[NF] NFs and religion

[Noel]

* Are you an NF?
* Are you religious/spiritual?
* Do you have supernatural/paranormal beliefs?
* Why do you have these beliefs, or why do you lack them?

Yes.
Religious? No. Spiritual? Yes, in a Leaves of Grass sense.
Supernatural/paranormal beliefs? Nah.
Pertains to my values.

 

[MJ_]

* Are you an NF?
* Are you religious/spiritual?
* Do you have supernatural/paranormal beliefs?
* Why do you have these beliefs, or why do you lack them?

Yes.
Somewhat spiritual. I believe there is some divine force out there (deity/spirit whatever), and there is some worth and greater truth to be found in some religious texts. I'm not religious.

Though this may seem cynical, I suspect that any divine message sent to us will be likely corrupted by someone greedy/controlling/power hungry. With various permutations on various power hungry people making up/co-opting movements as they go along.

why: Some ideas I find inspired are probably just reflections of my own values. Some fit very well into my personal view of the world :"just stop hurting each other already, people."

 

[chippinchunk]

I'm not very religous. I really don't feel strongly for it. I mean, I do believe in God and I am a bit into the supernatural .....Okay, really I am not into church. I hate church, I can't stand it. I guess that's my thoughts on religon...wow. I dont make sense, sorry.

 

[Eileen]

Sometimes I question it, but I'm mostly sure I'm an INFP. Religion is more a set of rules based on a teaching of faith; I believe in the teaching and the faith itself. I'm Lutheran grown with a slight liberal swing; I believe in having the Holy Spirit bringing the masses to God wrather than cramming man enforced rules down their throats to save them. The teachings speak to me, even He speaks to me; and I He accepts me for who I am with out having to call me gay to feel comfortable about my personality.

sorry, off topic...

I'm Lutheran-grown too (now EpiscoCatholic with a major liberal swing). In my experience, there are some things about growing up Lutheran that become really, really ingrained and important to one's worldview... such as the concept that we live in a world where there's this thing called grace and it somehow saves what needs saving.

I have a lot of trouble believing in God these days, but the grace thing--that hasn't gone away. Isn't that strange?

 

[cafe]

sorry, off topic...

I'm Lutheran-grown too (now EpiscoCatholic with a major liberal swing). In my experience, there are some things about growing up Lutheran that become really, really ingrained and important to one's worldview... such as the concept that we live in a world where there's this thing called grace and it somehow saves what needs saving.

I have a lot of trouble believing in God these days, but the grace thing--that hasn't gone away. Isn't that strange?

We have thought about trying out a Lutheran church. My impression is that they are good about teaching solid Christian doctrine without being all right-wing about stuff. That sounds nice.

 

[Eileen]

We have thought about trying out a Lutheran church. My impression is that they are good about teaching solid Christian doctrine without being all right-wing about stuff. That sounds nice.

You know, you might really like it a lot. The ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) is pretty good, but stay away from the Missouri and Wisconsin synods--they're on the right-wing fundie side (I grew up in the Missouri synod). I like Lutheran worship and yeah, I'd say that the teaching at Lutheran churches is pretty darn solid. (I'd be glad to PM with you about this, Heather, if we don't want to take this topic too far off track).

 

[GZA]

• Are you an NF? Yep
• Are you religious/spiritual? I guess i'm spiritual in a sense, but not religious
• Do you have supernatural/paranormal beliefs? Nope, other than the beleif in how the world will always come together in amazing coincidental ways.
• Why do you have these beliefs, or why do you lack them? I don't know...

 

[runvardh]

sorry, off topic...

I'm Lutheran-grown too (now EpiscoCatholic with a major liberal swing). In my experience, there are some things about growing up Lutheran that become really, really ingrained and important to one's worldview... such as the concept that we live in a world where there's this thing called grace and it somehow saves what needs saving.

I have a lot of trouble believing in God these days, but the grace thing--that hasn't gone away. Isn't that strange?

No, it's a comfort thing. It also makes sense to me so that helps out a lot too. LCC up here.

 

[Kiddo]

[*]Are you an NF?

Yup.

[*]Are you religious/spiritual?

I am spiritual, but not religious. Religion is blind conviction and it just doesn't make sense. I prefer to let my spirit help me choose between right and wrong rather than some book written by pious old men claiming to be channeling the teachings of God. I base my spiritual beliefs on what I have observed and discovered over the course of my life.

[*]Do you have supernatural/paranormal beliefs?

Depends by what you mean by supernatural. I can feel God, my spirit, and the spirit of others. Would those be considered supernatural? I can feel them because of how I have integrated everything I have learned and the realizations of the perfect connection and unity of the universe.

[*]Why do you have these beliefs, or why do you lack them?

I've always had a special connection to the natural world. You don't have to study biology or ecology to notice the intricate connections in life. You can expand that view of the world to anything and see all the patterns of how we are ultimately unified. In my beliefs, that is the most humanly conceivable form of God there is. Our spirits are the parts of us that bind us to one another and God.

