describe it in some detail, as you are comfortable and willing.

That's a rather tall order - asking someone to describe one's worldview. That's not something that can be simplified into text-based format, and even attempting to be brief, it would be the length of a tome. I happen to have such a tome, which is a continual work in progress, but I would never be so intimate with a stranger. But to provide a small snippet of something immeasurably complex (modified from a file in my Book of Shadows):

Gaea is the Center
In most religions, connecting with something greater than yourself and cultivating a sense of belonging are of primary importance. That "something greater" is usually a god-concept, an aspect or entity that the beholder regards as awe-inspiring, sacred, and/or worthy of worship. For me, that thing is the universe. The universe - nature or all of reality - is divine. Though all things of the universe are sacred and worthy of worship, some parts of reality inspire me more than others. The parts I worship are those I can relate to, and I am a denizen of Gaea. Gaea is my center, especially aspects of Gaea that are in my immediate surroundings. I honor the gods and spirits that directly impact my day-to-day life, both those in the apparent world and those in the otherworlds. My path is principally animistic, polytheistic, and pantheistic. Or to use some really simple terms, I'm a tree-hugging dirt worshipper (literally). ​

(2) How did you come to this worldview?

The same way everyone does: through their life experiences.

(3) Given the extremely vast religious views, with varying number of adherents, how can you know that this is 'the one' over the others?

What one? I understand that it's all the rage in my culture to think of religions as these rigid boxes that are easily defined and don't overlap, but that's not how it works in reality. Syncretism is the rule, not the exception. People take inspiration from anything they encounter as they experience life, and their perspectives shift in accord with those experiences. This notion that one has to check one box on the surveys - either/or thinking - is nonsense.

 

[GoodbyeDave]

What is your world view?

The physical world is only explicable in terms of the mental or spiritual world.
Religious experiences must be taken as seriously as any other experiences.
Hence the world is explicable in terms of the spiritual beings whom humans have experienced: the gods. There may be a single creator, a supreme being, who created them, but we do not know.

The gods deserve our worship because they are responsible for our existence and they are the givers of many blessings.

How did you come to this world view?

A lot of thought and some experiences.

Given the extremely numerous religious views, with varying numbers of adherents, how can you know that this is 'the one' over the others?

We can distinguish two types of religion (with a bit of fuzziness in the middle for historical reasons):

1. Primary religions, or paganism: the traditional religions of Africa, Asia, and pre-Christian Europe and America. These do not conflict: the fact that I worship, say Hekate, doesn't mean that I deny the existence of Shiva or Amaterasu, still less that I object to anyone worshiping them. Some scholars would even describe these religions as all sects of a single religion.

2. Secondary religions, with one or more founders: the religions of the Zoroastrians, Jews, Jains, Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, Druze, Sikhs, Baha'i, etc. They do conflict. Thus the belief that Jesus was the Son of God is not compatible with the belief that the Quran is the word of God. That means that if one of them is correct, then rest have got it wrong. Pick one at random, and there's a 90% chance that its false. If it's so easy to make false prophecies, it would be unwise to accept any of these without far more evidence than the declaration that "Buddha / Muhammad / whoever said so."

Hence the rational choice is Paganism, and I find it confirmed by experience. I follow the Greek variety because that is my local tradition which I have been familiar with since childhood, and it suits me. But if I were in a Hindu temple or at a Japanese shrine, I'd naturally worship the gods there.

 

[YmirGF]

The Questions

(1) What is your worldview (faith/non-faith; belief/perspective)? Please describe it in some detail, as you are comfortable and willing.

(2) How did you come to this worldview?

(3) Given the extremely vast religious views, with varying number of adherents, how can you know that this is 'the one' over the others?

Thanks in advance for your time and shared perspectives!

The Answers

(1) I am a trans-humanist atheist, but don't get too hung up on the trans-humanist thingy. It's just a stepping stone of convenience. I've also described myself as a Disintegrated Neo-gnostic (small "G" on gnostic because I'm not big on Gnosticism.)

(2) It's a rather long story, it is Christmas and I'm a bit pressed for time. I'm writing my autobiography if that helps, LOL.

(3) How do I know? A bit of a loaded question. In short, because my experience of reality does not sync well with the various god concepts that abound. I no longer even find the concept of god to be particularly meaningful in light of my experience. Mine is a mystical experience down the rabbit hole of inner reality in what certainly seems to be an endless series of adventures in consciousness. That said, I willingly embrace uncertainty and try not to superimpose my internal bias onto my ongoing experiences. It's a bit of an art-form, really. That said, I've already learned that personality is far more complex and exciting than most human animals have dared to imagine.

 

[DawudTalut]

The Questions

(1) What is your worldview (faith/non-faith; belief/perspective)? Please describe it in some detail, as you are comfortable and willing.

Peace be on you.
Life has purpose.
The purpose is best told by religion.
God is the ultimate truth.
God's teachings show us how to live with peace with God and creation and self.
If one does not agree with us, do not force them.

(2) How did you come to this worldview?

Through Ahmadiyya-Islam.

(3) Given the extremely vast religious views, with varying number of adherents, how can you know that this is 'the one' over the others?

What it claimed, it is continuously being practically proved.

 

[Kenaz]

I want to thank everyone for their responses thus far. Please keep them coming!

NOTE: Do not continue to go off topic and debate one another, ad infinitum. I asked the Mods to delete all posts that are not on-topic with the original post's intentions. We are not here to debate, talk down, or anything of that sort in this thread. This is each of us sharing a perspective, we don't have to like, or agree, with them. Thanks for keeping this on topic moving forward.

 

[Quintessence]

*** OFFICIAL STAFF REMINDER ***​

Debating is actually prohibited in this forum, y'all. See: http://www.religiousforums.com/threads/special-comparative-religion-forum-rules.1242/

 

[Revoltingest]

(1) What is your worldview (faith/non-faith; belief/perspective)? Please describe it in some detail, as you are comfortable and willing.
(2) How did you come to this worldview?
(3) Given the extremely vast religious views, with varying number of adherents, how can you know that this is 'the one' over the others?

1) Disbelief in things supernatural
2) I was born not believing in such things, & simply never changed. Nothing ever presented itself to change my view.
3) I don't know that I'm right. But I see that some others are illogical or not evidence based.

Hey, that was easy!