Hey, so I believe in a higher power but I’m not on board with any particular religion. Anyone else think it’s cool to just fly solo as a good human, no religion attached?
That’s basically agnosticism. And it’s pretty common among intellectuals, historically speaking at least
It’s an Agnostic Theist (Don’t claim the knowledge but have the belief).
Rather than an Agnostic Atheist (Don’t claim the knowledge but don’t have the belief)
Gnostic Theist (Claim the knowledge and have the belief)
And
Gnostic Atheist (Claim the knowledge but don’t have the belief)
Are the other two
I think you’re describing agnostic beliefs, believing there might be a god but not conforming to any religion and basically otherwise being an atheist.
(Not too be confused with Gnostic beliefs, which was a branch of Christianity)
I do believe in God, I just don’t believe on divine intervention.
I suggest you read up about Deism.
Well let me ask you this: how specifically would it not be okay?
Well let me ask you this: how specifically would it not be okay?
Great question! For me, it’s not about it being okay or not in the traditional sense. I just feel that spirituality can be a personal journey that doesn’t necessarily require the framework of an organized religion. It’s like taking a road trip without a map - sometimes the discoveries you make on your own are the most meaningful. I believe in being a good human, guided by my own understanding of a higher power, morals, and the world around me. It’s about finding my own path and respecting others’ paths too. What’s your take on this?
Organized religion is corruptible to the point of uselessness.
Corruptible assumes they weren’t started for that purpose in the first place.
I wish there was a way to know what the mix of true believers and opportunists involved in each of the religions’ founding. Like the story of Constantine includes elements of both (he wanted a way to increase the unity across the Empire because it was getting hard to convince Iberian Romans to take up arms for wars in the middle East, but there’s also a story that he dreamed about having a cross on this shield leading to winning a battle). That wasn’t the founding of Christianity, but it is the reason Europe adopted it.
Or looking at the old testament, it seems to be a combination of general living advice/laws, events based on actual historic things (like David and Solomon were probably real), and stuff likely made up after the fact (like Genesis). I’d say the ones who made up Genesis weren’t likely true believers (of what they were writing), but it’s hard to say if they believed in the rest of it and just wanted to fill the gaps in good faith, or enjoyed the clerical power and filled in those blanks because not filling them in would have threatened that power. Or some combination of the two.
Yep yep yep! You’re doin great. Keep it up hu-man
You’re right. I just wanna be human.
Many people follow that path.
I don’t see anything wrong with having faith in a higher power. Plenty of higher powers exist. Like the sun, quasars, super massive black holes, etc.
I’m an evangelist’s kid. I grew up surrounded by religion. When I got to my 30s I started reevaluating matters of faith. Now in my 60s I consider that journey complete. On “good” days I’m agnostic, on “bad” days an atheist.
I know many awesome people of faith. I know many hideous people of faith. I know many awesome nonbelievers, I know meant hideous nonbelievers.
Be a decent human being and very few people will care what you believe.
Agnostic and atheist aren’t mutually exclusive things. 99.9% of atheists are agnostic about there being a god because it’s unprovable. Same way you’re likely agnostic about Russell’s teapot https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell’s_teapot
I’m not exactly an atheist but sometimes agnostic. I believe in higher power but I don’t believe in divine intervention.
Can I ask, in the friendliest way possible and purely for my curiosity so I really don’t expect an answer, how you balance “higher power” with “doesn’t use it”? The way you’ve described it could be interrupted as anything from an otherwise traditional Christian who doesn’t believe in directly answered prayers, to believing that this is some sort of simulation we will wake up from.
What you are describing sounds like Deism, which is a philosophy that most of the framers of the US Constitution shared
Deism is a great reference. It’s awesome tho think that some leaders and thinkers from the past also shared similar ideas. The idea of a higher power that doesn’t meddle in the day-to-day but set the universe in motion definitely resonates with my thoughts. It’s like being part of a grand design, but having the freedom to navigate it in our own unique ways. It’s always enlightening to link personal beliefs with historical philosophies. Makes you feel part of a bigger conversation, doesn’t it?
