Blinded By Belief

[davidk]

It’s puzzling that a progressive would argue a point particularly by an author whose writing the progressive feels is terribly flawed or inauthentic.

In addition, the quotes have been taken out of their context (a fault that is not unique to progressives).

 

My Fine Arts professor once said Picasso was in all of his works and all of his works were in him.

 

That is applied in the same manner as Paul applied it when he preached to the Athenians about God and those who have been “renewed”. But it appears not to be the same way in which Soma’s application of the “cosmic presence or consciousness” interpretation of “in him” or “in all” would want.

--

The ancient religions of Hinduism and Buddhism, as well as the modern mysticism, the progressive/liberal theology, all some form of pantheism, are not truly theisms.

In pantheism the universe conceived of as a whole is God. There are only the combined forces and laws that are manifested in the existing universe. Since everything in pantheism is finally equal, there is no answer for personality or significance or variance or freedom or morals. ‘Theism’ becomes only a semantic illusion of personality.

 

Biblical philosophy teaches of the personal-infinite-creator God; it teaches that each man does have meaning and his aspirations are not meaningless. That his aspirations to the reality of personality are in line with what is and has always intrinsically been.

[soma]

Paul said that the knowledgeable Christian understands that there is but one living God. There is one God so there is no need to create other gods for other religions that we do not know in depth. One all-sufficient God is more than enough. One God is better than a thousand insufficient friends. The other gods that some Christians create are insufficient friends to make one feel superior. Seeing one God in everything makes us loving and patient with those who annoy and trouble us. We don't have to put any religion down to make Our Lord and God better.

[davidk]

It is true that there is but one all-sufficient God. The evidence substantiates this Christian truth of the infinite-personal God. The Christian, as by Soma’s definition, understands there is but this one God.

 

However, the accusation that some Christians selfishly create ‘other gods’, has yet to be substantiated. It is rather that the evidence supports a claim that it is the non-Christian that invents ‘other gods’.

 

Now, given the history of the progressive faith, I think it would be safe to say that the real implication behind the author’s “other gods” is not about Zeus or Baal, but is a thinly veiled denunciation of the Christian Trinity. (This denunciation is a fine example of a ‘put down’. Of which the author had just determined to be considered a wanton display of an illegitimate superiority.)

 

The seeming failure of this progressive “doctrine” is in its not making a genuinely serious inquiry concerning the Trinity in order to make a fully knowledgeable judgment. For without the high order of personal unity and diversity as given in the Trinity, man has no answers.

 

With everything, in any form of pantheism, being finally the same, it is by definition simply incapable of providing any meaning or purpose for the individual.

 

With Christianity’s emphasis on the individual and his meaning and purpose in life, and the observed universe’s diversity as well as its unity, it makes the term ‘Christian pantheism’ an oxymoron.

[minsocal]

There is nothing oxymoronic about Christian Pantheism. Given a deep enough background in how these concepts weave together in an expanding web of knowledge, it is possible to create a coherent worldview that does not have to conflict with science in general or evolution in particular. Philosophers have already done this using a somewhat different terminology. The shift, however, did not originate from within philosophy.

[soma]

(Deuteronomy 6:4) - "Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!"

(Isaiah 43:10) - ". . . Before Me [YHWH] there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me."

(Isaiah 44:6) - ". . . there is no God besides Me."

(Isaiah 44:8) - ". . . And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, or is there any other Rock? I know of none."

 

I believe there is one God and I feel the Trinity supports this.

 

I feel progressive Christians such as Mother Teresa demonstrated a belief that there are many ways to this one God. She said: "All is God—Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, etc., all have access to the same God."

 

In her book, Life in the Spirit: Reflections, Meditations, and Prayers, "Mother" Teresa says on pp. 81-82:

 

"We never try to convert those who receive [aid from Missionaries of Charity] to Christianity but in our work we bear witness to the love of God's presence and if Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists, or agnostics become for this better men—simply better—we will be satisfied. It matters to the individual what church he belongs to. If that individual thinks and believes that this is the only way to God for her or him, this is the way God comes into their life—his life. If he does not know any other way and if he has no doubt so that he does not need to search then this is his way to salvation."

