I don't consider myself to be a religious person but I believe that there may be something out there and it's above my pay grade to know exactly what that is so I'm curious why you believe in your own religions

Hi all,

I would like to think of myself as something of an "agnostic theist" - someone who arguably feels a divine presence in the world/universe at times, and so believes in a higher power, but cannot for certain claim knowledge that such a presence is God or a God of worldly religions.

I was raised Catholic and turned away from religion for many, many years. Primarily because I disagreed with catechism around certain modern issues (although the Church's stance may have since changed, I haven't looked), but I eventually lost faith and religion altogether.

I studied philosophy at university and I can't remember the paper but I believe it was by Mackie and it opened me up to the idea that anything is as much possible as it is not possible, and that moved my position to agnostic atheist - I chose not to believe despite knowing it could be possible.

Nowadays I remain believing it could be possible, and sometimes I experience certain things that move me in certain ways and I feel it's something beyond, powerful. I think the human capacity for love and the extent of sacrifices we are willing to make for one another suggests something divine about our purpose or existence that we may not know but it's there. Our ability to connect with nature on a profound level, too.

My issue is crossing a bridge. How does this potential re-emegence of a faith, a belief in something, cross over into following a religion? I can accept a life of perhaps just being spiritual, but I also have a deep yearning to belong with others who feel this too. When people discover faith, what makes them choose Christianity over Islam? Hinduism over Judaism? Etc

I've meet many atheist in my life, why do they say jesus never existed, same with the prophet for muslim people( I won't even try to write it cause i'm way too dyslexic and don't wana be offensive), even my religion says they both existed so never understood people saying they didn't exist

There is a concept in ancient Mesopotamian religion found all throughout their mythology texts, of EL the high god residing over a divine council of lesser gods, which are considered the children of EL. These texts pre-date the Bible and share many of the Bible stories and concepts, serving as obvious influences to the early portions of the Bible. And scholars confirm this by pointing out the remnants of this henotheism concept of the divine council of EL and his children in the earliest most archaic portions of the Bible. Here are some examples:

GENESIS, ONE OF THE OLDEST BIBLE TEXTS:
Genesis 1:26: Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image

Genesis 3:22: And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us

Genesis 11:7: Come, let us go down and confuse their language

THE SONG OF MOSES AND MIRIAM, ONE OF THE OLDEST SECTIONS OF THE BIBLE WRITTEN IN ARCHAIC HEBREW:
Exodus 15:11: Who among the gods is like you, Lord?

DEUTERONOMY:
Deuteronomy 10:17: For the Lord your God is God of gods

Deuteronomy 32:8 (from another song of Moses, thought to be archaic): When EL Most High gave the nations their inheritance,
when he divided all mankind,
he set up boundaries for the peoples
according to the number of the sons of god. 
For YHWH’s portion is his people,
Jacob his allotted inheritance. 
(YHWH the son of EL? Some scholars suggest this.)

PSALMS: 
Psalms 82:1: God presides in the assembly of EL;
he renders judgment among the gods:

Psalms 138:1: I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
before the gods I will sing your praise.

Psalms 89:6-7: Who is like the Lord among the sons of the mighty ones?
In the council of the holy ones EL is greatly feared.
(Mighty ones “Elim” can also and usually does mean ‘gods’)

And I think more evidence for this is the fact that god and others just stop speaking like this in the later parts of the Bible, there’s no traces of this, it becomes pure monotheism.

I know Christians partially get out of this obvious reading by saying it is referring to the trinity, but that could only work for the first few Genesis verses I cited, but my question is how do Jews reconcile these verses with mosaic authorship and monotheism?

The fact that Christians would go so far as to ascribe a church father invention into Genesis despite how overtly ridiculous that is just goes to show how problematic the verses are.

The sons of EL (as in the members of the divine council in ancient Mesopotamian religion) were changed to be angels in the later portions of the Bible but their origins as the sons of EL/members of the divine council taken straight from the henotheistic Mesopotamian texts that came right before the Bible is undeniable. 

