Posted by Dena on October 30, 2005, at 17:55:02
In reply to Re: The end of times? Are we in the last days? » Dena, posted by Monkeyoga on October 30, 2005, at 16:58:49
> The older I get the more I am convinced that love is the most important thing in life. I forgot it was the first commandment (I grew up Catholic -- I thought guilt was the first commandment).
<<Ok, first, this made me giggle!
> I confess that I consider myself to be "spiritual but not religious."
<<That's understandable,considering the pain that's been done in the name of various religions...!
The Bible says that true religion is taking care of widows and orphans, and loving God and one another. I can go for a religion like that.
>>I do believe in the divine but I am reluctant to name, categorize, classify, or define it.
<<The more I learn about God, the more He surprises me... 'specially the way He keeps breaking out of the boxes I try to cram Him in (I choose to call God "Him", as that's how He chose to reveal Himself in the Bible, but as a woman who understands God to have many "feminine/motherly" attributes... I take no issue of the gendered word, which I believe is more for the benefit of our understanding, than as a means to define God, who really transcends gender anyway).
>> I've been participating in a discussion group about Christianity (I call it "Jesus For Dummies")
<<I'd LOVE that! I'm finding myself getting "back to basics" in recent years... chucking eveyrthing I "thought I knew", and allowing God to just give it to me directly from Him... and it's been a refresingly exhilerating ride... as well as a humbling and often terrifying journey.
>> and I agree with almost everything Christianity seems to stand for. I believe a love relationship with this divinity is what saves us all and I also agree we need to love each other and humanity in general.
<<I agree with you on that... I find the core of Christianity to be beautifully simple, and it touches a hungry core within me. The Sermon on the Mount, for instance... when Jesus kept people mesmerized by His words... they transformed Ghandi as well. I ache over what much of Christianity has become... TBN, hypocritical leaders, self-righteous people who forget about LOVE, and individuals who "use" Jesus to manipulate their own agendas...
>> Interestingly, my view does not require Jesus to appear as God in human form and die on the cross to save us all -- which is the foundation of Chst.
<<Yes, that would be a parting of the ways, theologically speaking, from traditional/orthodox Christianity.
I don't intend to "push my views" upon you, but a study of the life of Jesus, and why He chose to die, is a fascinating one... there's so much about His life, His words, His teachings, that's incredibly radical...especially when you understand the worldview and mindset of those days... it helps to see Him through their eyes, to understand why what He said and did was so alarming to so many, and what it means for us today.
However, having been in a church that was Catholic (though not Roman Catholic), I understand how many teachings can be forced upon you, using fear, manipulation, shame and guilt as (WRONG!) motivators... and how that can taint the way one sees Jesus.
It took me quite a while, a lot of searching, and a lot of crying out to God for His insight, to come to understand the truth that many convoluted teachings were hiding...
Thanks for a thought-provoking post... and for daring to seek Him with your whole heart... and, remember, He promises that those who seek WILL find Him.
Shalom, Dena
poster:Dena
thread:568881
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faith/20050811/msgs/573525.html