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Religion, what is yours?

Everyone has a religion whether they believe in a god or not. On this page you can find what religion it is that you follow. What you may find is that you aren't the religion you thought you were. We welcome you to test yourself.

Q. If I don’t believe in a god how can I have a religion?
A. Everyone believes in something, everyone puts their faith into something, that determines your religion.

Q. Still without a god how can I have a religion? Don’t you have to “practice” a religion?
A. Don’t fool yourself, everyone has a god, and everyone practices the worship of this/these gods. Even Christians, who worship The God, can find themselves having faith in other gods.

    When you boil it down to its very core, religion is just mans attempt to worship a god. In its very basic form it comes down to what we have faith in. What we do to support that faith is our worship to that god, and in that act of support, we are practicing our religion.

    When you break it down all faith (religion) falls into four main belief systems.

1. Mono-theism; The belief that there is one God. Jews and Christians have a monotheistic faith. Both believe in one God. The difference is the Jews are still waiting for the Messiah, while Christians know He has already came once in Christ Jesus (both Messiah and Christ mean the same thing “anointed one”). For the Christian, God is a Trinity (meaning three in one). The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, all Three a separate person of one Being. Each independent of each other, yet each just as much God, and all are one God. For more check What is the Trinity?
    
2. Poly-theism; The belief that there are many gods. Most of your pagan faiths fall under this. Even though it’s upsets them beyond belief, islam, in it’s root, is polytheistic. El was the all around name for God among the peoples of the Middle East at the time of Mohammad. Mohammad was a member of a tribe, who were members of a people, who worshiped many gods. Allah was just one of them, it was the moon (war) god. The God would have been El, not allah. Mohammad just moved his tribe’s favorite to the top of the heap. Did you know that allah had daughters? Have you ever seen stars on the Islamic flags? The stars are the daughters. That is why the crescent moon, and stars, are the symbols of islam. They stand for the moon god and his daughters. I’ll cover more on islam on it’s own page, there’s to much to cover with that false faith, but just know islam is anything but peaceful at it’s heart.
       Also at its heart some “Christian” based religions fall under this, with the Mormons and the Catholics being the most notable. To my Catholic friends this doesn’t mean you can’t be saved. Salvation comes by way of faith, and that faith needs to be in the work of Jesus on the cross. We are never allowed to pray to anyone but God. Jesus is God (part of the Trinity) and we are instructed to pray to the Father, in His name… and no one else. When you pray to a saint, angel, or Mary, you then have elevated them to a god. By praying to them first (as in the case of Mary, were you are asking for her to intercede) you have put them before God. Like I said Catholics can be saved by faith, but this is in spite of their religion, not because of it. And Mormons have a jesus that isn’t “The Jesus”, the names the same, but not the one whom it represents. For more on the name of Jesus check What’s in a name?
    
3. Pan-theism; The belief nature, the world, our universe, and all forces, are god. Wicca’s fall under this, with a number of other religions. PETA, and Green Peace members verge on this also. We are stewards of this earth. We are to care for it and respect it, as the gift from God that it is. But never do we put nature and “mother earth” above man, and most definitely not above God. There is a reason the term “mother earth” is used. It’s a left over from pantheistic religions of the past. The "Star Wars" movies are pantheism on film, the "force" is a good demonstration of this belief. Also pantheism can cover the belief in all gods, for those who just can't choose. The Romans at the time of Jesus were pantheistic because they believed in any god you had. That is why Pilate was taken back when he heard Jesus was called God, and had claimed to be God.  Pilate thought "maybe he is", and then where would he be. The Romans didn't have trouble with the Jews, or the first Christians because they (the Romans) wouldn't accept their One God. They had trouble with them because the Christians and Jews wouldn't accept all of the other Roman gods, including Cesar which they considered a god.
    
4. Atheism; The belief there is no supreme being of any kind. Under this, mans faith is put into many different objects and/or beliefs. Man himself can become a god, and those objects (and/or himself), the focus of his worship.

    Just real quick let me explain what I mean as faith. There are two kinds of faith. One is unconscious or assumed faith. I have faith the sun will rise tomorrow, but I don’t worship the sun. I had faith that the chair I’m sitting in was going to hold me, but I don’t worship furniture. A day may arise when this chair will break, or the sun doesn’t rise, but in the mean time I don’t think much about either, it’s assumed. This type of faith is based on a belief that some thing’s have always happened, and they will happen again, they can be counted on like “death and taxes”, as they say. Unless the sun goes nova, or someone plays a practical joke with your furnishings, for the most part, it’s a gimmie.