 

Immature Christians say the The God of Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Christianity are different. This said, these Christians are promoting many gods. There is only one God so that joy should be shared.

 

Progressive Christians appreciate the immanence and ominiescience of God. I feel most have experienced the mystical sense of God's presence within the world of time and space so they respect others who worship in a sincere way. Progressive Christians bring the spiritualities of the east and west much closer together. The proof is in the love, respect and tolerance they radiate to all traditions.

 

1 John 4:7

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

[minsocal]

(Deuteronomy 6:4) - "Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!"

(Isaiah 43:10) - ". . . Before Me [YHWH] there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me."

(Isaiah 44:6) - ". . . there is no God besides Me."

(Isaiah 44:8) - ". . . And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, or is there any other Rock? I know of none."

 

I believe there is one God and I feel the Trinity supports this.

 

I feel progressive Christians such as Mother Teresa demonstrated a belief that there are many ways to this one God. She said: "All is God—Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, etc., all have access to the same God."

 

In her book, Life in the Spirit: Reflections, Meditations, and Prayers, "Mother" Teresa says on pp. 81-82:

 

"We never try to convert those who receive [aid from Missionaries of Charity] to Christianity but in our work we bear witness to the love of God's presence and if Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists, or agnostics become for this better men—simply better—we will be satisfied. It matters to the individual what church he belongs to. If that individual thinks and believes that this is the only way to God for her or him, this is the way God comes into their life—his life. If he does not know any other way and if he has no doubt so that he does not need to search then this is his way to salvation."

 

Immature Christians say the The God of Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Christianity are different. This said, these Christians are promoting many gods. There is only one God so that joy should be shared.

 

Progressive Christians appreciate the immanence and ominiescience of God. I feel most have experienced the mystical sense of God's presence within the world of time and space so they respect others who worship in a sincere way. Progressive Christians bring the spiritualities of the east and west much closer together. The proof is in the love, respect and tolerance they radiate to all traditions.

 

1 John 4:7

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

 

All excellent points. Only ONE very small difference. People in my church often say that we need to replace the word 'tolerance' with the word "acceptance". I think it makes a difference. If we seek personal integrity, we have to grant that integrity to others.

 

But, that said. The true message of Jesus is going to be one of the most difficult challenges ever placed before us!!!

[soma]

minsocal you are right acceptance is a better term for reasonable-emotional persons. Jesus is ready to enlighten our minds, enlarge our hearts and help us to respond creatively to get rid of out emotional immaturity and respond to all our brother and sisters in the world in a Christian, loving way.

[davidk]

The concept of a deity is unknown to Taoism, as is the concept of the creation of the universe.

 

Buddhism rejects the notion of a principle of God operating in the universe. According to the Buddhist ideology, when primitive humans found themselves in fear of any natural phenomena like thunder and lightning, they created the idea of Gods to console themselves. Buddhists insist there has been no real and concrete evidence to prove the idea of God.

 

The Hindu says everything is God. The common Hindu belief is in the philosophy of Pantheism; Pantheism considers everything, living and non-living, to be Divine and Sacred. He considers the trees as God, the sun as God, the moon as God, the monkey as God, the snake as God and even human beings as God. All is equal, all is one.

---

Any argument proffered that some Christians say the God of Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Christianity are different would seem to insinuate a declaration of multiple Gods rather than the one true God. However, when properly addressed it would be that the false gods of Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, are not the same as the one true God of Christianity.

---

The OT quotes in the previous post attest to the Judeo-Christian faith being in the one true God, and the rebuke of the concepts of Gods other than Him. Which I suppose was the point of bringing them to our attention.

---

The following statements probably need more explanation than room allows but suffices to say in summary:

The truth of Christianity is that it is true to what is there. When we catch that, we will have something beautiful and alive, something which will have force in our poor lost world. If we have love, we will bring the truth.

 

The truth is that the only answer to what exists is that He, the triune God, is there. Without the infinite-personal God of personal unity and diversity, there is no answer to the existence of what exists. The infinite-personal God, who is Trinity, has spoken and told us that He existed before all else, and so we have the answer to the existence of what is. There is no use having a silent God.

