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Zahid said:
Which is what they're doing... just because one's spirituality is centered around the man Jesus, or the teachings of Mohammed doesn't mean that individual reasoning is abandoned. It's another method of apprehension; that of spirit. 

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silversoul7 said:

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Zahid said:
Which is what they're doing... just because one's spirituality is centered around the man Jesus, or the teachings of Mohammed doesn't mean that individual reasoning is abandoned. It's another method of apprehension; that of spirit. 

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You're not getting it, man.  If you truly thought for yourself, you wouldn't need to conform your beliefs to any one sect or denomination.  There are quite a few Christians and Muslims who think for themselves(though sadly not nearly enough).  Markos is a great example of what I'm talking about.  He's a Christian, yet also follows aspects of Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.  He's not bound by any one ideology, and cannot be pigeon-holed into one denomination.  Following a particular church or sect is essentially forfeiting one's capacity for independent thought.

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No - you misunderstood me. I am talking about basic reform in religious ideas; i.e., moving away from the literalism of the past. Like Irshad Manji's The Trouble with Islam or Rev. John Shelby Spong's Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism. Markos, like any mystic, is able to incorporate the teachings of other faiths because all religions are elaborate 'records' of the God experience; but much of his God experience revolves around the Christ man - the Spirit of God. For me, the Holy Qur'an captures that spiritual focus - but ends there for me, with my unique union with the Recitation.

I do not dismiss other faiths, as your post suggests. I consider all religions ideas that pertain to the same experience - the God experience. My school of thought resembles much of what the Pir-o-Murshid Khan taught, that every man is his own religion - a spiritual struggle (jihad) of an individual to become individuated by overcoming the false ego. 'Love is a furnace, and ego its fuel.' I certainly have never disregarded Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism and other fine faiths that have different methods of understanding the One Divine. There are gnostics (knowers) in every faith, Markos happens to be a Christian gnostic. You've greatly misunderstood my intentions, because like Markos, one's gnosis is what allowed me to witness the process of the individuated self; self realization, self awakening to the God spark within. The only belief I testify to is the invisible Love.