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| Topic: OK GOD I can handle it from here? | |
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Cowboy wrote: Christian chat doesn't have much conversation in that area. Don't know exactly how to explain it, so please bare with me if it doesn't come out right. Discussing in the general discussion it gives me a specific reasoning to look specific things up. Yes could sit down and think of all kinds of things to look up. But there wouldn't be as much reason to do so. Discussing here makes me look up certain things of which is being discussed. And with it involving other people, that forces me to look deeper into the verses and surrounding verses to make sure I'm keeping them in context as to not spread false testimony. You should enroll in a seminary school and become an ordained preacher, if your not already on that path. They might even give you your own church eventually. Why risk a possible misunderstanding when God has provided you with Christian seminary schools to attend? Surely if you pray to God he will help you become enrolled in one of his chosen schools. Maybe they'll even send you out as a missionary into places where people are in dire need of God's help, and you can serve God in that way too. Why take it upon yourself to try to decide what God has to say when God has provided you with Christian seminaries to attend? |
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Cowboy wrote: Christian chat doesn't have much conversation in that area. Don't know exactly how to explain it, so please bare with me if it doesn't come out right. Discussing in the general discussion it gives me a specific reasoning to look specific things up. Yes could sit down and think of all kinds of things to look up. But there wouldn't be as much reason to do so. Discussing here makes me look up certain things of which is being discussed. And with it involving other people, that forces me to look deeper into the verses and surrounding verses to make sure I'm keeping them in context as to not spread false testimony. You should enroll in a seminary school and become an ordained preacher, if your not already on that path. They might even give you your own church eventually. Why risk a possible misunderstanding when God has provided you with Christian seminary schools to attend? Surely if you pray to God he will help you become enrolled in one of his chosen schools. Maybe they'll even send you out as a missionary into places where people are in dire need of God's help, and you can serve God in that way too. Why take it upon yourself to try to decide what God has to say when God has provided you with Christian seminaries to attend? That's a very good idea. Thanks Abra. I've thought about it briefly in the past. But after reading your post, it has given me the great(er) desire to go out and be a missionary. Would give meaning and purpose to my life rather then wasting my life away doing peddly things to pass the time. Again, thank you Abra :) |
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I imagine that the Christian chat room just isn't stimulating enough. They all probably just try to get along. Its the Christian thing to do.  I have actually been thinking of going to a local methodist church here in town. Most of the people in town think of me as a witch because of my tarot reading, but the methodist church is mostly a social club I think. I want to get my mom to go with me. The problem is I can't stand the singing.  I plan to wear my black witches dress of course.  No no, Jeannie, don't wear your witch's dress. When in Rome do as the Romans do.  If you're going to mingle with the Christians to appease them, then do your best to appease them. Don't be holding out by flying in the door on your broom. You'll just scare the hell out of them! Of course that would be a good thing. At least they will have been cleansed of all evil.  I used to take my mother to a Christian church just down the road. She was too old and feeble to attend by herself so I went along to assist her. The woman preacher knew that I was a non-believer, and often times she would look directly at me when delivering her sermons. I thought it was extremely hilarious because some of her sermons would not even remotely apply to me. For example, she was really looking at me hard when she was giving as sermon on spouses cheating on their mates. Well, duh. I didn't even have a spouse at the time, nor even a girlfriend for that matter. She also looked at me with really hardened eyes when she was preaching that we shouldn't be sexually promiscuous. Well duh, I'm a celibate monk, she has no clue who's she's even preaching to. I was probably one of the most angelic people in the whole building.  But because she knew that I don't accept the Bible as the word of God, she always treated me like I was some sort of criminal on probation or something. I can't handle the extremely judgmental attitude of Christians who judge people based on the simple fact that they don't worship the ancient Hebrews as God. That's just so pathetic. Who's going to feel welcome around such judgmental people? One day my mother got so feeble that she decided she no longer wanted to get up and go to church. I was sad that my mother was feeling so weak, but at the same time I was glad that the horror was over. The sermons they gave were never uplifting but always accusatory. It was just disgusting. Like I need to attend sermons where people are going to tell me not to do things that I never do anyway. What a waste of time. And yes, the singing was horrible. Even when the music wasn't bad I would often cringe at the lyrics. Some of those lyrics are truly disgusting. "The old rugged cross that I cherish and love?" Gimmie a break. If Jesus had been hung would they be singing, "The old dangling noose that I cherish and love?". Probably not. Sometime you just need to shake your head with disbelief at some of the things that these people will support and partake in. |
