Hello Everyone,
I am fairly new to ATS and am very intrigued about consciousness, religion, enlightenment etc. I need to tell you guys about my religious upbringing and how I became more "awakened" than ever before. It all started after attending 12 years of catholic private school and mass on Sundays.
In religion class they teach you all about the catholic church and how it came about etc. You end up learning all about the history of the church and how Christianity became a world power etc. Then they discuss all the crusades and book burnings and what not. They tell you that at one time catholics believed in purgatory now they don't. Blah blah blah. They teach you that you won't get into heaven unless you believe in Jesus, God.
The idea that leads me to lose all attachment to Catholicism and organized religion as a whole is the idea that if you don't believe in Jesus or specific god then you will not reach salvation. If you don't follow rules such as go to mass on Sundays and don't say the lords name in vein then you will not go to heaven etc.
Think about it... the only reason why you are the religion you are today is because of your parents/family/upbringing. You had no free choice to pick/choose your religion. As a person gets older rarely does he/she ever question their religion or compare it to others. A person never gets the chance to and usually the religion makes it "illegal" to even question your religion.
How could a God be so exclusive to say only people who have been exposed to my religion and believe in me will go to heaven/reach salvation? How could a God ignore the other 3/4 the world that believe in other religions or don't believe at all? Honestly I like to use my common sense and I feel like if I am that caring to consider other religions in the world why isn't God? Shouldn't God be the almighty caring God and ever forgiving, a lot more caring than me?
All religion today is based in the past and beside sacred text, there is no proof in saying which religion is the right one. How is a person to know?

Riddle me this: A person is atheist. He is the nicest person you have ever met. Has never "sinned.' He devotes his whole life to volunteering and any money he has he donates to the poor. Is he going to hell? Is he going to the same place a person who murdered someone will go? I dont go to church on Sundays... will I go there too?

I feel that if you live your life in the most loving and forgiving way possible that is the key. Treat others as you would want to be treated.
One of my favorite quotes comes from Buddha and I think all should read it: “Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.”

I would really like anyone's thoughts on this. I honestly feel like a whole new person today by being who I know I was meant to be. I feel like religion can make one narrow minded at times, and if you take off the blindfold of religion you see a whole spectrum of love and beauty in many human beings no matter the religion.

Riddle me this: A person is atheist. He is the nicest person you have ever met. Has never "sinned.' He devotes his whole life to volunteering and any money he has he donates to the poor. Is he going to hell? Is he going to the same place a person who murdered someone will go? I dont go to church on Sundays... will I go there too

I gave up on Christianity when I was about 13. I don't believe in the Christian god, or heaven or hell. I do believe there is some type of higher being, and that there is an afterlife.

I am a very nice person. I frequently donate my time, money, etc to others. As far as 'sinning'---I don't believe in sinning. I believe in right and
wrong, good morals, and compassion. I've never done anything in my life that I feel truly ashamed of. I'm not living this way to buy my way into 'heaven'. I do it because I want to and it makes me feel good to help people.

I know after my life is done here, I'll move on. The thought of hell does not scare me, because I simply don't believe in it.

I've had these thoughts myself before. The conclusion I made for myself, was that the problem with religion is that there are human beings involved, and from what I understand just because God(Jesus) is... doesn't mean that the people who follow him necesarily are. I've left God many times because of these people, but I realize that they are not God, and have eventually come back to the possibility. Tao Te Ching is where I found some answers as well. It's not really a religion, but it got me thinking on my own.

I personally believe that there are many ways to "salvation," and that there is no way any human or group of humans can know the truth of the matter... including myself.

That quote from Buddha is a good one, but just because someone has a moment of clarity, doesn't mean that everything they say will be that way.

Originally posted by ihavequestions
They tell you that at one time catholics believed in purgatory now they don't. Blah blah blah.

Not that it is all that relevant but Catholics do still believe in Purgatory.

Originally posted by ihavequestions
Riddle me this: A person is atheist. He is the nicest person you have ever met. Has never "sinned.' He devotes his whole life to volunteering and any money he has he donates to the poor.

Religious people hardly ever admit this:

There are many thing which do transcend the religious belief ...

When we finally realize that there are things more important than life after death we will rise to the next level as a species

ctjctjctj--- That is exactly what I think. Religion has been used at times as a form of control. Because of book burnings and destruction of documents, there are no original, primary sources of sacred texts. Therefore, these texts have been proven to contain a level of falsehood in some aspect so that governing-type rules could be inserted into the texts.

i stopped believing in a god and religion a long time ago, and sometimes im saddened by what i see occuring with those who still believe in it.

I'm not saying they are wrong its just they need to have a bit of common sense and self awareness.

some of them have a little bit of that, but some are so deeply involved into their religion they have lost sense of self control.

I have family that are heavy Christians, and yet they don't seem happy at all. Their family is in constant fighting, there is clear favoritism among the children, there are so many rules that follow they can't seem to have fun. Religion is everywhere for them. Their son(my cousin) which is 21, loves carpentry, and whats to become an architect. The only thing holding him back is his family. He has it clear in his mine that he can't leave his parents because he has to support them. He goes to work everyday from 4pm-1am to support his parents. and he can't save up any money because he has to buy everything his little 7 year old brother wants or else he gets scolded and mistreated by his father.

The behavior in this family is sad and i think they have gone so far to follow the rules of their religion that they have made their lives worse than intended. And its not just Christians that do this, but all other religious people.
they just cant seem to be able to live without God and his rules.

i just wish they could see a life without a god, without the fear of consequences by a higher power, without rules that bind them into a life of sadness and strict policies.

That is what i hope for, i don't pray for it to happen, i just hope that they have an epiphany or at least try it for one day. So they can realize that sometimes its ok be on the other side( even though there aren't any sides).

Originally posted by ihavequestions

I would really like anyone's thoughts on this. I honestly feel like a whole new person today by being who I know I was meant to be. I feel like religion can make one narrow minded at times, and if you take off the blindfold of religion you see a whole spectrum of love and beauty in many human beings no matter the religion.

I agree. If God has something important to tell you, God will tell you him/herself. (depending who or what you believe God to be) Listen to your own heart, inner yearnings, and learn to hear the voice for yourself. Not everything in your head is God, sometimes its just you talking to yourself, but if you take the time and become still, you can hear God everywhere. You dont need anyone else.