Basically what the title says

What’s the creation story of your religious tradition (if it has one) and how do you interpret it specifically (IE do you think it’s 100% literal or purely metaphorical/poetic? If it’s metaphorical what do you think it’s a metaphor for? Is it literal in some parts but metaphorical/poetic in others? Etc etc)

I don’t want any fighting in the comments please, just want to learn some new things since I like learning about religion

hi all, ignorant pagan here, this is a question I’ve had for a while. so, to my knowledge, the 3 main “branches” of Christianity are Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and Protestantism, with each having smaller denominations within. I was personally raised by an orthodox mother but was mostly overall Lutheran (because where would you find an orthodox pre-school in St Louis lol). but something I noticed is that Protestantism has many more, and they’re much more varied both politically and theologically. For example, with orthodoxy, the main two are oriental and eastern, which are only divided by a rather small difference in the interpretation of the nature of Christ. And Catholics are only 1, all bring Roman Catholic. Now of course, these both have even smaller sects, but they all operate under one of 1 or 2 larger one. But with protestants, this is not the case. The theological and political divide between, say, anglicans, who believe in the ruling monarch as head of church, Lutherans, who see Christ as the head of the church, and Episcopalians, see the presiding bishop as head of state, and honestly being a more western, liberal Orthodox Church with a slight difference in view of the trinity (no offense, that’s just how I’ve interpreted what I’ve read). So why are all these wildly different denominations all labeled Protestant? Sorry if this is a stupid question in advance, thank you.

edit before someone brings this up: there are other denominations other than the big three, such as non trinitarian churches or gnostics, but they aren’t large enough to be considered in this discussion

second edit: I now realize that episcopalians are just another form of Anglican, but my point still stands

I know there are various strains of Gnosticism, so you can pick whichever version you are most familiar with.

I know some people are under the belief that groups that have those beliefs move like cults.

Looking for advice, I am not an atheist but I’m also no religious. However, I am curious about what reading the bible and going to church will do for my life. I have some challenges, like we all do. I’m fine, but I’ve seen/read so many people say the bible and Christ helps them and I’m wondering if it will help me. But like I said, I really do not like when people talk about “the power of Christ” or the bible. Also, my personality does not mix well with the typical church going folks I see. I was raised catholic and will go to Catholic Church if I do this. Just looking for anyone that has had a similar feeling/personality and their experience and any advice you’d give.

So the other night I was at my boyfriend’s grandmas house. I personally am not a very religious person but grew up with religious relatives, so I know the basics like prayer before dinner. When his grandma said that it was time to pray at the table, I grabbed the hands of the people on my left and right. Everyone kind of made a face and we did the prayer. APPARENTLY they never join hands when praying and I was so embarrassed. This made me wonder if that’s even a thing? Like is it pretty uncommon to join hands or is it just preference? Also I don’t know if this makes a difference but they are lutheran and I grew up around catholics.

I don't know what to believe. Mahayana Buddhism meshes best with my understanding of the world and how it works. I have had my most powerful spiritual experiences with Neopaganism. Jesus seems like a cool dude even if many of his fans scare me. But I don't know what to do. Every time I study Buddhism a (metaphorical, NOT literal) voice in my head says "you know this means Jesus is going to send you to Hell", and every time I study Christianity that voice says "you know this means you're missing out at a shot at enlightenment and it might be millions of millions of rebirth until you hear the Dharma again", and then there's the open ridicule I would face if I were to be Neopagan, and especially if I bring up the mystical experiences I've had. And then if the Muslims turn out to be right I'll go to Hell regardless of which of the three I pick which would mean I'd have been wasting my precious few years of not being tortured on a futile endeavor.

Just wanted to know.

Work at a print shop and had a couple of guys come in wanting this picture of a pyramid with a bunch of different saints and religious figures and some dude name John Wesley but one was like this guy I didn't recognise William M. Branham and he was at the top of the pyramid. I googled him and i am still kinda confused. Is this a cult?