 

[wolfmaiden14]

You can expand that view of the world to anything and see all the patterns of how we are ultimately unified. In my beliefs, that is the most humanly conceivable form of God there is. Our spirits are the parts of us that bind us to one another and God.

I really like how you said that!

 

[CzeCze]

• Are you an NF?
• Are you religious/spiritual?
• Do you have supernatural/paranormal beliefs?
• Why do you have these beliefs, or why do you lack them?

1) Yes! ENFP and proud!

2) Spiritual yes! I struggle with 'religious' because I am anarchist in this way -- I am strongly suspicious of organized religion and think religious INSTITUTIONS are inherently flawed and become corrupt, thereby corrupting followers and the actual teachings and guidance of God. There is a fine line between spirituality and religion which in itself is not a problem. However, I think too often people confuse their spirituality and connections to god/a higher power, the universe, other people with adherence to man-made dogma and conformity to a group. People end up worshipping the church and forget about worshipping god or listenign to themselves.

The foul things that church leadership are allowed to do and get away with and the apathy of followers because of this man-made institution -- I abhor it. God/the universe and your basic morality do not want you to violate children, violate parishoners, violate other humans. This is not a sweeping statement applied equally to all types of organized religion...but yes I am wary. On the flip side I think religion can be a powerfully transformative force for better in society -- for the good -- but generally this is also when 'the church' is more of a movement than an institution (did you see how the Vatican is trying to curb activist Latin American churches?)

3) I'm open-minded. I believe there are things that are currently unexplaineable. Perhaps science will one day be able to explain it. Perhaps not. I'm an open-minded skeptic. I think true skeptics are kinda stick in the muds. Basically, I'm not a total sucker. Also, I tried to make myself psychic when I was a kid and would lament that I could not see ghosts. Now I AM SO GLAD I have ABSOLUTELY NO paranormal gifts. I like my sanity.

4) It's my nutty ENFPness. I have always felt a piece of a bigger picture or puzzle. I have always felt connected to the universe, to a higher power, to a sense of karmic morality that nudges me very strongly. I feel the energy of other people and the world. I feel I have a purpose (though specifically I'm not sure what yet...) This is also sometimes why I get very tired and need to disengage for a while (textbook ENFP I guess...?)

I don't understand apathetic people. I have never been a disaffected teenager. Life is awesome! We have a purpose! I don't need anything proven scientifically or mathematically to believe it. I guess I have that 'anything is possible' mentality. My spirituality is very much tied into my sense of purpose in the world and my belief in compassion and justice. I think we're supposed to right wrongs and overcome human shortcoming and failings and evil deeds and ignorance and apathy and transcend the baseness and pitfalls of our existence. And I think God actually wants us live with joy and love and help others live with joy and love. God doesn't have 'old-fashioned rules' for us, we're supposed to have good clean fun. I also feel that more than a theory or a big white man in the sky, god/a higher power breathes and is a part of this universe and can be channeled and actualized and speak through and to all of us.

Does this sound corny?

Are you gonna make me paranoid and make me erase this tomorrow?? Because I'm getting tired of typing all this stuff just to have to erase it!!

 

[Sandy]

I'm a grateful child of GOD...

.

 

[cascadeco]

This has probably already been discussed, but the NTs' thread made me curious, sooo ...

• Are you an NF?
• Are you religious/spiritual?
• Do you have supernatural/paranormal beliefs?
• Why do you have these beliefs, or why do you lack them?

NF - Yes
Religious - No
Spiritual - this is a loose word, I think it means different things to different people.
Supernatural/paranormal beliefs - eh...not really
Why do I hold my beliefs? After being raised in a Lutheran household, and then being rather a fundamentalist for a few yrs, I took a step back and started from scratch, to delve into what I *really* believed, and why - rather than being spoon-fed beliefs from other people. About two years-worth of reading all sorts of things -history, science, philosophy, The Bible, buddhist stuff....and writing down 70+ pages of my own thoughts, and by the end of all of it, I realized I have no use for religion, or any belief in any of the religions on this planet. But to describe why I feel this way, I'd need to paste 70+ pages into this thread.

 

[Tigerlily]

* Are you an NF? INfJ
* Are you religious/spiritual? Somewhat. (nice dodge eh? )
* Do you have supernatural/paranormal beliefs? I don't, but that's not to say the paranormal doesn't exist. I do think I have keen sixth sense from time to time.
* Why do you have these beliefs, or why do you lack them? I lack them because it would scare the crap out of me to witness such activity.

My Grandmother would kid around with me sometimes by saying "If you do such and such I will come back as a Ghost and haunt you!" lol. I miss her terribly, but if I woke some morning to find her sitting on the foot of my bed I would surely have a heart attack!

 

[Totenkindly]

Neat thread, thank y'all for sharing. I like getting to see where everyone is coming from.

