What would I be classified as with this set of beliefs?

DaftChris

Continuing with my spiritual and philosophical journey, I've actually considered returning to Christianity, but I would have a certain way of believing and approaching the theology; certainly in a different way than most other Christians would.

What would I technically be classified as with these beliefs?

1.) God is not a man in the clouds. We cannot know for certain what God is, but we can speculate and come to our own conclusions.

2.) Jesus was real, but whether or not he was divine is questionable.

3.) The bible should not be taken literally. Only in metaphors, allegories and in the context of the time in which it was written.

4.) Even though we can believe, we cannot 100% know or prove that "God" exists. Yet we shouldn't follow blindly either.

5.) Prayers do not work and miracles/revelations don't occur.

6.) Science is still science and evolution is something to subscribe to. No creationism whatsoever.

7.) Religion and Government should always be separated; unless it is a private institution and wishes to be religious, nothing for the public should force its beliefs on anyone.

8.) Anything involving the afterlife, or anything else faith-based, should not be taken at face value and, just like with God, cannot be 100% proven or disproven.

Bekenze

Depending on what term you'd want to use: Agnostic or Agnostic-Atheist or Atheist or Secular Humanist. Or whatever term you'd want to call yourself.

Try this: http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Quizzes/BeliefOMatic.aspx

DaftChris

@Bekenze

I actually currently identify as an Agnostic Atheist.

I just thought that pin-pointing what my beliefs actually are would differ. I guess not, eh?

Bekenze

:thumbsup:

vinlyn

Continuing with my spiritual and philosophical journey, I've actually considered returning to Christianity, but I would have a certain way of believing and approaching the theology; certainly in a different way than most other Christians would.

What would I technically be classified as with these beliefs?

1.) God is not a man in the clouds. We cannot know for certain what God is, but we can speculate and come to our own conclusions.

2.) Jesus was real, but whether or not he was divine is questionable.

3.) The bible should not be taken literally. Only in metaphors, allegories and in the context of the time in which it was written.

4.) Even though we can believe, we cannot 100% know or prove that "God" exists. Yet we shouldn't follow blindly either.

5.) Prayers do not work and miracles/revelations don't occur.

6.) Science is still science and evolution is something to subscribe to. No creationism whatsoever.

7.) Religion and Government should always be separated; unless it is a private institution and wishes to be religious, nothing for the public should force its beliefs on anyone.

8.) Anything involving the afterlife, or anything else faith-based, should not be taken at face value and, just like with God, cannot be 100% proven or disproven.

I'd classify you as a thinking man.

With minor edits, what you wrote could have been written by me.

I take wisdom from wherever I find it. Mostly in Christianity and Buddhism...where I am selective in what I believe, and I always try to separate fact from faith...although there is nothing wrong with faith...people just need to be able to tell the difference.

DaftChris

@Bekenze

I actually took the faith quiz, and my top three results were:

1.) Secular Humanist (100%)

2.) Unitarian Universalist (97%)

3.) Liberal Quaker (81%)- This one quite surprised me, to be honest.

vinlyn

I actually took the faith quiz, and my top three results were:

1.) Secular Humanist (100%)

2.) Unitarian Universalist (97%)

3.) Liberal Quaker (81%)- This one quite surprised me, to be honest.

I took that, too, and Unitarian Universalist was high on my rating, but some of the other high number items were a bit odd...don't remember now what they were...but it didn't seem to fit together well.

Invincible_summer

You sound like lots of people I know that attend the United Church. Not sure if they have that where you are though. They're very liberal. Episcopal Anglicans are too, for what it's worth.

DaftChris

@Invincible_summer

Do you mean the United Church of Canada? That and the United Church of Christ are the only "united" churches I know of that follow a liberal theology.

Bekenze

I like the United Church of Christ.

Dakini

The United Church of Christ, a Reformed Protestant Church with some Lutheran influence, according to Wiki. Motto: "Jesus didn't turn anyone away, neither do we." Does that mean they're open to the LGBT community? What do you like about it, @Bekenze?

BaileyD

Continuing with my spiritual and philosophical journey, I've actually considered returning to Christianity, but I would have a certain way of believing and approaching the theology; certainly in a different way than most other Christians would.

What would I technically be classified as with these beliefs?

1.) God is not a man in the clouds. We cannot know for certain what God is, but we can speculate and come to our own conclusions.

2.) Jesus was real, but whether or not he was divine is questionable.

3.) The bible should not be taken literally. Only in metaphors, allegories and in the context of the time in which it was written.

4.) Even though we can believe, we cannot 100% know or prove that "God" exists. Yet we shouldn't follow blindly either.

5.) Prayers do not work and miracles/revelations don't occur.

6.) Science is still science and evolution is something to subscribe to. No creationism whatsoever.

7.) Religion and Government should always be separated; unless it is a private institution and wishes to be religious, nothing for the public should force its beliefs on anyone.

8.) Anything involving the afterlife, or anything else faith-based, should not be taken at face value and, just like with God, cannot be 100% proven or disproven.

I think a more important question is why do you feel your beliefs need to be classified? You obviously know what you believe, why does the label matter?

Bekenze

What do you like about it, @Bekenze?

