A question....

Lately, I've been really struggling with my spiritual beliefs & have been feeling somewhat lost & more than a little confused! Which I find quite sad as I thought through Spiritualism, I had finally found a path that was right for me & answered many of my questions.

I have some very good friends who are Christians, & have been having some long discussions about various aspects of Christianity that I personally struggle to accept.

Today, I received an email which included the following....

"I must tell you that all the answers I give to you will be based on the Bible. As a Christian the whole basis of my faith is found in the Bible, if I can’t back up what I say from there then it is only my opinion and is no better than any other opinion.

So I need to ask you a question to start with; what will be the basis for what you believe? This may sound like an obvious question but in reality most people don’t know why they believe what they believe. Our beliefs are usually based on what we’d like to believe rather that what may actually be right. So I’d encourage you to question everything and then find the basis for what you believe."

This has really got my head in even more of a spin as I don't have an answer! I believe in what I believe because it feels right - but is that enough? it would seem not, so my question to you is the same - What is the basis for your belief?

[Native spirit]

Hey Serene,


I am a spiritulist always have been always will be, im happy with that but i to know people who are Christians and Born again Christians,acccording to them im deluded evil worhip an evil that they cant see,
they know from speaking to me that i am a spiritulist and if they were christians why are they so quick to make assumptions about other people because they dont agree with them,
so i turned around to them and told them they are the ones that are deluded if jesus rose from the dead, what was he physical or spirit, im still waiting for my answer months on,
if you are a spiritulist be proud of it dont change for anyone, this is about you and your beliefs not theirs,

Namaste

[Falling Star]

I am also a spiritualist. I seem to have transcended the need for religion as i become more and more aware of my inner truth of being eternal spirit.

Hi Serene As you already know i don't really feel the need for any religion in my life. I base my beliefs on what i feel within myself. I don't believe my higher self, intuition would ever lie to me, and feel that process is more reliable than any other in my opinion. Our beliefs are our truths and i don't think anyone has the right to try to change them.

[jorddy]

Hey Serene,
I understand sometimes when you think back and say.. "How do I know any of this is true? How do I know, what I see, is what I actually see and not imagination (for meditations/aura's) or even when guides talk.. How do I know that voice isnt just mine?"
I know because I believe myself, The reason why I trust spirituality so much is because it comes from my heart, from me.
I dont need to reference anything to anything.. Because I know the validity of it.. What is the validity of a book, that tells one what to think, what is right and what is wrong?
With Spirituality, one can grow through themselves, one can awaken, feel the bliss of the patterns in this world.. Acknowledge new perspective (not become locked within one), truly understand themselves (and not feel ashamed for what they might understand), as well, connect with others.. and the universe as a whole, instead of becoming an outside viewer.
Spirituality, comes from you, thats why you know its truths :)

Zack.

Originally Posted by serene

Today, I received an email which included the following....

"I must tell you that all the answers I give to you will be based on the Bible. As a Christian the whole basis of my faith is found in the Bible, if I can’t back up what I say from there then it is only my opinion and is no better than any other opinion.

So I need to ask you a question to start with; what will be the basis for what you believe? This may sound like an obvious question but in reality most people don’t know why they believe what they believe. Our beliefs are usually based on what we’d like to believe rather that what may actually be right. So I’d encourage you to question everything and then find the basis for what you believe."

This has really got my head in even more of a spin as I don't have an answer! I believe in what I believe because it feels right - but is that enough? it would seem not, so my question to you is the same - What is the basis for your belief?

In answer to your friends rigid and absolute comments, let me just say this. I don't claim to have all the answers, but I would respond thusly.

The Bible is a compilation of books written long after Jesus died and it's likely not one of the writers even knew the man. They were therefore writing hearsay. [No, the gospels were not written by the apostles... that is a misconception which has been disputed and disproven by documented historical fact] Secondly, the Bible was put together by the founding fathers of the Roman Catholic church. There were many more books available than were included. They picked and chose the ones THEY deemed worthy! Those that advanced the agenda of the newly forming church. [Bear in mind that Jesus never started or formed a church. He was in fact of the Jewish faith, and honored it up to a point, but in the end his awareness and teachings grew beyond the boundaries of any organized religion] Fact number three: all those books of the Bible have been translated and censored numerous times over the ensuing centuries, again, in accordance with and support of church doctrine. There was, for example, reference in the early Bible to reincarnation, before it was stricken from the pages by a council dominated by the Emporer Justinian in approximately 500 A.D. Unless an individual knows how to read ancient Hebrew or Greek (and has access to all the books that didn't "make the cut"...!), he/she has never even READ the true and actual Bible!


To answer your question as to what is the basis of my personal spiritual belief, it is simply this: my own inner knowing and the voice of God within. At the end of the day, that is the most trustworthy source of information any of us can access. My truth? God dwells within all of God's creation, therefore God dwells within US...AS us! I let THAT voice tell me what is true and what is not true FOR ME. Everyone is entitled to whatever belief system he/she chooses, and I try to honor and respect them all, but I must admit I do have trouble with the heavy-handedness of Christianity, which seems to think only its beliefs and precepts are valid and correct and everyone else is just plain wrong, not to mention "un-saved". I find that position especially unsupportable in view of the information referenced above in the preceeding paragraph about the compilation of the Bible...!


