How do you view faith or belief in God?

[lovely_darlingprettybaby]

Do you feel welcome in a Christian church, do you feel shunned by God or Jesus?
Jesus would not turn a autistic away or anyone.
Do you feel like you have a belief in God or feel a closeness to faith or spirituality?
Do you think their are things about the bible or faith or church that need to be changed_?
Were your parents Christian or Catholic?

 

[Slime_Punk]

No, because most churches (and debatably, Christians) aren't very good at emulating jesus whatsoever or actually treating people the way he did. Usually it just becomes weaponized, somehow, which should never happen.

And before anyone gets mad, I'm talking about the masses. The christians I know IRL. Not anyone here.

If we didn't live in bizarro world, I'd absolutely want to connect with other christians, but as of right now, they seem to choose dogma over morals and there's a huge disconnect between me and them.

 

[330]

“My mind is my own church." —Thomas Paine

 

[lovely_darlingprettybaby]

No, because most churches (and debatably, Christians) aren't very good at emulating jesus whatsoever or actually treating people the way he did. Usually it just becomes weaponized, somehow, which should never happen.

And before anyone gets mad, I'm talking about the masses. The christians I know IRL. Not anyone here.

If we didn't live in bizarro world, I'd absolutely want to connect with other christians, but as of right now, they seem to choose dogma over morals and there's a huge disconnect between me and them.

You are right, it is scripture this and scripture that like they all know what they are talking about
And really scripture from the bible is done to death.
Who cares what you really get out of it
The main thing is you could easily read the bible for closeness to God or comfort and go to church for worship of God.
That is what He would want, is for people to chose Him and hopefully put God above the pleasures of this life and have a relationship with Him.
It is debatable whether churches would accept people for who they are and not ask them to change their personality or individuality
But I know God would say we are all welcome in the church because we are all loved by Him as our unique selves and are all children of God.
Amd Jesus would want to see all people be welcomed in the church.

 

[autism-and-autotune]

I cannot relate to those who are religious, because for my I need something tangible. Pure faith alone in a being as complicated as God is curious to me; I do not understand how he can be relentlessly all-loving yet his followers must fear his wrath? That doesn't sound like a healthy relationship to me. This last point may be harsh, but: if a human being did some things that Old Testament God did, they'd be institutionalized. I cannot endorse a god expects to be praised while testing one's faith (Job, for example) or manipulating one to do something heinous (Abraham sacrificing his son, for example). If someone did that in a romantic relationship, they'd be labeled as 'toxic.'

In similar, I can understand how passionate some of us are in our beliefs and fixations. Religion is for some what Baroque music is for me. But one the whole I don't understand what it's like to 'feel the presence' of a holy spirit because...well, isn't it all in one's head? An imagination? That being said, most of religious consolation can be substituted with modern psychology.

Something else I wonder is this: why wouldn't all churches just accept folks as they are, no matter what, because that's how God made them?

I feel bad about some of what I've written because I don't want to discourage you from your faith or dissuade you from being involved with what makes you happy. I just..well, hope for a discussion of sorts to see from your point of view.

 

[kenaij]

I do believe in God.
But I don`t call myself christian.
My faith is my own and I generally don`t agree with the masses about a lot of things.
My general experience with very religious people is that they are untruthfull. They hide away thinsg because their church might condemn them for it. Which in turn often hurts a lot more people than it helps.
And if their God is allknowing. Why lie about it? He knows anyways. And since he is the only thing that matters I don`t get it.

 

[Alexej]

Do you feel welcome in a Christian church, do you feel shunned by God or Jesus?

It depends a bit on which church I go to. I have mixed experiences

Jesus would not turn a autistic away or anyone.

no he would not

Do you feel like you have a belief in God or feel a closeness to faith or spirituality?

Yes I have a belief, but do not feel a closeness to God - but that may have something to do with alexithymia

Do you think their are things about the bible or faith or church that need to be changed_?
Were your parents Christian or Catholic?

I am doing a course on Disability and Theology so ask me in a year's time, when I will know even less

Were your parents Christian or Catholic?

I see Catholic as one way of being Christian, and I heave learnt much from the catholic tradition - as I have from the Orthodox - even through I live in a country where the reformed traditions are more prevalent

 

[Forest Cat]

I haven't dared to walk into a church, I'm worried I'll burst into flames.

