How did you decide which religion is correct?

Originally posted by moocowman
reply to post by Miraj

 

Your understanding of religion and Christianity is lacking. Matthew 7:21 21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

"The will of my Father" clearly indicating that Jesus was not claiming to be Yahweh .

And the will of the father is ? Let's see -

If your son becomes rebellious = Stone him to death

If your wife was not a virgin when you got married = Kill her also

If someone works on the sabbath = Kill him

If your son is gay = Kill him

If you eat blood Yahweh will kill you

If someone doesn't believe in Yahweh = Kill him

If your slave should misbehave = Beat him till he's just nearly but not quite dead.

If you invade another country= keep the little virgin girls as sex slaves.

Etc etc


Yahweh has to be the finest example of good parenting that has ever not existed !!

Seems like Islam is doing it's best to stick by Yahweh rules, boy are you xtians in trouble when you die.

I'm with you, I just wanted to point out that Christianity, Biblically really IS NOT effortless sin insurance. As pointed out in my quote there Jesus tells them that they must do the will of God to receive Heaven.

But you forgot where the Lord God commands that a father marry a rape victim to her rapist.

You all take this too seriously! God is a crazy woman, and she's always PMSing! Hail Eris! Have some fun!

Originally posted by Brocky34
reply to post by valiant

 

I have one simple but very important question for you: Do you believe all of, some of, or none of what you read in the Bible, and why? (I guess that's two isn't it?

)

hi brocky34

I believe most things in the bible are there for a reason but often people see different things so like i say i take from it what i can and which i can understand and there is alot but im really open to anything that makes sense to me and i feel i can benefit from.

I believe most things in the bible are there for a reason but often people see different things so like i say i take from it what i can and which i can understand and there is alot but im really open to anything that makes sense to me and i feel i can benefit from.

I believe the bible is a collection of poetry, historical records, concepts/ideas, perspectives, opinions, symbolism, mysticism, and truths. Some of the content is only one of the aformentioned while other content is all of it.

If you take something from the OT that was the opinion of the author as a truth for everyone, that's on you. If you take something that's symbolic and mistranslate, that's also your own fault. OT = how things used to be and how people viewed it. NT = the changing of the guard. Jesus comes in and makes everything simple.

For you taoist lover's see the gospel of Thomas. You'll be presently surprised.

Anyway. Just go for the mystical parts, go for the direct experience of God for yourself. Meditate, go within. See for yourself. And if you haven't done so or refuse, that's your own fault for not seeing who/what's all around and in you.

Which one??? None of the above and all of them. None of the above, because as states on page one, they are all man made. A HUMAN decided what rituals to follow, or what punishments to hand out. If I had more time I would give a lot more detail/examples.

More interestingly though, all of them for a myriad of reasons. Start with the fact that they have numerous similarities, and this I believe is where the truth lies, and that is what we are all looking for, right? Everything I have learned/read goes back to a few ideas/ideals, and these are consistent.

Look at it this way, if every Holyman from every religion stood in a circle and in the middle, at eye level, someone held up a football and said " this is truth", you would have as many different interpretations as there were holymen. One sees the laces, another doesn't. one man sees the elliptical shape, but another sees a perfect circle...... you get my point. But learn from all of them, and although none has seen the whole picture you might have a better understanding of the whole truth

Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all start from Abraham, and therefore believe in the same single creator, no matter the name. I have a much lower level ofunderstanding of other religions, but even the multi deity varieties hold one god above the others. Even the oldest known "religions" include this concept.
So... which one, and how/why to chose one over another? Anyone who tells you that you must worship any particular way, is wrong. You MUST find "God" for yourself. We are all sovereign beings unto ourselves, and "the force, God, Allah, Brahm" is a part of everything.
If being around like minded people helps you to find your path, or pass on information you may not have had otherwise, then by all means one religion or another may serve your purpose.

I could probably rant for days on my personal beliefs, but let me just say that I was raised on a particular religion, and I think it gave me a good base to start with. As I learned more and questioned everything, I learned that "religion" in and of itself does not have the answers, but spirituality does. Do not let yourself be limited to one "system" but as the soveriegn being that you are, learn as much as you can. Every step I have taken was necessary, just as I had to learn to add, before I could program a computer.

Love and peace

I found mine through my own research. It all made sence to me and there was no prayer, no rituals and no stories with moral lessons i guess it can be considered non-theistic. It helped me get through life explained things science could not without telling me anything i had to have faith in.

