Finding a Religion

i'd go with eastern religions personally because they seem to be more peaceful, i mean just look at the shit in the bible for fucks sake!

>personal one because wouldn't let so much crazy shit happen on Earth.
Not necessarily. How could you now, that modern, postchristian ethics could be default for God? Or maybe god is interested in civilizations on other planets and we are just animals.

go more in depth to what you want specifically, there are hundreds of religions in the world which have their own sub-religions

>>3190657
You should be less concerned with finding what you want than what is true.

>>3190664
I considered such, but even some pre-christian ethics are routinely violated that I imagine a God would oppose. If that god is interested in stuff other than humans, it is impersonal. If it is interested in us or we are the only things around, but it allows these things to happen and doesn't give us any suggestion that our suffering will be outmatched with an afterlife, it is either impersonal or a bit of a bad communicator.

>>3190671
I'm not entirely sure what I want. I would like to find things I believe to be true rather than shop for convenience. I think to the best of my logic that there is a supernatural creator because no amount of asking for a scientific response brings any truly scientific answers.

>>3190674
Fair enough. I think the existence of a godlike creator, anthropomorphic or not, is true.

>>3190664
That leads to extreme moral skepticism.

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>science will only tapdance around the issue
see, that's where you're wrong. Science deals woth the issue directly. It tells you all about God, the first cause, the nature of existence, the means of acquiring knowledge of metaphysical matters, etc. The question is WHICH science. The answer to that is: Hinduism.

>>3190657

In this world your God is mute. How does this change your life?

In this world, there is no God. How does this change your life?

God(s) exists but is neither benevolent nor sane by our standards. Humanity is blessed by our utter insignificance in the cosmos and the best we can hope for is that we remain unnoticed. Lest some celestial entity from beyond our comprehension decides to torture us for it's pleasure. If there ever were true prophets of the divine born within humanity they all ended up locked in asylums.

>>3190657
Why do you need a religion? Science may not be capable of explaining some things but that's because science deals with things that can be tested and proved. Does that mean that there is no higher power? No - but there is no proof that there is, either. Neither can it answer whether there is life after death - but why would you believe religion that there is life after death, either?
You wrote about things that "Could be nice to believe". Now, belief in something that cannot be proven is the basis of any religion and I would question why you want to convince yourself to believe in some concepts which cannot be proven one way or another.

I keep the existence of some kind of higher power in my mind as there is no proof for or against that but I find it quite presumptuous to believe in something (if you can really call it believing - you don't seem very certain on what to believe so is that really believing or just hoping?) just because someone once said it is so.

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>>3190657
>A God, but not necessarily a personal one because it wouldn't let so much crazy shit happen on Earth.

Mankind has free will on earth - God guards his kingdom. Most of mankind is currently in rebellion against God. Heaven is a gift, not an entitlement.

>>3190743
>In this world your God is mute. How does this change your life?

God is not mute - but the monotheists have dedicated their lives to silencing God.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSElBa6oqP0

>>3190779
Will the emperor of japan ever be restored to his rightful place as a God again?

>>3190657
>"picking" a religion
You're going to hell

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>>3190798
>Will the emperor of japan ever be restored to his rightful place as a God again?

First the monotheists must be broken for their crimes. My title is "King of Kings and Lord of Lords." Technically I am the Emperor of Japan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a94Kpkku94

>>3190779
But God set the initial conditions, and he was able to predict, how things will look like.
>>3190833
Like saint Augustine?

>>3190843
Are you saying Augustine's conversion wasn't sincere?

>>3190847
No, but he was "picked" Christianity because he analyzed it.

>>3190657
>personally coming to the conclusion that science will only tapdance around the issue since empiricism cannot tackle the First Cause

How so?

Was it not science that came up with the big bang theory, the most direct attempt at explaining a first cause of the universe rather than merely philosophizing an uncaused God-figure?

>what caused the big bang

Nothing, as far as we know. According to general relativity, time didn't exist 'before' the big bang because the big bang wasn't an event in either space or time and since physical causality requires the dimension of time, the question of a cause before the big bang is meaningless. However general relativity is not sufficient under quantum conditions so the possibility of a cause before BB is still open in the scientific community.

