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I agree, though this has nothing to do with the death of Jesus of Nazareth. I'll agree that Jesus was the son of God, but he made it a point to show that all those who live as he did are also children of God. Jesus never mentions the "Passion" as the means to salvation. He is very clear on what...

I feel much the same way. How do you, then, determine what you think is god inspired?

If it is used to teach somethng else, and is wrong about the afterlife, you'd have to do some apologetic acrobatics to uphold inerrancy. But I still think you are right, as I don't have the burden of inerrancy.

No, but the second coming of Christ is happening every day through me (and others, of course). I don't mean to say that I am the literal prophecized resurection of a man named Jesus, but I am the second coming of Christ (body of the annointed). I don't htink jesus will ever come back, but the...

My question is whether the Bible itself can be considered an idol. And please don't come back with "it's the word of God so it can't be an idol" because we have no way of knowing whether it is the word of God or not. To me, it is exactly like an idol, ie trying to understand God through a man...

Time for some liberal theology. :) Some liberal Christians might say that by becoming part of the body of Christ, we inherit the Holy Spirit. I believe that the second coming of Christ has already happened in my life.

You'll only find these claims in the gospel of John, not Mark, Matthew, Luke, or even Thomas. This teaching was inculded in John as a way to direct the church on how to interpret Jesus's life. But, you'll find that this teaching contradict's Jesus's teaching in the other gospels on how to find...

I'll agree with the begotten part, but not only begotten. Scripturally, the only place we ever hear Jesus claim to be unique is in the book of John (and to my knowledge, even in non-cannonical writings like Gospel of Thomas). Elaine Pagels, in her book Beyond Belief, does an excellent job of...

I was raised Christian, but made a daily decision to remain so for many years. I gained much insight from it. In short, it is my spiritual heritage. Today, my relationship with God and my spiritual evolution benfit from things I learned back then. I even look often to some of the teachings of...

Hello again, vajrahara! I agree with this view. When I first started to study eastern philosophies, I learned to read everything as reflective of philosphy. Like you said, learning a completely new paradigm (as certainly eastern thinking is compared to western) makes looking into the details...

Sporadic, maybe. But moving the dialogue further doesn't seem futile to me. I don't know what would give you that impression, especially if you don't indicate what lead you to that conclusion. The only reason I left Christianity was because of conviction, though my intellect quickly and easily...

Ah, I see. Hm, I suppose could do some research, but maybe I'm not wording myself correctly to have you understand. For example, gassho can be considered a bow in recognition of the oneness of all things, it is a bow to oneself, or in recognition of Buddha in all things. Does this explain it...

But they believed the material world was illusion. At least we believe we can. This is certainly more Mahayana than Theraveda, but it has its place within Buddhism. Well, the OP was worded a little strangely. It's still worth engaging in inter-religious dialogue. What is the question...

I hope you don't mind if I interject, but as a pantheist, I feel I might be able to add to the discussion. I find that when people have experiences like these, they never are content with the language they must use to convey it. Someone living a hundred years ago would have said atoms. He is...

There's quote a bit of difference. desire:lust rest:sloth confidence:pride admiration:envy There is a difference in a natural, healthy reaction and a pathological reaction.

To be perfectly reasnoable, you can be an agnostic theist, or agnostic non-theist. I'm an agnostic pantheist, for example.

(snicker) Paul smoked weed. 2 Corinthians 11:25 - "...once I was stoned,..."

Lust is a loaded issue. While one should try to control their desires, supressing the labido can be psychologically harmful and even lead to a pathological sex life when married. (cough) Though I'm sure that's never happened to anyone.

That would be great. Well, Jesus never really hammersthe identity of a sinner into his teachings. The Jews of the time were well aware of sin, and well aware of their identity of sinners. Jesus, instead, showed that sins can/should be forgiven. He forgave sins, taught to avoid judgement by not...