YooHoot
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,432
Jun 26, 2014 3:11:50 GMT
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Post by YooHoot on Jun 5, 2016 23:08:00 GMT
I believe in a God (someone to talk to but not necessarily pray to to ask for something) but not the Jesus story and all that includes. I'm very scientific and need proof...I just don't believe because someone tells me to. But I'm a good person and live by a more "treat others etc" life.
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Post by dealsamongus on Jun 5, 2016 23:19:49 GMT
I have to ask do most of your husband feel the same as you?
My DH I agree on almost every major subject which means conflict almost nonexistent and believe me we are are opinionated.
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Dalai Mama
Drama Llama
La Pea Boheme
Posts: 6,985
Jun 26, 2014 0:31:31 GMT
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Post by Dalai Mama on Jun 5, 2016 23:31:32 GMT
I have to ask do most of your husband feel the same as you? My DH I agree on almost every major subject which means conflict almost nonexistent and believe me we are are opinionated. No, DH is Christian - we don't talk to each other about religion. I know that it bothers him that I won't go too heaven. It will bother him more when he finds out that the boys (14 & 16) are atheists too.
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Post by gar on Jun 5, 2016 23:37:58 GMT
I have to ask do most of your husband feel the same as you? My DH I agree on almost every major subject which means conflict almost nonexistent and believe me we are are opinionated. Religion isn't a feature of our lives in any way like it apparently is in many American homes/communities. We're both disinterested agnostics I guess. We agree on the big things and have very little conflict either but religion isn't one of the big things....it's just not on our radar at all.
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tincin
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,378
Jul 25, 2014 4:55:32 GMT
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Post by tincin on Jun 5, 2016 23:38:00 GMT
I believe in being nice and kind and civilized. I believe in loving people and caring for them. I believe that not everyone who doesn't believe in a god is bad and not everyone who believes in one is good.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 7, 2024 23:32:49 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2016 23:40:13 GMT
I have to ask do most of your husband feel the same as you? My DH I agree on almost every major subject which means conflict almost nonexistent and believe me we are are opinionated. I would say that DH falls somewhere between Christian and believing in a higher power that is whatever you want to call it. He was raised in a Christian home and his parents are very strictly Christian. He would tell you that he identifies as Christian, but he actually believes that all religions' "God/higher power/whatever" are the same and just have a different name which obviously doesn't fall into line with strict Christian teachings. It would not make him happy to be told that Christians would find him wrong in that thought. Religion is one topic that we dance around. It's not really a part of our lives (as far as church) and we married later in life so we don't have children together that we have to make a decision about when it comes to religion, so we basically just believe what we believe and don't really discuss our individual religious beliefs (we both know how each of us was raised when it came to religion). When we got married, it was important to him to have a religious service, but not important to him to have it in a church or with a family pastor. He felt stronger about that than I did about having a non-religious service, so that's what we went with.
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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Jun 5, 2016 23:40:14 GMT
It depends on the definition of "God", I guess. I suspect everyone's definition is different, This is how I feel. I am not rabbid anti-religion, but I also am not one to say, "I'll step back and put it in God's hands." I pray, and that gives me comfort. But I also don't expect God to make things happen because I said a prayer. I think the reason I pray is to talk through the situation so that I, myself, can more clearly see a solution to whatever is bothering me. The same way some people keep journals.
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artbabe
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,352
Jun 26, 2014 1:59:10 GMT
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Post by artbabe on Jun 6, 2016 0:33:48 GMT
Nothing. I believe life is random and the only meaning to life is whatever meaning we ourselves give it. I don't believe in any kind of afterlife, and believe that once you die, that's it. This exactly.
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Post by izzyscraps on Jun 6, 2016 0:54:53 GMT
Someone asked me my beliefs or rather why I believe them and I'm sorry I didn't post in the OP.
I am a Christian. I believe in God and Jesus and the Bible in its entirety.
