Are you religious, spiritual, or do you belong to a religion, having a faith or interfaith

Many people today feel they have stepped away from religion, and found a way to feed their spirituality without a religion or faith practice.

Religion and its contribution to culture of peace (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Many practice 'out of religion' activities and are convinced they have nothing to do with 'a religion'. But....If they have certain things they believe in, If they use these concepts to better themselves and others, and If their concepts lead them closer to "the source"... is it not a religion or faith practice for them?  You can also ask if spirituality is connected with only religious exercise.

All created in the image of God do have received intelligence and some instinct also knowing good and bad.  Throughout history people looked for ways to form their minds. They created different systems to form the soul (spirit/pneuma/psyche/mind). In this way they also created rites or returning actions which were recognised by others and as such got them labelled under religious and spiritual groups. In their truest deepest form religion and spirituality may belong together.

Faith - is the demonstration of our spiritual beliefs even if it is a combination of various spiritualities
interfaith is the sharing of one's faith with others to gain an understanding of one's beliefs.  When we look at "Interfaith" we may find a situation were the people present a willingness to overlook the borders of the different faithgroups. Those who consider themselves belonging to an interfaith are persons of goodwill who want to reconcile the various opinions, beliefs, faiths and sometimes invention of the wide variety of religions which have developed as a result of the lack of understanding of the true facts of our spirituality.

His Religion and Hers (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We do not need a religion to question ourselves , the reason why we are here or what we do have to do. When we do use our brains we shall come to an understanding that have in our soul (nephesh) the flesh and the inner soul (pneuma/psyche) our way of thinking which is the one which give more importance to the soul (ruach/breath/wind), the life-breath which keeps us alive. This knowledge having to give importance to psychological and spiritual development gives way to the liberty to look across the many borders set up by religious, non-religous and atheist people.

As explained in the several articles on Spirituality and Religosity on Stepping Toes, "Spirituality" requires no belief or faith, because it has the knowledge of its abilities and experience. Our mind can think and guide our body. Without a healthy mind we shall not be able to get a healthy body.

Today we see that some sort of cross-fertilisation is occurring within and between religions at this juncture of history.

As we are caught up with it and feel the energies of the process positively so we find ourselves sustained by what we are calling "spirituality", and exhilarating tone of life that is a vibrant reality for many - whether our lives are full of suffering and tragedy or just plain humdrum, or remarkably privileged amonst the gross inequalities of our lives. So our old religious homes are actually benefitting from this renewal rather than fading away and dying. There remains however the problems of fanaticism and desperation and exclusivism in religions. Can our spiritualities overcome our new fanaticisms and the continuing oppressive inequalities of our ancient political economies which seem to revive old types of wars of religion?

writes George Armstrong.
according to Rev. Stephen Albert:

WP Religion (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

"Interfaith" is not a religion. It does not have a set of rules that require an adherent to act or perform one way or another. Those who call or involve themselves with Interfaith, may celebrate one or more religious traditions and they honor the many people who believe differently than they. The beauty of interfaith is that once you take the time to investigate the deeper beliefs of a religious group of people, the more they begin sounding just like you. Abigail and I just returned from the NAIN (North American Interfaith Network) conference in Detroit Michigan where 150 or so people from a variety of faiths celebrated the similarities and the differences of the many religions. They were not afraid to ask the "hard questions" and to more deeply interact with new friends and colleagues. For the last two years I have mentioned this yearly conference to this group and, besides us, only Laura Zinn has attended. By the way, her workshops were great and she is a great organizer and presenter. Mark your calendars now to attend the NAIN Connect from July 19-22, 2015 in Regina Saskatchewan Canada. Bring your interfaith friends or even those who believe their way is the only way (They won't come anyway). The events are fun, they feed us great and you will come away with a great respect for whatever you believe. Blessings.