>>3190657
Islam

>>3190855
By his own account he ended up converting because he got a command from god and he embraced the faith whole-heartedly.

He wasn't browsing religions and picking one that suited his fancy.

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>>3190843
>But God set the initial conditions, and he was able to predict, how things will look like.

The laws of nature are immutable. God doesn't prevent murder, rape, terror, or any of that in the mortal realm. That doesn't mean that crimes are consequence free.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khURiory3ho

>>3190661
You only think they sound more peaceful because you aren't exposed to their fundamentalists on a faily basis.

>>3190657
>Afterlife

Depends on what afterlife you're after. An eternal afterlife? a temporary afterlife? or direct rebirth/reincarnation?

>Personal god

How personal do you want it to be? Just yourself, you and your peers/kind, or you and the rest of the world?

>Interacting with spirits

What kind of spirits? Human spirits, non-human spirits, or non-anthropological spirits?

I will query your answers and find the appropriate religion.

>>3190857
>>3190857
>Was it not science that came up with the big bang theory, the most direct attempt at explaining a first cause of the universe rather than merely philosophizing an uncaused God-figure?

It was a catholic priest quantifying creation.

>>3190989

Eternal afterlife, or at least in immortal soul. Reincarnation cycles are fine but the physical world is finite, so something that addressed that before we knew the physical world was finite.

A god for all of humanity in terms of being personal. Or one that doesn't give a fuck about humans at large. Getting between those seems odd.

No preference on the kind of spirit.

>>3191002

do you believe in Jesus or just want God specifically?

>>3191052
I believe he existed but don't know if he was divine.

>>3191065

Is expansionism or somewhat insular study to try and understand God more important to you?

>>3191002
I have queried the results and came up with: Zoroastrianism and Brahmanic Hinduism

Zoroastrianism has the belief in an eternal afterlife, anyone can enter regardless of religion as long as he does good work and deeds. God is personal but all encompassing.

If you choose the route of brahmanic hinduism, you get an immortal soul going through endless reincarnations based on deeds of this world (karma). God is impersonal but all encompassing.

>>3190992
>BBT is now theology

ok buddy...

>>3190992
>It was a catholic priest disproving his own religious beliefs

fixed

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>>3190777
I prefer to be an empiricist, sorry scientists.

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>>3191065
>I believe he existed but don't know if he was divine.

The Spirit of God attests to Jesus' existence and divinity.

For example, the song "Sheep" by Pink Floyd isn't supposed to proclaim Christianity - but if you swap the word "gods" for "dogs" - suddenly it proclaims the gospel message.

"You better watch out, there may be gods about!"

"Have you heard the news? The gods are dead!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0mScGJtnB4

That, of course, isn't the only piece of literature that proclaims the gospel message unintentionally:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwCaHT0lcVo

>>3191052
maybe he want's Muhammad (pbuh)

>>3191173
Doesn't seem like it if you are basing your beliefs on something you cannot possibly experience yourself.

>>3190657
>patchwork religion

Though the church usually opens it's doors to everybody I would highly welcome it if you would never come. We have enough retards and don't need another "spiritual" urban cuck.

>>3190657
Zoroastrianism is the only answer, my friend.

>>3190657
>Not a personal one because it wouldn't let so much crazy shit on Earth.

So God isn't personal because he allows consequences for the actions of humans? Famine, rapid spread of disease, starvation, war, terrorism, theft, murder, etc.. these are all the results of humans. God tells people what not to do and yet they do it and then this stuff happens.

A God that allowed himself to be in human form just so he can start preaching in person and then get brutally murdered is a pretty clear indication that He is personal.

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>>3190657
>empiricism cannot tackle the First Cause
>religion can

"please give me examples of religious beliefs so I can choose to believe in the ones that coddle me"

fuck off

>>3190657
let's just rule out cuckstianity since it's definitely not your shtick

I'm guessing either Islam or Zoroastrianism

>>3190657
Just think up all of the features you would like your religion to have and then make up a new one, it would be as valid as all the existing ones.

>>3191223
>Implying I wanted your Protestant heresy when it's all the boredom of orthodoxy with none of the actual understanding or history.