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Cowboy wrote: That's a very good idea. Thanks Abra. I've thought about it briefly in the past. But after reading your post, it has given me the great(er) desire to go out and be a missionary. Would give meaning and purpose to my life rather then wasting my life away doing peddly things to pass the time. Again, thank you Abra :) Well, I certainly wish you the very best. And I sincerely hope you find organizations and institutions that you can truly feel comfortable with. I truly do.  That would be super great.  I wish I had the energy and youth to embark on a similar mission to help humanity. Obviously I would choose alternative philosophical ideals, but the end result of helping people would be the ultimate goal. I just read this letter that another member posted in another thread, and I confess, this letter has served as inspiration for me to get off my butt and do something more positive as well. http://actualsanity.com/ In fact, I started writing a spiritual book called "The Labyrinth Way", but I eventually lost interest in it. I really should go back and finish that book and publish it. That book alone could be a lot of inspiration for a lot of people. And would certainly outlive me. This is something I could do that would continue on even after I'm gone. One of the reasons I gave up on it is because I would like to use a lot of artwork in it and I'm not a very good artist. I wish Jeanniebean lived just down the street from me, I'd see if I could bum some art lessons off her in exchange for mowing her lawn or something. |
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Edited by
Jeanniebean
on
Wed 03/09/11 09:03 PM
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Okay I won't wear my black dress. I am just curious about the reception I might get. I've been in a couple of churches here in town, and so far the people have been nice. There are a couple of churches that would creep me out. In one, where they speak in tongues and dance around and faint and stuff. In another, some people went into a back room and washed each others feet. I thought that was a bit odd. For someone who has not been too church for years, I don't know if I will handle it. One church called everyone "sheep." EEwwww I didn't like that. I was wondering if they planned on sheering us or leading us to slaughter.
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Okay I won't wear my black dress. I am just curious about the reception I might get. I've been in a couple of churches here in town, and so far the people have been nice. There are a couple of churches that would creep me out. In one, where they speak in tongues and dance around and faint and stuff. In another, some people went into a back room and washed each others feet. I thought that was a bit odd. For someone who has not been too church for years, I don't know if I will handle it. One church called everyone "sheep." EEwwww I didn't like that. I was wondering if they planned on sheering us or leading us to slaughter. I don't understand why you would even want to bother going to a religious service if you don't believe in the doctrine or interpretations of that doctrine that a church preaches? Are you considering this because there simply isn't any other social gatherings in your area? That seems pretty strange to me. A place that only has religious gatherings and no other social life would freak me out. |
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Okay I won't wear my black dress. I am just curious about the reception I might get. I've been in a couple of churches here in town, and so far the people have been nice. There are a couple of churches that would creep me out. In one, where they speak in tongues and dance around and faint and stuff. In another, some people went into a back room and washed each others feet. I thought that was a bit odd. For someone who has not been too church for years, I don't know if I will handle it. One church called everyone "sheep." EEwwww I didn't like that. I was wondering if they planned on sheering us or leading us to slaughter. I don't understand why you would even want to bother going to a religious service if you don't believe in the doctrine or interpretations of that doctrine that a church preaches? Are you considering this because there simply isn't any other social gatherings in your area? That seems pretty strange to me. A place that only has religious gatherings and no other social life would freak me out. Sort of. Not that I desire a "social life." I am just curious about these people and their motives. This is a small town with their little "clicks" and I feel like I just don't know what is going on here. Heck, I don't know any of the gossip. I host a website for this town. I'm sure there are nice people here but I don't really know too many of them. They all seem to know me though, and that creeps me out. |