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Additional literature:

1. Religions and Mainliners
2. What is faith and is it the only thing required
3. Faith
4. Soul
5. Do not forget the important sign of belief
6. Living in faith
7. Science, belief, denial and visibility 1
8. Science, belief, denial and visibility 2
9. Ian Barbour connecting science and religion
10. Religion and spirituality
11. Looking for True Spirituality 1 Intro
12. Looking for True Spirituality 2 Not restricted to an elite
13. Looking for True Spirituality 3 Mind of Christ
14. Looking for True Spirituality 4 Getting to Know the Mind of Christ
15. Looking for True Spirituality 5 Fruitage of the Spirit
16. Looking for True Spirituality 6 Spirituality and Prayer
17. Looking for True Spirituality 7 Preaching of the Good News
18. Looking for True Spirituality 8 Measuring Up
19. Self-development, self-control, meditation, beliefs and spirituality
20. Experiencing God
21. The Supreme Being God of gods
22. Cosmos creator and human destiny
23. Only One God
24. God is One
25. Our relationship with God, Jesus and eachother
26. Patriarch Abraham, Muslims, Christians and the son of God
27. Preparedness to change
28. Being Religious and Spiritual 1 Immateriality and Spiritual experience
29. Being Religious and Spiritual 2 Religiosity and spiritual life
30. Being Religious and Spiritual 3 Philosophers, Avicennism and the spiritual
31. Being Religious and Spiritual 5 Gnostic influences
32. Being Religious and Spiritual 4 Philosophical, religious and spiritual people
33. Fruits of the spirit will prevent you from being either inactive or unfruit
34. American atheists most religiously literate Americans

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Related articles

• Bklyn Boro Pres Adams Leads Interfaith Rally Against Hate Attacks On Religious Communities (jpupdates.com)
  “When any one group is assailed by the fabric of our society, then it’s torn to pieces,” said Ibrahim Kurtiuis of the United American Muslim Faith Mosque. “Hatred in any type of form will not be tolerated at all by our community or any community in the greatest city in the world.”
• Minnesota Interfaith Group Changes Its Name to Become More Inclusive of Atheists (patheos.com)
  When you mention the word “Interfaith” around atheists, you often hear a lot of pushback against the word itself. Even if an interfaith dialogue is supposed to represent a conversation between people of all different beliefs, I’ve heard atheists say something like, Atheism isn’t a faith, so “interfaith” excludes us by definition.
  Well, a group in Minnesota has finally taken a positive step toward becoming more inclusive.
  The St. Paul Interfaith Network in Minnesota hosts a monthly meeting called the “Interfaith Conversation Cafe” (ICC) where different groups come together to talk about whatever that month’s theme is.
  
• How Spiritual Can You Be Without Religion? (patheos.com)
  New Age thinkers usually enter the ditch on the other side of the road: They idealize altered states of consciousness and draw specious connections between subjective experience and the spookier theories at the frontiers of physics. Here we are told that the Buddha and other contemplatives anticipated modern cosmology or quantum mechanics and that by transcending the sense of self, a person can realize his identity with the One Mind that gave birth to the cosmos.
  In the end, we are left to choose between pseudo-spirituality and pseudo-science.
  
• Understanding the multi-faith initiative (elonpendulum.com)
  One of the developmental goals of young adulthood is to clarify what our “religions” will be, what our deepest convictions are, and what we will do about any of them. So our priority is to help you discover, explore, more deeply understand, and take ownership of your faith.  Whatever your tradition we aim to encourage your knowledge and practice.  We won’t make you something you’re not.  We want you to be a rooted and good at who you are and choose to be.
  
