Comments on: Many Paths to the Same God http://outofyourrut.com/blog/2009/05/03/many-paths-to-the-same-god/ Careers, Business Ideas, Money and More Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:34:14 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Kevin M http://outofyourrut.com/blog/2009/05/03/many-paths-to-the-same-god/#comment-5513 Kevin M Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:43:48 +0000 http://outofyourrut.com/blog/?p=612#comment-5513 ERE - In a way monarchies actually pointed us toward God, while ironically, democracy has had the opposite affect. While I personally prefer democracy as a form of government, it's had the effect of fostering a certain widespread "spoiled child" mentality in which we collectively have less respect for authority. When all is said and done, life can be good under a good monarch, and lousy in a poor democracy. In democracy we've seen the spread of spirituality, which is kind of like a democratic view of faith based on personal preference. In the midst of that thinking, we come to declare that "there are no absolutes". I could never be so certain of that. I submit however, that if there is One True God, our personal preferences are absolutely meaningless! That being said, we won't find God in debate or in the study of either history or world "religions"--the pursuit of God is an individual venture in which we seek faith, not religion. Religion is Man's collective attempt to define God and to create a path to Him. But faith comes by listening to that "still, small voice" within. God, and the evidence of Him are all around us, if we can step outside our human indoctrination and be willing to accept that there are forces that are very real, very much beyond our control and well outside our full comprehension. When I was 13 I faced the "God question" upon the death of my grandfather--the first person close to me to die. All matters of faith come under the spot light at such a moment. I turned to encyclopedias and history books, even spoke with people who I thought "knew". But the answer wasn't to be found in any of that. You have impressive knowledge of history and faith, which makes me think that you're searching at some deep level. Can I suggest that you close the books, turn off the TV, and spend some quiet time in some peaceful places and contemplate what's in your heart? Open yourself to the possibility that there is a Supreme Being, as in one, and offer some prayers requesting nothing more than the gift of faith? The pursuit of God requires not an open mind, but an open heart. And I'll leave you with the following verse: "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13 ERE – In a way monarchies actually pointed us toward God, while ironically, democracy has had the opposite affect. While I personally prefer democracy as a form of government, it’s had the effect of fostering a certain widespread “spoiled child” mentality in which we collectively have less respect for authority.

When all is said and done, life can be good under a good monarch, and lousy in a poor democracy. In democracy we’ve seen the spread of spirituality, which is kind of like a democratic view of faith based on personal preference. In the midst of that thinking, we come to declare that “there are no absolutes”. I could never be so certain of that.
I submit however, that if there is One True God, our personal preferences are absolutely meaningless!

That being said, we won’t find God in debate or in the study of either history or world “religions”–the pursuit of God is an individual venture in which we seek faith, not religion. Religion is Man’s collective attempt to define God and to create a path to Him. But faith comes by listening to that “still, small voice” within. God, and the evidence of Him are all around us, if we can step outside our human indoctrination and be willing to accept that there are forces that are very real, very much beyond our control and well outside our full comprehension.

When I was 13 I faced the “God question” upon the death of my grandfather–the first person close to me to die. All matters of faith come under the spot light at such a moment. I turned to encyclopedias and history books, even spoke with people who I thought “knew”. But the answer wasn’t to be found in any of that.

You have impressive knowledge of history and faith, which makes me think that you’re searching at some deep level. Can I suggest that you close the books, turn off the TV, and spend some quiet time in some peaceful places and contemplate what’s in your heart? Open yourself to the possibility that there is a Supreme Being, as in one, and offer some prayers requesting nothing more than the gift of faith? The pursuit of God requires not an open mind, but an open heart.

