Truly. Especially in terms of a jealous male-chauvinistic God who has all sorts of petty wants, needs, and desires.

I read a book once on Eastern Mysticism, in that book the author described what "god" might truly be like. After reading that description it would truly be difficult to go back to thinking of God as the petty egotist described by the ancient Hebrew fables.

One of the craziest things about a religion like Christianity is that the believers and supporters of this faith like to believe that God is limitless, and that with God all things are possible, yet at the same time they demand that this very same God is grossly inept and incapable of doing anything truly grand.

It's just unbelievable how much these people restrain "god" from being truly grand. They are so insistent upon the pettiness of their God that it's truly sad. They take a potentially wonderful idea and turn it into absolute petty garbage.

Even water, in excess, can kill.

Thank you, yes. I'm six years post-op with only the scars to hint that anything that deadly ever happened to me. I seem to have lost the ability to speed read with the same very high degree of retentive comprehension I had before. Still, I count myself very fortunate.

-Kerry O.

Thank you, yes. I'm six years post-op with only the scars to hint that anything that deadly ever happened to me. I seem to have lost the ability to speed read with the same very high degree of retentive comprehension I had before. Still, I count myself very fortunate.

-Kerry O.

Ja,

The only thing I can tell you for sure is that there are worse things than dying. In some ways, it's a kindness the universe bestows on us when time has taken its toll on both your physical bodies and that part of spirit which lingers in this realm.

I was raised by Born Agains. They've all since gone to the eternal rewards in which they believed. They are gone from my sight, but they live on in my memory. As a secular humanist, I believe that the best of what we are passes on into what many of those who share that faith would call 'The Racial Memory'. And part of that Racial Memory is feeling both a deep-seated joy AND sorrow at such things as this sentiment from John Donne:




-Kerry O.

Did your religion teach you to be so judgmental of other people or is this just your own personal flaw?

You speak of "bashing" Christianity, but what do you think Christianity does to every other religion on planet Earth?

Christianity is nothing but a continual bashing of all other religions as being "false" and a bashing of atheists as having "rejected" God.

Christians and their jealous bigoted Gods are the religion bashes.

Ever hear the story about people who live in glass houses?

If you want to demand that Jesus is the only begotten son of God and that all other religious and spiritual stories are lies then who's doing the bashing?

Personally I don't care if you want to make a monster out of Jesus. However, if you're going to proselytize it as being the "Only True" religion, then you are automatically "bashing" all other religions in the process.

Clearly you don't even begin to understand other spirituality.

You said that Jesus would need to be a lying Buddhist. But there is nothing at all that Jesus would need to have lied about. The reason being that Mahayana Buddhism is the "Great Vehicle", it embraces all spiritual archetypes which would include the Hebrew mythologies. Obviously it doesn't embrace them as the "Word of God", but that's irrelevant. Even the Gospels don't have Jesus referring to the Torah as the "Word of God", in fact when they do have him referring to the Torah they quote him as saying things like, "Is it not written in YOUR LAW?"

He didn't even refer to it as His Law, or God's Law, or anything like that. He asks them, "Is it not written in YOUR LAW"?

John.10:34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?

See how cleaver Jesus was? He spoke the absolute complete truth from a Mahayana Buddhist point of view. He referred to their mythologies as "Their Law", he referred to himself as the speaker because we are all one, and then he stated what it was that he was pointing to in "Their Laws".

Moreover, if Jesus was a demigod and humans are mere souls that need repentance in order to be accepted as lowlifes in heaven, then why would he have even pointed to the fact that the even the Torah agrees with Buddhism?

There are parts of the Old Testament that do contain wisdom. Let there be no doubt about that. It's a mish-mash of various writings and fables, some have spiritual truth to them, others are utter nonsense and clearly just the egos of men spouting off claiming to speak for God.

The main the to realize is that this is precisely what the cannon of stores are.

Yes, you can find tidbits of spiritual truth within the Bible.

Nowhere did I ever say, or imply that there is no value to anything written in the Bible. All I have ever pointed out is the utter absurdities when they do occur. I'm not interested in the truths that are in the Bible because those same truths can be founds in almost every religion and spiritual philosophy.

So if you ask me if I only focus on the nonsense in the Bible then, yes, of course I do. There's simply not point in worrying about the good stuff, because either the WHOLE THING is the word of a single Jealous Godhead, or it's not.

And clearly it's not. So that's the only thing that's relevant. The overall premise that the Bible is the infallible word of a single jealous Godhead and that all other religions are false, is itself a falsehood.

That's the only point that I care to make.

Truly.

If you are telling the truth, you would have been studying the Bible for close to or more than 40 years, before you met me. I remember the first day you found the Book of Job. You spent 40+ years studying the Bible before you discovered the Book of Job?

You have never shown even a casual knowledge of the Bible. Everyone else might take your claims at face value, but I won't.

How could you remember the first day I found the Book of Job?

You weren't even born yet.

I'm not the slightest bit interested in your underhanded tactics to attempt to discredit me. In fact, I'm quite flattered. This is the standard tactic people use when they can't address the points I actually make.

