Leap of Faith: A Spiritual Invitation

[author_by_night]

In today's world, sharing your beliefs is taboo. If you do share them, you are judged, you are told not to share them so loudly, and there are hateful people who actually do horrible things to people of different faiths than themselves.

A few years ago, I did a Livejournal Invitation wherein people shared their beliefs. The purpose was to express your beliefs - whether Christianity, Islam, Taoism, or even Atheism - without fear of condemnation, without fear of judgement. I learned so much about my flisters, and about faiths I knew little about or had never heard of at all. I am going to open the invitation once more.

Say anything, anything at all. And your beliefs do not even have to be specific to a religion - if you believe in reincarnation, if you believe in ghosts, if you believe in parallel universes... those may not necessarily be tied to a religion, (although they may be), but they are still beliefs, and I'd like to hear about them. 

One warning, however - I will state that this is not a debate. We are not here to condemn other beliefs - only to express our own.

Comments

[parsimonia.livejournal.com]

I'm atheist, don't believe in anything supernatural, and I hate that I am often made to feel that I'm somehow wrong/guilty about it, or that I am some sort of misfit. I have faith in people, faith in goodness, I have a strong sense of right and wrong, and don't see what the problem is. I don't see it as being complicated or mysterious or difficult.

On a side note, although I understand why it happens, sometimes I get pretty tired of the phrase "people of all faiths" because that usually means I'm being excluded, even if unintentionally. I think being atheist is the only way I've ever had first-hand experience as some sort of minority, and it's given me an inkling of how frustrating it must be for other kinds of minority groups.

[ladyaelfwynn.livejournal.com]

I've known only a few atheists but the ones I've known have all been moral, upstanding, kind people. Far better behaved toward others in general than their Christian counterparts.

It's gotten to the point where I'm far more likely to trust an atheist to behave properly than a self proclaimed Christian. The people that have come up to me and told me they are Christian tend to be the ones that want to convert you, forcably if need be. ;-p

[parsimonia.livejournal.com]

(My apologies, I'm doing a bit of inbox spring-cleaning, and I found this unanswered LJ comment, and I wanted to respond.)

I've encountered several atheists who are fairly self-righteous and pretentious about atheism and seem to want to "convert" everyone they meet. As a group, the only thing that ties us atheists together is the fact that we don't believe in god. In general, I think it's best to avoid lumping people together with a blanket judgement or perception.