Extremely liberal, friendly, welcoming to all kinds, do a lot for the community. At least the church I have encountered.

Dakini

Does this mean you've found a little niche for yourself in your rabidly Christian community? A refuge? A note of hope?

LostSoul

Rational Christian? Lol.

Honestly, that's how I interpret Christianity.

But, I am definitely not Christian, so I couldn't say.

Invincible_summer

@Invincible_summer

Do you mean the United Church of Canada? That and the United Church of Christ are the only "united" churches I know of that follow a liberal theology.

Yep, I meant the United Church of Canada. I didn't actually know there was a United Church of Christ

The United Church of Christ, a Reformed Protestant Church with some Lutheran influence, according to Wiki. Motto: "Jesus didn't turn anyone away, neither do we." Does that mean they're open to the LGBT community? What do you like about it, @Bekenze?

At least around these parts, the United Church of Canada supports the LGBT community. There are also a few Anglican churches here in Vancouver that have LGBT clergymen or cater directly to the LGBT community.

lamaramadingdong

I belong to the United Church of Christ and they do welcome and support EVERYBODY. Very little dogma, follow the Golden Rule.

Tosh

5.) Prayers do not work and miracles/revelations don't occur.

Hmmmm. I don't know about miracles/revelation, but prayer does work depending on what your intention is in how you use prayer.

Here's two examples of how I've used prayer to good effect:

I've had a difficult relationship with my Mother, so prior to phoning her, I used to pray for her happiness. Obviously, I don't believe for a moment that my prayer will be the cause of her happiness, but what the prayer did for me was adjust my own attitude towards my Mother - it softened me inside - so I wouldn't blow a gasket and get angry with my Mother should she become difficult with me. It helped me adopt a correct psychological frame of mind.

I'm also a member of A.A. and I try to help other alcoholics so that they can help themselves to recover from alcoholism. Prior to meeting up with an alcoholic I'm helping, I like to pray that I can be of some use to the man I'm meeting. This kinda reminds me of my purpose, and that I'm not there to try and 'look clever' or anything of that nature. It helps me adopt a correct psychological frame of mind.

So, in my experience, prayer does work - depending on what our intention is, and if our intention is to change our mood at a psychological level, then sure, prayer definitely can work.

Tosh

Depending on what term you'd want to use: Agnostic or Agnostic-Atheist or Atheist or Secular Humanist. Or whatever term you'd want to call yourself.

Try this: http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Quizzes/BeliefOMatic.aspx

I'm 7% Jehovah Witness! How did that happen?

genkaku

@DaftChris -- Beliefs and philosophy may be a good starting point, a place from which anyone might take initial cues.

Believe anything you like and once you have settled on something more or less palatable, then get to work and find out to your own satisfaction whether it is true.

Beliefs, philosophies and a couple of bucks will get you a bus ride. Experience, by contrast, will bring you to a more assured destination.

AMH

Ahh the Belief-o-matic. What a fun quiz (for those who like quizzes). I was in a Christian church and the 3 main people all took the test. We all came up mahayana buddhist, theravada buddhist and neo-pagan as our major ones. Somewhere I was a liberal Quaker as well, not sure what you need to be for a liberal Quaker.

Zero

Not OP's intention but as we're chipping in:

Mahayana 100%
Unitarian universalism 95%
Taoism 91%

Roughly on the right website then....

Nirvana

@DaftChris, as I see you were on these boards just yesterday:

I'll limit my classifications of you to two of your points, Nos. 2 and 5.

"2.) Jesus was real, but whether or not he was divine is questionable."

If it's classification you seek, I'd classify you as a liberal humanist on that point. But you are not static, so I'd really ruther not classify you.

"5.) [a] Prayers do not work and [b] miracles/revelations don't occur."
Well, that statement ([a]) definitely makes you a skeptic, regardless of how one might classify you.

To pray is to perform a certain manner of work. Whether those prayers have any effect on anything else or not, having a prayerful attitude and spending time in prayer certainly affects the one praying —at minimum. One could show evidence of prayers working, but the skeptic may very well be shielded from seeing any evidence simply by his opague attitude. Whether prayers "work" to achieve anything outside of ourselves, they are work (karma) and may effect good works on our inner works.

As for the second part of your fifth point "[b] miracles/revelations don't occur" —
That statement makes you a subscriber to Newtonian Physics. The apple falls from the tree because there is a "LAW" to which there can NEVER be exceptions, rather than properties adhering to particles that at base also have random quirks.

As for miracles, some say that miracles happen whether you believe in them or not.

So, from numbers 2 and 5, I'd classify you as an old fashioned Newtonian, also a Skeptic, and a pretty normal fellow.

Namaste!

twobitbob

The OP describes some form of deism.

Nathaniel839

You have a mixture of beliefs from a ton of different religions including: Agnosticism, Pantheism, Secularism, and Humanism. So, you could either say you're an Eclectic Pagan (which is quite stupid, as you don't seem very spiritual) or you could just say you're agnostic on your beliefs. :om:

OneLifeForm

Your Top 3 Faith Match Profiles Are:

1. Mahayana Buddhism (100%)
2. Theravada Buddhism (95%)
3. Jainism (79%)



I'm right, you're wrong

hehehehehehehehe

j/k