Why different religions

[Matthew_Light]

That being said, no bahai has yet offered a better explanation for different religions than the others on this board. …

At this point I think its obvious that bahais cannot handle reality. They have to reinvent words and give them different meanings knowing full well what the speaker intends by them and then pretend to agree with the speaker. This is all you can do.

I think it’s more that Baha’is are taught to look for the good that is there in others, instead of looking for reasons to argue with them (generally to no useful outcome).

We don’t always live up to that, by any stretch, but it is a clear directive in the Baha’i teachings.

You love Jesus Christ. You seek to follow Him. You sacrifice self-centeredness so you can make Christ the center of your life. Those are all beautiful things. Why would I try to tear you down?

God cares about our hearts, how we live our lives, how we treat others. That is the standard.

"Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have not we prophesied in thy name, and cast out devils in thy name, and done many miracles in thy name?

And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity." - Matthew 7:21-23

 

[Servant19]

That can be debated, that can be handled. We at least both us, Jews and Christians know one of us is wrong. Baha’i do not seem to think anyone wrong, as with their reluctance to say we are wrong. For instance, servant said that truth unites, he also said unity is above truth (immediately backsliding upon realizing the implications of those words). Truth however does not unite according to Jesus, rather it divides, he was truth come into the wolrd and he did not come to unite us, he came to divide the sheep and the goats. The bahai way of thinking denies there is a thing as the damned, the unsaved, the goats. It is anti-antithetical to the revelation of Jesus Christ.

That being said, no bahai has yet offered a better explanation for different religions than the others on this board. As I said before, you merely do away with the suggestion, ignoring there are differing and contradicting view points. It is so hard for you to accept that Christians are idolaters and the worst of creatures (via the accusation of the quran).

At this point I think its obvious that bahais cannot handle reality. They have to reinvent words and give them different meanings knowing full well what the speaker intends by them and then pretend to agree with the speaker. This is all you can do.

I think the issue I am seeing here, Ignatian, is that the EXPERIENCE of true unity is foreign to you. In the field of service, and education, there is unity in diversity, and that has got to be seen to be believed, and when seen, Truth is clearly evident.

For the past 4 years, we as a family of 4 have been involved every single weekend with socio-economic development projects in 2 different neighbourhoods. We engage with the locals in a spirit of collaboration to embark on a journey of “ever advancement”. We do this arm in arm, shoulder to shoulder, sharing ideas, beliefs, and viewpoints. We see unity in action and it trumps Truth every day of the week.

I suggest you go out there and see for yourself how the Baha’is at the forefront of community development work in your local city, go about things.

If you don’t see it, my words in your computer screen do you zero justice.



.

 

[TruthBearer]

That can be debated, that can be handled. We at least both us, Jews and Christians know one of us is wrong. Baha’i do not seem to think anyone wrong, as with their reluctance to say we are wrong. For instance, servant said that truth unites, he also said unity is above truth (immediately backsliding upon realizing the implications of those words). Truth however does not unite according to Jesus, rather it divides, he was truth come into the wolrd and he did not come to unite us, he came to divide the sheep and the goats. The bahai way of thinking denies there is a thing as the damned, the unsaved, the goats. It is anti-antithetical to the revelation of Jesus Christ.

That being said, no bahai has yet offered a better explanation for different religions than the others on this board. As I said before, you merely do away with the suggestion, ignoring there are differing and contradicting view points. It is so hard for you to accept that Christians are idolaters and the worst of creatures (via the accusation of the quran).

At this point I think its obvious that bahais cannot handle reality. They have to reinvent words and give them different meanings knowing full well what the speaker intends by them and then pretend to agree with the speaker. This is all you can do.

For me, I don’t think any one religion has a monopoly on truth or facts. It doesn’t seem like that is the goal of religion. The goal of religion is about reconnecting with God directly.

 

[daler]

For me, I don’t think any one religion has a monopoly on truth or facts. It doesn’t seem like that is the goal of religion. The goal of religion is about reconnecting with God directly.

TruthBearer,

. Truer words were never spoken. The goal of yoga, for example, is to yoke, to bind, and fulfill one’s potential. And the roots of the word religion go back to ligo, to bind, or religio, to rebind, etc.

. There is, within us all, a “place” to bind to, or yoke with the eternal. The practice of religion does this for us. A boat can have any kind of sail, but to work, it must face the wind. Any sailor can tell you that.