[edit on 29-4-2009 by Dr.Joseph]

reply to post by Dr.Joseph


I became aware of "religion" when I was about 8 years old. My grandmother would rock me and sing hymns to me. She would tell me about Jesus and all that he did. Something awaking within me and stirred my heart. I had to know more and be a part of him. He has always been with me and watched over me.

As an adult I was able to find communion with God. During prayer or alone time His Spirit would fall upon me in a most beautiful spiritual way. It was like walking in a garden with him at my side. We talked about so many things and He helped me understand spiritual wisdom and how to pray in the spirit.

One needs to read the Bible with their heart and not their mind. It is the heart that decerns what is true or false. But ones heart must be open and belong to the Lord to see the mysteries there. God wants us to come to him and love him because we choose to not because we have to. If we do come to him it must be with our whole heart, mind, body, and soul. We are after all his children.

There is no greater love then the love of the heavenly Father. It is like no other love you have ever known. It is not a earthly kind of love but it is somewhat like a love affair.

One can see God in nature if you really open your eyes. I feel so in awe when outside and feel the wind brush across my face and see the trees dance. The sunshine falling upon me and the beauty all around me. There is God! Right there, just waiting for you to notice what he has done for you.

Jesus is the light in this darkness. He helps us find our way back to the Father.

Peace and Love,
Grandma

Originally posted by RubberBaron
I'm curious about how people decided which religion was correct, and therefore should follow?

To me it seems a lot of people just are in a religion because that's the one their parents were in, or the one that's popular in their area.

To me that doesn't seem to be a very good reason, if I was going to choose a religion to follow, I would have to evaluate them all, and their claims, to see which one, if any, was correct.

I understand that to many people, evaluating claims is against the spirit of 'faith', but then many religions talk about having faith, but how do you know which one is for real?

So that is my question really to the religious, did you choose your religion, and if so how? If you didn't choose it, and were born into it or similar, how are you sure it's the correct one?

I've actually studied almost every religion under the stars... many of them have lots of similarites, even as far as their prophets or Messiahs, the personality characteristics of them are very much the same, even many of them are said to be born on what we celebrate as Christmas and that they were all prophesied to be born at that time and so on and so forth. So I've never been able to affiliate myself with any one religion... until recently. I have come to realize over the past year that I am a prophet in my own right, although I am not the Messiah by any means. But I have had visions, very PERSONAL visions of being with CHRIST, no other prophet, but CHRIST only. These visions came as a shock to me because although I've always deeply respected and loved Jesus as a great man and an unparalleled teacher of all that is good... I was never really able to distinguish between what's real and what's not. I've always had a hard heart against Christianity for the simple fact that, most Christians I've ever met were hypocrites in that they were more than willing to preach to everyone else what we should all be doing, and yet when they leave their "house of God" they go out and do the exact opposite themselves. I've always felt that Christianity as it is today and what it's evolved into was most certainly NOT what Christ would have wanted his true followers to do. I believe that yes, in order to gain eternal salvation, we must accept Christ into our hearts, but I don't believe that once we are "saved" we can go about our miserable lives, killing and stealing and raping... and still get into heaven, like so many Christians I've spoken to believe. Being saved is an ever-continuing process, we must be able to think as Christ thought, live as closely to how Christ lived as possible, and follow his teachings, in order to gain true enlightenment and salvation. So. After studying these many religions that this world has to offer, I've found that Christianity really IS the only true saving faith... and if you do some studying yourself, you'll find that other holy books such as the Koran and even Hindi and Buddhist texts speak very openly about Jesus the Messiah, or Isha the Great Man, as being the true Son of God. Here is a great link about the lost years of Jesus, where he spent time in India: www.atmajyoti.org...
He really is the best man that ever walked the face of this planet, and I believe without a doubt that he really was the Son of God, and the King of Heaven. Because really. Who else could it possibly be but him?

Originally posted by RubberBaron
I'm curious about how people decided which religion was correct, and therefore should follow?

To me it seems a lot of people just are in a religion because that's the one their parents were in, or the one that's popular in their area.

To me that doesn't seem to be a very good reason, if I was going to choose a religion to follow, I would have to evaluate them all, and their claims, to see which one, if any, was correct.

I understand that to many people, evaluating claims is against the spirit of 'faith', but then many religions talk about having faith, but how do you know which one is for real?

So that is my question really to the religious, did you choose your religion, and if so how? If you didn't choose it, and were born into it or similar, how are you sure it's the correct one?