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ShiningArmour wrote: "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces." An interesting verse Cowboy. I see you trying to talk sense to these people and you get back talk every time. Maybe you're wasting your time? "You can lead an atheist to truth, but you cannot make him think!" To begin with Cowboy isn't even talking with atheists on here. AdventureBegins, Jeanniebean, myself, and others that he has argued with are all spiritual people, we aren't atheists. The verse that you are attempting to reference wouldn't even apply here. Because the people that Cowboy is arguing with already acknowledge the "Holy Spirit". They just don't agree that the Hebrews have the copyright or patent on the creator of all humanity. Nor are they interested in worshiping Cowboy as the spokesperson for God.  What Cowboy (and many Christians) often do, is scream that God is going to out to get people on a technicality if people don't cower down and worship the ancient Hebrew doctrines as the "verbatim" word of God. And more precisely, as specifically interpreted by them! And they usually have extremely harsh and pessimistic interpretations. What we are attempting to express to Cowboy is that we don't view God with his pessimistic view. We simply don't feel that God is as untrustworthy and as unintelligent as Cowboy has come to believe. Cowboy seems to have an extreme fear that God is going to be condemning GOOD people on mere trivial technicalities. AB, JB, myself and others trust that God is above such pettiness. Cowboy roots through the scriptures in an attempt to find verses that he can interpret in the most pessimistic way possible. He takes everything extremely literally and leaves no room for possible errors or misunderstandings, either on his part, or on the part of the actual authors and or translators/transcribers of these ancient stories. When we try to offer him a more liberal optimistic interpretation of something, he quickly runs to try to find verses that he can use to undermine our optimism. I personally see no value in such a pessimistic approach to spirituality. His choice to be that pessimistic about God and view God to be such a ruthless and heartless dictator who would condemn people on truly insignificant technicalities, is a choice of his own making. I would ask you the following questions: Is there anywhere in the stories of the Biblical cannon where any of authors suggest that such a cannon would some day be constructed using their stories and that everyone must believe in this cannon is the verbatim word of God? My answer to this question is, "No there isn't." There is no prophecy anywhere in this cannon of stories that actually predicts that such a cannon was ever God's intent. Is there anywhere in the New Testament where Jesus give prophecy that he would send some guy name Saul or Paul to finish his mission? I'm certainly not aware of any such prophecy. So where is there any reason to accept the writings of Paul as having anything to do with Jesus? Also, did Jesus himself instruct anyone to write anything down for future generations in his name? I don't believe he did. In fact, according to the authors of the New Testament Jesus said that everything he gave as prophecy would be fulfilled before the current generation that he was speaking live had passed. Jesus himself never wrote anything down for future generations to read! So the conclusions that Cowboy and other religious zealots are jumping to, truly have no merit outside of a perspective of extreme paranoia where they fear that God is an unreasonable monster who is out to get everyone on petty technicalities. Their main thesis being that the greatest technical offense would be to refuse to accept the Hebrew scriptures as the infallible verbatim word of God, AND to not accept their own personal pessimistic interpretations of those scriptures! I personally seen no value in such pessimism and distrust of our creator. If people want to be paranoid that God is a unrighteous monster who is out to get everyone on trivial technicalities, that's certainly their right. However, to run around screaming "The sky is falling! The sky is falling" is a bit extreme I think. I just personally don't view God as my nemesis as Cowboy seems to feel that I should. I read the same scriptures that Cowboy reads. However unlike Cowboy, I don't stop there. I also look at what's going on in all human cultures all over the planet. What I see are a lot of common truths in all spiritual traditions, myths, and philosophies. There are even valuable moral and spiritual lessons to be found in the stories of Greek Mythology. Some of those stories may have been divinely inspired as well, IMHO. That doesn't mean that they need to be taken as verbatim absolute truths. They are simply parables and metaphors used to convey a spiritual or moral lesson. Whether they are divinely inspired or just the thoughts of mortal men is anyone's guess. Well, I see no reason to view the Hebrew legends and religious folklore any differently. They often contain the very same types of moral values and spiritual lesson as the religious writings of any other culture. However they also contain some pretty nasty stuff that I personally don't believe that came from any God. Like condoning a male-chauvinistic attitude toward woman for example. Or the judging and stoning to death of sinners, and "heathens". I personally don't believe that those things ever came from any divine source. I also hold that Jesus didn't agree with those directives either. Even the Gospels have Jesus renouncing that kind of behavior. Instead Jesus taught behaviors that are more harmonious with the moral conduct that was taught by other cultures, Buddhism in particular. So it's my conclusion that much of what's in the Old Testament is totally man-made prejudices and male-chauvinism. I feel that this is a totally reasonable conclusion. Sure their may also be some spiritual insight mixed in with these fables as well, but that doesn't make everything they wrote the "verbatim word of God". So that's a reasonable assessment IMHO. Cowboy is screaming that it's his belief that God will condemn me for merely being a reasonable person. I disagree. I also agree with the Jews and others, that Jesus did not satisfy the prophecies of a messiah. That's clearly