Godulike

michael · Can anybody hear me? Joined: 19 Jun 2023 Posts: 152

The absolute kernel at the heart of the Buddha’s teaching, for me, is “Intentions determine consequences.” From this flows all else. Whether consequences are “good” or “bad” (not usual Buddhist terms, but let’s leave that one aside!) cannot be seen from actions alone, the nature of the intention is paramount. Putting a knife to a person’s throat is not intrinsically good or bad: what is the intention behind it? To kill that person? Or to save their life? So for me one should try to do unto others as you would have others do unto you because if your intention is good then there will be good consequences, if bad then bad consequences.

Rat_bytes · Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2023 11:06 am Post subject:

seattlegal · Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2023 11:34 am Post subject:

michael · Can anybody hear me? Joined: 19 Jun 2023 Posts: 152

Anonymous · Guest

Best intentions, intolerance to religions, thats just the burden of man made philospophy, it comes down to there extreme rationalism to make divisions. Doesn't make sense.

michael · Can anybody hear me? Joined: 19 Jun 2023 Posts: 152

Anonymous · Guest

elena

Michael,

Yes, I did use all those rules for discerning the truth. Oral transmission
of ideas and facts are often a reliable source of truth. One cannot
overlook that truth can be handed down without writing it down.

I believe the Torah of Judaism was brought to us through oral
tradition, especially the Pentateuch. (First five books of Bible).

Because of what I believe, I can safely accept the God of Abraham
Isaac, Jacob and Jesus. Jesus brought nothing new to the earth.
He did bring a message that was so powerful and he was so
influential, that His death was sought as a way to try to destroy
His influence. But the Jews made a big mistake when they accused
him of the many things they did.They called him a drunkard, bastard,
companion of harlots, glutton, lazy, demon possessed, beside himself,
and probably a whole bunch of other things. It mattered not to Him
because the only job He had was to give a message of life to a dying
people. He Himself said He was not speaking His own words.

If love is the central theme of all religions, then why we can't lay down
our religious preferences and just focus on treating others the way
we want to be treated? I know the answer, just asking you.

When the ego identifies itself as a person of religion and joins a
certain faith, then that religion owns that person. If your identity is
located in what religion you are, then that is who you think you are.

That is where I am totally free. I am a human being who wants to
do God's will. I accept the One Command, I live and die by it and
have only a belief in the law Christ gave us to live by. Please tell
me if you can find anything in the so-called words of Jesus that
might be in error.

God is in Jesus, Jesus is in God, God is in me, I am in Christ, love is
the way, the truth and the light. What else do we need to know so we
can begin purposeful and useful lives.

I cannot understand why anyone would fight this truth? What more
is there to do if that is enough for each one of us? Is there too much
freedom from religion when a human decides to always keep this
commandment? I know it takes all my energy and effort to constantly
be aware of what I am doing and how it affects others. What other
people think of me is really none of my business.

Thanks
_________________
I am who I am

elena · Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2023 7:08 pm Post subject: back to the thread

As far as Jesus was concerned he regarded no difference in male or
female, Jew or Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, he saw everyone
in the same light. They were human and had a life that they were
responsible to live. How they lived it out depended upon who they
thought they were. Were they covenant keepers or not?

God has no respect of persons for any reason. It is humans who are
prejudiced and make distinctions between people. I guess different
means "not good as" to some. I am no worse than anyone and no
one is better than me. We are all the same in opportunity to do God's will and the sooner the earth recognizes that the Unity of love is what is
necessary for a happy life here, we can get on with the issues that
need dealt with.

Helen
_________________
I am who I am

michael · Can anybody hear me? Joined: 19 Jun 2023 Posts: 152

Anonymous · Guest

michael · Can anybody hear me? Joined: 19 Jun 2023 Posts: 152

Fear not, I was not being sarcastic. (I think you must know a lot of sarcastic people?!)

I'm very computer-speak illiterate, sort of NVQ Foundation.

IMO, IMHO and that's about it!

TTFN,

Old Fart.
_________________
Clinging leads to separation from the real.

michael · Can anybody hear me? Joined: 19 Jun 2023 Posts: 152

Helen,

If love is the central theme of all religions, then why we can't lay down
our religious preferences and just focus on treating others the way
we want to be treated? I know the answer, just asking you.

I know nothing or very little about most religions (!) so I can’t say if I think love is the central theme of most of them; I often hear about being saved from hell and stuff like that, which I can’t quite equate with a central theme of love. Maybe that’s my lack of understanding? I agree we should focus on what you say, the Golden Rule.

When the ego identifies itself as a person of religion and joins a
certain faith, then that religion owns that person. If your identity is
located in what religion you are, then that is who you think you are.

The ego is a psychological construct, courtesy of Mr Freud. So that’s a complication immediately to me! Does or should a religion “own” a person? Personally, my identity, I hope, belongs to me (albeit connected to the rest of the universe).

That is where I am totally free. I am a human being who wants to
do God's will. I accept the One Command, I live and die by it and
have only a belief in the law Christ gave us to live by. Please tell
me if you can find anything in the so-called words of Jesus that
might be in error.

Not from me Helen, as I say my ignorance of religions is breath taking in it’s breadth and depth!