Yeah nah that's what Gnosticism is for

>>3190657
Sounds like Islam is appropriate for you OP

>>3191465
Doesn't Islam have a personal god?

Quakerism

>>3191261
This. Your religion should be first and foremost what you sincerely believe, not what you agree with.

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>>3191308
>Just think up all of the features you would like your religion to have and then make up a new one, it would be as valid as all the existing ones.

Careful, if there's actually a god - acting badly, topping it with poor faith, and impersonating a divine agent can be a very very dangerous occupation. The Jews forfeit the souls of pretty much their entire race for thousands of years this way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGlwr44hsoE

>>3190657
Did you read up on the Buddhist "first cause" take?

>https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nagarjuna/#Cau

Maybe you'll stick with science.

>>3191900
A God that hides itself well enough to convince millions of its absence would probably be impersonal.

Anyway I'm more curious about finding if anything clicks starting with what I do believe.
>>3191930
Buddhism is trippy, man.

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>>3191953
>A God that hides itself well enough to convince millions of its absence would probably be impersonal.

It's people that hide God from man, not God that hides from man.

"If they loved me, they would fight for me."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSElBa6oqP0

>>3191912
What if he likes your religion and gives you a special place in the afterlife?

>>3192013

You can convert to Zoroastrianism, you just can't convert to the Parsi (indian) version of it, which are by number most Zoroastrians.

>>3192013
Gnosticism is interesting but I don't know what texts to actually pick up as canon.

Judaism might be neat, I don't really know much about it aside from what I learned about the Old Testament as a kid. Idk about Zoroastrianism or how/if you can convert. Some of the more abandoned mythologies are cool but not personally as things to believe.

>>3191953
>Anyway I'm more curious about finding if anything clicks starting with what I do believe.
Generally that's considered bad science, if you were touching any scientific subject with this mindset. You don't go look for science to reinforce your belief. You go into science to find out where there is to know. If this means breaking away from your belief, this must be done.

Ofcourse you're not looking at things scientifically, you're probably just looking for things that conform to your personal beliefs regarding the nature of the world and universe. Why would you need science for that? Best to stick to faith.

>>3190661
Christianity is the only true religion that's certified / A L P H A /.

>Don't give a fuck what others think as long as you know it's right and as long as God would want it
>Foster wholesome relationships with qt Christian gf's and bear plentiful fruit
>Gotta get /fit/ with reps for Jesus
>Eat whatever the fuck you want for maximum religious and bodily gains
>Guaranteed rest day on Sunday so you can chill with the family and go to a huge, immaculately designed steeple and listen to pure sermons and eat delicious church food afterward
>Jesus loves Ford's and hates rice-burner Hyundai's and shitty-ass Chevy's, like a true, red-blooded American

Christianity is that one Chad in Highschool that dated the head cheerleader and managed to fit in being Captain of the Football team along with practicing for the debate club so that he could get a full-ride scholarship to Harvard and Yale (he got into both on a technicality, and they literally just let him enter both courses and curriculums, which he did so anyway).

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>>3192342
>christianity
>alpha

kek

Mysticism and the perennial philosophy.
They teach all mystical religions lead to the same experience of the Godhead, the underlying unity of Reality. It is mankind's purpose to travel this path to the fullest. Hinduism (Upanishads) are the most well-versed in the topic.

>>3192381
Gays are alpha because they do what they want and don't give a fuck about what others think.

Washing people's feet is alpha because you do it in the service of God, and not in the name of the person, and thus, since you do something in the name of God and no one else, the practice is immediately converted into a practice of the alpha.

Eastern religion cucks BTFO. Couldn't even handle the bants like some sort of shy beta.

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>>3190657
>science, the zenith of human thought, the bedrock of contemporary civilization, the source of most of our knowledge, cannot tackle cosmogony, something well within its epistemic scope
>but bronze age mythology can

>>3192016
pls don't ever reply to him

>>3192546
>I'm going to say science can tackle cosmogony even though the prevailing theory of cosmogony not only doesn't actually posit an answer to it, but that missing critical statement of its hypothesis is one of the great unsolved problems in physics. The only way to even get closer to the origin point for scientific hypothesis requires a theory of quantum gravity that does not exist.