Why do I believe the way I do? Yes, I was brought up in the Christian faith. I also hit the proverbial time in a teenagers life that I rebelled. To sum it all up sweet and short. I found God in my life, on my own. Upbringing or not. That's the long and short of it.
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kelly8875
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,407
Location: Lost in my supplies...
Oct 26, 2014 17:02:56 GMT
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Post by kelly8875 on Jun 6, 2016 0:55:34 GMT
I don't believe in anything. I think life is what it is, there is no big plan or being behind it all. My coworker and I had this discussion not long ago and she was horrified that I don't believe in an after life. I think that when you die, you just die. This. I'm here now, choosing my own adventure. Unfortunately when I'm gone, I'm gone. I'll live on in memories for the people still living.
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stittsygirl
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,600
Location: In the leaves and rain.
Jun 25, 2014 19:57:33 GMT
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Post by stittsygirl on Jun 6, 2016 1:02:43 GMT
I have to ask do most of your husband feel the same as you? My DH I agree on almost every major subject which means conflict almost nonexistent and believe me we are are opinionated. DH and I were both born and raised Mormon, and we're very active, believing members for the first ten years of our marriage. I lost my beliefs first - in Mormonism, then Christ, then a god altogether. DH came out of Mormonism completely about a year later, following his own path, and would now describe himself as agnostic. Religion doesn't get talked about much in our home anymore, though we do try and teach our children to respect what others believe about the existence of god and religion, unless those beliefs disrespect their very existence (my gay son, for example) and/or they are used to try and oppress and limit the rights of others.
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Post by jeremysgirl on Jun 6, 2016 1:06:59 GMT
My vision of the benevolent Spirit is one of a caring parent, who created us, wants the best for us, but lets us do our own thing. One who cheers us, comforts us, cries for us when we make a mistake, once in awhile swoops in to save us from disaster. One who sees the good in us, even when it's hard to see it ourselves. But not a Being who has time or patience for petty entreaties to "please help me pass this test", or "win this contest", or "get those new shoes". Not a Being that punishes people who don't pray the right way or use the right words or perform particular rituals. I believe this Spirit is the basis for all the world's religions, and that our differences in belief are the result of different interpretations of the same Diety. I don't believe any of these interpretations is necessarily wrong, just different from the others. Maybe incomplete. We can only know the whole of it after this life. Guess we will know for sure when this life ends... I totally agree with everything you have written. You summed up my feelings perfectly.
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Post by katlady on Jun 6, 2016 1:08:38 GMT
I believe there is a higher force, not the God of the Bible. Just something else. And I am on the fence about an afterlife.
And, I also believe in the power of prayer. Not that there is a God who is answering prayers, but that prayer does something to the human mind. Something that we still don't understand since we don't even know how most of the human brain works.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Jun 6, 2016 1:43:39 GMT
I've held off posting as I simply don't know. I hope for an afterlife - it gives me comfort when the pain of losing someone close to me way too soon is too hard. I'm a cradle Catholic - and while I left the church a long, long time ago - many of the rituals are still comforting to me when I darken the church steps - and no other church has ever felt right to me. I usually describe myself as agnostic.
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Post by lumo on Jun 6, 2016 2:00:37 GMT
I have to ask do most of your husband feel the same as you? My DH I agree on almost every major subject which means conflict almost nonexistent and believe me we are are opinionated. My DH is atheist as well.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 7, 2024 23:32:49 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2016 2:12:37 GMT
I have to ask do most of your husband feel the same as you? My DH I agree on almost every major subject which means conflict almost nonexistent and believe me we are are opinionated. Dh is probably more agnostic than me. I'm borderline atheist. We both don't care for prayers at the dinner table or even in public. I view the Bible as work of fiction. We don't talk religion much beyond we agree that organized religion is evil.