And I’ll leave you with the following verse:

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

]]> By: Early Retirement Extreme http://outofyourrut.com/blog/2009/05/03/many-paths-to-the-same-god/#comment-5465 Early Retirement Extreme Sat, 06 Mar 2010 04:25:39 +0000 http://outofyourrut.com/blog/?p=612#comment-5465 @Kevin M - The concept of one god fits the supreme ruler/chief/emperor model which was dominant 1500-5000 years ago. It could also be thought of as an intermediate abstraction in the animism/animal gods->human gods->king god->god (more as a concept/image) -> all pervading god (even less of a human-like being) -> pantheism -> spiritualism. Buddhism and taoism are in the last stage---or perhaps more accurately representative of civilizations that have survived thousands of years. We don't have anything of the kind in the Western world, but we do in East Asia. Shintoism is in the first stage (which makes Japan very interesting because it has pursued both simultaneously). "Democratic religion" is closest to the "human gods" (or pantheon) model. In the western world, this went away with the fall of the Roman empire and was followed by the dark ages. The surviving religions of "the area" (eastern and western empire) were monotheistic. During the period of enlightenment the human spirit was put in center, but that was only 300 years ago. We do see comparably more "spiritualism" or effective state/church separation in Europe. The US is much more religious, I think, primarily because that's were the religious minorities that were persecuted in Europe fled to. Those who stayed in Europe weren't as religious, their children less so, and so on; and this has been going on for 300 years now. This is also why there are so many different kinds of churces in the US. In a given European country, there will only be 1 or 2 different kinds in any given country. .-= Early Retirement Extreme´s last blog ..<a href="http://earlyretirementextreme.com/2010/03/clothes-depreciation.html" rel="nofollow">Clothes depreciation</a> =-. @Kevin M – The concept of one god fits the supreme ruler/chief/emperor model which was dominant 1500-5000 years ago. It could also be thought of as an intermediate abstraction in the animism/animal gods->human gods->king god->god (more as a concept/image) -> all pervading god (even less of a human-like being) -> pantheism -> spiritualism. Buddhism and taoism are in the last stage—or perhaps more accurately representative of civilizations that have survived thousands of years. We don’t have anything of the kind in the Western world, but we do in East Asia. Shintoism is in the first stage (which makes Japan very interesting because it has pursued both simultaneously). “Democratic religion” is closest to the “human gods” (or pantheon) model. In the western world, this went away with the fall of the Roman empire and was followed by the dark ages. The surviving religions of “the area” (eastern and western empire) were monotheistic. During the period of enlightenment the human spirit was put in center, but that was only 300 years ago. We do see comparably more “spiritualism” or effective state/church separation in Europe. The US is much more religious, I think, primarily because that’s were the religious minorities that were persecuted in Europe fled to. Those who stayed in Europe weren’t as religious, their children less so, and so on; and this has been going on for 300 years now. This is also why there are so many different kinds of churces in the US. In a given European country, there will only be 1 or 2 different kinds in any given country.
.-= Early Retirement Extreme´s last blog ..Clothes depreciation =-.

]]> By: Kevin M http://outofyourrut.com/blog/2009/05/03/many-paths-to-the-same-god/#comment-5429 Kevin M Fri, 05 Mar 2010 01:57:21 +0000 http://outofyourrut.com/blog/?p=612#comment-5429 ERE - I agree on the pagan/feudal connection. This is an example of Man making God in his own image. One of the reasons I think that there is only One True God, is that within the human context, we have no equivalent to this, there is no one force within the human system than can come close to having absolute authority, and for the most part, we fear the concept above nearly all else in life. In fact, monotheism doesn't at all fit within the framework of democracy, especially in Christianty. God is absolute and jealous--if we would have a god of any sort, he would have to be acquiescent to the will of man. An all powerful, unaccountable God serves no purpose in humanity. In fact the God of the Bible is almost completely beyond human definition. A God who would love and forgive even murderers, rapists, terrorists--that's beyond any God we could ever create. We are at the heart, a species of judgement and vengeance. The idea that God is some sort of cosmic pinspotter, judging us on our deeds as a measure of our eternal worth, is more human than biblical. ERE – I agree on the pagan/feudal connection. This is an example of Man making God in his own image. One of the reasons I think that there is only One True God, is that within the human context, we have no equivalent to this, there is no one force within the human system than can come close to having absolute authority, and for the most part, we fear the concept above nearly all else in life.