But on a more serious note, I never really had anything to do with religion. My family haven't had anything to do with it. And religion is not a big thing here, some people are religious but it's a private matter, something people keep to themselves. I don't know any religious people, maybe someone I know are but they keep it to themselves. But people don't care what others belive in, I don't care about that, so it's not a problem to be religious, as long as you don't try to push it on other people.

 

[Rodafina]

I feel connection when I look to the stars.

I feel a sense of awe when I look to a forest or the ocean.

I feel a sense of welcome among the stones and rivers.

There is no connection to a diety for me.

It is the earth itself who created my temples.

My mind is the one guiding me through this life.

 

[Forest Cat]

I feel connection when I look to the stars.

I feel a sense of awe when I look to a forest or the ocean.

I feel a sense of welcome among the stones and rivers.

There is no connection to a diety for me.

It is the earth itself who created my temples.

My mind is the one guiding me through this life.

So you're basically a Forest Finn. You described the Forest Finns belief system.

 

[Rodafina]

So you're basically a Forest Finn. You described the Forest Finns belief system.

Cool! Maybe I just haven’t found my people yet. A lost Forest Finn, looking for the way home.

 

[autism-and-autotune]

I feel connection when I look to the stars.

I feel a sense of awe when I look to a forest or the ocean.

I feel a sense of welcome among the stones and rivers.

There is no connection to a diety for me.

It is the earth itself who created my temples.

My mind is the one guiding me through this life.

I like how you think, and think similarly.

 

[Outdated]

Cool! Maybe I just haven’t found my people yet. A lost Forest Finn, looking for the way home.

Or maybe there's a bit of Aussie aboriginal heritage in the family tree that no one's telling you about.

 

[AutistAcolyte]

Do you feel welcome in a Christian church, do you feel shunned by God or Jesus?

it depends on the particular church. i've been in churches where i feel very welcome even though i don't speak the language, and i've been in churches where i speak the language but don't feel at peace.

Jesus would not turn a autistic away or anyone.

yes. the only people who were turned away from jesus were those who turned themselves away.

Do you feel like you have a belief in God or feel a closeness to faith or spirituality?

i do believe in god, and would call myself a christian. in fact, so much so that i hope to join an eastern orthodox parish when i move next month.

Do you think their are things about the bible or faith or church that need to be changed_?

yes, but that is a very large discussion that would be difficult to have on an online forum. i was talking about this with a friend for about 5 hours yesterday.

Were your parents Christian or Catholic?

they converted to protestant christianity the year i was born, so i was raised christian.

 

[Xinyta]

I cannot relate to those who are religious, because for my I need something tangible. Pure faith alone in a being as complicated as God is curious to me; I do not understand how he can be relentlessly all-loving yet his followers must fear his wrath? That doesn't sound like a healthy relationship to me. This last point may be harsh, but: if a human being did some things that Old Testament God did, they'd be institutionalized. I cannot endorse a god expects to be praised while testing one's faith (Job, for example) or manipulating one to do something heinous (Abraham sacrificing his son, for example). If someone did that in a romantic relationship, they'd be labeled as 'toxic.'

In similar, I can understand how passionate some of us are in our beliefs and fixations. Religion is for some what Baroque music is for me. But one the whole I don't understand what it's like to 'feel the presence' of a holy spirit because...well, isn't it all in one's head? An imagination? That being said, most of religious consolation can be substituted with modern psychology.

Something else I wonder is this: why wouldn't all churches just accept folks as they are, no matter what, because that's how God made them?

I feel bad about some of what I've written because I don't want to discourage you from your faith or dissuade you from being involved with what makes you happy. I just..well, hope for a discussion of sorts to see from your point of view.

You know. I am kinda asking the same thing really. It almost seems oxymoronic to both have love and fear of a supposedly omnipresent God. If anything, I am reading the Holy Bible upon my Uncle's request.

But outside the parallels to humanity between then and now. Allot of it feels like tall tales. But that's how stories are, typically. As such, stories can be altered and manipulated.

As for churches being the way they are. Denominations. There are various versions of the Christian/Catholic faith. Well that, and greed. Not to say that there are none that stick to faith and people of God.

Either way. I really am going to sticking as a explorative spiritualist.

 

[Magna]

Do you feel welcome in a Christian church, do you feel shunned by God or Jesus?
Jesus would not turn a autistic away or anyone.
Do you feel like you have a belief in God or feel a closeness to faith or spirituality?
Do you think their are things about the bible or faith or church that need to be changed_?
Were your parents Christian or Catholic?

