[whitecrow]

Originally Posted by milk and honey

It's a cliche for sure Clark Kent, but .... drum roll... 'don't throw the baby out with the bathwater'...Self- transcendence is the true message of Jesus. It's the only way outa here.

Very good thread. It's great to see so many smart, sincere people really examining their spiritual and religious beliefs in an atmosphere where there is no coercion and no preaching. Not much, anyway.

There are several main concepts that my thoughts about religion rest on:

1. Mankind has always had religion of some sort, therefore I conclude that it is a natural part of our makeup and something that we need.

2. The history of religion shows a continual reaching out by mankind for the Divine, but perhaps more importantly a continual reaching out for the hearts of man by the Divine Principle.

3. Established, organized religion always starts out full of rapturous enthusiasm and always degrades into politics, dogma and control.

I was a Quaker for many years, and I am now officially a Bahá'í although I no longer practice any formal religion. Each time I entered into a study of the spiritual base of a religion, in the end I was left wanting more than that Faith alone could offer. All religions contain deceptions and seek to contain the human potential, and are therefore false teachings. All religions are also true, because there it is that we find the deepest and most abiding comforts and revelations concerning our origins and potential, and the meaning of our existence, if we have the eyes to see, the ears to hear.

The questions I would ask my pastors have no answer. I would ask how it was that all mankind was doomed because of the action of one man, and how the answer to salvation could have been planted in the life of one obscure man. I would ask, if it's improper to take the Lord's name in vain, why can I say "God bless you" and not "God damn you?" In neither instance have we any control over what God does, so they are both in vain....right?

Oh yes, they loved me in church. I finally realized that those who take God's name are those who call themselves by that name, whatever they call God...be they Christians, Buddhists or whatever, if their character does not match the name, they do so in vain.

It is preposterous to believe that God can be held within a steeplehouse, or that he (she/they/it) is impressed by them in any way. It is equally mistaken to believe that because religion is corrupt it must be totally false. All religions hold truths that coincide with one another, and which are so radical they would completely alter the nature of human affairs, if only they were put into practice. This is why, as soon as a religion grows to the point that it becomes influential, it must be either eliminated or corrupted by politicians.

The most fundamental truth, taught by every religion, is known to us as the Golden Rule: treat other folks the way you hope they'd treat you.

Love people. Love God, whatever that word means to you. Love life. Don't worry about what you can't control. Use the gifts you have received for good. Be humble. That's the essence of religion, and there's no sense making it much more complicated than that.