I'll copy my better answer from the "Who is Christ?" thread:

If I was to create the perfect belief, I would write the book of that belief.  I would want to be in the Joseph Smith or L. Ron Hubbard position.  I would not be content to be "Pope".  I would want the money flowing towards me, not to mention all the most attractive women.  I would need the abilities of a con man or evangelist (same thing) to spread the faith and centralize the power in one location.  I would probably choose Whistler, and make skiiing my daily commune with God, Xenu, or whoever I invented as the deity or spirit that I talked to on a daily basis.

That's a very odd fetish you have.

Well I don't create what I believe. I believe things because they seem plauseable or are obvious. I believe what comes to me, I don't choose it. So I don't choose religions either. I am me and on a path of my own discovery, led by no one person or thing.

I think the ideal way to be is independant and free.

Arminius: I just want to make sure I understand your question.

Are you asking about the creation of our beliefs about reality, or of the changing of reality itself? For instance, as a Christian, if I do not like the doctrine of hell, could this creation of 'belief' you are asking about enable me to get rid of the doctrine, and that it would then be so, if I so desired?

I'm not sure I'd want a "perfect" belief.

Perfection, absolute truth, onlyism.... these are all traps  that cripple the mind and cause strife and hatred.

Maybe that's why God left it a little bit vague, and allows us to see the Divine in our own way?

The above statement seems contradictory. Apparently, I can alter your so-called 'conceptual reality' to suit my own desires; for instance, if I don't like the idea of hell, all I have to do is disbelieve in it, and it becomes so. But to what extent? Could you define 'conceptual' reality, and how it relates to actual reality?

What if I believed that the Earth is flat? Would it become so, in reality - for me?

The map is not the territory.

A map that would be 100% accurate of the territory would have to be so big, that it included both the map AND the map of the territory.  So it would be useless.

Stop trying for the one perfect belief that is without taint, without struggle, without thought.

When you stop thinking, you are as good as dead.

Try to learn how to read different maps and see what new lands, monsters, devas, weather, and such come into view and which ones...disappear.

And your signature is on each and every map that you can see.

But as for a perfect belief (going into 'What If' mode here):  life is a carnivale, which is an endless parade and dance and party that is participatory and the more participants, the better it becomes.  Oh, and stop trying to be an individual, we're all part of stardust anyway.

Just a Self-writing poem,

InannaWhimsey

Consider the terms 'sane' and 'insane'. We would grant that to be the former is preferable to the latter. Why?

A person who is said to be sane, is one who has an adequate, balanced, and reasoned grasp on 'reality'. Conversely, a person who is said to be insane (and will likely and hopefully be locked up) is one who is 'out of touch' with reality. They may believe some things to be true, ie that they are a tree, or a coin, or a sparkplug, when in fact they are not, because their beliefs simply do not conform to how things really are.

I'm with the gang that says "no such thing as perfection" of course.

Although I kinda like chansen's idea, (especially the L.Ron Hubbard slant. Maybe we could get together. Like Hubbard, I have a scifi mythology already worked out. I just need a good marketing man. You any good at that hansen? 60/50 split on the women and you're welcome to all the skiing)

uh, where was I?..... oh yeah ....  if I were to formulate a spiritual approach, it would be one of continuous improvement. the only requirement being that whatever doctrine/creed one used as a guide be examined every quarter and if one could not find a way to improve/hone it, based on what had been learned in the previous three months, it would have to be thrown out entirely.

 Maybe the perfect religion is no religion.  Throw out everything we think we know about spirituality to make room for God to fill the space.

What about Jesus?

Personally, I have no desire to reinvent the wheel....

Some "Ethic of Reciprocity" passages from the religious texts of various religions and secular beliefs:

Bahá'í Faith: "Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not." "Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself." Baha'u'llah

"And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself." Epistle to the Son of the Wolf

Brahmanism: "This is the sum of Dharma [duty]: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you". Mahabharata, 5:1517 "
 

Buddhism: "...a state that is not pleasing or delightful to me, how could I inflict that upon another?" Samyutta NIkaya v. 353

Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful." Udana-Varga 5:18
 

Christianity: "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." Matthew 7:12, King James Version.

"And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise." Luke 6:31, King James Version.

"...and don't do what you hate...", Gospel of Thomas 6. The Gospel of Thomas is one of about 40 gospels that circulated among the early Christian movement, but which never made it into the Christian Scriptures (New Testament).

Confucianism: "Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you" Analects 15:23

"Tse-kung asked, 'Is there one word that can serve as a principle of conduct for life?' Confucius replied, 'It is the word 'shu' -- reciprocity. Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.'" Doctrine of the Mean 13.3

"Try your best to treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself, and you will find that this is the shortest way to benevolence." Mencius VII.A.4

Ancient Egyptian: "Do for one who may do for you, that you may cause him thus to do." The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant, 109 - 110 Translated by R.B. Parkinson. The original dates to circa 1800 BCE and may be the earliest version of the Epic of Reciprocity ever written. 3

Hinduism: This is the sum of duty: do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you. Mahabharata 5:1517

Humanism: "(5) Humanists acknowledge human interdependence, the need for mutual respect and the kinship of all humanity."

"(11) Humanists affirm that individual and social problems can only be resolved by means of human reason, intelligent effort, critical thinking joined with compassion and a spirit of empathy for all living beings. " 4

"Don't do things you wouldn't want to have done to you, British Humanist Society. 3

Islam: "None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself." Number 13 of Imam "Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths." 5

Jainism: "Therefore, neither does he [a sage] cause violence to others nor does he make others do so." Acarangasutra 5.101-2.