a respectable view in Judaism. So there's nothing extreme about this. Judaism is a perfectly respectable religion even today. I had also dismissed the idea that God is appeased by blood sacrifices for the atonement of sins. In fact, the bible itself contradicts this notion. In the early going it demands that God requires blood sacrifices for the atonement of sins, and then later in the cannon it has God himself proclaiming that he has no interest in any such thing and asks where the people ever got that idea in the first place. Well, duh. It's the the biblical cannon! Except the problem is that there was no "cannon" at that time, so the author who was asking where people got that idea obviously did not condone the previous stories that are now in the biblical cannon today. This is just further evidence that these stories were never even meant to be canonized into a single collection of stories in the first place. When I look at the teachings of Jesus I see the teachings of Buddha. Moreover I accept these teachings as being rational and basically common sense. Keep in mind that this does not include the teachings of Paul. Paul was not Jesus and as far as I can see Jesus never authorized Paul to speak on his behalf. If a belief in Paul was that important I would think that Jesus would have mentioned Paul in his prophecies which he never did. So anyway, I see no reason to believe that Jesus was a "sacrificial lamb" of God sent to pay for the sins of mankind. I see no reason to worship the entire biblical cannon as the "verbatim word of God". These things just aren't important, IMHO. Now, some of the authors of the New Testament suggest that a belief in Jesus is paramount. They suggest that if you don't believe in Jesus then you are already "condemned". Well, what Jesus was teaching them was that they must do as he suggests if they want to achieve nirvana or heaven. So they took that to mean that a person must believe in Jesus because there would be no other way to acquire and follow his teachings. But that was incorrect thinking. If you follow the tenets of Buddhism you'll be living precisely as Jesus had suggested. In fact, it's my own personal belief that Jesus himself got his very own wisdom from Buddhism. Otherwise why would these teachings be in such harmony? So my conclusion is that it is indeed possible to follow the teachings of Jesus without even having ever heard of Jesus. If you stumbled into Buddhism you'd have the very same moral teachings to live by. In fact, there are other spiritual traditions that teach similar moral values as well, such as Taoism and Confucianism, as well as others. The point is that you only need to live by those moral values, and that was the message of the parables of Jesus. So there's no reason to go running around with extreme pessimism proclaiming that God is out to condemn everyone on petty technicalities if they refuse to worship the precise pessimistic interpretations of an overly-zealous paper pope. That's certainly not the message of Jesus. It's just not a reasonable way of looking at things, IMHO. You wanted pearls so I'm going to offer them. They are simple corrections. Before I begin allow me to predict that you will reject them. Hell if Cowboy where a gambling man I would put money on it! (Any takers?) The only two things I wanted to correct you on where the part in which you say that stoning was wrong. It was. Jesus once stopped the stoning of a prostitute. I wont go through the whole thing but he said "Let he who hath no sin cast the first stone" The crowd left. The woman was forgiven. Revenge is not in the bible unless you count "Tooth for tooth" Which was simply added because the law found it easier to promote since everyone of the time got revenge anyhow. Second you say they have male chauvinism. The male is the dominant animal. This is just a fact of life. If the man is a man of God and he will lead the woman will follow. It's in her DNA. Its how they are. I once heard a man say that his wife would not follow. He said fine. Do what you want. She did. It did'nt work. She followed the man and she was OK. Now you and jeaniebean and whoever else can bury me in your rejections. Tell me why I'm wrong by your own logic. Go ahead I'll wait. HOWEVER I do have one favor. You wanted pearls and I gave them to you. Can you help me by showing how I get to the christian forum? I thought this was it! If I can discuss this with others Christians that would be great. You would not have to deal with me and I would have people to discuss my thoughts with. Thank ya! |
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"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces." An interesting verse Cowboy. I see you trying to talk sense to these people and you get back talk every time. Maybe you're wasting your time? "You can lead an atheist to truth, but you cannot make him think!" I do not want your pearls. (I have one of Great Price already). I do not want your pearls. (Diamonds surround me as small points of Great Light). I do not want your pearls. (you throw them upon the ground - evidently you think very little of their worth). You can not lead me anywhere... You wander aimlessly in the weeds... I have a path... and god illuminates it for me. I drink from a Chalice filled with the Glory of God... Why then would I want water from the dirt. Proof of why no one should offer the truth. And I usually don't. |
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ShiningArmour wrote: HOWEVER I do have one favor. You wanted pearls and I gave them to you. Well, if your so-called "pearls" are to use the Bible to support a male chauvinistic society and world, then please do toss them to the swine, because I certainly have no need of your so-called "wisdom". Can you help me by showing how I get to the christian forum? I thought this was it! If I can discuss this with others Christians that would be great. You would not have to deal with me and I would have people to discuss my thoughts with. Thank ya! Gladly. Follow this link.  http://mingle2.com/forum/forum/188 |
