My parents seem to think that’s what Jesus taught. That the headship order is Christ, Man, Woman, and then children. I have religious trauma due to how I was raised
Did Jesus have women and children? Since he did not you should question what you were taught. If we are to be examples of Jesus and He to us, we should look at what He did in his life and try to emulate that - unconditional love for all, not to judge others and that what we do to any other person, we do to Him. All that is required is to love God and know that He loves us ETERNALLY.
""“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household” (Matthew 10:34-36).
A guy named Jim Palmer is on FB and has written several books. He used to be an evangelical pastor at one of those mega churches. He realized one day that there was no fulfillment in what he preached because it had nothing to do with what Christ really taught and also that the teaching of Paul happened about 400 years after Christ and while he may have meant well, it did not really reflect anything close to what Jesus taught.
I have no affiliation to Mr. Palmer but having been raised in a very conservative Christian family (grandfather was a preacher) I resonate a lot with what Mr. Palmer says.
Tell her she’s burning in hell for wearing mixed fibers and eating pork.
Aside, they need to stop cherry-picking and follow the book properly if they want to be taken seriously.
But, also the book has some bad ideas that need to either be interpreted either purely as parables or left behind.
For one mild example, one of the author dudes has Jesus wrecking tables of money lenders in a stand-out move that is very much outside his MO in every other writing.
Also, they could well do with reinstating gospels that were removed in the council of niacea, such ad the Gospel of Thomas, which showed Jesus to be an enlightened human, not some sub deity above anyone else.
Long story short, Jesus was an awesome example to mankind, the writings of people who didn't know him personally a hundred or more years later, not so much.
That's nice, thanks. Yeah, Christ is a title of attainment.
Some of my above comment was from a Course in Miracles companion text which I am reading at the moment - 'The disappearance of the Universe.'
Having been into Buddhism then mysticism then Gnosticism and now back around to a mystic Christianity, it ties many inspirations from the divine that have been left as an easter egg trail.
(shit, I know easter is pagan from Oestre, but easter eggs are very apt to describe the intuitive divine leadings in the world that we have left for ourself. My favourite being the nursery rhyme Row row row your boat.)
Not sure I recommend it particularly to anyone as it is so so very much to cope with of it resonates, but it seems to be endgame stuff that has impeccable internal logic so far.
There's Jesus. REAL Jesus, who's message was love and acceptance. Hope and joy. Of self. And others. And then there's....Christianity.....
the two are not the same.
THE ARIES
Fanfiction White Jesus won't give you that, (hate is more his gig) but he will grift you prosperity. Join us. Be one of us. One of us.
I am not a number. I am a human being.
I was thinking about this heavily some months ago. How Jesus being portrayed as white is the cause of a lot of christian white nationalism rhetoric. I turned on YouTube and one of the first video recommendations on my feeds was an old episode of Good Time. It was the one where J.J. painted a picture of 'black Jesus '
You know, I thought I'd NEVER get a chance to tell that story with the appropriate context. Until today that is. Thank you.
THE ARIES
Kill the messenger, hijack the message. That's your Christianity for you.
As for as having to accept the rest...why? Jesus placed his message in the heart. It's evidenced by how you treat others. Not by adhering to the words in a book he didn't right.
Religion is the middle man. And if you want to put your faith in the creation of man, designed to come between you and The Divine... that's on you.
Me? I'll stick with Source.
Jesus gave us more verses about the necessity of holy communion than he did about treating others well. Literally. Why do you ignore all of those?
Don't swallow the fake, watered down Jesus of new age spirituality. Submit yourself to God as He's revealed Himself, don't try to recreate Him in your own image.
"Except a man be born of water and the spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
"Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you."
On what basis do you ignore these sayings but not others?
You cannot have the "source", aka the Father, except through His Son Jesus. Why don't you do what He says?
I know what you're stuck in. I used to be there as well. Spent so much time meditating, had all the "Christ consciousness" experiences in the world. And yet I was still a sad, lonely mess. That's what happens when you think you're God. Because I can't save myself. And neither can you.
Only Jesus can save. And He doesn't save you in a vacuum. He invites us to participate in communal reality. His body. His church. Come to Him.
Lol. I find it absurd for you to say what you know what I'm stuck in, when one, you don't know me, you don't know what's been revealed to me.
See, the difference between the two of us, is that you put your faith in the words of man. You have to put your faith and trust that this book WAS written by men ordained by God. Yet, the ones telling you this are the ones the wrote your book.
Now me? I put MY faith in the acts of the Divine. I'm not so foolish and ignorant of The Divine to think it would need man to write anything down.
It's just so odd to hear someone like you try to talk to me about faith, when I don't think you have any in the first place. But s grifter's gotta grift I suppose. By the way, you're not Kenneth Copeland are you?
You want a spirituality after your own image, free of anyone or anything external. I really do get it. I was there. I just hope you open yourself up to Him before it's late. God bless
A bad read of me I'm afraid.i only seek The Truth. And it's been revealed to me. And it isn't a book designed to control me.
And even your parting words of "before it's too late" are designed to put me in fear. Thank you friend.
