Fairly simple...what made you choose the faith you have?

I'd like to say I chose my faith of Christianity, but in all honesty, I did not. My parents chose it for me, by putting me in a Baptist church, because they felt I needed some sort of guidance, and to be with other children my age.

Granted, after I left home, I rejected the faith almost outright, but later came back to it, though not in the previous form. I chose to come back, because after all, it is the only thing that I know...it is the only thing that has been shown to me on a regular basis to be truth, in my own eyes. I've seen many things happen that I could not explain, and so I ascribe them to God, as miracles.

I've been baptised to christianity by my parents but I chose the way of wicca becouse...

I dunno, it just appeals to me more

I didn't grow up with any set faith, myself. My father was the Christian of the family, though so quiet about it that I was in my late teens before I realised. My mother used to be Christian, but lost faith at some point during her teens. Despite this, my mother was the one with the task of teaching me about God and baby Jesus, so I guess my opinion of Christianity got a little skewed.

I've always liked reading, and learning, and used to read through all the books I could find in the bookshelves about other religions, such as native american beliefs, african beliefs, and of course the norse. The bookshelves at home mainly consisted of either educational books or science fiction, and science fiction never appealed to me much.

Eventually I dug further into my mothers book collection, and found a couple of paperbacks from when she had been an exchange student in the States in her rebellious teens. They were about witchcraft, numerology and Kabbalah. And I was roughly...14, I think. Impressionable age. I read them all, believed every word, and tried out the various spells in there, as much as I could. I started checking libraries, heard stories from friends, tried making Ouija boards and collecting earth from graves. All the usual childish mumbo-jumbo. It took me a few years to learn to weed out the bullshit and think for myself.

At 16 I got hold of Satan's Bible and started my brief career as a satanist, that lasted a few months, I think, before I learned to see that particular philosophy for what it was and realised I didn't need the label or the rules in order to be me. And that was a breakthrough realisation for me, I realised that the important thing wasn't which group I associated myself with, or whose rules I obeyed, as long as I was true to myself. I am my own master.

I chose my faith of having no faith because all faiths I have seen so far are utterly and obviously bullshit.

I became a Buddhist because I saw what effect a simple practice had on a great number of people, who were all very different from one another....their lives turned around radically and quickly.

I believed because I saw proof of its power to free the human mind from its own fundamental ignorance of the truth, and to empower people to action, and to be happy no matter what circumstances.

I know only that I know nothing and belief is as transient as the shadows cast by clouds across the ever changing lands below.

I follow my current path because I was given the vision of a palace atop a great mountain. Within the palace was a man with wings of a dragon and behind him was a light like no other. It was the first time I had ever felt calm and at home in my life. From behind him came other winged figures, theirs feathered wings of different colors. As they appraoched only one thing was said...............sister, welcome home.

What made you come to that realisation?



Feathered beings? What do you think they were? And how has this experience affected your beliefs?

As far as I can recall they are what painters perceived as angels. They however do not like that label or any others. They are simply beings that exist in spirit along side us and help out as we need them. I was dabbling in things like blood rituals and necromancy before this vision and have since calmed quite a bit and have gone more towards healing and aiding others. So I guess you could say I made a complete turn around because of them coming to me while in a light tranced state.

I've always been sort of "out there". Even when I was pretty much supposed to believe in one way I would take it to a fringe and believe things very differently than other people who shared my faith. When I was younger I was always interested in the origins of things, the earliest things, and was fascinated by them. I wondered about things that other people usually didn't give any thought to and I would often get extremely "deep" in my thinking about them in an exploratory way (can be both "good" and "bad").

I don't think I chose anything - I mean, I can say I did or believe that, but I think it would be fooling myself and can't really stand behind that. I think it is just the way I was born and am. Sure I had to work through things...and still probably have to...but the core is still the same and it always was just a matter of time and environment.

My faith? Uh, er, nevermind. Sorry. :)

When I was born, on my birth certificate, it wrote Religion: Buddhism. I was made a godchild of Guan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy. I used to believe in it, but now I don't believe in any of the religions. Buddhism is a Way of Life so I still practise it, albeit less. I just believe in God, the Creator. Different from Christianity. I believe in all religions, they are the same and there is only one God.

well
if I can call it a faith. I am very much just me. I beleive in what I believe in through the expiriences I have had through my life. delving into native american, toaist, and much much more.
I am me.
the thing is walking in truth or the knowing is much more then what books and people will tell you. only you can find this truth, and self knowing. no book or person can tell you the correct way. when you do accomplish this then you will be you. not some fascade society has molded you to become via there expectation. walking in the knowing and you will become truth.

All I know for sure about my still-developing belief system is that I believe now and always have in reincarnation. It feels natural to me. Beyond that I don't know, but I took comparative religion in college, which really confused me because I took different concepts which made sense to me from various different religions and I am still working on making sense out of my belief system.

For example, I believe that we are put on this earth to do something, by God. If we don't get to do what we were supposed to do, we come back, but we have to start over from scratch, and don't remember anything. Add to this Karma, so in addition to finishing work from your last life you have to make up for what you did in the last life too, and only when you are as perfect or enlightened as you can get do you get an after-life. I know, it sounds confusing, but it makes more sense to me than it does to anyone else.

I couldn't agree me with this and with what Vore said when he said 'I know only that I know nothing..'

I was rasied with three belief systems, in the end what rang true with me were things that I proved or disproved for myself. I think that's eventually where my beliefs came from, trial and error.

Even now nothing is set in stone to me. I learn something new and wonderous everyday... because of that... I change and evolve and sometimes my beliefs do as well.

Offtopic: Clear, when you get a chance could you PM me and tell me how you were able to do the 'double quote thing' from two users. I've tried serveral ways and just managed to make a right fine mess of it. Thanks. :)

I'm a lot cleverer than I look.

if you truely know nothing. then why have a ego about it?