Afiya27, 47

I'm uniquely non-theistic/agnostic I was raised in a basically non-theistic community of caring adults who taught me to always think outside the box. In following this advice, I've traveled (as an adult) a spiritual path that started in Christianity, passed through membership in the Bahai Faith, imbibed in Buddhist philosophy (Four Noble Truths as a mechanism explaining the basic human condition), and has landed upon Unitarian Universalism. IMHO, I've been most impacted by my Buddhist experiences. The Buddha was a non-theist in that he held that discussion as to whether there is an infinite God/Creator was irrelevant to the practical everyday work of helping/striving to alleviate suffering within oneself/others. I agree. In fact, I think the ultimate calling card of a sound person is the degree to which they can show compassion to others. Period. Theistic belief doesn't always/necessarily guarantee this. Nor does an atheistic stance. This can only be determined on a person by person basis. IMHO, life is about cultivating compassion. Hence, when religionists are annoying/troubling me, I try to learn enough to be able to frame the original intent of their faiths as attempts to get a critical mass of society to follow the path of compassion. In this sense, the degree to which religious (or non) adherents manage this is my rule of thumb in evaluating the fruit of their way of believing. Thus, I have no core issues with Theism carte blanche. I just prefer to hang more on the non-theistic (i.e. agnostic in Western terms I guess) end of things to keep the balance. IOW, I see myself as 'spiritually bilingual'. Assuming the TRUE 'God' is code for DEEP Profound Compassionate Love, I have no issues with it. Unfortunately, most religionists aren't encouraged to think on such a mystical level. And the destructiveness of their literalism is admittedly disturbing. Nonetheless, I refuse to completely close my mind to the Theistic path. If this resonates with you, I'd love to talk!