Living by a "custom" religion?

Alright. I know the topic title isn't exactly clear, but to describe what I mean, let me explain my custom religion. Note that I mean no offense to anyone who supports any of the causes I dislike, obviously this is my opinion alone.

So, obviously, my name is Kelsey, and when my friends ask me what I believe I joke that I'm the leader of the Church of Kelseyism. To anyone else, I'm just likely to respond that I was raised Lutheran but that I'm not an exclusive believer of that particular doctrine. Call it sacreligious, but I have some very strong opinions on the topic of religion.

First of all, like I said, I was raised Lutheran, which I'm sure you know is a branch of Christianity. So my personal belief is definitely based towards a single-god belief system. But that's about it. If anyone has ever hear the song “Fruitcakes” by Jimmy Buffett, you're probably familiar with the fact that he states that “Religions in the hands of some crazy-ass people.” Which I definitely agree with. I'm not inclined to align myself completely with one of the most notoriously prejudiced religions in existance. As an incredibly open minded person I'm ashamed to say that I'm in the same “general” religion (Christianity) as people like the infamous homophobic Fred Phelps.

I listen to his claims that people are dying in Iraq because we in the USA tolerate Homosexual, bisexual, transexual, etc. people. Although I think more tolerance would be nice. And it makes me angry, because if I tell someone I'm Christian/Lutheran, they'll say “Can we still be friends? I'm gay, and you probably hate gay people.” Not at all! I'm a huge supporter of allowing gay marriage and more. I also don't hate non-Christians, I love learning about new people and new things.

I'm also supportive of non-Christian principles. I'm a huge believer in Karma and reincarnation. So I guess in the end, after all my ranting, I really just have a few question for anyone out there in the gaia community that's willing to answer. Does anyone else have trouble answering what religion they are in a short reply? What do other people think about “custom religion?”  Is it perfectly understandable, or is it extremely unusual?

Re: Living by a "custom" religion?

Aloha Kelsey,
  
           I'm not sure what you mean by “custom” religion, but I do understand what you mean by having trouble stating what religion you practice.

           I was raised a Christian also, but no longer consider myself a Christian.

           There came a time in my life that I started to question everything about the teachings of the church, but that's a totally different story. Anyways, just wanted to let you know you're not alone in that same sense.

           I have recently been studying the theories of Reincarnation and Karma…. it's been very interesting to learn about. I've also done some studying of Taoism & Buddhism. I don't know what it would be called, but each teaching holds some truths for me therefore I cannot state a religion. I simply reply to those asking that I am a Spiritual person- not religious.

Re: Living by a "custom" religion?

By custom I really mean picking and choosing to form your own beliefs, which is what I think everyone should do. I'm against one size fits all religion. I don't think it works and it certainly won't help guide people to their spiritual…. equilibrium, for lack of a better word. Everyone is different, and you really need to find what works for you, same as a lot of other things in our lives. So by custom, I mean what best suits you in what you choose to believe.

Re: Living by a "custom" religion?

Kelsey,
I can relate to your “Custom” religion. I grew up without a lot of religion in my life. My dad is an atheist and my mom picks and chooses certain beliefs that comforts her. Both of my parents always encouraged me to read and learn about different religions and find one that would rest with me. My mom says that all beliefs, all the different paths, all lead to the same God. I am Buddhist, but live with an open mind. I used to spend a lot of time at the library after school and when other people were at parties. I found a book written by the Dalai Lama one day and everything he said penetrated deep into my soul and also made since in my scientific mind.

For me, there is no “true” religion. Take what you can understand and leave out the rest. Otherwise, your soul will always long for something more. That is only how I feel.

Re: Living by a "custom" religion?

Kelsey-
I believe that it is natural to question anything and everything about religion.  I hate to follow something blindly.  I know that I am a Christian, despite my research an constant questions, I know that there has to be more to what I believe than what the church has to offer.  Religion was created by people, and people are flawed.  God left people to interpret the bible, and again, we are flawed, so the interpretation has become flawed. 
My boyfriend is in the same position as you, but he hates any reference to God, because he doesnt understand what he was taught and what he believes.
To me I would rather use the word faith, or spirituality.  Those are more personal to me.  I was listening to an Episcopailian priest the other day (whom this faith is tolerant of same sex, and also allows women to preach) and he said that every day we become more enlightened, we see new things that allow us to question the bible.  He also says that it would be foolish if we didnt believe that there are other ways to heaven.

With that said, reigion, belief, faith or whatever you want to call it, is personal.  Find what makes you happy, and dont be afraid to look everywhere.  God is around us all the time, he is in the air we breathe, so who is to say there is only one way and only one way to believe?

good luck!!

Re: Living by a "custom" religion?

Very nicely said orcowgirl!
                                                                       Nohea

Re: Living by a "custom" religion?

I second that.

Re: Living by a "custom" religion?

I'm in sort of the same boat.

