PonyOne

I also believe in people finding their spiritualities and paths to enlightenment/God in they're own way. Like you, I was raised in a home of diverse religions- I was raised by a catholic mother (who didn't go to church LOL) and a Protestant (Lutheran) father. Then, on my mother's side are the Catholics who go to Church, some are hardcore Catholics, some so and so, and this weird uncle who is a convert of the Cult of Mary. Then on the fathers' side- the nth degree cousin side- there are the friggin religious extremists or otherwise known as the Seventh Day Adventists-I've never seen so vast and amazingly musical people, but I've also never seen a more pathetic, screwed up christians-except for the mormons and certain catholics i guess. As a kid, I always had this interest for God and the metaphysical. Having witnessed so many deaths as a kid, I started thinking about death and how it affects us all. It made me think of my own, and in thinking about it, led me to think whether there is a life after death. As a kid, I read the bible extensively and in doing so, found many faults in religions. I always got into trouble with my catholic teachers, debated with priests and pastors for what i thought was right. I have enlightened quite a number of heads when I was a kid, but soon, I got tired debating and preaching because I felt that I wasn't doing a very good job following what i preach. i felt like a hippocrite so I decided to keep my beliefs to my own. That way, if what I preached was wrong, I'd only have myself as a liability, and I wouldn't have to be held responsible for other's souls.

When I was a teenager in highschool, a teacher noted my knowledge of the bible and guided me to philosophy. Hence, I started reading the many works of Plato, Aristotle, and stories about Socrates- and this progress to the many other topics in philosophy like the stoicism, metaphysics, fatalists, existentialists, etc and the works of the many enlightenment period authors like Descartes, Hobbes, voltaire etc.

Going to University, besides doing more philosophy, and meeting other people of diverse backgrounds, I started delving deeper into the other religions like Judaism and a bit about Jewish mysticism, Buddhism, Islam, Aetheists, other subdivisions of Christianity, mysticism, and ancient cults like the cult of Dionysus, Cult of Mary, and THE WAY. Since I was taking Psychology- and our professors discouraged the belief in a soul, I also got into materialism and science.

My quest for a God and life after death had lead me to so much. But I still don't claim that I know a lot and i have THE ANSWER- maybe just more educated and enlightened. I've learned how religions evolved and how people understand religions in many ways- religious/ metaphysical, philosophical/ rational, skepticism, scientifical/ materialistic, and psychological etc.- but I still find that I have yet to arrive at THE ANSWER. I felt more enlightened but I don't feel like a know all.

Personally I believe in a God and I profess myself a Catholic- but not the Catholic that people commonly know, and not the catholic that I abhorr myself. Rather, my understanding of God and my religion is a combination of all the knowledge that i've accumulated over the years- eastern and western religions, metaphysical and scientifical etc. Just to give you an idea of some of the stuff that I believe- I think all religions embody an element of the TRUTH just as myths, in its most basic definition, is also one that contains an element of the truth. Now, regarding to the rest of my personal beliefs, I shall now choose to keep it to myself because I don't want to go into further trouble and debates. I will just share the thoughts of the many authors that I've read- hopefully, you guys will find it enlightening just as i had.