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Spiritual vs. Religious

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Viewing 5 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
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  • #203175
    Dani
    Participant

    Hello! I am new to this site and posting a topic for discussion.  I have been on a spiritual quest of sorts that started with the loss of my father 3 years ago.  I was not raised in a religious home though my mother and I  would attend church on Easter Sunday. I was raised by her and saw my father a couple times per year. I had some very vague, loose belief in God but didn’t necessarily connect to it on any profound level. It just seemed more like a fairy tale of sorts.   My father was bordering on Atheism whereas I consider myself more Agnostic.   However, I do find a spiritual connection in nature, when ‘attempting mediation’, even doing slow flow mindful yoga.  I find this to be my prayer of sorts and when I tap into the part of myself that seeks some higher purpose.  It brings me peace.  The problem I face is living that truth when my friends and family practice Christianity.  I am uncomfortable with the discussions simply because I don’t want to be judged, yet I feel a judgment for MY belief system, whatever it can be quantified as.  I do not wish to offend anyone out there but just wanted to hear from others if they have a similar dilemma or experience.   Thanks for reading!

    #203209
    Yostina
    Participant

    Hi Dani, I’m also new here. I have a similar dilemma; I was born an orthodox christian and was raised by my parents to go to church, attend the mass and have the holy communion. This was ever since my late late late grandparents and down to my generation. 2 years ago in 2016, I came across a book by Dr.Joseph Murphy, a divine scientist, in which he was talking about bible truths that set us free and he talked about how the concept of hell is metaphysical and not literal and that was a slap in the face to me, I became interested in his books after reading his book: ‘The power of the subconscious mind’ and I became interested in the law of attraction and new age stuff but the concept of no hell and no sin was so against my core religious beliefs and it sent me on an emotional rollarcoaster trying to figure out the truth. I spent 2017 reading books interpreting the bible metaphysically and I still couldn’t be sure if their version was right or religion’s version since it could be interpreted both ways, so I just tried to connect to God/the divine – whatever you want to call him/her/it- and I’m quite on the side of new age and LOVE as the main value and that a loving God can never deprive anyone from him no matter how evil they were on earth and that there will always be a chance to let go of evil and do good. I’m still not 100% sure and I still don’t open up about it to anyone for fear of being intimidated back into Christianity as I tend to be influenced by intimidation very easily, but that’s what makes me feel God’s love and peace, that I don’t have to worry about other people.

    #203327
    Anonymous
    Guest

    * Last member’s post didn’t reflect under Topics..

    #203389
    Caitlin
    Participant

    Hi Dani, I think we’re all on a spiritual journey, so take comfort in that and realize that your friends and family probably are too. I wasn’t raised very religiously either, although I did attend a Christian church sometimes and received communion & confirmation. I started to reject my parents church when they said things in the service that I felt were offensive or marginalized people (which by the way is not the way of Jesus). After that I became pretty uncomfortable with the words “God” or “Jesus” and would cringe when people brought them up. The way I’ve become more comfortable with it is by researching more mystical traditions, including Christian mystic theology, and seeing the symbolic value behind the Jesus story (and other bible stories as well). I might not believe in the literal translation, but I feel there’s something to be gained from these stories. Its normal to feel judged in conversations where people disagree with you, but I think that if you focus more on values rather than beliefs, you’ll find that you have a lot more in common with people than you think. I’m not sure if you’re looking for resource suggestions, but I’ve found a lot of comfort in The Liturgists podcast. But wherever you turn, realize that you are definitely not alone!

    #216609
    JB
    Participant

    Here is a viewpoint about Religion and Spirituality.

    Relgion is an organisation. It has practices, dogmas and beliefs. It has at its core, a belief in a Deity. Join and you will be ‘Saved’

    Spiritually is concerned with qualities of the human spirit such as love, compassion, wisdom, tolerance, forgiveness, contentment. A sense of harmony and happiness.

    Religion needs Spirituality but Spirituality does not need the dogmas of religion.

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