. So, too, is it possible for the true devotee to transcend the limits of mortal illusions by grasping the hem of the Immortal One. As no one can directly grasp God, we are given what we can grasp, a perfect reflection in a perfect Mirror. When the view of these perfect Mirrors is unobstructed, we see clearly the same spiritual Sun.

. “These sanctified Mirrors, these Day Springs of ancient glory, are, one and all, the Exponents on earth of Him Who is the central Orb of the universe, its Essence and ultimate Purpose. From Him proceed their knowledge and power; from Him is derived their sovereignty. The beauty of their countenance is but a reflection of His image, and their revelation a sign of His deathless glory…”

. reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/GWB/gwb-19.html
.

 

[IgnatianPhilo]

For me, I don’t think any one religion has a monopoly on truth or facts. It doesn’t seem like that is the goal of religion. The goal of religion is about reconnecting with God directly.

You don’t know Christianity then.

 

[IgnatianPhilo]

I think the issue I am seeing here, Ignatian, is that the EXPERIENCE of true unity is foreign to you. In the field of service, and education, there is unity in diversity, and that has got to be seen to be believed, and when seen, Truth is clearly evident.

For the past 4 years, we as a family of 4 have been involved every single weekend with socio-economic development projects in 2 different neighbourhoods. We engage with the locals in a spirit of collaboration to embark on a journey of “ever advancement”. We do this arm in arm, shoulder to shoulder, sharing ideas, beliefs, and viewpoints. We see unity in action and it trumps Truth every day of the week.

I suggest you go out there and see for yourself how the Baha’is at the forefront of community development work in your local city, go about things.

If you don’t see it, my words in your computer screen do you zero justice.



.

I see this has gone wildly off topic. I have created another one to discuss whether we are unified.

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?p=11901901#post11901901

 

[tonyfish58]

That can be debated, that can be handled. We at least both us, Jews and Christians know one of us is wrong. Baha’i do not seem to think anyone wrong, as with their reluctance to say we are wrong. For instance, servant said that truth unites, he also said unity is above truth (immediately backsliding upon realizing the implications of those words). Truth however does not unite according to Jesus, rather it divides, he was truth come into the wolrd and he did not come to unite us, he came to divide the sheep and the goats. The bahai way of thinking denies there is a thing as the damned, the unsaved, the goats. It is anti-antithetical to the revelation of Jesus Christ.

That being said, no bahai has yet offered a better explanation for different religions than the others on this board. As I said before, you merely do away with the suggestion, ignoring there are differing and contradicting view points. It is so hard for you to accept that Christians are idolaters and the worst of creatures (via the accusation of the quran).

At this point I think its obvious that bahais cannot handle reality. They have to reinvent words and give them different meanings knowing full well what the speaker intends by them and then pretend to agree with the speaker. This is all you can do.

I will have another go

Try looking at it this way -

One Plus One = Two

One Bunch of 12 + one bunch of 12 = 24

One Universe of Stars + One Universe of Stars = 2 Universes of Stars, but how many stars?

If we stay with the first and second sum and learn no more, then when asked the last question we would have no concept of what is being asked!

It is the same with Gods Word, to which God Promised to guide us unto all Truth.

We can stay with the easy sum,** we will never be wrong**, but in doing so have we not given up the chance to obtain fuller level of knowledge Thus because someone only knows the Sum of One Plus One it does not mean they are wrong, neither does it mean that the person who has learned about greater sums is wrong either.

This is worth thinking about - God Bless

Regards Tony

 

[IgnatianPhilo]

I will have another go

Try looking at it this way -

One Plus One = Two

One Bunch of 12 + one bunch of 12 = 24

One Universe of Stars + One Universe of Stars = 2 Universes of Stars, but how many stars?

If we stay with the first and second sum and learn no more, then when asked the last question we would have no concept of what is being asked!

It is the same with Gods Word, to which God Promised to guide us unto all Truth.

We can stay with the easy sum,** we will never be wrong**, but in doing so have we not given up the chance to obtain fuller level of knowledge Thus because someone only knows the Sum of One Plus One it does not mean they are wrong, neither does it mean that the person who has learned about greater sums is wrong either.

This is worth thinking about - God Bless

Regards Tony

Actually Christ promised the Holy spirit to lead us to all truth, rather he promised that to the apostles and thus Christians find no need for your extra words and the apostolic deposit is fully sufficient, more than sufficient it is everything. But please, go to the other thread I created and respond there.

 

[Oska2]

God reveals Himself periodically through an incarnation of the Son, approximately every 2000 years (according to the precession of the equinoxes).

These messengers or Sons of God usually cause a religion to be established in their name.