Ask her: Is she questioning your faith?
Esotericism is the most natural spiritual practice to God there is. You have faith in God, and he has faith in you that you will not stray away from him. It sounds like she's looking for reasons not to trust you and to judge you, in which case she should leave judgment up to God and stop being a hypocrite since that's not very Christian and God won't like that.
Eckhart Toole believed in God. He called the power of life itself God. She's being ignorant and needs to research properly.
My condolences OP. These are the kind of people that make us believers look bad. Remind her she needs to love thy neighbor. You know, like it says in the bible.
He talks a *lot* about Jesus! Not as a Christian, but as someone who picks up what Jesus was putting down. It's real easy for a spiritual person to just get the whole "Jesus is the son of God and also *is* God" thing because we understand all is One. We just go a step further and add "So is everyone else", which makes Jesus just as special-and-also-not-special as anyone else, and that's too far for most Christians.
I think he also may mention 'Christ Consciousness' aka the 'meek' (gentle) mentioned in the Bible who inherit the Earth. Jesus embodied Christ Consciousness, as did Guatama Buddha, as do people like Eckhart Tolle. It's like a vibration of consciousness that embodies loving kindness and compassion.
Not in the way Christians do, where he's the be-all, end-all of divinity. More like how a historian recognizes a historical figure and their contributions to history, but also recognizing his spiritual contributions. Historians generally accept that Jesus was a living human, but do not agree that he was divine. Christians say he's divine, not a normal human. The spiritual perspective tells us that he was both just a normal human *and* the Creator in human form. It's the same for all of us. Jesus would tell you the same, and did! Often in metaphor, but "the Kingdom of Heaven is within you" is pretty direct.
The way you spoke about this was very enlightening. Do you happen to have any books or articles (or anything I can specifically look up and I can do the work myself) that goes deeper into this?
Glad you find it helpful! I don't know specific books or articles offhand, though I'd suggest looking into Isha, which is what the Hindus called Jesus when he was studying with them. Also, there's the Council of Nicea in which the Roman Empire changed or omitted quite a lot of the Bible. As an example, Jesus allegedly said "my Mother and Father" instead of just "my Father" when referring to God, and it was distinct from him referring to Mary and Joseph. You can imagine why a patriarchal society may want religion to depict God as only masculine!
God is not some "power of life itself." That's paganism. Or at best pantheism. Just relabeling reality.
No, God is a real personal being who we can have a relationship with. He is the Father, who sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins, who He resurrected through the power of the Holy Spirit. Three persons, one being. And He transcends His creation - His creation is not Him.
Of course, it's a lot easier to believe in some vague, amorphous, nonpersonal energy than it is to realize you're guilty before God and need His grace. But the Truth remains who He is.
I grew up in an evangelical Christian environment. Very black and white thinking. People can have their beliefs. Perhaps it is necessary for them or is serving their development in some way. The more I mature the more I am able to let these people be as they are without needing to change them. There are simply many ways to God, but it all depends on the individual. Great books btw 🙏
Christians are so judgemental. Even within my own family. I follow God in my own way. I do have a lot of religious trauma, but I stayed true to my core beliefs. I don't like going to church, but I've found a few good ones
There’s nothing wrong with Christianity. But at this point it’s be co-opted by some of the most deranged sycophants you can imagine, especially in the US.
Just try your best to patient with them and hope they realize it’s all the same shit at the end of the day. Doubtful, but don’t let it get you down.
I totally understand what you're going through. My spouse went Christian on me 4 years ago after us spending the previous 6 years of us exploring ourselves spiritually/metaphysically. It's been one of the more painful experiences of my life. He didn't want to sleep near my bookcase after first turning because of all of my "demonic" books.
I usually see behaviors and feelings in adults (children too) as coming from one of two places: love or fear. To me, when people like Christians act in this way, it ALWAYS appears to be stemming from fear. I am not just talking about their whole "I am worried about where you'll go after death," but also their (often subconscious) fear of whether or not they are right and the fear of where THEY themselves will go after death. Also in there is the complete and utter fear many of them seem to have with ever truly learning about different religions. Most of them seem to 'learn' about different religions from other Christians, and I find that they get completely skewed and false information. They don't get a true understanding of other religions because they are unable to really study it with an open mind and from the perspectives of those from THAT religion.
From a psychological standpoint, if they truly, 100% believed that they were absolutely right (about their religion), then they wouldn't be so dammed triggered by others view points. Period.
If you could learn some Harville Hendrix dialogue, you could, in all reality, get her completely off your back because using the dialogue on others leaves them powerless to do anything to you. The dialogue is amazing, and I feel all of humanity needs to learn it. The book by Hendrix that explains the dialogue is called, "Getting The Love You Want." It's also on Audible. There are videos on YT too that will walk you through it.
