Does it Say This in the Bible? (translation, disciple, America)
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Truth does not stop; it cannot be contained between the covers of a book.
Who says? Did God Almighty say that? If so I will believe Him. Even if there are truths beyond scripture then how do we declare it authoritative and therefore actual, eternal truth?
To assume that the bible is the only source of Truth is demeaning, not only to yourself but those who you relate your truths to.
So what is your source for spiritual truth and why should the rest of us trust it?
We each have a path and each of us have Truths. It matters not where they come from.
Oh, yes it does. Jesus said so.
"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat".
Matthew 7:13. Hint: Jesus is the door (gate).
Truth does not stop; it cannot be contained between the covers of a book.
Who says? Did God Almighty say that? If so I will believe Him. Even if there are truths beyond scripture then how do we declare it authoritative and therefore actual, eternal truth?
To assume that the bible is the only source of Truth is demeaning, not only to yourself but those who you relate your truths to.
So what is your source for spiritual truth and why should the rest of us trust it?
We each have a path and each of us have Truths. It matters not where they come from.
Oh, yes it does. Jesus said so.
"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat".
Matthew 7:13. Hint: Jesus is the door (gate).
Best wishes.
May I give you one of my sources for spiritual truth, Kirkwhisper? I trust it but I cannot give you a reason the rest of you should.
The duck with a human mind
When two ducks get into a fight, which never lasts long, they will separate and float off in opposite directions. Then each duck will flap its wings vigurously a few times, thus releasing the surplus energy that built up during the fight. After they flap their wings, they float on peacefully, as if nothing had ever happened.
If the duck had a human mind, it would keep the fight alive by thinking, the story-making. This would probably be the duck's story: "I don't believe what he just did. He came to within five inches of me. He thinks he owns this pond. He has no consideration for my private space. I'll never trust him again. Next time he'll try something else just to annoy me. I'm sure he's plotting something already. But I'm not going to stand for this. I'll teach him a lesson he won't forget." Ans on and on the mind spins its tales, still thinking and talking about days, months, or years later. As far as the body is concerned, the fight is still continuing, and the energy it generates in response to all those thoughts is emotion, which in turn generates more thinking. This becomes the emotional thinking of the ego. You can see how problematic the duck's life would become if it had a human mind. But this is how most humans live all the time. No situation or event is ever really finished. The mind and the mind-made "me and my story" keep it going.
We are a spicies that lost its way. Everything natural, every flower or tree, and every animal have important lessons to teach us if we would stop, look, and listen. Our duck's lesson is this: Flap your wings - which translates as "let go of the story" - and return to the only place of power: the present moment.
I don't get it either as that is just one line. If you provide the verses before and after, maybe but I just don't read the bible. It's not my path.
"The Cost of Being a Disciple"
25Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. 27And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
25Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. 27And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
It reminds me of the story of the young Indian hindu prince, Siddhartha Gautama (c. 563 - 479 BC), who abandoned his wife, son and his father's kingdom and went into the forest in search of the truth.
The Life of the Buddha: How Prince Gotama Became Enlightened (http://south-asian-history.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_life_of_the_buddha - broken link)
25Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. 27And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
I don't get it either. Can someone explain this verse?
I don't get it either. Can someone explain this verse?
"And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple." Luke 14: 25-27
I think what the Lord is trying to teach his disciples is that they must love him even more than they love their own family, that they must be prepared to leave all behind and follow him when he calls, willing even to give up their life for him.
"And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple." Luke 14: 25-27
I think what the Lord is trying to teach his disciples is that they must love him even more than they love their own family, that they must be prepared to leave all behind and follow him when he calls, willing even to give up their life for him.
I wonder if this is what brought about the celibacy covenant of the catholic church...
25Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. 27And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
Those verses, in my opinion, have been edited to suit the writers as Love is the most important commandments that Jesus gave. Hating anyone is not of God.
It means, we treat all with the same love and respect. We don't put any above or below us. When we walk with God, and love all witohut condition, we are desciples of Christ.
In my own life, I have put God above all, including my family and friends. I no longer see my family because of my beliefs, among other things. We just aren't on the same path. My friends know what I believe and that I put everything into becoming at-one with God. I am honest in what I believe even if I'm ridiculed and hated. God is Love and when we come to Him in that Love, we are truely desciples.
When we learn to be responsible for our own actions, forgive ourselves as well as others, we learn the true path to God. No man can hate another and still enter into the Kingdom of God. Carrying our crosses means to carry our own burdens and rid our souls of the negatives and anything that is not of God.
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