A while back, I came across a post by @johndoer123, What do you believe in? It led me to write this in the comments, which I want to expand on:
I believe that there is a creative force that animates the universe, one which cannot be wholly understood. I believe that we, as living beings, are reflections of divinity, and that we are tasked with stewardship of the world on which we find ourselves living.
I believe that we express our wishes into the world, through meditation, prayer, spellcraft, whatever means we personally choose, and by being mindful as we express these wishes, we bring ourselves into closer alignment with nature and the divine.
I believe that Gd, gods & goddesses, whatever people worship, are representations of a divine cosmic force, and each person finds what resonates with them most; to me, all are one.
I believe that belief is a thing we choose, and it can free us, if chosen knowingly and with joy. Nothing I believe is threatened by another's differing belief—I have chosen what I need, and so have they. It is no one's right to force their beliefs on me, and if my own do not resonate with them, they are free to disregard them.
I believe that my own consciousness will dissipate into the world upon my death, and all that was me will become part of all that is beyond me, on a cellular and spiritual level. I do not believe in heaven, but in a return to the whole of creation. I will end, and what was my body and spirit will never come together again. I believe that it is incumbent upon me, given the fleetingness of my own existence, to do as much good in the world as I possibly can in the time I am given, however long or short that time may end up being.
And, since I suppose it's relevant here, I'm Jewish. Pretty reform, kinda witchy. (By which I mean, I use some metaphysical tools, like tarot, as guides. Trusting in the creative force of the universe to help me. That sort of thing.)
Me wearing my favorite magen david necklace, which bears the Hebrew word חי, meaning 'life'
One of the beautiful things about being Jewish, for me, is the diversity of belief and practice across the faith. Some Jewish people believe the Torah is divinely given, while others do not. Some believe in reincarnation, some believe in the existence of a heaven and a purgatorial place for atonement and redemption, some believe in a future resurrection at the coming of the Messiah, and some believe that this one life is all that we are given.
Some keep kosher. Some value learning and speaking Hebrew. Some cover their heads at all times, some only during services, some not at all—and none of these are universally gender-specific practices. Some read the daf yomi, or daily page: the same page from the Talmud is read by Jews around the world each day, one after the other; the complete cycle of pages takes seven and a half years to complete.
Some Jews think the Genesis story about the creation of the world and everything in it is utter fact, while some think it is metaphor. Some Jews believe there is only one G-d, some believe there are many but only one ought to be followed, and some don’t believe in the existence of any gods. This plurality of beliefs and expressions of faith is beautiful to me.
There are people who think that religion and science are incompatible, but I disagree, for the same reason that I think Judaism and tarot are compatible: if I believe that there is a vast, unknowable, divine, creative force responsible for all existence, I can believe that evolution and oracle-telling are both guided by that force—and I do. There is so much wonder and space and possibility in the universe, and I find that my spiritual beliefs are wide and deep enough to gather these various aspects into a cohesive whole. I can know and understand how a rainbow is formed, and still see a deeper, more magical meaning for it.
Recently I’ve been expanding my religious education. I’ve begun to read the daily talmud page, and I’ve returned to reading the weekly parsha (weekly reading from the Torah, read on an annual cycle). In reading the daf, I have begun to think more critically about what I believe and why I believe it, where the views of the rabbis conflict with my personal beliefs, and what that means for me. As part of that process, I have felt more connected to a global community of Jews, even despite our differing beliefs. This process of going deeper into our history and tradition has been a comforting one for me, and I’m looking forward to all that I will learn in the years to come.
The Talmud teaches that only those who believe in the possibility of a resurrection in the World to Come—the world of the messianic age—will partake of that resurrection, which seems like a sensible way of viewing things to me. It teaches that righteous people of any faith are eligible for a place in the World to Come, presuming they believe such a world is possible (Christians, for instance, and those who believe in reincarnation, potentially).
It also teaches that the soul will return to G-d, and experience in a purer form all the good they have done in the world, or the harm they have caused. This is analogous to “heaven” or “hell,” but the pain of experiencing harms wrought is a cleansing process, so that any soul can eventually be healed and bask in G-dliness.
Though these teachings do not match my personal beliefs, I take comfort in them. Just as the Rabbis made it almost impossible to actually enact the death penalty, in spite of its pervasive presence in our holiest book, our understanding of life and afterlife is quite humane, in my opinion, and that’s a big part of why I value Judaism so much.
So, after all of that, I want to invite you to share your own beliefs, if you would like, in the comments below. Do you share some of mine? What do you find most compelling about what you believe?
Thanks for reading!
Pictures by me unless otherwise noted.
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Excellent post.
As for me? I believe there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophies, but that's the extent of my beliefs when it comes to a higher power.
Haha, fair enough! Thanks for sharing. 😄
As always, thank you for sharing your light! I'd say our religious/spiritual beliefs are essentially the same.