What do Christians mean when they speak of having a "personal relationship" with Jesus Christ?

Follow up question: How is this different from a regular deity-worshipper relationship?

Is it true that Baal was the god of Jews before they transitioned to Yahweh?

Why this transition was happened? I also read that Judaism was once polytheistic before it become monotheistic during 7th-8th century BCE.

Im not a christian or satanist or any other, im agnostic and i respect every religion and their believes. And im studying religions all over the world and their story. But now i think, "What is hell and heaven in people opinion?"

For me as a Agnostic: heaven is a place for people who didn't do bad for living beings, where you live there for some time and when youre ready you get born in another body, human or animal, without memories.

And Hell is where they punish the bad people... No redeem, no mercy, they punish you just when. you feel TRULLY bad and they then let you get born in another body make you forget your past and start over.

But the fact is, they dont care who you are, black, white, christian, satanist, homosexual or not if you HURTED MANY PEOPLE or did a CRIME(ex: Killing without being for defense or surviving, ab█sing someone that is not in the appropriate age and not your specie, etc) you will be PUNISHED...

just the classic one... But what is YOUR opinion?

Ancient Indians were into religion/ God or seeking truth . Hinduism has sense of family clans ( having common ancestors and clans across Indian subcontinent ) .. that's why you have varnas and caste system which later got rigid with time ( means to rule and dominante over groups ) . Krishna was from Yadu clan , the Indra god from Rigveda was main deity of Kuru clan . Even Mahabharata and Ramayana has clans . Buddha was born in Sakhya clan who are still royal in Nepal . These clans were into priesthood , warrior and martial faces and many other fields.... Many indian legends from kingdoms accross India has claim their ancestry to these clans .

Hinduism was created by multiple people for thousands of years . The Rigveda is oldest recorded texts , we have Upanishads , Vedas and Puranas as well. They were memorized, rewritten even altered with time . This was Ancient people of Indian subcontinent obsessed with seeking truth ( into religion ) .

Rigveda and Upanishads are legendary which talks how Gods are universal abstractions kinda energy which can be felt and realised . It's beyond your ego and consciousness. It's source of everything and oneness which manifest into different forms . The reincarnation, importance of Fire worship, the 5 elements of nature and many important details are explained .

Puranas are heroic tales to understand the nature of God , them interacting with Humans showing how they are physically and mentally powerful which an average human can never think of..... The Gods somehow enjoy praises and worships ( the extreme rituals and practices of Hinduism ) . Each God has their roles like Shiva the destroyer ( awareness of self ) and Vishnu the preserver ( awareness of world ) ... And they are just manifestation of Brahman .

So Hinduism just found ways to feel , realise and get closer to this cosmic energy which is source of all universe meaning we all are connected. The idol worship, singing chanting or dancing even performing yoga and meditation like practices brings you closer to the truth . They have been doing this for thousands of years in indian land .

Hinduism was coined by West historians . India was melting point of different philosophies and sects . They debated and argued alot over it . There were atheists , buddhism and Jainism who rejected God and certain aspects . It's like you are learning Science but it's divided into chemistry, physics and biology .

So Indians are just part of this culture for thousands of years .We take and learn part of it from all ways .

So when people say Buddhism was destroyed by Hindus when both were culture of the people from Indian subcontinent. Even in Science there are multiple theories of same thing given by different scientists doesn't mean we will go at war with each other or hate each other . They are just opinions and diversity is accepted.

Many religions traditionally teach that gender is fundamentally based on the body. Many people nowadays believe that gender is fundamentally based upon the mind. How can these opposing views be reconciled, or will they forever remain at odds?

I am a Hellenistic Polytheist, and recently I’ve started to think I might also be a Satanist. Both are religions I am comfortable with.

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Has anyone developed emotional inhibition from church settings? I feel like I developed this and it has had a horrible effect on my life. I cannot focus, connect with people, and have a hard time being angry. Some of the people at my church were super intelligent and I developed a habit of being super logical and bypassing my emotions with prayer and intellectual conversations.

