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Every once in a while I get the desire to check out different religious services. Last night I went to my first ever Iftar and I also expect to hit a Buddhist pagoda this month for evening prayers. Emailed a Hindu temple but they never responded so I guess they don't want visitors. I'll see what else the universe sends my way.
It all depends on what you’re looking for. If truth is what one seeks, religions decided to organize it, and it was lost. Although, religions provide a sense of community and moral duty some find refreshing. Personally, I don’t follow none, attend to none, and have been intrigued and searched some.
Okay---The religion thing. If you're one of the unchurched, and looking for a congregation, yes---it is a challenge. But really--it boils down tob whether you like the service, the other congregants, the pastor, and how much they expect you to give----and there isn't much about that, online. But, what church is is a community-within-a-community, that is a social group, who is inclined to believe in God, and that you'll be punished or rewarded in the afterlife. So--Behave. Yup. But see--what puzzles littlebittymee is how the Christians are so centered around a torture-execution and okay, if you want to be technical--the return to life of a Human. But yeah---I could be okay with their belief system, if they weweren't so focused on that particular thing. See? I know you kids sit there thinking: littebittybobby, you are SO obsessed with the macabre, like your Professor Sister Gory Dorothie(buried in Zurra, BTW) schooled you, so that seems perfect, for you. But the thing is---I want to feel like I'm almost in heaven, when I go to church! Not seeing suffering. Nope. See? I'm not gonna go too much further, but you get the idea. So anyway---from my personal experience, the best churche you can actually join is the Catholic Church. But see---The Media has waged war on the Catholics, since Bishop Sheen died. Now, The Media present Judaism, as THE faith. But, they are pretty much exclusive by birthright, and don't readily accept newbies. On the other hand, if you're not picky, go around to every church, and see what it's like. Fer sure. It's like finding a spouse or a job or home that you like and can afford. Hope that helps you some.
I am not looking to join a church, just doing religious tourism.
The pagoda was a dud. Next on my list is to visit an abbey which I definitely couldn't join being female.
Religious tourism. I remember the representative of the American Embassy in Portugal saying one of the things he, and his wife, enjoyed most about Portugal, was the amount of churches, of all sizes and types, and he could travel the country and visit them. It is something I'd do as well.
Yppej, have you taken the Belief net test? I have repeatedly and I always come out the same thing, a Traditional Quaker. So when we lived in Michigan I started going to meetings and was accepted into a Friends fellowship.
It felt like coming home.
I took the quiz and my result is Secular Humanism.
The number, beauty, and varied architecture of the churches in Romania were astonishing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Portuguese John Here
The Commies did not manage to kill them.
Secular humanism for me as well.
Liberal Quaker
Unitarian here.
My category should be Not Interested. Is that a choice?
I have several generations of Unitarian-Universalists on my mother’s side, and that’s how I was raised, more or less, considering that we didn’t have a Unitarian church in our small town, and we had to travel to the big city for church.Quote:
Originally Posted by nswef
It didn’t take. I thought it was boring and the Unitarians did not have anything to say that appealed to me. More than one interaction showed me members of that that community are just as bigoted in their non belief as the super religious. certainly Unitarians can be believers, though.
My great grandfather was responsible for building a tiny New England style white clapboard Universalist church on the prairie in Iowa.It now sits abandoned and empty in a tiny Iowa town, owned by the county’s historical preservation group.
Yes, I believe if you took the quiz, they would be able to classify you as agnostic, atheist, or maybe even "not interested"... because a lot of the question choices are "I don't care."Quote:
Originally Posted by iris lilies
I think so too. I like the test because it helps you to categorize what you belief, what lines up with it. There is definitely an "agnostic" category as I recall. I just try to answer the questions honestly with what I think. It was fun to find there were all these other people who thought just like I did, and I did find a lot of Quaker ancestors, so it all seemed to fit.Quote:
Originally Posted by catherine
If you're not interested, then you probably wouldn't bother to take the test.
Okay-----Among the scores o' Churches they got here, (including Romanian Baptist, Buddhis' Temple, all manner o churches, big n small), they got a Unitarian and a Unity Church. The belief system sounds good on paper, but the local Unitarian/Unity groups are cells of neo-libtards. I tell you what, tho--if you like sitting in airports and sitting on planes watching mooo-vvees, and are fixated on crucifiction & old churches, then a trip to Latvia is in order. Yup. They got lots of 'em. Attachment 5374Attachment 5375Attachment 5375Attachment 5376
yes, the political lib ideology is strong in the Unitarian church. I don’t think there are “Unity “churches around anymore. There is a very charming stone church in my old neighborhood that is quite old and was originally built as a Unity church.Quote:
Originally Posted by littlebittybobby
It is interesting that you have a Romanian Baptist church in your area of flyover country. Unitarianism started in Romania, I believe.
