Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Religion and Spirituality > Christianity
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 02-29-2012, 08:53 AM
 
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,606 posts, read 55,831,141 times
Reputation: 11862

Advertisements

I sometimes think that some personality types are not as suited to some religions. Since I was told of God's absoluteness, my conception of God was not as a personal friend in the sky, but as an abstract force almost. I mean I do believe he Loves and cares for his flock, but I see him less as a 'Person' who gets angry, is intimately involved in our lives, but more as a clock-maker or a sustainer of the Universe. It seems most Christians emphasize the personal aspect - which is why I don't relate to most modern Christian praise music which sounds like love songs. I don't relate to an angry deity; I relate to the chaotic forces of nature. I don't relate to a bogeyman called Lucifer who is out to get me, I relate to the idea that Evil is within us, and is an abstract force. I don't believe that some people are good and some people are evil, I believe evil as a force within all of us.

I find some ideas make sense - like Reincarnation - but they appear incompatible with Christianity. I also relate a lot to the philosophical worldview of Taoism - the connectedness of everything, instead of the Judeo-Christian view where God only really cares about humans, where animals are separate things that are used for us, that the whole of existence is compressed within a few thousand years, that one's eternal destiny is the result of simply saying a prayer that takes a few seconds. It just doesn't gel with me. I guess what I'm saying is I don't relate to much of modern day Christianity where you just say the word to be saved, believe in all the theology your church teachers and you'll get to heaven, while 95% of humanity is tragically separated from God. I relate to the principles of God's creation, his love, the symbolic significance of Christ as bridge between God and man, but I don't relate to a lot of aspects of Christianity the religion and the beliefs and attitudes of a lot of Christians.

Furthermore I was thinking about morality - I don't relate to a list of rules, but an underlying principle. The principle, I think, is that sin is basically fleshly living that prevents us from attaining a higher spiritual state - akin to Enlightenment in the mystical tradition. I honestly don't get the hang-ups over individual sins - it's the principle that counts. I now see that most sin is really a result of being unspiritual.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-29-2012, 11:09 AM
 
Location: Elsewhere
88,154 posts, read 84,024,464 times
Reputation: 114469
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trimac20 View Post
I sometimes think that some personality types are not as suited to some religions. Since I was told of God's absoluteness, my conception of God was not as a personal friend in the sky, but as an abstract force almost. I mean I do believe he Loves and cares for his flock, but I see him less as a 'Person' who gets angry, is intimately involved in our lives, but more as a clock-maker or a sustainer of the Universe. It seems most Christians emphasize the personal aspect - which is why I don't relate to most modern Christian praise music which sounds like love songs. I don't relate to an angry deity; I relate to the chaotic forces of nature. I don't relate to a bogeyman called Lucifer who is out to get me, I relate to the idea that Evil is within us, and is an abstract force. I don't believe that some people are good and some people are evil, I believe evil as a force within all of us.

I find some ideas make sense - like Reincarnation - but they appear incompatible with Christianity. I also relate a lot to the philosophical worldview of Taoism - the connectedness of everything, instead of the Judeo-Christian view where God only really cares about humans, where animals are separate things that are used for us, that the whole of existence is compressed within a few thousand years, that one's eternal destiny is the result of simply saying a prayer that takes a few seconds. It just doesn't gel with me. I guess what I'm saying is I don't relate to much of modern day Christianity where you just say the word to be saved, believe in all the theology your church teachers and you'll get to heaven, while 95% of humanity is tragically separated from God. I relate to the principles of God's creation, his love, the symbolic significance of Christ as bridge between God and man, but I don't relate to a lot of aspects of Christianity the religion and the beliefs and attitudes of a lot of Christians.

Furthermore I was thinking about morality - I don't relate to a list of rules, but an underlying principle. The principle, I think, is that sin is basically fleshly living that prevents us from attaining a higher spiritual state - akin to Enlightenment in the mystical tradition. I honestly don't get the hang-ups over individual sins - it's the principle that counts. I now see that most sin is really a result of being unspiritual.
I do. I find other religious concepts fascinating.

Are you familiar with Jacob Needleman? If not, you might want to Google his name. His belief (very simplified here) is that sin is not being all we can be.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-29-2012, 11:14 AM
 
12,030 posts, read 9,288,707 times
Reputation: 2845
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trimac20 View Post

I find some ideas make sense - like Reincarnation - but they appear incompatible with Christianity.
From a mathematical point of view reincarnation is possible, but it only involves the flesh and not the spirit.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Religion and Spirituality > Christianity

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top