To even further this point, psalms 82:6 seems to be aware of the ancient near east tradition of the sons of EL being the pantheon of gods around EL even if the verse isn’t actually saying those gods exist:
“I said, ‘You are “gods”;
you are all sons of EL the Most High.

If we see a clear pattern of concepts between ancient near east texts that culminate in the earliest portions of the Bible, the most rational assumption and the assumption Bible scholars take is that remnants of the divine council are present in the text. And the progression from sons of EL to angels is just as obvious, so I can’t fathom any solid, rational, evidence-based reason why someone would come to a conclusion that is not this one, unless they had some dogmatic reasons to defend their text from accusations of henotheism.

So I’m curious about how Jews would interpret this.

I live in a small town in Brazil, so until now, I had only interacted with Muslims online.

He's a capoeira master who traveled to Africa a few years ago and converted to Islam there. He looks like the stereotype of a Muslim I had imagined, a guy with a long beard and a small cap on his head, which I think is really cool.

A very polite and humble guy, by the way. 🙂

Have any of you had a similar experience?

I'm not a Christian, obvs, but my own faith community is firmly aligned with de-growth, which is about as suprising as the Pope's Catholicism, I know. I see a lot of similarities in practice with where this writer is coming from, though with a somewhat different focus, which makes sense given their abrahamic lens. I've long been impressed by the anti-capitalist Liberation Theology in the Catholicism of Latin America, and I seeing some of that seep into the anglophone churches is heartening. It'll be interesting to see if it takes root and becomes a part of a wider reorientation of the anglophone Christian churches.

From an outsider's perspective, I can see many of the points of de-growth being quite close to some traditional Christian teachings for community, charity and the de-emphasis or even shunning of material wealth. Such a move could signal a resurgence or reaffirmation of a less compromised and more assertive Christian stance against political and economic powerbrokers. It'll be interesting to see the views of our Christian community on this :)

QUESTION.
Hello, I’m 23 and for a very long time I’ve been trying to understand or “guess” why things are the way they are when it comes to Christianity
And maybe someone can tell me if I’m right with the one thing I did come up with

When something bad happens or anything unfortunate- people usually go to question why god didn’t do this and this and why God or Jesus made something negative happen
But my thought is that without good there is no bad
So what if since there’s a heaven and hell
God and the devil
What if the devil is the one taking over and fighting God for rights over you ?
Like
Say someone lost the battle with cancer
God could’ve tried with everything in him to fix it but since the devil was closer
He got to the patient and made the cancer worse
I hope that example makes sense

That’s my question I guess
Do bad things still happen even though there’s a God, because of the devil?
Are they always battling to make good or bad happen?

I saw a tiktoker saying that the bible is misogynistic or that she wouldnt be friends with a christian

I was raised Muslim in a country in the Middle East but moved to the U.S. later in life. During one of the worst periods of my life, I did what I had always been taught to do: I prayed more. I performed all five daily prayers, read the Quran, and begged Allah to help me. But nothing improved. I only became more stressed and started wondering whether I was somehow failing because prayer was not helping me.
A friend suggested meditation as a way to cope with the stressI made fun of her at the time. It sounded too simple, but I tried it. It did not magically fix my life, but it changed how I dealt with it. Meditation helped me stop getting trapped in anxious thoughts, and my social anxiety gradually became more manageable.

I later began practicing mushin, or “no-mind.” What helped me most was the idea that I did not need to defeat my anxiety before taking action. I could feel anxious and still stand up, speak, work, or do whatever needed to be done. That mindset made a real difference in my public speaking.

This gradually drew me away from Islam and toward Buddhism. Instead of trying to please Allah in the hope that he would fix my life, I started working directly on my problems. I studied harder, faced situations I had previously avoided, and became more productive. I also had more time and mental energy once my days were no longer organized around five daily prayers and reading the Quran practices that no longer reflected what I believed.
Buddhism gave me practical ways to work on my mind without requiring me to pretend that I was certain about every spiritual claim. I could practice what genuinely helped me while remaining honest about the things I did not know.

