Tell us of the positive impact religion has had/has on your life

[mopaul]

seriously, tell me the good things about your personal religion. how has it made your life better? why do you reccommend it to others? and how did you come to be the religion that you are?

let's keep this civil.

[leftofthedial]

1. religion cured me of superstition nt

[2Design]

By no longer going to church, my spirituality has risen

[Seabiscuit]

19. Ditto

I can't stomach people pushing their "religion" on others. I suppose I could be labled a "Catholic renegade" but my spirituality has increased since I've disassociated myself from any organized religion. I believe in creation, as we sure as hell didn't create the universe. Beyond that, my life and how I live it is my "religion".

[Drifter]

2. I saw the light ...

and realized that religon is a farce.

There are a few big religions, and they all want to kill each other. Who is right ? well no one is, because there is no God up in the sky making good things happen to good people, and bad things happen to bad people.

In fact, I will go as far as to say that Religion is used by bad people to ensure that good things happen to them.

If there was a God, there would be no need for religion.

Cheers
Drifter

[Nite Owl]

3. First I got to recover from laughing hysterically at

the Barbara dog!

Ok, I was raised as a Catholic. Went to Catholic schools all the way through college. I was taught that all are equal in the eyes of god and we should serve the poor, war is wrong. My parents were Repukes only interested in how not to pay taxes so I truly learned how to be a liberal, the basis of all I believe in the Catholic Church. This was way back in the 60's and the Church that I grew up with is not the same and I don't attend anymore.

[sangh0]

4. Religion has convinced me of the power of non-violent resistance

.

[mopaul]

5. alright, i'll go first

the golden rule: i figure this is actually the best way to live one's life, and i do.

the ten commandments: i've mangaged to obey almost all of them in my adult life. i've never killed anyone, never coveted my neighbor's wife or ass, never worshipped a graven image, i honor my folks, and the others i'm working on.

hinduism: i delved into it in the late 60's, early 70's, and the lessons it taught me i still practice today. tolerance, meditation, being one with the universe, humility, (somewhat) and an appreciation of other cultures and belief systems.

[silverlib]

6. Lately,

it has made me question, research and verify that this administration has nothing to do with the God that I worship. It has made me stronger and more informed to argue against the fundies. This administration has made me fighting mad. I would never be slamming my fist on the table at church while discussing inclusiveness and peace. I will fight this administration's view of religion from the inside out, along with millions of other Christians who believe the fundies are dangerous and flat crazy and are using religion to disenfranchise the underprivileged, the under educated, the middle class and the poor.

[DerekG]

7. A radical shift in politics

Four years ago, I was a yellow-dog Democrat. But after an intense study of the New Testament, and readings of several books chronicling the lives of men like Rev. King, the Berrigan brothers, and Archbishop Romero, I slowly turned into a radical leftist.

I am not so easily fooled by warmongers and social darwinists, whatever their political stripe may be.

[cally]

8. I started a thread on growing up in a liberal Christian Church

I became a liberal because of my church. My family are all Republicans except for one sister and I. Here's my post and the link to my thread:

Anybody else raised in a liberal Christian Church?

I was. I attended Presbyterian churches. The sermons reflected the times. We were taught to love our 'brothers and sisters' (we are all children under God), to protect and defend God's creation (we must be environmentalists), and to give to those in need. It was not perfect because their was much anti-semitism but the church was struggling with that.


A few memories: Our church was not surviving financially so we kept getting advanced seminary students as ministers. These men, yes all men, really taught me about faith because they were struggling with their own and shared their struggles. We talked about how best to serve and what church rules meant. This was a minister who shocked the entire congregation by sleeping with his fiance in his van alone during a church ski trip.

I attended church camps. We had 'new games', diverstiy training, and lessons in tolerance. I'm saddened that these same techniques are often suggested as new in educational circles.

Then there was the sense of community. We went camping together, had parties together, went on ski trips together. I wish I could find a similar church now.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=1620492&mesg_id=1620492

[Malva Zebrina]

9. None because I am an atheist

There is no difference at all in the way I live my life vs someone who believes or is a member of any one religion.

[Ernesto]

13. You are probably wrong on this one, Amigo

My guess is, that you live a better life than many religious believers..... I think I do, because I am an atheist who believes in the tenants of existentialism. (take responsibility for your acts).

[Zorra]

10. Mo, if I knew anything at all I'd try to help you out here.

"Each one must learn for himself the highest wisdom.
It cannot be taught in words." Smowhala

[RichardRay]

11. On becoming a Buddhist

I had no religious or regular spiritual practice for many years. I did collect values that I consider important, but none of the faiths or practices I explored aligned well with those values and I never found a convincing reason to throw over the values for one of the candidates.

Some time ago I had a two year bout with depression. After a couple of years of counseling and some drug therapy I was able to see my way free of that condition, but I didn't like the idea of a life long dependency on the drugs to help maintain equanimity.

