I would agree that ''modern religions'' have a lot of problems, but the same is true for ''modern spirituality.'' It also have it's own problems, in particular when it comes to make people more peaceful,..usually there is focus on how our mega ego can materializes through some ''law of attraction,..'' money, reputation,..or on some physical practices as Yoga. For me are people like Dobri Dobrev (google it, if you've never heard of him) this I call a “lightworker“ where you drop a jaw:icon_eek:
With which religion,.. we achieve such a heart or come close to it, is in my opinion not important, but surely our modern world lack a lot of compassion, kindness, grace,...

I am grateful for my (sometimes) Christian upbringing. It served its purpose until I was ready to venture out on my own.

Specifically, it gave me a sense of creation, god and the ability to discern right from wrong. Christianity isn't perfect in any way but I think it serves as a springboard for greater spiritual growth as the individual outgrows it and wonders if there isn't more out there and breaks away from the "pack" in search of something that feels right and has more meaning.

Sangress

Sangress I am going to have to gently dispute your view of Pagans.

Paganism is a huge umbrella used to describe any individual that does not subscribe to organized religion.

There are as many different Spiritual Path's considered Pagan as there are stars in the sky. Only a very few of these Paths consider themselves a religion.

None of these Paths, including the few that consider themselves a religion, are reconstructed from christian historians... None.

Point of fact. Almost all christian ceremonies and rituals stem from Paganism.

'The Old Ways'... what you say here is dis-information or uninformed.

See, we are back to generalizations. 'The Old Ways' go back into the forever. Long before 'organized religion' came into being. So when you say, "Spirituality in old pagan ways was about reincarnation." you are assuming 'pagans are a group of people practicing one Spirituality since the beginning of written history" ... it is a generalization about thousands of tribes and peoples worldwide.

In any case... reincarnation was not a base for any Pagan Spirituality. Pagan's, to the last one, were and are Nature-Based Spirituality's... Earth based Magic, Earth based Medicine, Earth Ceremonies and Rituals. That's why they are named Pagan.

When 'the church' came into being, one of the major tenets was 'Heaven before Earth' ... Any who did not bow to the tenets of the church was named pagan, Heretic. Against the church.

Religions and their practices are really the same as `spiritual` practices. Meditation as a hindu or buhddist is the same as meditating but not being a hindu or buddhist, prayer as a christian or as a spiritual person is the same. What it is down to is the intent accorded to the practice by the individual.
Many people outside of religion are there because they don`t have the discipline to follow the practices, so they leave. Don`t get me wrong, there are many people who are in religions who do not immerse themselves into the practice, they pick and choose what is easiest for them. Or thye pray hard in church or a temple but rip off people in business. This isn`t because they are in a religion, its because of where they are in their development.
If you immerse yourself into changing yourself and your trying to find god/ realisation in any religion, then you will grow. The moment you start trying to `convert ` others to your path, the ego walks in and takes over and things start to slide. Religions arent bad, as long as you are working on yourself with their practices, once you try and change others or avoid working on yourself then the problems occur.
Having said that, the free wandering `I have my own path` spiritual hippies are usually deluded people too weak to undertake serious spiritual discipline to grow, so are equally as misguided as those religious fanatics.

peteyzen


Respectfully...

Religion and Spirituality are two totally different things.

A religion sets up guidelines on 'returning' to God and a Spirituality knows there was never a dis-connect.

A spiritual person does not need another human or group of humans to run interference or teach them to be close to God.

If I can speak directly to God... why do I need to discipline myself to do that under the constructs of 'the church'? What's the point?

peteyzen

I am sorry, but that is ludicrous. Respectfully.

Hi Magdna,
Great points, thank you for your perspective.
All good points and I see what you are saying, I still stand by my perspective although I agree there is a difference between what people perceive as spirituality and what they perceive as religion.
Thanks again