Monday, June 23, 2008

my 'new religion'

I consider myself spiritual, not religious, but after following a fascinating discussion on religion on TeeBeeDee, I went to Beliefnet.com and took the Belief-O-Matic quiz. After 10 pages of thought-provoking questions which I answered as best I could, it was determined that my beliefs (at this point in time) match 100% with the Unitarian Universalist church. Well, no wonder I have appreciated so much the messages of my cousin Rev. Bruce Bode, at the Quimper Unitarian Church. I've also attended the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship (BUF) several times, but still feel uneasy, as if it's a bit hokey. As much as I miss being part of a community, I guess I am also leery of committing to a religious organization again. Plus, I don't know any of those people. They come from mysterious backgrounds, and I am actually a rather cautious person, not quick to make friends. Still, desiring a life full of strong, loving connections, I better be willing to extend myself.
Back to the quiz: It was interesting how things lined up. Next in order of similarity was the Liberal Quakers. This rang a bell, because Kendra, the girl that I've been mentoring as an artist, is a Quaker, and I was surprised when she described her church beliefs, how sensible it sounded.
Next came Neo-paganism, which just sounds scary! (I'll have to research it), then New Age, Mahayana Buddhism, and then finally something familiar; Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestant, not too shabby at 83%. It's funny to see that I'm actually closer to the Mormons(31%) than Conservative Christian/Protestants(28%)
Beliefnet also reminded me of the fact that there is no such word as sin in the original Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek or Latin. The closest interpretation is 'falling short' or 'missing the mark', which to me simply encourages the response to try, try again!

1 comment:

prof said...

i might've gone the same direction, but i couldn't evade the person of Jesus as truth...