>Well within its epistemic scope.

Yeah nah.

>>3192387
Jonathan Shear discerns four theses associated with the notion of a Perennial philosophy:
(1) The phenomenal world is the manifestation of a transcendental ground;
(2) human beings are capable of attaining immediate knowledge of that ground;
(3) in addition to their phenomenal egos, human beings possess a transcendental Self which is of the same or like nature with that transcendental ground; and
(4) this identification is life's chief end or purpose

Zen

Not a religion but the only logical and sane choice for spirituality

>>3191703
Not necessarily, depends on how you look at it, some sects like sufism is more related to the non-anthropomorphic god

>>3192610
It's not that fedorabuddhism is it?

जैसे तिल में तेल है, ज्यों चकमक में आग |
तेरा साईं तुझ में है, तू जाग सके तो जाग ||

>>3193834

Westerners try and divorce "zen" from soto, rinzai, and Buddhism in general.

>>3190758
>Lest some celestial entity from beyond our comprehension decides to torture us for it's pleasure

Feels like that's what's happening right now

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>>3190657
>Afterlife
>Personal god
Read the bhagavad gita

>>3194080
I'll look into it.

>>3193981
(((Westerners)))

>>3190657

Platonism is the correct theology, so you should probably pick that one. It also ticks all the boxes.

You get an impersonal god, or gods.
You get afterlife.
You interact with the forms.

Also, you aren't required to have absolute faith in the honesty and accuracy of Hebrews (one of the downfalls of Abrahamism).

Study Plato & Aristotle's thoughts on theology. Don't touch anything written by a "neoplatonist", and ignore everything Christians say on the matter (see: neoplatonist).

>>3190657
Fuck off, you post this every day.

>>3194827
First time posting this thread.

>>3194639
I'll give it a look.

>>3195005
>>3194639
Neoplatonism is orthodox platonism. It's based on his actual teachings. If you go just by Plato's dialogues then you don't know shit about what Plato actually taught in the Academy.

>>3194154
Don't read that version though. That's the Krishna-cult version with shit commentary. Read a normal one like the Winthrop one.

>>3192342
>Jesus loves Fords
Fag spotted

>>3191953
>hides itself

Closing your eyes to everything God has done including His creations doesn't mean that He is hiding. You're just being stubborn.

>>3190657
Take an ancient philosophy class and start your path to the Kingdom of Heaven, anon. The Church will be waiting for you.

>>3192419
>Gays are alpha because they do what they want and don't give a fuck about what others think.
yes goy, follow your desires by trying to fulfill them

>>3190989
What madness is this? Choosing what to believe shouldn't be about what you prefer, it should be about what is true, or at least what best fits what you've learned!

If you serve any any God or none, do so because the facts lead you to do so, not because of this absurd build-a-faith workshop.

>>3190657
>>3190661
Eastern religions are a good start. Look up Transcendental Meditation. It is a spiritual religion based on Hinduism that focuses on positivity and helps you to cleanse yourself of negative and foreign influences. It is what everyone needs in these dark times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up6zyI-cV5k

>>3192593
>god of the gaps

>>3190657
Eastern Orthodoxy or bust.

>>3190857
this is it, OP, your issue with the First Cause isn't really warranted because there is not 'before' the big bang or any sort of cause and effect relation like we're familiar with, Steven Hawking himself has said that he personally thinks that the universe emerged spotaneously as "nothingness is inherently unstable"

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>>3196199
>>3196025
>>3190989

>Choosing what to believe shouldn't be about what you prefer, it should be about what is true, or at least what best fits what you've learned!

That's my view exactly... But most humans simply react with rage whenever someone shows them the truth - but that won't stop God from trying to tell you the truth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwCaHT0lcVo

>>3196238
>God's responsibility for an event and the understanding of its mechanical aspects are mutually exclusive
>A gap that is literally impossible to close with science is the same as ascribing God to a testable but currently unproven hypothesis
>Muh we just don't knooow yet.

>>3196380
So you're saying in the beginning there was nothing before the Big Bang and that's when it all started.

>"In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth".

It fits with that account.