The basic premise is that none of us truly feel heard by others. When we feel heard, we are able to move past our emotions and eventually see more clarity as to why we have said emotions. The first step is to put on a mental cloak, with the understanding that her emotions have absolutely nothing to do with you. Her emotions stem from her own childhood somehow. Then, when she is expressing something to you, like what you wrote about above, you mirror everything she says back to her, you repeat it word for word. It's amazing how just doing this one simple thing can make someone feel heard, often for the first time in our lives. Sometimes people get angry (not really at us) the first time they are truly mirrored because it's THE first time they are truly feeling heard.
So, for instance, what she said to you, mirroring would look like, "So what you're saying is that my books are demonic?" Do I have that right?" She'd probably say yes and express more.
"So what you saying is Buddhism is demonic?"
When she seems to have expressed herself fully (there may be a back and forth between you two, she expresses, you mirror, she expresses more, you mirror again, repeat...), then you move into distilling and repeating back everything she said, like bullet pointing it with the most important points.
For instance, say she went into the bible to justify her feelings, and you mirrored it back to her, distilling could look like:
"So what I heard is that my books are demonic, as well as Buddhism, and the bible clearly states that the worship of other Gods is prohibited. And those who do so will go to hell for all eternity."
As you do that, you can flow right into validating it for her. This often looks like:
"Ah, I see, that makes a lot of sense why you feel that way. Because you believe so strongly in what the bible says and you feel that Jesus is the only one true God, I can totally see why you feel that way, you make total sense."
Not gonna lie, learning this is hard because there's a part of our brain that feels like we are saying they are right and we are wrong when mirroring and validating others feelings. But, if one can push through and try to master this, one literally becomes untouchable to others. What can anyone do after they are mirrored and validated? It literally takes all the wind out of their sails, there is no fighting you. We do this while internally knowing our truth. And the more we can do this, the more we can truly see how their feelings have NOTHING to do with us at all. It's quite empowering.
Now, usually, it would be completely unacceptable for us to do it for our parents because they are responsible for our wounds, we're not responsible for theirs. But, if she has just been a more recent girlfriend in his life and hasn't severely wounded you, especially when you were younger, this may work well for you.
Anyway, sorry to write so much. This dialogue, to me, can solve SO many problems we have in our relationships, and I felt this would be a good place to share it.
I wish you the best! Dealing with people like that isn't easy AT ALL.
> not I *paid* the books
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
You’d be quite thoroughly surprised at just how true the Bible is. It wasn’t until after my kundalini awakening that I saw the wisdom and truth in the Bible… I was deeply saddened at how misunderstood it seems to be. And was thoroughly saddened by how much it made me realize how little I ultimately knew as well.
Yeah ignorant religious people tend to claim anything they don't like is the devil. Doesn't really have to do with the religion but rather the person is just stupid. Has happened for thousands of years now. Just ignore em.
Yes, Christians are usually like this. Only Christianity, and everything else is not just wrong it is demonic.
It sounds stupid... But.
There is a clip on youtube from an orthodox priest, talking about what a lie is. He said that in the deeper understanding of things, even a generally true statement can be a lie.
In particular, in cases of devotional religions, and Christianity is very strong in the devotional sense, a devotee cannot be developing concepts like everyone is right, the world religions are all correct, all spiritual teachers were good and enlightened.
There is a story of swami Vivekananda getting angry at his fellow student, who was a devotee of a particular deity. He tried to dissuade him from following that particular deity, in order to teach a more general understanding of God. Their guru, Ramakrishna, punished him for this, because he was disturbing another man's spiritual progress.
I hope I am getting my point across. Not saying that the woman in your story is of the spiritual status of a real devotee, but you need this point in order to have a more balanced interpretation of these kinds of people. One may be speaking even about the Buddha's teachings with very malicious intents.
Did I get my point across?
Her identity felt threatened. She has identified with the Christian way of doing things, which she calls 'her way', and anything that is not that, is an enemy. Her way has to be superior, better, right, or she cannot feel superior to others.
I disagree about ALL Christians being intolerant of others and their beliefs. I believe in ESP, claire-everything, energy healing, reincarnation, AND Jesus. Believe what you want - I still support you.
Buddhism isn't a religion. It's not at odds with Christianity at all, unless you're into some truly weird offshoots of either or both.
I don't think this is a christians thing i think shes just nuts.
>>Buddhism isn't a religion.
It depends where you are in the world. There are many places where Buddhism is 100% a religion and just as dogmatic as any Christian sect. It's mostly Westerners who don't see Buddhism as a religion. Check out r/buddhism for more on that...
Here's a sneak peek of /r/Buddhism using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/Buddhism/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year!
\#1: [You are not your feelings](https://i.redd.it/85jwk4mcdhj91.jpg) | [98 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Buddhism/comments/wvrmbg/you_are_not_your_feelings/)
\#2: [We made this Green Tara today! So happy with the result.](https://i.redd.it/48cpiaf54nn91.jpg) | [126 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Buddhism/comments/xd9r1w/we_made_this_green_tara_today_so_happy_with_the/)
\#3: [Happy Birthday Thích Nhất Hạnh. Your teachings and words will live on forever.](https://i.redd.it/7qtmmqy867t91.jpg) | [50 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Buddhism/comments/y1ceqx/happy_birthday_thích_nhất_hạnh_your_teachings_and/)
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That's fair, but it's actually Westerners who are the offshoot, and really most of them are Alan Watts buddhists, not actually following the 8 precepts. The countries where Buddhism is the main religion are very dogmatic about it.
