what is religion

dvee1104

New Member
Hi Im not a religious person and I don't understand why in the 21st century differant religions are at war.I mean jews,christians,muslims and probably others all agree on one deity and they preach tolerance of others ,so why is 75per cent of the world at war.Obviously many people don't practice what they preach.I mean is an atheist who helps someone in need not more of a christian than someone who claims to be a christian who ignores the needy person.
 

HardtoKill

HardtoKill
Yeah

It's hard to say anything more to your post...

They preach about love and peace but religion often causes unhappy things like war and stuff. It divides the world, but I am sure that religion is not the only thing that makes things bad in middle-east.

Good post, dvee1104
 

Jules

Potters Clay
Religion

dvee1104 said:
Hi Im not a religious person and I don't understand why in the 21st century differant religions are at war.I mean jews,christians,muslims and probably others all agree on one deity and they preach tolerance of others ,so why is 75per cent of the world at war.Obviously many people don't practice what they preach.I mean is an atheist who helps someone in need not more of a christian than someone who claims to be a christian who ignores the needy person.
In bible times a Christian was a person who followed Jesus Christ. Jesus said in the bible that anyone who follows him will be hated by the world. Jesus was a Jew. ALL of Isreals neighbors hate them and want them gone. In bible times Saul went after Christians everywhere and killed them. After he turned his life over to Jesus Christ, God changed his name to Paul. (It is all in the bible.)

There are many religions in the world. Not all follow Jesus Christ. Not all teach tolerance. Some teach that they are to kill all who are not of their beliefs.(they are called infidels in their eyes)

We SHOULD love one another. The bible states that if a person needs a coat you should give it to him, ...Love thy neighbor as yourself....When you help the least of these, you have help me....etc...

With love and respect,
Jules
John3:36, Luke 10:27,Proverbs 14:12, Isaiah 64:6, John 14:6, John 3:16&17
 

zenswim

New Member
I do like what you have written regarding Jesus and the various quotes from the Bible, peaceful! I have been researching various faiths over the years, having been brought up a Christian, but now follow the Buddhist/Taoist path. I can relate more to this than organised religion.

The history of Christianity does not come from Jesus or even his disciples.
After Jesus [Joshua Ben Miriam] was put to the cross, the disciples did not start to preach his word, but decided to go back to their jobs as fishermen.
The word of Christ [which means the Anointed One] actually is the word of Paul [Saul]which we could call Paulism, not Christanity. Jesus [and this may seem controvertial] has been used and abused by the church and there is evidence out there which the Catholic church have surpressed.

There is a great book available, its called 'Jesus lived in India' by Holger Kersten 1991, and in that book it states that Jesus was a reincarnated Bodhisattva [a Tulka, just like His Holiness the Dalai Lama]. There is an important connection between Buddhism and Jesus. His birth was awaited by the three wise men, members of a Buddhist order. Buddhism had spread thoughout the Middle East by that time, and there were Buddhist centres in most Middle Eastern countries. The child would have been two years of age at the time and in danger from Herod, who had received prophecies of an Essene leader newborn who would challenge Roman rule. An Essene Buddhist-type monastery existed at Qumran, near the caves that later housed the Dead Sea Scrolls. As a mystical order and possibly even a Buddhist order, the Essenes were aware of these prophecies. Essene teachings included the concepts of reincarnation and karma, and the immortality of the soul, compassionate peacefulness and simple living. Recognising the Tulka they sought in the child Jesus, or perhaps summoned by the Essenes who recognised him, the "Wise Men" took the boy and his family East with them where he was raised and trained in Egypt and then India. With access to Buddhist teaching and training he returned to Jerusalem and an adult and Buddhist adept.

There are numerous mentions of him as Isa or Yuz Asaf in the Buddhist Sutras. There is evidence that Jesus survived the crucifixion and spend the rest of his long life in India.

Many of the parables and stories found in later Christianity are taken directly from Buddhism, including the Parable of the Mustard Seed, the story of the Prodigal Son, the Sermon on the Mount and the Temptation in the Desert.

