greywolf90

I'm a new member here, and I'm not sure what my beliefs are classified as. I don't know much about agnostics, but from what I do know, i don't think i am one because i believe in the existance of a god (or at least of some higher purpose). I was baptized and raised as a christian, but my parents never placed a lot of importance on the church, and we hardly ever attended. We also never really belonged to any particular denomination. When i became a teenager, i started becoming curious about my own religion and went to church with my neighbors. I liked it at first, and i considered myself very religious. I reaserched everything i could on christianity and its beliefs so that i could find out more. I can't say that i've read all of the Bible, but i've read most of it, and what i havn't read, i have a general idea of. After a few years, i started disagreeing with the church more and more until i stopped going. i'm now at my last year of high school, and my views of the church and christianity have changed a lot. While i believe the bible is an important book with a good message, i don't believe that all of it is true and infalable. I can't say wether or not jesus was really divine and the savior, but personally, i don't think of him as divine, just a teacher. I don't believe in the trinity: that jesus could be both the son of god, and at the same time, be god. I also don't belive that christianity is the "one and only true religion" or that any religion is the right religion (I don't even think my beliefs are right, they are just what i believe, and i will never tell anyone that what they believe is wrong just because i disagree with them; i'd rather just accept that we have different opinions). So anyways, i'm not going to go into every subject of my personal beliefs, but i think i've covered all the important ones. As i said, i don't think i am agnostic, but i doubt that many christians still consider me a christian. Thanks for reading, and i look forward to talking with all of you.

Og

I recommend the works of joseph campbell.

I recommend starting with the original Star Wars trilogy an then watching "The Power of Myth DVD"

And.. Welcome

__________________
Vi veri veniversum vivus vici. (By the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe)
The self is not a fixed entity but a dynamic process of relationships
You & I, no distinction. - Tat Tvam Asi
Become Who You Are

kjk437

You'll start to get answers for yourself. Don't worry if other Christians wouldn't see you as a Christian. Do your own thing and think for yourself.

Gettin' In Tune

Hello and welcome.

Changing and questioning your belief system can bring an element of confusion. You have relied on a belief system which now seems shaky, so it is natural to have some confusion.

I suggest that you keep asking questions and continue to be curious. You questions and curiosity will ultimately play a crucial role in forming your beliefs.

__________________
"But to find the truth we need imagination and skepticism both. We will not be afraid to speculate, but we will be careful to distinguish speculation from fact."--C.Sagan

girlinterrupted364

my philosophy, and no one else has to agree with me. i dont really have a beliefe system, like i wouldnt classify myself as anything particular i just am. like, i dont think i could be classified as a deisist because (i think) that they believe in an after life, and i dont. and i believe that something, some being, created everything, but i don't really believe in a god, so i guess that knocks out christian, and im def. not a satanist, so i just feel that, unless one needs to associate one's self with a particular group of people...dont worry about it, you dont need to introduce yourself as your religion, theres so much more to you ( you being a general term for human).

ps, i know theres a lot of christians deisists and what not on here, but ive only had one person proclaim their religion as satanism and i was just wondering cuz thats one religion i dont know much about, that a wicca...

__________________
Non ducor, DUCO

I wish on shooting stars

I am tired, Beloved,
of chafing my heart against
the want of you;
of squeezing it into little inkdrops,
And posting it.
~Amy Lowell, "The Letter"

Gettin' In Tune

Everyone has a belief system built upon sensory experience whether it is a World View or Religious. Belief systems can be shaped to various degrees by knowledge, politics, economics, culture, religion, science, linguistics, and ethics. This is just my opinion, but a belief system should require a persistent curiosity, rational thinking, and brutal honesty.

__________________
"But to find the truth we need imagination and skepticism both. We will not be afraid to speculate, but we will be careful to distinguish speculation from fact."--C.Sagan

girlinterrupted364

yea....what i meant is that i dont attach myself and classify myself with any specific well known religion, and part of the reason is that with the sometimes rational thinking i do, things change, and always will as long as i keep and open mind and an intelligent mind.

__________________
Non ducor, DUCO

I wish on shooting stars

I am tired, Beloved,
of chafing my heart against
the want of you;
of squeezing it into little inkdrops,
And posting it.
~Amy Lowell, "The Letter"

El_Mariachi64

GrayWolf, it sounds to me like your a Deist.

You no longer believe in any one particular God...just a God in general, you don't know which one...you figure its the one you started out with, but maybe you figure its probably the same one all the other religions believe in, only with a different name.

Don't worry about it though, you already won the battle. You already determined that the religion you happen to know the most about is not infallible, and that yours is just as good as someone who believes in something completely different, like Hinduism. So in that sense, you've freed yourself of any opression anyone can place on you because you know that those people have no credibility at all to say that theirs is the right one. Since you know that, you also won't be imposing your beliefs on others. My friend, your a secular, you just want what's best from a practical point of view, taking everyone's wants and needs into consideration and trying to come up with sensible compromises...that's what its all about.

Now, I was a Deist for a while too, so I know that if you keep thinking about it you might just end up being an Agnostic like me...and if you become a little jaded you decide your an atheist. But rest assured, where your at is a perfectly fine place to be.

Skepticologist

At this point in your evolution, I'd seriously counsel against trying to label yourself. It's not all that important.

You've already cleared a significant hurdle, i.e. opting for logic and reason in lieu of embracing a belief system that makes no sense to you, so just continue reading, searching and growing, and at some point you'll reconsider the labels and likely find you're closely enough aligned with one of them to accept it as a description of your beliefs.

__________________
"I am an agnostic; I do not pretend to know what many ignorant men are sure of."

Clarence Darrow

greywolf90

thanks to all of you for your advice. for now, I've decided that i shouldn't try to classify myself into any catagory. while i can see simularities to my beliefs to others', placing myself in a class would only put limitations on my views. i think that in order to understand as much as we can, we should try to be as open as we can.

Og, thanks for the recomendations. i'm looking into joseph campbell and i hope to have some of his books soon.