In fact, monotheism doesn’t at all fit within the framework of democracy, especially in Christianty. God is absolute and jealous–if we would have a god of any sort, he would have to be acquiescent to the will of man. An all powerful, unaccountable God serves no purpose in humanity. In fact the God of the Bible is almost completely beyond human definition.

A God who would love and forgive even murderers, rapists, terrorists–that’s beyond any God we could ever create. We are at the heart, a species of judgement and vengeance. The idea that God is some sort of cosmic pinspotter, judging us on our deeds as a measure of our eternal worth, is more human than biblical.

]]> By: Early Retirement Extreme http://outofyourrut.com/blog/2009/05/03/many-paths-to-the-same-god/#comment-5425 Early Retirement Extreme Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:37:15 +0000 http://outofyourrut.com/blog/?p=612#comment-5425 Pantheism does not render God meaningless, it just makes God a hypocrite if there is to be one god. That aside, it seems religions essentially have adopted the structure of the political or government system at the time they were "frozen" (as in stopped to develop) in time. The concept of a singular god is adopted on the authoritarian approach of might makes right. In many cases where religions have several gods, they are organized in a feudal manner with a king or queen god and an aristocracy of lesser gods. In the modern case, this authority have either been delegated to the afterlife (state and church separation), to a theocracy, or been rendered irrelevant by the less personalized form of spiritualism which in more of a postmodern buffet style faith. .-= Early Retirement Extreme´s last blog ..<a href="http://earlyretirementextreme.com/2010/03/the-100-things-challenge.html" rel="nofollow">The 100 things challenge</a> =-. Pantheism does not render God meaningless, it just makes God a hypocrite if there is to be one god. That aside, it seems religions essentially have adopted the structure of the political or government system at the time they were “frozen” (as in stopped to develop) in time. The concept of a singular god is adopted on the authoritarian approach of might makes right. In many cases where religions have several gods, they are organized in a feudal manner with a king or queen god and an aristocracy of lesser gods. In the modern case, this authority have either been delegated to the afterlife (state and church separation), to a theocracy, or been rendered irrelevant by the less personalized form of spiritualism which in more of a postmodern buffet style faith.
.-= Early Retirement Extreme´s last blog ..The 100 things challenge =-.

]]> By: Jason @ Redeeming Riches http://outofyourrut.com/blog/2009/05/03/many-paths-to-the-same-god/#comment-3721 Jason @ Redeeming Riches Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:09:24 +0000 http://outofyourrut.com/blog/?p=612#comment-3721 Great post. Jesus wasn't just a good guy who had some great moral principles. When you actually study what he said and did, you find a highly controversial figure who wasn't afraid to buck the religious system of his day. He challenged peoples thoughts and heart attitudes and had a disdain for religious piety, which led to an utter hatred of him by many high profile leaders - and ultimately his death! He, as you said, claimed he was the ONLY way! Wow! What type of guy would say something like that and then back up his claims with supernatural powers and ultimately rising from the dead? A man worth investigating that is for sure! .-= Jason @ Redeeming Riches´s last blog ..<a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RedeemingRiches/~3/9JF63HiuMKc/" rel="nofollow">Is Retirement Biblical? (Part 2)</a> =-. Great post. Jesus wasn’t just a good guy who had some great moral principles. When you actually study what he said and did, you find a highly controversial figure who wasn’t afraid to buck the religious system of his day.

He challenged peoples thoughts and heart attitudes and had a disdain for religious piety, which led to an utter hatred of him by many high profile leaders – and ultimately his death!

He, as you said, claimed he was the ONLY way! Wow! What type of guy would say something like that and then back up his claims with supernatural powers and ultimately rising from the dead? A man worth investigating that is for sure!
.-= Jason @ Redeeming Riches´s last blog ..Is Retirement Biblical? (Part 2) =-.

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