Is Christianity a Negative Religion?

[flowperson]

Wonderful Thomas...and the rest of you, so enlightening. There are some occasions when stream-of-consciousnes writing is the clearest form of communication. And I believe that we've all witnessed it here. Thanks again!

flow....

[lunamoth]

Originally Posted by Thomas

The Life follows when living in the Truth, and the Truth when living in the Way, it is Revealed when you do it, because you are doing a Godly Thing, because the Way is loving one's neighbour, as an apocryphal saying of the fathers has it, There is your neighbour, there is your God.

Immanently, we find the real meaning of God in the love of neighbour.
('Meaning' is synonymous with 'presence', the presence of a thing is its act of existing – God is act – God is Unconstrained, He cannot but be what He is because there is nothing that can restrain Him from being what He is ... God is "I am that I am" absolutely and without condition.

God is a Verb, not a Noun, and moreover God is a transitive verb and thus a Trinity (into deep stuff here ... but there's more ...)

Transcendentally, we find the real meaning of neighbour in the love of God.
('Transitive' – Grammar: Expressing an action carried from the subject to the object; requiring a direct object to complete meaning. Logic & Mathematics: Of or relating to a relationship between three elements such that if the relationship holds between the first and second elements and between the second and third elements, it necessarily holds between the first and third elements.

There can be no 'neighbour' in practice (man) if it is not there in principle (God)
...

In Love, there is no distinction between you and your neighbour,
In Love, there is no distinction between you and God.

All are one, and all in all.

Good grief ... carried away ... the Trinity, the filioque, and the metaphysics of being and relation?

What was the topic again?

Thomas

Thank you Thomas...From St. Francis...to God and neighbor...to love. Very positive. luna

[bananabrain]

i notice neither of our theosophists have seen fit to respond to my challenge to justify their assertions about the hebrew bible. well? can we have some substantive response, or are these copious fountains of pink, fluffy verbiage merely a more intellectual version of the sort of new age bunkum peddled by the likes of llewellyn publishing?

b'shalom

bananabrain

[The Jaded Fool]

Well...

Speaking as both an ex-layperson and an ex-pastor in an protestant church...

For me and many of those that I had counseled with... christianity was a negative religion... now I am only speaking of the particular churches we were involved in... not of the entire religion... and certainly not of God or Jesus...

But this was not anything we were able to verbalize at the time... because if we were to verbalize them it would have been deemed a lack of faith or that we were back-sliding... there was no place in our church or churches for an open discusion of how we really felt... our "faith" was very much a burden at times...

For instance... one of my youth was struggling very hard with depression... she had not seen a doctor for it because it was frowned upon by our church... depression was thought of as being a spiritual issue... not a health issue... it was an attack of the "enemy"... not a problem with chemicals in the body... she went for years without help and the church would try to blame it on sin in her life... or her parents... or a lack of faith... or this or that... ack!!

As I was making my exit from the faith... I managed to get her parents to take her to a doctor... only a few weeks later... she was a different person... she was smiling and alive...

Her parents and her left the church shortly after and started attending a different church where they were not labeled as having a "lack of faith" for getting their daughter some help...

Let me clarify one thing... these type of things were not preached from the pulpit... but they were spoken of behind closed doors and in board meetings... and they were the gossip that would spread through what we called prayer requests... the prayer request was just a way to justify talking about others in the church without it being "GOSSIP"... it would be put like this... "Oh, John... you really need to pray for Carl and his family BECAUSE... I heard... YADA YADA YADA" sigh...

So... in closing... in my experience christianity can be negative... because of how it is practiced... not necessarily because of what it is...

And for the record... I still consider myself a christian... although many others disagree... heh

Peace & Love

David

[Dondi]

And for the record... I still consider myself a christian... although many others disagree... heh

But many here would agree. I used to look at people according to their doctrine to determine if they are a Christian, but now I look for the fruits of their life and the words of their heart.

[The Jaded Fool]

Originally Posted by Dondi

But many here would agree. I used to look at people according to their doctrine to determine if they are a Christian, but now I look for the fruits of their life and the words of their heart.

Hey Dondi...

Thanx!!

I try to do the same...

Its all about the LOVE...

Peace

[Nick the Pilot]

Jaded Fool,

Thank you for sharing that story. It takes courage to do what you did, and I commend you.

I also left the church because of its negativity (although my leaving was a lot easier than yours. I have never regretted my decision one bit.

[The Jaded Fool]

Originally Posted by Nick the Pilot

Jaded Fool,

Thank you for sharing that story. It takes courage to do what you did, and I commend you.

I also left the church because of its negativity (although my leaving was a lot easier than yours. I have never regretted my decision one bit.

Thanx Nick...

No regrets here...

I have peace, hope, and joy in my life now... ironically!! lol

Peace

[Prober]

Travelling down the Highway to Heaven you see many accidents.

If one "rubbernecks", the traffic slows down. But if you don't look at others, but keep looking down the highway, the traffic keeps moving.

"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith..." Hebrews 12:1,2

[The Jaded Fool]

Originally Posted by Prober

Travelling down the Highway to Heaven you see many accidents.

If one "rubbernecks", the traffic slows down. But if you don't look at others, but keep looking down the highway, the traffic keeps moving.

"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith..." Hebrews 12:1,2

I am hoping I am not one of the accidents along the way... lol

Peace

[Prober]

Originally Posted by The Jaded Fool

I am hoping I am not one of the accidents along the way... lol

Peace

I don't know, but I do know Jesus has the best "pit crew"!

[The Jaded Fool]

Originally Posted by Prober

I don't know, but I do know Jesus has the best "pit crew"!

LOL... Nice!!

[earl]

Well, I think of this contribution as only a tad tangential. But when I read this prayer in the book I alluded to-"Prayer: a History," thought it would be interesting to share given comments re Christian notions of "original sin," as it seems to speak somewhat to the same notion. It's from the Ojibway:

"Grandfather, Look at our brokenness.
We know that in all creation
Only the human family
Has strayed from the Sacred Way.
We know that we are the ones
Who must come back together
To walk in the Sacred Way.

Grandfather,
Sacred One,
Teach us love, compassion, and honor.
That we may heal the earth
And heal each other."

have a good one, earl

[lunamoth]

Originally Posted by earl

Well, I think of this contribution as only a tad tangential. But when I read this prayer in the book I alluded to-"Prayer: a History," thought it would be interesting to share given comments re Christian notions of "original sin," as it seems to speak somewhat to the same notion. It's from the Ojibway:

"Grandfather, Look at our brokenness.
We know that in all creation
Only the human family
Has strayed from the Sacred Way.
We know that we are the ones
Who must come back together
To walk in the Sacred Way.

Grandfather,
Sacred One,
Teach us love, compassion, and honor.
That we may heal the earth
And heal each other."

have a good one, earl

Very nice earl. Is that American Indian?

[lunamoth]

For those looking for the conversation regarding the veracity of the Hebrew Bible, a new thread has been started:

Pentateuch Wisdom

lunamoth