Religion & Spirituality

Only logged in members can reply and interact with the post.
Join SimilarWorlds for FREE »

What Does Freedom Of Religion Mean To You?

What it means to me is that we are free to worship God any way as we please as long as we do not stray from the Truth. Christianity is not a religion made by man regardless of what some may think. Our 'religion,' if you will, is acceptable to God.

27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. James 1:27

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35

23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, [d]“Take, eat; this is My body which is [e]broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 1 Corinthians 11:23-25

Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” John 6:29

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
John 3:16

10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins ]and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Hebrews 8:10-12

37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-39

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3

This is what Christianity is all about, a close relationship with God and with one another. It is not a stiff-necked religion as some would think it is. There are those stiff-necked religious people who call themselves Christians but their hearts are far from Him. Then there is us who True Believers in Christ whose hearts are after God's own heart. God has established this covenant with us before the foundations of the earth. This is what freedom of religion means to me.

Top | Newest First | Oldest First

Morvoren · F

Freedom of religion means I don’t have to agree with what you’ve written.

View 74 more replies »

Morvoren · F

@GodSpeed63 in a book written by men?

GodSpeed63 · 61-69, M

@Morvoren [quote]in a book written by men?[/quote]

In books written by Him.

Morvoren · F

@GodSpeed63 No they are written by and changed by men.

LeopoldBloom · M

So you think freedom of religion means people should only be allowed to worship in the way you agree with. That's not how it works. The Constitution says "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." This means people are legally free to follow [i]any[/i] religion.

If people like you were in charge, I have no doubt that you would violently suppress all religion other than your own, and would force everyone to worship your way at gunpoint.

View 24 more replies »

LeopoldBloom · M

@GodSpeed63 If that's the case, show me where in this country's founding documents it says that it was founded on the "Gospel of Jesus Christ." By the way, all religion is man-made including that one.

The Declaration of Independence also doesn't mention "God," "Jesus," or "Christianity." It mentions a "creator" which is a general term that any Theist would use, be they Jewish, Christian, Muslim, or Scientologist, and "nature's God," a specifically Deist term, not surprising since the writer of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, was not a Christian, but a Deist. Deists believe that a God created the universe, then left it and took no further interest in it, so Deism is inimical to Christianity which holds that God is intimately involved in his creation.

exchrist · 31-35

@GodSpeed63 yet jesus was half man therefore even if christisnity were the one truth anything it says is at least half made by man. Wait i thought you said the story was truth. U chose to ignore half of the messaih so please folow ur own truth leave the rest of us to find ours.

This comment is hidden. Show Comment

kodiac · 22-25, M

I prefer freedom from religion

View 15 more replies »

kodiac · 22-25, M

@GodSpeed63 I wonder how god feels about that statement? Seems very conceited, isn't that a sin ?

GodSpeed63 · 61-69, M

@kodiac [quote]I wonder how god feels about that statement?[/quote]

How would you feel about your son telling the Truth?

kodiac · 22-25, M

@kodiac If i had one I'd tell him it's not his place to think he could speak for me truth or not

LadyGrace ·

I look at freedom of religion as freedom [b]from[/b] man-made religions and false teachers in this world. I am solely grateful and appreciate my freedom to worship God anywhere I please and can enjoy a personal relationship with God each day. I'm grateful I don't live in a country where they force their children to worship idols and if they don't, then they disown them.

Colonelmustardseed · 36-40

@LadyGrace It’s sad that that’s going on all around the world. Or people being killed or imprisoned for their beliefs.

GJOFJ3 · 61-69, M

Simply this:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

LadyGrace ·

@GJOFJ3 Sad thing is, they've broken that endeavor.

GJOFJ3 · 61-69, M

@LadyGrace Yes I personally know people here who were put in prison for religious beliefs

LadyGrace ·

@GJOFJ3 Oh my. So do I and that's really sad that people are so threatened by believers. Yes we're really a threat! Wanting to do nothing but love God and others. Showing them the way to Christ so they can have eternal life, just as Jesus told his disciples to do, spread the gospel as he is not willing that any should perish, but have everlasting life. And just look at poor Jesus. Our beloved Jesus was so innocent and look what they did to Him. So unjust. But one day the unjust shall be judged and then they'll change their tune, but by then, sadly, it will be too late. But God will not be mocked.