 

The reason we have the answer is because the infinite-personal God, the full Trinitarian God, has not been silent. He has told us who He is. That is the reason we know. It is the full Biblical content concerning God: that He is the infinite-personal God, the triune God.

---

Christianity must not be reduced to some weakened pantheistic theology.

[minsocal]

Personally, my own worldview has been enhanced by elements of Taoism. All religions come with multiple interpretations. leaving a significant amount of room to create a coherent set of similar concepts. Whitehead based his major work on the Pantheism of Spinoza, but with a twist. With Whitehead, you get it both ways with his concept of a dipolar God matched to a diploar theory of the mind. His conclusions resonate with me and his theory of mind is credible when compared with current research.

[soma]

Christianity has lost something essential, which is the ability to have an authentic mystical experience with Christ. Christians are lead half way with pompous prayers, but we cannot rest until we rest in God. Prayer should be a digging with the heart going deeper and deeper until one reaches the one God. We have lost the awareness of Our Lord and God everywhere and in everyone. The intermediate Christian who is competitive and ambitious must learn to be still and achieve purity of heart. Then there will be no need to to talk about other gods so the Christian God can be superior. The first commandment is “I am the Lord thy God and thou shall not have strange Gods before Me." I say to the immature Christians to stop bringing strange Gods before Our Lord. If you see one God in every thing then talk about that one God in clothes of other Gods, but if one doesn't see this stop bringing strange gods before us. "Blessed are the pure of heart for they; shall see God." Matt 5:8

 

I have been enriched with Taoism also. One can learn from everything and learn about God in and through everything. It has opened my heart up to love. It is not easy to know God so we should be grateful for any information to cultivate purity of heart and get rid of whatever disperses our energy and divides our attention from the one God. Talking about other gods as if they are not a part of the One True God disperses our energy from the goal.

[minsocal]

Christianity has lost something essential, which is the ability to have an authentic mystical experience with Christ. Christians are lead half way with pompous prayers, but we cannot rest until we rest in God. Prayer should be a digging with the heart going deeper and deeper until one reaches the one God. We have lost the awareness of Our Lord and God everywhere and in everyone. The intermediate Christian who is competitive and ambitious must learn to be still and achieve purity of heart. Then there will be no need to to talk about other gods so the Christian God can be superior. The first commandment is “I am the Lord thy God and thou shall not have strange Gods before Me." I say to the immature Christians to stop bringing strange Gods before Our Lord. If you see one God in every thing then talk about that one God in clothes of other Gods, but if one doesn't see this stop bringing strange gods before us. "Blessed are the pure of heart for they; shall see God." Matt 5:8

 

I have been enriched with Taoism also. One can learn from everything and learn about God in and through everything. It has opened my heart up to love. It is not easy to know God so we should be grateful for any information to cultivate purity of heart and get rid of whatever disperses our energy and divides our attention from the one God. Talking about other gods as if they are not a part of the One True God disperses our energy from the goal.

 

Your last comment about "energy" is what brings a whole lot of theory together at several levels. It creates a path that brings many views together. It is a bridge that science accepted. Matter and energy are intechangeable. Consciousness and our physical evolution are interchangeable. Or, "the two meet in a third". Yin would listen with great attention and Yang would speak with great passion, and the "third" results if we allow both to interact.

[JosephM]

Hi Soma and Minsocal,

 

In my view I think you both have pretty well summed it up. However, Fundamental Christianity to me doesn't seem to see it that way. Perhaps this is because as my original post has pointed out , there are those who have believed an assumption as truth and not recognized it as an assumption and because of that one belief have made themselves blinded to progression. It seems to me whenever we close our minds to other views or other ways or limit our understanding by a basic false assumption that we make unchangeable, we have in effect closed ourselves to true growth.

 

I like point 2 and point 6 of PC which says a mouthful for the progressive which reads....

By calling ourselves progressive, we mean that we are Christians who recognize the faithfulness of other people who have other names for the way to God's realm, and acknowledge that their ways are true for them, as our ways are true for us.

and

By calling ourselves progressive,we mean that we are Christians who find more grace in the search for meaning than in absolute certainty, in the questions than in the answers.

