eHA_Admin_Lori is offline eHA_Admin_Lori — Advice Official Moderator Post #1  August 17,2009, 6:36pm
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Have you studied other religions? If so, what (if any) affect did what you learned have on your own faith?
 
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Wonderwoman402 is offline Wonderwoman402 Post #2  August 17,2009, 6:55pm
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I grew up Lutheran. Most of my friends growing up were Jewish. I became disillusioned with Christianity as a teen during confirmation classes when our pastor told me my Jewish friends couldn't go to heaven because they did not accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I thought that was ridiculous! I was no better than them... why should I go to heaven and not them?!?

After getting married my then-husband and I decided to explore other religions. We spent a year attending a different church every Sunday. Some churches got eliminated immediately... passing the plates twice during the service (once for the church, once for their missions) was a deal breaker. Any church who felt their way was the ONLY way to salvation got cut (they can't ALL be right!) We found the terms "non-denominational" and "inter-denominational" to be particularly misleading... they were virtually all Pentacostal, fundamentalist, Christian churches... nothing non- or inter- denominational about them at all!

We finally found the Unitarian Universalist Church. Even though it has no dogma or creed, we found its members the most cohesive in the consistency of their thoughts & actions. They truly took the best of all religious thought from multiple denominations, treating the origin with respect but making the message their own.

Many people find the UU church and declare that they've been Unitarians all their lives and didn't know it... that they had no idea there was such a church out there. That's pretty much how I felt.

I don't think I would ever consider another church after experiencing it.
 
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tommyboy047 is offline tommyboy047 Post #3  August 19,2009, 3:18am
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I have been to UU church and actually got married in a UU church to my xwife. So I agree with wonder woman on this one. Besides they excepted her being christian and me being protestant which christian church would not for marriage.
 
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meri75 is offline meri75 Post #4  August 20,2009, 7:00pm
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eHA_Admin_Lori wrote :
Have you studied other religions? If so, what (if any) affect did what you learned have on your own faith?
Yes.

That I truly know very little about Christianity or other religions. It taught me that I and other people do not have all the answers and to search for myself and to accept (if I can) that sometimes I may not be able to find an answer, or understand the answer.
 
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PR_Princess is offline PR_Princess Post #5  August 28,2009, 4:59pm
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meri75 wrote :
Yes.

That I truly know very little about Christianity or other religions. It taught me that I and other people do not have all the answers and to search for myself and to accept (if I can) that sometimes I may not be able to find an answer, or understand the answer.
Couldn't have said it better myself...and that the fundamentals are pretty universal. Many of us just get lost in the details like the Pharisees who were so good at details but missed the heart of the matter. I think if people focused on getting a firm hold on the basics of their faith we would all enjoy a healthier and more peaceful world.
 
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DreamingOfAtlantis is offline DreamingOfAtlantis Post #6  September 30,2009, 8:55pm
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What surprises me is that when many people in the U.S. talk about other religions, they seem to mean only different versions of Christianity. While I always had interests in different spiritual paths, I was lucky enough to see "The Power of Myth" when I was quite young and that really opened my eyes.

In college I gave up religion for Lent, ended up being an atheist for a long time, then explored Taoism and other religions, including Wicca and a few others before ending up where I am now, which is Quaker with a wondering, lately, if Buddhism might better suit me.

I've learned a lot from all religions that I've read about and explored. I actually have, in my mind and for my reference, started considering some religions "convergent" and others as "divergent." The difference, and this is just for my reference, is that convergent religions say they are the only correct belief and the only way to a positive afterlife.

Unless one is from a convergent religion, I don't see how one can avoid learning from other religions.
 
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Catburt28 is offline Catburt28 Post #7  May 29,2010, 7:09pm
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Yes.

I have studied most of the major world religions (even taught a 3-day class in HS on Islam for extra credit).

If I wasn't LDS, I'd be Buddhist.

The exclusivity of most Christian religions really put me off their sects, especially "fundamental" groups.

While I know that many people have the belief that LDS is an exclusive religion (which technically it is by proclaiming to have the exclusive authority to proclaim the restored gospel of Jesus Christ) in actuality, LDS doctrine teaches that Christ died for everyone and through His Atonement, we all have the opportunity to return to live with God.

LDS doctrine teaches that there are good and bad people in every religion (even Mormons) and that we are judged the way we lived our lives, according to the laws we were given.

So if someone was born 1,000 years ago in China (or even today), and led a good, honorable life by their local standards, that God will not hold it against them that they were born in a time when distance, time and geopolitical forces kept them from hearing of Christ.

If the Bible is true and we all must accept Christ as our personal Savior, what about all those people born into situations where they will never hear of Christ?!

How can God be a just, compassionate God if he sends millions of people into a situtation which damns them to hell from the second they are born?

The only Christian church I've found which answers this in a compassionate, Christ-like and loving way is the LDS church.

If it wasn't for the LDS church, I would have been turned off of all Christian churches in my early years and become Buddhist.
 
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jayjay is offline jayjay Post #8  May 31,2010, 10:26pm
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...things seem to have gotten quiet around here.

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What I've learned is that 'belief' is the same process.....regardless of what the religion or what specifically is being believed in.
 
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coeuri is offline coeuri Post #9  June 8,2010, 3:49pm
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The one thing I have learned from studying other religions -- both different sect of Christianity and other world religions is that there is light in them all.

That doesn't surprise me. Though my expression of faith is definitely Christian, the Bible I read says that God speaks through the world that was created. If so then it make sense that light would not be limited to some small corner of the globe. As such, though I live my faith by my light, I have bits and pieces of many religions within the acting out of my spirituality.

As to the UU church, I attended one for a time and agree with your comments on their openness. They accepted me at a time I truly needed acceptance and helped me reach a place where I could again choose my own path. I still have good friend from there and they do not seem to be less accepting because I have chosen a "Christian" path.
 
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Logomachy is offline Logomachy Post #10  June 28,2010, 10:33am

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What I have learned so far in my spiritual journey is that at their heart all religions teach that we should practice being compassionate. Somewhere along the line many have come to think religion is all about correct beliefs. I think this is a mistake. It is about practice, about doing, about being compassionate.
 
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