I would like to include in this post a quote by Mahatma Gandhi. He said, "I love your Christ. Your Christians, not so much. They are nothing like him."


To me, christ is a consciousness. The man Jesus accessed and expressed it, by way of showing us we can ALL do so! He is even quoted as saying so in that all-holy Bible your friend likes to quote! ["Greater things than I do, ye shall do".] I believe he showed the way, and because "the way" would have freed humankind from centuries of religious suppression and persecution, it was suppressed and the man executed and deified, thereby insuring the watering down of his true message.


I believe we can all access christ consciousness (i.e., enlightenment), and I also believe the "second coming" referred to by Christians as the man Jesus returning to carry off souls to heaven is in actuality a reference to the birth of christ consciousness in ordinary human beings like me and you [I can hear the Christians shouting now, "Heresy!", but you asked for the basis of my beliefs, and I have provided them. And you might want to look up the meaning of the word heresy... that in and of itself is educational! ]


Let me close by extending blessings to one and all... Christians and all other faiths/beliefs/and non-faiths included! In my considered opinion, we are all One.

I believe in what I believe because it feels right - but is that enough?

I would say yes! This is all you can ask of yourself. Your feelings might change over time but if it feels right go for it. We all have our own path.

For me, I don't have a set belief system. I just follow my own intuition and make sure that what ever I do I do it from a place of divine love.

Sending you a giant hug - and remember this is your path, not anyone elses.

Love, light and blessings,
Moon Willow

I kind of went through a simular thing. I was brought up as Catholic, catholic school, church etc but my mum was always very open and never made us follow it as we grew, she allowed us to find our own thing. I always felt very unsure about christianity and found that by the time i was sixteen i felt very comfortable being more spiritual. It seemed to feel better, fit better. It was when i met my husband at twenty that things changed for me. He was very religious. His parents were baptists and he attended the Church of Christ. Very new age christianity. I got pregnant before we were married, infact it was the reason we married. I was kept a secret, our child was kept a secret to all his religious friends and his fmailies religious friends. I was made to feel like i had done something wrong. Once we were married he wanted me to get rid of all my spiritual books ect. I never did, i couldnt. But all this left me feeling very very confussed. I was made to feel guilty, like i couldnt prove my beifes but he could his becasue he had the bible as fact. I was made to feel selfish when i said i know whats right inside me. It played on my mind so much i got so so confussed. It wasn't until his belifes began to control me, he used them to control me, bully me, make me feel guilty that i saw that he was wrong. That no religion has the right to do that to someone.
I understand the confussion you are feeling. I understand how it plays on your mind, but when you ask if it is enough that you belive what feels right, the answer is yes. It is enough. If it's right for you, it is enough. People have no right to question what feels right for you.
I agree 100% with lightfilledheart and, infact, their post has really helped clear a few things up in my mind too especailly "I love your Christ. Your Christians, not so much. They are nothing like him."
It's very true. :)

((((((((((((Amber)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Thanks for the kind words re: the information in my post. [I'm female, by the way I know the name doesn't designate gender]

I want to say that I'm sorry you had to go through what you did, but if it brought you to the point where you know who you are and what you believe, then it was worth the painful growth process. I suspect your experience uniquely qualifies you to assist others dealing with similar things.. the whole bit about having walked in another's moccasins!

God Bless you! You are a brilliant and beautiful light!

Originally Posted by Amberly

Hi Serene As you already know i don't really feel the need for any religion in my life. I base my beliefs on what i feel within myself. I don't believe my higher self, intuition would ever lie to me, and feel that process is more reliable than any other in my opinion. Our beliefs are our truths and i don't think anyone has the right to try to change them.

Here here. If there was only one Truth, one perspective then why are we all here?

The Bible was written in 325AD by the Council of Nycea. It was Emperor Constantine's idea at the time that if he controlled religion he could control the masses - and it was cheaper than sending troops. Jesus was actually a Nazorean Essene, and the Essenes had a very different philosophy. Christianity is based on Mithraism, something Constantine tried to wipe out under pain of death but was still practised by the soldiers. Later on, the Roman Catholic church tried to wipe out the Essenes, one of their last strongholds was at Renne le Chateau in France. The Essenes there were also supported by the Knights Templar.

Originally Posted by jorddy

I understand sometimes when you think back and say.. "How do I know any of this is true? How do I know, what I see, is what I actually see and not imagination (for meditations/aura's) or even when guides talk.. How do I know that voice isnt just mine?"
I know because I believe myself, The reason why I trust spirituality so much is because it comes from my heart, from me.

I had the same questions and got the same answers.

Originally Posted by LightFilledHeart

Let me close by extending blessings to one and all... Christians and all other faiths/beliefs/and non-faiths included! In my considered opinion, we are all One.

And it's OK to have a different perspective.