HELP- religious confusion and curiosity

[GWUW]

Hi!

I am just wondering what you think of someone who created their own spiritual beliefs, who kind of pick and chose from various religions. I am not associated with any official religion, but I still feel very spiritual. Any guidance?

 

[Elizabeth_D]

Do you believe in truth? This is a central question… truth, and love. Care deeply about these things, seek Truth, seek the face of God. One of the beautiful truths of the spiritual life is that God is always seeking us before we thought to seek Him. He loved us first. He loved us even before He made us.

Once believe in Truth and grow to love Truth, once you start to believe in Love and self-gift, it’s not logically possible to believe that all religions and beliefs are equally true and all religions equally reflect the truth about love.

Prayer is essential for every person. Daily prayer, setting aside time to be with God, the One whom we know loves us. There is no one way to pray, prayer can be a kind of conversation (most truly so when it’s a wordless conversation of the heart), more essentially it’s a relationship, a relationship between persons. Like a relationship between friends, between spouses, between parent and child. Do you have a Bible? Sit down to pray, reflect that you are in the presence of God, and read a passage from one of the Gospels. Some of the Psalms are great too, how about Psalm 63? Read meditatively, let it speak to your heart.

What’s the truth about Love? I was an agnostic or atheist and I had an experience of God’s love that made me realize overwhelmingly that this love, total, overwhelming, self-giving, wonderful, intensely personal, this love was the subject of the Gospel. This love, this costly immense incomprehensible love, makes life worth living, I realized the one thing I wanted was to know how to live in response to this Love. I want to know Jesus and to follow Him and be like Him because I know that He is Love. How must I live?

Aristotle said that the purpose of life was to be happy, Saint Thomas Aquinas also says so, and so does the Catechism of the Catholic Church. And how? By being good, by virtue, by friendship with God and with good human beings, by love and self-gift. This is the Christian life.

Besides prayer, it’s necessary to form one’s conscience and intellect. Good reading is essential. Maybe others here will suggest some good spiritual reading aside from the Bible. I really fell in love with the writings of some of the saints, head over heels! Saint Augustine, Saint John of the Cross, Saint Teresa, the Fathers of the Church, great monastic writers, I love that stuff. Your tastes might be similar or different, but there’s treasures, mountains of treasures. If you want to know about the Catholic faith, your basic resource is the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which isn’t something you can sit down and read all in one gulp but it is not without beauty and it’s a great education in theology written for regular people. The Catholic faith is for thinking people, people who reason, especially people who reason with their mind in their heart. There are a lot of simple easy to understand religions full of attractive half-truths, but if you are looking for Truth they will just cause you grief. There are a lot of religions that are relativistic in terms of moral life, but this is a tragedy in terms of living Love. You can’t be rich and greedy and also serve God Who is perfect love. You can’t be prideful and power hungry. You can’t be in the thrall of sexual excess and lust. All this is contrary to the self-gift to which we are called. “Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God.”

Fortunately, there’s nobody who sincerely longs for God and seeks Him, whom God is not seeking so much more. Grace is never lacking for the sincere hearts, and God answers those who call on Him.

Peace, and prayers for your good and happiness!

 

[Nine_Two]

Hi!

I am just wondering what you think of someone who created their own spiritual beliefs, who kind of pick and chose from various religions. I am not associated with any official religion, but I still feel very spiritual. Any guidance?

Man made doctrine does not hold the capacity to be truth as man by his own admition does not have complete understanding of truth. If you pick and choose bits and pieces of “truth” and throw away the rest, you are in reality creating your own doctrine.

Since all these “truths” are mutually exclusive, they can not all be true. You must find the one which you are convinced is the truth. Not just the one that sounds better on a personal level, but the one which demonstrates best that it is the truth.

 

[ralphinal]

There is a false dichotemy in the world between being spiritual and religious. Properly done, being one requires the other.

