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[frizzlet]

Religious beliefs are such a messy thing. I know that religion is a personal thing, but sometimes I'd like to just have the validation from someone else that someone, somewhere agrees with what I think about things. It's nice to not be alone in what you think. How do you find people to practice with when you believe that there's an element of truth

Comments

[super_me]

Not to just be contrarian, but I think that pretty much anyone who thinks for themselves about religion and spirituality will come to the same conclusion you have come to, that there isn't one system that fits them perfectly. The problem is that religion and religious experience is something that is incredibly individual; the whole concept of faith relies entirely on your own personal experience of it, and that is different for each and every single person. Religious codes and denominations, as I see them, are attempts to implement an inherently false structure on a necessarily esoteric experience.

This is not to say that all churches are evil or that church as an institution is stupid. Churches are obviously a great way to connect with people whose religious experience is close to yours, who have sought and found many of the same truths that you have. The immense fellowship felt at truly spiritual gatherings moves me in its beauty though I am more or less an atheist; there is something to be said for our innate need for community and it is here, on the deepest plains of existence, that churches attempt to fulfill our needs.

I think your search for honest and open fellowship is crucial, especially as that kind of reassurance is impossible coming from me, but I think that searching for a religion that suits you may be misguided. You really can't focus on labels and you have to focus first and foremost on what's in your heart. It may be worth accepting a congregation that's less than perfect if it still feeds part of your soul.