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Post by ilikepink on Jun 6, 2016 2:19:49 GMT
I grew up going to an Episcopal church and as a teen, stopped believing in God. I couldn't reconcile allowing bad things to happen in the world. When my mom found out, she was upset for me--feeling I should believe in a higher power who brought all the wonderful things in the world. She was disappointed that I still didn't believe when my DS1 was born. Ironically, it was after my mother died that I started to believe in what I call a Spirit. It could be God, but to me it's the soul/spirit in each of us that can connect to a more universal Spirit. I do pray, daily, but mostly it is prayers of gratitude and for strength - not to win the lottery or get a job. The boys were raised in the Catholic church- a decision XH1 and I made together. I wanted them to have the structure a church offered, until they were old enough to decide for themselves - and they don't attend church very often at all. The older I get, the more disillusioned I become with organized religions. While the fellowship/community is delightful, the egos of the people involved destroys it for me.
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Post by AussieMeg on Jun 6, 2016 2:23:40 GMT
I have read every post on this thread and this sums up my thoughts most accurately: Nothing. I believe life is random and the only meaning to life is whatever meaning we ourselves give it. I don't believe in any kind of afterlife, and believe that once you die, that's it. I am prepared to accept that a man named Jesus did possibly exist, and had followers. But I don't believe he performed miracles such as turning water into wine or healing the blind and nor do I believe he came back to life. I also think that other bible stories such as the parting of the Red Sea are figurative not literal. I certainly do not believe in the existence of God.
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Post by Zee on Jun 6, 2016 2:24:20 GMT
I've held for posting as I simply don't know. I hope for an afterlife - it gives me comfort when the pain of losing someone close to me way too soon is too hard. I'm a cradle Catholic - and while I left the church a long, long time ago - many of the rituals are still comforting to me when I darken the church steps - and no other church has ever felt right to me. I usually describe myself as agnostic. This actually sums me up pretty well. Except my parents didn't attend church, and I chose to go with my grandma and get confirmed. I've had little use for any of it since I was about 14, right after I got confirmed. I lost my faith and found I was just fine without it. But I still like the rituals and pageantry. I'd love to see my grandpa again one day and an afterlife would be grand, but I don't worry about it at all.
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StephDRebel
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,692
Location: Ohio
Jul 5, 2014 1:53:49 GMT
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Post by StephDRebel on Jun 6, 2016 2:32:14 GMT
I have to ask do most of your husband feel the same as you? My DH I agree on almost every major subject which means conflict almost nonexistent and believe me we are are opinionated. I would say that DH falls somewhere between Christian and believing in a higher power that is whatever you want to call it. He was raised in a Christian home and his parents are very strictly Christian. He would tell you that he identifies as Christian, but he actually believes that all religions' "God/higher power/whatever" are the same and just have a different name which obviously doesn't fall into line with strict Christian teachings. It would not make him happy to be told that Christians would find him wrong in that thought. Religion is one topic that we dance around. It's not really a part of our lives (as far as church) and we married later in life so we don't have children together that we have to make a decision about when it comes to religion, so we basically just believe what we believe and don't really discuss our individual religious beliefs (we both know how each of us was raised when it came to religion). When we got married, it was important to him to have a religious service, but not important to him to have it in a church or with a family pastor. He felt stronger about that than I did about having a non-religious service, so that's what we went with. This is just about word for word what I would've posted...right down to the way we choose our wedding venue and service.
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Post by Amelia Bedelia on Jun 6, 2016 2:38:51 GMT
I have to ask do most of your husband feel the same as you? My DH I agree on almost every major subject which means conflict almost nonexistent and believe me we are are opinionated. DH says he believes and is a Christian but I've gone to church more in the last decade than he has. He says it's comforting for him to believe. He grew up in similar churches to what I grew up with, but he's better at letting things roll off his back, and he wasn't kicked out of a church for being baptized the wrong way. He might feel differently if he experienced that as a teen. He says he believes in a higher power in line with Christian ideas, but not the rigidity of organized religion. He's a physicist. Both our kids are atheists. The reason I've been to church more than DH since we've had kids is our oldest really wanted to explore religion before she rejected it. She was on the fence and needed to research and experience it first hand, so we picked a few churches to explore and tried for about a year before she said she didn't feel it. Our youngest has always thought bible stories were tall tales and never believed anything she learned at church. She resented having to go while her sister was doing her soul searching. DH knows that and isn't thrilled but doesn't fuss about our views. I told him I did my part and if he wants to make them be religious he's welcome to take them to church or whatever. He never has.