    The second faith that I’m talking about, at this moment, is the type that you put into “something”, for your security, welfare, life, health, food, housing, future, soul, whatever you value, whatever is needed to put your mind at ease. Whatever that “something” is, that is your god. What man does in support of that “something”, is man just practicing his religion.

    There are many religions; all are god or idol based. Christianity is God based, as is Judaism. Even atheism is god/idol based. Just as an example, money very often is raised to the level of a god. What you do to earn it, keep it, protect it, is you practicing your religion.

    Do you believe man, science, knowledge, or hard work can solve all the worlds’ troubles? What if we live our lives right? What if we try our best to be “good people”? If we can just drop all our differences, we can work it all out, right? Do you believe man can build a utopia here on earth without the help of some god? Your part of one of the largest religions on earth. It’s called “humanism”. In this faith man is god. Man only answers to himself; he makes the laws and decides what is “sin”, and not “sin”. His prophets are Freund, Nietzsche, Plato, Miss "O", any one of the classic, or modern age “thinkers” that best fits our life style. The churches have been the Universities, schools, and lately TV and the internet.

    Under religions we have denominations. Christians have Baptist, Lutheran... Judaism has orthodox, conservative, progressive... Islam has Shiite, Sunni... and humanism has many denominations/sects, of their own.

    How about the person who believes we all have just evolved to the top of the food chain, man is just the highest form of life here on earth? We are just life forms acting on instinct. Your god is Darwin; evolution is a sect of your humanist religion. The churches are still the schools. Cable TV has become an out reach for them, just as much as it has for the churches.

    Maybe you have no faith in your fellow man, maybe you believe that if you can save enough money, buy the right house, drive the right car, get the right job, you life will be fine. This sect is called “materialism”. Your churches are banks, Wall Street, the local Wally World, or anywhere that takes money or plastic.

    How about government? Communism, Marxism, socialism, democracy, if we can only find the right balance of them, then all of man can join hands and sing “We are the world”. They are all sects (denominations) of the religion of humanism. The main church for these people is the U.N. but they have store fronts in every Capital in the world. If you’re old enough you may remember when John Lennon sang “Imagine” for the U.N., he received a standing ovation. The song is still considered one of the greatest by people whose religion is humanism. Many people who call themselves Christians are more then happy to sing along. The song has some nice points but at its core we still have “no hell below us, above us only sky”. And as you’re starting to see one can’t claim to have “no religion too”, all John would get is religion without God. Another of the lyrics was to “imagine there’s no counties”, another idea that’s loved by the U.N.. A "one world" government is the hoped for outcome by many, and will one day become a reality. When that happens what is left of the god based religions will be combined with the state, and the humanist will get just what they always wanted. As they say, be careful of what you wish for… and are they ever going to get it what they wish for.

    Do you believe in horoscopes? The stars control our world, and planets influence our lives? How about crystals, palm readings, tarot cards, tea leaves, ESP, TM, and all the rest of the “new age” crap (sorry about the word but that’s what it is, crap). This is another “religion”, it’s called “spiritualism”. It’s becoming a “one size fits all” faith. Under this umbrella some Christian faiths are starting to find acceptance. These are the “seeker friendly” and “propose driven” based faiths, for the most parts. But in the name of unity many traditional churches are overlooking their core beliefs, to work hand in hand with the spiritualist. The idea is “all roads lead to Heaven”. In truth all roads, but one, lead to hell. The narrow path with Christ is the only true road. Many churches today don’t point the “one way”. Instead they make points in every direction, and a point in every direction is the same as no point at all.

   All man has faith in something, and there-by has a form of religion. UFO’s coming to save the world, science curing all illness; recycling and alterative fuels will save the world, cure global warming and the future will be a slam dunk. Man has many beliefs and most people aren’t purest. They tend to blend aspects from all of the above, to form their own private religion. Today many men have a "cafeteria faith". Pick and choose what you wish, if you don't care for it, just toss it in the trash and go for something else.

