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Ayahuascasoul
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Let us open our bibles
#19224093 - 12/03/13 08:22 PM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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Let us open our bibles to Luke Chapter 17 verse 20-And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
This did not say that the kingdom of God is within one man or a group of men but in all men. So why do we allow hate and fear to creep into our hearts towards another group of people? Why do we use the Bible or Koran as a means for judgement and religious intolerance towards another group of humans that hold the kingdom of God within them?
Lets step back and imagine that you weren't born in America where Christianity is the norm or in the Middle East where Islam is accepted. Let's imagine you happened to be born in India or Tibet where Hinduism and Buddhism is the religion of choice.
If this happened to you and by chance you were born into another religion and indoctrinated into a different belief system, does that mean you will be sent to hell? I don't find this to be true. I have found that the idea of hell was put I'm place to use fear to keep you captive to your religion.
As a people of planet earth it just depends on what area of the world you have been born into that decides what religion you are indoctrinated into. Cognitive dissonance causes us to dismiss facts that are presented to us due to them going against our core belief system. Before the next time you decide to hate or cast judgement on someone else remember it could have been you indoctrinated into radical thinking like radical Islam, churches similar to the Westboro Baptist church or any other radical thinking religion.
In my personal opinion I see religion driving humanity apart as a whole. I see too much hate towards people who are different from ourselves. For myself it appears that the Bible and Koran are translated and taught to fit the churches opinion on any given subject. No matter what god you believe in, we all came from the same one.
I will end with a simple quote from yours truly, "you can find truths in every religion but that doesn't make any one religion the absolute truth."
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MarkostheGnostic
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Actually, as I learned to my chagrin in seminary school some 35-37 years ago, in the original Greek, the word is entos not eso (as in esoteric, within), and entos translates as 'in the midst of.' So the more mystical 'locus' within each believer is not intended, which used to bother me until I became acquainted with The Gospel of Thomas, before leaving seminary, where in Logion 3 it says: 3. "Jesus said, "If your leaders say to you, 'Look, the (Father's) kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the (Father's) kingdom is within you and it is outside you." This is actually a more profound idea than attributing a spacio-temporal locus. Ramana Maharshi responded that for people who are still deceived by illusion, The Heart, the Hridayam is the locus of the Self, but for the liberated soul, the Jivanmukti, locus is no longer a consideration. Ultimately, "God is a sphere Whose center is everywhere, and Whose circumference is nowhere."
-------------------- γνῶθι σαὐτόν - Gnothi Seauton - Know Thyself
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Ellis Dee
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The Bible says a lot of really horrible things too. People pick and choose from what it says to justify to themselves or others that they should have more power or that their opinions and beliefs are correct. Someone like myself that really knows the Bible can quote it to justify literally anything and make it seem like it's god's word.
-------------------- "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do."-King Solomon And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
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eve69
--=..Did Adam and ...?=--



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Re: Let us open our bibles [Re: Ellis Dee]
#19225447 - 12/04/13 06:20 AM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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gggaaaahhhhh
-------------------- ...or something
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all this beauty
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Quote:
Ayahuascasoul said: ... for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Nice post, Ayahuascasoul. Very nice indeed.
If all the people who participated in organized religion had your outlook -- your insight -- think of what a more peaceful world this would be. No holy wars. No religion-based terrorism. All that money and those resources channeled to people who really need them. The poor. The hungry. The homeless.
I don't blame the church/mosque/synagogue/temple goers for the horror and malevolent force that much of institutional religion has become in the world today. Most of those people -- I'd guess the vast majority of them -- are good folks who want for themselves and their loved ones what we all want. Peace. Security. Lack of want. I blame instead the evil religious leaders who throughout history have corrupted the institution and manipulated the frail and vulnerable people who participate in it.
Thanks for your post.
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FishOilTheKid
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Re: Let us open our bibles [Re: eve69]
#19225690 - 12/04/13 08:23 AM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
Why do we use the Bible or Koran as a means for judgement and religious intolerance towards another group of humans that hold the kingdom of God within them?
Perhaps we all need to share a common thread. (experience)
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eve69
--=..Did Adam and ...?=--



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The Bible is not a text for understanding, it is a hammer. Koran is a bomb with a long fuse.
-------------------- ...or something
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all this beauty
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Re: Let us open our bibles [Re: eve69] 1
#19225729 - 12/04/13 08:36 AM (10 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
eve69 said: The Bible is not a text for understanding, it is a hammer. Koran is a bomb with a long fuse.
Well, if you give people a hammer and a long fuse and tell them to clear a tract of land and build a house, they'll do it. But if you give them those things, frighten them sufficiently, and tell them to go out and maim and kill, they'll do that too.
Not the bibles and the holy books, my friend.
It's what they're used for.
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Ayahuascasoul
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All this beauty- I'm glade you enjoyed it Fishoilthekid- yes we do!!!
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