Have you ever seen children play in a playground? As they play, they ALWAYS end up creating rules, playing known games (tag or with a ball), or playing on the fixed things (swings and slides). We do not say that they are limiting themselves in the least, do we? No. In fact, in playing using these constraints, they have more fun and better play. No one would go into a group of kids playing ball, take the ball away, and say “Now you can play freely and have more fun.”

To be spiritual is not the enemy of being religious. Nor is it better to be spiritual without being religious. At that point, you are wandering the park without any idea what to play or how.

Creating your own religious constructs has its own issues. Are you choosing what feels right or seems best to you? How do you fit within the greater systems of people and ethics? Where does this faith lead you?

 

[Texan77]

Hi!

I am just wondering what you think of someone who created their own spiritual beliefs, who kind of pick and chose from various religions. I am not associated with any official religion, but I still feel very spiritual. Any guidance?

Yeah we are taught that the road to heaven is going to be tough and narrow - so if we freely pick and choose what we want to believe in - well I can only assume we will be lost

Since you admit that you are a spiritual person - continue to pray and learn

 

[06convert]

Hi!

I am just wondering what you think of someone who created their own spiritual beliefs, who kind of pick and chose from various religions. I am not associated with any official religion, but I still feel very spiritual. Any guidance?

They are called Protestants. Look at the yellow pages. You’ll likely find some church out there that believes the same things you do. Different variances of the truth.

If you want the complete truth, the whole story, you find the Catholic church.

 

[geometer]

Hi!

I am just wondering what you think of someone who created their own spiritual beliefs, who kind of pick and chose from various religions. I am not associated with any official religion, but I still feel very spiritual. Any guidance?

Well, I have not been confirmed or converted either.

What are spiritual beliefs? Do you mean moral laws?

What do you mean by feeling spiritual? What is a spiritual being?

 

[rossum]

Hi!

I am just wondering what you think of someone who created their own spiritual beliefs, who kind of pick and chose from various religions. I am not associated with any official religion, but I still feel very spiritual. Any guidance?

To avoid all evil, to cultivate good, and to cleanse one’s mind - this is the teaching of the Buddhas.

• Dhammapada 14:5
  All the rest is inessential, you can pick and chose.

rossum

 

[CHRISTINE77]

Hi!

I am just wondering what you think of someone who created their own spiritual beliefs, who kind of pick and chose from various religions. I am not associated with any official religion, but I still feel very spiritual. Any guidance?

Do you feel close to God? Do you praise his name and pray to him for guidance? Do you know that your life means absolutely nothing without him?

 

[AJTheMan]

I would like to echo Rossum’s post. In a way, I’m somewhat of a Utilitarian whenever it comes to religious belief. No one can really prove one religion correct or true. I cannot show you a kamma from the afterlife. It’s simply something that I have accepted on my own terms. Likewise, Christians cannot give you a lock of God’s hair. We all must go with what we feel best helps our form of spirituality. Some feel like that to live as if they were Jesus would infinitely help them whereas others feel like living without religion entirely is what makes them stand proud. You must find what fits best in your life.

 

[bluelake]

Do you believe in truth? This is a central question… truth, and love. Care deeply about these things, seek Truth, seek the face of God. One of the beautiful truths of the spiritual life is that God is always seeking us before we thought to seek Him. He loved us first. He loved us even before He made us.

Once believe in Truth and grow to love Truth, once you start to believe in Love and self-gift, it’s not logically possible to believe that all religions and beliefs are equally true and all religions equally reflect the truth about love.

Prayer is essential for every person. Daily prayer, setting aside time to be with God, the One whom we know loves us. There is no one way to pray, prayer can be a kind of conversation (most truly so when it’s a wordless conversation of the heart), more essentially it’s a relationship, a relationship between persons. Like a relationship between friends, between spouses, between parent and child. Do you have a Bible? Sit down to pray, reflect that you are in the presence of God, and read a passage from one of the Gospels. Some of the Psalms are great too, how about Psalm 63? Read meditatively, let it speak to your heart.

