-
Can it be determined? Can anyone know? If there is a God, what does He expect of us? Why is one religion right and another wrong. Lets get some facts here. Not what you think but what you know.
-
I can only imagine this a "trap" where you overwhelm me with Bible quotes I couldn't care less about
We can't really KNOW while we're alive, and I think it's a waste of time to try to KNOW. But it's wonderful to try to imagine even the simplest understanding--and in some cases, like areas of morality, it's imperative that we ALWAYS try to understand it better. -
-
Actually, this is a sit and watch one for me.
-
Our souls are searching for their way back home. Many believe the only way to God is through death. Many believe that only through death will we be revealed the answers to life. This couldn't be farther from truth because the truth is all around us. It's always been there; hidden in plain sight. It's been there as long as we have, and the more corrupt we became the less we saw it, the less we wanted to see it, and the more we have buried it beneath our own lies and deceptions. We do not have to die to transcend the physical. Enlightenment is transcendence.
-
-
nothing.
without criteria, there would be a perfect religion. -
the perfect criteria would be live and let live, only help, never hinder
-
-
help but never hinder. that is a fine line to walk. some people believe that you helping is actually hindering their progress.
-
-
who would believe that?
-
There can never be a perfect religion because all religions are man made and as such flawed.
-
-
I beg to differ. There IS one true religion; we have divided it among many; making the path an elusive one. But there IS only one path, though it may take you down many detours.
-
-
Question is what is right and wrong for the sake of all?
If we were created are we to expect that our creator would want us to appreciate his efforts and have faith in each other. I believe so.
Unfortunately due to what is known as temptation to some, people take advantage of each other. Some don't consider there actions thoroughly, sometimes at all. This leads to disagreement or resentment more often than not because people are not open to discuss and forgive. Instead they seek to blame and get revenge. Thus causing more pain. It snowballs through some generations, only sometimes it is recognised and dealt with.
Opening hearts to love and trust is a dangerous thing to do. As I get older it is becoming easier to hope for, yet paradoxically more difficult as I see more of society as the years go by.
Criteria for me would be Love, Faith, Trust, Compassion, Patience, Grace, Respect, Charity and Honour.
Facts are if people are good to each other things tend to stay good.
Foremost is God, Creator, Father of all, be He male or female or neither.
GOD is Good.
-
but what if god is bad?
-
Submission to an almighty malevolent deity would seem to be the only intelligent solution, unluckily so.
-
-
Yeah it would make sense to but I dont for one minute believe God is.
Why is there so much amazingly good stuff if God is bad it seems pointless. Why not just cause us pain for eternity, seems a much simpler option. -
-
Neither do I, but that is not because of what sense is to be made. If a god was able to trick you into thinking that everything was beautiful and their is hope, then bigger the fall when you are revealed a different scenario.
Yet, I have faith.
-
-
-
the one true religion is LOVE. i know that as a fact.
-
-
I agree, Love in itself is awesome in size depth meaning. WOW he he
-
-
That's sort of a condradictory question because the answer is "no," it cannot be determined with "facts." They are all right and they are all wrong. What is the "religion" of the birds? Of dogs? Of horses? There is not an answer because the question does not apply. Religion should not exist. What does God want? For us to experience life, plain and simple. Grant put it so well when he stated, "I am doing God's will by being me." We are nothing more than individual aspects of his entirety; we are God's means of "experiencing" physicality and expressing thoughts and feelings physically. That is why there is no such thing as "sin," only experience. How can God sin against himself?
What is evil but another aspect of God? For everything is contained within and derived from God. That is why he is called the "Initial Creator," and "The Beginning and the End," and "Grand Architect." Everything has its place, its purpose, its desires. They carry their functions out within the natural laws that God defined at the moment of creation. Does that make them wrong? Evil exists, yes, but it exists because it must. If God did not wish for there to be evil, there wouldn't be. He IS that powerful. There has to be balance. -
-
Facts must be available. You have emphatically stated, "What does God want? For us to experience life, plain and simple."
and
"We are nothing more than individual aspects of his entirety; we are God's means of "experiencing" physicality and expressing thoughts and feelings physically. That is why there is no such thing as "sin," only experience."
