Everybody says I'm intolerant (need answers)

[La-Petite-Fleur]

I need your (name removed by moderator)ut.

On another forum on another site, I said opening/positioning one’s chakras to be open to “spirits”, is demonic. The spirits to which I was referring were hindu gods or any spiritual force not of the Trinity. The main topic was yoga, and I said it was a dangerous practice.

Now 99% of people are upset with me.Their beef is what I said about the “gods”. They’re calling me a bigot because I refuse to respect any god seeking worship, and because I don’t respect any religion that is not for Jesus.

I respect everyone’s free will. I tolerate their choice. I respect everyone’s rights.

But they are asking me to respect other religions, and other gods. Pagans seem to be furious with me, because I called gods demonic, and in doing so, I’m not respecting their religion.

So, my questions are to all those loyal to the Church:

1- Are gods demonic?

2- Was it wrong of me to say so?

3- As a Catholic, do I have to respect other entities/gods?

4- As a Catholic, do I have to surpass toleration and actually respect god (little “g”) worshipping religions?

I would especially love it if a priest loyal to the Church would answer these questions, although any apologist loyal to the Church is fine . I would like to keep the discussion down to the main issue of me having to respect gods and the religions of gods, as they really aren’t talking so much about yoga (anymore). I told them I would return with the answer.

Thank you all so much.

 

[La-Petite-Fleur]

Hope no one minds if I bump this, it didn’t seem to appear in the “new posts” section.

 

[Kay_Cee]

Now 99% of people are upset with me.Their beef is what I said about the “gods”. They’re calling me a bigot because I refuse to respect any god seeking worship, and because I don’t respect any religion that is not for Jesus.

Boy, they sure sound intolerant.

They have no right to tell you to go against your conscience, just as you have no right to tell them to go against theirs. (Not saying you’re doing that, just pointing out the general principle.) You need to respect them as people, but you do not have to respect their beliefs. They should respond in kind, but instead you, personally, are coming under attack.

An excellent book about this is *The Right to Be Wrong: Ending the Culture War Over Religion in America *by Kevin Seamus Hasson.

 

[Dirk_Skene]

If it is not of the Trinity it is not God. Hindu gods are either made up (not real) or demons trying to pass themselves off as gods.

To accept other deities as legit is to condone universalism. The Church does not accept universalism.

As a Christian we are not obligated to accept these false gods.

We worship the same God as our Jewish friends. No other.

What internet board are you talking about anyway?

 

[mikew262]

I need your (name removed by moderator)ut.

On another forum on another site, I said opening/positioning one’s chakras to be open to “spirits”, is demonic. The spirits to which I was referring were hindu gods or any spiritual force not of the Trinity. The main topic was yoga, and I said it was a dangerous practice.

Now 99% of people are upset with me.Their beef is what I said about the “gods”. They’re calling me a bigot because I refuse to respect any god seeking worship, and because I don’t respect any religion that is not for Jesus.

I respect everyone’s free will. I tolerate their choice. I respect everyone’s rights.

But they are asking me to respect other religions, and other gods. Pagans seem to be furious with me, because I called gods demonic, and in doing so, I’m not respecting their religion.

So, my questions are to all those loyal to the Church:

1- Are gods demonic?

2- Was it wrong of me to say so?

3- As a Catholic, do I have to respect other entities/gods?

4- As a Catholic, do I have to surpass toleration and actually respect god (little “g”) worshipping religions?

I would especially love it if a priest loyal to the Church would answer these questions, although any apologist loyal to the Church is fine . I would like to keep the discussion down to the main issue of me having to respect gods and the religions of gods, as they really aren’t talking so much about yoga (anymore). I told them I would return with the answer.

Thank you all so much.

I don’t think you are obligated to say you respect other gods or religions; rather you respect their views, acknowledge the differences, and that they have a right to their views. OTH, you should not go out of your way to disrespect them either. Hindu’s, Buddists, Muslims, etc. all can be just as devout with their religions as you are about yours. Would you take offense if they said our God was false or insult Jesus Christ? I’m sure you would.

I’m talking mutual respect for each other’s views and opinions, whether you agree with them or not.