Jesus was a man, teacher and rebel and totally against what he saw when he came back to Jerusalem. He wanted to change things for the better through his spirituality and teachings of compassion and tolerance, wisdom and loving kindness.

I do believe in Jesus, but not the Christian version. Most theologians and scholars know that the Bible was written over several hundred years and well after the life of Jesus. It is 17 books, edited, with many topics such as reincarnation and astrology taken out. It has been used as a tool to control and masses through ignorance and fear (a good example of this is the Inquisition which lasted for over 700 years and over 9 million women and girls were murdered by burnings and torture all through Europe and even the Americas). Many of the stories in the Bible were taken from other ancient traditions such as the Hindu Vedas and Buddhist Sutras.

All wars are created by ignorance, intolerance and political gain. Albert Einstein said that..."if all the world became Buddhist there would be no war".

I'm not here to promote Buddhism, just put over my point of view. Each to their own faith and belief.

Yours in the Dharma
 

koda

New Member
I agree with you zen, i0m not a really budhist, but i´m studying budhism, go to temple sometimes, i would happy if i become a real budhist some day, i´ll get it.
In my opinion , Budhism is the most peaceful religion of all.
Budhism is not a religion , is life philosophy.
 

starmaiden

Member
Well Koda:
PEACE is the essence of any "REALL" RELIGION, and anything else has to do against peace....DIFFINTELY has NOTHING to do with religion,and it deos not relate to it at all.
and here we are talking about all religions.....and at the same time, any "philosophy, method, or belief" which concentrate on "peace" we all DO agree with it, because it's HUMAN'S nature...to LOVE peace and work for keeping it.
Greetings to ever one...and wish all of you all the best in life
starmaiden
 

Jules

Potters Clay
Foundation

Zenswim, I am curious. Are the statements you made from the book you mentioned? The statements made sound to discredit what the bible says. God calls the bible his inspired word. (2 Timothy 3:16) God our creator...not man. God is "Immanence", "Omnipresent", "Omniscience", and "Omnipotent." Do you believe that God would call the bible "His inspired word", "The living word of God" if it had errors or if man was adding or taking from the scriptures?

I have not read the book you mentioned, so I can not speak on it.

All through time man has tried though to discredit Jesus, the bible, the crucifiction and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If a book sets out to discredit the bible then red flags go up for me.

Dan Brown for example, wrote to discredit Jesus in his book the DaVinci Code. There have been men who did their homework to show that the book attempted to do just that: "The DaVinci Deception", By Erwin W Lutzer, for example.

*****************************

To touch on some of the things you mentioned, I am listing some verses. ( To post the whole verse would be lengthly.)

Titus 2:11-12, Titus 1:9, Colossians 2:6-8, Matthew 7:24-25, This one concerns adding or taking verses from the bible: Revelation 22:18-19

A man named Lee Strobel USED to be an athiest. He set out to prove that the bible was inaccurate and that Jesus is not who he said he is. Since then Mr. Strobel has turned his life over to God. His goal in life now is to tell others about his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Here are a list of some books from men who have done extensive research on the bible, Christianity and a faith in God:

1)STROBEL, LEE. "The Case For Christ". Grand Rapids, Mich.:Zondervan,1998

2)Edersheim, Alfred. "The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah". McLean, Va.:McDonald,n.d.

3)Little, Paul, "Know What You Believe." Wheaton, Ill.:Victor, 1987

4)Elwell, Walter,ed. "Topical Analysis of the Bible." Grand Rapids, Mich.:Baker 1991.

5)Lucado, Max. "God Came Near." Portland, Ore.:Multnomah Press, 1987

6)McDowell, Josh. "The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict." Nashville: Nelson Reference, 1999.

7)Rhodes, Ron. "The Heart of Christianity." Eugene, Ore.: Harvest House, 1996.
8)Tozer, A.W. "The Pursuit of God." Camp Hill, Penn.: Christian Publications,1982

9)Zacharias, Ravi. "Can Man Live without God?" Nashville: Word,1994

10)Mears, Henrietta. "What the Bible Is ALL about." Ventura, Calif.: Regal, 1997

With love and respect,
Jules :)
 

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zenswim

New Member
Dear Jules, you seem to be incredibly defensive about my post.