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Edited by
ShiningArmour
on
Thu 03/10/11 09:49 AM
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ShiningArmour wrote: HOWEVER I do have one favor. You wanted pearls and I gave them to you. Well, if your so-called "pearls" are to use the Bible to support a male chauvinistic society and world, then please do toss them to the swine, because I certainly have no need of your so-called "wisdom". Can you help me by showing how I get to the christian forum? I thought this was it! If I can discuss this with others Christians that would be great. You would not have to deal with me and I would have people to discuss my thoughts with. Thank ya! Gladly. I did not think you would take it as your belief. It was simply a correction. However I thank you for not attacking me. As well as for the link. May God bless you. Follow this link. http://mingle2.com/forum/forum/188 I did not think you would take it as your belief. It was simply a correction. However I thank you for not attacking me. As well as for the link. May God bless you. Why this did not show up the fist time I attempted to put it here I don't know |
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ShiningArmour wrote: I did not think you would take it as your belief. It was simply a correction. You say that you've made "corrections" to things I've said. But I don't see where you've made any "corrections". You say: The only two things I wanted to correct you on where the part in which you say that stoning was wrong. It was. Jesus once stopped the stoning of a prostitute. I wont go through the whole thing but he said "Let he who hath no sin cast the first stone" The crowd left. The woman was forgiven. What did you think that you "corrected" here? I was saying that in my own personal opinion stoning people to death was wrong. However, clearly it was not wrong according to the Old Testament or Torah. On the contrary it was a directive given to man my God according to the Bible. So if you're agreeing with me that it was "wrong" then you're also agreeing with me the the Old Testament must be "wrong". If a God had only wanted non-sinners to stone people to death, and the premise of the Bible is that no human is sin free, then for God to have ever instructed people to stone people to death would have been totally absurd. So you've haven't corrected a thing. There huge problems with the stories. In other words, if Jesus is proclaiming that only sinless people should cast the first stone, then he's basically saying that he doesn't want anyone to ever stone anyone to death. But that contradicts the directives of the original Abrahamic God. So you've "corrected" nothing here. Revenge is not in the bible unless you count "Tooth for tooth" Which was simply added because the law found it easier to promote since everyone of the time got revenge anyhow. I absolutely do count "Eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth", that too was God's directive to mankind. Now if it's your position that this wasn't a directive from God but rather it merely represents the man-made laws of the Jews, then you've opened up a whole can of worms that can never be re-closed. What you are doing when you suggest this is basically stating that the entire bible cannot be considered to be the "word of God" and that some of it is simply the laws of men that got tossed into the biblical writings. If that's the case then who's to say which laws came from God and which laws came from man? Once you've opened the door to that kind of interpretation then people can simply say that all the references to homosexuality being wrong were nothing more than the man-made laws of the Jews and have nothing to do with God. In other words, once you allow that some parts of the Bible are nothing more than the man-made laws of the Jews, then you've opened the door wide for arguments concerning which parts of the Bible might have something to do with God's will, and which parts of it are just the ideas of the Jews. Once you've done that, you've rendered the entire Bible as being totally useless as a guide to what God wants from us because we would have no way of knowing what directives and commandments came from God, and which are merely the opinions of the Jews. So once you've gone down that road, you haven't "corrected" me at all. But instead, all you've done is show that the Bible is a totally worthless document when it comes to trying to figure out what God might actually want from us. So your approach will totally render the Bible useless as a religious guidebook. According to you, it's clearly be contaminated by the mortal laws of the Jews. By the way, this is not an "attack" on you. It's simply a response to your position, and an explanation of why I find your position totally unacceptable. You even go as far as to suggest that male-chauvinism is in the DNA of both men and women. Well, that could have been caused by evolution too. But that doesn't give it moral integrity. It's in a man's DNA to be sexually attracted to all women. In fact, historically, men have often had great harems of wives. So does this then give that ideal moral integrity? |
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Edited by
ShiningArmour
on
Thu 03/10/11 10:50 AM
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I have not read the bible or gone to church in ages. I also have a memory problem. So what I say here could be totally wrong!