 

[La-Petite-Fleur]

If it is not of the Trinity it is not God. Hindu gods are either made up (not real) or demons trying to pass themselves off as gods.

To accept other deities as legit is to condone universalism. The Church does not accept universalism.

As a Christian we are not obligated to accept these false gods.

We worship the same God as our Jewish friends. No other.

What internet board are you talking about anyway?

It’s on boards.opendiary.com/tm.asp?m=139121&mpage=1&key=
One must have a diary account (it’s free) to log in. Thank you for mentioning unversalism, I wasn’t aware of it. Thank you!

 

[dessert]

If these people are trying to pull you into your line of belief then yes stand up for your faith. You could make a parrelel like you do meditation and prayer to Jesus instead of yoga as yoga is an action. i asked my priest last week that if I could read horoscope magizines if I didn’t buy them because I was curious. He said it was ok if I didn’t get totally involved in it. And I realized I was interested in the future and just reading them for fun and see if they were on the mark and of course they aren’t so why should I pay money for them. But it could be a real draw if I worry about the future too much. it isn’t good to just throw scripture like I do sometimes unless they ask you and approach you. Go ahead and discuss but they probably won’t except it anyways so keep your cool. Be carefull you don’t get drawn into their way it can be a trap. Besides I think that is why Jesus went out to a hill to preach and the ones that were drawn stayed and listened to Him but the others that left he just said goodbye have a nice day! He did not waste words and breath on those or worry about up all night. He prayed for His apostles and the ones that followed Him. God Bless You dessert

 

[Hastrman]

I’m not an expert on yoga, but I know a thing or two about acupuncture, qigong, and ninjutsu. And unless I’m very much mistaken, opening your chakras to “spirits” may not be demonic (although it sounds dangerous to me), but it’s certainly not yoga.

The Chakra you’re trying to let flow is your own, the life energy that circulates in your body. Unless you’re really unusual (named after a ramen ingredient, for instance), the only spirit that should be involved is your own, as you open the areas that, the theory is, let your soul/essence/qi/whatever interact more fully with your body and cleanse it of pollutions.

I don’t entirely buy it myself, but whatever you were doing wasn’t normal yoga. Yoga, being north Indian, is fundamentally about an immanent god, part of the world and sustaining it from within. The purpose of yoga is to cleanse the body and soul and thereby achieve unity with the part of that god that resides within you. There shouldn’t be any other spirits involved.

Normal yoga is certainly not compatible with the faith, but it isn’t demonic. Hindus have as much dislike of demons (ashuras) as Christians do. Their own gods are not “made up”, either; they represent some form of human groping toward God, possibly getting sidetracked along the way by demons (and less definite spirits, probably, fairy-type things). Real Hindus are mostly concerned with the worship of the Supreme Being or emanations of him. In the south at least, He isn’t even conceived as being a part of the universe, but eminent from it, as in Judaism. They don’t believe he created it (they, like the ancient Greeks, have a cyclical view of time), but they believe it is dependent upon him and worship him for sustaining it, and therefore them.

To conclude, saying it was demonic *was *bigoted. Sorry, but it was. Rude, too. You should apologize.

You are, however, absolutely right not to do it, since it isn’t compatible with the Faith.

 

[jmcrae]

So, my questions are to all those loyal to the Church:

1- Are gods demonic?

It’s actually more likely that they don’t even exist, but if they do exist, and they are not the One God, then yes, they are demons.

2- Was it wrong of me to say so?

If you spoke the truth as you saw it without name-calling, then you have nothing to be ashamed of.

3- As a Catholic, do I have to respect other entities/gods?

We are required to show respect for other people, because they are created in the image and likeness of God. But we are certainly not required to respect any god but God.

4- As a Catholic, do I have to surpass toleration and actually respect god (little “g”) worshipping religions?

Again, it’s human beings that we must respect; I think it would be a sin to elevate a false religion and pretend that we think it’s true, though.

 

[Hastrman]

It’s actually more likely that they don’t even exist, but if they do exist, and they are not the One God, then yes, they are demons.

That doesn’t follow. If they are entities other than the One God that claim divine honors, then they are sinning. They are not demons unless they’re fallen angels. “More things in Heaven and Earth…”, you know?