>>3196825
then you can just cut God out of it because he is completely vestigial

>>3196827
But God set off the Big Bang.

>>3197191
whoa bro, never occured to me before

>>3190657
I have taken to paganism. That's me though wanted something ancestoral, and their beliefs as in values align with mine very well. Whether it's all true in the se se of after life and all is irrelevant to me. It's a faith I find myself in agreement with. Either it's all true, get to be with my ancestors and all that good, or it all goes black, I no longer exist, and I simply lead the life I wished to.

>>3190657
Alan Watts

>>3195005
I don't believe you. I see this thread every single day. It's worded differently every time, but it's always some variant on "I don't think religion's true but I want one anyway lol."

Fuck off.

>>3197230
>Whether it's all true in the se se of after life and all is irrelevant to me.

I find this attitude utterly moronic. Like, you're just an idiot.

>>3199530
>I don't believe you.

Sucks for you I guess? This thread doesn't even fit the first quality of what you say the threads are about. I think there's a grain of truth in religions in that there is a First Cause that is supernatural. I want to find a faith that I believe correctly expands upon this fact.

>>3190657
I practiced Buddhism for a while, meditating for periods between 30 mins and an hour. I will admit you stop suffering, but you stop enjoying as well. Also, people began to take notice of my changed behavior; my lack of interest in conversation, prolonged silence, and general apathy & withdrawal. I never told anyone I was meditating or attempting to follow the Buddha's path and I eventually came back to Christ. The only reason I began pursuing Buddhism was because I became convinced Christianity was not true and that there was ultimately no salvation.

Buddhism and other Easter religions are not recommended from me. Read the Bible, start following Christian blogs, websites, and reading theology. I recommend Lewis' "Mere Christianity" for beginners. May God bless you all.

>>3199543
>I think there's a grain of truth

Implies that most of it is utter bullshit. Hence, you don't believe them, but want to have "faith" cuz you think it sounds nice.

Fuck off, have a nice day.

>>3199574
>I can't read full posts at a time, the post.
inb4 you reply with:

>> I can't read
>Well OBVIOUSLY I can because I have been talking to you. Fuck off.

>>3190657
Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy

>Afterlife
There's Heaven and Hell
>Personal god
Catholicism and Orthodoxy have a personal god
>Interacting with spirits
Saints and angels.

If you have to ask 4chan what religion you should choose I think you should stay an atheist.

That being said, you're not unwelcome to Christianity, atheism just seems more like your style.

>>3200179
But I believe in a creator force.

>>3195860
God seems pretty pathetic if he can't even prevent some tiny human from not believing in him.

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>>3199567
this, hedonists want to enjoy their senses and their little thoughts, otherwise they believe they die, since they conceive life only through sensuality, believes, opinions and other mental proliferation.

>>3199567
>I will admit you stop suffering

No you don't. Even monks don't profess that they've eliminated suffering in this world, they believe that suffering is a fact of life.

>But you stop enjoying as well

You also stop enjoying as a Christian. Almost all religions are life-denying to some degree, they believe that you can't do this or that because it's a sin/vice.

>>3200387
then just be a deist

why force yourself to adopt a religion for the sake of it

>>3197871
only the real answer ITT

I've got you desu. I have good source about secular humanist buddhism, clearly the closest buddhism to the earliest buddhism,
http://www.workshedpod.com/podcast/episode-32-the-skeptic-the-truth-the-dharma-with-douglass-smith
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd1rCCWX0bo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KU-sSsSVow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOQiZbAPtW4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v-iNe1wVZ0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oi0V3Pycru0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2kuztpY9hA
With a highly edition to cut any pause in the exposition, the videos are cattered for self-diagnosed ADHD-suffering redditors like us, and As the great expert said in the video , Stuff like rebirth and caring about ''completely eradicating defliments'' are not important to be a good buddhist. Please upvote if you find this message helpful.
Join us on https://www.reddit.com/r/Buddhism/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/secularbuddhism/
With metta. Namaste.

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>>3200441
>You also stop enjoying as a Christian.

>>3196825
btw the more close translation is "In the beginning of God(dual form)'s preparing the heavens and the earth"

>>3201029
>preparing
ברא is making, creating

>dual form
Elohim is plural, not dual, (perhaps denoting Trinity.)

