"a" or "the" true religion

[Lady_Selune]

Originally Posted by Susma Rio Sep

At this point I think the question of a or the true religion is not as inviting a topic for posters here to contribute to as I had hoped for. So I am starting a more concrete topic on Religion talk and lbm talk, lbm standing for loose bowel movement.
Pachomius2000 aka Susma Rio Sep

How very rude and arrogant of you. I will make a point to avoid reading any more of your posts.

[littlemissattitude]

Originally Posted by Susma Rio Sep

The Mormons claim to be the one true church of Jesus Christ, or something to that effect. But are they not divided into at least two factions?

There have been many more than two "factions" or "denominations" of Mormons, and there is a great deal of acrimony between them, as many of them claim that they are the only "real" Mormons.

There is, of course, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are the largest denomination of Mormons, claiming something like 11 million members around the world. There is, though, much controversy over that number, as they use the number of people baptized into the church, while many less than that total are actually active in the church in an ongoing basis. Some estimates I have seen claim that only about 25 per cent of that number are "active" members.

Then there is the Reogranized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This denomination now calls itself the Community of Christ, and is headquartered in Independence, Missouri. This group came into existence after the death of Joseph Smith, started by those who believed that Smith's son, Joseph Smith III, and not Brigham Young, was the rightful inheritor of his father's place at the head of the church. This group claims 250,000 members in 50 nations.

After these two denominations, come the smaller and more esoteric (I'm trying to be polite here) groups, such as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (although they go by other names as well). The FLDS are probably the largest and best known of a number of fundamentalist sects that grew from what Joseph Smith began. The FLDS live in several communities, but their largest is probably Colorado City, on the Arizona-Utah border, just north of the Grand Canyon. Among other things, the FLDS practice polygamy. There are no reliable numbers on the size of this group's membership. This is a very controversial group, much in the news lately because a number of their members are in the process of moving to a compound in Texas. The Salt Lake City church is adamant that these folks are not Mormon, and that there is no such thing as a "fundamentalist Mormon". For information on this group, I would recommend the book Under the Banner of Heaven, by Jon Krakauer. The book is about much more than just this one group, but it is a good place to start in learning about them, with the caveat that the book is not complimentary about them at all.

I read somewhere recently that there have been something like 250 offshoots of the Mormon church since it's inception. Most of those groups were very small and most are not in existence any longer. However, the three groups I mentioned above are all very much in current operation, and at least two of the three - the Salt Lake City Mormons and the FLDS - are good examples of groups who insist that theirs is the only true church on the face of the earth.

[Susma Rio Sep]

God bless you, my LittleMissAttitude.

To me and I believe all men and women believers in free unrestrained discourse, you exercise critical comment, tempered with politeness. And that is what an internet message is all about.

After these two denominations, come the smaller and more esoteric (I'm trying to be polite here) groups, such as the Fundamentalist Church . . .


Tell me honestly and you can dispense with the politeness here, have I been rude and arrogant?*


Back to "a or the true religion", about the Mormons being splintered into several groups, that is the normal or the norm in the developmental history of every religion. And for this reason we have to examine our concepts on the true religion from that point of departure, namely, that each of so many religions claiming to be each itself being exclusively the true one.

So that if you are in charge of running a community, say even just a nursery school, and parents ask for special concessions for their children enrolled in your school on grounds of religion, you will have to formulate a policy whereby you can determine what is a true religion, in order to grant the requested for concessions -- otherwise your school will be a bedlam.

Pachomius2000

*I confess to love humor, a believer that humor is a sure vehicle of genuine honest insights; and the opposite of humor is a guaranteed obstruction and obstacle to genuine honest insights.

[PersonaNonGrata]

as im aware the fact that you shall give no sh8t about it I love you Susma )




ironically enough in turkish 'Susma*' means 'Do not stop talking, keep going..' hmmm...




*from the word SUS as silent MA as the negative suffix

[Susma Rio Sep]

Originally Posted by PersonaNonGrata

as im aware the fact that you shall give no sh8t about it I love you Susma )




ironically enough in turkish 'Susma*' means 'Do not stop talking, keep going..' hmmm...