I sincerely can’t believe that, say, Amaterasu Omikami or the Seven Star God or Changing Woman are demons. I don’t think demons could keep the game up that long, without demanding human sacrifice or incest or something. I think it’s much more likely they’re something else, either the magnified memories of humans or something akin to, as I said above, fairies.

 

[YinYangMom]

So, my questions are to all those loyal to the Church:

1- Are gods demonic?

No. Only Satan and his minions are demonic.
Other religions’ ‘gods’ are smaller tastes of the One True God.

Think about it. There is BUT ONE TRUE GOD, therefore, any other god which promotes goodness is probably THE God working through a culture’s understanding of Him in a way He revealed to them for their particular purpose.

To ask if these other gods are anything presumes other gods even exist. I don’t believe they do because there is only One God.

I think of the Native Indians and other cultures who managed (with God’s help) to a) acknowledge there is a higher being b) humans are but a speck in this vast univers this higher being created c) figure out repecting all life is the key to peace and happiness d) the higher being calls the human to run with him/her

These are truths about God. They didn’t come from the Catholic Church to these peoples, these tribes, these nations around the globe, and yet they know them to be true. Their human minds encased the truth in manners they were able to comprehend (thus various god-entities).

Once Jesus came and left the Church it because up to the Church and her members to reveal the REAL Truth about all gods. But that doesn’t make the other gods demonic in and of themselves. For several of those gods, the REAL God is but a deeper revelation of what they where given before. Just as we speak about the Catholic church developing, over time, deeper understandings of God.

2- Was it wrong of me to say so?

Wrong? Don’t know. We are called to share God’s love and kindness and mercy. Little hard for others to get that about Him when the messengers speak with disdain and disgust in their tone. You definitely could have approached it in a kinder, more respective manner.

3- As a Catholic, do I have to respect other entities/gods?

You should respect the fact that God is calling to them through whatever ‘entities’ you see these people responding to. That people turn to yoga and crystals and such for peace, calmness, serenity is almost a white flag being waved in your face that the person is seeking Him. Yes, you know they’re seeking in the wrong place, but to flat out say that to them as if they should just drop their search altogether is wrong. Instead you should use the information they’re showing to introduce God to them.

4- As a Catholic, do I have to surpass toleration and actually respect god (little “g”) worshipping religions?

If the god worshipping religions are teaching Truth albeit in a different form, why would you slam it? Do you not believe God could work through these peoples’ understandings of the little gods to bring them to Him? Their discussing it with you could be God bringing that person to you to point them in the right direction…to lead them to the deeper Truth about him. Can’t do that if you close your mind and reject whatever they say.

I would especially love it if a priest loyal to the Church would answer these questions, although any apologist loyal to the Church is fine . I would like to keep the discussion down to the main issue of me having to respect gods and the religions of gods, as they really aren’t talking so much about yoga (anymore). I told them I would return with the answer.

Thank you all so much.

Sorry, I’m neither. Feel free to disregard my opinion.

 

[Daniel_Marsh]

You are not being intollerant, you are saying what you believe to be true. The bible plainly teaches that there is only one True God, no others. That gods or idols have demons behind them as their power or authority. I would simply turn it around and tell them that they are being “intollerant of your truth”.

 

[Sixtus]

We Christians are often criticised by non-religious social groups for being ‘ethnocentric’. Most social groups perceive themselves this way so it is hardly surprising that we do too.

The difference is that we not only believe it but perhaps more unusually, can cite tangible evidence for so thinking.

But, that does not give us an excuse to be arrogant. We must never assume we have access to the full picture. That other’s views and believes just because they are different to our own, are wrong. The Christianity does not own God. He is not in our service. We must never forget who is the God and who is the creature!

I am sure that God reveals Himself to others in whatever way He pleases. Surely it is our duty to listen and discern what God is saying to others. He may have revealed HImself to them in ways that only their culture could comprehend. We do not have the monopoly on God’s revelation.Jesus did say ‘there are many rooms in my Fathers house, it if were not so, I would have told you so’. So who else is in His house who is not in our culture or even our galaxy?

