Faith, where now? (page 3)

Alive!

Regarding ritual - there is a certain beauty in sacred, reverential observance of rituals.

We are all on our own journeys.

I have been regularly moved to tears by being more deeply involved with 'people' who care, are courageous and reverent.

This has been the hardest journey of my life since turning away from meetings and the inevitable loss of close association with my community of some 20 years.

Yet just yesterday, I met several people involved in a community work who glowed with a spirit that reflected true service and humility at the same time.

To me, God is everywhere. I don't understand or yet know the dimensions of eternity and time - but as someone said earlier, spiritually finding the absolute present in your heart is in itself being in the 'Kingdom' moment....

if we are indeed made in the image of a dynamic and eternal God, then surely there is enough information in that very phrase for us to trust that we have a journey to something beyond our present understanding.

Daniel1555

You could even be ...

... spiritual without being religious.

... believe in a higher power, god without any organised religion.

... pray and have a personal relationship to god without following any manmade rituals or set of rules.

... free to explore all kind of religions / churches until you find the one you feel good in (if you need organised religion).

But the best is, you are free to live a happy and satisfying life according to your conscience.

Heaven

If you are looking at learning about the Bible, you don't need to, and probably should not, go to a church.

Have you actually read the entire Bible? If not, maybe start there, writing down your questions as you go. I'd also suggest you start reading up on history. Perhaps, once you are ready, seek out Bible Scholars to discuss the Bible and ancient times. Are there any courses available at your schools on the history of the Bible? There are online courses available as well (eg. Dr. Bart Ehrman's The History Of The Bible: The Making Of The New Testament Canon). Be open to what was really going on back then. There was definitely an agenda by the first century Christians to standardize belief. (To this day, I truly believe they did not completely accomplish this task based on the variance of answers I get from Christians about their beliefs).

You don't have to belong to a church to find spirituality or the closeness of community. Maybe select a non-religious group in your area that has a common interest with your own, say, one that helps less fortunate people. Or one interested in the environment. Maybe you need a pet. Maybe you need to plant a garden.

Theburstbubble said: I know the majority of you on here are atheists but I still want to believe in something.

Besides Christianity, have you investigated any other faiths such as Judaism, Buddism, or Paganism/The Craft (aka Witches).

There is much to believe in, particularly things that work. You already know the foundations of love are wise. We all know this because it works.

I personally find Permaculture, it's ethics, principles that actually work, and their various global projects to be something I am quite interested in. But with all things you have to be conscious of the BITE model. I have seen a couple of these groups begin to go down the cult pathway.

Freesoul

After I left the cult I was too scared to go to any churches for a very long time. I believe you can pray to god wherever you are, you do not need a building.

But if you want to meet with other christians the type of church I would suggest is one that is more evangelical, I started looking for one a couple of years ago and decided that if I was going to a church and they were going to be preachy and try and make me feel guilty and would be out the door immediately.

I live in Melbourne Australia and found the Hillsong Church, I enjoy going there because I love the singing, I don't really like the preaching bit, I got enough of that while I was going up in the cult.

I believe it is good to do mediation and yoga as well, as this aligns us with our spirit and gets us back to our true nature and self.

Giordano

For all of us who wish to honor Burstbubbles request one factor needs to be on the table..

Believing in something that is apparently not there............. that offers no response to one's individual needs nor provides any answers not attributed to mankind is problematic as well as disappointing.

The need is to find something that has substance. For most the shortest route to belief is to just stay in the tradition you were born into....... be it Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu etc.

Because mankind had no explanations for or understanding of so many things we evolved our explanations into various types of religions. A spirit world that provided us with a primitive understanding of our environment. A cause for all of the things we couldn't explain without a belief system.

We have had thousands of god's...Hindus have millions of god's. It is a natural response to help understand what is unknowable.

Eventually science has helped us understand many of the mysteries that we needed gods for. And those gods died out.

The conflict we now have is to find a way to justify a belief in an invisible being who according to any religious book in circulation is part insane, and or inane.

What it comes down to, in my opinion, is that looking for god is probably not near as important as finding a community you want to belong to.

The religious experience left to us ex JW's as well as every believing person is more about the people you choose to join then the god you choose to worship.

Within that community one's notion of a god will be respected. Being affirmed by others doesn't prove a god exists but at least it provides a comfort that is reassuring.

Phizzy

Mrs Phizzy and I, when we first left, attended a number of different Church Services, C of E, Baptist and others.

The best church we found was an independent one which had taken over a C of E church that had failed, and was run by a charismatic and enthusiastic preacher.

When he explained the Bible verses it was as good as the best commentaries, the Church was a wonderful community where all ages attended, the teenagers sat together in a group, and all sang along with the Gospel Rock band that led the hymns.

Needless to say, I did not go along with them as far as belief goes, I had begun to educate myself by then, but both of us enjoyed our visits there, even attending a wonderful Wedding service.

I would advise finding that kind of church, but getting an education with regard to the Bible, so as not to be duped again, and asking Science to answer your deep questions.

TheLiberator

I personally was looking for a group of Bible students that was family like and serious students of the Bible. My friend indirectly introduced me to a group just like that. The core beliefs we have in common. Conscience matters are left as that. Today, I gave a "talk". I came up with the subject matter. The talk was more of a discussion as I intermingled questions throughout, and that allowed everyone to share there thoughts. We take breaks and have snacks. It seems to draw witnesses. If you take a look at the website and it's affiliate, you can see why.

http://www.scatteredbrethren.org

http://www.focusonthekingdom.org

Faith, where now?

Alive!

Daniel1555

Heaven

Freesoul

Giordano

Phizzy

TheLiberator

cofty

TheLiberator

cofty

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