I am agnostic. I was raised Protestant but when I read the entire bible, I could not figure out why there were so many inconsistencies. I cannot say that there is NOT a God, but I cannot say that I believe in him either. I am not saying that I need proof of a God, but I cannot base my beliefs upon a book that was written by Man either. I believe more on the lines of evolution, but whoever created this evolution, I do not know. And nor do I claim to know. The book that so many Christians follow just does not make sense to me. I do not believe that God, if there is one, would be so metaphorical nor would he be so contradicting. I believe that if there is a God, he would be more clear and straightforward about what to do and what not to do. Not eye for eye then turn the other cheek. It would be one or the other.

I sincerely hope that this thread is used as a chance to celebrate the beautiful and loving wisdom that can come from different faiths and not an opportunity to bash others for their beliefs. I get excited by what my faith teaches me as well, and sometimes I just want to share it with those who don't know about it. For me, my religion is a means to explore my faith and my spirituality and it hurts me when people make judgements based in hurt or fear rather than understanding. I believe we are all spiritual beings and that ignoring that aspect of ourselves and others is to deny our full potential. We live in a world where everything is commodified and we need to know that there are alternatives to that kind of logic. So, whatever your personal beliefs are, I hope you find your inner peace and your strength and your wisdom and that you are able to find compassion in your heart for those who have chosen or found themselves on a different path.

I consider myself Atheist (although it is not an actual religion). I was not raised to be religious or non-religious. I got to choose what I want to believe in. I used to be Agnostic, but I just couldn't see the concept of a God or gods. I never believed in the bible because of the many contradictions.

I do not believe in bashing other people's religion, though. If they aren't trying to force their views on you, then I don't see a problem with it. Many people need religion in their lives and I respect that.

Though one. I can't really choose. (That's partially because I always chicken away whenever I see a "religion battle" coming up. I just hope it won't happen here as killbill said.)

I'm not athiest, however, I don't follow any of the existing religions. I'm kind of following my own very personal religion (but it is actually a bit of mixture between buddhism and christianity). I won't go too far into details because I just could write a book out of it and I'm not in the mood now.

The main reason I "made up" my own religion is because the avaible religions are limited in numbers and precise in content, and unfortunately most of us (to some extend anyway) feel a strong membership in it... and that "group" idea sometimes leads to rivality and odd misunderstandings ; all of which I strongly disagree with.
Besides, I see religions as propositions ; but in the meanwhile children often are too young to make such decisions, so the parents make the choice for them... but what will they choose ? Their own religion of course. And after that, will they feel confortable to hear their child want to switch over to another belief ? -- That's more subjective, but I don't see much freedom of choice in here, or at least not smoothly. So, what if you don't feel confortable in any of those religions, aren't you allowed to believe in something just because you don't agree with any of the avaible groups ? That's what happened to me.

Anyway, I think religion should be individual, not a group's property. "Humanity" should be our group's label, nothing more. But well, it's unevitable, subgroups happen all the time, even uncounsciously (I myself feel a group-tendency just because I belong to the Aquarius' group.. )

I just keep that in mind whenever I see a discussion that lies on religion disagreement: "Thy shalt keep thy religion to thyself."

I believe everyone is a God. I belong to no organized religion.

I have my own religion..I call it Universal Organization and its a mix of many ideals...there is good and bad in most all faiths so I made my own.

Where can I learn more?

here is a bit...bare with me people...
Universal organization as seen threw my eyes...
How to word this without sounding trite? Yes, Jesus is the son of GOD. But so am I. He was a profit and a saint. I am no profit and I am definitely no saint. But I to am the son of GOD. As are you. As are we all. We are all GODS children. No religion, no belief in GOD, no belief in goodness for goodness sake is wrong. Its all good. Its all real. There is good and bad, fact and fiction and wrong and right in all forms of religion and spiritual belief. Its all wrong and yet its all right.You have to dig deeper than any one solitary religion can lead you. Truth is to be found in the journey, not the destination. There is no final destination. We all go on. We live and live again and then we live again and what we put into each life directs us to the next. Our karma directs our destiny. Good for goodness sake leads you to GOD. John Lennon is a saint to me. In the purist since of the word. He was crucified, not literally, and threatened for speaking his truth. Harvey Milk is a saint to me. He died from a bullet to the head...several, because of love misunderstood. Anyone who looses there life in a quest for equal rights for all or peace on earth or understanding of GOD or love for loves sake or goodness for goodness sake is a saint. Those who are well known and those unknown. They move forward. They go on. They live. As all saints do. Forever and ever, amen....
As for Televangelists and money seeking religions..Don't reward them with more free money hoping that they will pray for you. I will pray for you for free...and so should they. No tipping allowed! Take 2 or 3 hours and how ever much you can afford to spend and spend an afternoon giving to those who really need it. Thats when you will feel God. It feels so good. Don't be rigid. Flex your mind. Stretch your soul. Bend your way of thinking about religion and God... he is everywhere...or she...or something in between...
Do not put your trust or your faith in televangelists.
Never give them one penny. Do not bye into the rants and ravings of money grubbing religious zealots. If a man of GOD is telling you how to worship and how to pray and telling you who will and will not enter the kingdom of Heaven then turn them off. They are not men of God. They are judgmental money worshipers spreading hate and intolerance in the name of righteousness and truth. Do not by into it. Do not give them your time or your money. I believe that always giving your money to a church is lazy and foolish. Some money should go to your church but not to a television evangelist. If you truly want to do Gods work then get busy. Do not drop your money into a bucket and blindly hand it over to men in suits. Go to the store or superstore and bye socks, shirts, underwear, food, tooth paste, tooth brushes, deodorant, soap, shampoo, food, food, food, blankets, pillows, towels,...you get it? And take them to a shelter. Be giving but be smart. Evangelists and churches on TV have plenty of money and cars and homes and jewels and all the comforts of this world.God is in the homeless shelters and safe houses..God is a giver,not a taker so be like God and give smart..a little effort goes a long way and the karma you put out will come back to you double.
OK...I'll quit preaching now.

