Anyone on the verge of leaving Christianity? For nothing or another religion.

[Miss Hepburn]

Originally Posted by sky123

You put the crutches away when the break is healed

You put the roadmap away when you've arrived.
The menu is not the meal.
You are looking at the finger pointing to the Moon.


I love it.

Anyone on the verge of leaving Christianity? For nothing or another religion.

I would't mind leaving any form of organized Christianity if I belonged to one.
As for Christ, I see no reason to leave Him or his teachings.

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

That's right.

candyfloss, I'm no longer Christian, but I love so many things
that are tried and true
from the Bible and how can ya not love, respect and admire Jesus?
There are so many other things that reveal things other than just
'Once Saved, Always Saved'..or the Goal being Heaven after death.
Profound wisdom and insights are available from different sources other than
the traditional Christian beliefs, (and/or misinterpretations).


Religions are so regimented and have so many things you can disagree with...what I did
at a younger age was study, research everything I could get my hands on...test whatever you can.
Get clear what it is you want...is it just peace, peace of mind?
Or do you want your heart to soar? There are ways for both. :)

But.... there is a lot we can agree upon

.

[lilith]

Originally Posted by ImthatIm

Anyone on the verge of leaving Christianity? For nothing or another religion.

I would't mind leaving any form of organized Christianity if I belonged to one.
As for Christ, I see no reason to leave Him or his teachings.

Same here. I'm not religious. But I do find Christ and the Bible to be the closest to the truth from all other spiritual paths I've encountered. But I am struggling with faith and it's not easy to believe. There are too many things I just don't understand and they doesn't seem logical or right as much as I would want them to be in my heart. So I might become agnostic.

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by lilith

Same here. I'm not religious. But I do find Christ and the Bible to be the closest to the truth from all other spiritual paths I've encountered. But I am struggling with faith and it's not easy to believe. There are too many things I just don't understand and they doesn't seem logical or right as much as I would want them to be in my heart. So I might become agnostic.

What things do you not understand?

[lilith]

Originally Posted by BigJohn

What things do you not understand?

Things nobody knows and maybe hopefully we'll get to know one day when we'll be with God, if we're lucky to get to ask such questions.

I see so called religious authorities like pastors and such all play around with similar but slightly different ideas when such questions come out. But who are they to claim to know the truth? These things are not written in the Bible in black and white, and God speaks to all of us in different ways and we as people get different interpretations from Holy spirit. I hate conflict in denominations which is why I take no part in any.

Anyways, I don't understand things like suffering (especially of good people), inequality, unfairness, existence of evil, nature and origin of evil, how can angels fall if there were made perfect once and unchangeable, existence of purgatory and hell (horrible), why we are here, what is the meaning, who is God, how was God created, why do we die, why are only some people chosen, predestination vs free will, how earth and heavens work, and so on.

There's so many conflicting things in the Bible I feel like I've been making excuses for God who may not be a nice man.
I feel like I've brain washed myself with the Bible because I was hurt and desperate. And when I talk to God, I have no idea who am I really talking to, maybe it's just myself.

You know the movie Dogma? Well bunch of such questions are in that movie.

[davidmartin]

lilith i'll tell you something that worked for me, and i think works whether you have more standard beliefs or more esoteric ones or whatever your make-up
its to start by trusting God implicitly. build on that truth
then whatever is uncertain or confusing or challenging can be left where it is and not be a block to that trust you need to find
so just change the order around the other way
because there are answers to these things, some may not be possible to fully know, others are due to mans getting things wrong maybe not badly wrong but still enough to make sensitive people question, God there's so many possibilities and permutations. There is a mystery to life
It's Good your so engaged and interested in all these things too, these were the kind of people who followed Jesus i wouldn't be surprised!
So you are ok, take things steady and fall back on trust
i'd love to discuss more

[Still_Waters]

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

You put the roadmap away when you've arrived.
The menu is not the meal.
You are looking at the finger pointing to the Moon.


I love it.

Exactly !

Ramana Maharshi once said that instructions are indeed needed .... until one has surrendered completely. Once one has discovered Truth, the books are no longer necessary.

[Still_Waters]

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

Religions are so regimented and have so many things you can disagree with...what I did
at a younger age was study, research everything I could get my hands on...test whatever you can.
Get clear what it is you want...is it just peace, peace of mind?
Or do you want your heart to soar? There are ways for both. :)

You wrote, "Test whatever you can". That is precisely what I did.

What drew me to my teacher was these opening words: "Question everything, even what I say, and, if a teacher can't point you to the direct (validating) experiences, then go elsewhere".

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by lilith

Things nobody knows and maybe hopefully we'll get to know one day when we'll be with God, if we're lucky to get to ask such questions.

I see so called religious authorities like pastors and such all play around with similar but slightly different ideas when such questions come out. But who are they to claim to know the truth? These things are not written in the Bible in black and white, and God speaks to all of us in different ways and we as people get different interpretations from Holy spirit. I hate conflict in denominations which is why I take no part in any.

Anyways, I don't understand things like suffering (especially of good people), inequality, unfairness, existence of evil, nature and origin of evil, how can angels fall if there were made perfect once and unchangeable, existence of purgatory and hell (horrible), why we are here, what is the meaning, who is God, how was God created, why do we die, why are only some people chosen, predestination vs free will, how earth and heavens work, and so on.

There's so many conflicting things in the Bible I feel like I've been making excuses for God who may not be a nice man.
I feel like I've brain washed myself with the Bible because I was hurt and desperate. And when I talk to God, I have no idea who am I really talking to, maybe it's just myself.

You know the movie Dogma? Well bunch of such questions are in that movie.

What helps me a lot is when I actually do personal study, I do not use a study aid: I use the native language if it be Hebrew and Greek. One scripture that amazes me is Exodus 6:3 in which God reveals his name which for some odd reason, virtually nobody in Christianity will use. That name is pronounced similar to Yahweh. In Hinduism and Buddhism, their Supreme God, for the most part, has also been forgotten. That name is Trimurti. This time period in history, might be the first time in history that people do not know the name of their God(s)/god(s) which means we might be living in a unique time period.

Then there is the account that someone will come or return.

Christians know him as the Christ.
Jews know him as the Messiah.
Hindus look for the coming of Krishna.
Buddhists know him as Maitreya Buddha
and Muslims are expecting the Imam Mahdi.

The above religions look at the 'return' or 'coming' as something that will bring about cataclysmic events.

Are they all talking about the same thing?