Why do you believe?

Now, let me clearly state at the beginning of this thread, I am NOT trying to call anyone out on their personal religious views. Personally, I respect all religions and believe that you all have the right to believe what you will, with out others interfering.
Now to pose a few simple questions..

What makes you're religion correct?
Lets take a step back from your religious ideas for a second, has it ever occurred to you that the vast majority of religions are focused around the same ideals and common 'good' and 'evil' interaction? At least speaking in terms of the mainstream religions, what makes your religion superior to others?
They are all centered around the same common beliefs that good is good and evil is evil, do no evil, strive to do good.

Why is you're God superior to others?
Now, here are where the firestorms come; "Well, my God is the one true God because of.. (written word, it is foretold, etc.) Okay, so now that we see how firm you are on your stance, explain why the man half way around the globe (keep in mind that he is just as firm in his God as you are in yours) is wrong? You both have basically the same stories, same characters, just different names. So what makes yours correct?

I was raised Christian, and have extremely devote Christian parents, so I understand religion (at least Christianity) in its entirety. However as I was growing, and having these views shoved down my throat, I began to question what makes Christianity right. It started to become clear that we all have these same views, yet we segregate ourselves based on names, and little else.

Now, why would you be willing to bash others religion?
The largest point made to believers and non believers alike is quite simple, we do not know.
We do not know which religion is right, we have no idea whose deity is correct, if there is even one at all. So why bash others? When it comes down to it, we do not know, so how can you commend others for their belief? We could all be wrong, for all we know a giant bottle of ketchup could have created us.

I know that the majority of people on here have an open mind, and I also know that strong religious views are losing their grip on the world, which is quite frankly a breath of fresh air. Perhaps we will see the day when there are no more wars over religion, perhaps one day we will release from the narrow minded grasp that so many are caught in.

Again, I am not bashing. I believe that any single one of us could be right. I am just questioning those who are so strong in there belief
Why do you believe?

reply to post by ErroneousDylan


Yes, exactly.
I just do not understand why we cannot understand the simplicity of religion. I believe that it is a good tool to keep the weary in line, however it becomes ridiculous and loses its meaning when people begin to bash others for their views.

I believe that there is big mind and small mind.
Small mind is the mind related to things. (Personal, thinking mind)
Big mind is the mind which includes all things. (outside world, conditions)
Attention to small mind will increase small mind. (Thinking leads to more thinking, karmic life of samsara)
Attention to big mind will cultivate big mind. (Realizing the outside is the inside and reverse, liberation)


Since technically, Zen Buddhism is not a religion, I guess my reply is irrelevant.

But it is correct. Not the name or your idea of Zen Buddhism, but what it is.

And as long as there is attention given to delusion, then delusion will continue to breed all of its forms.

(So yes, there will always be war over religion, unless the religions remove the imaginary parts)

Originally posted by ka119
reply to post by ErroneousDylan

 

Yes, exactly.
I just do not understand why we cannot understand the simplicity of religion. I believe that it is a good tool to keep the weary in line, however it becomes ridiculous and loses its meaning when people begin to bash others for their views.

A great tool. It becomes even more ridiculous when people started to kill each other over their religion, which they assume is right. Why couldn't they just all sit down, really rationalize it, and ask themselves "Is this really worth killing and dying over?" "Would God really want me to kill another one of his children just because they thought differently than me?" Isn't thought what makes us unique any way?

The main problem I see with religion is that, it generally provides promises after death of the physical body has occurred. Which means 1) We'll never be able to prove these results, and 2) No one that died would be able to dispute these results.

reply to post by Aqualung2012


Agreed, and I believe that Zen Buddhism is the closet is the closest thing to the truth we have. However, there is still no definitive way to KNOW that you are correct.
(I would beg to differ if I was being told this. based on my personal beliefs, pure wisdom is the truest form, and therefore is the truth. However based on the nature of this thread I am inclined to question my own beliefs (or lack there of) )

I've told this story before but it's been a while so here it is again.

I grew up in a Christian home but was kind of irritated by the faith. I became an atheist and later dabbled in the occult but just for fun- it was never something I fully believed in. I was just fascinated by witchcraft, astrology, the paranormal, etc.

One day, my grandfather dragged me to church to hear a guest speaker. I made a couple of 'tests' that if God was real, these specific chain of events that could not be faked would happen- they did. I was pretty surprised by that but there was still that level of doubt there.

