To mods or admins: This has to do with religion so I think it belongs here. If it doesn't tell me where it should go, please, or move it.
The thing is... I don't know what to believe in.
My history: I was raised as a Roman Catholic. I started reasearching different religions I don't know how long ago. I'm fine with lesbian/gay relationships and I'm willing to hear anything you'll tell me. If you want to know more about the beliefs I have now, ask me.
I know I want to believe in a diety, and I'm pretty sure I want to remain a Christian. But I'm open to other ideas as well. I'm just asking that you tell me about your religion so I can get more information.
That you are considering quite carefully what you should consider yourself seems to me to indicate that you consider some form of religious structure important to you. Would this be correct?
Well most Christians I know don't really like homosexual relationships so I thought I would put that there...
I'm not sure how best to approach this but currently I view religious and moral stances as driven entirely by political forces. As such I associate said stances with denominations, though there are subgroups within those denominations. For example, within the more spiritual Pentecostal and Assembly of God etc. denominations, there are entire populations that don't give a stuff what orientation you are ("come as you are" types) and entire populations that do ("reserve the word of God" types).
Of the modern mainstream Christians though, my impression is that as far as policy goes, the Uniting Church would afford the most rigorous flexibility with regard to attitudes to homosexuality. In fact, several other Church movements in Australia distanced themselves from the UC on the news that the UC had made the decision to enforce that policy on whether or not to ordain homosexual ministers could only be voted upon by the congregation of each Church (a decision that I personally applauded but my family Church heavily criticised for being "too wishy-washy".
Then there are those independent churches or denominations I know of that tend to be shunned by the mainstream denominations because they either are a) rather radical b) do not conform to some central doctrine of traditional Christian theology. Like gnostics. But somehow I get the feeling you're not so likely to lean in this direction.
DarkLadyRaven, I'm just throwing out names at this point as I'm not entirely sure what the Church dynamics are in your area. I was more demonstrating the varieties of approaches that denominations and factions themselves adopt to issues you may care deeply about.
So yeah, bottom line would be what others said: you might want to do some independent research (asking around does count I guess). I'm no expert on this subject but far as I can tell, if you wish to align yourself with traditional Christianity, there's a prioritised list of questions you have to ask yourself. And just how many of them are absolutely essential varies from person to person, Church to Church:
* Do you accept that Jesus is the one and only savior, the Son of the one true God? (mandatory) * Do you submit your will to God's will? (This focuses more on questions about a personal relationship with God.) * Do you accept the Bible as the word of God? (also mandatory but what follows is very very controversial- dozens of subquestions as you can imagine) * How literally do you take the Bible? How would you interpret it? * How spiritual are you? * Do you hold any beliefs "unorthodox" to traditional theology? (Let's say that belief in purgatory might be one). How important are these to you?
The other bottom line, I guess, would be that different people hold different standards. A Church, ultimately, is a community and within any community variability exists. At this point, the rest, it seems, would need to be navigated by you.
Strop, I did read the OP. I also answered the question.
In that case I can only conclude that something is deficient with either your attitude or your comprehension, because a reasonable person can tell that your answer was, for the purposes of the OP, irrelevant.
Last note before I go to bed: DarkLadyRaven, I can't comment on any aspect of the Roman Catholic faith as I am grossly unfamiliar with it.
In that case I can only conclude that something is deficient with either your attitude or your comprehension, because a reasonable person can tell that your answer was, for the purposes of the OP, irrelevant.
Such hard and long words... ~ ...did you see what Zoph said at a certain thread? It was hard and long...
I think that your religion should be based in a personal philosophy. All people, unless of course you are a sociopath, have a moral understanding that is unique to them. If most of the ritual and viewpoints of Catholicism seem to fit your innermost core of moral scruples then there isn't much of a question. However, consider the fact that it may not even be necessary to prescribe to a defined religion. If you find a set of behaviors and a mental state that affords you the greatest sense of peace and happiness just do that. Also check this out . Also, I've always found great comfort in finding some relatability between my spiritual beliefs and science.