"In happiness and suffering, in joy and grief, we should regard all creatures as we regard our own self." Lord Mahavira, 24th Tirthankara

"A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated. "Sutrakritanga 1.11.33

Judaism: "...thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.", Leviticus 19:18
"What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. This is the law: all the rest is commentary." Talmud, Shabbat 31a.
"And what you hate, do not do to any one." Tobit 4:15 6

Native American Spirituality: "Respect for all life is the foundation." The Great Law of Peace.
"All things are our relatives; what we do to everything, we do to ourselves. All is really One." Black Elk
"Do not wrong or hate your neighbor. For it is not he who you wrong, but yourself." Pima proverb.

Roman Pagan Religion: "The law imprinted on the hearts of all men is to love the members of society as themselves."

Shinto: "The heart of the person before you is a mirror. See there your own form" Munetada Kurozumi
"Be charitable to all beings, love is the representative of God." Ko-ji-ki Hachiman Kasuga

Sikhism: Compassion-mercy and religion are the support of the entire world". Japji Sahib
"Don't create enmity with anyone as God is within everyone." Guru Arjan Devji 259
"No one is my enemy, none a stranger and everyone is my friend." Guru Arjan Dev : AG 1299

Sufism: "The basis of Sufism is consideration of the hearts and feelings of others. If you haven't the will to gladden someone's heart, then at least beware lest you hurt someone's heart, for on our path, no sin exists but this." Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh, Master of the Nimatullahi Sufi Order.

Taoism: "Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain, and your neighbor's loss as your own loss." T'ai Shang Kan Ying P'ien.
"The sage has no interest of his own, but takes the interests of the people as his own. He is kind to the kind; he is also kind to the unkind: for Virtue is kind. He is faithful to the faithful; he is also faithful to the unfaithful: for Virtue is faithful." Tao Teh Ching, Chapter 49

Unitarian Universalism:

"The inherent worth and dignity of every person;"
"Justice, equity and compassion in human relations.... "
"The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;"
"We affirm and promote respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part." Unitarian principles. 7,8

Wicca: "An it harm no one, do what thou wilt" (i.e. do what ever you will, as long as it harms nobody, including yourself). One's will is to be carefully thought out in advance of action. This is called the Wiccan Rede

Yoruba: (Nigeria): "One going to take a pointed stick to pinch a baby bird should first try it on himself to feel how it hurts."

Zoroastrianism: "That nature alone is good which refrains from doing unto another whatsoever is not good for itself". Dadistan-i-dinik 94:5
"Whatever is disagreeable to yourself do not do unto others." Shayast-na-Shayast 13:29 
 

Some philosophers' statements are:
Epictetus: "What you would avoid suffering yourself, seek not to impose on others." (circa 100 CE)

Kant: "Act as if the maxim of thy action were to become by thy will a universal law of nature."

Plato: "May I do to others as I would that they should do unto me." (Greece; 4th century BCE)

Socrates: "Do not do to others that which would anger you if others did it to you." (Greece; 5th century BCE)

Seneca: "Treat your inferiors as you would be treated by your superiors," Epistle 47:11 (Rome; 1st century CE) 

Source:  Religious Tolerance Shared belief in the "Golden Rule"
(a/k.a. Ethics of Reciprocity)
 

I have the perfect B.S. (belief system).

I starts with one word.

UNITY.

Bolt

Jesus is welcome too!   However, for me, God is the source.

 This is a trick question, right, Arminius?

No human can even hope to create perfection.  I am sure you are fully aware of that. ;)

Thanks, LB, for that quick course in comparative religion/philosophy.

It's interesting to note that whilst the devotees often claim their faith to be the one true one - the message is often astonishingly similar.

I don't think there is a "perfect" religion  or belief and I wouldnt want one. I need to make room for the spirit to move.

Perhaps a mere quibble but, the principles of religions are not flawed, the people living them are.

Some may see that as simply semantics, I do not.

Every major religion that has survived the ages has at its core one basic principle - respect the other, the planet and the creator. This is simple and straightforward.  Each of us knows that life is better when we live without conflict and destruction.

Each of us strives for that in our own lives.  Yet....

It is not practiced to the Other, the Planet or even the Creator.

If all the believers of all the religions put into practice the core principle of the religion, this world would be a better place. 

It would become Eden on Earth.

One does not have to invent a new wheel, just clean up the cart that rides upon it.

LB

History is the chronicle of divorces between creed and deed.

     Louis Fischer, (1896 – 1970)

Just keep in mind that the Unitarian and Universalist movements that eventually merged to form modern Unitarian Universalism were liberal theological movements in the Protestantism of their day and therefore not all that unlike today's progressive Christianity. So, being a progressive who thinks like a Unitarian isn't actually such an odd thing .

Mendalla

A religion does nothing.  The people practicing do. 

Again, it is a matter of living the principles.

Florence Nightingale was a devout Christian, she believed her calling to nurse the soldiers of the Crimean war was a "divine calling".  The slavery abolishionists saw themselves as devout Christians following Jesus' path to equality of man.  Tommy Douglas was a Baptist minister who fought for universal health care for Canadians because he believed the calling to heal the sick.

Those are just the Christians that pop into my head.  In every faith there are people who live the foundational principle of their religion that I posted above. 

Just imagine if every follower - not just a few - did the same.

LB

The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting;

it has been found difficult and left untried.

     G. K. Chesterton