What were you drawn to whenever you gave up your former religion?

Question

If it applies that is...

Mine is Zen. Don't know why, just is... I guess there's more to developing your full human potential that appeals to me.

What happens in my life is generally up to me, external circumstances aside.

Answer 1

realness...the truth, common sense...

Answer 2

Nothing. I was drawn to nothing. I was, however, repulsed by a lack of logic and rationality in several areas. I rejected first Southern Baptists, which is how I was raised, then gradually more and more denominations, then all of Christianity and Islam and all others because I found so much that just didn't make sense to me. Too much that was irrational, illogical and contradictory. I developed, or at least was well on my way to developing my own proofs and school of thought on why there was no God or true religion. There was something positive, something that attracted me to each and every religion but it was always far, far from being enough to even start to overcome the disdain I felt over the illogical.

Then I ran into the Baha'i Faith. Fifteen years of trying to disprove it, of trying to find even the first minor inconsistency and utter failing to do so left me with not much choice. And attraction? I very early felt an attraction to it. Very early my heart was drawn to it, but I ignored that attraction. Simply being attracted to it was far from enough. It has to make sense or it will not be for me. There were many others I felt an attraction to and while this time it was admittedly stronger, that alone was never enough. Not by a long shot.

You mention Zen appeals to you because of the focus on developing your full human potential. I agree with you that is a positive. There is something in every religion that is positive. But I guess that is why I am a Baha'i today. It is as though the Baha'i Faith has taken the very best of everything, atheism included, and put it all together in a way that makes a very beautiful picture or beautiful piece of art and has cleaned and polished it and made it something very precious indeed. You take anything positive from any religion or system of belief and the Baha'i Faith says it better or addresses it more clearly or has a better and much more effective way of accomplishing it, in my view, developing your full human potential included.

I am a Baha'i because it was and is far more rational, logical and profound than anything I had ever dreamed possible, but in addition there is the icing on the cake. One of my first "Best" answers, and one that was picked by the asker was, "What kind of religious customer are you?" I started it out by saying this, "Picky. Very, very picky." Toward the end of that answer I made this observation and asked the rhetorical question, "Eminently satisfying on an intellectual, moral, spiritual and social level. Is there anything left to be desired?"

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The Jews await the Messiah, the Christians the return of Christ, the Moslems the Mahdi, the Buddhists the fifth Buddha, the Zoroastrians Shah Bahram, the Hindus the reincarnation of Krishna, and the Atheists - a better social organization! Baha'u'llah represents all these, and thus destroys the rivalries and the enmities of the different religions; reconciles them in their primitive purity, and frees them from the corruption of dogmas and rites.

(Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v1, p. vii)

Answer 3

It just felt as if it should have been there all along

I agree with it and practice it and it has helped me for the better in my view.

Answer 4

I was drawn the aspects of Heathenry that it taught us to stand up and be proud, not ashamed, of who we are.  That it was not a pacifist's religion.  A tradition built on strength, and acknowledges the struggle to survive in animals is present in us.  Not to turn away from our instincts, but to give in to them.  That "purity" as other religions have it, to us, simply means "empty."  That passion, and all passionate emotion, ALL of them, and our instincts, make up part of who we are as a WHOLE.  We don't eschew them, but give in to them, passionately, wholeheartedly and explore them with a zeal that cannot be expressed by mere words.

Answer 5

I have no former religion.  The Zen thing did appeal to me for awhile, but it turns out I am far too high strung for it.  

Answer 6

You could change your question to "let's bash Christians with what we think they're lacking" and get some of the same responses.  Not to mention this question has been asked dozens of times.

Answer 7

Common sense and logic :P

Answer 8

I was just tired of not knowing what exactly salvation was, the lack of God in services (never outwordly praising Jesus) , wondering if it was really right to live whatever way I wanted and still be told Im going to Heaven as long as I confess my sins to a priest.

Just too many questions....

Thankfully, I have found a church with truth!

Answer 9

The truth, and answers based on facts helped a lot.

Interesting that more people believe in ghosts than in God, so there must be something in that.