Which is the one true faith?

[James T. Kirk]

Poll question: Which is the one true faith?

link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_world_religions


Sorry I can only fit ten options. If your choice is not listed, please pick "other".

[Ladyhawk]

1. Spirituality is fine by me; religiosity scares me shitless.

So, "other."

[drumwolf]

2. I voted "other."

The ONE TRUE FAITH is the worship of Drumwolf! So all of you peons bow down before me, fuckers!!! :evilgrin:

[clydefrand]

3. Religion is the invention of mankind

Truth is in the mind/heart of the believer. Everyone thinks his faith is the truth--otherwise he wouldn't believe it.

[James T. Kirk]

4. Mankind is the invention of God.

God has planted curiosity about Him in our hearts.

[jonnyblitz]

5. yup. man created god in his image.

and it's been downhill ever since..

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

46. Religion: something Man created because God was too confusing.

[crispini]

6. Other

A "true" faith is one that helps its believers to make better persons of themselves. One that encourages its believers to make the world a better place. One that promotes a healthy way of thinking, a way of thinking that makes its believers happy and productive. One that promotes respect for all human life and the environment.

A "false" faith is one that encourages hate and bigotry, negativity, and exclusion.

[NightTrain]

7. Bob Dobbs.

Don't let the pinks take away your slack!

[Dookus]

8. Orthodox Mollyism

WORSHIP HER OR DIE!

[politicat]

27. Pretty cat worth worshipping...

okay, That's over!

[TrustingDog]

9. worship the earth mother...

I don't do that yet, in that way pagan way, but am intriqued and that will be the only 'church' I would ever consider being in and that makes any god damned sense.

[sffreeways]

10. Buddhism

But the way I understand it isn't faith at all. It's practice for the mind that enhances the soul and the experience of this life.

When I found these teaching my life changed entirely for the better. I finally found peace and was amazed to at long last understand and know myself and have tools to make my life better and to make myself a much better kinder more loving and lovable person. A happier person for sure and able to cope with some of the tragic experiences I have had to go through. I don't know what I would be like at all if I hadn't found these teachings.

I am using these teachings every minute of every day and they come completely naturally to me now. I feel very blessed to have found this path, very blessed indeed.

[vajraroshana]

17. very good post

Although I'm Buddhist, I voted "other" because of the words "one" "true" and "faith" lol.

I actually could almost be considered obsessively religious, but with Buddhism "faith" (shraddha) is probably more accurately expressed as "confidence". You gain confidence through understanding which comes about through experience in applying the teachings to your own mind.

I've never felt the need or desire to try to convert people however, no matter how deep my own confidence. I like how His Holiness the Dalai Lama advises people in Western audiences that they shouldn't convert to Buddhism, but should rather reconsider the faith they were brought up in. Really and very deeply consider or re-consider their own faith. Can you imagine the Pope or an evangelist telling people of other religions that? It might cynically be thought of as a soft-sell tactic, but I think he genuinely means it and has great appreciation for other religions. Of course, I think he's also used to the deep-end of the waters of other faiths, because he's had much one-on-one with some great teachers/practitioners of the Western religions (e.g. Thomas Merton); I doubt he's had much experience with Revs. Falwell, Robertson or their ilk.

[sffreeways]

20. Thanks

I was very fortunate to be in the presence of his Holiness in San Francisco. The ticket was a gift from an employer. Isn't that just the way it works too ? Hehe.

It was a profound experience. He was so jolly and laughed and it was so light. A great evening. He exudes kindness and calm. No I can't imagine the Pope or Fallwell ever even having the opportunity. Those people disappear in the presence of such a holy man. They just don't even exist in his world. I think I've read that Fallwell made some comments about the Dalai LLama being a satanist or some crap. Foolish little silly man. He brings such suffering to those he claims to guide. Ha ! :eyes:

Anyway, he said something that has stayed with me till this day.

He was talking about 'others' and our responsibility to conduct ourselves in a selfless way and he said "when we are hungry all of our stomachs ache the same way, we are all exactly the same inside". He talked alot about generosity and the importance of giving.

It really struck a chord with me that teaching. We only need to concern ourselves with ourselves and by doing so we are helping others. We are changing the world by our own personal practice. Giving is a gift to yourself. You can't really preach the teaching. It's something you have to come to when you're ready and open to it. It's remarkable how people will resist it.