Your words are stated as fact. What are your sources? If you are answering to the initial post, then you surely are not commenting on anything but facts, right? This is not what you think, but what you know, right? Certainly, you can back up what you say.
-
-
It's called faith. Knowing without needing facts. The soul already knows the truth. We have been conditioned to forget it. Sometimes all it takes is a little silence and openness (meditation) to tap into the things the subconcious is already aware of. I guess you could say my source is the godself within me:
When the Blessed One had said these things, he greeted them all. "Peace be with you!" he said. "Acquire my peace within yourselves!
"Be on your guard so that no one deceives you by saying, 'Look over here!' or 'Look over there!' For the child of true Humanity exists within you. Follow it! Those who search for it will find it. --- Gospels of Mary Magdala
I've studied countless texts on religions old and new, and continue still to seek knowledge. The things I state as facts are facts to me, for they are my revelations to myself that I merely choose to relay to you. Whether you use it or not is on you, whether you agree or not is on you. Read everything with an open heart and an open mind. Take everything for nothing more than just what it is, and if you ask yourself the right questions, enlightenment is inevitable. Seek and ye shall find. -
-
Moses knew where the facts come from:
Num 16:28 And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.
God expects you to be knowledgeable about what He wants for you.
Pro 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.
-
-
Do all of your beliefs stem from the bible alone? If so, you are the ultimate example of human conditioning. It is our responsibility to question authority, otherwise we are mindless cattle, incapable of making our own decisions. The bible itself does not condemn seeking answers, and it certainly does not state that it is the ONLY book in which answers can be found. How were questions answered before the bible was written? People say, "you should not question the word of God", and you shouldn't, for it IS absolute, and it will be whether you question it or not. But in questioning the BIBLE, you are questioning man's interpretation of God, and there is a big difference. You should NEVER base your beliefs strictly on someone else's word alone, or just because that's how you were raised. No, God did not write the bible. In fact, most of the stories in the bible occured long before chrisianity was even conceived.
-
-
On the contrary. God says (in the Bible), that we should test and prove Him.
Mal 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
(this works, I know)
Of course there are other means of verification. Different versions of the Bible, world history, Greek and Hebrew to english dictionaries. God also says that we should reason with Him.
Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
The Bible says that all scripture is inspired by God and is valuable for correction and instruction.
2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
The people of OT times understood about the coming Messiah, they just didn't recognize Him. Jesus Himself said "before Abraham was, I am."
Joh 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
There are things we couldn't know until Jesus came and they were spoken of in the OT.
Mat 13:35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
Jesus was ordained to die from the very beginning when Adam sinned.
Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
If we were not in tune to history, we could never tell who the ruling empires are that are talked about in Daniel 2 & 3. This is a prophecy that covers over 2,500 years and it is still being fulfilled. And fulfilled prophecy is a prime proof of the existence of the one true and living God.
Do you know why most can't understand the Bible?
2Th 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that are perishing; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2Th 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Th 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
God sends strong delusion on those who do not love the truth. He makes it so that they will believe lies because they take pleasure in lawlessness (unrighteousness). And what is sin?
1Jo 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Sin is the transgression (breaking) of the law. Which law? God's law of course. The ten commandments. Those that take pleasure in lawlessness (sin) are the ones that God will keep from really knowing the truth. ANd if you knew the truth, you would know how merciful He is in doing that.
-
-
"Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."
This shows me an example of man working through guilt with the self. After all, God is an innate part of us all, right? His sins are not being forgiven by a separate and authorative being. He is merely coming to terms with the true aspects of the self, and embracing them. Thus, the sins he once perceived as flaws he now realizes are pieces of his immaculate perfection. To reason with God is to face the self. Not stand before a separate entity.
"Pro 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise."
Because one of our biggest faults is that we only see things through one perspective; our own. We must see from all perspectives if we are to truly have wisdom.