I actually never felt welcome in a church and I've been to them thousands of times. Sensory overload. Too loud (earplugs helped a bit), too many fragrances (e.g. perfume/cologne, laundry detergent scents, dryer sheet scents), too many other people too close to me, too many competing sounds, confusion, shaking hands with other people.

My concept of God and my relation to that concept: God is analogous to an absentee neglectful father and I'm analogous to being part of a large "family" with many "siblings". Some of those "siblings" are like me while others have blind faith in our "father", advocate for him and believe he's a perfect father in all ways and in every case. Similarly in real life families there can be "golden children" (ie those who only extol the brilliance and virtue of the parents regardless of parental imperfection or fault) and there are "scapegoats" (ie those who are blamed by the parents and "golden children").

I was raised in different and small subsets/sects of Catholicism in an extremely religious household that shared many key aspects of cults. I believed that my need for regular solitary time was a sin and was selfish. No matter how hard I tried with that I always failed. That contributed to the intense self-hatred that I developed from childhood onward directly due to said religion and the way I reacted to it. I found out years later that I wasn't being selfish nor was I sinning in relation to my need for solitary time. Quite the contrary; in fact...I was autistic. See absentee father analogy above.

I have no way of knowing for certain if there is a God or there isn't unless God reveals God's self to me in a concrete way that I can personally understand as a literal person who operates with a framework of logic.

Can the Bible be changed, edited, censored at this point? Can all the passages related to the support of or the condoning of human slavery be stricken? Incest, rape, etc? If so why can't parts like a man leaving his parents and joining with his wife be changed to a person leaving their parents and joining with their partner (gender non-specific)? If one part of the Bible can be changed then why can't any other part of it be changed as well?

Thankfully I'm in a better place now in my life than I've ever been. Religious trauma therapy and support helped with that immeasurably. Self-acceptance has been one of the greatest treasures. While it would be easy for me to look back on the years of being robbed of fundamentally important aspects of a good life, I like to exercise being as present in the moment each day that I can and enjoy my life and the world.

 

[Progster]

Were your parents Christian or Catholic?

I was brought up in an atheist/agnostic family.
I don't claim to know whether there is a God or higher being or not. I don't believe it - I just don't know. If I'm sure I know one thing, it's that I don't know everything, and I can't rule out the existence of a God in a similar way that I can't rule out the existence of extraterrestrial life in the universe. But just as the chance that extraterrestrial life can visit our planet is very slim due to the astronomical distances involved, then it also seems unlikely a higher being would somehow be watching Earth and all the creatures that live on it. Perhaps the Earth just happened all on its own without any help - why not?

Anyone who believes in God(s) by definition IMO also believes in extraterrestrial life, because if God isn't here in physical form where we can see him, then where is he? That leaves only one possible answer: he (if this is an appropriate pronoun) must be outside the Earth, somewhere in space.

Despite advances in technology, we don't know everything, and never will. We don't understand everything on a quantum mechanics level, the nature of dark matter, exactly how life was able to start on the planet. So until we know all the secrets of the universe, no one can say definitively whether a God exists or not.

Many of the teachings of religious scripts I simply don't believe and can't take as fact, because they contradict that which I observe in the world around me. There are some things that I believe are simply not possible.

 

[Outdated]

I was born in the 60s, Australia was still a very religious society back then. My parents had both decided that they didn't believe in god and that the bible was irrelevant to them, but they had all 3 of us kids baptised just in case they were wrong.

I don't believe in anything like that myself.

 

[Tom]

Due to moving around a lot with the military I attended quite a few different christian churches in different parts of the country and overseas. I always felt welcomed but in some they seemed a bit too mechanized (for lack of a better word) with more rigid ways.

But I have always had difficulty joining in and participating in anything more then a rudimentary way, like attending once a week. Only once in a while was I comfortable with participating in some other event. And sometimes I could feel indirect pressure to do more. This baffled me somewhat until I realized I was on the spectrum and then it made sense. The same difficulties occur for me in the church sphere as secular groups.

 

[Forest Cat]

I was born in the 60s, Australia was still a very religious society back then. My parents had both decided that they didn't believe in god and that the bible was irrelevant to them, but they had all 3 of us kids baptised just in case they were wrong.

That's smart. Why take any chances when they can easily baptise the kids.