*from the word SUS as silent MA as the negative suffix

Persona, I love you in return, most chastely though; because some people might collapse in a swoon for reading a guy saying 'I love you' to another guy.

Shall we form a mutual back-slapping society? Hehehehehe...

Thanks for your Turkish etymology and meaning of Susma. I like it. And what an happy accidental Freudian slip the random cosmos has played on my name in Turkish.

Tell you what, figure out my name, Susma Rio Sep. If you get it right, I will gift you with an online copy of the quintessential fuzzy classic of a mystic work, "The cloud of Unknowing".

Best and fondest regards, and thanks for the nice pat on my bruised back, specially when I am now nursing some depression for Brian's closing down my thread on Religion Talk and LBM Talk. Well, that's life and getting along with the ups and downs of life.

Pachomius2000

[PersonaNonGrata]

oh man, do you live like all the other human beings? meaning do you eat food? have shower? sh*t/p*ss/love? or are you someone/thing living in the computer?

The associations among testosterone, physical development, social dominance, and antisocial behaviour during early adolescence were assessed in a sample of boys followed from 6 to 13 years. Saliva testosterone level was positively correlated with height, and uncorrelated with measures of fatness, including the body mass index. Physical aggression and social dominance were not significantly correlated. Regression analyses revealed that testosterone level and body mass additively predicted social dominance, whereas only body mass predicted physical aggression. Thus, early adolescents with high levels of testosterone were more likely to be socially dominant, especially if they had a large body mass. Those who had a large body mass were more likely to be physically aggressive, independently of their testosterone level. The observed pattern of correlations between testosterone, body mass, dominance, and physical aggression offers an interesting example of the complex hormone-physique-behaviour relations at puberty. They support the hypothesis that testosterone level and social dominance are related, and that the association between testosterone level and physical aggression is probably observed in contexts where physical aggression leads to social dominance.

did i win? or wtf?

and im quite aware of the fact that you are practising medicine without a license, with help from a pharmicist friend.. maybe

[Chela]

Truly, there is one religion.

Different religions exist for different times and cultures. Some cultures stress a certain objective. Others give an outline of concepts. Some make use of faith a primary tool. Others make use of will as a primary tool.

The science of Kabbalah is seen in many more religions that what people know. People are very ignorant to this science that resounds itself in every major religion. Yes, even religions such as Buddhism and Central American Indians.

The Kabbalah can more correctly be understood as the Dilaetic of the Consciousness, this may give the reader a better understanding. This the dilaetic of our dreams. This the how the consciousness (divinity) speaks to us. If a master Yogi and a Zen master where to meditate on a symbol, say, the Cross or the Star of David, they would both return with the same information (meditaiton is the way to gather information of the consciousness). This is because they have understood the dialetic of the consciousness.

The person who begins to search within the internal, will be able to see ('vision' and 'wisdom' come from the same root word) throughout the external.

This is a million times more profound then saying: "Look Horus and Jesus have identical lives, they represent the same figure..." "The soul is a reference to solar, the Sun; we are worshipping the sun just like the old 'barbaric' religions..." "Joseph is IO-Ceph, Jupiter or IO-Pitar, they represent the same thing..." "Hey look the Bible teachings about Karma and Reincarnation, except it is called The Law.. it says we will be measured how we measure others.. that John is the reincarnation of Elias.." "Look, a White Horse rider is found in Buddhism, Hunduism and Christanty..." "Look, numbers like 40, 108, 12, 7, 3, and 10 are found all over the place in religion.."

But do not take my word for it. If you really want to understand religion, read The Perfect Matrimony or The Initiatic Path in the Arcana of Tarot and Kabbalah by Samael Aun Weor.

If you really want to know, then you must stop debating. The mind is a subjective tool that can never find the truth. You must, must, must begin daily meditation. Everything else here, the intellectual self-gratification, is a waste of time if you are looking for the truth. All of this talking will not get us anywhere. Everyone is already full of theories, and yet we are all still here, talking more, and it will only lead to more well definied theory, more sects, more theory and more debate.