• Religion and devotion, prayer and meditation (lifesharerjuneluna.wordpress.com)
  Spirituality is religion put into real form and applied practically. The Bible is a scared scripture. When we read it, its essence must be put into our hearts and minds, not our armpits.
• HumanistLife : A Humanism without the word 'spirituality' (humanistlife.org.uk)
  Can humanists be spiritual and/or use the term spiritual? Should humanists use the term? Is spirituality ‘the best word’ to describe our sense of deepest meaning? I will focus on the question of why I do not use the word, but I also want to state up front that humanists can use the term spirituality if they find it appropriate. I do not use it for two reasons. First, using other words helps me clearly communicate my humanism to non-humanists. Second, I find other words more moving.
• Is Humanism a Religion? (appliedsentience.com)
  Religion may be impossible to define, whether we ask ourselves what the word means or what specific things count as “religious.”  In his classic text The Sociology of Religion, the famous sociologist Max Weber argued that “Definition can be attempted, if at all, only at the conclusion of the study” of religion.  However, as Nicholas Wade points out, and does in his own book, The Faith Instinct, Weber never defines religion – even at the end!
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  Just as the definition of “religion” varies greatly, there is a lot of variety in the content and form of Humanism.  Humanism focuses mostly on a method, namely naturalism and reasoned experience, instead of a set of dogmas from holy books or prophets.  So, given the fact that we all have different personal experiences and capacities to reason, the conclusions we come to can be expected to vary.
  This has two effects. First, different groups use different definitions of religion.  Second, different groups often have widely divergent Humanist worldviews.  So even on inclusive definitions many Humanist groups simply are not religious.  Historically, different Humanist groups have self-identified as religious and non-religious.
  
  
• Religion vs Spirituality (spreadmyvision.wordpress.com)
  Man made religions are nothing but a group of cunning crafty peoples’ way of holding the reigns to others’ faith and hence their fates. No wonder loss of faith in religions is getting increasingly common among the youth today.
• How do you define religion? (thoughtofvg.wordpress.com)
  If one attempts to describe it in terms of belief in God, Buddhism wouldn’t be considered a religion and comparatively, Any organisation or collective group would be labelled a religion if the definition of  “a group in which all members have  similar moral beliefs and goals” were used.  A more accurate definition would perhaps be found by comparing the world religions and by discussing what common concepts they share.
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  Conclusively, we can see that what most religions have in common is spiritual awareness and goals, be there a God or not. Abrahamic fiaths have spiritual goals to become closer with God, Buddhism focusses on the journey to spiritual enlightenment and Hinduism acknowledges a spiritual link and awareness between all things in existence. It is therefore not belief in God that separates moral organisations from religions, but spirituality is what makes an organisation a religion.

Meet the atheist … who believes in God

By The CNN Editors  Opinion by Frank Schaeffer, special to CNN  (CNN)

 -- All the public debates between celebrity atheists and evangelical pastors are as meaningless as literary awards and Oscar night.  They are meaningless because participants lack the objectivity to admit that our beliefs have less to do with facts than with our personal needs and cultural backgrounds.  The words we use to label ourselves are just as empty.  What exactly is a “believer?” And for that matter what is an “atheist?” Who is the objective observer to define these terms?  Maybe we need a new category other than theism, atheism or agnosticism that takes paradox and unknowing into account.  Take me, I am an atheist who believes in God.  Let me explain.
 Read more of this post: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2014/06/10/meet-an-atheist-who-believes-in-god/#more-46455

Our brains are not highly evolved enough to reconcile our hunger for both absolute certainty and transcendent, inexplicable experiences.

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• Does atheism mean "a lack of belief in God"?
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New Name a fact

In case you where looking for "Christadelphian World" and came onto "Our World", you are at the right address.

I did not manage to create a new blog with a new url and title, so I shall keep the old url http://christadelphianworld.blogspot.be/ but chose for the title "Our World".

In the past most articles on this site were written to promote the Christadelphian views and have people get to know the Christadelphian teachings.
In a certain way I would love to continue to let others know the Christadelphian community and  the teachings which follow the biblical teachings of the Nazarene Jew Jeshua, better known as Jesus Christ. Today there is not so much to see of the previous announcements for Bible Classes, Bible Weekends, Bible Weeks and Bible Camps from different Christadelphian ecclesiae or 'churches', because the last few months several Christadelphians asked me to take away those articles. Because several did not wanted to be on the same site or pages as some other groups.

I invite all the Christadelphians to let me know their activities and will be glad to announce them on this site, no matter from which group they come from or with what organisation they may be connected with. For me they all are part of one community in the Body of Christ.
I personally let others know that I am a free Christadelphian, not bounded to any other organisation than the Body of Christ.

