[walloftext]

A companion thread to jenecis's INFJs, why did you become Christian? thread for those of us not Christian, Christian but unhappy with Christian culture, not comfortable defining ourselves as Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Islamist, Hindu, agnostic, spiritual, not sure about this religious thing at all, and other faiths. Trying to keep the "negativity" off the jenecis thread.

So INFJs are very spiritual people.

So ... why did you become your religious or spiritual belief? What drove you to embrace your faith and all that it encompasses?

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[HorribleAesthete]

I embraced my lack of faith at a very tender age, perhaps as early as six, certainly no later than eight, though I would not have labeled myself an atheist at this point, as I was unfamiliar with the term. Basically, I would never say that I believed in god(s), almost as soon as I was introduced to the notion of god(s), it did not sit well with me. I actually believed in Santa much longer than I did god(s). To my credit, there were presents. And half eaten cookies. And he was at the mall every year. Apologies to any here who still believes in either. I should have added a spoiler.

I was raised Protestant in a non-practicing Southern family. That is to say, my immediate family did not attend church. My extended family, on the other hand, were practicing…a lot. I can only assume that they eventually got it right.

I would definitely label myself an atheist, though my overall world view has something of the flavor of a secular sort of pantheism. As far as I can tell from the data, the universe(s) exists, and everything, including me, is part of it, and made of the same stuff. It operates by certain natural laws, and there is no absolute right and wrong. Anything that can happen, anywhere, at any time, is “right.” I likewise realize that my senses and knowledge are not expansive enough to fully comprehend all of the complexities of the universe(s), and I am okay with that. I will piece it together as the facts come in, but not before.

I do not, cannot, believe in a sentient god(s), for many reasons, first among them that there is not a shred of evidence to support such a conclusion. Even a rudimentary application of Occam‘s Razor will dispel this conundrum. This is not to say that such a being(s) does not exist, only that there would be no reason for me, or anyone, to do anything more than speculate on the matter, and I am not inclined to that sort of distraction. I have likewise incorporated elements of certain other belief systems (including Taosim, Buddhism, and Stoicism) into my own, but again, on a wholly secular level. I actually come pretty close to a secular Taoist, and/or a Stoic, though the bits of Stoicism on civic duty are lost on me.

I do not think that love has anything to do with anything on a spiritual/religious level, but it is not a bad way to live one’s life. If life has any meaning, it is probably to replicate itself and make more life, a trend to which I am quite determined not to contribute. I also tend to take the piss out of religion. To paraphrase Groucho Marx, “If you don’t like that trait, I have others.”

 

[Razare]

So ... why did you become your religious or spiritual belief? What drove you to embrace your faith and all that it encompasses?

Trend analysis. I had to decide between causality as a loop or a paradox. I chose the loop. Upon deciding in the loop, I realized the probability of God not existing would be so infinitely small, that it would be more miraculous than a miracle should he not exist. So miraculous, that you could probably use it as evidence of the divine. Either way, it was proven true to me.

As for my religion. It's life experience. It's the #1 religion in the world because all you have to do is learn from your life experiences.

That said, I've used my experiences to associate with teachings in Christianity and Hindu.

 

[Alaya]

I do not affiliate with any religion, though I like to incorporate some of their teachings into my personal philosophies.

I was raised Catholic but I never felt a genuine desire to follow a god that I did not know or thought existed. During my early teenage years, I became a firm atheist, but after more investigation I weakened my strong stance on the issue and became an agnostic.

I came to understand that I could still be highly spiritual without resorting to believe all the dogma surrounding religion, and thus I began to look into the moral and existential points that each religion had in common. I became highly interested in Buddhism and Taoism without actually labeling myself Buddhist or Taoist. Instead, I tried to find a unifying thread among these religions to create a unifying whole of what they were trying to convey. My job is still yet not finished, and each path that I take has led me to both great suffering and great insight that has been a catalyst for me to dig deeper and deeper.

Of course, I'm starting to realize that the truth is not deep, it's right here in my very presence obscured by the idea that is complex. However, it is through this depth that I am finding my spiritual existence the most fulfilling.

 

[arishorts]

I'm jewish. i was raised jewish, in a jewish household, with jewish friends, in a jewish school, with jewish families. There's a sense of connection between all of us. Perfect for my INFJ self ;-)

 

[Coil]

I was raised christian, but could never stop asking questions. Why is my religion more true than their religion? Why do we pray to God for good health when so many children die every day? etc etc. As a teenager I just realized that the whole God-story wasn't very probable and became an atheist. I don't have any spiritual beliefs either. I think I can live a good life without believing in fairy-tales.

 

[setzer]

Raised in a family where religion never was talked about, I couldn't get an answer regarding religion from either parents or sister.
I like answers, religion never showed any answers to the questions I had.

 

[jd_]

I'm atheist, I've also done a bunch of taoism/buddhist/stoic/existentialist readings... though I also reject them from a religious stand point, they are good at handling life stress.
I was raised in a loose household, never went to church, my parents believe in god as far as I know but never forced that upon me.
I have found senses of communion with nature and the universe.
If I had to pick, I would say I'm 'spiritual' and a deep person, however...I entirely separate these from any religion.

