RELIGIOUS TYPES
Another matter, is who is Catholic, Protestant, agnostic, etc. Example: Someone believe of a pantheist god, and after his death, he will be reincarnated… and he believe that he is Catholic… It is evident that a Muslim would be more near to be ‘Catholic’in this case. Because of this, we could create the next religious types (generalizing always):
Atheist
It is logic; who doesn´t believe in god, life after death, in Bible, etc.Someone practice zen or transcendental meditation or yoga, etc., without contradiction. The rejection to God many times comes by emotional motives: the haughtiness produces that persons think they are better than others, and the final step of this process is the psichological elimination of whichever superior personality, in this case God (as in fact they would worship to themselves)… The Bible and certain experiences, testify it. [New Window].
Deist
As he/she isn’t very much attracted for the religion (religion = moral obligations and dogmatism), and there isn’t a real faith, this typology believes in a non Christian divinity: pantheism, “cosmic forces”, etc.; but this “god” cannot reincarnate, or resuscitate… Is an impersonal god, like a machine, that does not intervene never. This is a good solution if somebody wants explanations, and do not depend on religious systems. The religion is converted in a cultural fact more than an spiritual one, and in fact, deism is a shape of atheism respect to the majoritary religions.
Agnostic
God or devils, spirits, hell or heaven, DEATH… these are words that does not want to deal this type (Remember: every time generalizing). Because of their fear, they don´t believe, but at the same time, they cannot believe because they are not inclined to think about it.
Christian deist
The same, but they rely God with Jesus and the Bible. They are a product of the inertia of centuries of Christianity and this secular society. Religion is more a cultural fact than an spiritual one.
New Age
One religion per person; but everybody believe in: god – cosmic force – pantheism, reincarnation, karma (a fashion of moral more lax), avatars (Buddha, Jesus, and others). In definitive it is, really, a neognosi. The advantages provided by the system karma-reincarnation are perfectly exposed in the Humphreys’ The Search Within (London, 1977); he summarizes so: “Karma applied destroys: 1. Any need for the concept of a Personal yet Almighty God. 2. The search for authority of any kind, least of all that of a Saviour who is in all things the supreme and unquestionable Authority…. Karma applied creates: 1. The complete acceptance of all conditions and events. ‘It’s ALL RIGHT’. 2. The ability to stand on our own feet at all times. 3. Unlimited strength of purpose and hence the power to achieve in time awareness of Enlghtenment” About how much people would reject that God himself allows to them their misfortunes by alluding to other “natural” laws,was already noticed fifteen centuries ago: “Nothwithstanding, it is not rare that many men wish that their misfortunes would not come by divine judgement but by the existence of a vane superstition, precisely those that to hide their wrong acts and evils, say that the authority from Heaven uses the stars and that only the uncertainity of our destiny leads us along the need to sin; and they say that their evil acts don’t come by the perversion of their hearts, but that depend on stars, being there the source of their sins.” [Pope Gelasius, 492-496].
Neodoukhobors
The Doukhobors or Dukhobors are the sect more close at the actual belief of many persons about the system reincarnation – karma, included it in the traditional Christian belief. The doukhobors are Christians of Russian origin (= Orthodoxy) but including: rejection at the Church, reincarnation, iconoclastia, pacifism, human nature of Jesus, and they put in doubt the Bible. The majority of neodoukhobors should take these new beliefs from the TV or mass media (and this doesn´t speak very well of them); and for them, it is a good pseudo religion: Without the horrible hell for sinners, and the karma, that is more permissive in certain sins, they can do all if they don´t disturb… and the hell is at 180 degrees of the hedonists. For the neodoukhobors, I recommend to read some about the cryptomnesia (False Memory Syndrome); or to know the fact that by 1100 reincarnated Hindu children interviewed, in the 99.7 % of the cases, their families knew previously the family of the supposed kid’s last life, and EVERY TIME WERE OF A CAST MORE HIGH… or when the hypnologist ask to subjects in trance about their future, the patients answer the future that they wish, but not the real future. The Bible has an answer also: [New window].
Pseudoatheist
Estrange typology: he/she beliefs in a life after dead but not in any god (?!?). It is not very ordinary but it appears in some European countries. Type “smart” but no much consequent. Many of them are really agnostic.
Pseudochristian
With the majority of the Christian beliefs, but not at all (no Trinity, or no Hell, or no Sins… ). They are a product of the modern secularization: erosion of beliefs. They reject mainly the punitive side of the Christianity.
Christian (Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant)
This type is the main and traditional Christianity. Nowadays, they act pusillanimously: there is not courage to speak about their beliefs and moral values… Three subtypes: the liberals and the moderates or pragmatics (if someone believe that Jesus wasn’t conservative, please, read it: [New window]; the others are the Christian Right, and among this subtype, the fundamentalists whom believe in a literal Bible (I recommend read the next excerpts from the Bible: [New window]… all isn’t literal, but metaphoric sometimes).
Syncretic
(quoted: Christo-pagans): Two types, the Indo-American and the Afro-American. With some times with the same Christian beliefs, and other times only Christian in appearance; everybody worship and give gifts to the gods – spirits -yorubas – devils – loas – santitos. Is Christian who worship Yahweh and Xangó, or Viracocha, or other gods ? No: it is a new form of politheism; Christianity rejects worship of other gods. Majority among the indians of Guatemala, Mexico,Peru, etc.; and among Haitians, Brazilians, etc.
Some notes
About the Orthodox Church, it isn’t really an united or unified Church as could seem, moreover we must consider that each state has an independent Orthodox Church with some nominal ties with the Patriarch of Constantinople: the real situation of these Orthodox Churches is more like the relation between the Anglican Church and the Catholic Church. And about the Protestant Churches, there is not enough space to include all the 2000 ramifications – only when specified branches as “Methodists” are mentioned, it doesn’t mean that it is one church but quite independent churches with the same spiritual orientations -. Otherwise, if nothing changes, we will see many Old Protestant Churches agonizing in this century (Lutheranism, Anglicanism, etc.): In North Europe these congregations have not much real believers and practicings, as the reader can verify.