Thread: Religion

The question here is not which is the right religion, or what God is or any of these things. The question I am posing to you, CI, is: What religion(or set of spiritual beliefs, if any) were you raised in? Have these beliefs stuck with you? In what way has this starting coloured your life? For the better or worse?

Ok, that was many points, but I guess I'll start for you.

My father practices the Baha'i Bahá'Ã* Faith - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Seat_of_the_House_of_Justice.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Seat_of_the_House_of_Justice.jpg/280px-Seat_of_the_House_of_Justice.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commo ns/thumb/1/1a/Seat_of_the_House_of_Justice.jpg/280px-Seat_of_the_House_of_Justice.jpg, and my mother is Native Canadian, both of whom were active in their respective religious communities. Neither of my parents said one was better or worse than the others, and I was embraced in both communities, attaining a general understanding of each as an active, young participant.

I would attend the Nineteen Day Feast - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Bahai_star.svg" class="image"><img alt="Bahai star.svg" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Bahai_star.svg/80px-Bahai_star.svg.png"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/a/a2/Bahai_star.svg/80px-Bahai_star.svg.png (gatherings of Baha'is in the community that was equal parts devotion, consultation on community matters and social gathering) of the Baha'is, working my rounds as a cute, intelligent kid who had a knack of reading the wordy English translations of the Baha'i prayers. I attended the Baha'i sunday school organized by my father (the chairman* of the Spiritual Assembly - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Bahai_star.svg" class="image"><img alt="Bahai star.svg" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Bahai_star.svg/80px-Bahai_star.svg.png"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/a/a2/Bahai_star.svg/80px-Bahai_star.svg.png) and learned the setup and history of the Faith, and also was required to study and make presentations on other major religions as well. I volunteered in every event that our community organized and was pretty much a model young Baha'i - I even participated in the Baha'i Fast even though I was never obligated to. I observe it to this day.

At the same time, I would also go to Pow wow - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Grand_Entry_Omaha.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Grand_Entry_Omaha.jpg/350px-Grand_Entry_Omaha.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/e/ec/Grand_Entry_Omaha.jpg/350px-Grand_Entry_Omaha.jpg, dressed in my dancer's Men's Traditional regalia that my mother made with her hands up until I outgrew it all around age 8. I took part in the Oshawa Native community, which was, oddly enough, mostly made up of white people. Loosely speaking, their claim to being native canadian had little/nothing to do with been born or descendants of native canadians, but from being descendants of white people who were so entranced by the Native way of life a few hundred years ago that they moved back to Europe and set up villages mirrored on Native American villages in North America. The meetings and way they organized the community was basically like a corporate meeting with motions and adjourning and minutes and all that jazz; it was a little surreal. I fasted as a native, attended a Sweat lodge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Sweat_lodge_at_Lake_Superior_PP.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a8/Sweat_lodge_at_Lake_Superior_PP.jpg/220px-Sweat_lodge_at_Lake_Superior_PP.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@co mmons/thumb/a/a8/Sweat_lodge_at_Lake_Superior_PP.jpg/220px-Sweat_lodge_at_Lake_Superior_PP.jpg ceremony, had a naming ceremony when I was 14; essentially, I was an active participant in all these things.

Being active in both religions as I grew and developed never seemed to have a negative influence on me. Neither belief set really infringed on the other and in spite of some semi-contradictory mythologies and a few conflicting statements of beliefs, the important hearts of the messages of these religions complimented each other (which, in itself, is kind of a Baha'i belief, but I digress) fairly well. The core messages of both emphasizing respect (for yourself, for your neighbour and for your environment) and the The Golden Rule - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Ambox_question.svg" class="image"><img alt="Ambox question.svg" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Ambox_question.svg/40px-Ambox_question.svg.png"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/1/1b/Ambox_question.svg/40px-Ambox_question.svg.png. The social teachings of the Baha'i Faith have particularly influenced me, especially the ideas of: the independent search for truth, Bahá'Ã* Faith and the unity of religion - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Bahai_star.svg" class="image"><img alt="Bahai star.svg" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Bahai_star.svg/80px-Bahai_star.svg.png"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/a/a2/Bahai_star.svg/80px-Bahai_star.svg.png, and the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%...th_and_science, although the Native American view that we should respect and revere the world and environment we live in also remains a powerful influence on me.

So again, I would like to guide this thread in the direction of engaging a discussion on people stating their beliefs, but without questioning or debating them. I am not interested in trying to prove someone's belief's wrong because of x, y, or z; I am not interested in questioning other people's beliefs, except in the narrow view of having them expand on a statement that they've already made.

This thread is meant to be a presentation of your beliefs and how they've affected you and nothing else. So no talking about how religion is the root of all evil and how it ruins people's lives unless it is directly related to your life and development.

I understand that religion is a deeply personal thing in your life, and this thread is not intended to question your life and your beliefs - merely to present them to the world should you wish to do so.

*I couldn't find an internet article defining the role of the Chairman in a Baha'i Local Spiritual Assembly, so I will use my own words - their responsibilities are to ensure that all the decisions that the LSA makes are in accordance with the writings and teachings of the Baha'i Faith, and they are the principal researcher of the writings to guide some of the decisions the group makes.