my life is messed up because of religion

Originally Posted by Mathew James

If I... steal from a few unsuspecting people, then maybe get drunk and start some fights, then do a hit and run with my car. When I wake up the next day should I feel guilty, oh hell no, I am not a Christian, lucky me!!!

Of course someone who does these things will feel guilty, whether or not he has a religion.
How about a person who lives a life in which he helps whoever he can and causes no hardship to others. Should he feel guilty because he has no religion? After all, some people would say that, as an unbeliever, his soul is bound for Hell.

[Mathew James]

Originally Posted by Ecthalion

...How about a person who lives a life in which he helps whoever he can and causes no hardship to others. Should he feel guilty because he has no religion? After all, some people would say that, as an unbeliever, his soul is bound for Hell.

The concept of my comment was to show how silly it sounds to say people follow a religion out of guilt. I have never met a person that follows a religion out of guilt. The vast majority of religious/spiritual people follow a religion/spirituality out of faith and the feeling of peace in what that faith/belief provides them. It is something that they feel is the right thing to do. When a person feels guilty it is because they did something wrong that they know they should not have done. The feelings of guilt come from doing the wrong thing, not the right thing.


mj

Originally Posted by Mathew James

When a person feels guilty it is because they did something wrong that they know they should not have done. The feelings of guilt come from doing the wrong thing, not the right thing.

So in my example of a good person with no belief in God and no religion, he has no need to feel guilty? He has done nothing wrong?

[Mathew James]

Originally Posted by Ecthalion

So in my example of a good person with no belief in God and no religion, he has no need to feel guilty? He has done nothing wrong?

Yes, I would agree with that. The greatest thing a person can do is to help someone else out, without receiving anything in return. And the term god is often used in a very vain manor. Most people never have thier belief truly tested, so we do not really know how strong our belief is. A person does not need to belong to a religious group to be religious. There are many people who read the Torah, or Gospel, or Qur'an and never go to any religious services, yet they understand the Book better than many who attend every service they can. And then there are those who can observe the smallest part of nature and see the Most Glorious Supreme Creator and Sustainer of ALL.

mj

[Seawolf]

Originally Posted by Ecthalion

After all, some people would say that, as an unbeliever, his soul is bound for Hell.

Mainstream Christianity rejects the idea that 'non-believers' go to hell. It has for awhile now. Also, the Roman Catholic church has officially reject it. References to that now are a bit behind the times, unless you're talking about fringe groups.

One thing that religion/spirituality does is cause us to face things that are uncomfortable, like things we've done to others in the past or what we're doing in the present. To me it's not about guilt, but about learning to let go. Confession of sins to God in Christianity is healthy practice imo. It's about taking responsibility for whatever in our lives, whether past or present and letting it go, removing the weight from the heart. That's probably why Christians are often happy people according to studies.

[metal68]

Fundamentalist Christians are a nightmare; I have an auntie who is one, she doesn't believe the dinosaurs were real as its not mentioned in the book of half truths.

[metal68]

Originally Posted by Seawolf

Mainstream Christianity rejects the idea that 'non-believers' go to hell. It has for awhile now. Also, the Roman Catholic church has officially reject it. References to that now are a bit behind the times, unless you're talking about fringe groups.

One thing that religion/spirituality does is cause us to face things that are uncomfortable, like things we've done to others in the past or what we're doing in the present. To me it's not about guilt, but about learning to let go. Confession of sins to God in Christianity is healthy practice imo. It's about taking responsibility for whatever in our lives, whether past or present and letting it go, removing the weight from the heart. That's probably why Christians are often happy people according to studies.

Hell is a means of instilling fear, it served the catholic church well especially in Ireland back in the day. From what I gather, there is little scriptural evidence of it and just as little in NDEs or mediumship. Even if such a place did exist, Joe Bloggs wont be sent there just because he didn't buy some Bible Belt **

Hi metal68, fundamentalists & the Catholic Church have a lot to answer for. They have made fear and guilt a tool to control their followers. This same attitude is reflected in the Old Testament & other Abrahamic religions.

Jesus was actually very cool. He mingled with people most Christians of today would label as 'on the way to hell' He associated with these people because they were less effected by the religion of his contemporaries. They were 'open' to the truth - we are all worthy because we are all from the source - Jesus called it father. The language he used was basic so that people of that time could understand - so 'father' made sense. It expresses the idea of something that has inspired life but in this case, 'life' is the soul.

Jesus rejected the Old Testament when he said not to put his teachings into that context - he said not to sew an old patch onto a new garment & not to poor new wine into an old wine skin. But this is the mistake the gospel authors made. They used the OT to try & make sense of his teachings. What you find in the New Testament is very little of what Jesus actually said or taught. They are things written almost a century after, by men who were not the actual disciples of Jesus.

The Gospel of Thomas is just the teachings of Jesus as quotes - no made up narratives or political influence. I was like you before I found the truth. I no longer feel unworthy of God (whatever that is) & no longer fear death. It's an amazing feeling of connectedness & peace.

Don't give up on Jesus - he would be laughing out loud at the things people believe about him & would certainly cry for the damage these so called Christians have done.

[dream jo]

i sort of losst it god coz of so mush loss i did

[Mathew James]

Originally Posted by Shamot

Don't give up on Jesus - he would be laughing out loud at the things people believe about him & would certainly cry for the damage these so called Christians have done.

Jesus is laughing at them, in the Gnostic Gospels the “The Revelation of Peter”, the paragraphs called “Peter Sees the Crucifixion and the Christ Explains It” it reads as follows:

“When he said this, I saw him apparently being arrested by them, I said, “What do I see, Master? Is it really you they are seizing, and are you holding on to me? And who is the one smiling and laughing above the cross? Is it someone else whose feet and hands they are hammering?”

Then Christ said to me , “The one you see smiling and laughing above the cross is the living Jesus. The one into whose hands and feet they are driving nails is his fleshly part, the substitute for him. They are putting to shame the one who came into being in the likeness of the living Jesus. Look at him and look at me.”

When I looked, I said, “Master, no one sees you. Lets get out of here.” He answered me, “I told you they are blind. Forget about them. Look at how they do not know what they are saying. For they have put to shame the son of their own glory instead of the one who serves”.

He was not only laughing, but they never killed the real Jesus. The real Jesus did not die, and as such Jesus never paid for any ones sins. The Christians have gone far far astray with their teachings of about what Jesus actually taught.

mj