i thought itd be a good idea to have a thread in which people just give a general outline of their beliefs/religion, so if anyone needs to know what particular religions are and stuff, they can just pop in and see a brief overview/description of each one.
it would be particularly good to get the more obscure ones/foreign ones etc that not all people would know much about, so we can further understand other people/cultures etc
edit- no religious debates over which religion is better or about issues and stuff with the religions, for this thread religious tolerance is vital and just give an overview of your religion, and respect others beliefs.

charlotte234s

Very good idea!

NeedKarma

This is where this thread is going to fall apart unfortunately. We have some here who cannot do otherwise.

cal823

true

s_cianci

I am an Orthodox Presbyterian. It is a reformed faith, meaning that the Holy Bible is the infallible, inerrant word of God and is the sole rule and guide for our faith and practice. The reformed belief system is based on the Westminster Confession of Faith, a document which evolved over centuries of careful study and research of the Bible. As with all Protestant denominations, we believe in the total depravity of mankind, the unconditional grace of Jesus Christ (for the elect) and the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, dying for our sins so that ours may be forgiven and we may be restored to fellowship with God, both now and in the hereafter. However, we are Calvinist in our view of salvation (as opposed to Armenian), in that we believe that God has elected his people to receive Christ's grace before the beginning of the world. Salvation is not something that's acquired of one's own free will (although it may certainly appear to be the case at first glance) and, once obtained, cannot be lost. I could go on and on of course, but that's a general overview of the essentials of my faith.

cal823

thanks for being the first s_cianci
hopefully that should get the ball rolling, and hopefully no one will abuse the "practice religious tolerance" rule

firmbeliever

Cal,
I am a firmbeliever in Islam
"Islam" means "submission to the will of Allah/God". A muslim is the one who submits and surrenders to the will of Allah.

The Islamic concept of God/Allah is that He is loving, merciful, and compassionate. But Islam also teaches that He is just and swift in punishment.Islam teaches a balance between fear and hope, protecting one from both complacency and despair.

Muslims do not worship Muhammad(pbuh) nor pray through him.He is not divine,but human and he was only a messenger and prophet to whom the Quran was revealed by Allah through Gabriel (Jibrael alaihi salaam). Muslims solely worship the unseen and Omniscient Creator, Allah.

There are five pillars of practice in Islam. These practices must be undertaken with the best of effort in order to be considered a true Muslim: A) Shahadah - declaration of faith in the oneness of God and that Muhammad(pbuh) is the last prophet of Allah. B) Formal prayer five times a day. C) Fasting during the daylight hours in the month of Ramadan. D) Poor-due "tax" - 2.5% of one's savings given to the needy at the end of the Ramadan month. E) Pilgrimage to Mecca at least once, if physically and financially able.

There are six articles of faith in Islam. These are the basic beliefs that one must have in order to be considered a true Muslim. They are belief in: A) Allah,the One God. B) all the prophets of God(from Adam,Noah,Moses,Jesus etc until Muhammed(peace be upon them all). C) the original scriptures revealed to Prophets Moses, David, Jesus, and Muhammad(peace be upon them all). D) the angels. E) the Day of Judgment and the Hereafter. F) the divine decree (or pre-ordainment).

Quran(which literally means the "recitation" is the book muslims follow.
If all Qur'ans in the world today were burned and destroyed, the original Arabic would still remain. This is because millions of Muslims, called Hafiz (or "preservers") have memorized the text letter for letter from beginning to end, every word and syllable. Also, chapters from the Qur'an are precisely recited from memory by every Muslim in each of the five daily prayers.

We believe in the law of personal responsibility. Islam teaches that each person is responsible for his or her own actions. On the Day of Judgment Muslims believe that every person will be resurrected and will have to answer to Almighty for their every word, thought, and deed. Consequently, a practicing Muslim should always strive to be righteous.

The word "jihad" does not mean "holy war". Instead, it means the inner struggle that one endures in trying to submit their will to the will of Allah. Some Muslims may say they are going for "jihad" when fighting in a war to defend themselves or their fellow Muslims, but they only say this because they are conceding that it will be a tremendous struggle. But there are many other forms of jihad which are more relevant to the everyday life of a Muslim such as the struggles against laziness, arrogance, stinginess, or the struggle against a tyrant ruler or against the temptation of Satan, or against one's own ego, etc.

Women are not oppressed in Islam. Any Muslim man that oppresses a woman is not following Islam as it should be. Among the many teachings of Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) that protected the rights and dignity of women is his saying, "...the best among you are those who treat their wives well." (Tirmidhi)

Islam grants women numerous rights in the home and in society. Among them are the right to earn money, to financial support, to an education, to an inheritance, to being treated kindly, to vote, to a dowry, to keep their maiden name, to worship in a mosque, etc., etc.

Muslim women wear the head-covering (hijab) in fulfillment of God's decree to dress modestly. From a practical standpoint, it serves to identify one as attempting to follow Allah in daily life.

All Muslims are not Arabs. Islam is a universal religion and way of life which includes followers from all races of people. There are Muslims in and from virtually every country in the world. Arabs only constitute about 20% of Muslims worldwide. Indonesia has the largest concentration of Muslims with over 120 million.

In the five daily prayers, Muslims face the Kaaba in Mecca, Arabia. It is a cube-shaped stone structure that we believe was originally built by Prophet Adam(alaihi salaam) and later rebuilt by Prophet Abraham(alaihi salaam). It serves as a central focal point for Muslims around the world, unifying them in worship and symbolizing their common belief, spiritual focus and direction. Interestingly, the inside of the Kaaba is empty
------------------------------
With reference to this link 30 Facts About Islam
Sorry about it being so long,but if you have any questions please feel free to ask.

excon

Hello cal:

I'm a none of the above.

If you're going to explain other religions, you need a category for NO religion. Otherwise one would assume that everybody has one, and they don't.

excon

NeedKarma

No religion. It's empowering. Allows me to be friends with anyone regardless of their religion, race, sexual orientation, etc. I just pick the good people.

templelane

I'm a negative/weak explicit atheist. This means that I can't prove there are no gods so I believe being a strong/positive atheist would be religion in itself which results form having nothing more than 'faith' to support my beliefs. Still following? Explicit means I know of the existence of the thought of gods as apposed to being ignorant of the possibility.

I come from a Christian family comprised of Catholic and that random kind of Protestantism that seems to revolve mainly around tea. I became an atheist at around seven after a brief flush of religious zealousness which resulted in me not believing in any of it after extending the hypothesis I had been lied to about the Easter bunny and Santa Claus why not God?

A lot of my beliefs about the world are actually encompassed in philosophical Satanism; however I would not define myself as a Satanist as the organisation was too restricting. A common downfall of religion I feel.
As I am not a Satinist I can say look at this page to know what the philosophies are if you are interested Satanism: Encyclopedia II - Satanism - Satanic philosophy they are down the bottom