If we believe that God has revealed HImself to us, then our response should always be one of humility not only of what He has said, but of His right to communicate with whosoever He choses.

 

[jmcrae]

That doesn’t follow. If they are entities other than the One God that claim divine honors, then they are sinning. They are not demons unless they’re fallen angels. “More things in Heaven and Earth…”, you know?

I sincerely can’t believe that, say, Amaterasu Omikami or the Seven Star God or Changing Woman are demons. I don’t think demons could keep the game up that long, without demanding human sacrifice or incest or something. I think it’s much more likely they’re something else, either the magnified memories of humans or something akin to, as I said above, fairies.

Fictional characters such as fairies would be “beings that don’t actually exist” which is my first instinct regarding these gods.

If something is demanding to be worshipped as a god, but it isn’t the One God, then it’s a demon, since the people who are in Hell can’t communicate with us, and no one - either angel or human - from Heaven or from Purgatory would ever make such a demand.

 

[livey]

Hi…this isn’t really an answer to your post but you might be interested in reading Chesterton’s -The Everlasting Man- the third chapter in this book is an interesting study on this subject. It is mainly about Compartive Religion and I agree with his findings…There is no comparison between God and the gods.
Peace
livey

 

[La-Petite-Fleur]

I would like to thank everyone for their responses. Since I have expressed that I cannot respect any spirit (or “god”) that seeks worship, because such a spirit would be demonic (or a demon), or any religion involved with worship of false gods, the people who are against me have become furious. After sucessfully defending Jesus, etc, and refusing to bow in respect to their gods, I have left them to stew in their own juices. I won’t try to force them to respect Jesus like they’re trying to make me respect their gods. I have refused to respect their gods, and I give all the praise (and respect!) to Jesus.

Thank you all again for your thoughtful words.

 

[WenckebachCath]

I agree, assuming that religions foreign to you emanate from Satan is probably untrue, and to tell someone that would most likely insult them. I think it’s more likely that Hindu ‘Gods’ are creations of the human mind and psyche, and represent Jungian archetypes. Joseph Campbell did some very interesting work regarding mythology and what it represents. Carl Jung is another very insightful theorist who I think understood human psychology very well, and the symbolism in such things.

 

[DJgang]

No. Only Satan and his minions are demonic.
Other religions’ ‘gods’ are smaller tastes of the One True God.

Think about it. There is BUT ONE TRUE GOD, therefore, any other god which promotes goodness is probably THE God working through a culture’s understanding of Him in a way He revealed to them for their particular purpose.

To ask if these other gods are anything presumes other gods even exist. I don’t believe they do because there is only One God.

I think of the Native Indians and other cultures who managed (with God’s help) to a) acknowledge there is a higher being b) humans are but a speck in this vast univers this higher being created c) figure out repecting all life is the key to peace and happiness d) the higher being calls the human to run with him/her

These are truths about God. They didn’t come from the Catholic Church to these peoples, these tribes, these nations around the globe, and yet they know them to be true. Their human minds encased the truth in manners they were able to comprehend (thus various god-entities).

Once Jesus came and left the Church it because up to the Church and her members to reveal the REAL Truth about all gods. But that doesn’t make the other gods demonic in and of themselves. For several of those gods, the REAL God is but a deeper revelation of what they where given before. Just as we speak about the Catholic church developing, over time, deeper understandings of God.

Wrong? Don’t know. We are called to share God’s love and kindness and mercy. Little hard for others to get that about Him when the messengers speak with disdain and disgust in their tone. You definitely could have approached it in a kinder, more respective manner.

You should respect the fact that God is calling to them through whatever ‘entities’ you see these people responding to. That people turn to yoga and crystals and such for peace, calmness, serenity is almost a white flag being waved in your face that the person is seeking Him. Yes, you know they’re seeking in the wrong place, but to flat out say that to them as if they should just drop their search altogether is wrong. Instead you should use the information they’re showing to introduce God to them.

If the god worshipping religions are teaching Truth albeit in a different form, why would you slam it? Do you not believe God could work through these peoples’ understandings of the little gods to bring them to Him? Their discussing it with you could be God bringing that person to you to point them in the right direction…to lead them to the deeper Truth about him. Can’t do that if you close your mind and reject whatever they say.

