Can someone give me some advice on this?
I dreamed last night about being in a Christian religion, one that specifically believes that Jesus was our lord and savior. I am Unitarian, and loosely believe in God, but don't really believe that thing about Jesus anymore.
Does this mean, though, that I still believe in Christianity? Or was it just some random dream?
I had a dream once that was filled with Christian imagery, despite me being pagan and believing in a totally different religion. I was never actually Christian and didn't know much about it, so it wouldn't be accurate to explain mine as being that I believed in it. What I did attribute it to however, is the fact that Christianity is a very big part of our culture and the ideas and images are around us 24/7. So it would make sense if it got caught up in our dreams every once in awhile. People explain dreams in different ways, but I believe that many of our dreams are simply our mind processing things. And as I said, since Christianity is often in our minds, either consciously or subconsciously, that would explain it's appearance in people's dreams..
Now for you.. you said you were Christian before- So that could be any number of things, from it simply being on your mind because it was something you were living with, or perhaps you do still believe in it. I would just suggest to sit down with yourself and really contemplate on what your beliefs are. I know I've done so many times to try to clarify with myself about what I do and do not believe. Was there anything else in your dream? Like were you with other people who were Christians? Perhaps you might miss the community feel of it or something else like that that is associated with Christianity.
I once met a _really_ cool woman who made a living telling fortunes and interpreting dreams at parties. She told me dreams are one third nonsense, one third recent things that happened to you and one third things you are repressing. She said only the last third matters. So thats that.
What is weird is that I was attending the Unitarian church in this dream (which I do attend, every Sunday), but it was a new one. The preacher called on me and asked me specifically what I believed; I said, I believe in Jesus Christ.
She then said that I had no place in her church, but that I should attend the service after this one (weird!), because it was led by a Catholic preacher.
What's odd about it is that my church is very accepting, of all domination's. Some are Christian, some are Jewish, some are Muslim, some are atheist, some are agnostic. We even have Satanists who attend our church. So it's not like my church is unaccepting of my faith leanings, they accept all faiths.
What I took away from the dream is that, somewhere in my mind, I may feel like I'm lying to myself. I say that I believe in all pathways to God...what if I, underneath it all, just believe in the bible, and nothing else? And if so, am I a terrible person for going against what I believe in?
That's what troubles me. I don't know how to interpret this dream.
I know you're troubled by this. Understandable. Dreams can mean something or they can just be dreams.
Stuff from the past turns up in dreams sometimes. And sometimes that stuff from the past gets mixed up with stuff from the present. The important thing here is not this dream. It's how you feel about and connect with whatever "God" means to you. If you feel you need to explore that connection and work some things out, go ahead. Take some time and do that in whichever way is best for you.
I used to be Christian. Spent a lot of time in church. I'm not Christian now but not being Christian now doesn't suddenly remove those experiences from my life. They still happened and my memories of those experiences are still in my head. It would be perfectly natural for me, from time to time, to dream about things related to Christianity.
"What I took away from the dream is that, somewhere in my mind, I may feel like I'm lying to myself. I say that I believe in all pathways to God...what if I, underneath it all, just believe in the bible, and nothing else? And if so, am I a terrible person for going against what I believe in?"
What you believe is your personal business. What if you just believe in the Bible and nothing else? Well, I'll tell you what if: you'd still be the same good person no matter what you believed. You're not a terrible person. How you interpret God/the divine etc is up to you. If you need to have a conversation with whatever "God" is for you, have that conversation.
Labels and constructs are largely a human thing. The divine tends to be more lucid, free and integrated. Jesus showed love and compassion even to those who did not follow him or his message. Churches were built on Pagan sites and traditions of Paganism and Christianity fused together to become something new. It's not about labels or rigid belief structures. That's what got religion into trouble. It's about that which is the light and the peace of the world. That which calls to our own human spirit or soul (different things) and asks that we show the best of ourselves and compassion for when we and others fall short of the best of ourselves.
And the connection with the divine is not a static thing that never changes. It's a journey. You explore your spiritual and or religious side. You find out new things. You grow, you...well...rather ironically considering how some religious people don't accept it....you evolve. You as a person evolves. You as a spiritual being evolves. Your connection with divinity evolves.
Pray or talk to God if you feel you need to. Otherwise, take the dream as proof positive that things change in your life. You've changed. You've made change happen. You're a positive, productive person and that's worth celebrating.
In response to your first post, you are simply searching for MORE. I don't like to say that any ONE organized religion is going to help you find that "more." Look inward, toward yourself. We are vessels of the most divine. Meditate, deeply inward. Some call it meditation, some call it praying to God, some call it contemplation. Whatever you call it, look inside you. And if you find more questions than answers, that is good. It means you are finding your way to the answer. Peace be with you. Namaste.
no, doesnt mean that you believe in christianity. it could be allegorical of something entirely different. if you really believed something there wouldnt be any doubt in your mind, you would just know it. for example, i believe if i walk outside theres going to be a sidewalk there. but if we look at things from a religious sense, id say if theres any doubt whatsoever you cant say you really believe it. id think its more accurate to say, "I think so and so is true"
maybe your dream meant that you believe in the unconditional love that jesus represents. and the "church".. being an external organization.. represented the projection of your egoic consciousness.
or maybe its something entirely different. but if you dont even THINK that christianity is true on the surface, i dont see why youd believe it deep down in your mind somewhere.
“A Caterpie may change into a Butterfree, but the heart that beats inside it remains the same.” — Brock
I still am befuzzled by this dream.
But I think I'm going to go to a different church this Sunday, just to see if I like it.
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