It's these trivial pissing matches that are really discouraging me from even visiting this site anymore.
On the topic of religion, I think it's safe to say that many of us began our spiritual quest after having been frustrated by the lack of information, or inability of a religion to address particular concerns. Coming from a Christian upbringing myself, it never really sat right with me that every other religion was considered to be
evil.
ctophil writes: "Don't listen to the "love and peace" baloney presented by the Enemy"
Dude, if messages of love and peace are considered by your philosophy to be evil and from the enemy, I think you really ought to take a closer look at the position that seeks to label them as such. Is this
"evil" the same evil our government is using to take away our freedoms under the guise of 'terrorism'? That's how control is maintained - fear is used as a TOOL to govern your thoughts and actions. If you can't see through that charade, I honestly don't think this forum is for you. And that applies to anyone who repeatedly cites ONE BOOK. I would feel the same way about someone offering up their position as endorsed by any ONE BOOK - not just Christianity. You're simply not getting the
whole story.
Every one of us started from some
religion, some
philosophy. As we progress in our understanding, the religion(s) that got us to this point are no more than vessels used to arrive at this place. Like using a boat to get across a body of water, once you've arrived back on land - there really isn't much point in carrying your boat across land, is there? No one wants to hear about your stinkin' boat - we're on to another level of the journey!
That applies to ALL religions. They're all beautiful scriptures, filled with love and light...but they all refer to BOOKS, other people's dictates of
what is, spiced up with little
revisions to suit the needs of the PTB.
ctophil writes: "This thread is NOT about religion. It is spirituality. Religion is manmade and can confuse you, lie to you, misdirect you, and even destroy you."
Agreed. But you're quoting books from the Bible, dude. You don't see the obvious conflict between your statements? **** starters like Arcora are cut from the same cloth. You refuse to discard your boat while condemning those who aren't still carrying theirs. That just doesn't make any sense.
Spirituality doesn't have anything to do with how many scriptures you can recite. It has to do with a greater understanding of who and what we are, as intuited from within. There are no profound truths that have to be
taught...only uncovered.
Remembered. Chaining yourself to any
one religion is a hindrance in this quest.
On the topic of truth, I believe it
is subjective, but it's also
transient.
If you're scaling the side of a mountain, let's say - trying to get to the top so that you can see
everything - truths are merely the footholds and handholds that you use on your way
up. If you hold onto any one truth for longer than necessary...then you've ceased to climb. 20 years ago, Christianity was IT for me. 10 years ago Hinduism was IT for me. Had I stopped at either one of those points in my process, I'd still be there now.
Religions are intent on keeping the blinders in place and using fear to discourage the congregation from looking for the next truth. Why? Control.
Does the church think so little of your ability to reason and discern the truth that they don't want you to even
look? Do
you think so little of your ability to discern what is love and what is not that you blindly follow their dictates, despite your suspicions? Do you
have any suspicions?
Too much of what that book/religion has to offer doesn't vibe with me. I can't think of a single father who would damn any of his children to eternal pain and suffering if they didn't do as he said.
Think about that for a second.
We're supposed to believe/resonate with the idea that our Father, who is infinitely more perfect than us - would do that very thing? And for what?
For exercising our free will? C'mon - loosen up your church tie and allow some reason and logic into the mix. The more you allow yourself to consider other possiblities, other transient truths, the more you'll come to find that the book itself wasn't flawed or false, but subject to the corruption and agenda of man. Nobody is trying to tell you to burn your Bible, just read some other books, too.
When you look at the
whole picture you begin to uncover hidden meanings/truths in the scriptures. All of them! It's been an exciting process for me (having been
forced to memorize Bible scriptures) to revisit them and explore them without the narrow-minded perspective of a
devoted Christian. You say its not about religion, but you cite scriptures from the Bible. Have you read the Bhagavad Gita? Have you read "The Prophet". Have you read any piece of literature that wasn't directly endorsed by Christianity? The reason why threads about Zeitgeist and such don't get the same amount of criticizm is because they're actually
researching the parallel lessons from different religions and putting together a more complete picture of the truth. You're citing
one book and referring to it as the
only truth.
As with anything, you've got to have more than one perspective in order to ascertain
what is. Many of us are already quite familiar with what the Bible has to say, but we're also aware of
other philosophies. Are you?
That last question is rhetorical, by the way. Just as so many of us are frustrated by family and friends that won't even
look at the information about the government/Illuminati/chemtrails/etc, people are frustrated with those who refuse to
look at anything outside of their own religion while passing it off as fact. Have you watched Zeitgeist? Or was that movie labeled evil by your preacher too? Read some other perspectives - you may be pleasantly surprised by what you find.
Love and light (and not the evil kind
)
recallone