Asante said:

Saved7, I think you should look into what Duncan says, more.

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saved7 said:

Real salvation by Jesus Christ is a free gift, yet people reject it because instinctively they know they will belong to the one who saved them.

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OOISI said:

Genesis 1:26 "God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness"

Psalm 82:6-7 " I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes."

We are indeed like God, though we are not God, but we are gods who are mortal. It is there in scripture.

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pacmanbreed said:

11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.1 Corinthians 13

16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?1 Corinthians 3

10 O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart.
9 For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.Psalm 36

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pacmanbreed said:

I dont mind being belonged, Yet the so called majority of pastors, teachers - preach the word for money(tithes) living by the bible belt(hypocracy) instead of being free as christ commanded on to them.

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pacmanbreed said:

On the other hand they shouldnt be called teachers or pastors for we are all equally sisters/brothers.

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Asante said:

Saved7, I think you should look into what Duncan says, more.

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saved7 said:

Humans do have a special connection to God.  We ignore Him and exalt ourselves, we chases after our own lusts, roll around in our own sin and selfishness like pigs in the muck, and yet God still loves us.  God loved us enough to send his own son into this evil world and die for us.  Jesus was the final sacrifice to pay for our sins. It is the one true way God has given us to return back to him... if only we reach out and accept it.

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PocketLady said:

It sounds like you've had some really powerful spiritual experiences which have given you your faith. That is what it's all about, the actual experience. Anything else, is just blind belief in something from this human world that could easily have been tainted by man's ego.

Much love to you

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indeed he had experience Christ in this era of spiritual famine.. Much love brother

PocketLady said:

Saved7, we are clearly walking different paths here. But I love your intention, to help people. That is the goal of every authentic spiritual path. It's not to have knowledge or wisdom, and in fact, it's impossible to succeed if those are your goals, because that doesn't bring you closer to God, it drives you further into ego, and people do get lost here for sure. The point of every authentic spiritual path is to become completely selfless, filled with divine spirit, to lose all importance of 'self' so that serving and helping others becomes the only reason you live.

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PocketLady said:

All roads really do lead to the same place, although they have their own way of going about it.

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PocketLady said:

For example, in Eastern traditions, they teach meditation and yoga. Why? Well, mostly, its so that people can learn to have awareness of their own thoughts. It's really so that a person can remain in prayer, asking to be purified, at all times, throughout the whole day, never once falling into the "devil's" temptations or delusions at all, because they are instantly seen for what they are, literally as soon as they appear in the mind. But most Christians reject meditation, because somehow it is 'evil', when in fact, quite the opposite it is true.

It sounds like you've had some really powerful spiritual experiences which have given you your faith. That is what it's all about, the actual experience. Anything else, is just blind belief in something from this human world that could easily have been tainted by man's ego.

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Quote:

The truth is black and white.  The truth divides.  The truth makes people angry.

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Actually no, I don't think this is the case personally. The truth is loving. Truth is kind. The truth brings people together and promotes peace. The truth is all encompassing. I always found it a good measure to ask myself if the teaching I'm currently following lives up to the values I believe to be 'good'. Does it make sense that God (all loving, all kind) would only bring one messenger down to one area of the world, to one type of culture, so that (especially before technology improved) only a few people could benefit from it? Does it make sense that, even if you devoted your entire life to be loving, to help people and to be free from carnal desires, that because you chose the wrong God, you wouldn't be saved? Doesn't make a shred of sense to me. All religions promote 'loving thy neighbour as thyself.' The problem with the world isn't that there are different religions and spiritual beliefs, the problem is that most people don't aspire to that teaching.

PocketLady said:

The truth is loving. Truth is kind. The truth brings people together and promotes peace. The truth is all encompassing.

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5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
6 Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion,
7 desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.
8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully,1 Timothy 1


4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.1 Corinthians 13


I love reading your writeups. you both guys are in a good path while in this era of dark knight of the soul and most are in a search, That there will come a time that the Truth will shine upon all.

Quote:

though there are many paths for many people and all have their benefits in their own ways

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I think God was exceedingly wise, helping different spiritual traditions to arise all over the world, tailored for every individual culture, for different personalities, ultimately giving everyone the best chance to understand and realise their true heritage

PocketLady said:

I think you may be confusing some of the more recent New Age ego-traps, people who are looking for power, to have access to magic etc, over those who have genuinely asked to be purified so much, that God has scrubbed their karma [sins] clean, and now, they work only to be of service to others. Off the top of my head, a few (some still living on Earth, some not) include Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Paramahansa Yogananda, Gautama Buddha, Ramana Maharshi, Thich Nhat Hanh, the Dalai Lama...The list could go on. Needless to say, the vast majority of human beings (even those who are devoted to a spiritual path or religion) are still on the path to what you would probably call 'righteousness'. They have not achieved it yet, and as a result, they get lead astray.

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PocketLady said:

You have even said yourself, that Christians themselves are not perfect. If you can overlook groups of Christians that perform all sorts of atrocities in God's name, then surely you must understand that there are people who get off track in other spiritual traditions too, and that they should not be taken as the best example of that spiritual system.

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PocketLady said:

Every spiritual teaching that I have worked with, every teacher, they all say the same thing. That is, only God can purify you, but YOU have to ask. The more you ask, the more you turn away from worldly desires, the quicker God purifies you, because He sees that you mean business, and actually want to be free from selflishness. Meditation is done for the exact same reason you pray everyday - To tell God you see the error of your ways, and to ask for His forgiveness, and to be freed from sin. It's just put in other words. Instead of 'sin', it's called 'karma'.

The idea of 'becoming one with God', or 'awaking divinity within' is that all of the karma [or sin] has to be removed in order for God's light to be able to shine fully through you. When you remove "self", "selfishness" whatever you want to call it, the "selfless" light of the Creator is there, and you become so perfectly loving, kind, and compassionate, that all you want to do is to help others and work for the benefit of all sentient beings. I find it hard to understand that anyone could think this goal is a bad thing? Sure, not many people have achieved this in the current time, but there are enough that we can see it's possible.

“You do not have to struggle to reach God, but you do have to struggle to tear away the self-created veil that hides him from you.” - Parmahansa Yogananda

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deff said:

many schools within a school - electives, personal tutors, after school projects, even night school on the inner planes as we sleep. it is a benevolent system of learning catering to all diverse needs and aspirations and everyone is loved

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