I was exposed to Buddhism early in life when my family lived in Hawaii for a few years when I was very young (1958 - 1961). I was also involved in martial arts for many years and there is a strong Buddhist influence in some of that activity. A few years ago I started reading extensively about Vajrayana Buddhism - the version most identified with the Tibetan culture. As I explored it, learned about it and began to practice it I found a use for the recurring symptoms of the depression; they are a powerful motivating force to maintain a regular meditation practice. In time I found myself free of the debilitating part of the condition. As I practiced meditation for the practical benefits the experience led me to be more and more open to the 'religious' aspects of Buddhism. After thought, study and meditation I elected to 'Go for Refuge'; sort of like First Communion for Buddhists. I have considered myself a practicing Buddhist for almost ten years.

A primary value in Buddhism is the development and practice of 'bodicitta', often translated as 'compassion', but having a lot more to it than the common veiw normally attached to that value. That lines up very nicely with the most important of the values I'd developed over the years. I sit daily, about 2 hours, sometimes more. I go for instruction once a year for a few days. (The Tibetans say that your teacher should live at least 3 days travel away so that he/she won't mess in your life too much.:-) That practice has led to more an more valuable perspectives on the world, how it works and how I can be in it. I continue to enjoy the original practical benefit of managing the depression, and now there is much, much more available to me.

I guess one obvious question is to ask whether Buddhism is 'really' a religion. The practices associated with Buddhism can certainly be used as an effective way of staying healthy or a method to enhance clear thought and judgement without ever having any religous overtones. For me that led to the more religious practices, and I'm glad it did.

Namaste

Richard Ray - Jackson Hole, WY

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

12. It made me start to question everything.

First my Catholicism, and then all the sacred cows foisted on us.

"It is difficult to believe in a religion that places
such a high premium on chastity and virginity."

[GliderGuider]

14. We tend to stick with the religions we were born into

I'm an atheist/secular humanist, as is my entire family. In fact, my family now boasts four consecutive generations of atheists.

Nothing else makes any sense to me. The application of Occam's Razor cuts away the need for supernatural entities, as the operation of the universe just doesn't seem to need them. As far as ethics and morals go, what's good for me and the people around me would be the same whether it's laid out by the Invisible Pink Unicorn or just a natural response to the needs of our personal/collective wellbeing.

Plus I think it's more intellectually honest to take responsibility for your own actions and their consequences. "Goddidit" seems too much like weaselling - to me at any rate.

OTOH, I'm perfectly prepared to believe that John Ashcroft is Satan Incarnate :-(

[Merlin]

15. I learned not to let RELIGION get in the way of my understanding of GOD

Religion and God are two separate things.

Religion is mankind's mostly ancient, crude attempt to make God into a mythological character, and use that mythology to control other humans

In fact, I know clearly that there IS a Creator, but One which bears little resemblance to the God of Religion.

The Creator of the Universe is a power beyond comprehension That created a universe of perfect intelligence and rhythm. Like a good computer programmer, the Creator has left its creation to operate on its own, in accordance with the laws of physics and nature It has imbued Creation with.

We all know those laws implicitly through our own reason. Philosophers call them "the Natural Law."

Our job is to use our reason to grasp those laws and to live in accordance with them. So, for example, you don't drive off a cliff because you know the law of gravity will destroy you. You don't kill others because you understand that the laws of human nature will drive others to seek reprisal. And so on...

To me, this is the most fascinating and meaningful subject in life--even more interesting than politics, if that's possible!

And it is the core of politics. Because the Natural Law is essentially a liberal law, one which enforces the notion of working toward the common good as a way of improving the human condition. And, as history proves, it really works.

[mopaul]

18. a power beyond comprehension

that makes sense to me. the fact that it is incomprehensible.

[Raenelle]

16. Spirituality has had a positive impact. Religion? Zip. Nada. None.

Null set. I wish I could have escaped it. You may as well have asked me what positive effect being a member of a cult has had on me.

[sweetheart]

17. why buddhism?

I find buddhism to be based on the real experiences of my own life
and not some spiritually distant ideology.

I am a buddhist by luck. I met an outstanding buddhist one day, and
it so inspired me, it changed my life.

I love the universal view of buddhism, that buddha nature (awakening)
is in all beings, sprouting to various degrees.

I see buddhism as part of the greater hindu inertia of religion, as
many of the principals are indian originally, before it went up
to tibet, over to china and japan. All endorse meditation and
reincarnation, compassion and a universal acceptance of all of life
as divine and sacred.

There is the analogy that god is a hand, and each religion a finger
on the hand, whilst appearing separate, really unified in heart.
Buddhism, in this respect, totally accepts other world religions.
Some other religions, create an us and a them, a saved and a
heathen, and are much easier to manipulate by war mongers and
evil men. I hope such people become wiser and awaken.

namaste,
-s

[Cleita]

20. I would like to but religion has never made a

positive impact in my life. Never. Sorry.

[TheSuaveOne]

21. Why...

...my religous beliefs are my own, they are my expericences, they should not be used by others to make a decision one way or another to their own faith. I guess I am not a "good" mormon because of these feelings, but I have never felt it was my place to try to persuade or disuade anyone to following a specific religion(s)...la

[sangh0]

22. Religion helped the civil rights movement to succeed

which in turn benefitted us all, religious or not.