The Sons of God for a few of the previous ages:
10000-8000 Age of Leo - Hermes (Egypt) - ancient Egyptian religion
8000-6000 Age of Cancer- Hercules (Greece) - ancient Greek religion
6000-4000 Age of Gemini - Rama (India) - Hinduism
4000-2000 Age of Taurus - Mithra (Europe) - Mithraism
2000- 0 Age of Aries - Krishna (India) - Hinduism
0 - 2000 Age of Pisces - Jesus (Middle-east) - Christianity

In between the 2000 year periods, there may be other messengers or prophets (like Muhammad or Bahaullah) who do start their own religions, but usually they just extend the dominant religion of the current Age (which is Christianity today).

So all religions just come from the same God and he is pretty kind and merciful, so I would not worry too much about any consequences because of which religion you follow, as along as you don’t hurt anyone else.

Openmind77,
Let me quote the Bible which I know best.
In Babylon where the Israelites had been taken captive, God judged the their way of worship by saving Daniel from famished lions. When the worshipers of the idol were thrown in the same den of lions, they were torn into pieces. Shadrack, Mishek & Abednego were thrown in a furnace of fire but their God saved them. The servants of the King of Babylon were burnt while outside the furnace. That is a major distinction.

In Egypt, the Egyptian religion was judged by God. Moses performed miracles while pharaoh and his gods also tried to counterfeit. One of them was to turn rods into snakes; Moses snake swallowed all the other snakes.
Lastly, Pharaoh witnessed Moses separating the Red sea. When his army tried to pass through, they were drowned. The true God proved himself against the fake god.

All those religions started with Nimrod during the tower of Babel. When the people were dispersed as a result of different languages, they went to practice the same wherever they went. That’s why if you compare all of them you’ll find a similarity. A male god with a wife, and a son, and other smaller deities.
At the time of Nimrod, there was a female deity called Semiramis and her son called Tammuz.
In Egypt, there was Osiris, Isis and her son Horus.
In India, there is Suraya, Devaki and her son Krishna
All these were associated with the worship of the sun mainly, the moon & stars.
Despite their wide spacial and time difference, they all used similar symbols in their arts.

Thus, there is unity of all the religions which borrowed from Nimrod. But we see the God of Israel being different from the other gods. That’s why I single him out of the many gods.

 

[openmind77]

Openmind77,
Let me quote the Bible which I know best.
In Babylon where the Israelites had been taken captive, God judged the their way of worship by saving Daniel from famished lions. When the worshipers of the idol were thrown in the same den of lions, they were torn into pieces. Shadrack, Mishek & Abednego were thrown in a furnace of fire but their God saved them. The servants of the King of Babylon were burnt while outside the furnace. That is a major distinction.

In Egypt, the Egyptian religion was judged by God. Moses performed miracles while pharaoh and his gods also tried to counterfeit. One of them was to turn rods into snakes; Moses snake swallowed all the other snakes.
Lastly, Pharaoh witnessed Moses separating the Red sea. When his army tried to pass through, they were drowned. The true God proved himself against the fake god.

All those religions started with Nimrod during the tower of Babel. When the people were dispersed as a result of different languages, they went to practice the same wherever they went. That’s why if you compare all of them you’ll find a similarity. A male god with a wife, and a son, and other smaller deities.
At the time of Nimrod, there was a female deity called Semiramis and her son called Tammuz.
In Egypt, there was Osiris, Isis and her son Horus.
In India, there is Suraya, Devaki and her son Krishna
All these were associated with the worship of the sun mainly, the moon & stars.
Despite their wide spacial and time difference, they all used similar symbols in their arts.

Thus, there is unity of all the religions which borrowed from Nimrod. But we see the God of Israel being different from the other gods. That’s why I single him out of the many gods.

Actually I am not completely sure of what your point is, in response to my posting.

However, to comment on the God ‘of Israel’, it seems to me the God described in the OT is a tribal God associated with the Hebrews and not the Universal Father as described in the NT at all.

I am not sure what Hinduism could have possibly borrowed from Nimrod, but the unity of all religions will be established to everyone’s satisfaction only when the Christ returns (which is due to happen soon) and He will reconcile all the differences between the beliefs in different religions.

When that happens, the OT will play a rather minor role, if any at all.

I don’t think the God ‘of Israel’ has any relevance to any other religion in the world - what relevance he has to Christianity is only historical.

After the Return of the Christ, the God of the OT will (I believe) eventually be forgotten and discarded - nobody needs this vengeful, judgemental, cruel God.

