Had a Thought One Morning

Nomad · Post by **Nomad** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 5:04 pm

Religion is the service and worship of God and God means different things to different people. Will the real religion please stand up. Different cultures breed separate beliefs. Im not so sure Buddhism in its essence differs greatly from Southern Baptism or Episcopal thought from Hinduism in INTENT. Intent is what drives our search for an understanding of the chaos we live in. Its a very personal journey.

You are correct that we have personal responsibility to not only ourselves but all others in need. From my own personal experience when your heart is closed to the enormous possibilities and challenges that lay in store for all living things you cannot see clearly you become immobilized and stuck in your own indignation you simply will not grow or move forward. If it is your desire or intent to seek answers it is necessary to be open to something greater than yourself a Higher power if you will. As you begin to realize that every waking moment is a prelude to the next and your total state of being will directly affect how each subsequent moment will unfold you will find that it is a continual perpetuation of itself.

In other words if your attitude is one of negativity that is what you will find if on the other hand you choose to greet life with wonderment excitement and amazement at the perfect synchronicity that is in abundance all around us other types of doors will begin to open for you. These are choices we make in our everyday life that is your dilemma which path do I choose ? Regarding my original statement on religion I believe that if your heart is pure and one of compassion and love and your intent is selfless and alligned with what is good for your neighbor it does not matter that you have chosen to be Catholic or Muslim nor does it matter that your beliefs differ from from the man standing next to you as long as you respect him and bend to help him if he falls. Good luck to you in your journey.

nvalleyvee · Post by **nvalleyvee** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 5:15 pm

You had a thought Nomad? Sorry - could not resist.......:-4

Nomad · Post by **Nomad** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 5:17 pm

Yea it startles me too.

nvalleyvee · Post by **nvalleyvee** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 5:23 pm

Nomad wrote:

In other words if your attitude is one of negativity that is what you will find if on the other hand you choose to greet life with wonderment excitement and amazement at the perfect synchronicity that is in abundance all around us other types of doors will begin to open for you. These are choices we make in our everyday life that is your dilemma which path do I choose ? Regarding my original statement on religion I believe that if your heart is pure and one of compassion and love and your intent is selfless and alligned with what is good for your neighbor it does not matter that you have chosen to be Catholic or Muslim nor does it matter that your beliefs differ from from the man standing next to you as long as you respect him and bend to help him if he falls. Good luck to you in your journey.

To address your thread - I will skip the religious part of it which I happen to agree with and get right down to the above quote which is a way of life.

chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 5:57 pm

Wow Nomad, very deep. I think the major religions have different intents-your example of Buddhism and Christianity. I think Bez is the expert on Buddhism, so I will see if she responds, but the main intent of Christianity if to believe in Jesus as the Lord and Saviour, and to preach Him to others. This is done through daily example, Christian service, and a total live view.The end goal of Christianity is to live forever in heaven with Jesus. It is more the a positive/negative outview on life and eternity-because each religion has their own take on it. If you are focusing on the intent aspect, I think their are major differences.

Nomad · Post by **Nomad** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 6:03 pm

As I said will the real religion please stand up. Will Christ forsake the child born to Hinduism ?

chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 6:22 pm

That is for God to answer, not me Nomad. I do not judge the child born to another religion, it is for the Creator Himself to make that matter known to us at the end of time. If He is a God of Love, what do you think the answer could possibly be?

But that is another question, your original one was intent-do all religions have the same intent. I do not think they do.

Nomad · Post by **Nomad** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 6:41 pm

My God is a God of love so the answer is no. I believe in their essence, their core they are not entirely dissimilar. Accepting Christ as your savior is in the minority as religious sects go. So the big question for me is what about the other half of the worlds views ? Muslims believe....Hindus believe....etc.

Are they secular religions ? Not to them.

orangesox1 · Post by **orangesox1** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 7:23 pm

Our Bible tells us that God wrote the commandments in our hearts, everyone will be judged on what they know, some cultures will not have chance to read our Bible as they are given their own beliefs passed on through their own culture. We all have commandments written in our hearts that gives us a conscience and tells us right from wrong in our own culture.

