Wiccan view

[Rainbowkiss]

Not offended. Just pointing out is looks very trollish.

I hate trolling just as much as you do, trolls ruin lives, and I don't want to be part of it.

[azriel]

My mother is Catholic and raised the family under her traditions. She believes, along with my brother, that they need to have faith in Catholicism because they want to believe that there is a benevolent God who has reasons for "making" the bad in the world and that there will be a happy ending after all is said and done. This part of her belief is one that I was confused with. It felt to me that my mother and brother only believed in their religion as to provide an ideal for moral standings and to have relief knowing that there is a place after death. In regards to the traditions of their religion, they would pick and choose what they wanted to follow and that felt wrong to me.
However, my mother is Mexican and there is a tendency to celebrate the magick of nature alongside the more traditional religious practices. On New Years Eve and other such mainstream holidays my mother would have us participate in what she called "Witchy Crafts and Traditions." There was no disrespect involved. As I grew older, I found that I felt more connected with the Brujeria rather than her religion.
Now, it does not mean that I believe other traditions to be false. There is evidence that some of the people from the Bible/scrolls/and other books did exist and I respect that. I believe that truth can be found in all traditions, but one has to retain perspective so as to prevent themselves from becoming close-minded.

Azriel
^-^~

[Rainbowkiss]

My mother is Catholic and raised the family under her traditions. She believes, along with my brother, that they need to have faith in Catholicism because they want to believe that there is a benevolent God who has reasons for "making" the bad in the world and that there will be a happy ending after all is said and done. This part of her belief is one that I was confused with. It felt to me that my mother and brother only believed in their religion as to provide an ideal for moral standings and to have relief knowing that there is a place after death. In regards to the traditions of their religion, they would pick and choose what they wanted to follow and that felt wrong to me.
However, my mother is Mexican and there is a tendency to celebrate the magick of nature alongside the more traditional religious practices. On New Years Eve and other such mainstream holidays my mother would have us participate in what she called "Witchy Crafts and Traditions." There was no disrespect involved. As I grew older, I found that I felt more connected with the Brujeria rather than her religion.
Now, it does not mean that I believe other traditions to be false. There is evidence that some of the people from the Bible/scrolls/and other books did exist and I respect that. I believe that truth can be found in all traditions, but one has to retain perspective so as to prevent themselves from becoming close-minded.

Azriel
^-^~

Fortunately, everything's going to be okay in the end.
According to the bible, faith by itself will do people on good unless they take up their own cross and follow Jesus, he was concerned about the way we treated people and not what we believed in.

[azriel]

Fortunately, everything's going to be okay in the end.
According to the bible, faith by itself will do people on good unless they take up their own cross and follow Jesus, he was concerned about the way we treated people and not what we believed in.

If only people thought that way. What is sad is when I see people quote their religious text, without truly understanding it, in order to justify anything that they do not like. They are not thinking for themselves. Especially whwn I see this coming from my bother. I will ask him a question about anything really and he will respond, "Well, the Bible says ...... or ........" I want to know what you think brother, not a text.

[p3nathan]

I've never been able to fully connect with any one religion, which is why I usually just refer to myself as spiritual...because religion to me has connotations of something unwavering and inflexible. Now I know that may not be the case with all religions, I am just speaking generally here. I'm also open to the notion that my ideas about spirituality and life could indeed be wrong; I have beliefs, but I'm well aware I don't have proof and I'm not gonna get proof until I'm too dead to tell you all. I'm accepting of that, I'm okay with it.

As a counsellor; I've seen a lot of how different religious views can both empower and demoralize people. I find myself happy to see how religion can help people, but then I'll hear something that infuriates and upsets me. I think it's a double edged sword.

[Rainbowkiss]

Fortunately, everything's going to be okay in the end.
According to the bible, faith by itself will do people on good unless they take up their own cross and follow Jesus, he was concerned about the way we treated people and not what we believed in.

If only people thought that way. What is sad is when I see people quote their religious text, without truly understanding it, in order to justify anything that they do not like. They are not thinking for themselves. Especially whwn I see this coming from my bother. I will ask him a question about anything really and he will respond, "Well, the Bible says ...... or ........" I want to know what you think brother, not a text.

-hugs- don't worry I know exactly how it feels. I read much of the bible and noticed many errors and contradictions. Jesus tells us to not believe everything but test it to make sure it bears the fruit of the holy spirit. He also says this ''beware false prophets that come to you in sheep's clothing but they are in fact ravening wolves who have stolen the keys to heaven and hidden them from everybody. Fortunately, I and a few others have learned that love is the key to heaven ''everybody who loves has been born of God and knows God because God is love.'' So many people fail to notice this important verse ''love god with all your heart and with all your strength and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself, do this and you will live.''

[Rainbowkiss]

I've never been able to fully connect with any one religion, which is why I usually just refer to myself as spiritual...because religion to me has connotations of something unwavering and inflexible. Now I know that may not be the case with all religions, I am just speaking generally here. I'm also open to the notion that my ideas about spirituality and life could indeed be wrong; I have beliefs, but I'm well aware I don't have proof and I'm not gonna get proof until I'm too dead to tell you all. I'm accepting of that, I'm okay with it.

As a counsellor; I've seen a lot of how different religious views can both empower and demoralize people. I find myself happy to see how religion can help people, but then I'll hear something that infuriates and upsets me. I think it's a double edged sword.

The only religions I found truly comforting was Buddhism,taoism and Wicca. Christianity wasn't right for me, it was very judge mental and spoke of a God who loves everyone but saves only a few leaving the majority of humanity to burn forever in hellfire. Eternal damnation is not of love, period. Than I learned that universal salvation has been affirmed. The best ways to learn who we are is through astral projection, meditation lucid dreaming and NDE. We are not physical beings on a spiritual adventure, we are spiritual beings on a physical adventure