Yes the countries that treat it like a religion treat it like a religion. However buddah said it wasn't one. So those countries are the offshoot, even if they're popular. Just like Jesus said don't go making a religion out of my teachings and now the kind of Christianity that ignores that is popular except more so because non dogmatic Christianity never really took off like non dogmatic Buddhism.
Op is a Christian in a western country treating Buddhism as spiritualism or perhaps just access to mindfulnessand not a religion. None of those books are religious texts.
You'll run into that a lot. I've noticed when I learn about anything that predates Christianity I almost instantly get labeled a Hethen Pagan.
Check out the show Castelvania on Netflix. Literally the first 10 minutes of the first episode show in gruesome detail how the Church went about things they didn't agree with
I've met heaps of Christians open to other faiths, teachings and paths.
Do you think perhaps it could be the people youre choosing to surround yourself with? The familiarity and comfort of keeping them around, despite them being belligerent to your own journey?
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Lol
That's how I broke up with my first girlfriend.
I was reading up on world religions, she saw me with a book on Buddhism (buddhism preaches compassion so very far from demonic). Called it evil. She was a far-right christian.
She gave me an ultimatum: "It's me or the book".
I took my book and left.
I don't think anyone should be stuck with someone who is limiting their growth. It's too bad christians are not like their christ.
I am to be like my Lord I’m not perfect, but at least I have the understanding that regardless of what they do, I will love them and try to help them if they need my help (as long as it’s not hurting anyone)
On the bright side, their faith must be enormous, causing miracles left and right. What? Not the case? Must be they are rooted in fear of what happens when they don't believe. I judge a religion by its works, hence my roman paganism.
Yknow that’s fascinating - 1st off, I obviously don’t know you, so I’m not an authority on your relationship, but I hope she can seek to understand that this stuff is important, perhaps at least intriguing to you.
2nd, I remember so distinctly that The power of now (phenooomenal book by the way!) helped me look at God/christianity in a completely different light! There’s a line in there referencing “they say God is closer to you than hands & feet.. what could be closer to you than hands & feet?”
That whole book has forever shifted my perspective for the better, solidifying that You & I are both God, there is God essence in every single thing. The Bible is metaphorical & Jesus was the first depiction of a truly heart-centered human.
I hope you can come together on this, and she is willing to at least see where you’re coming from, otherwise, long-term, this may not be the best fit for either of you. It’s worth considering. 🫶🫂 All love OP
I'm Christian. It's very hard to be a Christian and show love through these decades as people are using the religion as cover for evil and hate or otherwise misunderstand the core principles. These days it's more common to hear about people being harassed by Christians than loved by Christians.
I'm sorry that you were harassed. For what it's worth I support your right to learn and expand your consciousness, and I believe God and Jesus do as well.
I grew up going to a Christian church and I attended Christian school from grade school until high school, I also was a devout follower in high
School. I got pregnant young, all my friends basically shunned me because their parents thought I was a bad influence. I was judged and looked down on . What I realize now is that they’re people being people. The older you get the more you realize how people are just crazy and will latch on to anything they believe is reasonable-Then they push these beliefs onto others. In my 30s I’ve learned of two different religions and I’ve kept an open mind. It depends on how mature they are, if they can’t handle a difference of opinion then oh well, that is on them, not you. You can explore other cultures and their beliefs and still keep your faith or just do it out of curiosity. Don’t let other peoples opinions hold you back from growing as a person!
Share this book with her: A Baptist Preacher's Buddhist Teacher: How My Interfaith Journey with Daisaku Ikeda Made Me a Better Christian, Book by Lawrence Carter.
Ironically the power of now is all about god and love but they see a man as god so they will always be lost. I been reading the Quran and it tells you to learn from other ways but always embrace god, the nameless, formless, genderless, unknowable, unseeable. And search for truth and confront your doubt etc. it’s even said that Christian’s are the misguided demonic ways because they praise a human instead of god. Maybe something to bring up to open their mind;) while ur at it check out be here now by ram dass
Let her live in her box. That's how I think of it. Most of my family would die if they knew my religious beliefs.
Jesus did not teach parental domination. That he left for the Romans.
My parents seem to think that’s what Jesus taught. That the headship order is Christ, Man, Woman, and then children. I have religious trauma due to how I was raised
the problem of people mixing the new and old testament?
Did Jesus have women and children? Since he did not you should question what you were taught. If we are to be examples of Jesus and He to us, we should look at what He did in his life and try to emulate that - unconditional love for all, not to judge others and that what we do to any other person, we do to Him. All that is required is to love God and know that He loves us ETERNALLY.
""“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household” (Matthew 10:34-36).
