First of all, before I share my perspectives and experience on this matter, let me start off by saying, that this is a very common concern among those leaving a more "fear based" faith system and branching out into the spiritual realm of self-discovery and identity. Ultimately, the decision as to whether this path resonates with you or not is up to you. I will not condemn anyone's belief system, and if one is at a point of there development where they feel wrong about this, or they feel torn, I advise that they set this aside for now and explore their belief patterns, their faith or lack thereof in a benevolent creative power of God, and facing fears. All of these steps are necessary for personal evolution. None of us are on a "wrong" or "bad" spiritual path, we are on the path that we need to be on during this stage of our personal evolution.
Although I do still walk a Spiritual Christian path, I also walk the other paths that are a part of who/what I am. I made the personal choice to leave the dogmatic religion system I was raised in because I didn't feel it brought me closer to God, which is where I truly wanted to be. I spent many years feeling that my churches teachings were not resonating with me, yet still loving very much the lessons of Jesus. In my opinion, my church did not uphold many of the most vital of those teachings. I found that my religion taught us to fear God, to "love him or else". Fear of going to hell and being inherently more to be pitied than uplifted did not seem to me to match the lessons of the Christ. When I looked at the lessons and parables of the beloved, I saw a peaceful man, who rebelled against the judgmental ways of his society. He sought to let the crippled and diseased into the temples where the priests would not allow them... he said God was for everyone, not just the ones that look and think like you. He stood up for society's outcast, preventing the stoning of women, and pointing out that none of us is perfect.
My church had a way of looking down on everyone who wasn't a member of "our church". That we were "right" and other belief systems were "wrong". It was very black and white, very judgmental, and very not like what I saw in the life of Jesus. I left my church, but in doing so I found myself on a wonderful new journey, one where I felt more connected to God. I began to realize that it is ok for us to grow and experience in our own ways.
As I began to move away from the teachings of my upbringing, I sought to understand more about humanity and how religions developed as they did. All I can share with you is my perception. In ancient times, there was no separation between church and state, the church was the state, and you agreed or else.
This being the case, how better for those in power to gain control of the masses than by instilling fear. To allow, or even worse, to promote free thought could have many implications and would likely have lead to revolt.
It was far better for the powers to instill in people a fear of God. By portraying God as a punishing force, the ruling powers were able to accomplish dominion over the people by both instilling fear and disempowering them.
The dogmas and fears taught in many religions are very contrary to what the Masters all taught us. I believe spirituality and religion to be two entirely separate bodies, one not dependant on the other. That is not saying religion can't enhance one's spiritual path. I have
loved the teachings of many religions, and find that all hold at least some truths for me. I believe though, as with anything else,too much of anything can be toxic. If we look to religion to dictate our path, we lose our identities. If we look to religion to enhance our path, it can help us to find our true identity.
The Human condition does not always respond readily to change. There are many old-school believers who fear very much the
rise in popularity of "new thought" and the "new age" movement. To people in this state of development, anything new constitutes a threat to their belief system.
That being said, I don't believe that they are "wrong" for believing as they do either. They are simply at a different stage of development, and are doing the best they can
according to the circumstances they find themselves in. We don't look at a 3rd grader as being "worse" than a 5th grader, just at a different level of understanding and growth. I feel
those on a personal spiritual quest are not "better" than those who stick to more rigid teachings, just different. Humanity has to come to a place where we realize that different doesn't
mean less than or wrong. We are all on an individual journey to discover the Truth, and many paths lead to the same ultimate destination.
For me, I don't believe that our Creator who created everything so perfectly, from the tiniest portion of an atom to the vast expanses of the Universe would create anything/anyone that was "wrong". Having to declare someone
wrong is a human condition, not a Divine one. As a parent, could you give birth to five children, and only give unconditional love to the one who grew up to believe and act exactly as you wanted him to? Would you condemn the other 4 to an eternity of punishment and
abandon them for being individual and becoming what they desired to be? Of course not, so why should we in our infancy, believe that an all knowing omnipresent/potent God would do so? This is the logic behind my faith anyway ;).