Previously the main focus of "Christadelphian World" was on the Christadelphian community, but from now on I will look again at the world from a more open vision, following also what is going on in other Christian denominations or what gets the actuality.

On my personal site Marcus's Space I also look already on the world, but from a very personal viewpoint, and mostly on matters of environment, politics, economy and culture.

I also keep presenting the lifestyle magazine "Stepping Toes" I formed a few years ago on Xanga and restarted recently on WordPress from scratch. There you shall also be able to find articles on what is in the actuality or gets attention in the media (in Belgium).

Since March this site got a dip in viewers but I do hope we shall be able to regain some confused readers and shall get more new readers, interested in the more extensive material I shall hope to offer on this site.

Please be welcome on my and your world => Our World

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Please do find related:

Looking from different perspectives

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Related articles

• Change of name
• New platform for Stepping Toes
• A participation in the body of Christ
• Handbook to the Christadelphian Statement of Faith
• The Christadelphian Bible Truth & Prophecy Video Vault
• Recommended sites

Let us not forget it was God who chose us

Grace (Amos 5:14b, 15b; 1 Pet 1:15b)

We are reminded that it was God who chose us, and extends free and unconditional grace to us. He is pleased to do this willingly out of his great, undeserved love for us (Eph 2:4-10).
In return we have nothing to give him to express our thanks except lives that grow in holiness and reach out in love to share grace with others. We will continually fail but thankfully, it is the intent and the heart that he reads, not the result.
To be holy is firstly, and above all, a matter of who we are that flows into what we do. Our being initiates and colours our doing.

- Alan Hermann

In the Grace of Your Love (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Related articles

• Grace

The Bible and Science seminar

The Bible and Science

On 29th March, God willing, the Christadelphians are holding at Downend a series of seminar type presentations on "The Bible and Science" which are designed to show that there is abundant evidence in the creation for the existence of God. 

These sessions will run from 2.30 to 7.15pm and will be held at the Downend Christadelphian Hall. The Presenters are Brethren John, Michael and James Thorpe.

A Poster, together with a Programme giving full details of the individual sessions and the qualifications of the speakers, has been circulated to Ecclesias in the region. If anyone has missed this notice please email me at peterbawdon@hotmail.com for further details.

It is hoped that the sessions will be attractive to youngsters from the age of 14, and to all Brethren and Sisters, interested in this fascinating subject.

A Work book of guidance notes is being produced by the Thorpe brethren to help with the understanding of the topics being discussed. This will be a 48 page pdf document and copies can be emailed to anyone who books in and provides an email address. Please, therefore, will all those intending to come email Peter Bawdon at peterbawdon@hotmail.com by 22 March at the latest. This will also enable us to gauge numbers for tea.

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Please also do find the articles:

1. Why think there’s a God? (1): Something from Nothing
2. God’s design in the creation of the world 
3. Cosmos creator and human destiny 
4. Creator and Blogger God 3 Lesson and solution
5. Creation of the earth out of something 
6. Is it “Wrong” to Believe that the Earth is a Sphere? Inclusive the first generation of Christadelphians their views 
7. A dialogue about the earth moving and spinning around the sun
8. Science and God’s existence
9. Science, scepticism, doubts and beliefs
10. Are Science and the Bible Compatible?
11. Bible containing scientific information
12. Science and the Bible—Do They Really Contradict Each Other?
13. Reconciling Science and Religion
14. The mythical conflict of science and Scripture (1)
15. The mythical conflict of science and Scripture (2)
16. Science, belief, denial and visibility 1
17. Science, belief, denial and visibility 2
18. Ian Barbour connecting science and religion
19. How to falsify a religion using scientific or historical evidence
20. Science and Religion Harmonized (Once and For All...)
21. Living on the edge
22. Sharing thoughts and philosophical writings
23. Words to push and pull & Words to bring message
24. Unsure about relevance Bible 
25. The Bible: God’s Word or pious myth? 
26. Why believing the Bible 
27. The importance of Reading the Scriptures

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Related articles

• The Bible and Science
• How Science Attacks (but does not disprove) the Bible
• Bible has science
• Neil deGrasse Tyson: Science and Religion Are Not 'Reconcilable,' So Stop Trying
• Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains Why He Believes Faith and Reason Are Irreconcilable
• The Bible v's Science
• Ian Barbour, Who Found a Balance Between Faith and Science, Dies at 90
• Ian Barbour connecting science and religion
• Is it "Wrong" to Believe that the Earth is a Sphere?