Sorry, I’m neither. Feel free to disregard my opinion.

Not OP, but I want to say…good post!

 

[happygal]

I need your (name removed by moderator)ut.

On another forum on another site, I said opening/positioning one’s chakras to be open to “spirits”, is demonic. The spirits to which I was referring were hindu gods or any spiritual force not of the Trinity. The main topic was yoga, and I said it was a dangerous practice.

**Well Yoga are indeed not very spiritual to Christian **

Now 99% of people are upset with me.Their beef is what I said about the “gods”. They’re calling me a bigot because I refuse to respect any god seeking worship, and because I don’t respect any religion that is not for Jesus.

**Well it happen lots of time that non believers have an extreme thoughts towards Christ Believers, however maybe you might look at your statement to them, it is really pushing too hard for others to accept at one shot!!! If yes, then maybe you can slow it down …sometime explaining Christianity believes to non believers need extra patient and time. We just don’t shoot without considering others can accept within a specific period althought we are burning with consuming fire to let them seek the truth, but be Patient **

I respect everyone’s free will. I tolerate their choice. I respect everyone’s rights.

But they are asking me to respect other religions, and other gods. Pagans seem to be furious with me, because I called gods demonic, and in doing so, I’m not respecting their religion.

Well indeed we need to have tolerance towards others practises, and if you start to tell them off by saying their God are Demon, of course they get furious with you. It goes the same when they say Jesus is demon, you too will get furious what right!!! Ministering to the non believers is not easy as what we can imagine, having to say that becoz i stay in a country with diverse religion practise, thus i understand the frustration you have being in trying to tell them about the side effect of Yoga, we all have to learn to be respectful yet convincing to others to see us as the light and salt in this world, our behaviour and speech will spell off what others see in us. Thus pray to have God’s wisdom and knowledge to continue your move

So, my questions are to all those loyal to the Church:

1- Are gods demonic?

Although i aim Catholic, but our God are only one truth God, if you’re asking our others practise and their God. I would rather don’t pin point anything bad about it. Coz we are taught not to bad month of others even we know they are not true.

2- Was it wrong of me to say so?

You have your own strong believes to show others, thus i won’t say is entirely wrong

3- As a Catholic, do I have to respect other entities/gods?

4- As a Catholic, do I have to surpass toleration and actually respect god (little “g”) worshipping religions?

I would especially love it if a priest loyal to the Church would answer these questions, although any apologist loyal to the Church is fine . I would like to keep the discussion down to the main issue of me having to respect gods and the religions of gods, as they really aren’t talking so much about yoga (anymore). I told them I would return with the answer.

Thank you all so much.

 

[UBERROGO]

I need your (name removed by moderator)ut.

On another forum on another site, I said opening/positioning one’s chakras to be open to “spirits”, is demonic. The spirits to which I was referring were hindu gods or any spiritual force not of the Trinity. The main topic was yoga, and I said it was a dangerous practice.

Now 99% of people are upset with me.Their beef is what I said about the “gods”. They’re calling me a bigot because I refuse to respect any god seeking worship, and because I don’t respect any religion that is not for Jesus.

I respect everyone’s free will. I tolerate their choice. I respect everyone’s rights.

But they are asking me to respect other religions, and other gods. Pagans seem to be furious with me, because I called gods demonic, and in doing so, I’m not respecting their religion.

So, my questions are to all those loyal to the Church:

1- Are gods demonic?

2- Was it wrong of me to say so?

3- As a Catholic, do I have to respect other entities/gods?

4- As a Catholic, do I have to surpass toleration and actually respect god (little “g”) worshipping religions?

I would especially love it if a priest loyal to the Church would answer these questions, although any apologist loyal to the Church is fine . I would like to keep the discussion down to the main issue of me having to respect gods and the religions of gods, as they really aren’t talking so much about yoga (anymore). I told them I would return with the answer.

Thank you all so much.

Who cares if you are intolerant? Brush it off.

BTW according to The Idiots Guide to Hinduism, Hindus only have one god, portrayed in infinite ways. Kind of like modalism I guess.