My religion. What the hell am I??

[Expat Canuck]

I strongly believe in God but have a problem with Jesus being gods son. It just seems somehow wrong to me. Are we not all gods children? I definately think he was a prophet or something as everyone does agree that he was a real man and not just some fantasy. I suppose that means I'm not a Christian then. I do however, feel that his teachings are sound more or less. Would this mean I'm like a Jew?

As Judaism goes I don't know too much except it's old Testament stuff correct? The only problemhere that I know of is not eating pork. This I find silly and out dated. I understand why it was brought about though. Slaughter a pig in the sun and leave it for a few hours and it will make you very sick when you eat it. We have refridgerators now.

Jehova's Witness, don't get me started.

Muslim, to be fair I don't know a lot about it. What I have read makes me uncomfortable like striking down enemies of Allah and Jihad crap. I don't think I'll go there. Maybe I'm wrong, would someone care to enlighten me? Also if you think it's evil quote to Quran and prove your point.

Definately not a Hindu, a god with a million boobies is not my cup of tea so to speak.

Buddah is a crack pot.

Shinto, seems cool but who follows that? Anyone know much?

I feel closer to the teachings of Christianity but feel that it's a bit of a load of crap. Jesus strapped to a cross and hanging from the front of a church looks like idol worship to me not to mention that "I am a jealous God" thing~o means (to me anyway) that I'm not to go through a middle man when I pray as it pisses the man upstairs right off.

What do you all think and am I alone in this line of thought? Funny how the internet seems like an easier place to discuss this than in person eh?

[indianguy4u]

Is this thread necessary? Think about it.

[Expat Canuck]

As a matter of fact it is. As I assume there are people out there with more knowledge than I have and I am hoping someone can help me. I don't think I'm just a nothing. I would like to know where I fit in best.

Was your reply needed? It is an actual question which I'm hoping to find an answer for.

I have thought about it at length and I'm confused.

[indianguy4u]

U cannot expect answers with such types of post. What are u trying to get. U cannot just go on calling names on different religions. Faith is something to keep within urself & not bragging about it. U have put it wrong way.

[Monk]

Originally Posted by Batman

Definately not a Hindu, a god with a million boobies is not my cup of tea so to speak.

I am offended by this. If you want to be enlightened ask the right questions and don't say the wrong things.
I hope you catch my drift.

[indianguy4u]

Originally Posted by Monk

I am offended by this. If you want to be enlightened ask the right questions and don't say the wrong things.
I hope you catch my drift.

Its not only to do with beliefs of hindu, but also of other religions too.

[Samudra]

Batman,

Congratulations!

You have started to think!

Be rational and try to justify everything with reason.
But before you apply thought, try reading a lot about a particular faith.
That would ease your burden significantly.

I only have a small point to make: There is a lot more to the religions you have pointed out.There is a lot more you have to learn.But never the less , a start has been made.

Congratulations again!

I'm a Hindu.
I believe your comments on Buddhism and Hinduism were based upon what you know.There is a possiblity that there exists a lot more than you know.

I'm not taking offense.You were ignorant, but you have started the journey.

[Samudra]

If you would like to be helped with the right resources to read about Hinduism , its good and bad , I think I'll gladly help.

[Neo]

Originally Posted by Batman

I strongly believe in God but have a problem with Jesus being gods son. It just seems somehow wrong to me. Are we not all gods children? I definately think he was a prophet or something as everyone does agree that he was a real man and not just some fantasy. I suppose that means I'm not a Christian then. I do however, feel that his teachings are sound more or less. Would this mean I'm like a Jew?

Yes, Jesus was his son just like we are his children. Only difference is that Jesus was conceived by the force or Holy Spirit of God thru virgin Mary and came into this world as a perfect human being.
As he was sent to us to bring salvation, he was significantly more important to God than anyone else.

If you believe in the Christ you are a christian...thats all it takes

As Judaism goes I don't know too much except it's old Testament stuff correct? The only problemhere that I know of is not eating pork. This I find silly and out dated. I understand why it was brought about though. Slaughter a pig in the sun and leave it for a few hours and it will make you very sick when you eat it. We have refridgerators now.

First five books of the Old Testament or the socalled Pentateuch are the Holy Books of Judaism. Moslims refer to it as Zaboor. Rest of the Old Testament is disputed by Jews to be Word of God, though the prophets like Isiah, Jeremiah and Daniel and many other are quite popular with Judaism.

Jehova's Witness, don't get me started.

It's a sect!

Muslim, to be fair I don't know a lot about it. What I have read makes me uncomfortable like striking down enemies of Allah and Jihad crap. I don't think I'll go there. Maybe I'm wrong, would someone care to enlighten me? Also if you think it's evil quote to Quran and prove your point.

Moslims are sensitive to any critic towards their religion, prophets or God. It's one of the youngest major religions on earth and IMHO still awaiting enlightment.
The religion has been abused by false leaders, the socalled Mullah's and therefor much critisised.

Definately not a Hindu, a god with a million boobies is not my cup of tea so to speak.

I consider hinduism to be a lifestyle with certain filosophy rather than a relegion...just like budhism.

Buddah is a crack pot.

No comment!

Shinto, seems cool but who follows that? Anyone know much?

Its basically budhism with same filosophy..

