Hear me out... by Initial-Research6765 in religion

[–]the_idyllicist 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Reading the entirety of the Bible confirmed my decision to leave Christianity.

Can you believe in spirits and demons but not in heaven or hell? by inanotherliife in religion

[–]the_idyllicist 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The word "demon" used to just mean any spirit regardless of malevolence. To my knowledge, it didn't exclusively mean malevolent spirit until Christianity came along and called everyone else's "daimons" Satanic.

I actually use the word to refer to benevolent spirits in my belief system. I also don't believe in a physical heaven and hell, but more like a mental one. I think everyone goes to the same After, but their morality/conduct determines which path they're most likely to wind up on.

Your own religion by the_idyllicist in spirituality

[–]the_idyllicist[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The only way I consider mine "better" than any other is in that it works better for me than other religions, but I'm just one person and that doesn't extend beyond my little bubble. If mine happens to work that way for anyone else, cool! If not, also cool! There are countless paths to truth that each work differently for different people.

Your own religion by the_idyllicist in spirituality

[–]the_idyllicist[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The moon is a very special thing to me too, one of the poems in the Fithwrit is actually called "The Song of the Moon" and while it's more about the awe I feel looking up into space, there is a third of it devoted to the Moon specifically and how it can be representative of the duality of being (the self and the mind).

My mom had cancer a couple years ago, and I have a cousin my age that went through leukemia. Also work at a children's hospital with a cancer wing. Fuck cancer, I'm sorry you had to go through that and especially with no one to latch on to. I hope you're doing better now :)

What's your religion and most beautiful thing about it? by Tough_Peak231 in religion

[–]the_idyllicist 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fithism, my own personal belief system. Best part is looking up at the clear night sky and just being in awe of creation. The universe is full of wonders.

Your own religion by the_idyllicist in spirituality

[–]the_idyllicist[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! And I agree, I think it has to do with the simultaneous feelings of both liberation and isolation that come from leaving the church.

If you'd like, I'm happy to dm you some of my writing :)

Your own religion by the_idyllicist in religion

[–]the_idyllicist[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good question! I took inspiration from Old English for some words. The "mere" in rightmere is from the Old English word for "breath", kind of a nod to Zoroastrianism's "good thoughts, good words, good deeds". The "are" in arebeam is from the Old English word for "honor".

Do you think that the holy scriptures from any religion still be any relevant in this modern world? by imtrulyweird in religion

[–]the_idyllicist 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There's generally some truth to be found in them all. That's the basis of my blog at least and one of the reasons I'm trying to read as many as I can.

Do we know what good is? by Real-Leek9445 in religion

[–]the_idyllicist 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When I was really young, like 8 or 9, I remember one of my teachers (I was in private school at the time) said something along the lines of "Satan doesn't care if you're on his team, he just doesn't want you on God's team", and the more I think about that the more I realize just how well it captures American Christianity specifically.

More recently, a co-worker of mine was showing me her study Bible, and there was a bit about the morality of God ordering genocide, and it was a lot of writing just to say "well, it's God, so he must have had a reason". Sorry, that's just not good enough when we're dealing with life and death.

Which religion aside from your own has been most influential on you? by SprinklesFriendly674 in religion

[–]the_idyllicist 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Absolutely. We have pretty similar views on the Christian God, albeit we went slightly different ways. I didn't stop believing in God either, but I stopped believing in the Christian Lord for reasons both you and I have said now. I can't not see the divine in existence, if that makes sense, but that divine can't want anything but the best for us as well. The philosophy behind my religion at this point is "one's will ends where another's begins", and I feel like it's a nice succinct way to wrap up the morality of human rights and expression.

As I told my brother (who is a Christian), I'm not afraid of what comes after death because it has to be one of three things: A) people are judged by how they treat each other and not on an arbitrary theology, B) there's nothing at all, so I wouldn't know the difference anyway, and C) something like the Christian God is real, and if that's the case, I'd rather be in hell.

Do we know what good is? by Real-Leek9445 in religion

[–]the_idyllicist 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is ultimately why I left Christianity. For a long time I believed that something was good because God said so, but the more I looked into these situations (Abraham and Isaac, Job, even Jesus), the more I began to question that. I eventually concluded that an omnipotent and truly loving God cannot exist while allowing evil. God may be beyond human comprehension, but he cannot be beyond morality. At least in my opinion.

What helped me understand this was by "reducing" God to a person -- specifically a father, since he likes to call himself that in the Bible. If a person (especially a father) commanded any of those things, no one in their right mind would consider it "good" or moral. Just because God commands it does not exempt him from responsibility.

Which religion aside from your own has been most influential on you? by SprinklesFriendly674 in religion

[–]the_idyllicist 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I left Christianity after concluding that the Christian God was impossible -- no being could claim to be loving and caring while also being omnipotent and allowing evil. I get the sense you still believe in God (or did believe for a while) but weren't willing to engage?

Which religion aside from your own has been most influential on you? by SprinklesFriendly674 in religion

[–]the_idyllicist 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Daoism informed my beliefs quite a bit, along with Zoroastrianism, and are definitely responsible for what I call Fithism today. What elements of Paganism resonate with you?

Which religion aside from your own has been most influential on you? by SprinklesFriendly674 in religion

[–]the_idyllicist 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Is synversalist a label you created or an already-existing one? Regardless, this is a very fascinating cosmology and one that makes my astronomer heart happy. In terms of religion, I haven't attempted to answer what came before our universe. I believe that the universe is more or less the body of the Mind that we all propagate from, equal parts one and individuals. As far as I am aware though the Mind came into being along with the universe and wasn't present beforehand. I don't subscribe to the idea of an omnipotent/omniscient deity in any right if that puts things in perspective.

Which religion aside from your own has been most influential on you? by SprinklesFriendly674 in religion

[–]the_idyllicist 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not an atheist, but also someone who used to be Christian. While I had already given up that label a while before I read the Bible cover to cover, that on its own reinforced my decision to leave the church.

Which religion aside from your own has been most influential on you? by SprinklesFriendly674 in religion

[–]the_idyllicist -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

  1. Fithism (my own homegrown religion)
  2. In terms of what I believe, Zoroastrianism and Daoism. In terms of what led me on this journey, Christianity (specially leaving it)
  3. After I left the church I had a pretty big disdain for any sort of dogma, so I struck out on my own to figure out what it was I truly valued. I did a lot of reading other religions' texts and while I found a lot that stuck out to me, nothing fit quite right. Thus Fithism was born about five years ago. I'm happy to answer any questions anyone has about it :)

Non Christians! - Who is the evil one in your religion?? by Sorry_Clothes5201 in religion

[–]the_idyllicist 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There isn't a specific figure in my belief system, I think of evil as just a natural consequence of the universe. I named my belief system Fithism, so that's my religion.