I understand. But what I see is what I see. And what I see is that the Light of God is much bigger than Jesus.
I know. [/quote]
I go with option 3. That he is being miss-understood.
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I understand. But what I see is what I see. And what I see is that the Light of God is much bigger than Jesus.That's not what Jesus said. He said, 'I am the way the truth and the life and no man comes to the Father except by me."
I know. [/quote]Either Jesus was being very arrogant about Himself or He was telling the absolute truth.
I also don't know of any religion other than Sanatana Dharma where God was able to replicate Himself to dance with each individual devotee simultaneously, either (the rasa lila). Again, each religion has its own unique characteristics, as well as things in common with each other.I don't know of anyone in any other religion except Christianity that has a person to person fellowship with God in which they talk to God and God talks back to them. Moses talked with God face to face as one friend to another. No other person in any other religion ever had that encounter with their god. No other person other than Jesus has ever mixed with people, healed the sick, cast out demons, and said to his followers, "If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father", in other words those who see him are seeing the Living God. The reason why Jesus was crucified is that the Jewish religious leaders objected to Him referring to Himself as God.
So, either Jesus was mad, a liar, or He was telling the truth about himself. No other religion has had a human being claim to be the Living God and then proving it by countless miraculous acts, and then coming back from the dead, which was witnessed by 500 people at the time, and then fellowshiped with His disciples for 40 days afterward and then rose to disappear into the clouds, saying that He will come again one day in the same manner as He rose up into the clouds.
I wasn't there, so I can only go by religious conditioning / hearsay. I believe God (Vishnu, among other names) would be capable of moving the stone, but my believing that doesn't really depend on any particular religion I espouse at any given time. God is God, so He can do such things with a flick of the wrist, if even that. Hinduism credits Him for being able to lift a mountain with His pinky, so yeah...I have a question to ask you. When Jesus was put in the tomb and was there for three days, and then the witnesses saw the tomb empty with the grave clothes neatly folded, who actually moved the stone to allow Him to come out?
I don't know of anyone in any other religion except Christianity that has a person to person fellowship with God in which they talk to God and God talks back to them. Moses talked with God face to face as one friend to another. No other person in any other religion ever had that encounter with their god. No other person other than Jesus has ever mixed with people, healed the sick, cast out demons, and said to his followers, "If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father", in other words those who see him are seeing the Living God. The reason why Jesus was crucified is that the Jewish religious leaders objected to Him referring to Himself as God.
So, either Jesus was mad, a liar, or He was telling the truth about himself. No other religion has had a human being claim to be the Living God and then proving it by countless miraculous acts, and then coming back from the dead, which was witnessed by 500 people at the time, and then fellowshiped with His disciples for 40 days afterward and then rose to disappear into the clouds, saying that He will come again one day in the same manner as He rose up into the clouds.
I have a question to ask you. When Jesus was put in the tomb and was there for three days, and then the witnesses saw the tomb empty with the grave clothes neatly folded, who actually moved the stone to allow Him to come out?
As I understand it, the dance of Sanatana Dharma is a dance with the entire universe. The devotees consist of all that exist.I also don't know of any religion other than Sanatana Dharma where God was able to replicate Himself to dance with each individual devotee simultaneously, either (the rasa lila).
The principles of Buddhism may work well for a person in this life. But death has to come to us all. What then? Will it take you out into eternity to a bright and joyful future there?This in my view is one of the great strengths of Buddhism; while there are surely Buddhists who'll argue over which tradition is "best" or more true to the original etc, there really isn't supposed to be one single way that everybody must, or at least should, believe and act. When I was a Christian, there was always a question of which denomination had it Right(tm) regarding this or that theological point. One good thing I'm learning from Buddhism is that questions like that are pointless and I don't even need to ask which particular brand of Buddhism (or any other religion/philosophy for that matter) is "more true". In Buddhism I find a lot of things I can do, while in Christianity there were first and foremost things to believe. For me personally, Buddhism simply works better for achieving my goal, which is to reduce suffering and find freedom.
Luke stated plainly that his research for his gospel was meticulous and thorough and he had interviewed all the eye witnesses to Jesus' ministry, death and resurrection. He was there while many of these witnesses were still alive and who witnessed the ministry and miracles of Jesus, heard His teaching. Some were there at His crucifixon and His resurrection. Luke would have interviewed many of the 500 who saw Jesus after his resurrection. His research was just as thorough and scholarly as any other historian whom we accept as genuine.Or the strong probability that the events didn't transpire at all. Or were embellished upon at a much later point.