>>3201040
dual form was a mistake(although it does show up down the line) and from what I know the plural form just indicates that we have here the God of gods, the highest God. the sentence is taken from Young's Literal Translation. but I'm not interested in going any further than that, as all I wanted to show was that the opening sentence does not really fit what I said as perfectly as he believes.

>>3201028
>anon finds out he can't watch anime and be a christian at the same time

>>3201015
>secular humanist buddhism, clearly the closest buddhism to the earliest buddhism

kek

>>3191703
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_god#Quranic_view

>>3201015
>Stuff like rebirth and caring about ''completely eradicating defliments'' are not important to be a good buddhist

Rebirth is at the heart of buddhism, Doug. Without it, nirvana would be meaningless and buddhism would collapse. The buddha himself characterised beliefs other than rebirth (annihilationism and eternalism) as wrong view.

>>3200441
I'm just telling you my personal experience with Buddhism, and part of that experience was the cessation of suffering. That is the goal of Buddhism.

I never stopped enjoying as a Christian, on the contrary, when I am filled with the Holy Spirit I am unspeakably grateful for even the most mundane of things and find enjoyment in every waking moment of life.

>>3201080
In the beginning God created the heavens. They appeared and there was nothing before they appeared.

Much like what you did say about the Big Bang happening and there being nothing before it.

>>3201637
That doesn't make sense at all.

>>3201658
Interesting stuff.

similar boat as OP. empiricist not really content with science conclusion on the first cause.

but just as well, I think it's better to live like there is a god, instead of like there isn't. setting yourself as the arbiter your own morale is not a good idea, you should set it as some one higher than yourself, as you will make exceptions for yourself when it finally comes down to it. moreover I have a lot respect for christian traditions and think the practice of them have proven themselves to be the best way to carry out one's life .

considering Catholicism for mainly aesthetic reasons.

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>>3201015
>Please upvote if you find this message helpful.

boop

>>3205287
bop

>>3202156
In the beginning there were no heavens and earth space and the proto elements of the universe

>>3206293
no heaven and earth, only space and the proto elements of the universe*

You should look deeper in Islam. not the basics.

>>3202158
"Anime is sinful" -Hayao Miyazaki

>>3206293
"Heavens" is the cosmos. Not Heaven as in the dwelling place of God.

There was nothing. Before the Big Bang there was nothing. God started the Big Bang and the rest is what scientists and physicists are trying to figure out.

>>3202152
>I'm just telling you my personal experience with Buddhism, and part of that experience was the cessation of suffering. That is the goal of Buddhism.

According to buddhism, you can't experience the complete cessation of suffering because suffering is ultimately conditioned by birth, aging, death. Thus it is impossible in this world, you only eliminate it by ending the process of rebirth (ie reaching nirvana), which is driven by clinging (ie karmic accumulation).

Keep in mind this is the theravada view and the mahayana view differs, but it's straight out of the pali canon. The goal is to end suffering by ending the causal chain of suffering, and the last link is birth, aging, death.

>I never stopped enjoying as a Christian, on the contrary, when I am filled with the Holy Spirit I am unspeakably grateful for even the most mundane of things and find enjoyment in every waking moment of life.

But Christianity isn't necessarily about enjoying the fruits of life, being grateful for mundane things doesn't exactly lead you to salvation, salvation is accomplished through acceptance of jesus as saviour and good works. You don't need to be christian to appreciate the good things in life. I'm atheist and I too feel a sense of gratitude for my life and the things in it.

Even buddhist's can experience this because one their central teachings is impermanence, that all good things must come to an end so therefore they should be appreciated in the present moment but not be infatuated by it constantly.

Whatever buddhism you were practicing doesn't sound like actual buddhism, the notion that it is about apathy and withdrawal is a complete misconception and it's usually what happens when people start practicing on their own in private and think they got it right.

>>3207958
you're presenting a claim as truth without having any justification to do so.
no matter the mental gymnastics the bible verse only tangentially mirrors what happened and that's being generous, if you're looking for proof you're not finding it here. Better spend your efforts elsewhere.