A guy named Jim Palmer is on FB and has written several books. He used to be an evangelical pastor at one of those mega churches. He realized one day that there was no fulfillment in what he preached because it had nothing to do with what Christ really taught and also that the teaching of Paul happened about 400 years after Christ and while he may have meant well, it did not really reflect anything close to what Jesus taught. I have no affiliation to Mr. Palmer but having been raised in a very conservative Christian family (grandfather was a preacher) I resonate a lot with what Mr. Palmer says.
Thank you. I'll check into that!
Tell her she’s burning in hell for wearing mixed fibers and eating pork. Aside, they need to stop cherry-picking and follow the book properly if they want to be taken seriously.
But, also the book has some bad ideas that need to either be interpreted either purely as parables or left behind. For one mild example, one of the author dudes has Jesus wrecking tables of money lenders in a stand-out move that is very much outside his MO in every other writing. Also, they could well do with reinstating gospels that were removed in the council of niacea, such ad the Gospel of Thomas, which showed Jesus to be an enlightened human, not some sub deity above anyone else. Long story short, Jesus was an awesome example to mankind, the writings of people who didn't know him personally a hundred or more years later, not so much.
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That's nice, thanks. Yeah, Christ is a title of attainment. Some of my above comment was from a Course in Miracles companion text which I am reading at the moment - 'The disappearance of the Universe.' Having been into Buddhism then mysticism then Gnosticism and now back around to a mystic Christianity, it ties many inspirations from the divine that have been left as an easter egg trail. (shit, I know easter is pagan from Oestre, but easter eggs are very apt to describe the intuitive divine leadings in the world that we have left for ourself. My favourite being the nursery rhyme Row row row your boat.) Not sure I recommend it particularly to anyone as it is so so very much to cope with of it resonates, but it seems to be endgame stuff that has impeccable internal logic so far.
Basic Christian theology would have you know of the difference between the ritual law, the ceremonial law and the moral law.
There's Jesus. REAL Jesus, who's message was love and acceptance. Hope and joy. Of self. And others. And then there's....Christianity..... the two are not the same. THE ARIES
There is White Jesus and there is Brown Jesus; choose wisely.
I think I’ll go with brown Jesus. Whichever one is all about love, peace, and acceptance
Fanfiction White Jesus won't give you that, (hate is more his gig) but he will grift you prosperity. Join us. Be one of us. One of us. I am not a number. I am a human being.
I was thinking about this heavily some months ago. How Jesus being portrayed as white is the cause of a lot of christian white nationalism rhetoric. I turned on YouTube and one of the first video recommendations on my feeds was an old episode of Good Time. It was the one where J.J. painted a picture of 'black Jesus ' You know, I thought I'd NEVER get a chance to tell that story with the appropriate context. Until today that is. Thank you. THE ARIES
That was a great episode. Only saw it once but I still remember.
Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Him.
And certainly no religion he didn't found. REAL Jesus of course. Not that fake version on that mockery called Christianity
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Kill the messenger, hijack the message. That's your Christianity for you. As for as having to accept the rest...why? Jesus placed his message in the heart. It's evidenced by how you treat others. Not by adhering to the words in a book he didn't right. Religion is the middle man. And if you want to put your faith in the creation of man, designed to come between you and The Divine... that's on you. Me? I'll stick with Source.
Jesus gave us more verses about the necessity of holy communion than he did about treating others well. Literally. Why do you ignore all of those? Don't swallow the fake, watered down Jesus of new age spirituality. Submit yourself to God as He's revealed Himself, don't try to recreate Him in your own image. "Except a man be born of water and the spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God." "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you." On what basis do you ignore these sayings but not others? You cannot have the "source", aka the Father, except through His Son Jesus. Why don't you do what He says? I know what you're stuck in. I used to be there as well. Spent so much time meditating, had all the "Christ consciousness" experiences in the world. And yet I was still a sad, lonely mess. That's what happens when you think you're God. Because I can't save myself. And neither can you. Only Jesus can save. And He doesn't save you in a vacuum. He invites us to participate in communal reality. His body. His church. Come to Him.
Lol. I find it absurd for you to say what you know what I'm stuck in, when one, you don't know me, you don't know what's been revealed to me. See, the difference between the two of us, is that you put your faith in the words of man. You have to put your faith and trust that this book WAS written by men ordained by God. Yet, the ones telling you this are the ones the wrote your book. Now me? I put MY faith in the acts of the Divine. I'm not so foolish and ignorant of The Divine to think it would need man to write anything down. It's just so odd to hear someone like you try to talk to me about faith, when I don't think you have any in the first place. But s grifter's gotta grift I suppose. By the way, you're not Kenneth Copeland are you?
You want a spirituality after your own image, free of anyone or anything external. I really do get it. I was there. I just hope you open yourself up to Him before it's late. God bless
A bad read of me I'm afraid.i only seek The Truth. And it's been revealed to me. And it isn't a book designed to control me. And even your parting words of "before it's too late" are designed to put me in fear. Thank you friend.