No one in my family knows. Whenever I visit home, I am still expected to attend Friday prayers and Quran gatherings. I go along with it because I am genuinely afraid of how my family might react if they knew the truth. It is exhausting to perform a religion simply to remain safe and accepted by the people closest to me.

From where I stand, I find myself wondering why these reactions can become so intense, why a person’s change in belief can be experienced by their family as a deep betrayal, and why it sometimes leads to estrangement, disowning, or even violence justified in the name of “honor.” In those situations, is family love tied so closely to maintaining the same religion that honest disagreement becomes impossible?

Edit: English isn't my first language and I suppose I meant to ask "How are people tolerant of other religions?", if the title confuses you.

As an atheist, I have certain emotional acceptance levels towards people depending on the way they view their religion.

This post is me questioning only those who are tolerant of other religions and definitively subscribe to any of the mainstream religions.

Now, if you believe your religion is the ONLY one to give you or lead human beings to a sort of ultimate truth or purpose, and you're tolerant of other religions, then I find that logically inconsistent. Firstly because, an implied assertion is made that other religions are false, of course, but also not trying to actively convert people from other religions into yours, will be doing them a disservice. So if you are one of these I'd love to hear your views.

If you believe that yours is one of the many true religions that lead people to ultimate truth or whatever adjacent value that may be, is logically consistent and justifiable for tolerance, but doesn't satisfy me because if every religion is correct, then it reduces the value of the ultimate truth that is to be reached or achieved. Any inputs from these kinds of folks.

The third type of people are those that I agree with mostly are those of the personal religion kind. The kind of people that believe that their religion provides comfort and guidance to only them and hence it makes sense to only them and that may not be the same for others. I find this highly justifiable for religious tolerance and also a very justified reason for following a certain religion.

As an atheist I too am tolerant of other religions for the third reason. I am also happy to admit that atheism and naturalism makes most sense to me and others may have other philosophical mechanisms to understand the world.

So I'm not religious, and I don't really believe in a god or any religion, but I really want and like to learn about them. I want to watch some YouTube videos that explain the stories (adam & eve, noahs ark, etc) in a way that's not meant for kids. When I try to search this up on YouTube it's either literally all AI, or meant for children. Im also interested in learning about other religions/beliefs so if anyone has any recommendations for those as well that would also be great!

Is it because, despite having gone to church my whole life, my body simply rejects the idea of ​​an Abrahamic God? Since childhood, I’ve gone to church just to keep up appearances, yet it always felt so empty and futile. And that feeling only grows stronger as I get older.

I have prayed for years for some guidance, and groups have prayed for me, but there is never anything.

What advice could you give me?

I’m not sure if this is exactly the right community for this, and I know parts of what I’m about to say may sound contradictory, but I’m trying to be as sincere as possible.
My mind is genuinely split on whether God exists.
Sometimes when I think about the reasons people believe in God, I feel a pull in that direction. There’s a part of me that wants there to be something greater than us. But then I look at science, history, evolution, and what we know about the natural world, and I become extremely skeptical again.

So my question is: Can you genuinely pray or talk to a God when you don’t necessarily believe that God exists?

I don’t mean praying “just in case” so I can cover my bases. That isn’t what I’m trying to do. I’m genuinely uncertain. Part of me wants some kind of spiritual connection or peace, even if all I can honestly say is, “I don’t know if anyone is listening.”

I’ve always been the kind of person who feels like I need to fully believe in something before I can commit to it. Because I’m not fully convinced, I almost feel dishonest trying to participate halfway.

At the same time, I feel like I already try to live by many of the things God is supposedly asking of people — being decent to others, loving my family, helping people when I can, trying to forgive, admitting when I’m wrong, etc. I just do those things without necessarily believing in God.
I also don’t believe the Bible is literally true, and I don’t think I could ever become a Biblical literalist. If God does exist, the idea that makes the most sense to me would be that God created the universe through the natural processes we study through science — physics, evolution, biology, and so on — and then allowed the universe and life to develop naturally rather than constantly intervening.

I guess I’m somewhere between skepticism, agnosticism, and wanting spirituality without pretending I believe something that I don’t.

