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Mon 13 Mar, 2006 09:46 pm
I seem to have a belief that goes loosely like this:
The entire human race; you & me & everyone else around, we're
all heading in the same general direction ( for the sake of this
discussion) let's say that every one of us, no matter what it may
look like - or appear that we are doing; what we're each doing in
our own unique & distinctive manner is a complete, total
individual mapping of his/her hence our own way -eventually
is actually the systematic mapping out of our way back to our
Creator or God or whatever you call it. You may not call it anything,
yet & that doesn't interfere with the search.
Whatever our choice of word; is sure to be
wildly different but this is something that doesn't
matter in the least tiny little bit right now.
*IF each one of us were ponies left to run wild and free like wild
ponies of the plains before civilization closed in on them, driving
them deeper into a place; a place that they did not freely
choose a place that would become a prison if we
accepted it to be so. We can each be ponies but at every
sign that says to our consciousness "STOP, you are penned in"
remember this is just a lie.
*We WILL all come to the same place in the end, eventually, one
day; even if by wildly, completely varying & alternating routes,
shortcuts, roundabouts, going around your butt to get to your
elbow - whatever blows your hair back is A-OK. The same place
is where each & every one of us also eventually arrives.
*That there is a 'ONE' And that there have been MANY "teachers"
or "helpers" over the course of the history of mankind and we may
learn "only by the particular teacher" acceptable in our
time & cultureor we may also learn by any other teacher or
by all available teachers. A really big word of caution needed
at this point is avoid the mistake of making too much of any
one teacher OR to put one teacher before another. To be
so entwined, so entangled in all the fine & prickly little
points and differences between one teacher and another that
the very idea that you began with, the very meaning & purpose
of these "teachers" & "helpers" was never to debate or decide
which is more right or less right than another. It's not a horrible
fate, we all arrive eventually; but this is definetely a place for
caution along the journey.
*THE single greatest caution of all here, is that it is too
easy that we actually become stuck in being
"the student". If fearful or lacking in self confidence this may be
the place where we stall & hide out from the responsibility
of going forward that one next step (it is only 1 step) BUT we
must go on forward this one step without our teachers
or helpers. We must go on alone.
Religion may be a tree with many branches but the problem is that each branch believes it is the TRUE branch. That is a valid belief or else the branch is wasting its time and energy. If it isn't the "true" branch it should be merging with that branch which IS the true one.
Therefor the need for argument. The necessity to determine whether one's religion is the true one or not. What a waste of time to find out you've been swimming to the farthest shore when there was one a lot closer.
Harmony will come, from arguing or otherwise, when we all come to the realization that ALL paths (Christian or otherwise) do lead to the Oneness of God. Some just take longer routes.
Bertrand Russell was of the opinion that of the many religions with mutually exclusive beliefes, no more than one could be true. He chose none.
Oh, if only there were a way to allow the TREE to see, to have
the gift of vision, so it would know that all it's roots come from
the same common ground.
babsatamelia wrote:Oh, if only there were a way to allow the TREE to see, to have
the gift of vision, so it would know that all it's roots come from
the same common ground.
Watch it. You're going into the realm of idealistic New Age fantasy land. That's a dangerous place to be.
I am, of course, reminded of the following quote which sums up Mr. Ethmer's point:
"And though I am a committed Christian, I believe that everyone has the right to their own religion, be it Hindu, Jewish or Muslim. I believe there are infinite paths to accepting Jesus Christ as your personal savior."
-- Stephen Colbert.
All roads lead to the ocean.
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