It depends on what you mean by “Jesus.” A god who came to earth and rose again? I would question why you would believe that if you’re not spiritual. But a Jesus who hand an interesting take on Judaism, flirted with messianic ideologies, and who apparently impacted someone who would eventually deify him, well, we’re pretty sure that guy existed, we just don’t know much about him.

As to sin, well, that would depend upon the creation story, which is incompatible with what we know about earth’s evolution. And here I would ask, “Why do you need sin?” We all ask the bigger questions about “right and wrong,” but at our everyday level, we know to “do no harm.”

God, heaven, afterlife... it all depends on how you define them. Do you do so against the backdrop of Christianity? That would put you back in the religious camp. But to consider the bigger questions, and use the term “god,” “heaven,” all that, as long as you’re not using those terms to bring harm, I see nothing wrong with it.

Morons

Where exactly are you finding these extremely weird/confused people?

As we are not born religious-we are taught the precepts.
And like a journey, one isn't there in 1 step. Individuals
are all differently affected to different depths/the same with
free thought. First you loose the building(affirmation of beliefs); then you clarify some facts - one way or the other.
People should NOT fear knowledge, so by learning about
religion and over time getting more understanding of how it
effected ourselves,we remove it's impact. I didn't have a choice in my early years- when I did ,I acted upon it.
And I still am.,,,good post
Thanks

There are lots of non-denominational Christians out there. A lot of them perhaps, have had unpleasant experiences with the traditional churches?

A lot of people are believers but don't go to church or practice religious customs .

It's like xmas and Santa Claus Ishtar bunny xians.....fun to give presents BUT NOT EAT CANDY EGGS laid on dogshit lawns by boy bunnies.....same with astrology....cocktail party Atheists want their gawdless cake and pretend they are going to heaven with Capricorn jeebush geehobah ghostholes....Woody Allen said : " gawd, ? I am the loyal opposition" and " gawd, he is an under achiever "

I thought I rejected all forms of magical thinking at the age of 15 but I caught myself at the age of 45 thinking that good or bad luck was a thing. I didn't believe in talismans or black cats or broken mirrors. I just thought that luck was something like a force of the universe. That it affected my life in ways. I wonder if today, at sixty, I still have something of that sort that I'm not aware of. Looking back, as innocuous as it seems, believing in luck was somewhat limiting. Realizing that made me more vigilant towards myself and others. I'm a physics enthusiast and, since I'm an amateur, I have to rely on the experts when I read about it. I'm constantly on the lookout for biases. Obviously we all have them, the best scientists have them too. I'm ok with those arising from different interpretation of evidence. I'm not ok with those having to do with our inherently superstitious human nature.

I would say that’s more being spiritual. I know a few people that say they believe in a higher power but not what they preach in church

I find it difficult to understand them. I have a good friend who talks about sin and is a 12 stepper who really believes that god is the 'higher power'. I've confronted him about it and he says it's entirely possible to believe in god and not be religious. I disagree with him.

Well I believe some people aren't religious. But they believe in god or whatever. I think those people are alike agnostics. But they believe in god out of fear. Cause being an atheist can be scary

It sounds feasible to me that some people may feel that human organized religion is BS but they still want to believe there is something superior somewhere somehow

Weird! Its a contradiction in terms -- I can get the one about maybe a guy called Jesus lived -not about him having been the son of god unless its a metaphor; The origin of the word sin comes from ,sine, meaning without love, so that one might have legs -Don't think heaven is real.

No I definitely don't think you can believe and not be religious

There have been times when religion was thought to be an affliction of some sort. Someone who was called "religious" was someone who ranted and raved and never shut up about Jesus. This viewpoint was held by people who generally believed in God, but weren't religious about it. Hence, you might overhear a conversation along these lines:

"What happened to Fred? How come he doesn't come drinking with the rest of us anymore?"

"Oh, Fred got religion, and he hasn't been the same since."

"Poor fella. I hope he recovers soon."

"Amen to that."

So, in that sense, I think there are lots of believers who are not religious.

I’m an alcoholic but I only drink beer so it’s fine, right?

I suspect that this condition is no different from, say, evangelical christianity where the individual has dillusions about what the 'faith' tells them and a huge diversion when it comes to their actual activities in daily life.

Excellent question. I was raised a Christian but after talking with many different denominations have concluded, finite man can not understand infinite. Religion is history but written by the victors. Rational, logical science with replicated, peer reviewed experimentation is an obvious choice. But, we are still ignorant to so much therefore God is still not disproven. 8)

There is still lots to learn and unlearn.

well I guess you can if you are a bit 'throughother' and arent getting a lot of the art of logic in your life. But I guess it isnt worth talking serioulsy with someone who believes two contradictory things at the same time -( Like the mad hatter in Alice in Wonderland.)

People just say that so they don't offend anyone

What? Where?

Liars?

Either way they are crazy as cut snakes.

I dated a woman who called herself Christian, but never went to church. She felt she had read the Bible and in her mind, understood the message much better than any of the preachers and biblical historians and others who have studied it for centuries before. So she did not participate in religion as such, while still believing the tenets.

Too me religion is a construct created by people for control. Now control like all things has a wide expanse of intent and result. Not all bad. Humans need controls to exist in a healthy way. Automatic controls like breathing, metabolism etc. Voluntary controls like not attacking people, social mores to allow for positive interactions and protection for the least among us. Too me religion has two sides; community and exclusion. The first is good but the second that is were it all goes wrong. Humans need contrast to find meaning and the most vile form of contrast is the various ways we alter our perception of other humans as non or less then human. Right now in America many of us have chosen to do this in relation to immigrants from various Central American nations. Some use religion as a justification, other Nationalism. Can you believe in a God, Jesus, Buddah, Allah and not be religious? For me the more accurate question is can you believe in such things and not require others to share your belief? I think yes. Many ground level believers use it as a personal way to find meaning in a world that for the most part does not care about them. Religion requires a community of like minded people. Belief can and is quite often personal and exclusive to a person. Interestingly I have encountered what to me is the same level of contempt from both the religious and the anti-religious in relation to a singular believer. One insists their belief trumps yours, the other insists their reality does the same. Both I feel are wrong. Too me the real question is the result of ones belief. If you use it too inflict pain and seek control over others for personal gain then I think that is wrong. If you use it to construct a mental state to deal in a positive way with the world and ones self then I think it can be positive. A woman asked me if I believed in God and I replied, Who's? At the end of the day what you do matters. Why you do it is quite often very personal and if its based on belief in a God/Goddess etc. more power to you if you act with reason, thought and care and accomplish positive things. Saying you cannot believe without being dogmatic is like saying you cannot be proud of ones Nation without being a fascist or rabid Nationalist. Or you cannot take pride in ones heritage without being racist.