Staying Committed through the Challenges of Life

Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance (Photo credit: an untrained eye)

Forbearance: Staying Committed through the Challenges of Life

This year’s Williamsburg Conference will continue our theme of active skill-building for discipleship by considering God’s commandment to patiently forbear life’s challenges. The need for forbearance arises in many aspects of our life: families, ecclesias, friendships, marriages, careers. Do you have a clear understanding of how important forbearance is for your spiritual well-being? Can you describe the many facets of forbearance shown in Jesus’s work? Has anyone close to you ever let you down? Do you have a predisposition towards patience and forbearance or towards irritation? Are you struggling with staying committed to your brethren?

Join us at this year’s Conference as we consider such questions, share our experiences, and explore these and other topics in exhortations and small group discussions. The afternoon sessions involve group discussion in an effort to encourage everyone, young and old, to share their lives and build intergenerational friendships. The sessions focus on the topics from the morning’s exhortations. All group discussions will be built on solid scriptural foundations.

The Conference has been designed to help us apply scriptural knowledge about God’s precepts to our everyday lives. Let us focus our hearts and minds on worshipping and serving, in preparation for the return of our Lord and Savior.

View Map

Holiday Inn – Williamsburg 3032 Richmond Road. Williamsburg VA, WilliamsbuThis event is accessible to people with disabilities.

Please register with the contact person for this event. Connie Stanley (804) 897-2874

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• Cultivating the Virtue of Forbearance.
• Weekly LightBlast: Forbearance - Jamye Price
• 2 Corinthians 12. Paul's visions and revelations. Paul's love for the church
• The Cross Reveals God's Wrath and Love By Dan Delzell , Special to CP
• Tolerance vs Prejudice
• Jamye Price ~ Weekly Lightblast ~ Forbearance

Frank risks taking

"It has been my philosophy of life that
difficulties vanish when faced boldly."
- Isaac Asimov

Christianity is not a theory or speculation, but a life;
not a philosophy of life, but a living presence.
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The task ahead of us is never as great as the power behind us.
- Author Unknown

Better to love God and die unknown than to love the world and be a hero;
better to be content with poverty than to die a slave to wealth;
better to have taken some risks and lost
than to have done nothing and succeeded at it.
- Erwin W. Lutzer

"Praying always with all prayer and supplication ...
that utterance may be given to me,
that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,
for which I am an ambassador in chains;
that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak."
Ephesians 6:18-20

Lord God, give me boldness to speak
and let me step over the problems.
Give that I always shall do well the tasks given to me,
that I ask in Jesus name, amen.

Dutch version / Nederlandse versie > Vrijmoedig risico’s nemen

Cover of Isaac Asimov

 

Eternity depends upon this short time on earth

"God hath given to man a short time here upon earth,
and yet upon this short time eternity depends."
- Jeremy Taylor

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise,
making the most of the time, because the days are evil."
Ephesians 5:15-16

God let me use this time here on earth beneficial.
I ask you that I always shall perform the correct action
to be admitted in Your Kingdom.
Be always near to me.

Dutch version / Nederlandse versie > De eeuwigheid hangt af van deze korte tijd op aarde
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2013 update:
 

Related articles (updated January 2014)

• A Speck of Dust in an Ocean of Eternity.......
• Trashing the Time Machine
• Somewhere in Time
• Ecclesiastes 8
• LONG TERM INVESTING - Jan. 24
• Eternity is...
• The Bible, Science, and The Age of the Earth
• Time - Our Master?
• The Challenge of Eternal Life
• Eternalism like Existentialism but with now with extra added you !!!