I never claimed to know every little thing in the Bible. That simply isn't necessary. Studying the Bible does not mean to just memorize ever story. Nor does it even mean to stick to just studying the book called the Bible. In fact, most of my knowledge about why the Bible is false actually comes from information I've gained from sources far outside of the actual Bible itself.

I also would have never realized that Jesus was a Mahayana Buddhist had I now discovered and learned about Mahayana Buddhism and their concept of a Bodhisattva. And the doctrine of the "Great Vehicle".

So I haven't limited myself to just the Bible. I've studied religions and spirituality for about 50 years. I probably wouldn't do well in a "bible study" class at a church because I wouldn't give the answers they like to hear.

I'm not interested in the uninteresting trivial. I'm only interested in the big picture.

Can these writings be the infallible word of an all-wise God?

IMHO, no they cannot possibly be any such thing.

Can Jesus be the demigod that is claimed by the hearsay rumors of the New Testament?

No, it simply makes no sense at all.

Just like Cowboy keeps trying to make sense of the Crucifixion.

First he claims that Jesus "died" to pay for our sins, then he realizes that Jesus didn't die spiritually and that's what's actually required to pay for sins.

So then he tries to suggest that Jesus merely made sacrifices so that we wouldn't have to. But that makes no sense either because the whole idea behind a sacrifice is to show sincerity and it would be silly for a demigod to endure suffering and pain so that we are no longer required to verify our sincerity.

Face it, as much as you would love to pretend to just discredit me so that all the good points I make will somehow just go away, it's not going to happen. The Bible makes NO SENSE. It's NONSENSE.

That's just a fact of life and will remain a fact of life even after I'm dead and gone. In fact, it was clearly already a fact of life long before I was born! Even Isaac Newton recognized the truth of what I'm saying. And I'm pretty sure he died before I was born. :bigsimle:

By the way you'd have a hard time discrediting Isaac Netwon, Albert Einstein, Carl Sagan, Richard Feynman, Stephen Hawking, etc.

I mean good luck with that.

Just give up the personal attacks already and stick to the topic material, it makes for a far nicer forum.

You are right, I won't search through the forums to find that thread. I'm not that interested in proving you a liar. But the thread exists, if anyone wants to go back 2 years or so.



Now the truth comes out.



Not in the least. You have a problem with confusing what you believe and what must be true. Jesus' body died on the cross, Christians and Jews don't believe in death of the spirit (Ecclesiastes 12:7). It's arguable that the soul can die, but that certainly won't happen until after the judgment.

Exactly, since the time of Jesus NO one has died spiritually or went to heaven. That will happen at the time of judgement when everyone that has walked this world since then will be judged. And with that judgement the verdict of death or eternal life.

James,

I don't mean to be too hard on you, but you have to stop saying that you've studied Christianity for nearly 50 years, when you know that isn't true. I don't doubt that you've studied spirituality for nearly 50 years, it's clear that very little, if any, of that 50 years was dedicated to studying the Bible.

There are so many ways I could respond to this.
However, I will limit my response to this:
The shift key is your friend.

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Just like Cowboy keeps trying to make sense of the Crucifixion.

First he claims that Jesus "died" to pay for our sins, then he realizes that Jesus didn't die spiritually and that's what's actually required to pay for sins.
==================================================

Not true. Animals do not have "spirits" so therefore the sacrifice of a spirit is not what is required to pay for our sins. A SACRIFICE of something NEEDED, something you WANT, or something LOVED is needed to pay for our sins. Cause if not required for our lives or loved by us, it's not a sacrifice it's merely a ceremony. As Christians we are to sacrifice pretty much daily, for some not so much everyday. For instance, if someone starts trying to cause trouble by calling you everything in the book. We are to turn and walk away "turning the other cheek" and in that we sacrificed our own emotions. We sacrificed our wanting to beat the holy crap out of the person, we sacrificed returning with the insults. We are to keep it bottled in and let the lord do his job and he'll take care of them.

Well, again Cowboy, I'm not impressed in the least by your explanations. You'd probably be better off just keeping your spiritual beliefs to yourself.



This is a rather blatant contradiction is it not? First you claim that Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for us and then you claim that Christians need to sacrifice daily?

With all due respect that makes no sense at all.




This reveals a lot. If you feel that it's a "sacrifice" for you not to give into your egotistical urges to beat the crap out of other people who push your emotional buttons then I truly feel sorry for you indeed. Especially if you are keeping all this bottled up inside of you. You're just creating a pressure cooker that is bound to blow its top eventually when enough steam is built up and you just can't take it anymore.

This is why the Eastern Mystical approach to spirituality is far better. Instead of bottling up your ego and 'suffering' the consequences of not being able to pacify its urges, you simply recognize that the ego is not real, it's not the real you. It's a completely irrelevant illusion. It doesn't need to be defended, nor does it need to be bottled up. Just let go of it entirely, and it will no longer be a bother to you.