 

It seems to me this attitude keeps us open and helps prevent us from being blinded by beliefs set in concrete so deep that we can not see beyond it. To me this is what this whole topic is really about. (Blinded by Belief)

 

Love Joseph

[minsocal]

JosephM,

 

I found your comment about assumptions compelling. It was not until the last few years that I began to understand that the progressive worldview has a rich background supported by much more than theology. It seems to me that there are two kinds of assumptions. One is a theme we have repeated so often that we no longer question it, but simply apply it unconsciously to what we see and read. It was Husserl who first pointed this out, descibing it as a process of "sedimentation". Modern cognitive science understands this process very well. Another form of assumption is simply what we have taken for granted and never really thought about before. So many times I have been tempted to put aside a set of ideas only to see them in a new way as I see them converge with the Bible. It is a reciprocal process flowing in both directions. You can get a kind of "knowing smile" from a lot of non-Christians by pointing this out. They were already at that point before me. I like that smile. You can see it on the face of children when they have mastered a task.

 

Myron

[davidk]

The eastern religions of Tao, Buddha, and Hindu are indeed fascinating. Each having a particular perspective on the world and all three do provide insights we may not have recognized otherwise. It has before been demonstrated that man has two particular needs, and they are the need for a personal unity and diversity. I have recognized, credited, and argued for the pantheistic nature of some religions providing answers for the need for unity. But because they begin everything with the impersonal, none for the meaning and significance for the needed diversity (variances).

All three begin with an impersonal beginning. As a result, there is no meaning or significance to diversity. They give meaning for form, but not for freedom. Neither do morals have any meaning, with everything finally being equal. There are then no true answers in regard to any of the three for existence with its complexity, or the personality of man.

Whitehead said, “It is as true to say that God creates the World, as that the World creates God”.

This dualistic concept of a dipolar God should be examined. If in morals one holds this position, then there is no ultimate reason to call one thing good and one evil. The words and choices would be purely subjective if there is not something above, dominating them. If there is something above them, it is no longer dipolar. Above Yin and Yang there is always the shadowy Tao. This dualism leaves us with some form of imbalance and tension back to a monism.

Either men try to find a unity over the two, or as in parallelism, there is a need to find a relationship, a correlation or contact between the two, or we are left with a concept of the two keeping step with no unity to cause them to do so. In parallelism, there is a constant tendency for one side to be subordinated to the other, or for one side to become an illusion.

If both of the bipolar elements happen to be impersonal we go back to the same problem of being unable to answer for diversity, variance, morality, or freedom. We can question and we can search for the meaning, but there is no answer.

It is a given that religions differ because they do not believe in the same things. The historic Christian and Buddhist beliefs are contradictory (i.e.; God v. no God). Despite point 2 of PC, it is not only unreasonable but impossible for both to be true. “Yet it is even more amazing that this wondrous creature we call man that has been mysteriously endowed with a mind and reason will voluntarily give it up rather than use these faculties.”-Joseph

[JosephM]

(snip)

If both of the bipolar elements happen to be impersonal we go back to the same problem of being unable to answer for diversity, variance, morality, or freedom. We can question and we can search for the meaning, but there is no answer.

It is a given that religions differ because they do not believe in the same things. The historic Christian and Buddhist beliefs are contradictory (i.e.; God v. no God). Despite point 2 of PC, it is not only unreasonable but impossible for both to be true. "Yet it is even more amazing that this wondrous creature we call man that has been mysteriously endowed with a mind and reason will voluntarily give it up rather than use these faculties."-Joseph

 

Davidk,

 

You are obviously very intelligent and articulate but it seems to me that this last paragraph of yours sums up your dilemma (even if you see none) very well. In my view, you have made an assumption that you understand God well enough to know that the Buddhist and Christian beliefs are contradictory. I have studied both and find it was contradictory only because of a personal perception of God which came from a highly conditioned background and using what I at the time deemed as most logical. When I put aside my conditioning and assumptions as best I could and remained open I found both religions not contradictory at all. I found my past perceived 'logicalness' was no more than subjective and conditioned reasoning and logic rather than openess and connection. Perhaps you do not see it that way for the reasons you mentioned in your complete last post. There are others here who can see for whatever reasons and therefor point 2 is not unreasonable as you would infer (though it may be to you).

