I'm not sure what I believe has a name. In many ways I believe in everything, for so long as you truly believe it, it has power. Most religions have a piece of the truth to them, from their persepective. I generally self-identify with Luciferianism and Left Hand Path pantheism. Which is to say, that, in essence, if there is a "good" side to something, I pick the "evil" side. I choose to side with "the Adversary". For example, to the Jedi, the dark side is my ally. To the Jews (and other Abrahamic religions) my ally is ha-Satan and Lilith is my mother, Samael my father. (I'm being melodramatic here)
The overall point here is, that whatever you may believe is "righteous and good", it is very likely I oppose it and side with whatever forces may oppose it. Thus, my religion is defined by my opponent, since as I said, I feel everything is valid, in it's own way.
Why, if you ask, do I stand at this viewpoint, a "lost and damned" soul, choosing to renounce "gods love" or whatever? Simply that is the role I am born to play in this life. And pretty much every other life I can remember. I am ever a loyal servant to death and chaos and I am "anti-life". Perhaps it is just that I am a Libra and seek balance in things, that the world needs dark as it needs light, etc. etc. insert philosophical rationalization.
My actual cosmological worldview is closer to that of Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos. Go ahead and tell me what my religion is if there is a religon that truly envelops my beliefs.
So, if we go from the viewpoint that there is "one true god" (the force for the jedi) I see that "god" as being everyone and everything, in this dimension and the infinite other dimensions that surround us. I also see it as what Lovecraft called Azathoth. A mad, blind god oblivious to the petty moralities of insignificant creatures such as humans. We are mere cells at best to this "god" however, as we are part of it, we have access to the same infinite power that "god" has. This is where magic comes into play. Unfortunately, we are programmed and created so well to believe we are humans and incapable of being "god", it is nigh impossible to do certain things with magic. Even if one attains the sufficient suspension of disbelief to accomplish it, everyone else in the world has disbelief, powered by their own inner infinite power. This I believe is why so many religions have at some point in their mythos a desire to kill or convert everyone to their worldview, if everyone is on the same page, anything is possible.
So, because of these factors, humans invent religions and associated deities. These deities have power, as the infinite power inside them is channeled into this avatar/construct they believe in, the more people they have, the stronger the power of the deity. This is why I believe ritual magic is more effective than solitary casting.
As for demons, daemons, angels and other manners of spirits, I am not sure if they are truly independant beings which exist on a different level of existence of if they are just constructs like deities. It may be that they are or were contructs that have attained their own particular freedom, ascended souls or something similar.
It's all a giant mystery.
Everything above is kind of an intellectual view of it. As for what I truly, personally, worship and venerate and make friends with are all deities and demons and the like which focus on magic, chaos, death, power and so on. Some of them I call by name, for in former lives I worshipped them. Some of them do not have names, for they simply are and more an amalgam of many deities and demons as one. I steal pretty much anything from other religions that fits into my viewpoint and ignore what doesn't work for me.
As I review what I have written, it all seems terribly inadequate. I have many horrors that slither around my brain; crawling, writhing nightmares that any sane person would run from but which I curl up with happily and feel cozy with. What I have said really only scratches the surface of what I believe. If you want to stop by and poke around in there, feel free, however if anything follows you back out, it's not my fault.
Addendum:
good, evil and god are all in quotes because they are concepts that are vague at best. good and evil are concepts that we as players in this little melodrama called existence invent as we go to justify our actions. god is, well as i said, for me the ultimate god is someting so massive that we can't really deal with it. it is more than any religion which has "god" in it thinks it is.
*re-reads* Blah. I've spent too much time writing this, so it will have to do.
I am born a Christian. It's just how I am here in my country since it's a tradition. BUT I do not worship Jesus. I respect him as a PROPHET , not son of God. Also I respect every higher spirituality in the world. And I believe there is ONE God that is the highest of all. See for an example in Hindu religion they worship Shiva, in Christianity - Jesus Christ and Jehovah... in Turkey it's Allah and so many other religions out there... I personally believe that all those gods are ONE just pictured in another way by humanity. At least I think so. So... I'm not an Atheist but I also don't know what my main religion is ;d I just believe and am aware of their existence and respect them. That's all. And when it comes to energy and power - I absorb it from Earth and sometimes human beings, not gods... anyone whoo feels the same way as I do ?
We are human, and as such we need some form of spirituality. The story of Adam and Eve is merely that, a story, to try to explain the beginnings of humanity. But remember that the story is not about sex, as is taught by the Christian religion. That would mean that that Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Life. What they actually (supposedly) ate was from the Tree of Knowledge. And the knowledge is this:- we are (probably) the only animals on this Earth to know that eventually we will surely die. All animals are aware of danger, they understand pain, but they have no knowledge of death in the abstract. As we are certain of death, we need to believe that there must be something else. Is there a God? We do not really know; but we hope there is!
I am a christian. I believe in Jesus and our savior. Religion is questionable. If God choses the path then why did he make us sin, why not make us without sin. Why make the world a hrrid but yet beautiful place? Why did he make Adam and Eve eat the fruit upon the tree? Why not make all of the earth pick his religion... It's all to the point of WHY?
This is a good post by Girl. Most religions are what the followers of that religion are told, often by one man; in the case of Judeo/Christian,Moses, and so on. You must always keep in mind that most religions are a form of control. That does not mean that all controls are bad! The Ten Commandments, for instance, are very good and sound rules of living. Even though they are a means of control, just as the Egyptian Priests used ritual and ceremony to control the people. It is a human trait that there is a wish to "believe" in something "bigger" than we are. Of course there are contradictions in all religions; but that is what "Faith" is all about. I was brought up a Catholic, and until I was around 14/15 years old I believed it all. But at that time,when I read more, and could study books (many books were actually banned by the Catholic Church.), the Judeo/ Christian teachings just didn't make sense to me. So I studied other religions, and all seemed to be of a sameness. It was at this time that the woman with whom I had lived for a year during 1939 (I was evacuated in WW2) revealed to me what I had suspected, that she was a witch.I began to learn something of the Craft. However, at that time, witches kept themselves very secret. They were still very much persecuted. When I left the Army (aged 22) I started to study witchcraft seriously. I read all I could find; the works of Crowley,Gardner, Sanders, et al. But I kept coming back to my witch teacher. She taught me for over ten years until she died. So you see, I have "delved into" many Faiths, and come to one conclusion. All religions have some merit, and if they have contradictions,so what?If you believe, if you have faith in what you believe; then the contradictions don't matter. Witchcraft is full of contradictions!
I know not of my releigion.
I think I'm Shinto, Japanese releigion of the samuri,but I am leaning towards wicca, my only problem with wicca and shinto is I beleive in many gods that were interperted into many forms by human religion (ex: Hades/Anubis/Pluto/Hel are all the same).
I chose it through reading every last holy book I could get on every religion. took some time but all choices do. It may be an old sect of the sumerian faith but it felt perfect and it is for me. Chaldean and proud.
