What I Believe(?)

[csberry]

You scored as agnosticism. You are an agnostic. Though it is generally taken that agnostics neither believe nor disbelieve in God, it is possible to be a theist or atheist in addition to an agnostic. Agnostics don't believe it is possible to prove the existence of God (nor lack thereof). Agnosticism is a philosophy that God's existence cannot be proven. Some say it is possible to be agnostic and follow a religion; however, one cannot be a devout believer if he or she does not truly believe. </td> agnosticism 83% Hinduism 58% Islam 54% Christianity 50% Buddhism 50% Paganism 50% Satanism 46% Judaism 38% atheism 33% Which religion is the right one for you? (new version) created with QuizFarm.com

Agnosticism is probably the best general category for me.


As an Army brat, most of the churches that I went to growing up were the "general Protestant" services that would be held on post. For 5th and 6th grades, I went to a Catholic school in Tuscaloosa. I had religion class and had to go to mass at least once a week. In 8th grade, we moved to H'ville and we started going to a Methodist church. It felt comfortable, but I absolutely fell in love with the preacher, Rev. Robert Gunn. He was a very charismatic guy that exuded the Jesus-Loves-You aspect of Christianity. After a year, I learned that there was a blue-hair faction at the church that hated him. According to my parents, that faction was a group of people that were probably Baptists but were born and raised Methodist. Much to the distaste of the youth and my family, that faction got their wish with Rev. Gunn's transfer and the replacement being a grave, Bible-is-nearly-infallible preacher (his "Dr.," I discovered, was honorary not earned). Had I been another teen, it may not have affected me much. But I was VERY active in the church. Unlike other youth, I was involved in several church committees and actually rubbed shoulders with friends' parents and the blue-hairs of the church.

I realized that the possibility of knowing The Truth was more fleeting than ever. Of course I had pondered the "do heathens in unknown lands go to heaven or hell" and such. However, that occurrence with Rev. Gunn taught me that followers pick what they consider to be The Truth. Thus, a person preaching The Truth is at the whim of the masses. People who want to appeal to the masses (or scare them) bend The Truth to fit their terms. How could I know that anything I had been taught was The Truth.

I don't believe in Jesus, so I go to hell. Well, I better believe in Jesus or I'll be eternally tormented. I don't praise Allah, his followers will kill me, my family, and all infidels. Everyone is fine and you can believe whatever you want to believe, it doesn't matter (then how are you finding The Truth if you can believe anything is The Truth?).

So, I started at square one. Some basics that I decided were:
1. There is a spiritual side to the universe. I don't believe the atheistic belief that spiritualism is merely superstition. Humans may be highly evolved on Earth, but we are not "superior" beings (come on, we don't even use 10% of our brains!) We can comprehend everything and the human capacity for faith, IMO, is a key to a little understood aspect of the universe.

2. "God" would not pick one corner of the world to make itself known and ignore the rest. Whatever The Truth is, it should be found all over the planet. I bristle at the notion of exclusive rights or insights into The Truth. How forgiving can God/Jesus be if they send children from the rainforests of the Philippines to hell for eternity?

3. Humans may never know what The Truth is. That is the frustrating one. You may never find The Truth until you die...and maybe not even then.

From this foundation, I read more of the Bible (translations and history, especially) and started to reading comparative religion books and attending studies. What stood out to me was The Golden Rule. The following example actually is from Uncle John's All-Purpose Extra Strength Bathroom Reader...but, hey, it synopsizes what I had previously discovered but summarizes onto a single page:
Christianity (Matthew 7:12 [Cory - but I think Christ's New Commandment also satisfies this]) - "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them, for this is the law of the prophets."

Judaism (Talmud, Shabbat 312) - "What is harmful to you, do not to your fellow men. That is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary."

Hinduism (Mahabharata 5, 1517) - "This is the turn of duty; do naught unto others which could cause you pain if done to you."

Confucianism (Analects, 15, 23) - "Surely it is the maxim of loving-kindness: Do not unto others that you would not have them do unto you."

Taoism (T'ai Shang Kan Ying P'ien) - "Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain and your neighbor's loss as your own loss."

Buddhism (Udana-Varga 5, 18) - "Hurt not others in ways you yourself would find hurtful."

Zoroastrianism (Dadistan-i-dinik, 94, 5) - "That nature alone is good which refrains from doing unto another whatsoever is not good for itself."

Islam (Sunnah) - "No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself."

I've adopted the Golden Rule as my rule for life. I treat others well, with respect, and forgive them for doing me wrong when self-preservation permits (I'm not going to confront an armed robber with a hug, folks). I may not pass the dogma test, but I'm betting heavily in the "good works" category. It is because of this that I best fit into a Liberal Quaker ideology, though I have never found a group of Friends with which to meet in person.

I used to get into some great conversations with Darrell about religion and metaphysics when we worked together. He is very firmly an infallible-Bible Christian. What I love about him is that he would tell me what he believes, question my beliefs, but would open himself up for the same scrutiny. When we first started working together we discussed the afterlife (what it was and if there is a reward/punishment). After a good hour or so of discussion, he asked me, "What if you're wrong?" I told him that if he was right, then I'd probably be burning in hell but I'd hope that God could forgive my inability to accept Jesus as my savior and have mercy on me for my good works. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but I haven't held false beliefs just for the sake of satisfying what is the prevalent religious message in America.