I've actually studied almost every religion under the stars... many of them have lots of similarites, even as far as their prophets or Messiahs, the personality characteristics of them are very much the same, even many of them are said to be born on what we celebrate as Christmas and that they were all prophesied to be born at that time and so on and so forth. So I've never been able to affiliate myself with any one religion... until recently. I have come to realize over the past year that I am a prophet in my own right, although I am not the Messiah by any means. But I have had visions, very PERSONAL visions of being with CHRIST, no other prophet, but CHRIST only. These visions came as a shock to me because although I've always deeply respected and loved Jesus as a great man and an unparalleled teacher of all that is good... I was never really able to distinguish between what's real and what's not. I've always had a hard heart against Christianity for the simple fact that, most Christians I've ever met were hypocrites in that they were more than willing to preach to everyone else what we should all be doing, and yet when they leave their "house of God" they go out and do the exact opposite themselves. I've always felt that Christianity as it is today and what it's evolved into was most certainly NOT what Christ would have wanted his true followers to do. I believe that yes, in order to gain eternal salvation, we must accept Christ into our hearts, but I don't believe that once we are "saved" we can go about our miserable lives, killing and stealing and raping... and still get into heaven, like so many Christians I've spoken to believe. Being saved is an ever-continuing process, we must be able to think as Christ thought, live as closely to how Christ lived as possible, and follow his teachings, in order to gain true enlightenment and salvation. So. After studying these many religions that this world has to offer, I've found that Christianity really IS the only true saving faith... and if you do some studying yourself, you'll find that other holy books such as the Koran and even Hindi and Buddhist texts speak very openly about Jesus the Messiah, or Isha the Great Man, as being the true Son of God. Here is a great link about the lost years of Jesus, where he spent time in India: www.atmajyoti.org...
He really is the best man that ever walked the face of this planet, and I believe without a doubt that he really was the Son of God, and the King of Heaven. Because really. Who else could it possibly be but him?

reply to post by Brocky34

Here is where most people go wrong: all religions are not the same. There are two religions in the world. 1)Those in which man does something to get to "heaven." 2)The one in which Jesus has already done everything needed to make us right with God. This is Christianity. Every other religion in the world requires us to do something. Except Christianity. Everything is already done for you, the only thing is to believe.

Hi Brocky, thanks for your comment. However, unlike yourself I find it impossible to give credence to any religion that preaches one thing and then commits atrocities within the same breath.
Your Christian religion is so flawed, both historically/ spiritually, that, trying to pedantically follow it is impossible.
But alas, when all else fails your ilk will sit there and pontificate the concept of faith; when you have no tangible evidence to support you feable arguments.
Tell me, if someone gave you a lump of faeces, told you it was gold- it looked like s--t, smelt like s--t- but then you have faith, so its not!

I can't subscribe to Allah as being the same as Jesus, or God. Nor this "Brahm" person or Buddha.

Religion is one more thing that 'mankind' has created in order to divide the masses.

If people will stick to God's original doctrine, there wouldn't be all the confusion in the world.

Man has twisted, rewritten and thoroughly perverted the original scriptures into what "he" wants it to mean. Believe it or not, there is actually a "Gay/Lesbian Bible" on the market today. It tells its readers that they CAN be gay, there's nothing wrong with it, and that the Bible doesn't say anything about homosexuality.

Totally blasphemy.


The King James Bible is the word of God.

For me, that settles any confusion.

reply to post by nomorecruelty


Actually, Buddha said "be a light unto yourself"- he never claimed God-head, he only claimed to be enlightened spiritually; and thus, set off to teach others how he had arrived at that point. It was Buddha whom was indoctrinated into other "religions", that being Tibetan, Zen and others; by his followers.
Organized Buddhism never came into existence till long after his death- for religion is a great tool of governments, western and other.
So please don't catagorize Buddhism in the same ball-park as the three from the Satanic trinity (Judaism, Islam,Christianity).

Originally posted by Grandma
reply to post by Dr.Joseph

 

I became aware of "religion" when I was about 8 years old. My grandmother would rock me and sing hymns to me. She would tell me about Jesus and all that he did. Something awaking within me and stirred my heart. I had to know more and be a part of him. He has always been with me and watched over me.

As an adult I was able to find communion with God. During prayer or alone time His Spirit would fall upon me in a most beautiful spiritual way. It was like walking in a garden with him at my side. We talked about so many things and He helped me understand spiritual wisdom and how to pray in the spirit.

One needs to read the Bible with their heart and not their mind. It is the heart that decerns what is true or false. But ones heart must be open and belong to the Lord to see the mysteries there. God wants us to come to him and love him because we choose to not because we have to. If we do come to him it must be with our whole heart, mind, body, and soul. We are after all his children.

There is no greater love then the love of the heavenly Father. It is like no other love you have ever known. It is not a earthly kind of love but it is somewhat like a love affair.