LadyGrace ·

Man-made religion is not acceptable to God. It's not about religion and I know you know that. But now I see that you were just saying that some people call our beliefs "religion". To us, it is so much more than man-made philosophy, which is what describes "religion" in this world of sinners. Our personal choice of belief is that religion didn't die on the cross for our sins. Jesus did. We know that our beliefs involve not cold rituals, but a personal, daily relationship with the God of this universe, YHWH. Good post! 👍

SW-User

All religions, including yours, are "man made". Seeking to distinguish your own conceptual formulations as being "instituted by God" is a step step toward bigotry and spiritual blindness.

I'm finished here.

All the best to you all.

View 7 more replies »

GodSpeed63 · 61-69, M

@LadyGrace [quote]Now we have the real truth. Your Quran offers no love, no peace, no joy. Just violent rules and hatred of others not a part of your group.[/quote]

That is one of Satan's religions.

Bumbles · 51-55, M

@LadyGrace You literally just didn’t act out of Christ’s love. Such hypocrisy. Simple woman.

GodSpeed63 · 61-69, M

@SW-User [quote]All religions, including yours, are "man made".[/quote]

According to whom?

LadyGrace ·

@Bumbles [quote]You literally just didn’t act out of Christ’s love. Such hypocrisy. Simple woman.[/quote]

Well, Bumbles, get offended all you want. I won't apologize for doing nothing wrong. You obviouly think it was ok for TelegraphSam, whom I [b]blocked[/b] her hateful self, to deliberately come to this post and start slamming my faith, my God, and the Bible, and make some pretty nasty remarks. But I guess that's okay. 🙄 Then came my response not to slam, but to prove my point that her Quran was nothing like God's Word and backed up with scripture. What I said was the truth. I guess you can't handle the truth either. Point that accusing finger right back at yourself. It's amazing how all you Christian and God haters clan together and take up for each other. You're judging me, I wasn't judging her, I was proving my point so if you don't like it, how about lumping it and moved to another forum. You're obviously blind to her hateful campaign against Christians. Talk to the hand. I'm not interested. Such hypocrisy.

This message was deleted by the author of the main post.

LadyGrace ·

@Bumbles yep truth hurts don't it ... you can dish it out, but you can't take it can you, simple person.

This message was deleted by the author of the main post.

SW-User

Reading the OP it is the same sad old thing.

"Freedom of Religion" defined purely according to a particular time-conditioned theology of salvation. Such definition declared as the [i]only way[/i], the [i]only[/i] truth declared and instituted by God.

Such does not speak of the "truth that sets us free".

Sad.

View 8 more replies »

SW-User

@GodSpeed63 All testimonies are unique. We are all unique human beings - as said, every hair on our heads has been counted. But one thing becomes apparent - this is that many are handed down an image of God built around a particular theology, a particular Biblical hermanuetics. This is accepted, assimilated. Then, according to the concepts/theology handed down, they make their peace with such a God.

This is a totally pointless exercise. That human being, without genuine Grace, will merely trust in their "assimilation" of a set of concepts. In effect, their "works".

As Meister Eckharthas said:- [i][i]They do Him wrong who know God in one particular way - they end with the way, not God.
[/i][/i]
(Oh, and please don't quote back that Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life" as this will simply demonstrate that you don't understand Eckhart's words)

We are asked to work out our own salvation in fear and trembling. Not anyone elses. The one Source is totally beyond all time-conditioned concepts and theologies. Such a Source works in time, but is not [i]of[/i] time.

To be honest I am tired of seeking dialogue with those who identify their own particular theology with ultimate Truth. Those who dismiss any other, all other Churches, as "apostate", who rarely know anything at all about any other of our Worlds great Faith Traditions. Such often resort to such verses as "not many wise are called", thus making a virtue of ignorance.

Thank you for your testimony.

GodSpeed63 · 61-69, M

@SW-User [quote]Oh, and please don't quote back that Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life" as this will simply demonstrate that you don't understand Eckhart's words)[/quote]

I'd rather believe what Jesus said than 'what's his name' said.

[quote]We are asked to work out our own salvation in fear and trembling. Not anyone elses. The one Source is totally beyond all time-conditioned concepts and theologies. Such a Source works in time, but is not of time. [/quote]

According to you, is salvation free or not? Do we enter the kingdom of God by works or by grace?

SW-User

@GodSpeed63 Your contempt for what you have no knowledge of is noted. Very much in contrast to how wisdom is lauded and praised in Proverbs.

