Welcome to Gaia! ::

I've posted something in this thread before I saw yours: Compatibilist Predestination, or Trying to define my world.
Hope it helps.

[Edit] You know, you're right. This life is our schooling. School is full of tests. I've found that true in most beliefs that I've studied. And you do have free will. Otherwise, why take the test if it's already determined what the results are going to be?
Learn what you can. But take it all with a grain of salt. Because any time people get involved in explaining a thing, you still risk getting their ideas mixed with what is. If you have a belief in any entity whatsoever, pray for guidance. They will lead you to where you need to go.
And if you've allowed your God to enter your life, He is your only judge, though you respect the feelings of those close to you. You follow your own path in life, that's the main test. XD

It sounds to me that you already know what you believe, and I think that is what is most important. If you try to bind your beliefs into an organized religious structure you will still find that there will be no room for all of what you feel is true.

I run into the same problem, I consider myself a Christian, but I do not agree with everything that they preach in Church. I feel that there are many instances in the Bible that have been misinterpreted, and culture colored to a point that many things that are taught by the majority of Christian leaders are not in the context that they were originally taught in.

I also find truths that resonate with me in many other religions. I hold onto those truths as personal revelations. I don't feel like my Faith is compromised, because Faith is a personal thing, and the religion I profess isn't really personal, it is like the social network of a person's faith. I don't think many people in the world will agree with EVERYTHING that the majority of the people in their religion believe.

I also believe that Science and Religion don't cancel each other out. I think that they compliment each other, and when one states something that is later proven false, then I think we just didn't understand the original statement. It leads us to ask questions to gain deeper understanding, and deeper understanding is the goal of both Religion and Science.

I imagine that God speaking the universe into sudden existence from nothing would make a pretty spectacular bang wink ...and as to how life came to be, the Science and the Bible pretty much line up as to the order that life appeared in. Creatures in the water and air first, that sounds like bacteria, bugs and fish to me, then creatures who live on land next, then humanity. I don't necessarily believe we evolved from monkeys or anything, but my faith wouldn't be shattered if evidence arose that convinced me beyond a doubt that we did.

Good luck in your search, but I am sure you aren't far from your answer.

To be honest, it may not even be possible to find a religion which seamlessly reconciles the entirety of one's belief structure. My father is an ordained minister, but he told me something once that I though was interesting. Basically, what he told me was that at some point, one must find one's own answers to the greater questions of life. It is not always possible to find them from some external source, and essentially, one must inevitably search inside oneself. I find that among the believers of almost all religions, those who at some point perform this soul-searching are invariably those with a higher degree of faith in their chosen religion. The heart, I suppose, is the wellspring of faith, and it is there to which one must inevitably turn oneself to find the truest answers to one's heart.
In short, it is far more important that one find one's own interpretation of faith than seeking that of another.

Hopefully that helps, somehow. I could just be speaking nonsensically, though. I get the impression I am. sweatdrop

Heh. Whatever I can do to help. xd