 

Obviously, I cannot convince you with words neither is that necessary. Each person has to find these things out for themselves through both openness and viewing from outside the box that has been built around them. I love you as a brother in Christ with no contradiction and am most certain that we all will come to true knowledge and truth in what is deemed as 'the fullness of times'.

 

Love in Christ,

Joseph

 

PS In my view, it is not simply 'God' vs 'no God' between these 2 religions but rather a limitation of understanding brought about by limiting definitions founded on false assumptions that can only be corrected not by words but by subjective and transformative experiences on the part of the individual.

[soma]

If we argue that every religion is contrary to all of the others, any evidence in support of one doubt cast doubt on the authenticity or worth of evidence for all of the religions. Why as Christians do we have to cast doubt about God and His religions because that doubt that we cast is evidence for doubt of our own religion?

 

When we try to destroy a rival religion, we destroy the miracles of our own religion, and the Christian values and system on which Christianity was established.

[JosephM]

If we argue that every religion is contrary to all of the others, any evidence in support of one doubt cast doubt on the authenticity or worth of evidence for all of the religions. Why as Christians do we have to cast doubt about God and His religions because that doubt that we cast is evidence for doubt of our own religion?

 

When we try to destroy a rival religion, we destroy the miracles of our own religion, and the Christian values and system on which Christianity was established.

 

Hi Soma,

 

Could you elaborate more on this post. It appears deeper than I can at present comprehend.

 

Thanks in advance,

Joseph

[minsocal]

I have to admit that I do not "know" God in such intellectual depth that I can make absolute claims. Whitehead appeals to me because his perspective is universal. In other words, all humans have an equal capacity to be connected to God. The process does not begin with an intellectual inqury. Instead it is a bottom-up process beginning with empathy. The physical pole of emotion conditions the mental pole prior to reaching consciousness. At all levels it is not a matter of accepting A and rejecting B, instead it is a matter of drawing contrasts between A and B.

 

This sounds somewhat like what Soma is talking about. We learn best by drawing contrasts. If the process happens natually, it begins with empathy for all other viewpoints and insight is gained from the contrasts. The hitch is that the process takes a lifetime and never stops unless we become totally isolated from God or other creatures.

[soma]

Mahatma Gandhi said, “The soul of religion is one, but it is encased in a multitude of forms.”

 

There is only one religion if we see the religions all talking about God. People approach God in different ways and God approaches them in return. If a person doesn't see God in a religion then they have no need to pursue that train of thought. If a person gains insight from a religion, I hope that person follows it and benefits from that faith. Now, if a person is growing closer to God following a spiritual path that is different from mine, I am not in a position to correct or alter the choice. I am not God. God is guiding that person and guided him/her to that path. If I put down any guidance from God then I an downgrading my own figure head for God. It shows I have no faith in My Lord. Religiously motivated wars, genocides, and civil unrest harms innocent people and arises out of doubt about Our Almighty God. We must trust Our Lord that He is really the Almighty.

 

Our Bible gives us wisdom in trusting, searching and being devoted to the One God. Other religions give similar advice.

 

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek; and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. [Matthew 7:7-8].”

 

We don't have to use one style of prayer, each style can be successful at the right time. Let nothing keep a person from prayer. We should not try to keep someone from their style of prayer. There is always a passage way to God and asking, knocking, seeking, praying, meditating are all successful. Discouraging someone from knowing their God discourages them and us from knowing our God, the same God.

 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and don't lean on your own understanding. In all things acknowledge him, and he shall direct your way. [Proverbs 3:5, 6]”

 

The Bible is full of principles of behavior, it doesn't give us specific instructions, but tells us what our attitude should be. If the Lord tells one to be a Buddhist, a Christian Buddhist then one should follow the heart. This is sincerity.

 

“Our love must not be a thing of words and fine talk. It must be a thing of action and sincerity (1 John 3:18).”

 

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me”

 

People fear other Religions so talk negative toward them, but it only shows the fear in that person. It shows they lack faith in their own religion. It reflects a small god with a small tent.