God is in Jesus, Jesus is in God, God is in me, I am in Christ, love is
the way, the truth and the light. What else do we need to know so we
can begin purposeful and useful lives.

Well if I re-caste your words into what I think might be your underlying sentiments, I agree.

I cannot understand why anyone would fight this truth? What more
is there to do if that is enough for each one of us? Is there too much
freedom from religion when a human decides to always keep this
commandment? I know it takes all my energy and effort to constantly
be aware of what I am doing and how it affects others.

Mindfulness is a 24/7 thing; which we all regularly fail at. The trick is to keep trying and to learn from our past I think.
_________________
Clinging leads to separation from the real.

Anonymous · Guest

elena

Dear Michael,

Are you for real? Have I met another God with skin on it? By another
God I mean an entity who lives and moves and has their very being
in God. And then, becaise I know you are human, you cannot talk like
you do without having gone through extensive surgery to have your
self will removed to the point that all you know is love. Any human
who sets out to find themselves, God, truth or whatever you want to
call it, has to pass through much fire, like gold that is tried in the
fire to remove its impurities, and so I assume this light did not come to
you by simply asking for it. But then, because I am not familiar with
this type of revelation, I have to ask. I have read where Jesus himself
learned obedience through the things he suffered. I do not think most
people read about and try to understand how a human being could be
so tested as He was and yet willingly gave up His life knowing that when
He delivered His Father's message, to the people who were
supposed to be of God, that their anger and hatred toward Him would
be so great that they would actually murder Him and think they were
doing God's will.

I firmly believe that religion will make an atheist out of you or it will
prevent you from finding the truth.

I do not know how you managed to turn your back on all religious
authorities and religion and still received a love of the truth that has
obviously lead you to the knowledge of God's will for all of mankind.
Your understanding is perfect. I am in awe but yet I know you are
someone who has a story as to how you achieved enlightenment
concerning the whole will of God for your life. Your serenity and peace
are the earmarks of One who has met the Master.

Now if you just received what you know by just opening your mind
and heart, that is wonderful. Before I could become holy, (sanctified
or set apart for God's use) I had to see and acknowledge just how
evil I could really be and when I was able to admit that I was capable
of committing even the most horrible crimes that I condemned others
for, it was then I sought to be delivered of any self will that would
cause me to do anything contrary to God's will to love each other.

I feel like I reached a point of surrender when if I had to actually die
to do God's will that I could say "Thy will be done." Actually, I believe
if Jesus' death was not enough to show how much He loved people and was willing to forgive anyone for anything they ever did wrong, I cannot
see a need for me to suffer for other people's wrongdoings. I will not
let people use and abuse me in any way because it interferes with
my love to myself and I owe it to God to love the body He gave me to
live in to the best of my ability. If I do not love and care for myself,
then how will I know how to love others?

I must see to it that all my needs are met and take responsibility for
everything I think, say or do. I am not allowed to get my needs met
if it means that I deprive someone else of what they need to be happy
for themselves. The road is straight and narrow but it leads to a happy
life.

It is in our minds that attachments are formed. If we attach to a person,
place or thing, whatever we attach to attaches itself to our thoughts
about it. Consciousness is our IAMNESS. It requires no thought at all
for us to be who we are. Because our egos, or our perceptions who
we think we are, are made up only of thoughts, then it is our mind
that creates those thoughts. Through those thoughts of "I, me, and mine"
we then create our behavior. If I believe I am a Christian and attach
to the Christian religion, then the Christian religion attaches to me.
Then me and my mind work together to create an image of who I am,
a Christian. The problem here is that it is all done sub-consciously and
I am not even aware of how my thoughts control my thinking and life.
I begin to act and react without the use of my mind and I program myself
to fit the description of what I think a Christian is.

Reality is based on consciousness alone. Reality just is. I am not who
I think I am, who others think I am or whatever. I Am Who I Am.
To get to this point in one's life is when we stop tryiing to convince
people of who we are and just accept the fact that it requires no thought
for us to be, we just are. We are Being. God is Being. Consciousness
to me is to contact that Being who is a greater power than myself and
to open my mind to truths that do not originate in my own mind. That
is how I get in contact with love and what it would want me to do every
day.

Of course, I make mistakes. When I do, I promptly admit it. I must
remember I live in clay. The ego tries to interfere with God's will, but
when I submit to what would I want someone to do to me, I receive
the wisdom from God that I need to make a healthy decision.

As far as hell goes, it is a sorry excuse for believing in God because of
the fear of punishment for not believing. I would rather believe in God
because I love Him. I find myself believing that if there is no after life
at all, the way God makes me feel here on earth is worth it all anyhow.
Just to know I am loved is a really great feeling and the knowledge that
I can receive all the help I need to do my job of loving others is quite
a source of serenity and peace for me.

I have to admit, loving God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength
can be like a curse if you don't know the truth. A love for the truth
causes me to constantly question everything I have ever been taught
or believed about God. It has been my willingness to believe that I
could be deceived that lead me to the truth I now embrace. My
search is ended but I have endless opportunities to put my love into
practice as I seek to do good in my life.

Helen
_________________
I am who I am