Funny, I really want to go to Latvia for the architecture, but at the moment it’s too close to that mess in the Ukraine.
Okay----Wrong, Faux., They sure do have a Unity church, here. Yuyp. It's on a side street, in a modest edifice that prolly at one time has housed other groups that moved on. But yeah---they may be a splinter group of the UU, but they identify as Unity. Got a wummun preacher, too. But yeah--in a way they're ok(bettrn the fixated Baptists), but still way too libtarded. I like like Cath'lic tho, if I hadda go to church. Yup.
There are a lot of Unity churches around, at least where we have lived--we attended one a couple of times in Michigan, we went to one on Hilton Head, we drive by one in Maine, and there is one a block away from my son in Indiana. It was somewhat like Unitarian but heavily into works of Catherine Ponder et al. A lot of teachings about money,
Thank you for that news that the Unity Church is still around. I did not know that. Focusing on the works of Catherine Ponder is a bit… Suspect. I wonder if that is unique to the congregation.
now I see that the Unity church was founded in my home state. Hmmm. Also, the stone church in my old neighborhood was built before 1889 which is when the Unity church, founded in Missouri, is stated to have started. The one in my neighborhood Was built… In the 1870s I think? Well I could be wrong about that.
edited to add:
not that anyone cares, but the old church in my old neighborhood was built in 1869. The archives say it was “church of the Unity” which appears to be a different thing from the modern Unity Church. I think this church was subsumed into Unitarian/Universalist, or it faded out, or something.
Okay-----Here's a littlebitty tidbit of useless information, that nobody cares about, at all, either. Nope. Even Ukrainia is waaaaay more important. But yeah----there usta be a Unity church in a littlebitty town waaaay up north, in the middle-o-nowhere. The photo below shows the site. So anyway---the church was on the corner, until the 60's or 70's, when a gent named Jentzen acquired it and knocked 'er down and built 'partments. That's progress, for ya. It is a walkable area, tho. But guess what? The former parsonage is still standing & occupied! To the right of the 'partments. Isn't that amayzeen? Hope that helps you some. Edited to add: I said them 'partments were walkable. But see---back then, there were 2 or 3 grocery stores close by. But they ain't there now. One oo;' 'em got turned inta a pizza factory! Yup. But, there's still a lirrrarrarry close by. So there's that.Attachment 5377Attachment 5377
Okay----Zurra, being the cultural and natural wonderland that it is, makes the nooz again. But yeah----a nun was found to be in an amazing and awesome state of preservation, after 4 years in her grave. Yup. There are numerous news stories online, that can give you the scoop. Hope that helps you kids some. Thankk mee.Attachment 5483Attachment 5484Attachment 5485Attachment 5485Attachment 5486
There’s a Unity church locally and it has a more religious bent than Unitarian. I find unitarian weird because it’s a church that’s not really religious. It’s more like a club. Through my life I have been to many different churches. I understand why people believe because it’s comforting and makes them feel better.
Exactly, TT. But yeah--a good many people do NOT find the focus on a gory torture-execution of an upstart leader to be very comforting. That's why they'd rather belong to a church community that is philosophical, rather than dwelling on historical events. Yup. You can take that to the bank. Thank mee.Attachment 5487Quote:
Originally Posted by Teacher Terry
okay-----you kids----the picayune & ar among you----can find fault with littlebittymee for not using caps and minimal punctualtion and not correcting mistakes, but i have saved considerable energy in not doing so. see? it's about like the 55 mph speed limit we used to have. the speedballs waste energy and wear out their vehicles for no good reason; even 70 mph is not fast enough. nope. more on this subject later. but yeah----i founded my own church several years ago, but really---no one else wants to join. so in the meantime---until i get kicked out or something, i been attending a church that is 9 easy miles away. if i do get kicked out, there are at least a dozen other congregations between here & there, and prolly in the hundreds, overall around here. but i chose this one and like it so far for several reasons: a dress code, of sorts. no tats, no piercings, no long-haired males. no ranting fundy preacher; in fact---there is no preacher! no enormous church campus and buildings, no stained glass, no statues, no pictures, best of all no bloody crucifixes depicticting suffering. there IS a large clock on the wall of the chapel showing the zact time, and the people with restless kids and crying babies are gracious enough to sit in the rear, near exits to the hallway & restroom. how do you like that? another coincidence is that the young girl i used to stalk up in ak also is a member of the same denomination, and so we can relate on the subject. so, that's a plus. as you kids know, i am not much of a conversationalist because i only like to discuss my trips to the wreckin' yard & catts & huskees and a few other subjects of little interest to normies. but yeah---hope that helps you kids some. thankk mee.