I personally start with the idea that I’m part of something much, much bigger than myself; that’s the basis of my concept of a “higher power”. Like the Ancient One told Doctor Strange, “It’s not about you.”
I was raised Mormon, and after breaking free I have a strong distaste for organized religion. You know how people like to say that if they had a time machine, they’d go back and kill Hitler? I would take out Abraham. The Abrahamic Covenant made religion all about one man’s ego; the cult he formed has splintered and spread over so much of our planet.
Gathering with like minded folk to exchange ideas about life, the universe, everything was once an organic, grass roots sorta thing (or so it seems). Religion is manufactured as a system of control.
Celebrate making your journey your own! I hope you find people who have the courage to make their own path as well; it is a huge comfort to at least just speak freely with like minded folk.
Man, that’s some deep stuff you’re sharing. The whole ‘tiny part of something huge’ vibe really puts things in a new light, doesn’t it? Kinda like realizing you’re just one pixel in a giant picture.
Reading about your journey away from Mormonism and your take on organized religion is super interesting. It’s wild to think how one person’s ideas can snowball into something that affects so many. And your point about the Abrahamic Covenant? it’s really a mind-bender!
Totally agree on the whole making-your-own-path thing. It’s awesome to bump into others carving out their own routes too. It’s like a big, messy, beautiful DIY project where everyone’s figuring it out as they go along.
I grew up as a Lutheran Christian in a small, conservative town—and attended Sunday School/summer Bible camp for many years—but became an agnostic after I began questioning things at 16 years old. About a month after that, I became an atheist. I’ve been one since… so almost 14 years.
Unfortunately, I was afraid to tell my parents, so I still went to church with my family almost every Sunday until I left at 18. I was also still effectively forced to be anacolyte/perform piano/sing in the choir/attend most other church activities. Fucking painful.
I still haven’t told my parents, though, and probably never will; it’d cause more pain than anything else, sadly.
I feel you. I still go to mosque if it is because of my parents and families.
I wonder how many other people at the mosque secretly think the same as you? If you have children, do you think they will be less constrained than you? In which case, there is some hope that the next generation will escape the strictures of organised religion.
One of my son is atheist and I am ok with it.
I’m a strong atheist, which means I have a positive belief that no gods exist, just for the record. The way I would put it is that I have never heard of nor have been able to come up with a god concept that I believe is an actual being.
I prefer to use the term “god concept” rather than god to make it clear that we’re talking about a specific idea of a god rather than an actual being. So Odin is a god concept, as is Minerva. Multiple god concepts exist in the bible, including the original regional father-deity El, El’s wife Ashera, their children including Yahweh, and so on. When the Israelites started to move from polytheism to henotheism (many gods exist but you should only worship one), and then to “monotheism” (in scare quotes because there are enough different god concepts as well as divine beings who would be counted as gods in any other pantheon).
In any case, I don’t think having a god concept which you believe refers to an actual being in itself is an indication of anything, good or bad. In my opinion, there’s a feedback loop between the disposition of people and their religions. The problems come in when the religions around the god concepts become extreme. The Amish have a fairly strong god concept, and while I’m not Amish (thank god), I don’t think they do harm unless you think of their actions within their community. 90% of UUs are great people. Sponoza’s Watchmaker would suggest we have to study ourselves to discover what constitutes good. And so on.
So I’d say that your belief is absolutely fine, but you also might be interested in the neurophysiological, social, and anthropological bases of humans so often having god concepts.
join us, or not
Yes. Had religion shoved down my throat as a kid. Learned early on being a religious believer meant nothing, people are shitty no matter what.
Had to decide who I wanted to be, what rules to live by. Realized I don’t enjoy hurting people, try to learn from mistakes, random acts of kindness, to always try for the evolved, educated non violent option. That’s enough for me. If there’s a god who has a problem with that, oh well.
I don’t see much difference. You’re still choosing to believe in a fairy tale, you just don’t like the current available stories.
I have a different perspective—I don’t believe that God intervenes in anything. If there is a God/Gods, I think they simply created the universe and set everything in motion.