(... i know i am party-crashing here, but i align pretty closely with eileen's experiences...especially when she says things like "I don't have necessarily supernatural beliefs, though, because I find that I can't intellectually commit to them. So I commit to the stories as valuable.... I yearn for the God that might as well be there, but that probably isn't literally there" and "we live in a world where there's this thing called grace and it somehow saves what needs saving. I have a lot of trouble believing in God these days, but the grace thing--that hasn't gone away. Isn't that strange?")

 

[runvardh]

THEN... one day, I started reading the Bible and ferverently praying day and night... and I ASKED GOD to talk to me; I wanted Him to communicate with me, and HE DID! Not by actually talking to me out loud, but at that time, He mostly communicated with me through my dreams (I have NEVER had dreams like these before). Then I asked Him to guide me and take over my life -- I started to really trust in Him, and unbelievably, in a short period of time, there were some astonishing signs throughout this period (doors opened up, people came into my life, realization of my life purpose, unimaginable peace and joy, etc) that lead me to where I am now.

Even though this WHOLE experience has been a lifelong trial-and-error process, this recent experience (of truly trusting Him) has changed my entire life; I am not the same person that I was even 4-years ago. Even when I was so angry at Him for all that I had to go through, all the hard lessons of my life finally made sense -- there were REASONS why I went through all that I did. My experiences has made me a humble servant, and I am SO thankful to Him!

I'm sorry this is so long![/COLOR]

This part especially speaks to me. I started doing this as well a year ago and in the last two weeks things are really looking more positive and the ball is really moving. Still waiting on some parts of my calling and a girl in my life, but I'm getting a feeling those will be on their way soon enough.

 

[Atomic Fiend]

• Are you an NF?
  Yes
• Are you religious/spiritual?
  I believe in a higher power, and since God is the name I tie to it, I believe in God.
• Do you have supernatural/paranormal beliefs?
  None.
• Why do you have these beliefs, or why do you lack them?

My moms very religious, sent me to Christian Schools, Church and things of the such, I eventually got sick of spending every waking spending time learning about God and her believing it was a unforgivable sin not to want to go to every last event the church host. So after much debate I broke away from being blindly devout, to doing what I wanted to do. There were somethings that made sense and some that didn't, and I eventually unlearned something that I've been taught my whole life, not to take the Bible so damn literally. So I believe the Bible is symbolism in it's purest form.

 

[helen]

This has probably already been discussed, but the NTs' thread made me curious, sooo ...

• Are you an NF?
• Are you religious/spiritual?
• Do you have supernatural/paranormal beliefs?
• Why do you have these beliefs, or why do you lack them?

How about you?

1. Yep, I'm an INFJ.

2. Yes, both. According to my understanding, spirituality is personal refers to an individual and their relation to God, religion is public and communal and includes participation in rituals (for instance baptism, the Lord's Supper, reciting creeds, etc) acceptance of the validity of the symbols of a particular religious group, and worship with other believers. I feel a person needs both, although I agree heartily that religion without true spirituality can be turn nasty quickly and is idolatrous. (I'm defining idolatrous the way Tillich does in "The Dynamics of Faith" : considering something of ultimate concern that is not truly ultimate.) On the other hand, I believe spirituality without religion lacking in the focus and concreteness that I need and that I believe is a universal human need. And I think it's a universal human need because God created us that way.

Um. I could keep going on about this but it might get rather long and I'm trying to stay on topic.

3. I believe in God, that He changes lives and causes miracles, and that there are angels. I'm an open skeptic on such matters as ghosts, demons, and aliens. The quote (hope I'm getting this right) "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, believe me than in all your philosphies." strikes a chord with me.

4. Ah, that is a rather big question and I could spend hours on it. When you believe in something deeply, practically everything seems to support it. I think the evidence for the resurrection of Christ is good. Maybe not proven beyond any reasonable doubt, but coupled with a host of other things that prompt me to a belief in God and Christianity, good enough for me to believe in it. Belief in the truth of His message is a natural step from there.

 

[OctaviaCaesar]

I am an INFJ, a devout Catholic, I believe in God, Angels and Demons, souls and I believe these things because it makes sense to me that the world has an all-good Creator, that evil came by a being in opposition to that Creator, etc., etc., as the Cathechism explains it.
It is not easy to do exactly as the Church lays out in its rules, but I believe that by living out what I believe I am true to my ideals and standards, and that is the only way I can be a good "advertisement" for Christianity.

 

[Sandy]

Aww... this makes me happy!

This part especially speaks to me. I started doing this as well a year ago and in the last two weeks things are really looking more positive and the ball is really moving. Still waiting on some parts of my calling and a girl in my life, but I'm getting a feeling those will be on their way soon enough.

I have fallen in love; I have given birth to 2 children; I have seen some of the most beautiful things in the world... but in all of my life experiences, the most astonishing thing I have ever witnessed is my communications with the Lord.