Yes, I have found through Pure Land Buddhism [i]exactly[/i] what it means for salvation to be pure gift.

Maybe at sometime you could actually seek to address the points I have made (quite frequently) as to why many who subscribe to Protestant Reform Theology actually subscribe to, and rely upon, "works".

But no, you avoid doing so. Or perhaps you are simply unable to comprehend?

PS Just to add, your response "I'd rather believe what Jesus said" simply demonstrates your lack of comprehension. No one is disputing what Jesus said.

Richard65 · M

It means everyone has the freedom to practice their particular religion and worship their particular God without suffering prejudice from the state or anyone else. As Christopher Hitchens once said, it's ironic that only a secular society can ensure freedom of religion, because a secular society will not favour any one particular religion over another.

The USA has been crippled, not by it's loss of Christian faith or because it has diluted the teachings of Christ, but precisely because of the opposite: it has fractured the separation of church and state and has allowed religious fundamentalism to infect its authority and evangelicalism to guide its politics.

JollyRoger · 70-79, M

@Richard65 What you say has substance: The lawmakers are not impartial.... they are imposing their collective will on specific law-abiding segments of society, namely racial segments, religious segments and cultural segments that differ from their preferences. Is this not unconstitutional?

Colonelmustardseed · 36-40

Freedom of religion means people can practice any religion they want (as long as they’re still within the law. Can’t do illegal things and then say it’s part of religion), and they won’t be persecuted by the law for it.
I do agree that Christianity is supposed to be about that actual personal relationship with the Lord and not a bunch of rules you have to follow (or else). But I didn’t understand that till recently. It’s not something that makes sense until it’s actually happening.

LadyGrace ·

@Colonelmustardseed yes, I found out too in my life, long ago, that there's nothing confining about Christianity or the Christian way of life. When you love the Lord, you want to do things for him, and salvation frees us from the consequences and condemnation of sin.

Colonelmustardseed · 36-40

@LadyGrace Exactly. Trying to keep all the laws and follow the rules is disheartening. But following the Lord leads to that anyway, except it’s no longer some impossible and oppressive-seeming task; it becomes natural and joyful.

SW-User

Freedom of religion means quite simply that the government allows the individual to choose for himself the place (church, mosque, temple, synagogue etc.) and manner or method of worship -- as opposed to having a state mandated religion.

ElwoodBlues · M

@SW-User Also means the gov't allows the individual to practice no religion at all.

SW-User

@ElwoodBlues Exactly. As in choice of place: nowhere (or in the home); Manner or method of worship: none or noyb. 🤓 I'm all for privacy.

This comment is hidden. Show Comment

badminton · 61-69, MVIP

Religion means what the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights states:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof"

That means in the U.S. you may any religion you want, or be an atheist, no religion is favored over any other religion, including atheism, and our public institutions such as schools are secular. The authors of our Constitution were wise to protect us from the evils of religious intolerance.

hartfire

To me it means the social and cultural freedom to believe in and follow any faith one chooses, including atheism or agnosticism, so long as it causes no harm to others.
For instance, a sect that required its disciples to commit suicide on mass, or commit public acts of terror or murder, should not be legally acceptable - and, as far as I know, it isn't.

Mistakesmakeus · M

It means i can freely be a pastafarian without you christians shoving your moral superiority over me because my religion "isn't real" and your god is apparently the "true god" which is a lie but ill respect your decision if you learn to respect my truth (which is the only truth)

chibs · 61-69, M

[quote]as long as we do not stray from the Truth[/quote]

[i]Your[/i] truth, I take it?

Thanks, but I'll opt for freedom [i]from[/i] religion any day.

View 3 more replies »

chibs · 61-69, M

@GodSpeed63 So the greatest probability is that you're wrong, yes?

GodSpeed63 · 61-69, M

@chibs [quote]So the greatest probability is that you're wrong, yes?[/quote]

Not where the Truth of God is concerned. His Holy Spirit dwells within me just like He can with you, if you'd let Him.

chibs · 61-69, M

@GodSpeed63 Your amended claim appears to be that nobody owns the truth except you, and unless somebody else says exactly what you're saying then they're automatically wrong.
Wow!

FullMetalFatPig

Freedom of religion is a fundamental human right.

It is the right of an individual (or community),
in a public place or privately,
to engage in or manifest,
religious belief or practice,
including changing one’s religious faith,
or having no religious belief whatsoever.