I would tell you to put no merit it in. It's just a ignorant fools ramblings.
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I have not read the bible or gone to church in ages. I also have a memory problem. So what I say here could be totally wrong! I would tell you to put no merit it in. It's just a ignorant fools ramblings. Well, I thank you for your honesty. This is something that truly amazes me about a lot of people who claim to "believe" in the Bible. They seem to be quite passionate about defending the idea that the Bible is the word of God, but then when it comes down to the wire they seldom, if ever, read it. I mean, if I truly believed that the Bible was the word of God, I'd be reading it daily and going over it with a fine tooth comb to gather every bit of wisdom and instructions it has to offer. In fact, I've read the Bible far more intensely than most Christians I talk with, and I'm not impressed by the collection of stories. I'm totally convinced that this cannon of stories was not intended by any conscious supreme being to be held out as the instructions for humanity. That's not meant as a put down to anyone who feels the opposite. It's simply my honest conclusion. There are some places where I do feel that God was trying to get a "word in edgewise" between the babbling of the Jews. But those parts seem to be the exception rather than the rule. And when I do see "wisdom" in various parts of the Bible, I also see that very same wisdom in almost all other religions as well. So I see no reason to use the Bible to try to trump the spiritual wisdom found in other cultures. I agree with what the man said in this letter: http://actualsanity.com/ And especially what he said regarding Jesus: "it simply means that this message (the message of compassion) is the only way to actual sanity and a better world - and it meant exactly the same thing when Jesus said it, too. "I, the message of compassion, am the way, the truth, and the life." Sorry about your bad luck, but no man comes to the Father (your true nature) but through me (the message of compassion). Got it now? Okay, good - and don't blame me, meaning "me" as in the imperfect human being who is being used as a vehicle for these truths. I didn't make the rules, and neither did Jesus, Buddha, the Dalai Lama, or anybody else who has tried to carry the message to you." And this is my basic stance as well. I'm not dismissing Jesus by far. I'm simply agreeing with the author of this love letter, that Jesus, Buddha, Confucius, and many others were teaching the same thing. If Jesus brought us the word of God, then so did Buddha, and others. It's the message of compassion. Not a message of "Either worship and obey me as God or die!" That's just not what he was trying to say, IMHO. So I'm not out to renounce Jesus but rather to uplift him from the cesspool of the rest of the Hebrew dogma. That may sound rather harsh, but what can I say? It's how I truly feel.  |
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I have not read the bible or gone to church in ages. I also have a memory problem. So what I say here could be totally wrong! I would tell you to put no merit it in. It's just a ignorant fools ramblings. Well, I thank you for your honesty. This is something that truly amazes me about a lot of people who claim to "believe" in the Bible. They seem to be quite passionate about defending the idea that the Bible is the word of God, but then when it comes down to the wire they seldom, if ever, read it. I mean, if I truly believed that the Bible was the word of God, I'd be reading it daily and going over it with a fine tooth comb to gather every bit of wisdom and instructions it has to offer. In fact, I've read the Bible far more intensely than most Christians I talk with, and I'm not impressed by the collection of stories. I'm totally convinced that this cannon of stories was not intended by any conscious supreme being to be held out as the instructions for humanity. That's not meant as a put down to anyone who feels the opposite. It's simply my honest conclusion. There are some places where I do feel that God was trying to get a "word in edgewise" between the babbling of the Jews. But those parts seem to be the exception rather than the rule. And when I do see "wisdom" in various parts of the Bible, I also see that very same wisdom in almost all other religions as well. So I see no reason to use the Bible to try to trump the spiritual wisdom found in other cultures. I agree with what the man said in this letter: http://actualsanity.com/ And especially what he said regarding Jesus: "it simply means that this message (the message of compassion) is the only way to actual sanity and a better world - and it meant exactly the same thing when Jesus said it, too. "I, the message of compassion, am the way, the truth, and the life." Sorry about your bad luck, but no man comes to the Father (your true nature) but through me (the message of compassion). Got it now? Okay, good - and don't blame me, meaning "me" as in the imperfect human being who is being used as a vehicle for these truths. I didn't make the rules, and neither did Jesus, Buddha, the Dalai Lama, or anybody else who has tried to carry the message to you." And this is my basic stance as well. I'm not dismissing Jesus by far. I'm simply agreeing with the author of this love letter, that Jesus, Buddha, Confucius, and many others were teaching the same thing. If Jesus brought us the word of God, then so did Buddha, and others. It's the message of compassion. Not a message of "Either worship and obey me as God or die!" That's just not what he was trying to say, IMHO. So I'm not out to renounce Jesus but rather to uplift him from the cesspool of the rest of the Hebrew dogma. That may sound rather harsh, but what can I say? It's how I truly feel. Jeribean said Quote: "Everybody is allowed to have their faulty and twisted opinions" I think that sums up this post nicely. |
