Religious "Cut and paste"

[PickelledEggs]

I've noticed what I'm going to call religious cut and paste, with a lot of people that call themselves "spiritual". I'm just going to say what I've seen and heard, and what I think about it, but I want to hear your guys' thoughts too.

Throughout the last couple of years, I've come across people that either identify with a religion, or none at all, but say they "believe" (and I'm putting it in quotes because I don't really know if believe is really the right term for what they are saying) a bunch of fragmented things from other religions.

For instance, I went to art school with a girl that said she didn't like Christianity, so she studied a bunch of religions and chose to believe what she thought was nice. And I'm not even talking about her picking something that makes more sense. (she worshiped, among others, the goddess Gaia... I mean come on, Greek Mythology? It's neat to think about, but clearly not relevant to reality) She also worshiped the chubby buddha among other gods and idols.

What really confused me though, is this next thing. She was trying to practice faith healing. Something to do with channeling bad energy out of your body though hers. "But it doesn't work if you don't believe it!" she told me.   And the reason she wanted to get in to faith healing was because even though she didn't believe christianity, believed in Jesus and referred to him as a "master healer" She seriously thinks that some guy walked around clearing up and curing diseases with his touch.

Back at the time, I wasn't full atheist. I was agnostic and just recovering from identifying as christian, even though I haven't believed in any of that in a while... probably since I discovered santa was a hoax. ('tis the season!  :-D ) So I asked her, "So it's reiki? I'd like to try that one day" And she said, "No it's not reiki. It's like reiki, but instead of using the earths energy, I like to use the divine light. It's more pure."

I asked what she was talking about and she said, "Yeah, the divine light is pure. It's provided by god and it's in all of us. When people use the earth's energy like in reiki it's all dirty energy. Some of the energy is bad and doesn't work as well. Sometimes it is harmful" (I think she used a pendulum for something too)

I think that was one of the weirdest conversations I have ever had up to that point, so I just said, "Uhhhhh. OK" And left it at that.

Hold on... what was my point... oh yeah. This girl is the prime example of what I'm talking about. (lost my train of thought)

She didn't like christianity and said she didn't believe in a good majority of it and even stated it when the topic came up.
on the other hand though, she takes parts of religions and sort of made a collage of religion with the parts that she liked. She liked and believed in Gaia because she was a "woman god that gave birth to the universe", which actually sounds really beautiful, but believable? I don't think so. And she believed and followed the thought of "the master healer Jesus", just because she liked the idea of it.

Does anyone else get how that works, choosing to believe in something? Is it really believing in something? or is it pretending to yourself/other people to believe in something?

[Sal1981]

Sounds like a package deal that used to be advertised about those 90ies satellite channels.

Never seen those? Basically it was taking a movie released 2 months prior among with a bunch of sports headlines to get you to subscribe to their service.

[stromboli]

I went through the whole 80's "New Age" stuff like channeling and reincarnation, and even worked with a flaky lady that was into it big time, including such crap as paying some guy to channel her past, and why she was so depressed. The guy told her she was a reincarnated Nazi or some shit, and charged her like $500. She also thought her son was psychic and even convinced him of it. And I live among Mormons. My life has been a potpourri of religious/pseudo spiritual experience. I think I became an atheist just to retain my sanity.

I even know a guy that claims he is a Buddhist and is an avid deer hunter and raises Pitbulls. The world is full of wackjobs.  :shock:

[Solitary]

You are amazing to have come from all that and be rational.  =D>  Solitary