It does not mean that we can expect our faith, or lack thereof, to be respected, given privilege, not be criticized, and so on. It does not mean that we can expect to not encounter religious expression, hostile religious beliefs, anti religious beliefs.

As uncomfortable as that is, it is what makes religious life possible in a pluralistic society with many religions and lack thereof.

TheOneyouwerewarnedabout · 41-45, MVIP

dictators hate religion. because its a very large group of ppl that can be told how and who to vote for..

crack down on religion and gatherings.. you break up that voting block..

dontbekoi · 36-40, F

It means that no organization or person has the right to inflict their beliefs onto me. I was born with 'free will' and I intend to use it 😊

LadyGrace ·

@dontbekoi Jesus didn't look at it as inflicting His beliefs on people. Without his message, so many would have been lost spiritually and missed heaven. The great majority of people on Earth have heard of Jesus but do not know the teachings and do not know God personally. This is what evangelism is all about. After Jesus' mission was over on earth, he commissioned his disciples, both then and today, to spread the good news of Salvation through Jesus Christ. Jesus knew that many would not accept his gospel, but he said to tell people anyway like the missionaries do, so people could at least make an informed decision, and if they don't want to listen, then that was fine, but it doesn't hurt to listen and costs nothing.

ServantOfTheGoddess · 61-69, M

I think by "freedom of religion" most of us mean a political concept which is independent of any specific teachings. The idea is that everyone should be, at a minimum, free to hold any beliefs about ultimate reality and the purpose of life; and also to associate with other people who share their beliefs. It applies to the truth, whatever that is, and to falsehood as well.

deadteddy · 26-30, F

Being to practice your religion peacefully as long as it doesn’t violate human rights, such as the murdering of innocents, crimes against children, etc.

View 1 more replies »

deadteddy · 26-30, F

@GodSpeed63 There are crazy religious people from all religions and sects. But I know that’s a minority, most people mean well.

JollyRoger · 70-79, M

@GodSpeed63 I have come to the point in this conversation where I suspect that you are not seeking conversation but are simply 'trolling' to see how many arguments you can incite. The people who have interacted with you have expressed very open and respectful (to you) responses - some with great insights that have fully answered your question. I'll not be rude.... but ... let it go. You are a successful 'troll' but a nasty person.

GodSpeed63 · 61-69, M

@JollyRoger [quote]I have come to the point in this conversation where I suspect that you are not seeking conversation but are simply 'trolling' to see how many arguments you can incite. [/quote]

I'm not here to argue with anybody, just pitting the Truth of God against the lies of men. Is it wrong that I help people to think for themselves instead of what men are telling them to think?

Abstraction · 61-69, M

Freedom of religion is about respect. We respect atheists, buddhists, christians, muslims, different ideas, different cultures. The state doesn't tell us what to think. People aren't persecuted for having a different world view.

Basic. Human. Decency. Humility. Respect.

exchrist · 31-35

That is one intrrpretion of religious freedom. Mine is believe watever u want worship however u want as long ad it doesnt harm others its whatever. I personally wrote my own. The oath of human citizenship. One citizenry One workforce One country.

CorvusBlackthorne · M

To me, it means that one is free to practice whatever religion they choose, regardless of whether it offends arrogant jackanapes who cannot abide the concept of other religjons.

exchrist · 31-35

I specifically dont think being preached to, is religious freedom. read it or leave it thats it.

Crazywaterspring · 61-69, M

"Freedom of religion" doesn't mean anyone has an excuse to force me to abide by their religion.

whowasthatmaskedman · 70-79, M

Yep. We agree.. It also includes the freedom to wordship NO god..😷

DocSavage · M

It means you can believe what you want.

Graylight · 51-55, F

GodSpeed63 · 61-69, M

@Graylight So, go home, Graylight.

Graylight · 51-55, F

@GodSpeed63 Oh, I'm waiting for you to tell me where that is.

This comment is hidden. Show Comment

GodSpeed63 · 61-69, M

@LordShadowfire [quote]But hey, thanks for letting me know you think my religion isn't valid.[/quote]

It's not what I think that matters, it's what God says in His Word that does matter and I agree with His Word.

CorvusBlackthorne · M

@GodSpeed63 Have you been able to unearth evidence that the Bible is actually God's word?

GodSpeed63 · 61-69, M

@CorvusBlackthorne [quote]Have you been able to unearth evidence that the Bible is actually God's word?[/quote]

Go to the empty tomb where they laid Jesus.

Add a comment...