What’s the truth about Love? I was an agnostic or atheist and I had an experience of God’s love that made me realize overwhelmingly that this love, total, overwhelming, self-giving, wonderful, intensely personal, this love was the subject of the Gospel. This love, this costly immense incomprehensible love, makes life worth living, I realized the one thing I wanted was to know how to live in response to this Love. I want to know Jesus and to follow Him and be like Him because I know that He is Love. How must I live?

Aristotle said that the purpose of life was to be happy, Saint Thomas Aquinas also says so, and so does the Catechism of the Catholic Church. And how? By being good, by virtue, by friendship with God and with good human beings, by love and self-gift. This is the Christian life.

Besides prayer, it’s necessary to form one’s conscience and intellect. Good reading is essential. Maybe others here will suggest some good spiritual reading aside from the Bible. I really fell in love with the writings of some of the saints, head over heels! Saint Augustine, Saint John of the Cross, Saint Teresa, the Fathers of the Church, great monastic writers, I love that stuff. Your tastes might be similar or different, but there’s treasures, mountains of treasures. If you want to know about the Catholic faith, your basic resource is the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which isn’t something you can sit down and read all in one gulp but it is not without beauty and it’s a great education in theology written for regular people. The Catholic faith is for thinking people, people who reason, especially people who reason with their mind in their heart. There are a lot of simple easy to understand religions full of attractive half-truths, but if you are looking for Truth they will just cause you grief. There are a lot of religions that are relativistic in terms of moral life, but this is a tragedy in terms of living Love. You can’t be rich and greedy and also serve God Who is perfect love. You can’t be prideful and power hungry. You can’t be in the thrall of sexual excess and lust. All this is contrary to the self-gift to which we are called. “Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God.”

Fortunately, there’s nobody who sincerely longs for God and seeks Him, whom God is not seeking so much more. Grace is never lacking for the sincere hearts, and God answers those who call on Him.

Peace, and prayers for your good and happiness!

elizabeth,
Thank you for the wonderful post. Ps 63 is beautiful.
Anyone who has a personal relationship with the Lord is saved. Going to church is part of this relationship.
The nature of man isn’t always loving and congenial . That is why we have so many different denominations. They all have one thing in common, they all love the same Lord and Savior.

See Rev.3:20

God bless,
bluelake

 

[bluelake]

I would like to echo Rossum’s post. In a way, I’m somewhat of a Utilitarian whenever it comes to religious belief. No one can really prove one religion correct or true. I cannot show you a kamma from the afterlife. It’s simply something that I have accepted on my own terms. Likewise, Christians cannot give you a lock of God’s hair. We all must go with what we feel best helps our form of spirituality. Some feel like that to live as if they were Jesus would infinitely help them whereas others feel like living without religion entirely is what makes them stand proud. You must find what fits best in your life.

With God’s help, we will find it. have you asked him?
please see Jn.3:16

bluelake

 

[Monica4316]

Hi!

I am just wondering what you think of someone who created their own spiritual beliefs, who kind of pick and chose from various religions. I am not associated with any official religion, but I still feel very spiritual. Any guidance?

Hi, well the way I see it, all religions can’t be true because they disagree on points. So above all, we should look for the truth, not just what suits us. Do you believe that any one religion could potentially be true? What we believe as Christians is that other religions are human attempts to find God, and Christianity is essentially God trying to find us; it came through revelation from Him… we also believe that Christ is the truth. Not just that He gave us the truth, or the way to God, but that He Himself is the way. So we know God the Father by knowing Him…as a Person, as our Lord. God bless

 

[Monica4316]

I would like to echo Rossum’s post. In a way, I’m somewhat of a Utilitarian whenever it comes to religious belief. No one can really prove one religion correct or true. I cannot show you a kamma from the afterlife. It’s simply something that I have accepted on my own terms. Likewise, Christians cannot give you a lock of God’s hair. We all must go with what we feel best helps our form of spirituality. Some feel like that to live as if they were Jesus would infinitely help them whereas others feel like living without religion entirely is what makes them stand proud. You must find what fits best in your life.

we don’t always know what fits our life… we try to fill the empty place in our hearts with all kinds of things, but only God can fill it truly. That’s why people search.