Bart Ehrman's "How Jesus Became God" has been a pretty interesting read (or listen, in my case) on the topic. It's kept me engaged from start to finish on a subject that I thought would bore the crap out of me.
Luke's research was as thorough and scholarly as any other historical research, and he had an advantage over other church and secular historians, he interviewed the people who were there and witnessed first hand the things Jesus did and said. So his account is more accurate of the events than any other history that relies just on documents which were written by the victors in most situations and therefore biased. Luke based his account of Jesus on eye witnesses, while most historians can only offer personal opinions about what has happened throughout history.There's a fourth option though: what we read about Jesus in the bible isn't in fact an accurate record of what he said and did.
That is because you have never sought Him with all your heart. Unless you do, you will never find Him.I don't know too much about the multitude of religions out there. I know a lot about Christianity and a little about Buddhism. The Christian gospel is obviously the ultimate and only way to salvation, but that presumes that you accept its premises to begin with. I mean, before talking about the only way to God, I would have to know that there is a God and that there's a way to him. Personally I don't know that.
I took a break and watched a TV movie with my wife.Deleted,
looks like Oscarr has been called away, maybe to help the mrs,
who knows.
It depends on how the statement "God has spoken to me" is used. If it is used to manipulate others or to demonstrate that I am closer to God than others around me, then I am using it falsely."God has spoken to me"
Is probably the main cause of divisionn, strife, and all the troubles.
God communicates with mankind through prophesy,
If a prediction comes true it, has succeeded,
if a prophesy comes true it has failed.
The Prophet tells of the future that will happen if we do not mend our ways,
They do not predict, they warn.
The Prophets were not kings or members of the royal courts.
They were (usually) not priests or members of a religious establishment.
They held no office, they were not elected.
Often they were deeply unpopular,
only rarely were the Prophets heeded,
one exeption is Jonah.
They were the worlds first social critics, and their message continues through the centuries.
As Kirkegaard almost said:
"When a king dies, his power ends.
when a Prophet dies his influence begins."
Sounds like Pantheism to me.As I understand it, the dance of Sanatana Dharma is a dance with the entire universe. The devotees consist of all that exist.
The magic happens when we are able to dance with God as He dances with each each individual.
It depends on how the statement "God has spoken to me" is used. If it is used to manipulate others or to demonstrate that I am closer to God than others around me, then I am using it falsely.
There are many who say, "God has spoken to me" therefore you must listen to me otherwise you are rejecting God. What this is really saying is that "I am a god, because the Living God has spoken to me and therefore you must accept my authority because if you reject what I am saying you are rebelling against the Living God."
I see these people as false prophets to whom God has not spoken at all. They have made it up out of their own heads.
I see my friendship with God as a personal relationship in which He gives me insights and wisdom about how to live a meaningful life and how to effectively serve others.
it is not to go around dictating to others because "God has spoken to me and therefore you have to believe what I say". Anything I say here or anywhere else is just my personal view and I don't take the Lord's name in vain by putting His Name to anything I say.
Panenthesim, actually. It's a picture of the Divine as Immanent.Sounds like Pantheism to me.
A promise of eternity.The principles of Buddhism may work well for a person in this life. But death has to come to us all. What then? Will it take you out into eternity to a bright and joyful future there?
I've always felt an existence of eternity would be more of a punishment anyways. It would truly rob all meaning from life.A promise of eternity.
I don't buy it.
We're in this life now.
Yes, Buddhism works very well in this life.
"Death" for us is not a primary problem. It is merely seen as a source of suffering - like any other problem in our lives. By resolving the root issue regarding suffering, all other problems that stem from it take care of themselves - death included.The principles of Buddhism may work well for a person in this life. But death has to come to us all. What then? Will it take you out into eternity to a bright and joyful future there?
Those words look like speaking in tongues to me. My doctor once made a diagnosis of a condition I had and he expressed it in medical language. I told him that he was speaking in tongues and I would try those words in church next Sunday!!Panenthesim, actually. It's a picture of the Divine as Immanent.
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