Our BetterMost Community > Chez Tremblay
BBM and the sin of Sodom
TJ:
"Accepting the religion of Christianity" saves absolutely no one.
It's one's faith in Jesus the Christ and/or one's faith in the Creator of all Things which will save a person for eternity.
As an educated theologian, not being a braggart here, the religion of Christianity did not begin until the head of goverment decided that the churches who preached about Jesus should become organized and be a religion where all the people were supposed to believe the very same thing . . . which is what the Emperor Constantine did in 325 AD when he convened the 1st of the 7 Church Councils in Nicea (which is in modern Turkey). Constantine presided over the Nicean Council, too.
I don't accept the Eastern Asian religions which come from countries which are still don't have the freedoms that the citizens should have. And, what has been done in the name of Christianity, the God of the Bible or even Jesus would never have been approved of Jesus the Christ himself. That's because what they have done and are doing goes against what Jesus taught.
The religious/spiritual practices of many Native American traditions are much better than what one could ever find in oriental/Asian religions.
A book I might recommend as an introduction to Native American Spirituality is "Secret Native American Pathways: A Guide to Inner Peace," by Thomas E. Mails. I have the book. I learned more about my human spirituality by studying Native American Spirituality. I am a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. Mails has a good book on Cherokee history and tradition. I met some of the Cherokee people whom he consulted.
Here is the link to the publisher's page about the book: http://www.counciloakbooks.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=23 It can also be purchased through other sources.
--- Quote ---A revised and expanded classic, Secret Native American Pathways details the religious beliefs and ancient rituals of four major tribes: the Apache, Cherokee, Hopi, and Sioux. Mails provides the meaning behind each ceremony as well as instructions for applying Native teachings to contemporary life. Each tribe has overcome adversity through "walking the pathways" that lead to inner peace; now, readers can apply those same spiritual practices to their own lives.
--- End quote ---
Impish:
--- Quote from: moremojo on May 08, 2006, 10:06:01 pm --- I find Jesus admirable as a teacher and an example of moral living, but I can't make that further leap into believing on him as the one incarnation of the Divine, born of a virgin, come into the world as the blood-sacrifice for Adam's transgression....
But in seeking paths that address my heart's deepest yearning and hope, I have found it useful to look East.
Scott
--- End quote ---
Me too. I also believe at least one thing from The DaVinci Code: that prior to the Nicene Creed, Jesus was seen as a human sage and prophet, not the son of a god, and this is how he viewed himself. It was only much later after his death that this idea of him being a supernatural being was literally decided upon by committee when the Nicene Creed was created.
As for my spirituality, I'm closer to (some forms of) Buddhism than anything. I'm a staunch atheist, and think the shrinking separation of church and state is the single most important crisis in the U.S. today.
JennyC:
--- Quote from: TJ on May 09, 2006, 12:10:28 am ---"Accepting the religion of Christianity" saves absolutely no one.
I don't accept the Eastern Asian religions which come from countries which are still don't have the freedoms that the citizens should have.
--- End quote ---
TJ,
??? What religions got to do with a country's politics? You accept or reject a religion based on its teaching and your faith, not a country's politics. Religion is a ancient thing, people's freedoms (I assume it's the modern today freedom you are talking about here) were not recognized at that time. I doubt any religion is centered on citizens' freedom. Anyway I may misinterpret your statement here, just find it's a little bit blunt.
TJ:
--- Quote from: Impish on May 09, 2006, 10:31:09 am ---Me too. I also believe at least one thing from The DaVinci Code: that prior to the Nicene Creed, Jesus was seen as a human sage and prophet, not the son of a god, and this is how he viewed himself. It was only much later after his death that this idea of him being a supernatural being was literally decided upon by committee when the Nicene Creed was created.
As for my spirituality, I'm closer to (some forms of) Buddhism than anything. I'm a staunch atheist, and think the shrinking separation of church and state is the single most important crisis in the U.S. today.
--- End quote ---
Have you really studied the Gospels on your own and let your own spirituality be involved with what you have read?
Jesus was only seen as a prophet by those who were just looking for a prophet.
Jesus admitted to 12 of his disciples that he was the Christ/Messiah and he was the son of God. But, he told them not to tell anyone else while he was still on the earth, liivng in a human body.
Jesus also preached separation of church and state.
The Nicene Creed came about because the "state," Constantine, became involved with the church in his empire and he demanded that the church leaders create a creed. And, it was Constantine's idea that the church leaders decide on a collection of books be made so that they would be reading the same Books from the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament Period writers in their churches.
It took the committee which was working on their version of the Bible around 60 years to make up their minds what should be in the final version which was called a "canon."
People can talk about Jesus and the Bible all they want and only read the commentaries instead of reading the stories and the teachings of Jesus in the Bible and those same people think they know everything.
The real mystery of the Gospel and its message is that unless the power of the Holy Spirit is involved in one's reading of the Bible, all the reader is doing is reading words on the pages of an anthology of collected works. Jesus himself promised his followers, at that time and in the future, that the Holy Spirit would be their teacher about spiritual things.
TJ:
--- Quote ---"Accepting the religion of Christianity" saves absolutely no one.
I don't accept the Eastern Asian religions which come from countries which are still don't have the freedoms that the citizens should have.
--- End quote ---
--- Quote from: JennyC on May 09, 2006, 11:22:04 am ---TJ,
??? What religions got to do with a country's politics? You accept or reject a religion based on its teaching and your faith, not a country's politics. Religion is a ancient thing, people's freedoms (I assume it's the modern today freedom you are talking about here) were not recognized at that time. I doubt any religion is centered on citizens' freedom. Anyway I may misinterpret your statement here, just find it's a little bit blunt.
--- End quote ---
Well, if you look at the countries in the world where the Roman Catholic Church was involved with the Spanish Conquistadors around the world, you will see that almost every one of those countries which was under Spanish rule with the RCC as the official religion has or has dictators in charge of the country.
Salvation in and by Jesus the Christ gives a person freedom. He did not preach a message of bondage. When he said, "Render unto Caesar's what is Caesar's and unto God what is God's," he was preaching separation of church and state.
His disciples, who wrote the Epistles, stated that one should do one's best to obey the laws of the state/country in which one resided as long as it did not interfere with their relationship with the LORD and contradict their testimony for Him.
Paul, the Apostle, took advantage of the fact that he was a Roman Citizen when the Jews wanted him to be killed. And, because of his citizenship, he was from Tarsus, he appealed to Caesar in Rome and even got escorted to Rome. And, although he was "officially" a prisoner of the Roman state while enroute, he still was allowed to preach at many of the places where they put the ship in port along the way. After his offical Appeal in Rome, Paul was set free. The Roman government at the time had no conflict with Paul's preaching. Paul was later executed when Rome had another head of government.
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