[Quahom1]

Originally Posted by Chela

Truly, there is one religion.

Different religions exist for different times and cultures. Some cultures stress a certain objective. Others give an outline of concepts. Some make use of faith a primary tool. Others make use of will as a primary tool.

The science of Kabbalah is seen in many more religions that what people know. People are very ignorant to this science that resounds itself in every major religion. Yes, even religions such as Buddhism and Central American Indians.

The Kabbalah can more correctly be understood as the Dilaetic of the Consciousness, this may give the reader a better understanding. This the dilaetic of our dreams. This the how the consciousness (divinity) speaks to us. If a master Yogi and a Zen master where to meditate on a symbol, say, the Cross or the Star of David, they would both return with the same information (meditaiton is the way to gather information of the consciousness). This is because they have understood the dialetic of the consciousness.

The person who begins to search within the internal, will be able to see ('vision' and 'wisdom' come from the same root word) throughout the external.

This is a million times more profound then saying: "Look Horus and Jesus have identical lives, they represent the same figure..." "The soul is a reference to solar, the Sun; we are worshipping the sun just like the old 'barbaric' religions..." "Joseph is IO-Ceph, Jupiter or IO-Pitar, they represent the same thing..." "Hey look the Bible teachings about Karma and Reincarnation, except it is called The Law.. it says we will be measured how we measure others.. that John is the reincarnation of Elias.." "Look, a White Horse rider is found in Buddhism, Hunduism and Christanty..." "Look, numbers like 40, 108, 12, 7, 3, and 10 are found all over the place in religion.."

But do not take my word for it. If you really want to understand religion, read The Perfect Matrimony or The Initiatic Path in the Arcana of Tarot and Kabbalah by Samael Aun Weor.

If you really want to know, then you must stop debating. The mind is a subjective tool that can never find the truth. You must, must, must begin daily meditation. Everything else here, the intellectual self-gratification, is a waste of time if you are looking for the truth. All of this talking will not get us anywhere. Everyone is already full of theories, and yet we are all still here, talking more, and it will only lead to more well definied theory, more sects, more theory and more debate.

(Chuckle) There is only one true religion according to Christian lore. That is the taking care of Orphans and Widows.

Why is that so hard for people to accept? It is Biblical.

v/r

Q

[littlemissattitude]

Originally Posted by Quahom1

(Chuckle) There is only one true religion according to Christian lore. That is the taking care of Orphans and Widows.

Why is that so hard for people to accept? It is Biblical.

v/r

Q

This is true. See the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament, chapter 6, I believe (I don't have my Bible in front of me at the moment). Anyway, they talk about the widows there, when the Greek Christian widows were upset and complaining that the Jewish Christian widows were getting preferential treatment. So, seven were called to take care of social welfare, so that no one would fall through the cracks.

[Susma Rio Sep]

Originally Posted by PersonaNonGrata

oh man, do you live like all the other human beings? meaning do you eat food? have shower? sh*t/p*ss/love? or are you someone/thing living in the computer?

The associations among testosterone, physical development, social dominance, and antisocial behaviour during early adolescence were assessed in a sample of boys followed from 6 to 13 years. Saliva testosterone level was positively correlated with height, and uncorrelated with measures of fatness, including the body mass index. Physical aggression and social dominance were not significantly correlated. Regression analyses revealed that testosterone level and body mass additively predicted social dominance, whereas only body mass predicted physical aggression. Thus, early adolescents with high levels of testosterone were more likely to be socially dominant, especially if they had a large body mass. Those who had a large body mass were more likely to be physically aggressive, independently of their testosterone level. The observed pattern of correlations between testosterone, body mass, dominance, and physical aggression offers an interesting example of the complex hormone-physique-behaviour relations at puberty. They support the hypothesis that testosterone level and social dominance are related, and that the association between testosterone level and physical aggression is probably observed in contexts where physical aggression leads to social dominance.

did i win? or wtf?

and im quite aware of the fact that you are practising medicine without a license, with help from a pharmicist friend.. maybe

I was talking about figuring out what my name 'Susma Rio Sep' indicates, whether by denotation or connotation or anything that is certainly associated with the assembly of sounds and letters.

