Religious education needed, please.

[Tolworth John]

Depends on the Buddhism. I followed many a Buddhist path throughout my life, and while some didn't worry about the idea of god or gods, when I was a Pureland Buddhist, gods were a part of it, they just weren't held in as high as esteem as a Buddha, since a god could die.



The Amida Buddha did the same thing. Salvic religious figures are pretty cool.

In my current path I am realising that loving and accepting yourself is in fact the same thing as God loving you. God loves us all regardless, we just have to realise it. Most don't.

Strange you followed a buddha that loved you and made your path to the pureland straight and possible and yet you gave it up for a different belief.

That does not argue for a certainity that the buddha has done that.
It argues that you are spiritualy unsatisfied and are still searching for God.
May I suggest that you investigate the historical claims of Jesus.

 

[Aryeh Jay]

Try again.
In the OT sins were forgiven by blood sacrifice that pointed to Jesus's death on the cross.
Jesus as John the Baptist proclaimed is 'The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the World.'

You did not mention anything about sacrifices and sins. Do you deny that God set some rules and as soon as the Hebrews accepted those rules God delivered them to the Promised Land?

 

[TheOldWays]

Strange you followed a buddha that loved you and made your path to the pureland straight and possible and yet you gave it up for a different belief.

It's a good path if you accept your karma and want to ensure a favourable rebirth after death. I decided I didn't want to accept my karma and moved on.

It argues that you are spiritualy unsatisfied and are still searching for God.

Indeed. I am always unable to sit still in one path if it starts to stagnate. So I usually move on after a while. Life of a seeker. Not always easy as being a Christian or Buddhist, but as mentioned, I need to continually seek truth and won't stay still just because I am told I should.

May I suggest that you investigate the historical claims of Jesus.

Was a Christian for 10 years. It was satisfying for a time, but it became stagnant so I decided to move on.

 

[Tolworth John]

You did not mention anything about sacrifices and sins. Do you deny that God set some rules and as soon as the Hebrews accepted those rules God delivered them to the Promised Land?

I don't deny anything that is in the bible.
I may not always understand things in the bible, but I accept it is Gods revealed word to man.

 

[Tolworth John]

It's a good path if you accept your karma and want to ensure a favourable rebirth after death. I decided I didn't want to accept my karma and moved on.



Indeed. I am always unable to sit still in one path if it starts to stagnate. So I usually move on after a while. Life of a seeker. Not always easy as being a Christian or Buddhist, but as mentioned, I need to continually seek truth and won't stay still just because I am told I should.



Was a Christian for 10 years. It was satisfying for a time, but it became stagnant so I decided to move on.

Your problem is that you will not accept the truth.

Jesus said that He was the Life, the Truth and the Way.

 

[Cearbhall]

The new age religion tends to say things such as "I am God" because of an intuitive connection to the Adamic body that connects all humanity as an organism leading to another common statement "we are all one."

What even is "the new age religion"?

 

[TheOldWays]

Your problem is that you will not accept the truth.

Jesus said that He was the Life, the Truth and the Way.

My experience is that reality contains many truths. Jesus may have stumbled on some good truths for sure. I don't think any of his truths are found today in Christianity however. To cling to one truth is to worship a false idea of god.

 

[Tolworth John]

My experience is that reality contains many truths. Jesus may have stumbled on some good truths for sure. I don't think any of his truths are found today in Christianity however. To cling to one truth is to worship a false idea of god.

Reality contains many truths about life, but there is only one truth about the way to God and that is faith in Jesus's death and resurrection.

 

[dlamberth]

I have said it it band that is as valid as your denial.
If you think otherwise, supply your evidence.

Your just doing the "My God is better than your God" spin. And I'm just not buying it. That's because I've experienced God's unconditional Love for Humanity as well as this Creation in way too many different spiritual paths that I've participated in.

For truth, I'd change these words of yours below...

The most surprising teaching about or from all other religions othjer than Christianity, is that the god of that rligion does not love the worshipper. The worshipper has to earn the gods love.

...to this:
The most surprising teaching about or from all religions including Christianity, is that the worshiper will Love God to the same degree that the worshiper loves the downtrodden, the hungry and those in need.

 

[dlamberth]

Jesus said that He was the Life, the Truth and the Way.

I've often questioned this as a literal teaching. That's because I understand it as a cosmic wide Christ Light of God kind of force that runs through all that exist, both the seen and unseen. As such, that Divine Spark is the very essence of existence.

 

[TheOldWays]

Reality contains many truths about life, but there is only one truth about the way to God and that is faith in Jesus's death and resurrection.

My experiences have shown otherwise. If that path works for you, then that is good.

 

[Tolworth John]

The most surprising teaching about or from all religions including Christianity, is that the worshiper will Love God to the same degree that the worshiper loves the downtrodden, the hungry and those in need

Yes God's unconditional love for humanity is seen in his provission of day and night, summer and winter, seed time and harvest etc etc etc

God causes it to rain and the sun to shine, on the rightous and on the unrightous.

Yet there isn't a religion that doesn't require something from the followers.

Only Christianity is something given by God, only Christianity puts itself firmly in history and in the historical facts of Jesus life, death, burial and resurrection.

That is what is so unique about Christianity.
Islam has nothing to match it, buddhism has nothing to match, hinduism has nothing to match it.

 

[Rajni]

Yet there isn't a religion that doesn't require something from the followers.

Only Christianity is something given by God, only Christianity puts itself firmly in history and in the historical facts of Jesus life, death, burial and resurrection.

That is what is so unique about Christianity.
Islam has nothing to match it, buddhism has nothing to match, hinduism has nothing to match it.

Christianity has requirements, too.

 

[Tolworth John]

Christianity has requirements, too.

Jesus said if you love me you will keep my commandments. But that keeping of his commandments does not give salvation.
That is through faith, by the grace and gift of God, not by our works.

 

[Tolworth John]

I've often questioned this as a literal teaching. That's because I understand it as a cosmic wide Christ Light of God kind of force that runs through all that exist, both the seen and unseen. As such, that Divine Spark is the very essence of existence.

And your evidence is for this view?

 

[Rajni]

Jesus said if you love me you will keep my commandments. But that keeping of his commandments does not give salvation.
That is through faith, by the grace and gift of God, not by our works.

That doesn't negate the fact that Christianity, like other religions, comes with requirements.

 

[Tolworth John]

My experiences have shown otherwise. If that path works for you, then that is good.

Yet your experience does not give you the peace to continue on a set path.

You follow this 'truth' for a while and then that 'truth'
believing that truth changes.

Truth doesn't change, it is an accurate depiction of reality.
All the different religions cannot all be true.
In fact every religion says that other religions are false.
So how do you determine what is or is not true?

Your experience! Not very reliable given that you are going round many different beliefs.

 

[~Anastasia~]

That doesn't negate the fact that Christianity, like other religions, comes with requirements.

Indeed.

We are expected to cooperate with God, accept healing for our brokenness, become actually like Christ, be restored to what we were created to be. It doesn't
necessarily have to happen to everyone while they are living this life (God knows the answer for each one) ... but it is the normal expectation for us. At least in the ancient understanding of Christianity.


Words alone don't mean much.

 

[Aryeh Jay]

In fact every religion says that other religions are false.

That would be incorrect.

 

[Tolworth John]

That doesn't negate the fact that Christianity, like other religions, comes with requirements.

Actually it does.

We are saved by faith and out of love do good deeds etc as a sign that we have faith.

If you believe you are required to earn your salvation by works, good deeds, rites and ceremonies you are not following theJesus as found in the bible.