I've had some discussions here on DU about zen and there was some ugliness when a christian attacked me and the practice and was making it sound as though the teaching that there is no past or future only here and now was a way to avoid reality. Which is silly because it's exactly the opposite. Reality is here and now. Everything else is an illusion. This christian was getting angry and rude so I felt the resistance and gave up on the conversation and have kept it to myself since then. It's something that can't be defended. It doesn't work that way. But when you find it you have found relief from so much suffering.

[vajraroshana]

21. saw HHDL in Atlanta a couple of times...

On one occasion it was "invitation only" and had the chance to line up and shake his hand. That was sort of strange because when I got up there and was next to him, he was soooo small. In Tibetan they call him "Kundun" which means something like "the presence" and that's the way I felt because seeing him onstage he seems BIG, but he's really just this short little humble man. And he just looks at you like he knows you all the way through. Very humbling.

I don't argue with people of other faiths (or try not to); having taken the 14 tantric samayas (tantric vows) I try not to violate any of those vows, but especially the sixth is "not to disparage other religions or faiths" -- they (the tantric vows) seem like "thou shalt not" kinda vows but are really more about mind-training.

Of course Falwell, et. al. refer to him as satanic. That's their world-view. That's their karmic vision.

[sffreeways]

33. Have you ever seen Kundun

the film ?

It's fantastic ! Very little dialog and beautiful cinematography. One of my favorite films of all time. You would really enjoy it if you haven't seen it rent it. It's all about the life of the 14th DL.

I loved the reincarnation aspect. The way they knew he would be reborn and they prepared for it. They had objects that belonged to the 13th DL and they placed the objects before the boy with other objects to test him to see of he recognized them as his own.

And the historical aspect of the story was so very interesting. The communists taking Tibet and how he fled to India. I learned alot from this film. I went to see it in the theater but had to buy it because the folks in the theater were not very good about being quiet and it was a distraction. Lot's of shuffling around. I think it wasn't what people were expecting. It was a very quiet peaceful film for the most part.

You know so much more than I. I am very comfortable with my level of knowlege but admire folks like yourself that have really studied it. I find it comes to me as time permits and when the time is right.

I also try very hard not to disparage the religion of others. It serves no purpose. Doesn't change their minds just makes them dig in even deeper. Some people seem threatened by Buddhism though. I wonder why that's the case.

I didn't know he was a small man and you're so right from my vantage point he looked like a giant on the stage. He sat in a simple wooden chair with his interpretor by his side.

The amount of reading on the subject is endless. I've just finished 'Living Buddha Living Christ' which was written by a Vietnamese Monk and it was very good. I would recommend it to Christians interested in Buddhism. I just bought a huge book 'Zen and the Brain' that is fantastic and approaches the subject from an MD's perspective.

If it wasn't for the practice I would have a really difficult time with what is happening in this country. It would have me emotionally crippled but I really have learned to let things come in through my mind and float out. I don't dwell on things like I used to. What a gift the teachings are. It's a lifetime of work and worth every minute.

I think when you say you are a Buddhist some people expect you to be perfect. No mistakes. No poor judgement. But I falter all of the time. The best part is that every error is a lesson that brings more relief from emotional suffering.

Thanks for the chat

Namaste

[vajraroshana]

37. yeah, a great movie (n/t)

[johnnie]

48. Great movie

I went when it came out, and it was during the super bowl. I was one of about 5 people in the theater and it was just such a great experience. The story line wasn't that great in terms of what happened in Tibet, but the movie itself was.
I agree with all your posts above and the philosophy of Buddhism has changed my life so much for the better. Although I am still human I get some frustrating times, but for the most part I don't sweat the small stuff like I used to.
I don't consider myself full fledged Buddhist, but that's the point of it. It is all about using what you can and keep learning.

[Endangered Specie]

11. Where is the "None" option?

[James T. Kirk]

13. That would be "other".

[James T. Kirk]

14. Or the "It's all good" option...

...if you think they are all equally true.

[Elginoid]

16. they're all equally wrong....wait, that's not true-

mormons are just plain fuckin' goofy.

but in general, it's ALL bad.
very BAD.

organized religion S-U-C-K-S.
history proves it.

[HEyHEY]

12. HEyHEYism

It's not too late to join up! Send me a check for $500 and salvation is yours!

[realisticphish]

25. hey, sounds interesting

canadian or american?

:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[skygazer]

15. True faith

Kind of an oxymoron, really, when you consider that faith is the act of believing without proof.

If there is a god, I don't know as man is capable of figuring out what the "truth" may be about him/her/it. They're all guessing.