    Christians are just as much at fault when it comes to dappling in these false religions. How many of us (Americans are some of the worst) could sleep easy at night without knowing where our bed was going to be? If we couldn’t find our next meal, how secure would any of us feel? How warm and fuzzy inside would we be with just one pair of shoes, one coat, no job, no car, home, TV, microwave, radio, air conditioning, credit cards, all the comforts of modern man. Yet this was the life that Jesus had when on earth. Paul was told “my grace is sufficient” when he asked for a cure from an aliment, and he learned to live with it. He spent a long time imprisoned, yet wrote of joy. Yet we (me included) would need some time (at the very least) to readjust to this life style, if we could at all.

     In no way I’m I eluding that you need to give up any of it (unless it's immoral or sinful), God wants His kids to be happy. Remember that these toys are blessings, that are undeserved. Only by the Grace of God do any of us keep them. But if you lost it all, how much would that shake your world? Would you look to God and thank Him for the time you did have those blessings, and go on with out any worries or animosities? Would your attitude be “I’ll try the best I can Lord, but it’s all in your hands”, and then truly sleep at ease? God gave Solomon wealth beyond belief because he asked for wisdom. It isn’t “money”, or wealth, that is the source of many (it doesn’t say all) evils. It’s the “love” of money that is. God doesn’t mind us having toys, as long as we don’t love them, and our toys don’t replace Him. We need to know (and thank) the One from “whom all blessings flow”. When we fool ourselves that we “worked for”, “deserved”, or “earned” these things, it is at that point they become idols, idols are gods, and our service and care of them is just us, again, practicing our religion.

    Let me bring us back to the first kind of faith, you know the type you have in the sun rising, and your chair.  After you put your faith in the gift of Salvation, that Jesus has to offer, that first faith is the one God would wish we had in Him everyday. That is the life style Jesus set as our example. That is the faith Paul tried to live.  No matter how bad, rough, or upsetting the world gets, do you have faith in Him that all will work for the best, and it’s what's needed for His plan. The faith God would wish we had in Jesus, is the same as we have that the sun will rise in the morning.

     Just a note here, a day will come when the sun won’t rise, but never will there be a day that the Son doesn’t exist.

    Charles Spurgeon (one of England’s great preachers) was standing outside the church when a man came running up to him after Sunday Service. The man was all beside himself and upset. And he told Charles “your house has burnt, it’s burnt to the ground, there’s nothing left”. Charles continued to do whatever he was doing, almost as if he hadn’t heard him. “Charles what are you going to do, where are you going to live?” the man asked. Mr. Spurgeon looked at the man and said. “The Lord took my house so it’s up to Him to find me another”. I heard that years ago (so it may not be word for word) and I thought… that’s the faith I want

    Once again everyone has at least one faith in something, if it’s only in himself. What we need to do is pick one we will serve, we can’t have two masters, we will love one and hate the other. So if you haven’t picked, your life style has made that choice for you. You have free will in this, far better to make a choice then to naively accept what you have been conditioned too, or taught in a man centered school system. What religion, denomination or sect will it be (?); Materialism, pantheism, atheism, capitalism, spiritualism, communism, humanism, etc., pick your “ism”. I’ll give you a hint, only one form of faith will save your soul, and that choice would be “Mono-theism”. It’s the belief in one god, but that god must be “Thee God”, by way of faith in His Son the Lord Jesus.

    He may allow you to keep your toys, He may take your toys, or He may even increase your toys, but if you put the same faith in Him, as you do in the next sun rise, you’ll find it will matter less and less in time. Cory Tenboom, a woman that survived the holocaust in nazi Germany (the "Hiding Place" is the book and film of her ordeal) said, “Don’t hold on to things to tightly, it won’t hurt as much when God pry’s your fingers from them” (the words may not be exact). When you start to amass treasures in Heaven, the ones on earth will pale in comparison. Those other gods, idols, faiths, and religions, in time, will play less of a role in your life, as you let the One who gives life, play more of a role in yours.

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Last modified: 12/15/07

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Proverb:30:4: Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in His fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is His name, and what is His Son's name, if thou canst tell?

Proverb:30:5: Every Word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

Proverb:30:6: Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

Re:22:18: For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Re:22:19: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Re:22:20: He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Re:22:21: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

 

 

 

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