by free2beme 15 Replies latest jw friends
We have made an important discovery that the minds "spiritual" and "personal" fruits are unreliable. So, now what? Shall we pick more apples? Or find the true Source from which the orchard grows?
JamesThomas,
That's some cool writing. Are you a professional writer? If not, you should consider it.
Free2Beme, I agree with you fully on this. There is no such thing as a "pure" religion, and I seriously doubt there ever was. Historical evidence clearly does not support it. The trouble with trying to get various religionists to understand this is, they tend to somehow feel that thier god has "preserved" thier faith to a point where the modern incarnation of it must be "right". It's a matter of faith to begin with, so unless someone is willing to open thier mind and consider the actual evidence, it is unlikely they will ever accept they alone do not have the "pure" religion. Basically, they reason the same way we used to reason as jws, just on a broader scale.
j
...This is in fact, the exact reason I can't accept any religion anymore.
Free2beme, I totally agree with all you said and what others have said. Still there lives within me a need to connect to the Divine or what I now perceive to be Divine. So I still go to Church, but don't have any intention of religion putting up boundaries for me. I find comfort in the religious practices, the prayer, the calling upon the universe to hear us. I currently go to a liberal Presbyterian Church. I don't worry about about the reciting of the apostles creed, as I know the Divine I recognize is much bigger than what a church can hold. Still I find the human relationships from other people good too. I don't believe the bible is the only word of god, but neither does the pastor which makes it much easier to listen to him. He recognizes that people of all faiths are reaching out for the divine within us all and wanting to be better people.
So the question is then, since pure religion is an oxymoron, can we still find benefit from any of from any religious practice today?
Pure religion is a lie. Only God is pure. Jesus was always putting the "religious" people of His day in their place. He was anti-religion, pro-relationship. The very religious Pharisees were always being admonished by Jesus for how they treated "sinners", not recognizing all the sin in their own lives.
Many religions attack God's grace and make slaves of the members. There is no freedom in being religious. No joy. No peace. You only find that in the relationship you have personally with God. Not in a religion.
That's some cool writing. Are you a professional writer? If not, you should consider it.
You can always count on JT to put together thought provoking ideas in ways which point beyond the mere words contained in those ideas. I love reading his stuff.
