Billosophy

It has been a while since my last post … August 1^st was my last post and since then life has taken control and I am only hanging on for the ride.  There have been times when I would think “I should write about that …” and before I am even able to jot some thoughts – My brain is chasing another rabbit.  So today, as I flipped through StumbleUpon I was directed to a personality quiz about my religious and spiritual beliefs.  At first I laughed … after all … it is called the “Belief-O-Matic” (Click on the link and take the test – leave a comment with the results if you dare!)

This is a quick 20-question quiz and the questions are not very complex.  I found that I didn’t really have to ponder the questions much – you’ll see what I mean.  It is very straightforward and you will either agree or disagree with the answer choices you have.

I would love to see the basis of these 20 questions and I would like to also get more into the “connections” between the questions and answers to a certain religion.  My results were … in a word … Surprising!

Here is the list of 20 (they gave me 26 results but as you can see – after the 20^th I was in less than 50% belief with that religion)

1. Unitarian Universalism (100%)

2. Mahayana Buddhism (99%)

3. Sikhism (94%)

4. Liberal Quakers (93%)

5. Hinduism (91%)

6. Neo-Pagan (91%)

7. Jainism (88%)

8. Baha’i Faith (86%)

9. Theravada Buddhism (85%)

10. Reform Judaism (84%)

11. New Age (83%)

12. New Thought (79%)

13. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (78%)

14. Scientology (73%)

15. Orthodox Judaism (70%)

16. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (62%)

17. Islam (60%)

18. Taoism (59%)

19. Orthodox Quaker (55%)

20. Secular Humanism (45%)

I started reading about the first three on the list to learn more.  I have never heard of Unitarian Universalism or Mahayana Buddhism, although I do have a basic understanding of the Buddhist faith.   Sikhism I have heard of but have never read much about it, this is next on my list to learn.

Pick 2 out of 3 … this is how I feel sometimes when I discuss religion with others. Their belief in God or whichever “higher power” is defined by what is written in a book … that was written by other humans. Who has it right – Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Christians? Boil it down and all these religions have the same “message” but their delivery is different because of what someone else has written. They all believe there is a God, they all believe there was a Jesus who walked around earth, some believe Jesus was God, some believe he was a prophet, some believe he hung out with other gods … some think he had brothers, some think he had kids … all these beliefs are based on what others have written.

I have been reading up on religion over the past couple weeks and ran across a GREAT chart … The Big Religion Comparison Chart lists 42 belief systems from around the world.  This is in no way an absolute on religion but it is the most comprehensive list I have found.

If you wonder how Islam, Judaism and Christians look at each other – Islam believes Jews and Christians are respected as “People of the Book,” but they have wrong beliefs and only partial revelation.  Jews believe Islam and Christianity are false interpretations and extensions of Judaism.  Christians believe Judaism is a true religion, but with incomplete revelation. Islam is a false religion.  I found this great comparison of Islam, Judaism and Christianity on ReligionFacts.com.

Since there are so many differences – and so many cultures in the world, is it possible that there is no “right” religion?  We all believe what we are taught and never as why … why do Christians believe when the Bible says “God created the universe in 7 days” they think it means “7 actual days!”

Bottom line … why put a label on your belief system?  Organized religion has shown us time and time again it teaches fear, submission and you are not good enough without the “leaders.”  After all … why would God tell them how to teach you the proper way to live your life when all through the Bible it teaches you directly how to live?