Confused about my religion

[heyjude]

Hi,

 

I've always been a Christian and gone to Church, and I've built my owbn set of beliefs and morals. I study religion so am well informed on religion. I need religion, it is a big part of my life.

 

But, for the past year, I've been going out with a Jew. Sometimes we will talk about religion, and now he has totally made me believe that my religion is a load of rubbish. There are many things I believe, and I thought Christianity taught, but it turns out not to be true. Judaism just makes so much sense to me.

 

Now, I dont know what to do. I've always said that even if Jesus was not the Mesiah, his teachings were good, and byfollowing them you become a good person. But I've recently been looking into Judaism a lot and they have developed on Jesus' teachings so much more.

 

I need religion in my life, and I cant stand this feeling. Please give me advise.

[yes]

My opinion is that it's best to stay away from labels (Christian, Jewish, Muslim, etc), and simply form a set of your own beliefs and principles. This set is likely to get adjusted many times throughout your life, and that's fine, I think.

 

I see the above labels as something tradition-related, not beliefs-related. Going to church, certain holidays, etc. - that, to me, is Christianity. Believing in God, and following a set a principles in life, is, to me, just that - personal beliefs and principals. They can come from many sources - people may influence you, books may redirect you, your own conclusions may change.

 

Main message - don't try to rely on someone (priests, etc) or something (Bible, etc) to tell you how to live. Listen to all sources, and decide yourself which principles and beliefs suit you.

 

smth like that =)

-yes

[moimeme]

If you examine the major religions of the world, you'll find that all of them espouse the two principles that Jesus said were important: - acknowledge/respect a Divinity which is greater than humans and - love your fellow humans.

 

I utterly refuse to believe that God decided that only certain people deserved to hear the truth. I believe that all the religions learned the word of God from their own messengers.

 

Bottom line: if you honor God/Deity and love your fellow man, I don't think God's going to quibble about which building you went to to hear teachings or what clothes you wore, food you ate, etc. If you feel that the traditions of Judaism bring you closer to God's message, then by all means embrace Judaism.

[yes]

The three monotheistic religions certainly aren't the only ones on this planet though! Don't forget about Hinduism, Buddhism in its variety of flavours, etc.

 

Although these religions also preach worshipping a deity or deities and loving each other, some other aspects are totally different. For e.g., Judaeo-Christian view of sex as a sin; its embrace of suffering and weakness, etc., aren't present in many other religions, as far as I know.

 

not simple stuff!

-yes

[moimeme]

I agree, yes. I was stripping all the religions (including the Eastern ones) down to the most basic of basic tenets. Beyond that, every one of them adds layers of ritual and belief and much of that may well be due to faulty human interpretation. That's why I figure that those two tenets are the ones we can count on - a whole planet can't be wrong

[Tony T]

Of course, you have to understand that you cannot go to heaven unless you were born and raised in Florida.

[Tony T]

I think if your boyfriend has gone out of his way to make you feel like your religion is trash, that's an indication of the person he is. This is a major red flag and you should consider finding someone who is a bit more open minded.

 

Of course, others will criticize this advice because they would think you should just stick around and wait for him to become more openminded and considerate. That, too, is certainly an option if you've got an extra 50 years to spare.

 

Marriage is difficult enough without having a parner whose stiff thinking and intolerance will make so much more of your life difficult as well.

 

Good luck!!!

 

FYI: Buddhism is not a religion, but rather a way of life...and a very good one. You can be Catholic and practice Buddhism as well.

[midori]

If you actually feel that you have grown in such a way that the form of Christianity that you were raised in and/or practice no longer addresses your spiritual needs, by all means you should explore other avenues. There are many paths, you need to find the one that's suited to you. Which may not be Christianity.

 

But don't make any changes to suit another person. If your boyfriend is comfortable and happy in his own faith, great. If he can't cope with you NOT being of his faith, and feels the need to point out all of Christianity's flaws (in logic, consistency, etc.) then at the very least he's intolerant.

 

Every belief system has anachronistic, illogical, and downright silly customs, taboos, and beliefs. Your boyfriend should know that on that front his religion is no better than any other.

[yes]

there're many types if buddhism, and while Zen is a "way of life" that doesn' contradict other religions, other kinds of buddhism are a lot more religion-like, and may not be combined - as far as i know.

-yes

[Tony T]

Thanks for the clarification, yes. Leave it to man to botch a good thing all up.

 

I personally was raised to practice Frisbyterian. We believe that when you die your soul get cast towards heaven but usually gets stuck on somebody's roof.