Struggling with Eastern religions

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Susansdec said:
Yes…but there is some magical power behind it…maybe Luciferian…I’m not sure…
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There is no magical power because the Church does not practice magic and refutes magic and the occult and sorcery and divination in its rejection of satan.

The Body and Blood and Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ is not the sorcery of lucifer.
In fact Jesus defeated lucifer on the Cross. The devil is now defeated, he has no hold over us. Unless we give it to him.

The pure simplicity of the real presence is that of God and His love for us.
 
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Also…I don’t believe in heaven or hell or purgatory or original sin… I believe in karma and Nirvana…
 
You made a good choice. And I want you to know I am not going to suggest why based on some my religion is right argument.( A different argument).
I am going to say that the Catholic faith offers a long and rich, diverse tradition, that contains " all that a person needs spiritually. "
We have a great Mystics tradition, Wisdom tradition, and a diverse group of thinkers in our Saints and scholarship who wrote very diverse theology.
Within the orthodoxy, there is a great diversity of ideas. This offers the Catholic an opportunity to seek and find what speaks to you.
So here is a pitch that doesn’t depend at all on " my religion is better than yours." It is different.
This one tells you if you devote yourself to it, sample its diversity, you will have everything you need.
 
Susansdec said:
Gnosticism
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So for Gnosticism (various forms) salvation is thought to be through the acquisition of divine knowledge that frees one from the illusions of darkness, however in Christianity we are taught that salvation is not achieved by esoteric knowledge, but is through cooperation with the grace of God: faith and works. James 2:22, 24 “You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works. … You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.”
 
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Susansdec said:
Jesus is just a Guru…a teacher… that’s it…
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For my money if that’s all Jesus was then He was pretty well nuts-and a bit of a flimflam man- considering the claims He made for Himself and the knowledge He claimed to possess. But if the story is held to be literally true, and the writers obviously assert that it is, then the miracles and especially the resurrection attest to the power of God, and to His desire to definitively reveal His nature and will to a very lost and ignorant world, one with no hope, no future until real proof in continuous existence was given, and continued existence in a universe where love and goodness lie at its very foundation.
 
It seems like you have already lost your faith or it was planted amid a lot of confusion. I’ll pray for you.

Hinduism is a fascinating and ancient culture, but it is not a coherent philosophy and there is nothing definite about it to even use occam’s razor for.

Buddhism is philosophy that does have a logic to it similar to radical skepticism; but there is an inherent contradiction in denying the reality of self. It is still rooted in the dharma, and poses an existential problem (karma) that is solved by simply rejecting the idea of reincarnation. Does reincarnation pass occam’s razor? It is an unnecessary complication of our existence for no reason other than it was believed by Siddhartha’s culture.

If Siddhartha found any real enlightenment it was similar to Solomon’s in the book of Ecclesiastes. Have you read it? All is vanity — but then, the gospel happened.
 
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Mag, here’s the thing:

The Church and the Gospel isn’t a philosophy class where you can pick and choose from. You either believe in the fullness of the Gospel or don’t.

Philosophy, while useful; is only really a set of tools at the disposal of theology.

As for the OP, @Susansdec; I’m seeing her as a Catholic undergoing a spiritual crisis with some weird ideas about Christ that needs help and some catechesis; not to be treated as someone with a formed faith that’s academically studying outsider philosophy.

You want to believe that I’m acting from fear; that’s fine. Believe what you want; I know the truth.
 
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I assure you I’m as compassionate toward the OP as you are. As she’s said more, we’ve all come to understand just how extensive is her lack of catechesis. But I’m here for her just like you. If she’s reaching out, I’m happy to assist as best I can. But now, as always, there is nothing to fear within a universe governed by God whose love and mercy endures forever.
 
I am a Conservative Catholic (politically I fall somewhere between the Republican and Libertarian parties, however I don’t identify with any political party- just my faith and the Constitution) and I like Pope Francis very much thankyou 😉
That is not to say I agree with him on everything. I just understand that a lot of what he says, covered by the media, is either misunderstanding of what he said or worse twisted out of context to justify a political position held by either the left or the right. Do I get frustrated with some of the things he says, yes. Then once I actually look into what he actually said and not what CNN, for example, says he said I usually find out it is something totally different. Lol.