 

[Curiously]

I posted on the other thread you mentioned, but I'd like to expound on how my spirituality evolved. As background, I was indoctrinated into the Christian faith by my parents. Around the time I was in my early teens, my family and I stopped attending church on a regular basis. While the religious part of congregating and worshiping stopped, I held onto the belief that something greater than I existed. I didn't need a burning bush, in other words. I had already encountered personal trials and observed those of close family members to know that something, someone, whatever protected and blessed my family and me. I think what sealed the idea that I didn't need to label what I believe in came through my observations of some peers who were supposed devote Christians; these individuals attended church each week, but I found them to be highly bigoted and intolerant of those who were different, myself included. I'll never forget this: I was in my elective class, Academic Decathlon, in my senior year of high school, and a classmate was reciting his speech as practice in front of the class. Two guys, two good ole Christian boys, were cackling like hyenas while our classmate was speaking, and I could tell they were gawking and making fun of this individual. I thought to myself, "Okay, you fuckers attend church, talk about God and being saved, and you can't even stay quiet and be respectful towards another while he's giving us a speech?" Mind you, this was a tiny class, made up of no more than a dozen students, so these guys' laughing couldn't be missed. I have other stories regarding these jerks, but I'll save you the bombardment of assholes-r-us stories. Now, I understand I shouldn't allow jerk-offs to dictate how I view this religion, or religion in general, but by this time, I already decided I didn't need to define, label, box-in (my) spirituality. I also had and still have great respect for other religions, spiritual tenets, and science, and I believe coexistence and respect for differences are part of a loving philosophy/spirituality. I also think my spirituality evolved as a result of disliking restrictions and restraints. Each of us is given a mind and free will; might as well flex them and figure out what works for each of us, and honestly, a monolithic, conventional Christian form of worship just does not work for me, that's all.

 

[sploney]

I was raised as a relaxed Catholic (my father was Methodist, but did not attend church), and never experienced the whole guilt thing. But I was pretty devout, read the Bible (once), until college when I grabbed an anthro minor. Reading about all those different religions made me see how we just need something to explain our existence, but that I didn't necessarily need any more than the laws of physics. A few years ago, or maybe 20, I gave up Catholicism for Lent, ha ha. Then I saw this website (Why Won't God Heal Amputees?) which I find rather amusing. But I have trouble, because I get so annoyed with religion, and I don't know why, because religion has contributed a lot of art, music and architecture to the world. Still working that out.

 

[HorribleAesthete]

Raised in a family where religion never was talked about, I couldn't get an answer regarding religion from either parents or sister.

Do you think your family would adopt me? Granted I'm approaching forty, but I clean up after myself and tell the occasional joke.

 

[geekofalltrades]

I was raised Catholic, but my intellect developed too fast and too hard. I went to a public school, but, for a while, my mom was sending my brothers and I to a supplementary "Sunday school" class. I distinctly recall sitting through that class on Sundays, thinking basically

The whole mythology behind the belief system never made a lick of sense to me. Why would god be so obtuse as to send down a manifestation of himself to meddle in human affairs? Why would god want us to cram ourselves into a pew for an hour and a half every Sunday when we could be out loving each other? By the time I took my first communion, I was already an atheist, but I went through the motions, because they were very important to my mother, and I didn't want to create discord.

I met a woman in high school who indirectly led me to god, and I became deistic for about a year. I didn't identify with any particular religion, but my beliefs were probably closest to pagan nature-worship.

Then I started questioning the quote-unquote "religious experience" I'd had, and I looked at the role that my belief was playing in my life, and I found that it just didn't stack up. So I discarded it, and have since been an agnostic atheist.

 

[setzer]

Do you think your family would adopt me? Granted I'm approaching forty, but I clean up after myself and tell the occasional joke.

Hahaha! I guess we could come to an agreement :laughing:

 

[Aizar]

My parents are Christian (though my father's been looking into Buddhist beliefs recently--he says there's a lot of similarities between it and Christianity). When I was really little, we'd go to church. My mother would read me Christian stories and the Bible. When she fell into depression and was just sort of "hanging on for dear life" and my father moved to another state to find work, all that stopped.

After that I poked around in other religions. I tried Wicca for a while, but when I got into the magic they believe in, it was a little too weird for me. I looked into Native American religion, but could never find enough information about it to call myself one of them. Just recently I've also been researching Buddhism.

As I've got into other social circles besides the one I grew up in, I see a lot of Christian bashing. With my roots being what they are, this makes me angry, so I stand up for Christians even when I'm not really one myself.

I still haven't found a religion I really like. Some have their weirdnesses or other philosophies I don't agree with. I still think religion is important, and besides some of the fringe crazies who try to convert everyone or tell people the world will end because they committed sin #3892, a good thing with good people inside the churches, mosques, etc. I just haven't found the one for me yet.

 

[Arclight]

Huge Sci Fi and fantasy fan here.

When I was younger I used to get a little upset over how almost every story told of the future, contained a version of humanity that frightened me. I always thought they were being a bit unfair.
They always seemed colder, disconnected, morally bankrupt, purely sexual, narcissistic, and their lives lacked meaning.
This is almost always explained as a direct result of science and mankind's arrogance in believing he has it all figured out.
What is always missing is spirituality.. The bond that holds a human's humanity to his/her soul. Gone with it is humility and a sense of propriety.

This is why I embrace faith in God.. I would rather not become what we are becoming.


@arishorts
Edit: I am not a technophobe or a Luddite nor am I an idiot.

 

[arishorts]

Huge Sci Fi and fantasy fan here.

When I was younger I used to get a little upset over how almost every story told of the future, contained a version of humanity that frightened me. I always thought they were being a bit unfair.
They always seemed colder, disconnected, morally bankrupt, purely sexual, narcissistic, and their lives lacked meaning.
This is almost always explained as a direct result of science and mankind's arrogance in believing he has it all figured out.
What is always missing is spirituality.. The bond that holds a human's humanity to his/her soul. Gone with it is humility and a sense of propriety.

This is why I embrace faith in God.. I would rather not become what we are becoming.

Sounds like you'd enjoy scientology.