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Convert me!!!

americanwoman

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Ok so I am a catholic who for many years has questioned my religious beleifs. I do beleive in some spiritual power out there but I'm just not sure who or what it is anymore. I am very open to all ideas and things out there so I will take into consideration your opinions. I just feel maybe there is some religion out there that I can feel comforatable with since this whole catholic thing doesn't seem to be working out anymore.

Please state your religion, your beleifs, and why it would be good for me to convert to your religion. If I do decide, then someone has the priviledge of saying they have "converted" someone!
 
aha no one has taken on the challenge yet!! I didn't expect anyone to try and convert but I thought it would be cool to hear what people have to say about their religion. So far---nada!!
 
AmericanWoman,

I didn't expect anyone to try and convert but I thought it would be cool to hear what people have to say about their religion

Well I won't try to convert you but Have you checked out Judaism? I'm not Jews but I plan to convert later in life... Maybe.
 
Ivan The Terrible said:
AmericanWoman,



Well I won't try to convert you but Have you checked out Judaism? I'm not Jews but I plan to convert later in life... Maybe.


I love pork too much!
 
I'm not going to convert you, but maybe you should look into objectivism.
 
I am not one to promote religion of any kind but I think the Wiccan's are the nicest. :rofl
 
zymurgy

I'm not going to convert you, but maybe you should look into objectivism.

Objectivism Is the ****! I love Ann Rand! But I still belive in G-d.
 
Ivan The Terrible said:
zymurgy



Objectivism Is the ****! I love Ann Rand! But I still belive in G-d.

I have softened some. I remain convinced that a god that seekes my worship is illogical but would not describe myself as an athiest any longer either.
 
zymurgy,

I have softened some. I remain convinced that a god that seekes my worship is illogical but would not describe myself as an athiest any longer either

Than you have seen the light. Just kidding. Knowing G-d is a personal thing. I don't think anyone can prove G-d exist.
 
Ivan The Terrible said:
zymurgy,



Than you have seen the light. Just kidding. Knowing G-d is a personal thing. I don't think anyone can prove G-d exist.

Sure they can. G is after F and D is before E. :rofl
 
Captain America said:
I am not one to promote religion of any kind but I think the Wiccan's are the nicest. :rofl


Thank God Wiccan's are not really witches (as you seemed to infer).
 
Ill convert you to non-religion. Forget your days of god, faith, lack of faith and people opposing everything you believe. ITS GREAT!
 
Join Judaism! Get food!

...Lots of it. :?
 
americanwoman said:
Ok so I am a catholic who for many years has questioned my religious beleifs. I do beleive in some spiritual power out there but I'm just not sure who or what it is anymore. I am very open to all ideas and things out there so I will take into consideration your opinions. I just feel maybe there is some religion out there that I can feel comforatable with since this whole catholic thing doesn't seem to be working out anymore.

Please state your religion, your beleifs, and why it would be good for me to convert to your religion. If I do decide, then someone has the priviledge of saying they have "converted" someone!

When you die, you're gonna wake up in hell. A guy with horns and a long tail will mimic you: "nyah nyah fer many years, duh, I questioned my relijus beweefs! nyah nyah!" Then he'll stab you with his pitchfork and toss you onto a gigantic teflon skillet heated to 1000 F. :2razz:
 
Scientific agnostic
My theory:
1:humans are stupid
2:divinity is very, very complicated
3:humans can't understand divinity/the nature of the universe.

I don't expect humans to figure out how the universe works in my lifetime, so I'm counting myself out of the ecclesiastical race. I'm content to view my life as the cumulative coincidences of 13.7 billion years. Life is short and full of crap, so you make the best of it because it's the only chance you've got.
I don't think that the creating force of the universe would care about humans given our impact on the universe, or that it would try to decieve us or test us for some cosmic reason. I'd prefer to think along the lines of buddhism, that the universe is fleeting and nothing is concrete. I'll stop here unless someone wants me to talk more.
 
Ásatrú (literally "faithful to the Aesir") is the reconstructed religous practices of pre-Christian Germanic and Nordic peoples. We honor the Aesir and Vanir, two tribes of gods who are traditionally associated with community and nature, respectively.

While Ásatrú is polytheist and acknowledges the existence of non-Germanic gods, it is exclusive; people with loyalties to other gods are respected, but not considered to be a part of our faith even if they include our gods in their rites.

It focuses very heavily on personal honor and upholding our obligations to our families and our communities. Our relationship with the gods is as kinfolk, and is thus largely based on our trustworthiness as kinfolk.

It also places great value on the ability of the individual to think for his or herself, to form our own conclusions, and to defend them in the face of opposition. Always loyal-- but never unquestioning or obedient.

For a simple (very simple) analysis of Heathen ethics, look at the Nine Noble Virtues; they're a modern construct and more rigorous scholars reject them, but they're a pretty good capsule summary of the moral lessons of the Sagas.

Another good, brief document is the Hávamál, or the words of Odin excerpted from the Elder Edda. This is his advice to humanity and one of the core pieces of Lore.

ReligiousTolerance.org also has a good page explaining the basics of Ásatrú beliefs and practices.
 
Religion is full of stuff that has little sustenance - you cannot dine on it - and too much of it will make you sick of spirit.
 
Arch Enemy said:
Thank God Wiccan's are not really witches (as you seemed to infer).

:rofl

Quite an imagination you have there! OK, I'll bite. What in my post could have POSSIBLY made you think that? I'm dying of curiosity here. That is such a stretch of the imagination, I just HAVE to ask. :confused:
 
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All spiritual thinking is a conversion of thought to a higher understanding. This is why many of the Hindu and Buddahs are many "gods" on changed into different forms. To start thinking with compassion, we must first convert from the intelligence of life and the self, to humanity as well, both shown as in equal and due respect.

