I had an intrigue in Eastern religion and practices growing up. I was raised Protestant. Southern Baptist early on, then Pentecostal. Different sides of the rainbow of Christianity/Protestant.
I grew up with God used as a source of fear to control me. The ever threat of hell. I was told one minute that Jesus loved me. Always would. I was told I was forgiven, and that I had been "saved."
Then the next time I'm not perfect, I'm going to hell again.
The cycle repeated throughout my life, up until about 42 years old.
I learned, after seeking God on my own terms, my own way, with everything I had learned, and with a grain of mustard seeds worth of faith that i knew very little actually. I did eventually find God. But I learned something in my journey, and once I had actually "connected" with God...
I learned I had been lied to.
I had been studying the Bible for a few years. Once I had been through it all a few times, really meditating on it, I realized that the church had lied. Or, left out SO much of the necessary truth of it all. I realized how much the Bible had been twisted. How much trouble it was just to get it translated out of Latin. How The Catholic church had used the Bible, and withheld the Bible to control the people. I studied religion. Every sect of Christianity. All of them twisted truths. I realized how much "religion" was actually a tool of teh devil. Having faith is one thing. Religion blinds faith.
What it has boiled down to, and the way I heard it that struck me, and the truth of the matter is, "Religion is one of the most dangerous things in the world." As you stated. Just look at all the bloodshed. All the control. All in the name of religious ideology.
This is anti-gospel. Even antichrist because it goes against Christ's teachings.
We are to love one another. Period. Love, peace, mercy, gentleness, kindness, forbearance, and even long suffering and self control are all fruits of the Spirit. If we are operating outside of those we have stepped outside of Christ and His Holy Spirit.
It doesn't matter if you're black white brown or yellow. It doesn't matter if you're from India, Japan, Spain or the moon, those 7 "fruits" are a universal language everyone will benefit from if exercised.
I have so much respect for Budhism. They teach how to live a life that would be worthy of what Yeshua from Nazareth, the Messiah himself would be proud of. They teach the same ideology of those fruits.
Any society, if Fueled by things like hate greed power and control are doomed to eventually fail. They all do.
There is more beyond this life and this world. There is an eternity waiting just beyond the threshold of this realm. We are all beings of light. Spirits. And spirits don't die.
They transform.
I grew up with God used as a source of fear to control me. The ever threat of hell. I was told one minute that Jesus loved me. Always would. I was told I was forgiven, and that I had been "saved."
Then the next time I'm not perfect, I'm going to hell again.
The cycle repeated throughout my life, up until about 42 years old.
I learned, after seeking God on my own terms, my own way, with everything I had learned, and with a grain of mustard seeds worth of faith that i knew very little actually. I did eventually find God. But I learned something in my journey, and once I had actually "connected" with God...
I learned I had been lied to.
I had been studying the Bible for a few years. Once I had been through it all a few times, really meditating on it, I realized that the church had lied. Or, left out SO much of the necessary truth of it all. I realized how much the Bible had been twisted. How much trouble it was just to get it translated out of Latin. How The Catholic church had used the Bible, and withheld the Bible to control the people. I studied religion. Every sect of Christianity. All of them twisted truths. I realized how much "religion" was actually a tool of teh devil. Having faith is one thing. Religion blinds faith.
What it has boiled down to, and the way I heard it that struck me, and the truth of the matter is, "Religion is one of the most dangerous things in the world." As you stated. Just look at all the bloodshed. All the control. All in the name of religious ideology.
This is anti-gospel. Even antichrist because it goes against Christ's teachings.
We are to love one another. Period. Love, peace, mercy, gentleness, kindness, forbearance, and even long suffering and self control are all fruits of the Spirit. If we are operating outside of those we have stepped outside of Christ and His Holy Spirit.
It doesn't matter if you're black white brown or yellow. It doesn't matter if you're from India, Japan, Spain or the moon, those 7 "fruits" are a universal language everyone will benefit from if exercised.
I have so much respect for Budhism. They teach how to live a life that would be worthy of what Yeshua from Nazareth, the Messiah himself would be proud of. They teach the same ideology of those fruits.
Any society, if Fueled by things like hate greed power and control are doomed to eventually fail. They all do.
There is more beyond this life and this world. There is an eternity waiting just beyond the threshold of this realm. We are all beings of light. Spirits. And spirits don't die.
They transform.
They live.
We sleep.
We sleep.