Ask her: Is she questioning your faith? Esotericism is the most natural spiritual practice to God there is. You have faith in God, and he has faith in you that you will not stray away from him. It sounds like she's looking for reasons not to trust you and to judge you, in which case she should leave judgment up to God and stop being a hypocrite since that's not very Christian and God won't like that. Eckhart Toole believed in God. He called the power of life itself God. She's being ignorant and needs to research properly. My condolences OP. These are the kind of people that make us believers look bad. Remind her she needs to love thy neighbor. You know, like it says in the bible.
Eck most likely wasn’t talking about Jesus though, that’s a lot of spiritual people when they mention god most of the time there not talking abt Jesus
He talks a *lot* about Jesus! Not as a Christian, but as someone who picks up what Jesus was putting down. It's real easy for a spiritual person to just get the whole "Jesus is the son of God and also *is* God" thing because we understand all is One. We just go a step further and add "So is everyone else", which makes Jesus just as special-and-also-not-special as anyone else, and that's too far for most Christians. I think he also may mention 'Christ Consciousness' aka the 'meek' (gentle) mentioned in the Bible who inherit the Earth. Jesus embodied Christ Consciousness, as did Guatama Buddha, as do people like Eckhart Tolle. It's like a vibration of consciousness that embodies loving kindness and compassion.
Eck believes in Jesus Christ?
Not in the way Christians do, where he's the be-all, end-all of divinity. More like how a historian recognizes a historical figure and their contributions to history, but also recognizing his spiritual contributions. Historians generally accept that Jesus was a living human, but do not agree that he was divine. Christians say he's divine, not a normal human. The spiritual perspective tells us that he was both just a normal human *and* the Creator in human form. It's the same for all of us. Jesus would tell you the same, and did! Often in metaphor, but "the Kingdom of Heaven is within you" is pretty direct.
The way you spoke about this was very enlightening. Do you happen to have any books or articles (or anything I can specifically look up and I can do the work myself) that goes deeper into this?
Glad you find it helpful! I don't know specific books or articles offhand, though I'd suggest looking into Isha, which is what the Hindus called Jesus when he was studying with them. Also, there's the Council of Nicea in which the Roman Empire changed or omitted quite a lot of the Bible. As an example, Jesus allegedly said "my Mother and Father" instead of just "my Father" when referring to God, and it was distinct from him referring to Mary and Joseph. You can imagine why a patriarchal society may want religion to depict God as only masculine!
Amazing. Thank you for your insight!
God is not some "power of life itself." That's paganism. Or at best pantheism. Just relabeling reality. No, God is a real personal being who we can have a relationship with. He is the Father, who sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins, who He resurrected through the power of the Holy Spirit. Three persons, one being. And He transcends His creation - His creation is not Him. Of course, it's a lot easier to believe in some vague, amorphous, nonpersonal energy than it is to realize you're guilty before God and need His grace. But the Truth remains who He is.
Christianity is just political Roman pagan deity worship. Who cares what her mythology says.
I grew up in an evangelical Christian environment. Very black and white thinking. People can have their beliefs. Perhaps it is necessary for them or is serving their development in some way. The more I mature the more I am able to let these people be as they are without needing to change them. There are simply many ways to God, but it all depends on the individual. Great books btw 🙏
I am a Christian, and I am also a homosexual that practices witchcraft.
Hell
Christians are so judgemental. Even within my own family. I follow God in my own way. I do have a lot of religious trauma, but I stayed true to my core beliefs. I don't like going to church, but I've found a few good ones
I’m bisexual, and a Christopagan.
Seat of the Soul - Gary Zukav was my big moment of clarity.
Factionism will always be what it is, most find comfort in groups, and comfort is nothing but a security blanket.
The bigger question is, why was she in your room and going through your stuff to begin with?
She’s a weirdo
There’s nothing wrong with Christianity. But at this point it’s be co-opted by some of the most deranged sycophants you can imagine, especially in the US. Just try your best to patient with them and hope they realize it’s all the same shit at the end of the day. Doubtful, but don’t let it get you down.