Try JIZO (Jizou, Jizoo) Sanskrit: Ksitigarbha or Ksitegarbha from India and the counterparts of this "Godess\God" who is woman on earth , and man on the other. In the Ksitigarbha Sutra, the Historical Buddha revealed that in past aeons, Ksitigarbha (Jizo) was a Brahman maiden named Sacred Girl, who became a man in physical form.

Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, known as Kuan Yin to the Japanese and Chinese, and Chenresig to the Tibetans, is the bodhisattva who most embodies compassion. Here is another aspect of same concept.

There is even a Buddah that closely resembles Islam.
Description Of Form
Mañjusri Bodhisattva (Monju) holds in his left hand a *sutra* by which he dispenses wisdom to people, and in his right hand holds a sword for cutting off delusion. He sometimes rides on a lion, which is called the king of a hundred animals, and this expresses how he lives grandly with a powerful and correct wisdom.

Purpose and Vow
There is an old saying that the wisdom of Mañjusri (Monju) lies in putting together three heads, which are better than one. The figure of Mañjusrii (Monju) Bodhisattva is greatly endowed with wisdom, and in his right hand he holds the scriptures that confer that wisdom, while he also holds a sword that can cut off delusion. Bodhisattva refers to a living person who seeks enlightenment. In reality, the Bodhisattva practices Buddhism in society and is a buddha that acts on behalf of the Nyorai in saving people. Mañjusri (Monju) Bodhisattva cuts off the mistaken ideas of the world as well as evil thoughts and actions, corrects the ignorance and delusions of people, dispenses true wisdom, and delivers joy to human society.

Among the four, the most widely venerated throughout Asia is the Goddess of Mercy (Compassion), known as Kannon in Japanese.

Maitreya Bodhisattva is Jishi Bodhisattva, the Bodhisattva of compassion, and this is because he expresses his vow to save all beings in the world with a mind of compassion.

Eastern beliefs have grown with more understand in because buddahs, or just wise ones, lived and taught. The west killed ours. Had Christ lived would western religion have grown in understanding like the east? Buddah's lived to be almost 70 for some, most all had long lives here with their fellow man. Jesus had not time to truly teach much to the West, he was forced by our actions before we humans there got the concept of Humanity and all are one. Not understanding that what we did, or allowed to happen to another person is also happening to us we did not step out of ourselves from fear and show compassion to an innocent man, this cut off the flow of learning and left us only half way understanding the truth.

KMS

* The Word is the Sutra, which symbolism is repeated in the way Muslims view the Koran.
 
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The agnostic's credo:

Myself when young did eagerly frequent Doctor and Saint, and heard great Argument About it and about: but evermore came out by the same door as in I went.

(The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam - XXVII)
 
Benedict de Spinoza (1632-77), the most religious of the rationalist philosophers, was nevertheless excommunicated from the Hebrew religion and shunned by the Jewish community in Amsterdam. Yet he probably came closest to defining man’s relationship with God. To paraphrase his conclusion in the Ethics: The path to salvation is a difficult road to follow. Need must it be so, for while many travel along the way, few reach its journey’s end. For those who do, theirs is not a heavenly reward for their virtue is its own reward; that and the certain knowledge that all things excellent are as difficult as they are rare.
 
alphamale said:
When you die, you're gonna wake up in hell. A guy with horns and a long tail will mimic you: "nyah nyah fer many years, duh, I questioned my relijus beweefs! nyah nyah!" Then he'll stab you with his pitchfork and toss you onto a gigantic teflon skillet heated to 1000 F. :2razz:

I'm sure you love saying this, but I bet you won't convert her through fear.
 
americanwoman said:
Ok so I am a catholic who for many years has questioned my religious beleifs. I do beleive in some spiritual power out there but I'm just not sure who or what it is anymore. I am very open to all ideas and things out there so I will take into consideration your opinions. I just feel maybe there is some religion out there that I can feel comforatable with since this whole catholic thing doesn't seem to be working out anymore.

Please state your religion, your beleifs, and why it would be good for me to convert to your religion. If I do decide, then someone has the priviledge of saying they have "converted" someone!




I'm not trying to convert you with this story, it is a Buddhism lesson and I'm not a Buddhist, but its message should be relevant to anybody:

The Secrets of Heaven and Hell

The old monk sat by the side of the road. With his eyes closed, his legs crossed and his hands folded in his lap, he sat. In deep meditation, he sat.

Suddenly his zazen was interrupted by the harsh and demanding voice of a samurai warrior. "Old man! Teach me about heaven and hell!" At first, as though he had not heard, there was no perceptible response from the monk. But gradually he began to open his eyes, the faintest hint of a smile playing around the corners of his mouth as the samurai stood there, waiting impatiently, growing more and more agitated with each passing second.

"You wish to know the secrets of heaven and hell?" replied the monk at last. "You who are so unkempt. You whose hands and feet are covered with dirt. You whose hair is uncombed, whose breath is foul, whose sword is all rusty and neglected. You who are ugly and whose mother dresses you funny. You would ask me of heaven and hell?"

The samurai uttered a vile curse. He drew his sword and raised it high above his head. His face turned to crimson and the veins on his neck stood out in bold relief as he prepared to sever the monk's head from its shoulders.

"That is hell," said the old monk gently, just as the sword began its descent.

In that fraction of a second, the samurai was overcome with amazement, awe, compassion and love for this gentle being who had dared to risk his very life to give him such a teaching. He stopped his sword in mid-flight and his eyes filled with grateful tears.

"And that," said the monk, "is heaven."
 
Atheism.

'Cuz its true.

You don't start guessing that supernatural somethings created everything in 6 days or whatnot. Kiss your imagination good-bye.
 
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