A few years later, I was reading the Bible, specifically Daniel, and was completely blown away by how accurate the prophet was. I then did some research since I didn't want to be duped. I then stumbled onto the study of apologetics that helped me validate the faith and understand why I believed what I did.

So it was a pretty rocky road but I'm eternally grateful (literally) that I knocked and He answered.

reply to post by AshleyD


Thank you for that story. It is amazing how life works, again I will not be placing any personal thoughts, for I believe that an open mind is crucial to any part of life. Time and time again I have pondered if we truly are creating our own realities, and if our own strong beliefs show themselves to be true in our lives in one way or another. I even wonder to the point that perhaps our personal beliefs determine what we will experience in our afterlife. And to each his (or her) own.
If there is one thing that I have learned throughout my journey, it is that life never ceases to amaze me. No matter what the religion, I believe that we can all agree on that.

reply to post by ka119


To know it... often said to "grasp" something.

How do you grasp a river?
You can't!

The river must be experienced, but can never be defined. You have to jump in and swim with the river!

All of the parts of the river (or life) are identifiable, but inseparable. Constantly moving, constantly changing, never the same. We think things are the same, but that's not true.

There are no ordinary moments! There is nothing which can be set aside from the rest. Only this moment is true, because it includes everything!

reply to post by Aqualung2012


And the only thing that truly IS is NOW.
There is no past, only what we wish to grasp from the past (memories) which too will one day be forgot.
There is no future, only what we wish to bring.
All that IS is now, this second, this moment, this breath.
Nothing ever was, nothing ever is to be, everything is only now.

Anyways, in my opinion we have strayed from our true intentions and placement on this earth in this form. We are meant to enjoy and experience, not worry and regret. Let us live to the fullest! And know that all IS, regardless of the state it is in. (rich/poor, black/white, alive/dead)

Deep deep... sorry if I have lost any, I tend to lose myself on those tangents.

reply to post by ka119


Even the past and future are present now.

Deepness is often mistaken with simplicity.

Profundity is the word for something which means virtually nothing to someone with no insight, but everything to one with insight.

(Which may explain why in most major religions, they have massive books as their central practice, while in Zen we sit and don't even think anything!)

I'm glad someone finally asked. I was born with cystic fibrosis. Im 42 with no related lung problems. 4 yrs old from a prayer healing, never had a problem after that. I seldom get sick. I'm strong as a mule. It doesn't stop there. That's the beginning of my personal experiences. I was knocked off a bar stool by an unseen force I know was meant to be interpreted as Got Out NOW! I have been overwhelmed with the urge to go somewhere on many occasions, 2 of which I KNOW would have died had I remained at home. 1 where I saved my xbro n law from being murdered. This includes but far from limits to what I have seen with my own eyes.

Deep deep... sorry if I have lost any, I tend to lose myself on those tangents.

Good!

Loss is enlightenment, Gain is delusion.

I believe, because he showed me who he is and it's all i needed to know.

Originally posted by lonewolf19792000
I believe, because he showed me who he is and it's all i needed to know.

Out of curiosity, who showed himself to you?
I too have had experiences in which I was shown certain things; and also, why do you refer to the entity as 'he'?

reply to post by GoldenRuled


And on the path to enlightenment you go!
Amazing experiences.
Out of curiosity, why do you attribute these happenings to a certain religion? If hat is what you are doing

Originally posted by ka119

Originally posted by lonewolf19792000
I believe, because he showed me who he is and it's all i needed to know.

Out of curiosity, who showed himself to you?
I too have had experiences in which I was shown certain things; and also, why do you refer to the entity as 'he'?

"It" is not an it, it is a HE, and his name is Yeshua, who is also known as Yahweh or Yahovah in his pre-human form.

I think this is a good thread subject. Many people have spiritual experiences, but how do we react to them? I've spent many hours trying to decide what message I should get from various experiences. Was this what it seemed or did it actually mean the opposite? Was it somebody trying to lead me or was it somebody trying to mislead me?

A few days ago, I had an idea that these things are often designed to make us think about things that we don't want to think about. There isn't a right or wrong answer. Just an idea.

reply to post by lonewolf19792000


So he as in a male correct? And he looked like man?
I am not prodding, just curious. When I experienced mine, it was of no form. Just there, energy I would say. Which is why I am wondering if it is just different for every person.