I feel closer to the teachings of Christianity but feel that it's a bit of a load of crap. Jesus strapped to a cross and hanging from the front of a church looks like idol worship to me not to mention that "I am a jealous God" thing~o means (to me anyway) that I'm not to go through a middle man when I pray as it pisses the man upstairs right off.

Are you a Catholic or Protestant if I may ask?

What do you all think and am I alone in this line of thought? Funny how the internet seems like an easier place to discuss this than in person eh?

I asked myself the same question when I was 18 and my quest took me a while and many many sudies of Judaism, Christianity and Islam to understand the concept of a God at all!

[THL]

Originally Posted by Batman

Buddah is a crack pot.

To be honest with you, I used to think so, too. An ex-boyfriend of mine was buddhist and that is where I ended up converting, but I admit, at first, I thought he was a few cents short of a dollar. Maybe about 99 cents short. It was not until, one night, I was in an open-minded good mood (rare for my personality at that time in life) that I decided to start asking questions. I had long since stopped being a practicing Lutheran, if I ever was, and was in serious need of direction. What I found was that the fundamentals of Buddhism were how I was living and what I believed anyway.

Originally Posted by Batman

I suppose that means I'm not a Christian then. I do however, feel that his teachings are sound more or less. Would this mean I'm like a Jew?

I always thought that if one believed in and followed Christ, they were Christian.

Originally Posted by indianguy4u

Is this thread necessary? Think about it.

Originally Posted by Monk

I am offended by this. If you want to be enlightened ask the right questions and don't say the wrong things.

The thread is not harming anyone. I don't think that he meant any offense. Most religions teach a great deal of tolerance, especially for those that are seeking to learn about that particular faith...let's practice some tolerance here, shall we?

Originally Posted by Samudra

I believe your comments on Buddhism and Hinduism were based upon what you know.There is a possiblity that there exists a lot more than you know.

Thank you, Sam.

Originally Posted by Batman

Jehova's Witness, don't get me started.

"...if you believe in it, it is a religion or perhaps 'the' religion;
and if you do not care one way or another about it, it is a sect;
but if you fear and hate it, it is a cult." - Leo Pfeffer. A humorous quotation, but one that is uncomfortably close to reality.

Originally Posted by Batman

Shinto, seems cool but who follows that? Anyone know much?

Originally Posted by Neo

Its basically budhism with same filosophy..

I suppose so...but not really. Shinto is mostly Japanese to my understanding and Budda, Siddhartha Gautama,was Indian. I think that when Shinto follwers die, they "become one with the earth" while Buddhist followers reincarnate until they reach enlightenment.

I suppose it is like saying Lutherans and Catholics are basically the same...they have about as many differences and would feel the same about having the same philosophy as I do Buddhism and Shintoism...that it is not so close to the truth.

[giggs88]

Wikipedia is your friend.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism

[Leader]

Originally Posted by giggs88

Wikipedia is your friend.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism

LOL

[Shek]

Originally Posted by giggs88

Wikipedia is your friend.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism

Batman,
You are best to stick to reading the primary source documents and then asking the clergy for the various religions to get a feel for how the readings are interpreted. For example, you can pull plenty of doom and gloom from the Bible, but different Christian sects look at the Bible differently. Even with a particular sect, you can get varying views/takes on religious texts. For example, I am Roman Catholic, and my wife and I don't go to the church that we should because the masses are as fun as pulling teeth, and hence, we get nothing out of the service other than wondering when we can go. Thus, we go to another Catholic church that is another 10 minutes away and find the time well spent because we can concentrate on the mass and what is being said.

Wikipedia may be a good start to get a grade school to high school level overview, but it can't give you a true feel for the religion and how the local churches/synagogues/temples/mosques interpret and teach the particular religion. For example, the current post for Christianity states "I hate Jews." Of course, the moron that wrote this probably is too dumb to realize that Jesus was a Jew, and so his so-called funny prank only exposes how idiotic and ignorant he is.

[Amled]

Batman, why do you want to put a label on your belief? Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, etc., etc. they are all just labels.
You better then anyone else knows what you believe, and what moral codex you choose to live by. No one other then yourself can tell you what you believe, look to yourself for the answers.
Whichever religious beliefs we choose to live by and/or believe in, true certainty won’t come until we have drawn our last breath.
If then!

[THL]

Originally Posted by Amled

Batman, why do you want to put a label on your belief? Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, etc., etc. they are all just labels.
You better then anyone else knows what you believe, and what moral codex you choose to live by. No one other then yourself can tell you what you believe, look to yourself for the answers.

I don't see "belonging" to a religious order a label. I think that it is important for some people to have that sense of group and order and to surround themselves with other people that think alike and have the same views on things. We spend most of our lives with people that do not share our same values and carry our same morals. To get together with a group that does once a week, or even once a month, I think is important.

Originally Posted by Shek

You are best to stick to reading the primary source documents and then asking the clergy for the various religions to get a feel for how the readings are interpreted.

I think the internet is a great resource to begin with. Just be sure to visit more than one website on each faith you are looking into. You will be able to figure out the similarities between the different websites and filter out most of the wrong information. After that, then I think it would be better to maybe look farther into the ones you feel most comfortable with.

I also think that you have got most religions represented on the board in one way or another, you can always yell a question out to a particular religion...Just maybe be a little more careful how you phrase the questions next time. Remember that religion is held very sacred to a lot of people and most will fight to protect theirs if they think that it is being attacked in some way.