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Post by 950nancy on Jun 6, 2016 2:52:50 GMT
When I was in school, our youth pastor took us to religious homes to see how/what other faiths believed. It really taught me that as far as religions go, there are many more similarities than differences. I grew up in a large church that was based on acting Christ like and helping others and not judging. It makes me sad when any religion is more about being right than being good and leading by example. I went to church three times a week and grew up with a mother who was a strong believer. While I don't go to church often, my background of faith is strong. I also have a few good friends who are very religious, but they absolutely do not judge others. I figure in the end, things will be explained. If not, and there is no afterlife, my faith did teach me to try to be a good person and that is a good thing. Yes, I could have gotten there on my own, but would I have?
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Post by lisacharlotte on Jun 6, 2016 3:10:49 GMT
I'm agnostic, raised Roman Catholic. I've never truly believed but I'm unwilling to say there is no higher power. I don't know. If there is a God, I don't think he's manipulating lives and allowing bad things to happen. I believe we are all imbued with free will and we choose our path. Bad things happen to good people...and good things happen to bad people. All we can do is persevere and live this short life we have to the fullest. I rarely attend mass but it's traditions bring me comfort when I do go.
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Post by refugeepea on Jun 6, 2016 4:00:42 GMT
I found when I stopped believing in an afterlife, I came to appreciate this life and the world and people around me so much more. I don't need a belief in god to get through the bad stuff, but I understand the comfort it brings to many who do believe in god, and don't begrudge anyone that. I also had so much less anxiety in my life when I realized the religion I was raised in, could not possibly be true. I have to ask do most of your husband feel the same as you? We were married in an LDS temple. He promptly became inactive once we married. I went to church with my children for nine years (3 hour services) because I was dedicated to going to the celestial kingdom. I accepted numerous church callings. Ironically, it was a General Conference talk made by one of the highest people in the church that finally made me realize I was nothing unless my husband was faithful in the church. No matter what I did, I would not go to the highest level of heaven. Only if I divorced him and married someone who was "worthy". Then I studied church history (history from the LDS church that is no longer taught or has been revised) and I realized it could not possibly be true. I lean towards atheist. I don't know about him; probably agnostic. Religion is no longer important and it is a GIANT relief.
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Post by dealsamongus on Jun 6, 2016 4:35:49 GMT
I found when I stopped believing in an afterlife, I came to appreciate this life and the world and people around me so much more. I don't need a belief in god to get through the bad stuff, but I understand the comfort it brings to many who do believe in god, and don't begrudge anyone that. I have to ask do most of your husband feel the same as you? We were married in an LDS temple. He promptly became inactive once we married. I went to church with my children for nine years (3 hour services) because I was dedicated to going to the celestial kingdom. I accepted numerous church callings. Ironically, it was a General Conference talk made by one of the highest people in the church that finally made me realize I was nothing unless my husband was faithful in the church. No matter what I did, I would not go to the highest level of heaven. Only if I divorced him and married someone who was "worthy". Then I studied church history (history from the LDS church that is no longer taught or has been revised) and I realized it could not possibly be true. I lean towards atheist. I don't know about him; probably agnostic. Religion is no longer important and it is a GIANT relief. I loved your story! Thanks for sharing!
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stittsygirl
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,600
Location: In the leaves and rain.
