Perhaps All Roads do Lead to Rome (page 2)

tetrapod.sapien

46,000 BP -- Spiritual calling from Earth Maldek souls (Bigfoot) Confederation aid (love/light)

ha ha, that's a funny one tsunami! whoever wrote that fit everything in!

GBL - I think there is a loving God - it's just mans interpretations that messes things up.

emo,

gotta stop blaming us stupid humans for god's problems. it doesn't sound like much of a god to me if he let's us mess up his plans and image so badly. if god really really wanted us to have the right picture of him, he would have used his brush of omniscience to do a better job of painting it for us.

if all religions are the so-called spokes on a wheel leading to a common hub, you might be surprised to know that as far as anyone can tell, all the spokes lead back to the dark musty squalor of some pre-history cave.

hmike

Hi LouBelle,

This is a popular idea that's been around for a long time. In the Biblical Christian perspective, it can't work, however. The NT teaches that Jesus died to pay for people's sins. If there was another way to reach God--by keeping the Hebrew laws, by mediation, by holy war, or whatever, why would Jesus have to die? Why not another way? Paul went into the Gentile world to preach the gospel of Jesus because there was no other way for them to the real God.

People accuse Christianity of being exclusive. Well, it is if one is going to adhere to the canonical Bible as authoritative. As Peter is recorded to have said, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

LouBelle

hmike - that belief is according to the judo-christian way of thinking......that is why I said perhaps God appeared to each differently.

Yeah I guess it's a nice thought - whether it be true or not is another thing. As I get these ideas, since I'm actually allowed to think for myself for the first time in ages, i'll just pop them on here to get some feedback, take some use it & discard other stuff.

James Thomas - I trully enjoy the posts of yours that I grasp. I've got so much going on in my brain and have contemplated that same thought you've brought out. That our truth is here with us now, in us, not necessarily leading us here or there, but being here, now and in the present, in which case we wouldn't have to look ""out there"" for answers......we'd look to ourselves.

greendawn

Religions have this thing in common that they point to a spiritual dimension in man and spiritual goals to be striven for.

However in practise they don't work because the lower instinctive side always proves stronger and wrecks spiritual development in mankind.

In addition religions however well meaning in themselves are favourite playing ground for many ambitious cowards and crooks as is the case with the WTS a classic example of this. Few, followers are really genuine.

I agree with hmike that if you believe in the gospel then salvation can't be found outside christianity, there is no Holy Spirit and no direct access to the divine. Islam is a poor imitation, a clumsy aping, of judeo christianity.

hmike

LouBelle,

Jesus instructed his disciples to take his message out into the world--that means to places where other religions existed. When Paul came to a Gentile culture that had their own religion, he didn't offer to help them find their way within their own religion. No, he proclaimed the God of Abraham--through whom all nations would be blessed--and then Jesus, the Saviour and judge of the earth.

Everyone is certainly free to come to their own conclusions. I just wanted to make sure this plate was on the table and the choice was clear.

Markfromcali

Yeah I guess it's a nice thought - whether it be true or not is another thing. As I get these ideas, since I'm actually allowed to think for myself for the first time in ages, i'll just pop them on here to get some feedback, take some use it & discard other stuff.

Who uses it? If the information is used then it's not about whether or not it's true is it, in other words it isn't about getting your thoughts right, but what's behind the using and discarding. So tracing back, what is behind all of the mental filtering process besides other thoughts you've picked up from others? After all if you are really going to think for yourself then you must consider this, otherwise you may just be fooling yourself while still confined by past programming. That programming may not be as overt as the WTS teachings, but it is programming nontheless.

See the thing is, even the thought that the truth is found within ourselves is worthless if you don't actually know yourself, isn't it? The mind you've acquired while being a JW may just have gone through some adaptations, even if it is very different now. There is freedom from confinement to a particular way of thinking such as the JWs, and there is freedom from thinking, period. You can have the former but just become lost in thought in regards to the latter, even being enslaved by thought. To continue to look for a true thought is to miss the point.

Clearly to know who you are means you would put aside everything else that has influenced you. If you cannot do this you are really not actually thinking for yourself. Rather than going from one thought to another, even the thought of "it's all here and now in this moment", just try stopping. Go for clarity, not an amassing of information which only creates clutter.

Sad emo

Tetra

gotta stop blaming us stupid humans for god's problems.

I know you're not likely to agree with this but please hear me out! The way I see it is that it's us stupid humans that are God's problems! We misinterpret/misrepresent His word and add our own rules and regulations. We twist it to suit our own purposes. To that end, Christians believe He sent His son to offer a way out of the mess we've made. The Muslims believe He sent Muhammad, etc, etc...

I still believe that most of the religions originally taught a message of love for God and one's neighbour. To quote Greendawn:

Religions have this thing in common that they point to a spiritual dimension in man and spiritual goals to be striven for.

However in practise they don't work because the lower instinctive side always proves stronger and wrecks spiritual development in mankind.

se

bebu

I think it is a little differently worded. It isn't all roads... it is all people.

All people always have at least one road which they may take to get them closer to Rome.

In other words: in the particular choices in any individual's life, are ones which will bring one closer to the heart of God, and others choices which will take one further away.

More precisely, whenever one decides to choose whatever is right, good, noble, kind or true (etc.), over what is selfish or rude or cruel or hateful or false, then whatever the "religion" or belief, one can be walking (even backward) to God. If one knows humility in reality and practicality (not simply recited or professed, like a pharisee), then a road is being walked toward God.

Everyone has these roads to choose to walk.

bebu

googlemagoogle

"man made god in his image".

there are maybe many similarities in many religions, but there are also huge differences, that's why there are religious wars and such. that's why many christian groups are against ecumene (how the heck do you write that in english?).

religions are so different that if there's a god, it's not possible that all of these religions are right. but for the followers, their own religion of course is right.

there is no way to determine which religion is right or wrong.

most religions accept one god or many gods, but reject other gods (there are some inclusive religions though). now if you are "traditional" (added for LT) judeoislamochristian for example, you accept one god, but dismiss the others. this makes you an atheist, exept for one god. but it makes you an atheist for millions of other gods.

i chose to be such an atheist, with the difference to dismiss one more god. so if you don't believe in 199,999,998 gods i don't believe in 199,999,999 gods. not much of a difference.

bebu

so if you don't believe in 199,999,998 gods i don't believe in 199,999,999 gods. not much of a difference.

But all it would take is one Real god, though... and one Real god would mean a very big difference.

bebu

Perhaps All Roads do Lead to Rome

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