For example, if someone calls himself 'tufnuts' in another message board (not factual) you and I can work out what he means. For me since I am the one who formulate the name it stands for tough and nuts literally but also figuratively, and my intention is figurative. What about you? Tell me what you think, and I will tell you whether we are concurring.

I will give you a hint to my name, 'Susma Rio Sep', think Gospel characters.


Back to our topic, "a or the true religion", you are an ethnic Muslim, but I imagine you must be an ultra liberal one. Right? What do you think, is Islam a true religion or the true religion.

Pachomius2000

[PersonaNonGrata]

Selam Susma,
Ultra Liberal? I, however liked to stay away from this labeling crazyness, could define myself as a 'green spritual being iso .. dunno' and considering not only islam but referring to all religions in the world i have stated my thoughts about this a or the thing before.
Here it goes again.

Originally Posted by PersonaNonGrata

nonsense... i didnt want to come to this world in a muslim country...
consider the options for me to be a muslim and being a christian.. or think about the guy/gal that was born in the suburbs of Johannesburg in S. Africa.
If islam is the right one, what is Mary's fault apart from borning in Sweden where she sees Christian ppl all over her and thought her that jesus is da man! Yeah i know the good ole story of how human has the right to set his religion, but im talking about the chances, my friends.
Who can say that my chances of being a christian, is more then her being a christian? (vice versa).
So to sum up, going to hell, if GOD has a brain, can not be determine according to the religion hence it will be VERY VERY unfair..

goto greece )

and .... dear, Jesus Mary and Joseph! i guess there should be a reward for me now as your dare was acclaimed

[william]

Another possibility


In my experience, The Greater Community Way of Knowledge is a true religion. True, in my eyes, in that it validates what my heart knows as true, and appears to be free of hypocracy or worldly motives. Rather than requiring faith in a guru or higher power, it has developed within me the ability to discern truth and to value the Spiritual Intelligence within me.

I'm sure there are other paths, religions, that are true. But this is the one for me. It calls to me most deeply.

[william]

What is a true religion?

The essence of any true religion, to me, is a Way of Knowledge. A Way of Knowledge is a path that strengthens your connection to the divine and teaches you to value that connection. A Way of Knowledge is not about personal enlightenment. It is about relationship and service. Fulfillment, on this path, is finding the problem to which you are part of the solution, and giving yourself fully. So the test of a religion, then, is whether it contains at its core a Way of Knowledge.

Will

[Vajradhara]

Namaste William,


thank you for the post and welcome to the forum.

in Vedic thought, the Way of Knowledge is called Yoga Jnaana. traditonally, this yoga would be practiced in conjunction with Karma Yoga (the Way of Works) and Bhakti Yoga (the Way of Devotion) to form the full form of the yogic practice as substantially described in the Vedas.

[Susma Rio Sep]

Originally Posted by PersonaNonGrata

Selam Susma,

(snip snip snip)

and .... dear, Jesus Mary and Joseph! i guess there should be a reward for me now as your dare was acclaimed

Click here for your copy of "The Cloud of Unknowing" -- online text from Christian Classics Ethereal Library.

I am glad to meet an ethnic Muslim, a native Turk at that.

Tell me, did you attend a madrasah, meaning a religious school? Or what do you call such a school in your country.

I am curious about your education, you being I think maybe the only Muslim in this forum.

You know English, which I think is not a skill common among your countrymen, maybe also French and German?

Tell me, your native tongue is Turkish, like English is the native tongue of natives in England?

Did you have to learn Arabic in school, and how is it different in script from your mother tongue of Turkish?

(I hope I got it right, Turkish is the name for the language of the natives in Turkey.)

Susma Rio Sep aka Pachomius2000

PS Did I promise you "The Cloud of Unknowing", or is it "The Imitation of Christ"?