Allow me to explain my situation. When recently asked by a friend if I was religious, I had to pause and really think about what I truly believed. This was my response...
I reject organized religion entirely; not out of disdain for faith itself, but because I see it as a fundamentally flawed human enterprise. Religions, in their institutionalized forms, often distort the divine essence they claim to represent. They impose rigid doctrines, hierarchies, and rituals that reduce the infinite to the finite, confining God within human-made boxes: specific names, genders, dogmas, and exclusive paths to truth. Every major faith, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and beyond, grapples with the same transcendent reality, yet each overlays its own cultural, political, and historical interpretations, often leading to division rather than unity.
I believe in God as the singular, boundless divine source, the Creator who knows every detail of existence, past, present, and future, and who actively sustains the universe. This is not some distant, impersonal force; God is personal, responsive, and intimately involved in our lives, answering prayers, guiding through experience, and intervening when called upon. I maintain a direct, unmediated relationship with this divine presence through prayer, reflection, and the raw evidence of the world around us. The beauty, order, and mystery of creation scream of purposeful design.
Morality, too, is not a cultural invention or fleeting social trend. It is objective, rooted in divine order: there is real right and wrong, eternal consequences, and an afterlife where our choices matter, whether that manifests as heaven, hell, or some form of ultimate justice. I hold these truths without needing intermediaries, clergy, or sacred texts to mediate them.
What I reject is the baggage: the power struggles, fear-mongering, tribalism, and hypocrisy that organized religion so often breeds. Far from drawing people closer to God, it frequently alienates them, fueling stereotypes, conflicts, and cliques that turn what should be a unifying truth into a battleground of "us versus them."
You can call me a deist, a "spiritual but not religious" seeker, or simply a believer in a personal God without the institutional overlay. Labels don't matter to me; they often become another box. What matters is the reality: God exists, God hears us, God helps us, morality is absolute, and the afterlife holds real accountability. Organized religion, in its current state, has largely failed to reflect that reality and has instead created confusion and separation where unity and clarity were intended.
That was my response it was originally a quick 5ish-minute rant, but I edited a few things to not sound like a total moron, im very open to everything I'm still young and learning, and if you believe I need to be corrected your welcome to try, dont get offended by my response if it wasnt what you were looking for, though haha.
I reject organized religion entirely; not out of disdain for faith itself, but because I see it as a fundamentally flawed human enterprise. Religions, in their institutionalized forms, often distort the divine essence they claim to represent. They impose rigid doctrines, hierarchies, and rituals that reduce the infinite to the finite, confining God within human-made boxes: specific names, genders, dogmas, and exclusive paths to truth. Every major faith, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and beyond, grapples with the same transcendent reality, yet each overlays its own cultural, political, and historical interpretations, often leading to division rather than unity.
I believe in God as the singular, boundless divine source, the Creator who knows every detail of existence, past, present, and future, and who actively sustains the universe. This is not some distant, impersonal force; God is personal, responsive, and intimately involved in our lives, answering prayers, guiding through experience, and intervening when called upon. I maintain a direct, unmediated relationship with this divine presence through prayer, reflection, and the raw evidence of the world around us. The beauty, order, and mystery of creation scream of purposeful design.
Morality, too, is not a cultural invention or fleeting social trend. It is objective, rooted in divine order: there is real right and wrong, eternal consequences, and an afterlife where our choices matter, whether that manifests as heaven, hell, or some form of ultimate justice. I hold these truths without needing intermediaries, clergy, or sacred texts to mediate them.
What I reject is the baggage: the power struggles, fear-mongering, tribalism, and hypocrisy that organized religion so often breeds. Far from drawing people closer to God, it frequently alienates them, fueling stereotypes, conflicts, and cliques that turn what should be a unifying truth into a battleground of "us versus them."
You can call me a deist, a "spiritual but not religious" seeker, or simply a believer in a personal God without the institutional overlay. Labels don't matter to me; they often become another box. What matters is the reality: God exists, God hears us, God helps us, morality is absolute, and the afterlife holds real accountability. Organized religion, in its current state, has largely failed to reflect that reality and has instead created confusion and separation where unity and clarity were intended.
That was my response it was originally a quick 5ish-minute rant, but I edited a few things to not sound like a total moron, im very open to everything I'm still young and learning, and if you believe I need to be corrected your welcome to try, dont get offended by my response if it wasnt what you were looking for, though haha.