Jun 25, 2014 19:57:33 GMT
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Post by stittsygirl on Jun 6, 2016 4:48:13 GMT
I found when I stopped believing in an afterlife, I came to appreciate this life and the world and people around me so much more. I don't need a belief in god to get through the bad stuff, but I understand the comfort it brings to many who do believe in god, and don't begrudge anyone that. I also had so much less anxiety in my life when I realized the religion I was raised in, could not possibly be true. I had an actual awakening moment (the one we former Mormons often refer to their "shelf" breaking) that was more powerful than any spiritual experience I had ever had before in my life. After that I had a complete feeling of peace wash over me, knowing none of it was true, and I didn't have to try and make sense of it anymore. Life isn't perfect, but I too live with a lot less anxiety now as an unbeliever .
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anniebygaslight
Drama Llama
I'd love a cup of tea. #1966
Posts: 7,402
Location: Third Rock from the sun.
Jun 28, 2014 14:08:19 GMT
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Post by anniebygaslight on Jun 6, 2016 5:49:53 GMT
I don't believe in anything. I think life is what it is, there is no big plan or being behind it all. My coworker and I had this discussion not long ago and she was horrified that I don't believe in an after life. I think that when you die, you just die. minus the coworker discussion.
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raindancer
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,095
Jun 26, 2014 20:10:29 GMT
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Post by raindancer on Jun 6, 2016 10:23:38 GMT
I also had so much less anxiety in my life when I realized the religion I was raised in, could not possibly be true. I had an actual awakening moment (the one we former Mormons often refer to their "shelf" breaking) that was more powerful than any spiritual experience I had ever had before in my life. After that I had a complete feeling of peace wash over me, knowing none of it was true, and I didn't have to try and make sense of it anymore. Life isn't perfect, but I too live with a lot less anxiety now as an unbeliever . Same. It was the first time that I actually felt like I was having what had always been described to me as a spiritual experience. Such a relief. My story is kind of like refugeepeas. My dh is agnostic and has been since before we met. I was mormon when we married and I just knew if I was a good example he wold convert. I had a bishop tell me that I needed him to get to the highest glory to be with god. I started to look into that. It became the exact thing that led me right out of the church and all religions. The relief I felt after that was incredibly freeing. I used to spend a lot of time reading, debating, thinking on religion. Now it only comes to mind when I see something here or on fb. And it has to be pretty controversial to grab my interest.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 7, 2024 23:32:49 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2016 10:33:23 GMT
I have to ask do most of your husband feel the same as you? My husband was raised a Catholic but doesn't believe in any form of religion or god now.
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Post by Merge on Jun 6, 2016 12:44:16 GMT
I have to ask do most of your husband feel the same as you? My DH I agree on almost every major subject which means conflict almost nonexistent and believe me we are are opinionated. DH and I were both raised Catholic and when we met, I was the more religious of the two of us. We decided to be married in the church and we practiced our faith for several years. We baptized our oldest daughter in the church without qualms. I had been growing increasingly uncomfortable in the church, however, and had a couple of experiences that led me to suggest we try a different denomination. (This is a BIG no-no among faithful Catholics - if you go Protestant you might as well not be going to church at all.) But we started attending an Episcopal church and actually had our second daughter baptized there. My parents did not attend. They made an excuse about being busy at work and not being able to travel, but the reality is that my mom could not handle seeing her granddaughter baptized in a non-Catholic church. In 2007, my parents were killed in an accident, and their funeral masses were the last Catholic masses I attended. We tried a couple of other churches, but I very quickly realized that whatever "faith" I'd had was mostly due to family obligation. And without that, I was free to honor my own feelings. It was a huge relief, as others have described. I miss my parents a lot, but I don't miss the sense of guilt and obligation at all. DH is a little different - after his father died in 2009 he felt drawn back to religion and started attended a Methodist church. He likes that denomination and feels comfortable there, and still attends a couple of times a month. Our "deal" is that the girls and I go with him on Christmas and Easter so that they have some exposure to his beliefs. They have both confided to me privately that they don't think they believe in God. They are completely free to make their own decisions in that regard, without pressure, guilt or obligation. So DH is Christian and I am not, and it works fine. He's also a Republican and I am a Democrat, and that works fine, too. We don't discuss politics very often and tend to stick to topics we know we agree on, like education funding.
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