RE: Challenge
May 2, 2009 at 4:14 pm
(This post was last modified: May 2, 2009 at 4:57 pm by Sai.)
@Tiberius:
Sure, that's why you should be honest with yourself and not force your beliefs unto others. But just because material evidence is so straightforward and convenient isn't a reason to rely solely on it alone. Incidentally, I don't think that the realm of spirituality is alien to anybody. It just can be hard to cope with on an intellectual level because it's so different from the realm of empiricism. So there's no way for me to show it to you if you haven't experienced it yourself. That's why Jesus advised us to pray in privacy and not make a big party out of it, like what is happening now. That only leads us to embracing the potentially corrupted viewpoints of the community.
I believe there is more to find by looking into our souls (whoops!) than could ever be found under a microscope (not that biology isn't important!).
Of course god has given us natural instincts and abilities to be able to live on our own. But that is only one part of us. Some things that we hold most dear can't be detected neither through our senses nor through any other material means, faith is essential in order to make the connection and to be able to embrace them.
Thank you very much for your challenging comment, Adrian!
Yes, that's more or less what I think. God isn't something that we could possibly comprehend, Jesus is a bridge that we can use to experience god and to understand the non-material nature of ourselves and our world.
But I don't think it's like god taught us directly through a human body, Jesus was in my opinion no more divine than any other human (uh, I think I heard a thunder XD), he simply was completely open to god. But in the grand scheme of things, it was only a little push to turn us into the right direction.
I don't really buy into the prophets idea... I don't think that god specifically sends humans to earth to fullfill errands... what nonsense XD .
Prophets are always self-proclaimed, but Jesus didn't go around claiming to be the son of god. It were other people who took the liberty of giving him that title. The only thing that was important to him was to lay the groundwork for people to be able to build a powerful connection to god. He sacrificed all the worldly goodies that he could have gotten in order to be with people that needed him the most. Both with his life and his death he proved that spirituality is ultimately infinitely more powerful than volatile material things.
I can't say in a few sentences what makes me believe that Jesus words are true... What I can say is that his words fulfill and complete my original beliefs and "instincts", my natural spiritual condition that fortunately hasn't been completely distorted through religious or societal dogma. I can agree with him out of my own free will, without having to be taught or forced by anybody. This harmony, I think, resonates as truth.
Sure, that's why you should be honest with yourself and not force your beliefs unto others. But just because material evidence is so straightforward and convenient isn't a reason to rely solely on it alone. Incidentally, I don't think that the realm of spirituality is alien to anybody. It just can be hard to cope with on an intellectual level because it's so different from the realm of empiricism. So there's no way for me to show it to you if you haven't experienced it yourself. That's why Jesus advised us to pray in privacy and not make a big party out of it, like what is happening now. That only leads us to embracing the potentially corrupted viewpoints of the community.
I believe there is more to find by looking into our souls (whoops!) than could ever be found under a microscope (not that biology isn't important!).
Of course god has given us natural instincts and abilities to be able to live on our own. But that is only one part of us. Some things that we hold most dear can't be detected neither through our senses nor through any other material means, faith is essential in order to make the connection and to be able to embrace them.
Thank you very much for your challenging comment, Adrian!
(May 2, 2009 at 3:29 pm)WWLD Wrote: So when you say Jesus taught you more directly, it really was "god" teaching you, but in the form of a human so he COULD teach you directly by coming to earth. He wouldn't be able to teach you directly if he wasn't human on earth would he? So "God" translated himself with a human form of himself?
Yes, that's more or less what I think. God isn't something that we could possibly comprehend, Jesus is a bridge that we can use to experience god and to understand the non-material nature of ourselves and our world.
But I don't think it's like god taught us directly through a human body, Jesus was in my opinion no more divine than any other human (uh, I think I heard a thunder XD), he simply was completely open to god. But in the grand scheme of things, it was only a little push to turn us into the right direction.
(May 2, 2009 at 3:31 pm)Tiberius Wrote: On that note, why do you think Jesus' words are true? What makes him a prophet?
I don't really buy into the prophets idea... I don't think that god specifically sends humans to earth to fullfill errands... what nonsense XD .
Prophets are always self-proclaimed, but Jesus didn't go around claiming to be the son of god. It were other people who took the liberty of giving him that title. The only thing that was important to him was to lay the groundwork for people to be able to build a powerful connection to god. He sacrificed all the worldly goodies that he could have gotten in order to be with people that needed him the most. Both with his life and his death he proved that spirituality is ultimately infinitely more powerful than volatile material things.
I can't say in a few sentences what makes me believe that Jesus words are true... What I can say is that his words fulfill and complete my original beliefs and "instincts", my natural spiritual condition that fortunately hasn't been completely distorted through religious or societal dogma. I can agree with him out of my own free will, without having to be taught or forced by anybody. This harmony, I think, resonates as truth.
