To change the world, we must change our vision of God.
To unify ourselves, we must become unified under God. In many ways, we are already; the same basic truths are practiced in every major religion. Every religion is valid, as are the words of every prophet. No religion was ever started to deceive, but rather, to lead its followers to the highest truth. When we look past the minute differences between religions, we see a far larger picture unfold: that the divine has been present in every culture, every community, through a myriad of profound teachings that all lead to the same basic principle. The purpose of our existence is to reach a union with God.
“Don't you know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
1 Corinthians 6:19
"He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings, and all beings in his own Self, and looks on everything with an impartial eye."
Buddha
"And when a man sees that the God in himself is the same God in all that is, he hurts not himself by hurting others. Then he goes, indeed, to the highest path. "
Bhagavad-gita
I read the Bagavad-gita a long time ago. It was an interesting book, but it is not the Bible. The Bible is inspired by the Holy Ghost and the Bagavad-gita is not.
ReplyDelete"Holy men, moved by the Holy Ghost, wrote the Scriptures."
The Bible or the Scriptures or Holy Writ is very special. Yes, the Holy Ghost has and will inspire people to write things and say things, but the Bible stands alone.
I read a little on Buddhism or maybe Zen Buddhism years ago. I read some of the poetry of a Japanese Zen monk named Ryokan; it was very meditative, but not powerful and inspiring like the Bible. Immediately after I quit reading Ryokan, I started immersing myself in the Psalms. The Psalms are precious and eternal.
The reason why Christianity is The Way is because Jesus (who is God) became incarnate, grew to manhood, lived, preached, healed, cast out demons and then died on the Cross for the sin of the world. No other religion can proclaim what Christ did on the Cross and after the Cross--the Resurrection.
"There is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." Only one way to the Father: JESUS.
It is only the precious Blood of Jesus that cleanses us from sin. Not our efforts, not our works: it is by Grace through Faith in the finished work of the Cross.
"Broad is the path to perdition, narrow is the path that leads to life."
Keep reading the Bible and read some of George Fox and Isaac Penington's writings (on Hall Worthington's website). The Lord knows your heart: He will continue to lead you and guide you in the way that you should go.
"Enough! The Resurrection, a heart's clarion.
Away grief's gasping, joyless days, dejection.
Across my foundering deck shone a beacon, an eternal beam.
Flesh fade and mortal trash fall to the residuary worm,
World's wildfire leave but ash.
In a flash, at a trumpet crash,
I am all at once what Christ is
Since he was what I am.
And this Jack, joke, poor potsherd, patch, matchwood, immortal diamond
Is immortal diamond."
--Gerard Manley Hopkins
"That Nature is a Heraclitean Fire and of the Comfort of the Resurrection"
"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust."
--Psalm 91: 1-2
"Over again I feel thy finger and find thee."
--Gerard Manley Hopkins
It's true that all great spiritual encounters I have had have been through God our Father, and through Jesus Christ.
ReplyDeleteHowever, what amazes me is the global presence of the same wisdom. That the same words pop up in different countries from completely different cultures, thousands of years apart. Does that not validate even more the words of Christ and the Bible? Hinduism is the oldest religion on Earth, almost 8000 years, and when I read closely in Hindu texts, along with Buddhist and Christian texts, the same basic truths begin to arise. The only major difference between all of these texts is ritualistic practices and concept of Hell -- what Hell looks like, how we suffer in Hell, and what awaits us in Heaven. However, this is very understandable, because a culture's concept of Hell is often shaped by their separate kinship structures, values, and idea of suffering. I remember reading in a Buddhist book that if you even squish just one bug, you will go to a Hell where you will be eternal crushed between massive bugs, then regrown, then crushed again. I laughed, but the basic concept stays the same -- we must treat all of nature, including bugs, as we would treat ourselves, because God is all of us, and to hurt even an ant on the ground out of malice is to attack God (note "out of malice.")
The reason why I am, in a sense, a practitioner of all faiths, is because when God found me, it was not through Jesus Christ, but through God Himself. Christians will argue with me that God and Jesus are the same thing, but if this is the case, then the same claim is made by Buddhism and Hinduism: Buddha and God are the same thing. You cannot say that the Bible was written by the Holy Spirit and other monumental religious texts were not, because the Holy Spirit resides in the heart of all men. I had no concept of Jesus or Buddha when I was a child and I cried out to God. I only cried to God, and God flooded me, and I was Reborn, Awakened, whatever you want to call it.
If it can happen to me with no knowledge of Jesus, Buddha, or any other earthly “medium,” then it can happen to anyone, anywhere, around the world, with no knowledge of anything. I am trying to figure out the different philosophies that surround a union with God.
However, I prayed to God for a teacher, for a guide, someone to teach me how to become what all the great saints were, and God led me to Jesus Christ. I trust Jesus with all of my heart. I know Jesus with my heart. I love Jesus. I understand why we, as humans, have need of an earthly medium who we can relate to more easily that God itself. However, I cannot exclude the wisdom of countless other saints around the world who have also written the same words, and sent the same message of love, kindness, and selfless giving. These saints all deserve my respect as a student, for they have all come before me, and in Heaven, I am sure they all sit at the same table. Perhaps none fought or died as passionately as Jesus, but each one had just as extreme an impact upon the world. God's message is alive on this earth in many different forms for everyone to read and relate to, depending on their separate backgrounds. God would never just send one savior. God loves us too much. God wants to speak to all peoples in their own language, because that is how God made us.