"2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"
I could not agree more. All scripture IS inspired by God. But not ALL scripture is in the bible. The Vatican will even attest to that. All scripture IS profitable for knowledge and wisdom and ALL scripture SHOULD be used for seeking it. However: That is not to say that EVERYTHING within scripture is absolute truth, for inspired by God does not mean it is not aided by opinion and personal belief, or even ulterior motives. Man is corrupt, and so is everything he lays his hands to; even if unintentionally. We are all inspired by God whether we realize it or not—from what is anything derived but of God first?
"There are things we couldn't know until Jesus came and they were spoken of in the OT.
Mat 13:35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world."
They have been kept secret not by God, but by those in power. We have conditioned ourselves to forget. The truth was never meant to be some big secret that only the divine could know, because remember, we are all divine, each and every glorious one of us. It's always been there; hidden in plain sight. It's been there as long as we have, and the more corrupt we became the less we saw it, the less we wanted to see it, and the more we have buried it beneath our own lies and deceptions. We DO know them. We need only to REMEMBER, in which Jesus was basically a reminder. If you think about it really, the only things that Jesus spoke of was plain old common sense. Unfortunately, it’s not too common.
"2Th 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that are perishing; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved."
The deceivableness of unrighteousness. When our souls first journeyed to this physicality, we knew and understood the secrets. They are part of our fabrication. However, after a while we had come to love the physical too much and forget the spiritual aspect of ourselves; thus we began to fall into unrighteousness. Life is a balance, and must be in order to operate. We must recognize the physical for the temporary experience it is and embrace it for what it is, not being deceived by the materialism that so easily consumes us. We must remember to stay connected to the spiritual within each moment. Over countless centuries, we have encouraged our societies to grow based on wealth, power, and conquering; as opposed to love, joy, and prosperity. That is where our unrighteousness lies.
Also, it states that they ARE perishing. Not that they will perish, but they are in the process of perishing. Life is degeneration, decay; perishable. If we would only remember to grab hold of the innate connection to the ALL, we would be saved from death; we would not perish; we would have “everlasting life.” He said, "This is why you get si[c]k and die: because [you love] what de[c]ei[ve]s [you]. [Anyone who] thinks should consider (these matters)!" gospel of Mary Magdala
This is also why we suffer; because we set ourselves up for disappointment by becoming emotionally attached to the things that we deceived ourselves with.
"2Th 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:"
Not as a separate entity, but as the voice within; deceiving ourselves.
"2Th 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in
unrighteousness."
We create our own Armageddon by denying the word of the Christ. We deny the connectivity and separate ourselves from each other and from God. We separate ourselves through greed, selfishness, and lust for power, and this corruption can only lead to one inevitable end: Destruction. This physical, and seperate representation of God could not distract us further from the truth, for God is within all at all times because he IS the All. God does not damn us; we damn ourselves. Again; pleasure in unrighteousness—loving too much the physicality that deceives you.
"God sends strong delusion on those who do not love the truth. He makes it so that they will believe lies because they take pleasure in lawlessness (unrighteousness)."
I agree.
Unrighteousness can be described as not following the law he set, true. We are unrighteous not because we “sin” by commiting murder and adultery, but because we do not exist naturally; rather, we consume and conquer nature; life; his creation. We fight against the laws of the land that he set for us and told us to abide by. Instead, we blindly follow the rules of man that deceive us and convince to continue working against the natural self and the natural way of things. Think about it. We consider ourselves so high and mighty on the chain of life. We consider ourselves “civilized” and “intelligent,” and we claim that this status seperates us from the animals. The animals co-exist with each other much better than we. They realize their connectivity much more so than we, and in that sense, the animals are much more righteous than we. They are not distracted by man-made wealth and worldly possessions. They do not require a book of laws in order to establish a hierarchy. They follow the laws of the land that God set for us all at the moment of creation.
Also, God’s word is absolute. It is impossible to apply the phrase “Though shalt not kill” absolutely. What’s the difference between a moral decision and a correct one? If one kills another because it is logical for survival, does that make it immoral? This is a contradiction of man, not God. The ten commandments are man’s rules for those in power to have control over you. They impose guilt where none is merited. God does not control the decisions you make, nor does he condemn you for wrong decisions, especially if you have to experience “sin” to realize the wisdom you are faced with. There is a difference between “law” and “rules.” God established “law”, which is unbendable, absolute, and unwavering; ie: gravity, relativity, physics, etc… Man established “rules,” and where there is a rule of man, there is always an exception.