If you had asked me a little over a year ago if I believed in God, I would have told you to take a hike. But I do now, though I don't consider myself part of any religion as none of them has ever rung true to my inner being. My God does not match the God as it was depicted by humans in the ancient scriptures. Not at all. My God doesn't judge us, and send us off to hell if we don't worship. My God simply loves us all and is now helping us to reach an increased state of consciousness. It has helped me to grow a lot over the past year, I've become quite a balanced human being with a highly increased awareness of who I am, and who we all are.

Re: Living by a "custom" religion?

I’m glad ^-^

Re: Living by a "custom" religion?

Hi Kelsey…
I was brought up in a staunch, born-again Christian home. My father read a passage out of the bible every evening after the family dinner. Up until 5 years ago, I was so concrete-minded into this religion that, if I pulled up behind a vehicle that was sporting a “Darwin” fish, I wanted to get out of my car and chisel the fish off their car…hopefully taking some paint with it. Then I met my friend Margaret…
We've spent the last 5 years discussing religion, spirituality, history, quantum physics and parapsychology.   I truly believe I was destined  to meet this woman.  I got the job where I met her by a total fluke (picked up a little no-where paper that I had never read before…and haven't read since). She not only opened my eyes, she opened my mind.
I have spent some time since believing myself to be an Athiest. (Margaret was, and continues to be Agnostic). However, over the last year or so I have begun to seriously study the evidence of life after death. Not in a religious sense, but from a scientific point of view, with variables and control groups, etc. This research has lead me to a belief that there is more…not in the way that religion spins it, but in a sense that we are made of energy, and energy cannot be destroyed…not even by death. (Or by a black hole in space). Because of this belief, when someone asks me “What religion are you?” my answer is “Spiritualist”. I believe that our energy (some call it a soul, some call it your spirit, some call it God) is, in a sense, on a grand tour. I think we are here on this planet  to expand our minds from both an educational and spiritual sense, and to convey the message that death is only a transition to the next existence.
I initially questioned “Why am I one of those who has chosen to not blindly follow the path that the so many others do?” Sometimes it can be unnerving to be different. (the majority of the world's population, 33%,  or around 2 billion, is Christian based). I now believe myself to be incredibly fortunate…I do not fear death, for myself or for anyone who is close to me. In my mind, I know that there is so much more out there for us to experience, both in this life, and the many lives that we choose to live beyond this.

I applaud you for choosing not to conform. There is nothing sacreligious about it…unless you follow a doctrin of conformity.

Here2Learn

Re: Living by a "custom" religion?

Your post was very refreshing for me. It sounds like you have really come a long way on your journey to finding your true spirituality, and if I'm reading your post correctly, you believe (and I agree!) that it is really a neverending journey. I'm so glad you have made strides in this, and I thank you for your encouragement and sharing your story.

Re: Living by a "custom" religion?

my religion is the truth

i believe only in things that are true
real things

untrue things that is things which do not exist
i do not believe in

its as simple as that

if eve was manufactured out of one of adams ribs
then i believe it

if she was not created in this way
then i dont believe it

when im not sure whether a thing is true or not
i just believe in whatever it is

if its true i believe it
if its not i dont

religion means beliefs

if your beliefs happen to be correct
then this would be a true religion

if your beliefs are wrong
then thats not a real religion
and i dont believe in it

theres no need to complicate things that arent complicated

much love to all

Re: Living by a "custom" religion?

I agree that we all need to find our own way in the world. I'm in the occasionally awkward position of being an athiest/Buddhist, which isn't, apparently, the most common pairing (though as Buddhism is more of a philosophy than a religion, I don't think the divide is so wide).

But personal beliefs are not the key here. Truly - religion is our perspective of the world, whatever we put our faith and trust in. And just as every individual has a unique perspective to bring to the table, they will have a different interpretation of traditional doctrine - as demonstrated by the countless branches of Protestantism. It is not and will never be our place to infringe upon the beliefs of others provided those beliefs do not interfere with the rights of others.

Choice to all.

Re: Living by a "custom" religion?

Absolutely. I could not have said it better.

Re: Living by a "custom" religion?

I believe that religion is as personal and varied as people are. Each person finds their own way, and it rarely conforms entirely to one major religion or another. Even the strictest doctrine has room for movement in particular areas. I think that faith is one of those things that simply cannot be categorized. Folks can say they are Christian, but what does that MEAN, really? We get a general idea, I suppose. But, then again there are Christians who don't seem to follow very much of traditional Christian doctrine. It's all too complex. One can't look at a person and say definitively with full knowledge of whom they are speaking, “He/She is a Buddhist”.

All to say that I'm not sure there is anything but 'custom' religion, even for those who wish it not to be. Faith is just to personal for anyone to expect two beliefs to coincide. My two cents, anyway. :)

Re: Living by a "custom" religion?

And thank you very much for those two cents :) It is true though, what you said, that everyone's beliefs vary somewhat, even in the same doctrine. It seems to me that part of the reason behind that comes from the fact that religion is interpretation. There are hundreds of ways to tell the same story. Even if the core beliefs are the same, there are always a few differences.