Christians do have evidence of Jesus… it’s the Resurrection. The Apostles saw it happen and then were martyred - if they had made it up, they wouldn’t have been willing to die for it, to leave their homes and possessions for it. And they were all very rational people, even skeptical in some cases.

We should look for truth… then we’ll find everything else. If we look for what suits us, we’ll find neither that, nor truth, in the end.

God bless

 

[gmcbroom]

GWUW,

First as someone who also went through a similar phase I know this is both a very confusing yet enlightening time for you. Never stop learning my friend. Learn all you can about the different faiths from monotheistic to yes the polytheistic. Then you will be able to make an informed choice. Naturally, I fervently hope you choose Catholism, but I know well that one should go where they feel the most at home. If I may I’d like to recommend that you research the 22 suri irius of the Catholic Church. I myself am going through the process to become a Maronite Catholic.

God Bless you on your journey.

 

[jmcrae]

Hi!

I am just wondering what you think of someone who created their own spiritual beliefs, who kind of pick and chose from various religions. I am not associated with any official religion, but I still feel very spiritual. Any guidance?

Well, if I were in your situation (and I suppose all of us find ourselves there at some point along the journey) one thing I would ask myself is, “Am I as qualified as Jesus Christ, or Buddha, or Moses, or Brahmin, to establish my own religion?”

Be as honest as possible. Don’t let yourself get away with “Well, if only …” style of answers, like “Well, I need to work on that, but I’ll put “yes” because I think some day I will achieve it.” Put the answer that is true right now.

What were my grades like, in school. Was I an exceptional achiever? If yes, fine - you may well be qualified to establish your own religion, if you have exceptional intelligence.

What about my leadership skills? Do I easily convince others of my ideas, or do they tend to consider me slightly bats? If you easily attract followers, then it’s entirely possible that you have spiritual gifts that others can benefit from, and founding a new religion could be a way of benefiting the human race.

How does my religion help to solve the problems of the common person? Is there an effective way to deal with sin? Are there ritual celebrations for the everyday events in life, to mark times, and seasons, and lives? Where can my people go when they feel that their prayers aren’t really working? Do I have a priesthood or ordained ministry available to them to give them counseling in their hard times? If you have these people to help you, then you are probably okay to continue establishing your new religion.

What miracles have occurred, as a result of my interventions and prayers? This is really important. If you are not doing miracles such as healing the sick, feeding the starving, or making the beggars to be able to work for their living, then you cannot say that God is blessing your ministry. God has never yet established a new religion on non-miraculous leaders. But if you don’t do miracles, or if you find that you have to do magic tricks to make people think that miracles are occurring, then no - find an established religion to be part of.

Preferably, one that God has blessed with many authentic miracles, and that has strong, intelligent leaders, ways of dealing with sin and the common problems of humanity, and celebrates the cycle of life with ritual actions - such as the Catholic Church.

 

[AJTheMan]

we don’t always know what fits our life… we try to fill the empty place in our hearts with all kinds of things, but only God can fill it truly. That’s why people search.

Christians do have evidence of Jesus… it’s the Resurrection. The Apostles saw it happen and then were martyred - if they had made it up, they wouldn’t have been willing to die for it, to leave their homes and possessions for it. And they were all very rational people, even skeptical in some cases.

We should look for truth… then we’ll find everything else. If we look for what suits us, we’ll find neither that, nor truth, in the end.

God bless

May you find peace in your faith.

With God’s help, we will find it. have you asked him?
please see Jn.3:16

bluelake

Even gods must go through the cycle of rebirth. Even they must see the path to Nibbana. Even they must reach enlightenment at one time or another.

May you find peace in your faith as well.

 

[geometer]

May you find peace in your faith.

Even gods must go through the cycle of rebirth. Even they must see the path to Nibbana. Even they must reach enlightenment at one time or another.

May you find peace in your faith as well.

Wow…