The statements I made were not quotes from this book, but are formed from research and study I have done over the years on Buddhism, Christianity and spirituality in general. I do not need to justify my position by listing endless quotes from any book. You mention again that the bible is the 'word of God', even though it is well known that it is a work of man, which has been changed and rewritten many times over the centuries, many gospels being omitted, for example the Gospel of St Thomas (Dead Sea Scrolls), as this gives a totally different view of who Jesus was. There are many versions of the bible. The original book was put together some hundreds of years or so after the "death" of Jesus.

The zealous Christian opinion is exactly why there are fundamentalists out there and they are not all from Islam. We should look at America as an example of this extreme behaviour, especially at the moment with the American Administration's policies towards the Middle East. Bush has a perverted idea that God is in his back pocket.

This thread was initially related to wars and what causes them. Again, I reiterate that it is to do with political gain and religious extremism.

As a Buddhist, I have the same opinion as 'Rinpoche' that the bible is "part history and part fantasy". It has been used for many hundreds of years as a tool to manipulate and control the masses/ignorant, when people were not allowed to think for themselves or form opinions. It has been taken to other ancient cultures and used to discredit/destroy their own spiritual history. For example, South and Central America, the Native Americans, the indiginous population of Australia, and you failed to mention anything about the Inquisition - where the Christian faith was used for over 700 years to destroy/humiliate/murder millions of women for practising their peaceful Pagan faiths in Europe. Before Christianity, the Europeans were Pagans - nature worshippers. This is very similar to the Shinto religion of Japan and the Taoists in China.

Are you saying that anyone who does not believe in 'God' - the Christian ideal of God are wrong?

You mention Dan Brown - I'm sure that you are aware that he is principally a fiction writer and he took his premise from a book called "The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail" which was written by an English writer in the 1970s.

If you would like me to recommend any books - then I would recommend anything by Joseph Campbell. He wrote "The Hero With a Thousand Faces", this was the inspiration behind George Lucas' Star Wars trilogy. Joseph Campbell explains in his writings that the bible is full of metaphor and myth and NOT fact.

If you would like to have a discussion, please tell me what YOU think and not bombard me with quotes, verses, and lists of books.

The most important qualities in a human-beings are compassion, tolerance, wisdom and loving kindness towards all sentient beings. This, I believe, is in abundance in the Buddhist tradition.

Yours in the Dharma,
Peace and love,
zenswim
 

Jules

Potters Clay
Gods promises and truths

Zenswim,
I guess when it comes to this topic we will always be in disagreement until we leave these earthy bodies and stand before God. (Romans 14:10,12)

The analogy of God being in our back pocket is true. He is there whenever we need him. A prayer away. (Isaiah 58:9)Hebews 13:5, James 4:8,

commanded to love others...friends and ones who dislike us:1 John 3:18, Galatians 6:10,John 13:35, 1 Corinthians 14:1, Galatians 5:14

refuting those who do not believe Gods truths: Titus 1:9, Colossians 2:6-8, Ephesians 4:13-14, Matthew 7:24-25, 2 Peter 3:16

power of God through the scriptures: Matthew 22:29. Believing it and obeying:Luke 11:28
Truth of scriptures:John 10:35, Matthew 5:18

"The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever."~ Isaiah 40:8

God and His word doesn't need me to defend it. It defends itself.It is not the first time someone of another faith has claimed the bible is riddled with errors and claimed the history of the bible is different than what the scriptures tell. Many years later...it still stands. :)(Psalm 33:4) For me...I have chosen to put my trust in Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior. :)

We all make our own choice on which path we will take. Sorry for using so many verses, but my words mean nothing. Gods means everything to me. God is my shield and my refuge, He is who I will trust. Psalms 18:30

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path."~Psalm 119:105
With love and respect,
Jules:)
 

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