My thoughts are religion is man made...

[RosieMoonflower]

I know many people on this site are Wiccan. But, I was wondering if there are any people here who are like me and actually believe that all religions are man made and none of them are exactly right. I have been believing for sometime that all of the religions are a humans interpretation of God, spirits, human purpose, and other things spiritual in the sense of how they relate to humans. I think that all of the major religions got pieces of the puzzle right but not the overall picture. I think any religions share deities or entities and interpret them differently and give them different names. I also wonder, if this is true, and religions have overlapping deities, will they present themselves to us in a man of that you would be comfortable with. If you have a Christian background do they show themselves a angels? If you're raised in Wicca do they show themselves as gods/goddesses. If you have. Native American ancestry, they may show themselves as animals. If you're European they may show themselves as fairies. Just a few easy examples. (Now this is not to say that there is not a hierarchy of spirits, i do think there is, I just don't think we humans can pin point it down for %100 certainty.) I also think that this is what grants me the right to pick and choose from all religions and create my own way. Not create a new religion to spread across the world or anything. But one catered specifically to me. Picking out the pieces I think are right, leaving behind the parts I know do not work for me. Many people disagree with me that I've brought this up to, they don't think that being able to pick and choose is right. In fact, a lot feel it's the exact opposite of what you're suppose to do. They think you have to pick one, follow it perfectly and if you don't then you can't call yourself a part if that religion or you are a hypocrite. I just don't agree. Religion is man made in my opinion an I don't have to follow a certain one. And I believe spirituality is personal, so how can I just follow someone else's interpretation of spirituality. Anyone else feel that way?

[MsMollimizz]

I believe this is what I call Paganism.
Gentle Light
MsMollimizz

[RosieMoonflower]

I believe this is what I call Paganism.
Gentle Light
MsMollimizz

Oh wow! I look naive! That's the one religion I haven't ever really looked into. Lol

[SnowCat]

The only stupid question is the one you don't ask.

Snow

[Siona]

Oh wow! I look naive! That's the one religion I haven't ever really looked into. Lol

Paganism isn't really one single religion, but rather an umbrella term for a bunch of different religions and people, which can have a very wide range of beliefs and the like. Wicca is a new pagan religion, but the religions of the ancient Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Celts, etc, are all pagan, too.

But the idea that no religion is totally right is pretty common with a lot of pagans, and while some choose to follow specific pagan traditions, others are eclectic - meaning they piece together what works for them from different traditions, and discard what doesn't, just as you describe doing.

[Seraphin]

Rosie! You really sound like me! Religion in my opinion puts one's mind in an empty jar. Changing your religion is just like jumping from one jar to another jar. You're still in an empty jar.

This is why I only play with religion as the jars only come so large and I simply cant fit all of my beliefs, principles and philosophies into only one!

Creating your own way is I believe the best idea! It's actually going beyond the boundaries and fences of each religion. I believe it's perfectly fine to learn a little about every religion. Personally, this is what I'm doing; I make my own synthesis of my own beliefs, which is true for me and which I can accept and defend to myself, but not to others, as others may not agree with me and that doesn't matter. I'm not interested in convincing them, anyway. What's more important is that my beliefs and views must agree with me and I'm comfortable and happy with it. Our own beliefs shouldn't create hatred, guilt but comfort and happiness.

I see no essential difference among these world religions. They all promote religious fanaticism and dogmatism. The seeming differences are mere illusion, in my humble opinion, although I don't expect the followers of these faiths to agree with me.

Now as far as spirits and Deities go, for me they are all very distinct and separate, even those who share the same archetype. But this is generally because, I'm a polytheist and as far as I'm concerned all Deities are valid.

Anyhow I believe that these Deities even though have different cultures, Themselves have no religion. As you have said, religion is a man-made idea. And most of the times, religion is the root cause of a lot of misconceptions.

[Echo_of_shadows]

I think that perhaps you're on an eclectic path. I like to think of it as a spiritual buffet. You're choosing what you want and taking as much as you want until you feel satisfied. Even though someone else made the food, you the person who decides what goes on your plate.

[RosieMoonflower]

Thank you for all of the responses! You all are helping make sense of something I understand but don't have the vocabulary for. Googling paganism for the first time, one of the first Godesses mentioned goes by several names and one of them was Sophia, Goddess of Wisdom. You all may call her by another name, as I've seen many of her other names other posts. What stuck out to me, because I was raised Christian (I don't live and die by it though, obviously) was that I saw that Sophia means wisdom in Greek. And some believe that this wisdom is the female side of God, or even "The Holy Spirit". Now, this really resonated with me because several years ago when I first heard of gnostic Christianity, I was introduced to the idea of a father, mother, son all in one God. When I heard this I was like "that makes sense!" Why would God not have any feminine characteristics or essence when there are so many female humans? However, I never found much info on this when searching before. So finding the name Sophia was really helpful. I was actually able to help me find more and more info on the idea of Sophia being the "Holy Spirit". I also about did a back flip when I read that there is some evidence supporting this idea that King Solomon is referring to Sophia when he writes of Wisdom in Proverbs. I have had a "crush" on King Solomon since I can't remember when and have always read and reread all the books in the bible he is responsible for.

