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I call my self open minded, really open minded. When I hear testimonials from people of various religions or when I read books or watch movies about the "unknown" or when I on a star-studded night I look up in the sky i cannot help myself to wonder - what is the real truth?
Who am I to doubt anybody? Muslims, Hindus,Christians, Buddhists and Jews along with all the other religions in the world, who is to say one is more correct than the other.Not to mention atheists. How can they be so sure there is nothing at all! Maybe we are all wrong!? Maybe we are all in for one big surprise.
When I am watching pictures of earth taken by NASA and I see earth from millions of miles away I realize how little and unknown we are in the Universe and how incredibly little we know about anything. One of my closest friend swear up and down over her mothers grave that she has seen Gods angels. She swears that she has talked to them and that she has talked to God. She tells me that she knows for a fact that there are a God and Jesus and she tells me there are no such thing as a Hell the way most people describe it or picture it. She is a goodhearted non judgmental person and I love her dearly. I want to believe what she say, I want to be as sure as she is, but I can't do that. There are too much questions that has to be answered. There are many people like my friend who are just as convinced and sure about there faith and their religion. One thing all of these people have in common, they are all alive. Non of them are dead and have come back to tell me what is really going on. So I have come to one conclusion. The safest bet in life is to be a good person and follow you heart.
I think the single most important message that God ever delivered to humankind is that He expects us to have a personal relationship with him, first and foremost. Clearly, there are a multitude of pathways that will get you there. The notion that anyone one group had exclusive access to God and that everyone else was going to burn in Hell (or Niffleheim or Sheol or Hades whatever you like) has never seemed right to me. I think that the message God keeps delivering that humankind keeps conveniently ignoring is for all of us to love each other, get along and stop hating other people. This message seems to be at the core of every major world religion so one would think it's pretty important.
People getting caught up in "I'm right and you're wrong" mentality before learning to love ALL of their fellow men are treading on thin ice with God. It must make him very upset to see his children attacking and killing each other.
Now if you can really and truly avoid the pitfall of thinking that anyone with less truth is an inferior child of God, then I would say this: The pursuit of eternal truth should not be abandoned lightly. I've found bits of truth in some of the most surprising places. It's scattered among all religions past and present. But it only seems logical to me that not all truth is created equally.
I think God must have certain characteristics and I don't think he just changes like a chameleon to fit each individual's notions of truth. I think that the afterlife also must have certain characteristics and that it doesn't just reincarnate Hindus, send the Jews, Christians and Muslims to heaven, send believers in the Norse pantheon to Vallhalla if they die in battle and to Hel if they didn't and extinguish atheists souls completely -- just because that's the outcome that each group earnestly believes happens when they die. Some have got to be closer to right than others and I think that I'm stating the obvious by saying so.
So yes, earnestly seek the best possible truth praying as you go -- just don't fall into the trap of self-righteousness if/when you find it.
I hope that this doesn't sound as if it coming from a nut!?
The test of the True Heart is in the search for the truth.
As Jesus said (Paraphrasing here) "There is only One Truth and That Truth is Through Him".
This is and isn't as simple as some would have you believe.
The Truth is NOT just believing in Jesus (After all, the demons believed but weren't saved) .. Believing is following.
You MUST learn the actual teachings of what Jesus spoke and use those truths to search out the REAL truth.
Satan is/was tricky.
He actually started False religion in the Garden of Eden and since that time there have been .. literally Thousands of False truths/religions created.
Think of it as if you were a ship in the night .. looking for the correct route to your landing and not to the rocky bottoms.
There are many, many light-houses .. supposedly "Lighting" your route to safety.
Of course, there is only "One" light-house that will guide you safely to where you want to go.
Since I am not a sailor .. I can't give you the answer to How the captain of that ship decides Which light-house to follow but IF he is worth his salt and cares for his safety/life .. he will find a way.
If your heart is true and you are really seeking the truth .. The Good Lord will see that you receive the help that you need.
Back when humans were nothing more than bush apes there was one ape who was tired of all the chimp behavior and attitude going on in its group. So, that ape made up a rule for itself that it would treat other apes as it would wish to be treated itself. It abided by that rule no matter what was slammed down upon it. Other apes began to adopt his rule. He became extraordinary; the first human, Adam if you want; the archetype for Jesus or Buddha. Those that followed the same rule, a rule older than man or the gods, also became human, and, thus, humanity was born. Not the physical resemblance nor the intelligence which were yet to come, but the ethic.
