Is It Possible...??

My question is, is it possible to believe in a religon that tells you how you came to be, but personally believe that it isn't true and that we came to be another way? Can you still be apart of that religion and what it teaches you? This is a question that I have been struggeling with personally and am not sure if I should have posted it, but decided to after I could not come up with an answer.


-Dagger

I assume you mean can I be a christian and believe in evolution.....or something to that effect. I say that you can, with christianity anyway(can't speak for other religions because i don't know ). But salvation is not dependant on which theory of creation you hold, IMO, but do you believe God made it.

You don't need to be part of a religion at all. Go with what you think is right and not what you were brought up to believe is right. There is alot of unknown to discover. Once out of the box you will see everything differently.

Absolutely. It's called being a hypocrit and i've yet to find a church that wasn't filled to the rafters with them.

Oh wait, you were being serious, weren't you..

OK, Yes, you can belong to a church and believe in something totally differant then what they teach. It is not wrong to stand among your fellow beings and pray, even if in your heart you're praying to a differant concept of God.

Thats why i'm a member of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.

Have you heard the song, "Proud to be an American." By Lee Greenwood? Is so then you know how the music should go, just sing these lyrics:

And i'm proud to be a Unitarian
Where atleast I know i'm free
And i won't forget the heretics
that gave that right to me
and i'll proudly stand up
next to you
as to differant gods we pray
for there ain't no doubt I love this church
God bless the UUA

I hope you get it worked out in your own heart my friend.

Love and light,

Wupy

We are ALL on this earth to learn and experience. That is what God wants us to do......to listen, learn, touch, smell, think, understand, love...
Life is like a school. Learning as we go.

God will not condemn you for having your own mind/thoughts.
He DID create the mind - and what an amazing creation it is.
All God asks is that we learn and trust what is "right". We will
all know the 100% truth when we pass over. Until then, we
are merely students

As long as you can go to bed each night and know that you have done your very best to be a good person and to love your fellow man - then
as far as I am concerned, God will smile down at you very pleased with your lessons learnt thusfar.

Cheers

Originally posted by Dagger
My question is, is it possible to believe in a religon that tells you how you came to be, but personally believe that it isn't true and that we came to be another way? Can you still be apart of that religion and what it teaches you? This is a question that I have been struggeling with personally and am not sure if I should have posted it, but decided to after I could not come up with an answer.


-Dagger

I suppose you could rationalize it by simply saying that God/Allah/(insert your god's name here) created you by using the 'another way' you mention. For example, in the evolution method, why can't God have created life, and then it evolved later? Basically, I don't see that there needs to be a contradiction here, i.e. (insert your God here) created life using (insert your method here). People might be able to help you better if you were a little more specific, though, since you don't mention your religion or the theory by which you believe humans were created.

What led me away from organized religion was the smothering self-interpretations of the Bible and internal politics--and yes--the hypocrisy aforementioned.
To not believe in something(i.e. creationism) else other than what a church teaches in this day in age is archaic. With all the new discoveries on Earth and beyond, why shouldn't the frontier of Spirituality also expand? An open mind is limitless.....and prepared when the truths of how, when, and why are finally revealed.

Dagger, yes, you can be a part of a religion and not believe everything they teach. Contrary to what others may say this does not mean you are a hypocrite, but that you struggle understanding a certain topic. There are dozens of things in the early christian church that were done, that we do not do today. (Holy kiss, feet washing, sharing meals, etc.) Mainly for cultural reasons.

Now, would such a disagreement affect your faith? It could very well be based on what it is, and how much it is a part of the sacrements. I doubt you are going to go to hell becaue you never got circumsized. Nor if a women leaves her head uncovered. But you could very well have problems if you hord wealth, or covet a car more then you do God.

The best thing to do is to recieve some guidance and allow the Holy Spirit to work withen you in understanding. Learn both sides of the issue, and become knowledgeable enough in it your stance on it cannot be shaken.

For me, the more in line my will is with Gods will, the stronger I become in faith, and the better I become to serve him.