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Religion and Spirituality

TheCatWoman

I know this is a contentious issue, but I wnat to talk about it anyway and I hope people can be respectful to the beliefs of others. 

It seems to me that although we in the UK are called a Christian country, we're not, most people don't attend church, many are nominally Christian, church for hatchings, matchings and despatchings, maybe xmas and easter too. Many will attend church to get their children into a high performing church school. Our main bank holidays focus on a Christian festival calendar, Easter, Pentecost, Xmas etc, but I wonder if we should add the holy days of other faiths, like EId, Diwali, the Solticies?

We have so many faiths in this country and many people who don't identify with any particular faith, but are broadly believers in something.

I'd like to see bishops removed from the House of Lords and the Church of England disestablished, in a multifath society I don't see what their place is in the giovernance of the country, I think you either have to have representatives of all faiths or none and seeing as many faiths don't have an episcopal system I don't see how it would work where the representatives come from and which community would they be representing? I think the same is true of the current situation and bishops, there are many Christian sects that do not recognise and episcopal system.  

Parents

  • I am not able to express religion even in my own time now because of my “dad” guilt tripping me for it. Like it’s ok for him to be as religious as he wants but if I want to be religious or show more interest then it’s wrong because I’m stealing “his thing”! Plus he doesn’t even believe in life after death so I think what’s the point in claiming religion to be his thing if he doesn’t believe in heaven and hell? Am I missing something? Are there religions that don’t believe in afterlife? Sorry I’m new to all this I admit. He claims to be a catholic so I thought they were believers in heaven and hell. 

  • in reply to Elfilis

    Faith is a personal thing. We should all be able to have one if we want. A personal relationship with the faith makes all the difference in my faith. Your dad doesn't seem to understand things properly. It is not his thing to have a monopoly or interest of a faith. Jesus said to people to follow him and he wants more people to. He asked them to seek and knock and find him and that applies to everyone if they are ready to. He also said that people need to believe in him for eternal afterlife.

    I would say ignore if interested and perhaps listen to something like an mp3 Bible on your own and take it from there. Faith Comes by Hearing may be a good place to look. I use one downloaded from there, non dramatised version.

    If this continues with your father and remember you don’t have to discuss your faith with him if you don't want to, but secrecy can be hard at home to. Could you look into alternate housing to get away from this, It's not good.

    About end of life, some Saints are in Heaven, but we are now waiting for the 2nd Resurrection with Christ to return and then will go to New Jerusalem or Heaven itself and only God determines that in my faith and I am a Christian, but I am a non demontioal, but was baptised as a Catholic. There is something called the Cennacle charismatic and I am not young and don' go, but I have seen it. They support people with social media to so may be that might be something to look at as well. Good luck

  • in reply to RachelO

    Good grief Elfis, what planet does your "dad" live on? By the way why do you always put him in "thingy" marks?

    i think it is sheer ignorance to think that left handed people are somehow bad, I think it comes from the Latin Dexter-right and Sinister=left, sinister came to take on more negative connotations somewhere along the line, possibly from shield walls in warfare where you hold your shield with your left arm and your sword or spear in your right. A shield wall is a line of interlocking shields protecting not just your own body, but that of the person to the side of you, swords or spears and then jabbed or slashed over or under the shields, if someone's domminant hand is the left and they naturally want to hold a shield in their right hand and a sword with thier left it would leave a gap in a shield wall that would make it vulnerable in what is basically a pushing match.

    *************************

    Almond, I would like to see the church and state seperated too, but it dosent' gaurantee a state not dominated by religious thought and beliefs, America has no state religion, but it's politics seem to be very much dominated by Christianity and seems to be becoming more so.

  • in reply to TheCatWoman

    Ahh ok thank you! I have a better understanding now and the link Iain had sent me in your polytheism post was very helpful too. Though I would probably say I’m more monotheistic, I am definitely not against polytheism and say I have prayed to many Gods and Goddesses in the past. 

    I actually believe I have a Goddess as a guardian angel and as you say it’s like making a friend and them building you and looking after you! 

  • in reply to Elfilis

    Polytheism is a belief that there are many Gods and Goddesses, all equally valid, some come in families like the Greek deities, some are more loosly connected. For me interactions with the divine are a bit like making a friend in this world, you meet one and get on and they guide you and work with you, challenging, comforting and loving.

Reply
  • in reply to Elfilis

    Polytheism is a belief that there are many Gods and Goddesses, all equally valid, some come in families like the Greek deities, some are more loosly connected. For me interactions with the divine are a bit like making a friend in this world, you meet one and get on and they guide you and work with you, challenging, comforting and loving.

Children
  • in reply to TheCatWoman

    Ahh ok thank you! I have a better understanding now and the link Iain had sent me in your polytheism post was very helpful too. Though I would probably say I’m more monotheistic, I am definitely not against polytheism and say I have prayed to many Gods and Goddesses in the past. 

    I actually believe I have a Goddess as a guardian angel and as you say it’s like making a friend and them building you and looking after you!