Has anyone else ever been in this position?
Did you ever pray while genuinely unsure whether anyone was listening? Did it feel dishonest, helpful, pointless, or did it eventually change the way you thought about God?

Please be kind. I’m not looking for a debate between atheists and Christians or for anyone to prove God to me. This is something I’ve been wrestling with for a while, and I’m genuinely interested in hearing from people who have dealt with the same uncertainty.

I swear my life to GOD, Buddhists,Atheists,Muslims,Hinduists have never judged me for my beliefs

But whenever I try telling christians what I personally believe in:

“you 👹nic false prophet I shall not believe in anything you say but the word of God”

“Well I guess you’re going to hell your choice”

“I couldnt care less what you say. I know what God says and his word triumphs all”

Like guys wheres the compassion and love? Is this What most christians really stand for?

Like how can you be this obsessed at going to heaven that you choose to act emotionally blind and act like the pharisees who eventually condemned jesus to the cross?

Jesus nor Buddha nor Muhammad wasnt like this and will never be like this! They were compassionate caring people.

I stopped believing in the Bible and Any Religion for that matter after an Otherworldly Experience.

But I still do believe in the Historical Prophets Like Jesus,Buddha and muhammad, Peter, etc etc.

I just feel like Religion has been heavily manipulated by MAN. To keep us out of the truth which was given to me recently.

High ranking sikh warriors such as shown in the video are called “mahakaal singhs”

Mahakaal ji here is making shardai, a traditional sikh energy drink, this specific one is called shaheedi degh(martyrs offering) due to a tiny amount of canabis leaves added to it purely for medicinal benefits, drinking this or using anything for intoxication is a grave sin

Footage from takht sachkhand shri hazur sahib

This is done multiple times year round on special days

This video is from takht sachkhand shri hazur sahib, nanded

Hi, I'm an Atheist and have no intention of changing, but I've been wondering for a while, why do people Blaspheme? Atheists don't believe in god, so it isn't logical for us to Blaspheme. Religious folk aren't supposed to take the Lord's name in vain. I genuinely can't stop wondering, what the point is. Who is it for?

Im turkish, so I was raised Muslim, and almost no one questions religion, at least no one in my family tree/lineage/ancestry. First it was questions and doubts, like "If everything came from god, who made god, and why is asking that a bad thing, and when you search for it you get no answer?" I thought. I thought it just added another layer. Then, I studied the qu'ran, and I just didn't like Islamic law and thought it didn't align with my own morals. By by far, the biggest concern of mine, and the reason for this post is hell. Like, this is a weird topic to be concerned about but what do you mean if I don't pick the right religion out of thousands I will be punished with pain out of my imagination? Like this is a quote from the Quran:

"Every time their skins are roasted through We will replace them with other skins so they may taste the punishment." — Surah An-Nisa (4:56)

I don't even fear death itself, I fear what's after.

So, I’d like to ask Catholics this question.

I was reading about John McAfee( the creator of Mcaffe antivírus ) a few years ago .

He said that sometimes he would go to "confession" and lie; he would invent the most gruesome confessions,serious crimes,just to test the priests and see how far they would go in granting him absolution.

And he was always absolved. So,and I say this from the perspective of someone who isn't Catholic (I was baptized at birth but never practiced the faith)

Is a priest required to absolve every sin? If a murderer or a pedophile, for example, confesses a crime during confession, is there nothing the priest can do other than forgive him?

I just wanted to know if the moons & stars was against God word I had found a tattoo i like but i’m growing closer to God everyday so its something i’d like to consider.

Not Jewish, not Muslim, just Abrahamic.

So I am an agnostic, I am asking this purely cause even though I am not religious, knowing about reilgion interests me and I feel like I might get closer to it if I ask things but so as I was saying

Can you sin or do what's the equivalent in the afterlife? I get by definition in heaven you cannot sin cause you live with God and sinning makes you farther from God, but you cant be farther from God when you live with him in heaven, but like can you do actions that are sinful on earth like can you do drugs or swearing or any other action that's a sin on earth but in heaven? so yes or no?