Re: Living by a "custom" religion?

As I say to the readers of my book , “This is my truth, you must find your own.” Be that as it may, in the final analysis there can be but one Truth - and we will all find it!
Another quote from the book is “No one has the right to fetter the thinking of another.”
I had better stop there or i will end up reproducing the whole book here!!!
:-)
()

Re: Living by a "custom" religion?

Exactly, Kelsey. I'm glad you understand. :) I forgot to answer your original question, though. My apologies.

When others ask me which religion I follow, I simply tell them I am pagan. The root of this word was used to describe rural folk who continued to follow indigenous religions after the beginning of the common era. I feel that it accurately describes my overall mindset, and it's meaning is broad enough that I can fit my various principles beneath it. :)

Thanks for posting this thread, Kelsey. Good stuff.

Re: Living by a "custom" religion?

I think everyone customizes their own religion to whatever extent needed to fit their own personality and life styles. I am christian. Personally I believe in following Jesus, to try to live the best that you can in following him. All people are different and nobody's perfect. My church is called Trinity. Trinity is defined as: believing in the father, son and holy spirit as one. Two churches in my town had financial difficulties, one from cause of a fire. They decided to save both churches by uniting to become one church (Baptist and Presbyterian). This happened over 60 years ago. Today our congregation consists of many religions including Catholic all based on the Trinity belief. It was a very small congregation when I first started going there and it has grown over the years. Sometimes my daughter was the only one in Sunday school class and now there are 4 classes with 7-15 children per class (divided by age groups). Although different religions, the whole congregation is one big close family who always welcome new people with open arms. Many people think this is different and tell me they have never heard of the different christian religions coming together as one like this, but it works for me. I don't believe in judging other people so I try my best not to. Sometimes it's difficult not to judge, especially when I fear my children might make poor choices because of others who set negative examples. One girl I won't let my daughter go to her house, but I do allow them to be friends in school and invited the girl to join our Girl Scout troop so they'd have a safer place to hang out under other adult supervision. When saftey issues are involved, I sometimes forget not to judge, but do my best to compromise when others are willing to compromise also. Better safe than sorry is something I quite often tell my kids. Of course, I always hope others won't judge me as well. I tend to get along with almost anyone reguardless our differences and beliefs. Just my own personal opinion, of course, and like I said before, it works for me :o)

Re: Living by a "custom" religion?

Hey Kelsey!

I am absolutely living by a custom religion.  I was raised in a Jehovah's Witness household and was never fully able to embrace their very specific brand of Christianity so I branched out and started looking for a better and more personal answer for myself.  Though I do consider myself a Christian in the most general interpretation and still embrace much of the Jehovah's Witness teachings, I lean toward Universalism where the soul of another may be concerned.  I feel that, ultimately, faith and religion are a personal journey and the full truth is probably unknown to any one person or group.  I consider all faiths to be a valid attempt at understanding and believe that whatever entity may be judging us will do so based on our character as human beings and not what we chose to call Him/Her/It.

Because the truth is unknowable in this lifetime and because so much of faith is a mystery, I would never attempt to influence the views of another.  If they hear me and feel a connection with what I've said, that's one thing; but I could never be at peace with the thought that I might have driven someone to or away from a faith against their will.  No one has the right do to that to another; or even to try.  We are all responsible for our own path.

I will probably never belong to a church, due to the simple fact that it has never felt necessary for me and because I feel that in a group, all too often, people are prone to generalizations which can quickly get out of hand and lose their flexibility.  I currently subscribe to a blend of Christianity, Judaism, and Taoism and I continue to learn, study, and work toward a better understanding of these and others and I love and embrace all races, religions, and sexualities as vital parts of a diverse and changing world.

I continue to battle with my own insecurities and fears with regards to what many, including members of my family, believe to be “sacrilege” but when I am thinking most purely from my own consciousness I still believe that I am on the right track.  I hope you continue down your right track; as I believe it's different for all of us and I wish you strength and courage to press on in the face of opposition.

Best of luck!

Re: Living by a "custom" religion?

With regard to your statement “I could never be at peace with the thought that I might have driven someone to or away from a faith against their will.” above rest assured that no one ever drives another away from or toward anything against their will.
Everyone has free will and, in the final analysis - the only one, every one is the only one responsible for their thoughts and actions. Consequently, there is no place for guilt, lack of peace or whatever!
Be at peace, my friend, guilt is due to ignorance and an unnecessary burden.
:-)

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Re: Living by a "custom" religion?

That is true in your context, but not in mine.  I was using the phrase to mean something they didn't want to do or didn't feel comfortable with.  People do things they aren't comfortable with all the time in order to please someone; and, while it could be viewed as their fault for being talked into something too easily, I know what it feels like to be pressured that way and wouldn't like to be responsible for doing the pressuring.

Re: Living by a "custom" religion?

I do understand, and was only expressing a point in which I stated “in the final analysis” .
Life is subject to a diversity of pressures and it is these that we have come to Earth to conquer - amongst a host of other things :-)