[LincolnMcGrath]

18. OTHER

LABOR

[Bride of Cthulhu]

19. worship the Great Cthulhu

or be eaten!!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

22. The faith that has no name

and names no deity.

[enigmatic]

23. The one true faith is what you want it to be.

And if you don't want a faith, that's cool too.

[donheld]

24. it's all good until

one starts forcing it onto the other

[maveric]

26. Paganism

Female goddesses, the givers of life.

[politicat]

28. Why should I give faults in my temporal lobe more credence than

proper function in my cerebral cortex??

The god reaction is a malfunction of the temporal lobe. Minor mindquakes do not provable hypothesis make.

There's actual brain study of the relationship between temporal lobe malfunction and religiosity going on in Canada. Americans can't get the same research funded. ( I know I couldn't.)

Pcat

[More Than A Feeling]

30. That is interesting...

does that, in your opinion (since presumably the study in Canada isn't complete yet), hold just for those who were brought up to believe in God, or those who choose to believe it later in life? What about Buddhism, which can be very atheistic?

[politicat]

34. It's an ongoing study that looks at people from all religious backgrounds

and attempts to stimulate temporal lobe dysfunction to cause a god experience.

It works in about 80% of people... but what's really interesting is the incomplete information so far is that people who rejected religion after being exposed to it have a markedly lower susceptibility to the stimulation. Atheism may be innate, in other words....

PM me to remind me to look up the information on it and I'll get it to you.

I was denied a project in grad school that would have used the drugs we use on patients with temporal lobe epilepsy on very religious people to see if their faith diminished during the study. (The drugs are not bioaccumulative, so if you don't take them, you get your faith back.) (Gross simplification, but it's bed time for me....)

The department denied it not for any risk to the health of the clients but specifically for attempting to dissuade individuals from their faith by therapeutic means. It was the religion thing that bothered them.

I know of at least a dozen other psych projects that were denied because they were looking at hte link between religion and mental health... or lack thereof.

Pcat

[More Than A Feeling]

29. The one true faith

Is possessed by those who are sincere, whichever path they follow. The most important message from each is exactly the same, IMHO. It is just a question of which trappings you are most comfortable with.

[Behind the Aegis]

31. my view

Since we cannot "prove" faith, as it is a belief, then there is no way to prove which one is the "true" one. To each, his/her own, unless it tramples on the freedoms of others.

Brightest Blessings!

[JSJ]

32. faith in humanity nt

[ze_dscherman]

35. Faith is no value in itself

The ways humans try to define a higher meaning in life (aka Spirituality) are manyfold. There's no way to judge which one is THE right one.

Also, "spiritual" experiences can come many ways. Through religious practice (prayer, meditation), through service to others, through religious study through trance techniques (singing, drumming, dancing, yoga, breathing, drugs and brain stimulation. Or just by "gratuitous grace".

But, IMO, neither the faith nor the spiritual expericence matter in the end. What really counts is the way people conduct their lives, in relation to themselves, others, and the planet they live on.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

36. God is too big to be defined by human brains, and

too magnanimous to care about our human-made divisions. No one has the whole picture.

I believe in following the approach that satisfies you emotionally and culturally, an attitude that makes fundamentalists foam at the mouth.

[redqueen]

38. Secular Humanism

:hi:

[JVS]

39. Mormonism

according to south park

[DelawareValleyDem]

40. Agnosticism

God's existence can neither be proved nor disproved. That's about as true as you can get

[La Lioness Priyanka]

41. kitten worship

[miss_kitty]

43. please post pictures of your idol(s) :) n/t

[dolo amber]

42. The "I don't need some fictional authority figure to approve or disapprove

of my actions in order to be a decent human being" one was always my favorite...

:hi:

[ismnotwasm]

44. Other

Judy-ism
Comic who was around a few years ago

[arwalden]

45. It's All BAD! None Of Them!

The practice of deity worshipping does not make humans better. It only makes them WORSE! We would be much better as a species, as a planet, if we could erase the practice of deity begging and deity worship entirely.

-- Allen

[BiggJawn]

47. Pooh-ism...

All answers to life's questions can be discerned through interpetation of "The House at Pooh Corner" and the companion pieces "The Tao of Pooh" and "The Te of Piglet"....

Hey, in 1500 years, it COULD become a major religion....

[regularguy]

49. Jazz, pot, stand-up Comedy, The New York Review.

These things have helped me more than religion. Honorable mention to <fill in diety> for creating the Universe and stuff...

[vetwife]

50. The one you believe