I still believe what I said in my original post though. These deities are the same ones as in other religions, they just go by different names. And none of the religions created in their various names are %100 correct, neither are any of them %100 wrong. So, that said I have been praying to God since I could speak, the way that I was taught.."Our Father..." But, I am very interested to learn more of the feminine side of God, essentially the Mother. I feel like this is the piece of Christianity that has been missing, and it is definitely the piece of spirituality that I have been missing! Thank you all again!

[Seraphin]

I was introduced to the idea of a father, mother, son all in one God.

Both Old and new Testament tell us that the Holy Spirit clearly has divine attributes and works, and is spoken of in the same way that the Father and Son are. The Holy Spirit has intelligence, capable of speaking and acting like a person. There are actually triadic formulas revealed in the scriptures. Certain passages discuss the Father (YHVH or Yahweh), the Son (Jesus), and the Mother (Holy Spirit) as coequal.

For example, Paul puts the three divine personas in grammatically parallel constructions (1 Cor. 12:4-6) and closes his letter to the Corinthians with a three-part prayer: "May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of YHVH, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with you all" (2 Cor. 13:14)

In this thread is it considered bad to worship God as a female instead? I mentioned there the theology about God (Yahweh) having female aspect and essence.

I actually believe that you're now starting to think like King Solomon as you are now beginning to distinguish your reality and truth from the unreal and untruth.

[RosieMoonflower]

I was introduced to the idea of a father, mother, son all in one God.

Both Old and new Testament tell us that the Holy Spirit clearly has divine attributes and works, and is spoken of in the same way that the Father and Son are. The Holy Spirit has intelligence, capable of speaking and acting like a person. There are actually triadic formulas revealed in the scriptures. Certain passages discuss the Father (YHWH or Yahweh), the Son (Jesus), and the Mother (Holy Spirit) as coequal.

For example, Paul puts the three divine personas in grammatically parallel constructions (1 Cor. 12:4-6) and closes his letter to the Corinthians with a three-part prayer: "May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of YHWH, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with you all" (2 Cor. 13:14)

In this thread is it considered bad to worship God as a female instead? I mentioned there the theology about God (Yahweh) having female aspect and essence.

I actually believe that you're now starting to think like King Solomon as you are now beginning to distinguish your reality and truth from the unreal and untruth.

Thank you so much for the advice and guidance Seraphin!

[SnowCat]

I think religion puts everything in a box. As opposed to Seraphin's jar metaphor. For me, paganism is a path. And there may be some detours or side trips along the way. If I'm in a box, I can only explore the dimensions of the box. With paganism, I can explore what I need to explore.

Snow

[RosieMoonflower]

I think religion puts everything in a box. As opposed to Seraphin's jar metaphor. For me, paganism is a path. And there may be some detours or side trips along the way. If I'm in a box, I can only explore the dimensions of the box. With paganism, I can explore what I need to explore.

Snow

I like this metaphor. That's how I felt about Christianity for so long. Most forms of Christianity do not allow you much room to explore outside the box. How neat would it be if everyone believed the best way to be religious was to explore?

[Myrth]

I think religion puts everything in a box. As opposed to Seraphin's jar metaphor. For me, paganism is a path. And there may be some detours or side trips along the way. If I'm in a box, I can only explore the dimensions of the box. With paganism, I can explore what I need to explore.

Snow

Yes! Precisely!

[Myrth]

Personally, I am not religious. I think religious implies following an organized religion. So, by that definition, I am not religious.

I view myself as spiritual. I am a seeker - I have not reached a state of enlightenment. So my spiritual practices are part of my own path, my own individual spiritual journey.

[RosieMoonflower]

After reviewing some of the things said here about yaweh and the Holy Spirit (Asherah) it's is now my firm belief that there is one true god that is made up of a male god (Yahweh, The Lord, The Father, etc) and a female god (Asherah, The Lady, The Mother, etc.) and although the three are separate they are together just the same. Rather, you can't have one without the others, similar to other religious trinities. All of the other gods are different personifications of those two mother/father deities. Angels and spirits were created by the true God, made up by the two other Gods, as well as everything else in the universe. I think that Jesus, Horus, as Vishnu are all representations of humanity and thus their stories are popular and continued to be passed down. If they are real beings then the same still applies. They come back into the world to have their stories bring people back to humanity.

I don't know what religion this applies to. I think all and none at the same time. So I am also not religious, but I am spiritual, which is what I have been saying for year when people ask anyways.

Thank you all so much for helping me pan out my belief system!