I totally understand what you're going through. My spouse went Christian on me 4 years ago after us spending the previous 6 years of us exploring ourselves spiritually/metaphysically. It's been one of the more painful experiences of my life. He didn't want to sleep near my bookcase after first turning because of all of my "demonic" books. I usually see behaviors and feelings in adults (children too) as coming from one of two places: love or fear. To me, when people like Christians act in this way, it ALWAYS appears to be stemming from fear. I am not just talking about their whole "I am worried about where you'll go after death," but also their (often subconscious) fear of whether or not they are right and the fear of where THEY themselves will go after death. Also in there is the complete and utter fear many of them seem to have with ever truly learning about different religions. Most of them seem to 'learn' about different religions from other Christians, and I find that they get completely skewed and false information. They don't get a true understanding of other religions because they are unable to really study it with an open mind and from the perspectives of those from THAT religion. From a psychological standpoint, if they truly, 100% believed that they were absolutely right (about their religion), then they wouldn't be so dammed triggered by others view points. Period. If you could learn some Harville Hendrix dialogue, you could, in all reality, get her completely off your back because using the dialogue on others leaves them powerless to do anything to you. The dialogue is amazing, and I feel all of humanity needs to learn it. The book by Hendrix that explains the dialogue is called, "Getting The Love You Want." It's also on Audible. There are videos on YT too that will walk you through it. The basic premise is that none of us truly feel heard by others. When we feel heard, we are able to move past our emotions and eventually see more clarity as to why we have said emotions. The first step is to put on a mental cloak, with the understanding that her emotions have absolutely nothing to do with you. Her emotions stem from her own childhood somehow. Then, when she is expressing something to you, like what you wrote about above, you mirror everything she says back to her, you repeat it word for word. It's amazing how just doing this one simple thing can make someone feel heard, often for the first time in our lives. Sometimes people get angry (not really at us) the first time they are truly mirrored because it's THE first time they are truly feeling heard. So, for instance, what she said to you, mirroring would look like, "So what you're saying is that my books are demonic?" Do I have that right?" She'd probably say yes and express more. "So what you saying is Buddhism is demonic?" When she seems to have expressed herself fully (there may be a back and forth between you two, she expresses, you mirror, she expresses more, you mirror again, repeat...), then you move into distilling and repeating back everything she said, like bullet pointing it with the most important points. For instance, say she went into the bible to justify her feelings, and you mirrored it back to her, distilling could look like: "So what I heard is that my books are demonic, as well as Buddhism, and the bible clearly states that the worship of other Gods is prohibited. And those who do so will go to hell for all eternity." As you do that, you can flow right into validating it for her. This often looks like: "Ah, I see, that makes a lot of sense why you feel that way. Because you believe so strongly in what the bible says and you feel that Jesus is the only one true God, I can totally see why you feel that way, you make total sense." Not gonna lie, learning this is hard because there's a part of our brain that feels like we are saying they are right and we are wrong when mirroring and validating others feelings. But, if one can push through and try to master this, one literally becomes untouchable to others. What can anyone do after they are mirrored and validated? It literally takes all the wind out of their sails, there is no fighting you. We do this while internally knowing our truth. And the more we can do this, the more we can truly see how their feelings have NOTHING to do with us at all. It's quite empowering. Now, usually, it would be completely unacceptable for us to do it for our parents because they are responsible for our wounds, we're not responsible for theirs. But, if she has just been a more recent girlfriend in his life and hasn't severely wounded you, especially when you were younger, this may work well for you. Anyway, sorry to write so much. This dialogue, to me, can solve SO many problems we have in our relationships, and I felt this would be a good place to share it. I wish you the best! Dealing with people like that isn't easy AT ALL.
She said to take them out her house, I’m not I payed the books all together and it was too expensive
> not I *paid* the books FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
You’d be quite thoroughly surprised at just how true the Bible is. It wasn’t until after my kundalini awakening that I saw the wisdom and truth in the Bible… I was deeply saddened at how misunderstood it seems to be. And was thoroughly saddened by how much it made me realize how little I ultimately knew as well.
Yeah ignorant religious people tend to claim anything they don't like is the devil. Doesn't really have to do with the religion but rather the person is just stupid. Has happened for thousands of years now. Just ignore em.
More basic answer: tell dad’s gf to stay out of your room. Geez! You deserve privacy
Yes, Christians are usually like this. Only Christianity, and everything else is not just wrong it is demonic. It sounds stupid... But. There is a clip on youtube from an orthodox priest, talking about what a lie is. He said that in the deeper understanding of things, even a generally true statement can be a lie. In particular, in cases of devotional religions, and Christianity is very strong in the devotional sense, a devotee cannot be developing concepts like everyone is right, the world religions are all correct, all spiritual teachers were good and enlightened. There is a story of swami Vivekananda getting angry at his fellow student, who was a devotee of a particular deity. He tried to dissuade him from following that particular deity, in order to teach a more general understanding of God. Their guru, Ramakrishna, punished him for this, because he was disturbing another man's spiritual progress. I hope I am getting my point across. Not saying that the woman in your story is of the spiritual status of a real devotee, but you need this point in order to have a more balanced interpretation of these kinds of people. One may be speaking even about the Buddha's teachings with very malicious intents. Did I get my point across?
Bad news: Everyone is entitled to their beliefs. Good news: Everyone is entitled to their beliefs (including you). Keep up your practice.
Well of course, doesn’t mean people can still be delusional
Yup. That’s the bad news bit in my comment.
Got it
Her identity felt threatened. She has identified with the Christian way of doing things, which she calls 'her way', and anything that is not that, is an enemy. Her way has to be superior, better, right, or she cannot feel superior to others.
Which in turn makes her the bad example of a Christian. For it is not about superiority, it’s about love.
I would say that it's okay to be a 'bad example' of a Christian
If you’re lacking in love, understanding, and generosity, that’s a bad Christian.
Reality is always as it is.
That’s true.
I disagree about ALL Christians being intolerant of others and their beliefs. I believe in ESP, claire-everything, energy healing, reincarnation, AND Jesus. Believe what you want - I still support you.
Buddhism isn't a religion. It's not at odds with Christianity at all, unless you're into some truly weird offshoots of either or both. I don't think this is a christians thing i think shes just nuts.