I give money to my church because they have the framework and network that meets the needs of the needy in my community and beyond. When I say that, I don't mean in any indirect way. I mean that they give clothing, food, shelter, advocacy and so many other things right out of the building. I don't pay the church to pray for me, I just ask any one of them and they do it willingly and for free, like when I was having health problems when I was pregnant, they really helped me through. Yesterday we prayed for soldiers fighting wars and for the veterans in our community as well as for a young man who is returning to his family in the Sudan. We prayed for peace last week when when we celebrated All Saint's Day and our awesome reverend mentioned John Lennon as someone who spoke for peace and against war just like the saints did. When someone needs something all they have to do is ask, if it's money for their kids' tuition back in Sudan ($400 a year, that's a bargain) or a coffeemaker because theirs broke. I guess I just want to let people know that not all churches are "moneygrubbing" or whatever. My church is a family of many different backgrounds and stripes but they are all activists for peace, justice and love, just like Jesus was.

I want to add that in the Civil rights movement, when the black people were fighting to be recognized as equals, there were churches who were part of that movement and churches that opposed it, just as there are with the gay community now. There are churches which preach against it and there are churches who are helping to spread the message of equality and justice. Churches are made up of people, after all.

You R right.My brother attends an awesome Church in Atlanta called Gods Rolling Thunder and the people are open and caring and wonderful. Its a big strange world and you have to use your head is all I am saying.Giving $$ and knowing where it is going is fantastic,sending $$ to a TV show just isn't my idea of trying very hard...
Also since I don't attend any of these churches here in the sticks (I don't like gloom and doom prophecies when I am seeking enlightenment). I often listen to the open minded teachings of

http://www.revolutionnyc.com/
there is a button on the right you can click on to listen on line..
They are located in Atlanta and NYC and Charlot. It is a very forgiving and understanding way of connecting with God...check it out ..if you have seen the series One Punk Under God then you are familiar with them..

I am Athiest (or a pantheist) but I was baptized roman catholic, in a church my grandfather built.

I went to church when I was little but as I grew up, I felt out of place, I started thinking and asking the pastor alot of questions, with no answers. I started seeking other bibles of christianity, such as the bible of mary magdalene, the dead seas, the bible of judas and could not comprehend why they weren't in the bible. It was the same time era, the same people, with different perceptions and the inconsistencies were grave.

As I became a teenager, I was told that my being a "young lady" had certain duties and therefore I wanted to become undefined and learn about the world as a whole..

At my current age of 25, I am looking for answers, have gone into theology, philosophy, other religions and found richard dawkins and Anthony Flew. Rickard Dawkins is very captivating in his books and provides clear reasons and answers to some of my questions. Anythony Flew is senile "there is a god" self-proclaimed atheist gone christian..... although he did have some good books.

So alot of my stuff comes from personal expierences, debates, reading material or my personal opinions.

Although I never want to return to a church community again, I have found most of them to be two-faced, problematic and stupid (my old community.) I am not saying this about anyone else...

I agree.I dont do church per say either.I don't follow any religion.But dont let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch.I hate religion...it kills people.Sorry,folks but it does.Believe in your mind what is in your heart and never ever ever let any one control your faith...or lack there of.Its your life.Live it free.

I am not judging everyone i am merely talking about some of the ones I encountered but I know what you mean...

I think to each their own, even though I could care less for religion or being defined by one but you alreayd knew that