Then and Now

I was hesitant to post this because in some ways I believe that one's spirituality is a personal matter. However, I created this blog to get my thoughts out and perhaps to reach out to others. I don't expect anyone to agree with me although that would be nice J. As you may know by now, I was raised in a Christian religion. Now that I'm thinking for myself, I know longer hold to those ideals.  I decided to compare where I am now and where I was.

Old: There is one true God "out there", usually referred to as male.

New:  All Goddesses are one Goddess. All Gods are one God. The Goddess and God are one.  The Divine is within and without.

Old: The soul is not a separate part of the body.

New: The soul or spirit is what makes you, you and me, me and separates from the physical entity at death.

Old: There is only one true religion / spiritual path.

New: There are many ways to achieve the same goal. Your path may not be the same as mine. I don't mind if we share or compare notes, but don't force your beliefs on me.

Old: There is no afterlife. When you die, you die. No heaven (except for a select few), no fiery hell.

New: The spirit survives on. Doing what, I'm not sure. Some people believe in reincarnation which is the soul being reborn into another body. I still have lots of questions about that.

Old: Jesus Christ is the savior of mankind. We must go through him to talk to God.

New: Since we all have the Divine in us, we don't need an intermediary. We can contact God/dess directly.

Old: Homosexuality is a sin and is unnatural.

New: A sin according to whom? One's sexual preference is personal and is none of my business.  As far as being unnatural or contrary to nature – 2 males or 2 females cannot reproduce on their own. Sorry, but right now, the creation of a human being requires one egg to be fertilized by one sperm. Genetics aside, who are we to say who should get married or raise children? Is it any more unnatural to have more than one husband or wife? I also think that in some cases preferring the same gender is not a choice, so for those people being heterosexual is unnatural.

I'll pose a question to my readers – all one of them – if you don't follow your childhood religion, how have your beliefs changed?