Therefore I belive that if God is true to what we read in our Bible he will judge people based on their knowledge and their desire to please him. I don't belive God will comdem all Muslims, all Hindus or other religions to hell because in some peoples eyes they followed the wrong Bible. I think there will also be some so called Christians sent there too.

Nomad · Post by **Nomad** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 7:25 pm

Ok but heres my point. They think your reading the wrong book. What say you ?

Dizz · Post by **Dizz** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 8:55 pm

I believe in god and hope that he is a just and fair one. I was raised Catholic and have studied anxient societies. The bible was written by people, for people, from knowledge handed down through countless generations. Since the information was passed down this way, how can I accept the bible as the ultimate truth when human hands have written it and changed it to reflect the morals of the day? The stories in it are wonderful and most have good things to teach. Even in my confirmation classes, they told us that the bible is a collection of stories and old songs.

orangesox1 · Post by **orangesox1** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 11:11 pm

Nomad wrote: Ok but heres my point. They think your reading the wrong book. What say you ?

WEEEEELLLL, If I'm reading the wrong book, I have got some very good Christian living principles out of it, and as i mentioned before I belive what it comes down to is where your heart is with what you belive, and the attempt you make at following that belief wether you say your Muslim, Buddist, Hindu or whatever. If God is fair and Just we will be judged on how hard we tried to follow.

Thats my opinion anyway

Accountable · Post by **Accountable** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 3:52 am

I loved that post, Nomad. I agree with you, especially about intent. I believe that, just as mood influences behavior (being snappish because of a bad mood), behavior similarly influences mood. That's why I wake up every morning with the intent of having a good day. I greet each morning with a smile, even if I'm not feeling particularly smiley, and soon I'm smiling just because I feel good. It drives some people mad that I am in a good mood every morning. I get a certain satisfaction from that, as well :sneaky: .

As for religion, a very wise and eloquent woman wrote this to me recently. I normally don't keep messages I receive. I'm glad I kept this one:

Isnt it just the lonliest feeling in the world to find a lost soul reaching out to strangers, for solace and comfort,early in the morning, in the dark? Isnt it incredible to stumble upon a group of strangers, who never having seen each others faces, respond, and try to help? Thats religion. Wouldnt it be wonderful if someone, somewhere, could capture that concept...paint it in just the right words..
There's more I wrote here then deleted because it's rambling. I think I made my point.

chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 4:37 am

Nomad wrote: Ok but heres my point. They think your reading the wrong book. What say you ?
I know I am reading the right book, and would be happy to share mine with them.

It comes down to faith and what you believe, dear philosopher. If a person knows it is right for them, then that is their pathway along the journey of life and beyond.

Nomad · Post by **Nomad** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 5:59 pm

chonsigirl wrote: I know I am reading the right book, and would be happy to share mine with them.

It comes down to faith and what you believe, dear philosopher. If a person knows it is right for them, then that is their pathway along the journey of life and beyond.

Thats really my point bunny. For whatever reason the world is divided by oceans, we live on seperate continents also divided by cultures each one very different than the other, language barriers etc, yet somehow our religions are similar in intent. What I mean by that is love, forgiveness, repent, higher ideals are the core of most religions. Good vs evil.

Through our seperateness we seem to each be struggling for the same good. Allah, God, God, Allah.....is it not possible that we take individual journeys to achieve the same end ? We take seperate paths to get to the same place ? Is God wise enough to know we cant all be on the same page and he allows for our differences ? Just as we dont know what lies beyond the furthest star, perhaps were not meant to know, or at least yet ?

Is it possible that Gods world isnt as tidy as one path one way ?

Bunny what if youd been born a Tibetan ? Or an Israelite ? Isnt it possible that the world is much much more than our feeble minds can make sense of ?

chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 7:35 pm

Then it is up to the Mind that is not Feeble to decide, O Nomad.

I believe as I know, however limited it is. The rest is up for the Creator of the Universe to decide. I just know the pathway I must walk, but I do not deny those who choose another road.

Do I perceive the other's roads? Do they end at the same place? That is up to their footsteps and Who is waiting for them at the end of life's journey. I am too busy watching my own feet on my road, it is not up to me to cause other's to stumble along the way.