As someone who was raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-Day Saints, the piece of doctrine that I hold on to (despite not practicing the religion) is that families are forever. I know this isn't a belief that is particularly comforting to many, but it truly is to me.
I think that's how I approach friendship. Even if I don't see someone for a very long time, even a year or more, if they need me and I can show up to support them with a listening ear or a little bit of cash or whatever, I will do it. Because I value them. I would apply this also to chosen family in my life, as well. Thanks for sharing!
I feel the same way! The bonds we form are so important.
Now that's a beautiful post! I think that you did a wonderful job. Above all things that I take from here I would like to say that I value your ability to be open-minded. As far as my religious beliefs, as you may have already known if you read my replies to you I do not like religions very much. I believe that we have a creator and that he is the same as love. I believe he created us all with his love with the intent for us to share our love with everybody else. I believe that are horrible Fallen world that we live in has caused us to have a severe disconnect with the ability for us to allow love to flow from our creator to all of humanity. I believe that there are huge negative forces at work in our world. I believe that they control the media, so that evil can lie to us and cause us to live in fear and coerce us into certain belief systems. I believe that they control the government, as a means of controlling us. And yes I even believe that they control every religion in the world. For me to think that the god of the Christian religion who calls for the killing of entire races of people, the killing of children women and babies, and so on is the one true God? Or that a Muslim or Islam religion that teaches that people have to convert or die is the one true God? Or truthfully, any religion that says that the words that are in THEIR book are the words of God himself or the only words that you should follow. I don't even like the word God personally, it's literally the word dog spelled backwards. It is why I refer to him as our creator. I am not saying that any of the books that are followed by the world religions are completely wrong. But I have a hard time believing that any one of them in particular is 100% right. We are all human and we were all faulted. And it has been that way throughout all of history. Every book in this world has either been written or revised by human at some point.
So, I feel if we have no book that we can rely on to speak to our creator our best solution is to speak to him ourselves. To me, he is the voice inside of my head that tells me what is the difference between wrong and right. I am able to talk to him with no need have a pastor or priest or a rabbi as I stand in between person. I do not seek the approval of people because they are just as flawed as I am. I seek the approval of my creator only. I love all of the people of the world regardless of what their beliefs are. And I am thankful and grateful for every single one who has found their path to our creator regardless of their belief system. I love the Jews the Muslims the Islam's the Christians the Buddhist, every single one. And the one thing that ties every every one of these religions together, the one similarity that each religions God teaches is LOVE.
SO I WORSHIP OUR CREATOR WHO IS LOVE AND WHO GIVES LOVE UNCONDITIONALLY. AND I DO MY BEST TO ALLOW THIS LOVE TO FLOW THROUGH ME AND TO THE REST OF THE WORLD. TO ALL OF HIS CHILDREN, REGARDLESS OF WHO THEY ARE WHAT THEY BELIEVE OR IF THEY HAVE EVER WRONGED ME.
I sincerely hope that I have not offended anybody here for that was not my intent. If I have upset anyone, please stop by my place and we'll talk.
Thank you so much for the mention and also for encouraging Community involvement. If you keep up with the good post like this, you will definitely have success here. And as always I send you and yours all of my love.
I love the breadth of your beliefs...and how you are able to see that we’re all just working to interpret the wonder of life in our own way. There are so many paths that lead to the same destination. Beautiful post, thank you for sharing!
Thank you for reading, and for your lovely thoughts!
I think it is absolutely beautiful how you can express your own beliefs and your respect for other beliefs, all without judging. You have a beautiful soul.
I was raised in the Christian charismatic movement and to be honest as an adult, I'm REALLY not sure what I believe. I KNOW it isn't Christianity, I know I'm not religious, but I couldn't begin to define what I do believe. I like reading about others beliefs that I haven't heard before (I've been to so many different Christian churches in my life, I feel like I've heard it all at this point) or even from people who can state their beliefs while respecting others.
I really enjoyed this, I have very similar beliefs to you, I just am not a follower of any religion. freedom off choice is a big belief of mine and my faith is in mother nature. thank you for sharing this xxx
Thank you for sharing. I love learning more about Witchy Jewish ladies for obvious reasons.
What got you inspired to read up on the classic Hebrew scriptures these days?
Hello! What a great post. I was not raised in a church, was baptised and confirmed Catholic during my marriage, and have found my community as a Druid. I believe in the animating life force of pure energy (Awen) that filters through us in the moments we let go of ego. I love that the path to Druid starts with Bardic traditions, that it is based in creativity and expression and that all of Druidry can be summed up as "Sort yourself out, then try to do some good." I don't particularly subscribe to spells or potions, but believe that a Druid aware of their surrounding and in touch with the Awen can manifest exactly what is needed for the moment. Thank you for inviting us to share what we believe in. I enjoyed reading your path