Personally I think you would really benefit by some of the lectures by Deepak Chopra on the Eastern Mystical view. He'll clear this all up for you and you will no longer be at the mercy of your emotions. Instead you will become the master of your being.

i wonder why it would be such an insult, to declare jesus as saying the same things as many other in human existence, whom did not endorse self bias as the guide for all other humans?

it seems such would indeed be "anti-christ", or against what "christ" was written to have said, "what you have done unto the "least" of these, is the same as having done it to me"?

and love thy neighbor as thyself...

if jesus and buddha were both alive at the same time, no doubt they would have been best buds, but that which but seeks "love" for itself from "god", has no insight as to what love actually is for other's, the brain being consumed with vision's of meeting the approval of it's declared "god", to make sure itself BE LOVED, and be not cast into hell, if this "god" does not apporve of self...

how can it not be seen, that such wish is but the self want for self run amock, so much so to reach the point, that even the greatest commandment is broken, and distain be taken on for what opposes "self bias" as the guide for all?

would these what uses this mentality, even embrace the forcible removal of what does not agree with itself from society, or from having any input into society?

and such is declared to be the "love of god"?

no doubt, more matching the traits of one named "hitler", and many other dictator's in human history...

but, then humans are supposed to be shaped in the image of "god", and in the lessor image the "devil", so some human's do and will exude freedom for all as soverign free moral agents, just as text as well declared ALL TO BE, and some will use personal want and self favor as bias to want and try to facilitate the eradication of all but itself from earth.

so, some compare buddha as less great and less knowing than "jesus", when jesus himself declared "all as gods", whom do not endorse or embrace personal bias and peronsal favor for personal gain alone as the "good" motive in themself, and most not to use when creating a place for all the children to live...

those that want their personal habits and taste to decide how earth shall be ruled, shall be the one's judged as less knowing, and ignorant, simply having fallen prey to notion's of themself as supreme, with no sight of what any ALL ARE SUPREME would be.

each is indeed a sovereign being.

sovereignty of self ends when anything that self wants to believe or do is attempted to be forced upon another to dictate what their "sovereign" self should do or believe, to suite self.

it seems the very one's guilty of the death of any christ, indeed were these that did not see anything as sovereign but themself, and only stood for one sect or clan as superior, these being the jews, but if the christian's, have come to embrace the same mentality for themself, then are they not as well guilty of the murder of the jesus, even the belief's of jesus, so then against christ in all ways, or anti-christ made manifest...

hum...

and they drink of the cup of the blood of the prophets...

so, the jews belief that they were superior, killed the prophet jesus, and so they drank of the cup of the blood, or embraced the killing of what said they were not superior, and so now the christain's take their place, with the same self as superior fervor, and so are guilty the more of drinking of the cup of the blood of the prophets?

ok...

so, it not's so hard to see whom shall be told to depart from me, i know you not, lol...

the self bias stench fills the air, with the noxious foul breath of the dragon's breath of fire, that seek to prove itself as having supreme belief, and so therefore demand itself superior.

these indeed shall be brought low by the very cosmic operations themself, and those that fight for the common good and common freedom for all shall be brought high by the same.

such shall indeed be proven beyond all perponderance of all doubt of all evidence.

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This is a rather blatant contradiction is it not? First you claim that Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for us and then you claim that Christians need to sacrifice daily?
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He made the ultimate sacrifice for us. That does not mean you can go around doing sinful things, ah it's all good Jesus done paid for it and i'm forgiven. No it doesn't work that way. The word Christian is derived from Christ, obviously it's the root of the word. It means, Christ like. So yes as Jesus sacrificed himself, we are to be willing to be like that and sacrifice particular different urges in life. So no, there is no contradiction. But keep up the work at trying to find contradictions, it gives me something to prove wrong everyday and shows the world just how desperately people like you will reach for something wrong in the bible. :D
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This reveals a lot. If you feel that it's a "sacrifice" for you not to give into your egotistical urges to beat the crap out of other people who push your emotional buttons then I truly feel sorry for you indeed.
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Was merely an example of day to day things people may face through their lives. Nothing personal of mine nor of specifically yours for I do not know your personal life. Just was a good example of certain times when people will be tempted to doing sinful actions and explaining how we are to sacrifice those feelings and or actions that would follow. Sacrifice is to give something up. It's nothing about egotistical or anything of such. Fighting in itself is egotistical. It's an ego of thinking you're stronger then the other person, egotistical that you may be a better fighter, and so on. And it'll only be bottled while the actions are being provoked, for after the incident is done there is no more anger, fear, or anything but thankfulness. Only that emotion will remain for you know they have their reward.

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it seems the very one's guilty of the death of any christ, indeed were these that did not see anything as sovereign but themself, and only stood for one sect or clan as superior, these being the jews, but if the christian's, have come to embrace the same mentality for themself, then are they not as well guilty of the murder of the jesus, even the belief's of jesus, so then against christ in all ways, or anti-christ made manifest..
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No one is superior to anyone. Don't know where you get this from. Me being a Christian am no better then you being what ever you may be and so on. Christians are no greater, smarter, or anything. That's one of the things i've said many many many times and am trying to get through to people. We are ALL equal. We ALL sin, We ALL fail our father everyday.
We ALL do such actions all the time. I'm only trying to show the way to have those burdens taken off of you and achieve greatness through Jesus Christ.