What if....???

sounds like you found your spiritual path. I don't think we owe it to anyone or anything to investigate and become experts on ALL paths and faiths before we settle into one. We don't date every potential partner out there before we form a commitment to a certain person.

If you feel called and convicted to Christ/Christianity then go with it.

[Xiomara]

And what if Christ is not what the Bible tells us he is?

[Honza]

I wasn't trying to turn anything into a truth contest. I was just speculating on a possible situation; that Jesus is the only way home. I could argue both for and against the situation myself. But there is no accounting for the unknown or the unexpected!

[Xiomara]

Honza,imagine you had never heard of Jesus,or Bible,or any religious concept whatsoever.Then,what would you speculate on?What kind of person you would be?How would your spiritual path look like?
Sometimes thinking too much does not help at all.
What home?Who would be the way home if Jesus was not what church made of him?And why Jesus?Why not Budha,or ,say,some human being feeling so lost that his solitude led him to the only truth-his own...

Honza,

Contemplate the implications of the most basic beliefs. These are my basic beliefs.....others might agree with some of them, none of them or all of them. Examine these and see if they resonate with you.......if they do then consider if the implications that I have derived make any sense to you.

1. There is but one God----------implication: Just as if there is one Rome and all roads lead to Rome........then all roads(paths) lead to God

2. God is love--------implication: If God is love and if he is our creator then he welcomes our visit.....He wants us to come home.

3. God created us with free will--------implication: There will always be a multiplicity of religions to choose from.......there will always be many spiritual practices to consider..........we can also choose whether we want to visit God or not(we will base this decision on whether we perceive any benefit to doing this)

In my mind, the facts that I believe in(as listed above) gives birth to a creative tension in making life choices. Without the existence of this creative tension and its implied possibilities we would be without motivation to seek God......we would take everything for granted.......much like we take for granted that we already know how to breathe.

Honza.........anything is possible.....this is what we must believe...i.e. it is possible that Jesus is the only way........it is possible that He is not. Complete the journey and find out........:)

[Honza]

FEAR! I do not live without fear. Fear drives me to find answers and to desire safety. If I were free of fear then sure the world would be my oyster, but fear dictates the situation.....

Originally Posted by yolxochitl

And what if Christ is not what the Bible tells us he is?

And what does the bible tell us he is?

I've read the bible many times, and listened to my cult school teachers drone on about him throughout most of my childhood.

The conclusion I came to, based on these teachings is that Jesus was a very clever all-round good lad. An intellectual man of peace. A clever hippy almost 2000 years ahead of the Hippy movement.

If I met Jesus, I'd like to shake his hand and buy him a beer. From what I can gather, he was exactly the kind of person that I would be honoured to have as one of my best friends. But alas, he is no longer with us. The man we are referring to when we talk about Jesus was executed in his prime for speaking up against the establishment, but even if he hadn't been, the whole story was nearly 2000 years ago. One way or another, he would be dead long before now. Probably very fortunate for him. The thought of putting so much burden on one man's shoulders as the christians put on Jesus, the poor lad would have a nervous breakdown under that much pressure. I'm fairly sure he or one of his friends tried to hint at that very point when someone came up with the statement 'the lord helps those that help themselves', or in other words, 'please, don't bug me with absolutely every little thing, can you not work it out for yourself?'.

[Xiomara]

What about Gnostic schools,Badger?



Honza, what are your fears?
What kind of fear drives you to find answers?
And could it be possible an inner vision obfuscated by fear to SEE the answer even if it were obvious?
Why let our fears take us over?

Originally Posted by yolxochitl

What about Gnostic schools,Badger?

Sorry, I have no idea what the term 'gnostic' means. I'd never even heard the word used until recently, and a google search turns up lots of vague and contradictory answers.

[Xiomara]

Try gnosis.org