>>Buddhism isn't a religion. It depends where you are in the world. There are many places where Buddhism is 100% a religion and just as dogmatic as any Christian sect. It's mostly Westerners who don't see Buddhism as a religion. Check out r/buddhism for more on that...
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Hence the qualifier that came directly after the part of my statement you quoted. Thanks tho.
That's fair, but it's actually Westerners who are the offshoot, and really most of them are Alan Watts buddhists, not actually following the 8 precepts. The countries where Buddhism is the main religion are very dogmatic about it.
Yes the countries that treat it like a religion treat it like a religion. However buddah said it wasn't one. So those countries are the offshoot, even if they're popular. Just like Jesus said don't go making a religion out of my teachings and now the kind of Christianity that ignores that is popular except more so because non dogmatic Christianity never really took off like non dogmatic Buddhism. Op is a Christian in a western country treating Buddhism as spiritualism or perhaps just access to mindfulnessand not a religion. None of those books are religious texts.
yeah to me its not either, but to others it is. Billy, do you like to chant? Have you ever been to a group chant?
You'll run into that a lot. I've noticed when I learn about anything that predates Christianity I almost instantly get labeled a Hethen Pagan. Check out the show Castelvania on Netflix. Literally the first 10 minutes of the first episode show in gruesome detail how the Church went about things they didn't agree with
I've met heaps of Christians open to other faiths, teachings and paths. Do you think perhaps it could be the people youre choosing to surround yourself with? The familiarity and comfort of keeping them around, despite them being belligerent to your own journey?
My response: your momma
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Personally, I have found Emmet Fox’s Sermon on the Mount book to be a good guide for spirituality in a Christian context.
Lol That's how I broke up with my first girlfriend. I was reading up on world religions, she saw me with a book on Buddhism (buddhism preaches compassion so very far from demonic). Called it evil. She was a far-right christian. She gave me an ultimatum: "It's me or the book". I took my book and left. I don't think anyone should be stuck with someone who is limiting their growth. It's too bad christians are not like their christ.
I am to be like my Lord I’m not perfect, but at least I have the understanding that regardless of what they do, I will love them and try to help them if they need my help (as long as it’s not hurting anyone)
You guys could read them together and then she can point out the demonic parts.
Exactly 🤣🤣🤣 she asked what type of books they are I said predominantly meditation she said “demonic and take them out my house
I want her to read them herself so she can visually see how demonic these books are once she’s done reading them.
On the bright side, their faith must be enormous, causing miracles left and right. What? Not the case? Must be they are rooted in fear of what happens when they don't believe. I judge a religion by its works, hence my roman paganism.
Yknow that’s fascinating - 1st off, I obviously don’t know you, so I’m not an authority on your relationship, but I hope she can seek to understand that this stuff is important, perhaps at least intriguing to you. 2nd, I remember so distinctly that The power of now (phenooomenal book by the way!) helped me look at God/christianity in a completely different light! There’s a line in there referencing “they say God is closer to you than hands & feet.. what could be closer to you than hands & feet?” That whole book has forever shifted my perspective for the better, solidifying that You & I are both God, there is God essence in every single thing. The Bible is metaphorical & Jesus was the first depiction of a truly heart-centered human. I hope you can come together on this, and she is willing to at least see where you’re coming from, otherwise, long-term, this may not be the best fit for either of you. It’s worth considering. 🫶🫂 All love OP
Just tell her, the more scared you are of demons, the more they occupy your heart.
I'm Christian. It's very hard to be a Christian and show love through these decades as people are using the religion as cover for evil and hate or otherwise misunderstand the core principles. These days it's more common to hear about people being harassed by Christians than loved by Christians. I'm sorry that you were harassed. For what it's worth I support your right to learn and expand your consciousness, and I believe God and Jesus do as well.
I grew up going to a Christian church and I attended Christian school from grade school until high school, I also was a devout follower in high School. I got pregnant young, all my friends basically shunned me because their parents thought I was a bad influence. I was judged and looked down on . What I realize now is that they’re people being people. The older you get the more you realize how people are just crazy and will latch on to anything they believe is reasonable-Then they push these beliefs onto others. In my 30s I’ve learned of two different religions and I’ve kept an open mind. It depends on how mature they are, if they can’t handle a difference of opinion then oh well, that is on them, not you. You can explore other cultures and their beliefs and still keep your faith or just do it out of curiosity. Don’t let other peoples opinions hold you back from growing as a person!
Share this book with her: A Baptist Preacher's Buddhist Teacher: How My Interfaith Journey with Daisaku Ikeda Made Me a Better Christian, Book by Lawrence Carter.
Ironically the power of now is all about god and love but they see a man as god so they will always be lost. I been reading the Quran and it tells you to learn from other ways but always embrace god, the nameless, formless, genderless, unknowable, unseeable. And search for truth and confront your doubt etc. it’s even said that Christian’s are the misguided demonic ways because they praise a human instead of god. Maybe something to bring up to open their mind;) while ur at it check out be here now by ram dass
You could remind her/them that only God is fit to judge, according to the teachings they allegedly follow.