Faith vs. Religion

reply to post by jmdewey60


i feel i am active in my faith

i dont hate, steal, lie, i help out people when i can, but as a man, i do sin, when i have a chance i like to be lazy, but i do work hard, i drink, sometimes excessive, i complain, i get frustrated

but all in all i consider myself a nice person more than not

so to me that is active, not perfection, huge difference

it doesnt hurt to try

reply to post by jmdewey60


Thus there fore i am a believer.

I always saw being spiritual as being in touch with Nature and in tune with your own mind, like when people center in on their Chi and what not.
But thats a good point, maybe it is the same as faith. But what do I know
Thats why I got into this sight

reply to post by el justeen o

Thats why I got into this sight

I originally got on ATS to check out the BigFoot threads and stuff but eventually ran across the religion threads.
I was going on to a regular religion forum that is actually more active than this one.(if you only counted the religion parts)
I found out that before I could post a reply to someone, three other people would already have their posts up and have better arguments than mine.
I felt a little redundant and unnecessary there.
This is better for me, here because I can take my time and get to what I really think about something, with some real original thought, instead of trying to be 100% accurate to stand up against strict theological norms.


[edit on 12-7-2008 by jmdewey60]

yup yup, I know what you mean, this site is very cool, and no one discriminates against others opinions. I enjoy people replying to what I have to say, and reading their comments.

Originally posted by jmdewey60
The word Faith, to me, implies believing in something, but in a way that causes action.
Maybe we should say we are active Christians. (if we need to have a slogan)

i agree, after all faith without works is dead.

faith is a powerful thing, but im glad many people dont have it. i dont think that people are as good as they say they are.

a few nights before jesus' death, he went to a fig tree to get some fruit. after he saw none, he cursed by saying noone will eat from you again.

the next day the apostles noticed it had withered. jesus then used it as an example for everyone to bare good fruit.

2 thing i got from the illustration.

1 - if we all could do that, imagine how many people would be hurt by it. how many times does someone do something to annoy you and you think to yourself that jerk, i hope it comes back to bite him!

jesus said that those harboring hatred against their brother is committing already murder. if faith had the supernatural qualities it had with jesus, then he would be right, you would be committing murder in a very real and literal way.

2 - the plant itself is an illustration for us and our interaction towards god. "fruit" can be several things. first there is the fruitage of the spirit (gal), that is in respects to our conduct and personality, we are to be loving and mild mannered. the second fruit is our actions for the good of god's kingdom.

matt 22:[2] The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,[3] And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.

who are these servants that call the wedding guest?

alot of people look at religion and see this rotting corpse of spiritual death. and its true, most 99% are. but that doesnt mean that god doesnt have an organization, it just means that satan is doing a good job of hiding the true one.

think about it. think about all the illustrations jesus gave about masters and servants. is that not organized? a household is ordered with clear communication. they are also under the same roof.

jesus said that the wheat and the weeds would grow together until the harvest (end of the world) then during the harvest, you would be able to tell the difference.

i mentioned this in another thread but ill mention it again. wheat, looks like a weed until harvest when the seeds grow at the top (wheat show their "fruit"), before then, it looks like a simple blade of grass. thats why the master in the parable said to wait until the harvest time. it would then be clear which is which.

so if the true religion is so obvious now, which one is it?

john 13:[34] A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.[35] By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

the true religion will be know by the genuine love it has amongst themselves and for others

what else? notice jesus mentions a commandment. logically the true religion would follow jesus' commands.

matt 28:[18] And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.[19] Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:[20] Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

so we see that the true religion also preaches. alot of people get a bad taste in their mouths when they hear this. there is this belief that people should respect other people beliefs and not try to change them.

catholicism has given this commandment a bad name with its inquisitions and crusades.

conversion should never be forced. God nor jesus ever said to force people. in fact, all examples in the bible of baptism have been by people you of their own free will get baptised

remember every body has access to the bible. God has made sure that it is the most published book in the history of man. every year about 100 million are sold, that doesnt include the ones that a given away (like the gideons).

God provides equal opportunity for all to read it and come to their own conclusion.

what else (since we are on the subject of the bible)?

we know jesus already foretold weeds, apostles add acts 20:[29] For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

how would we identify these wolves? well for one, they would not have love for the flock.

another thing is that they would mislead

there is an example the first letter to the corinthians.

15:[12] Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
[13] But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
[14] And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
[15] Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
[16] For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
[17] And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

these people where teaching something not true.

the true religion adheres to the bible the best it can.

Don't let religion tarnish your concept of faith and spirituality. A person can have a very active spiritual life without being bound to a religion.

el justeen o, I want to give you a bit of advice. Do with it what you will. Try as hard as you can to set aside religion and spirituality as you see it now. Maybe take a little time off, so to speak, from the frustrations and stuff that you're experiencing. When you're feeling fresh, positive, good, and ready, begin your spiritual journey with a clean slate. I won't try to steer you in any particular direction because you need your journey to lead you where you feel the truth will be found. Keep an open mind. Look into more than the popular belief systems of today. Read about faith and religion in history, and how it evolved. And try as hard as you can to keep from being bound by anything you know or believe in right now.

We humans may never know, without a doubt, which religion is right, if any of them are right at all. But that doesn't mean you can't pursue your own spiritual path as you seek that which contents your spirit and you feel is the truth.

reply to post by John_Q_Llama


...Thank you. Thats the best advice yet