I would be cautious with some of the Eastern Religions, however that doesn’t mean you can’t educate yourself on them. Study them and ect. Yes there is some truth in them, just not the fullness that is in the Church. Hope that helps in some small way 🙂
I wish you much success on your journey in our shared faith.
 
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Thank you…for me… Christianity is just way too complicated…Alan Watts had the same issues too… especially for me…the whole thing about “state of grace” and “mortal sin” and “free will”…etc…etc…etc…

In my Baptist tradition that I grew up in…there was no real transformation at all…no mention of holiness…etc…

So deep down inside maybe I am still a pagan…
 
Susansdec said:
Jesus and Lucifer are brothers…
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Jesus is God, lucifer is a fallen angel. God created angels,

Jesus said anyone who does the will of His Father in heaven is His brother. Lucifer does not do the will of God, therefore lucifer, the devil, satan, is not His brother.

We can do little about your beliefs, they are your choices to make. Faith is a gift , pray for this gift.

Right mow you are on a journet, all people are, we are pilgrims on earth , on a journey home to God. This is Catholic teaching. We can look at this mystically, we are eternal, a gift given to us from God. Our life on earth is only the first leg in our journey home to God.

To obtain heaven in the Catholic faith, we are required to live God’s law, and then we must die a mortal death.
We cannot obtain heaven while still alive, in 6 years on earth as ‘nirvana’. We must keep the faith whilst living through our lives.

There are two important commandments and they are both very simple. Love the Lord your God with all your heart soul and strength and Love your neighbour as yourself.
 
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Matthew 12

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothersastood outside, asking to speak to him.b 48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
 
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Susansdec said:
In the end… Catholicism is Rich in metaphors and symbols and myths and archetypes… but Hinduism and Buddhism make more sense to me and are more logical and more reasonable…and Occam’s razor… Christianity falls short…
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First, please try to make your posts more coherent. The constant use of ellipses just makes your posts feel confusing. Nor does putting multiple single-sentence posts in a row rather than putting them into one.

As for Occam’s Razor, while it works well in some cases, it is hardly a universal principle. Further, Occam’s Razor is more about not having your explanations be more complicated than they need to be. In a situation like this, it really does not apply.

And if we’re going to go full-forced with your interpretation of Occam’s Razor, you should reject Buddhism and Hinduism also, and just go straight to Deism.
but I still feel a connection to Jesus through Divine Mercy and adoration and to Mary through the rosary…but Jesus is just a Guru…a teacher… that’s it…
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The idea that Jesus is just a teacher is completely antithetical to Catholicism. One cannot claim to be a Catholic while subscribing to such a thing–in fact, such a thing would be rejected by virtually all non-Catholic Christian denominations. Even those who reject Trinitarianism will almost always admit Jesus was more than a regular human.
Susansdec said:
Maybe Catholicism is a cult…
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Based on what? You can’t just throw out something like this without any development.
Susansdec said:
Also some well known Catholic authors like Fr. Richard Rohr are universalists…so it’s all so very confusing…
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Confusing in what way? Some people who claim to be Catholic will teach outside of orthodoxy–all you have to do is recognize that.
Susansdec said:
Not to mention Freemasonry…
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What about Freemasonry? You just throw this out and leave it undeveloped.

It’s hard to answer your questions or respond to anything when you write like this, simply throwing out a confusing statement and then move onto something else without explaining it.
 
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Hello all, due to extensive flagging and moderator concurrence, I have decided it is time for me to take an indefinite break from CAF. I’ve been on here for many years, and I’ve certainly never had my speech suppressed without an attempt to provide a justification. It is a shame. But I suppose, the environment here may have changed of late.

As always, I wish all of you the very best in your future theological and spiritual explorations. I’m immensely grateful for the exchanges I’ve had in this thread and others these last few weeks. There are many sharp minds and good hearts here on CAF. Peace be with you all!!
 
No I doubt you are Pagan. Just questioning and I think that is normal for everyone regardless of where they are at in their faith. Even the most diehard Orthodox Catholic will question him/herself and their faith at times. I know I do at times. I am a very intellectual person and I do at times. I’ve studied so much on the Church and at times I still have questions, that’s normal. I put my faith in the Church, that’s all I can do. 😉
I will continue to pray for you if you like. 🙂
 
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