 

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)”

 

Most religions give hope and strive to make people better. We should not crush others hope that is not what the Christian God is about

 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and don't lean on your own understanding. In all things acknowledge him, and he shall direct your way. [Proverbs 3:5, 6]”

 

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. (Proverbs 16:3)”

 

The Christian God is not small. He is all encompassing that is why the Church of Christ brought in everyone, sinners, and outcast. It is not the Church of no, it is all inclusive. When we deny other religions and their Gods, we are only making our God small because we are saying Our God can't guide other people in other religions. We are saying that our God is not Almighty. We are being exclusive and in our mind and community we are denying others their rightful place with God. Our Christian God does hear and respond to everyone and their cry. It is only some followers who want to limit our God and make his church an exclusive club.

 

Some Christians will say that Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Jesus is our guide to God. Our unit mind cannot grasp God because God is too vast. The image that our unit minds can grasp is another unit being who serves as a model for spiritual life. As Christians we follow the Christ example of love and purity. We must purify our minds and love to grasp God. Talking trash about other religions does not help me to follow Christ, purify my mind, or teach me to love. Talking trash is trying to convince someone, which is usually the speaker that one should follow Christ. I say follow with the whole being and yearn for God and God will come from every angle and every religion to make us better followers.

[JosephM]

Soma,

 

Thanks so much for the clarification. Much easier to grasp what you are saying now , at least to me.

 

Joseph

[davidk]

There needs to be an understanding of the relationship of the various areas of thought; topically, the Buddhist and the Christian. Christian and Buddhist beliefs have very different presuppositions (assumptions) that separate them at the very outset of any comparison. They are antagonist philosophies.

For example, in the basic presupposition that there really are such things as absolutes- such as: either God exists or He doesn’t. There is no compromise available. The answer is an absolute.

 

Buddhism presupposes that there is no evidence for the existence of God. All of its teaching is with this foremost in mind. They begin with an impersonal, naturalistic view. It is also quite impossible for them to think of any real propositional revelation. This is the ubiquitous uniformity of natural causes in a closed system; that is nature, where there is no knowledge from outside of self, from God.

 

Christianity presupposes a personal-infinite-creator God is evidenced in all else that exists and all of its teaching bears this in mind. They begin with a personal beginning. It is that nature and God are not the same, and open to knowledge revealed from outside self, from God. This is known as the uniformity of natural causes in an open system.

 

In the discussion of these differing areas of thought, they have either one of two solutions: first- As has been somewhat addressed in an above post (#141); both could be wrong. And second- There is only one answer that can be right. Either there is or there isn’t a God. They can’t both be right answers.

 

It has been said that Buddhists and Christians may have some philosophical overelap when it comes to discussing unity. However, since Buddhism believes in an impersonal beginning, it cannot provide an answer for diversity and freedom. Whereas, Christianity’s personal beginning does provide an answer.

 

To point out these differences is not in derision of either religion. To take a position as to whether either one is correct is the freedom and function of our free will. But only one of them will be correct. Only one of them ultimately allows for that freedom.

 

To say that one or the other is right or wrong will be the truth. We can have empathy toward either. But is that really negative talk?

 

Telling a student that says 2+2=4 is right, is true. Telling a student that says 2+2=5 is wrong, is true. Telling the student answering ‘5’ he is wrong, may be negative to the student, but it is the duty of the teller to speak the truth, which includes correcting error, which denotes love. Doing so doesn’t necessarily denote fear, negativity, or lack of faith in the correct answer.

 

Sometimes being correct does put you in a small tent.

---

If every area of thought (which includes religion) is really only one, there would be no choices to make, freedom ceases to exist. Diversity and variance are illusion.

 

Progressives and fundamentalists are the same!

 

Welcome home, brother!

[minsocal]

The multiple forms of both Buddhism and Christianity make any absolute comparison impossible. I have read the Dalai Lama's sermons on Christianity spoken to a Christian audience and found his insights quite profound. There was, in fact, little disagreement when the subject concerned the teachings of Jesus. I continue to connect Christianity to the teachings of Jesus and I think this is reasonable. I have found that progressive Christians just are not that much interested in outdated dogma. The message here is simple. Many of my Buddhist friends are progressive. My Jewish friends use a different term but mean the same thing. But there is a more basic point. These are people who actually go out into the world a DO SOMETHING consistent with the teachings of Jesus. You find them in any culture. And when these people from different cultures find each other, they know they have found a kindred spirit. These are the likes of Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa and ... Jesus. They know each other even if seperated in time and space.