One can see God in nature if you really open your eyes. I feel so in awe when outside and feel the wind brush across my face and see the trees dance. The sunshine falling upon me and the beauty all around me. There is God! Right there, just waiting for you to notice what he has done for you.

Jesus is the light in this darkness. He helps us find our way back to the Father.

Peace and Love,
Grandma

Fortunately, I never saw things this way. I at a point in my life claimed to be a Christian. I was baptized at age five even, in a lutheran church. However as I grew older, the message of heart wasn't good enough for me.

I think very logically, I don't value faith. However in my spiritual exploration, I've found that god is very logical being. It chooses the most logical decisions and it values positive (to it) emotions. It may have created the world, but it does not interfere. Infact, I cannot interefere. Free will mandates that the creator can't direct anything in the physical world. That means it did not incarnate.

Jesus is real, but he is not what you think he is. A very kind, caring person he is.. but not God, and he is not the only way. There infact, is no way but your own.

If you disagree with me, find the actions of God in this world. However, try as you might, you will not find them.

reply to post by Miraj


The fact is "God " is many thing to many people-not just Jesus.
Doesn't make your spiritual choice wrong; you have your reasons. But ,it doesn't make it any more a credible, than another choice of different ideals.

None of them are right.

They are institutions created for control over society.

I thought everyone here knew that.

reply to post by gYvMessanger


yeah, some of us can see the screen-not everyone though. I've found it interesting in this thread how many so-called Christians are ready to preach their views without having an objective outlook on the subject.
Which, I must say, drives me even further away from their objective: conversion!
Cant we speak about this without a dispute over "my team is better than yours"?
Really

reply to post by Miraj


Miraj:

Hello to you!

I can not tell you that the way you see God is wrong. I believe that we all can come to the heavenly Father through many paths.

But I know what I have experienced and it is real and yes it is supernatural. You can not deny me that I have not seen and heard the wonderful things that I have.

God is a loving God and we are a part of the Creator and we all are a part of each other. The Lord's Spirit will be with us to help us find out way out of the darkness and into enlighenment. Jesus came and showed us that we could reach God and have a personal relationship with him if we chose too.
I believe that Christ was indeed the Son of God, now you may chose not too.
I am not going to tell you that you are wrong. Only God's Spirit may do that.

I know whom I believeed and I believe that He is able to keep me until that day.



Peace to you,
Grandma

reply to post by Grandma

God is a loving God

Hi Grandma, are we specifically talking about the Christian pantheon here, or what?
Lets see:
1) Yaheh
2) Jehovah
3) Amen (Ammon, Amun-whatever is preferred)
just to name a few God-like entities mentioned in the Old (One God)Testament;
Or how about the Jesus Characters (which I affectionately refer to as : The Jesus Trinity; its the only half logical response I can dream-up when talking about a Holy-Trinity (when there is again only supposed to be :ONE GOD!!!)
1) Yehoshua Ben Joseph (Jesus the Christ)
2) Barabba (Aramaic for :Father of the Son)-think about it!
3) Bar jesus- also referred to as Elymas

When speaking in a Christian context, please donnot forget the TEN COMMANDMENTS!!!!!
Exodus 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down to them or serve them: For I the Lord thy God am a JEALOUS God,...blah blah blah.

A God of infinite and Unconditional love Really

i had long ago determined that the natural world around us is the correct religion.

all those involved in Magic & Sorcery and the Mystical rites of most other
denominations in Christianity, Judiasm, Islam, Tao, et al
which are all man-made constructs and serpentine paths taking us away from the reality of the Natural & mundane world of the pagan.


thanks

While I appreciate everyone's beliefs and faiths, my own quest led in a circle. Each sect has its parameters that effectively involve faith. Well, what exactly is faith? It is trust. In the final analysis (of mine) trust is the issue. Since I can't accurately rely on any source of information, I must develop faith. But faith is not an act of will, as I have discovered. I can force myself to want to believe, act like I believe and hope that one day I will believe, but the truth is, I can't fake it till I make it on this one.

So, I've decided that I will follow my internal guidance system, intuition or insticnt. And that has led me to either accept that nature is a mirror image of my creator or that nature is the creator. To me, it makes as much sense as any organized tradition of faith.

When I observe and interact with nature I feel peace. Maybe faith is peace. I don't know. I just know that at some point, everything was created in its own uniqueness, separate from all other creations yet harmoniously intertwined. I can't imagine that all of this just happened coincidentally (big bang). It just doesn't add up. Also, to choose one god name to worship makes no logical sense to me.

Be as the tree. Just grow. That's my ramble and incoherent logic.