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ShiningArmour wrote: Jeribean said Quote: "Everybody is allowed to have their faulty and twisted opinions" I think that sums up this post nicely. I find it rather odd, that you're the one who has suggested that I might be attacking you, yet every time I post my view, it's always you that has something nasty or degrading to say. Previously you've tried to use the Bible to imply that if I don't agree with various individual Christians I must be swine or a fool. Now, you're directly stating that my views are faulty twisted opinions. Clearly, you're the one who loves to sling the mud. The bottom line is that your so-called "corrections" to my views simply don't hold water. And when I point that out, you sling the insults. Personally I think your scene name is a bit misleading. If you have any armor I can assure you that it's not shiny. You sling far too much mud and so it's bound to be all over you as well. |
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"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces." An interesting verse Cowboy. I see you trying to talk sense to these people and you get back talk every time. Maybe you're wasting your time? "You can lead an atheist to truth, but you cannot make him think!" I do not want your pearls. (I have one of Great Price already). I do not want your pearls. (Diamonds surround me as small points of Great Light). I do not want your pearls. (you throw them upon the ground - evidently you think very little of their worth). You can not lead me anywhere... You wander aimlessly in the weeds... I have a path... and god illuminates it for me. I drink from a Chalice filled with the Glory of God... Why then would I want water from the dirt. Proof of why no one should offer the truth. And I usually don't. I HAVE offered the truth... Your response to it is a telling 'truth' in its own right. Because you have 'jesus' and the christian bible I salute you. This is your truth. My truth encompases all the prophets from Abraham through Mohammad and beyond... Why would I want a lesser truth? Jesus is included in what I hold by faith... But there is much more to the 'truth' of Gods Revelations then a Prophet that came 2000 years ago. Did you really think that God would have left mankind alone for that long? |
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Edited by
CowboyGH
on
Thu 03/10/11 07:04 PM
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"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces." An interesting verse Cowboy. I see you trying to talk sense to these people and you get back talk every time. Maybe you're wasting your time? "You can lead an atheist to truth, but you cannot make him think!" I do not want your pearls. (I have one of Great Price already). I do not want your pearls. (Diamonds surround me as small points of Great Light). I do not want your pearls. (you throw them upon the ground - evidently you think very little of their worth). You can not lead me anywhere... You wander aimlessly in the weeds... I have a path... and god illuminates it for me. I drink from a Chalice filled with the Glory of God... Why then would I want water from the dirt. Proof of why no one should offer the truth. And I usually don't. I HAVE offered the truth... Your response to it is a telling 'truth' in its own right. Because you have 'jesus' and the christian bible I salute you. This is your truth. My truth encompases all the prophets from Abraham through Mohammad and beyond... Why would I want a lesser truth? Jesus is included in what I hold by faith... But there is much more to the 'truth' of Gods Revelations then a Prophet that came 2000 years ago. Did you really think that God would have left mankind alone for that long? Did you really think that God would have left mankind alone for that long? God never left mankind alone. God never left, only few search for him. If you put your child in the corner of their bedroom and you go to the living room, did you leave that child alone, in the same sense you are claiming God left mankind alone? No you did not, you're not abandoning your child, God never left, we departed from God. If one wishes to go back to God, he has open arms greeting you all the way. God is and has always been there. |
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Okay then if Jesus is God, and he never left, then where is he and why is everyone waiting for him to return?
Or is he in the spaceship Hope that some say is parked on the other side of the moon? |
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Okay then if Jesus is God, and he never left, then where is he and why is everyone waiting for him to return? Or is he in the spaceship Hope that some say is parked on the other side of the moon? Jesus is our god and he is all around if you look. You can see Jesus in other people. His physical self may have left, but HE never did. You search for god with a pure and honest heart he will reveal himself to you. |
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