"1Jo 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law."
Alright, you already know where I stand on this. I’d just keep repeating myself.
Let me make something clear. I do not entirely disagree with the bible, and though I cannot spit quotes out as fast as you, I have read and studied it, so you are not posting anything I’m not already aware of. Also, you must understand that I encourage that devotion, for without it, what’s the point? Please understand that I am a firm believer in the phrase, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely,” and when I do read the bible, I see a lot of power behind the pages corrupting the truths therein. Religion has been molested and has been used as a tool for conditioning control.
This is just to give you an idea of where I’m coming from:
All that is began as one, single idea; an awareness; that which we call “God.” All of thought and awareness began of God’s will, and all that exists (whether in physicality or otherwise) are merely little complexities that make up that one, grand idea. Everything has already happened; this is just one of the lives we are living out. History repeats itself; and though we use different names, dates, and locations, all of the stories are the same. The Christ-soul has circulated through man before and after it dwelled within Jesus; hence, Jesus was not the only Christ and will not be the last. Every time it’s come, it has warned humanity not to be deceived; to look within and grasp that innate connection with the All. We create our own Armageddon by denying the word of the Christ. The human population has bottlenecked many times throughout our planet’s 4 billion year life; showing signs of many “Armageddons.” We are in a time of Armageddon once more, because we still deny that connectivity. We separate our faith and divide our perspectives. We depend too heavily on popular notion and too little on ourselves for making our own decisions. We have given control to the churches to decide our faith for us. We have given control to our government to decide what is right or wrong. We have given control to our neighbors to decide if we are just individuals. We keep giving control instead of taking control of our own lives and actions and determining what is right for our selves. We have conditioned ourselves further into corruption, and there IS a breaking point. Not even our planet can handle the negativity much longer. We waste, we pollute, we ravage, we consume. We work against the natural order of things instead of rolling along with them. We want more, we need more, we seek more. That is conditioning by society to make you think there’s not enough to go around. To make us believe that we need them and their laws, and that if we do not obey them there is a mortal price at stake. That’s why you slave your ass off all day to barely pay the bills and maybe put food on the table; meanwhile, you have no choice but to leave your child is with someone you barely know for 8 hours a day while they continue the conditioning. We have robbed ourselves of the simple pleasantries of life and spirituality. We have willingly handed over our choices and freedoms in a handbasket. THAT is unrighteous. There are plenty of resources on this planet to ensure that all of life would be amply provided for. Also, there was a study done stating that if we gave each individual 10 acres of land to live on, we still would not cover 1/3 of the earth’s land mass, and yet we fight for control of land? We have to work and pay for water; a natural resource necessary for survival when God put it here for us to freely use as needed? We induce our own suffering by allowing this to continue. This world COULD be a utopia, if we so wanted. If we would only acknowledge our innate connection with God, we would understand that collectively deep down we all the same, that we ARE God, and are capable of anything and everything we could possibly conceive, just through sheer faith alone. “If you had the faith of a mustard see, man could move mountains.”
Jesus saved us by showing us how to remember. Faith is not “believing” something is possible or true; it’s KNOWING it, FEELING it through every core of your existence.
Lastly (if you made it this far); instead of simply quoting scripture, speak from your heart as well.
-
-
Truly, you have a dizzying intellect.
-
-
...I wanna say Princess Bride??
-
-
Yeah, that's where it came from. I LOVE that movie. Good catch.
-
-
lol thanks, I love that movie too. I may watch it tonight...
-
-
-
-
Latest •
Categories •
Groups •
Forums
Forums /
Controversial /
| |
|
|
ForumsSign up for FREEA free allpoetry.com account is required to comment and participate. It's fast and free! 
Already a member?Advertising Supported |
|
Logout
Help
Terms of Use
Contact Us
Content Complaint
Our other sites: Poetry, Critical Poetry, Old Poetry, Stories, Quotations. © Social Design | |
Adding your reply:
mudgod
Feb 25 2:21 PM 2007
Reply