One Spirit United Interfaith Fellowship---Our Beliefs

As you read, you will undoubtedly come across some statements with which you disagree,
either strongly, or on a "hmmmm......I'm not so sure about that" level. That's okay! In fact,
that's the whole idea! Furthermore, as the founder of OSU, and author of this site, there are
some beliefs written here that are absolute truths TO ME, and others that are really just
theories that make sense to me, but that I am taking a "wait and see" stance on. That's as
honest as it gets.

This church was born out of frustration in my own search for a spiritual "home"---frustration
that every pre-existing label put on a certain set of beliefs only seemed to fit my personal
beliefs up to a certain point. Hopefully, even if you don't agree with all the beliefs of this
church, you will feel comfortable enough here to explore you own beliefs, questions, and
doubts, and share them with other members of the community in a supportive way. Maybe
we can all learn something.... (or not---Either way, it's all part of being human.)

We believe that there exists no "perfect word of God" Every "Holy" Book, although possibly inspired in part by God, was
written, rewritten, translated, interpreted, and "taught" to us by human beings----wonderful, unique, imperfect human
beings, each with his own experiences, biases, feelings, and agendas through which to "filter" their "Divine Inspiration." Our
question is: What makes us believe that God spoke to "them" any more or with any more veracity than God speaks to any
of us? Do we have that little faith in our own ability to discern right from wrong?

We believe that we are all connected via a Divine (or Cosmic) Intelligence. Call it God, call it the Great Spirit, call it the
Over-Soul, call it the Universe, The Cosmos, The Collective Unconscious, call it Life Force, Positive Energy---call it what
you wish. How does The Divine make sense to you, personally? As a being? a force? as sentient? as insentient? as one?
as many? Each person sees The Divine as he or she needs to. We believe it's all semantics, anyway.

We believe that Jesus Christ, Mohammed, Buddha, Krishna, and countless other spiritual leaders and teachers may have
been more tapped into this Divine Consciousness than the average seeker, and that there is value to be gleaned from all
of the "holy" books, as long as one reads with an open mind. However, we further believe that many of the sayings of these
teachers, and perhaps even the Divine Inspiration given to them originally has been corrupted by faulty and sometimes
insidious human thinking and motives.

We believe in what makes sense to us, rationally AND spiritually, and do not believe the two are mutually exclusive.
Conversely, we DO NOT believe in what doesn't make sense to us rationally and/or spiritually, regardless of what anyone
else may tell us.

We believe that miracles do occur, thought not through a God removed from us, watching and choosing which people to
help and which people not to help.....but through human beings who have discovered their own spiritual power from the
great Life Force/Energy/Spirit within. In other words, GOD IN US makes miracles happen.

We do not believe in the concepts of "Heaven/Paradise" or "Hell/Damnation", or even "Sin" as defined by the Abrahamic
religions. However, we do believe the eternal life of the spirit, and that each individual alone determines the course of that
eternal life for him or her self.

We believe that it is the search for truth, and not the answers, that give life its meaning, and that is the ultimate in
arrogance to believe that we as human beings can ever know the one and only universal truth.

We believe that everything ever written, thought, or said aloud by human beings is fallible, including our own beliefs,
thoughts, and writings; and we strive to always remain open to new and different ideas from our own.

We believe in "Natural Morality". We believe that human beings innately know right from wrong. If it hurts us or others, then
it's wrong. We also believe that we are meant to make mistakes---that they are an integral part of growing, learning, and
seeking the truth. Only when someone infringes upon the rights of another who is unable to defend him or herself is it
society's job to step in and protect the innocent.

We believe the only thing incumbent upon us as members of the human race is to do our best to follow the one natural
spiritual law from which all others come: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.", AKA "Love thy neighbor as
thy self."

We believe that the essence of each human being is spirit, and that spirit is by nature eternal (just like energy ;-), and a
part of God. Therefore, no person need look outside of him/herself to find God.

We believe that many (if not most) of the differences between all rational belief systems are purely semantics, and that the
arguments that go on about the infinitessimal and inconsequential subtleties in meanings and perceptions are nothing short
of laughable, and partially responsible for the clinging of the public-at-large to "revealed" religions.

We believe that blind unquestioning faith can be not only foolish, but dangerous. Notice the word "blind"? This means that
your faith is based solely on something you were told (or something you read), not something you experience, intuit, or
deduce through your own reasoning.

We do not see God as having human (or human-like) form or gender, but more as pure spirit (or energy, or life-force {insert
your own term here}). We do not see God as being possessive of human traits or emotions such as jealousy, wrath, etc.
However, we do believe that human beings universally share the "Godly" traits of love, innate knowledge, and innate
goodness, tempered by another Godly trait---free will.

We believe that fairytales and mythology are fine, but are just that---and should not be the basis for religious or spiritual
beliefs. Such things can be useful teaching tools, as were the parables told by Jesus, and by many prophets. However, like
statistics, they can be manipulated and interpreted in so many different ways, taken out of context, and generally twisted until
they bear no resemblance to their originally intended meaning. They can also be quite dangerous when used to bend the
minds of the people to the wills of dangerous men.