[JosephM]

In the discussion of these differing areas of thought, they have either one of two solutions: first- As has been somewhat addressed in an above post (#141); both could be wrong. And second- There is only one answer that can be right. Either there is or there isn't a God. They can't both be right answers.

 

Davidk,

 

To me your answer looks like it comes from a limiting point of view...

 

When I am a Buddhist I see no Christian God as defined by the fundamentalists definition of God. Yet when I meet someone I bow slightly with palms together as a sort of reverence and speak the word Namaste or I bow to the divinity in you. The miss-used word 'God' is never spoken because it brings up images that could not express absolute reality. They use words like the unconditioned, absolute permanent changeless reality, that which itself alone is, (words from the Pali cannon) which are purposely vague because who can define in words the undefinable?

 

When I am a Christian, I see Christ in everyone and everything. (Christ is all and in all (KJV) I see Christ in the greeting of the Buddhist, I see it in his compassion, absence of malice, anger, and I know though his words are different than mine, we both move, breathe and have our being in the same undefinable absolute. Christ is the true light that lights EVERY man and woman that comes into this world.

 

So to me as a Progressive Christian we both believe in God and are both right. We just use different words so that in Fundamentalist terms he doesn't believe in God, but in life it is most obvious to me that he does but with a deeper understanding than the Fundamentalist. As a Progressive, for me, no words need to be spoken. It is most obvious to me that we both believe in the absolute and our life is our testimony. Words like God are too subjective as one can obviously discern by randomly asking a mix of people to define God.

 

Love Joseph

[soma]

When a Buddhist expresses his relationship to Nirvanna, it is difficult for a fellow Buddhist to understand the meaning and the same is true for other traditions trying to explain the unexplainable. I don't think our job as Christians is to explain Buddhism unless it can be explained in a way to help us on our path of Christian love. Let the Buddhist explain their path, they are the experts. I have awesome reverence for Taoism, Judaism, Hinduism ect. because they try to explain God and I learn from them. I am a Christian because I follow the Christ and His path. Christianity can stand alone and people are attracted to it not because 2+2 = 4 or 5. It is established because people can feel the passion and glory of past Christianity. It seems Christianity has lost the ability to provide an authentic mystical experience because nowadays, people preach to emotions about other religions that fragment the mind. They should use the wisdom in other religions to unite our mind on our path. Division divides the heart and our energy is dispersed so we are not focused enough to experience God in the heart. I say past Christianity because now it seems Christianity is identified through difference. The true Christian experience for many is lost because they just keep rules and repeat rituals without any religious experience. They divide the One God into pieces comparing those pieces to other pieces when people just want communion with Our Lord. They are just given crumbs, and they our left unsatisfied and bitter, which gets directed to other groups. Christian leaders are to blame for taking their congregations through the motions without anyone becoming closer to God and his world. People are disengaged from the one thing that gives meaning to life a relationship with the Divine.

 

Luke 11:42 (New Living Translation)

“What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens,[a] but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.

 

The leaders need to bring people to the Holy Spirit so they can know God and themselves, to repent, believe in, and love Christ. This will make them comfortable. Saying we are right, the best, and proving it by showing superiority is just pompous acts of hollow teaching. It does nothing to develop our journey to the soul. Driven Evangelicals who preach superiority abort their souls every time they try to show they are better then everyone else.

 

Matthew 22:14

"For many are invited, but few are chosen."

 

The arrogant often ignore God even those in Christianity may dishonor God with their arrogance. To have communion with God is not easy and we need everyone's help Christian and non-Christian to accomplish the task.

[AllInTheNameOfProgress]

I was trying to find the source and failed, but I recently read that the existence of multiple paths to God is not a zero-sum problem. To add to one, we don't need to take away from another. I think there are many apparent contradictions between religions, but much can be chalked up to the fact that we are limited by human languages in trying to grasp the indescribable.