I call my self open minded, really open minded. When I hear testimonials from people of various religions or when I read books or watch movies about the "unknown" or when I on a star-studded night I look up in the sky i cannot help myself to wonder - what is the real truth?
Who am I to doubt anybody? Muslims, Hindus,Christians, Buddhists and Jews along with all the other religions in the world, who is to say one is more correct than the other.Not to mention atheists. How can they be so sure there is nothing at all!
Who says that atheists "are so sure" there is nothing at all? We just have not been convinced to believe in any god due to the lack of convincing evidence. That doesn't mean we are not open to the possibility of gods!
Quote:
Maybe we are all wrong!? Maybe we are all in for one big surprise.
When I am watching pictures of earth taken by NASA and I see earth from millions of miles away I realize how little and unknown we are in the Universe and how incredibly little we know about anything. One of my closest friend swear up and down over her mothers grave that she has seen Gods angels. She swears that she has talked to them and that she has talked to God. She tells me that she knows for a fact that there are a God and Jesus and she tells me there are no such thing as a Hell the way most people describe it or picture it. She is a goodhearted non judgmental person and I love her dearly. I want to believe what she say, I want to be as sure as she is, but I can't do that. There are too much questions that has to be answered. There are many people like my friend who are just as convinced and sure about there faith and their religion. One thing all of these people have in common, they are all alive. Non of them are dead and have come back to tell me what is really going on. So I have come to one conclusion. The safest bet in life is to be a good person and follow you heart.
So, since you say you are not an atheist, what god do you believe in?
When people say that there is no proof that God exists .. I have to ask:
If you were walking in the forest and came upon a very large and very beautiful home, would you just assume that it built itself?
Did it just pop out of thin air or .. maybe it evolved from some kind of micro-biotic wood pulp?
I must say that the Earth, moon and all the stars of the universe are Much More intricate and the design of them more complete and beautiful than any home you will ever come upon!
Why would you Not assume that this Grand and Wonderful universe .. also had a designer/creator?
I call my self open minded, really open minded. When I hear testimonials from people of various religions or when I read books or watch movies about the "unknown" or when I on a star-studded night I look up in the sky i cannot help myself to wonder - what is the real truth?
Who am I to doubt anybody? Muslims, Hindus,Christians, Buddhists and Jews along with all the other religions in the world, who is to say one is more correct than the other.Not to mention atheists. How can they be so sure there is nothing at all! Maybe we are all wrong!? Maybe we are all in for one big surprise.
When I am watching pictures of earth taken by NASA and I see earth from millions of miles away I realize how little and unknown we are in the Universe and how incredibly little we know about anything. One of my closest friend swear up and down over her mothers grave that she has seen Gods angels. She swears that she has talked to them and that she has talked to God. She tells me that she knows for a fact that there are a God and Jesus and she tells me there are no such thing as a Hell the way most people describe it or picture it. She is a goodhearted non judgmental person and I love her dearly. I want to believe what she say, I want to be as sure as she is, but I can't do that. There are too much questions that has to be answered. There are many people like my friend who are just as convinced and sure about there faith and their religion. One thing all of these people have in common, they are all alive. Non of them are dead and have come back to tell me what is really going on. So I have come to one conclusion. The safest bet in life is to be a good person and follow you heart.
This is one of the most excellent posts I've read in awhile.
I LOVE realness!!! This is REAL.
Don't change. Some folks force themselves to believe something because they think it is the right thing to do or because they grew up in that culture. You just have to believe what you believe and if that means you don't know what the heck you believe, just stick with that until your heart leads you in another direction.
We've all got our own paths to follow in this world, and the more authentic and honest you can be with what is on your path, and what you yourself feel in your heart is truth, the better. Be true to yourself and don't worry about what other people think.
When people say that there is no proof that God exists .. I have to ask:
If you were walking in the forest and came upon a very large and very beautiful home, would you just assume that it built itself?
Did it just pop out of thin air or .. maybe it evolved from some kind of micro-biotic wood pulp?
I must say that the Earth, moon and all the stars of the universe are Much More intricate and the design of them more complete and beautiful than any home you will ever come upon!
Why would you Not assume that this Grand and Wonderful universe .. also had a designer/creator?
Logically speaking, an argument after the fact doesn't hold a lot of water.
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