Faith, Religion, or Spirituality (Full Version)

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MHOO314 -> Faith, Religion, or Spirituality (3/7/2006 5:41:20 AM)

( this should start the flames of controversy)--We have recently been posting about trust, faith, existence of "greater or lesser" beings--most of us here at CM appear to be decent human beings, human beings we would want to know if in our neighborhood or town--

So my question is, what drives your behavior? Is it Faith, Religion or Spirituality (I capitalize these for easy read versus any deference)

What do you define as Faith Versus Religion versus Spirituality

Do you think people today have more faith, more religion or more spirituality? Has religion or organized religion made a resurgence?

My response: Personally I have spirituality--but it is not guided by a better "after life" it is guided to do right to and by My surroundings, that is all inclusive, man, animal, earth, planets--having grown up as a Catholic, I wrestled with organized religions because they are subject to the emotional and political climate of the times--the leaders wavered--but My commitment to My inborn spirituality continued and continues to hold fast. Needless to say several years ago I walked away from "organized religion" and instead embraced a set of beliefs that defined My spirituality, hence My behavior.

Thoughts?





IrishMist -> RE: Faith, Religion, or Spirituality (3/7/2006 6:01:48 AM)

Hmmm...well, I was raised Irish Catholic in the strictist sense, and was a devout follower up until about 22 or 23. Right about that time, I started learning about Celtic Druidism. I have since converted completly. I really do not look at it as a religion though, more of a spirituality.

In terms of faith, I tend to believe that faith is nothing more than a belief in SOMETHING, it matters not what you believe in, as long as you believe in something, even if it is just yourself.




fergus -> RE: Faith, Religion, or Spirituality (3/7/2006 6:11:35 AM)

Faith, religion, and spirituality are all slightly different areas of the same issues.

I believe we need a good balance of all three, but first, I will give you my thoughts on their meaning:

Faith. Faith is the ability to believe with your heart and opposed to working things out logically. It is an important foundation for good emotional health to participate in your heart life through faith. Whil faith and the other twio terms are NOT mutually exclusive, one can have faith in MANY areas of life (and should). Without faith, the other two are empty.

Spirituality. This, in my opinion, is the personal, inward expression of faith. It is your personal relationship with God, divinity, the collective unconsious, the Tao, the Force, higher power, or any other term you wish to use.

Religion. This is the outward communal expression of Faith. The ritualization of our mythologies ... the 'sharing' part of our shared human experience.

Why do we need faith? Because we are human beings. We need to feel JUST AS MUCH as think (perhaps more). Far too often we are so arrogant that we believe we can slove ANYTHING provided we just approach it logically enough ... lol, wow, that just doesn't work.

Why do we need Spiritualiy? Because we need to exercise our connection to our place in the world ... our spiritual health. Just as we need to exercise your bodies and our minds ... emotional health is just as important, and it can not be worked through like a logic puzzle. Trying to do so would be like trying to fix a car's engine by replacing the tires.

Why do we need Religion? Because we are communal animals. We do not, and can not exist on our own without the eventual result being serious psychological trauma. Religion is a communal expression. I don't think any two people on earth truly have the same religion, as divine experience is such an individual thing, but it is the sharing that bonds us together as a species.

fergus




fergus -> RE: Faith, Religion, or Spirituality (3/7/2006 6:12:48 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: IrishMist

Hmmm...well, I was raised Irish Catholic in the strictist sense, and was a devout follower up until about 22 or 23. Right about that time, I started learning about Celtic Druidism. I have since converted completly. I really do not look at it as a religion though, more of a spirituality.

In terms of faith, I tend to believe that faith is nothing more than a belief in SOMETHING, it matters not what you believe in, as long as you believe in something, even if it is just yourself.


Are you a member of the ADF?

fergus




IrishMist -> RE: Faith, Religion, or Spirituality (3/7/2006 6:24:59 AM)

No. Although solitary now, I started with teachings through the OBOD/ADO




fastlane -> RE: Faith, Religion, or Spirituality (3/7/2006 6:53:54 AM)

Religion...............hmmm, the group "Bad Religion" had some good songs...when I hear religion...I see $ signs......gimme, gimme, gimme.

Spirtuality.......This is more how I categorize myself. My appreciation of nature puts me in a place of comfort, especially when I am around the Ocean. I feel spiritual with nature and by treating people as I would like to be treated myself, I practice it, most of the time.

Faith.......I have faith that the sun will rise tomorrow and that a warm, slow, wet kiss will come soon, by someone other than "Old Yeller."





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