 

[IgnatianPhilo]

Actually I am not completely sure of what your point is, in response to my posting.

However, to comment on the God ‘of Israel’, it seems to me the God described in the OT is a tribal God associated with the Hebrews and not the Universal Father as described in the NT at all.

I am not sure what Hinduism could have possibly borrowed from Nimrod, but the unity of all religions will be established to everyone’s satisfaction only when the Christ returns (which is due to happen soon) and He will reconcile all the differences between the beliefs in different religions.

When that happens, the OT will play a rather minor role, if any at all.

I don’t think the God ‘of Israel’ has any relevance to any other religion in the world - what relevance he has to Christianity is only historical.

After the Return of the Christ, the God of the OT will (I believe) eventually be forgotten and discarded - nobody needs this vengeful, judgemental, cruel God.

Every time you read the New testament in a gnostic manner, ie believing in the good God of the New Testament and the evil God of the old I can only but recommend you read the New testament.

Read acts Seven, the account of Stephan who testified about a God who worked through the Patriarchs, Moses and the Prophets.

 

[openmind77]

Every time you read the New testament in a gnostic manner, ie believing in the good God of the New Testament and the evil God of the old I can only but recommend you read the New testament.

Read acts Seven, the account of Stephan who testified about a God who worked through the Patriarchs, Moses and the Prophets.

Thanks for your opinion but I disagree. I don’t think the God of the OT is the real Universal God at all - he is just a cruel, jealous, unjust tribal version of God.

Why don’t we wait for the Christ to Return and resolve this difference in opinion? I assure you it will not be more than a 2-3 year wait.

 

[IgnatianPhilo]

Thanks for your opinion but I disagree. I don’t think the God of the OT is the real Universal God at all - he is just a cruel, jealous, unjust tribal version of God.

Why don’t we wait for the Christ to Return and resolve this difference in opinion? I assure you it will not be more than a 2-3 year wait.

It was already refuted in the second century. It was called the Marcionite religion.

 

[Matthew_Light]

Openmind,

How is this returned Christ going to convince everyone he is real?

I think your belief is that he was born of a woman and is already living on the planet, is that correct? How is he going to convince Ignatio and me and everyone else that he is the real return of Christ?

Also, I disagree that the Old Testament God is different than the God of Jesus. I think Jesus simply showed us a more full and mature understanding than was in the Old Testament.

 

[openmind77]

Openmind,

How is this returned Christ going to convince everyone he is real?

I think your belief is that he was born of a woman and is already living on the planet, is that correct? How is he going to convince Ignatio and me and everyone else that he is the real return of Christ?

Also, I disagree that the Old Testament God is different than the God of Jesus. I think Jesus simply showed us a more full and mature understanding than was in the Old Testament.

How the Christ convinces anyone is really up to him - I am sure he will figure out something.

But I don’t think you can make a cruel, unjust, violent God, into a more full or mature loving one. You just have to take away the cruelty and violence out first in which case he is no longer the same God.

 

[rinnie]

Why do we have different religions when God is one?

Because to follow Christ in his Church is hard sometimes impossible it seems.

Go to the history of the CC and you will see why people broke off from the original Church started by Christ.

No body wants to be corrected or told what to do.

And my largest reason is sin. No one wants to admit or quit sin. And they sure don’t want to hear that it destroys life.

They want to believe you can sin all you want and not go to hell!

 

[daler]

Because to follow Christ in his Church is hard sometimes impossible it seems.

Go to the history of the CC and you will see why people broke off from the original Church started by Christ.

No body wants to be corrected or told what to do.

And my largest reason is sin. No one wants to admit or quit sin. And they sure don’t want to hear that it destroys life.

They want to believe you can sin all you want and not go to hell!

Rinnie,
. I would agree that you are onto something here. To follow Christ, first we must recognize Him. Then we must follow His commandments. The following is the opening verse to the Most Holy Book of the Baha’is

, “The first duty prescribed by God for His servants is the recognition of Him Who is the Day Spring of His Revelation and the Fountain of His laws, Who representeth the Godhead in both the Kingdom of His Cause and the world of creation. Whoso achieveth this duty hath attained unto all good; and whoso is deprived thereof, hath gone astray, though he be the author of every righteous deed. It behoveth every one who reacheth this most sublime station, this summit of transcendent glory, to observe every ordinance of Him Who is the Desire of the world. These twin duties are inseparable. Neither is acceptable without the other. Thus hath it been decreed by Him Who is the Source of Divine inspiration.”

Page 1 of the Kitab-I-Aqdas, revealed by Baha’u’llah
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