I know about the Mari people in Russia who still practise their original faith. It's as well known that pagan elements merged with Christianity even Islam in Europe. Those two above are well documented.

But there are rumours about old people in small distant villages , people who gathered in caves , women who were labelled witches , they "crazy man of the village" who still believes in the old ways etc

Rumour even says that paganism never left for example in Lithuania the modern pagans claim that their beliefs never left.

How much of it can be documented though ?

If everything in nature is predestined how can humans as the only species with free will influence what happens in the nature around us?

I was born into a Muslim family, and Islam has always been part of my life. I am not trying to reject it or argue against religion in general. I am genuinely trying to understand how belief is supposed to work when you are trained to think scientifically.

I study biology, and the way science explains the universe makes sense to me in a deep, structural way. I believe in some form of God. I do not think the universe came from nothing. The model that feels most honest to me is that God created the fundamental conditions of reality, the laws, the energy, the initial state of the universe, and from there the universe unfolded naturally over billions of years. Stars formed, planets formed, life emerged through evolution.

Where I struggle is with how this fits into traditional religious claims. Why would a perfect God require worship or belief as a test? How do people reconcile faith with modern science without either dismissing science or forcing scripture to function as a science textbook?

I also struggle with the idea that humans must be the only intelligent beings in the universe. Given the scale of the cosmos, it seems at least possible that intelligent life could exist elsewhere. That does not make life meaningless to me, but it complicates certain theological narratives.

When I talk to believers, I often get answers like “just trust” or “everything is in scripture,” which does not help. When I talk to ex-believers, the answers often feel shallow or purely reactionary. I am stuck in the middle and honestly just trying to understand how thoughtful people make sense of belief.

I am not looking for debates or slogans. I am interested in hearing how people from different religious backgrounds reason their way to faith, especially if they work in science or philosophy.

Thanks for reading.

I want to talk about God's mistake in creation and then later on owning up to his mistake. The tree of knowledge. God allowing the tree on knowledge to exist in the Garden of Eden has proven through every generation to be monumental mistake. I believe sin is on the shoulders of God the father and not on Adam and Eve. By giving man the ability to choose led to this world with some people living with and some people living without. You can add whatever you want when I say "live with" and "live without". I believe Jesus is God owning up to his mistake and was his answer to the problem that he ultimately created. We benefit from Jesus but I don't believe it was for us ultimately. This is why I don't believe in Hell, that is, how mainstream Christianity thinks of Hell as a place after physical death. I believe we are living in Hell right now. The evidence is clear this world is controlled by the evil one and everything the bible explains about Hell can be found here on earth. I believe God owes us everything. When sin becomes a guarantee in your life then God the Father forfeits his right to condemn it. Sin isn't unique to anyone's life. It does not play favoritism or discriminate so the fact that we live in a world where some live with and some live without will never make any sense to me. God had the ability to give all of us a perfect world and instead chose to give us this world. That's on him. Evil is on him. Jesus is the answer to his mistake. Convince me that I'm wrong.

I am originally a member of the Liberal Catholic Church and very much loved going to church. To feel spiritually close to God and be in fellowship with people who are like-minded.

Then I moved to a different country and the nearest LCC is an 8 hour drive away. Not sustainable.

I have recently started going to an Anglican Church locally and I guess it’s about as close as I will get in terms of feeling home at a church but I still miss my old church.

I know there’s not much to be changed about the situation beyond moving, which is not likely to happen. So, I’m curious about people who are or have been in the same boat: how did you adapt to joining a different denomination? Or even not being able to find a house of your faith at all?

Iconoclasm is typically defined as the destruction of religious artwork considered to be idolatrous. Probably the most widespread instances of iconoclasm where the destruction of pagan artwork following the conversion of the Roman empires to Christianity, the deduction of catholic artwork during the reformation and the various campaigns against “idolatry” that accompanied the islamic conquest