The Perfect Religion

Originally posted by GreatTech
dbrandt, what if a person was born Buddhist and this person never knew any other religion but performed good deeds throughout his life. His heart, soul, mind, and strength were very loving towards all. This person rejected evil and frequently thought of how he could honor God each day and performed these deeds. Would this person not escape death and live in Heaven?

So you are saying works earn a person salvation. Salvation isn't earned. No one rejects evil completely.

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.


Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;


Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans:[9] That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
[10] For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Salvation is gift, not earned. But a gift has to be accepted by the receiver for it to be theirs.

dbrandt, Faith and Works are not separated. Works reveal the level of Faith that a person has. Jesus is so loved by many because His Works of healing, feeding, casting out demons, and ultimately accepting death on the Cross for the sake of others were so outstanding that many believe He is the Son of God; His Works reveal His Great Faith. After curing a person on the Sabbath, Jesus even stated that His Father has been working until now.

To become Christlike, we must have Great Faith and express this Great Faith through Great Works. Without Great Faith, there are no Great Works. Without Great Works, there is no Great Faith.

Originally posted by GreatTech

To become Christlike, we must have Great Faith and express this Great Faith through Great Works.

Works do not save, faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin saves a person. That is the only reason someone receives salvation. Hinduism, Budhism, Islam do not preach this as the only means of salvation. Preaching another gospel does not save people for eternity.

Galatians 1:[6] I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
[7] Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
[8] But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
[9] As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

And the person preaching another gospel is cursed. That's not me saying that, that is God saying that.

Jesus Christ is the biggest decision a person has to make, receive or reject Him, everyone must decide.

Faith and Works complement each other as neither can exist without the other. God is the judge as to what constitutes Great Faith and Great Works.

I love Jesus Christ because of His Great Faith and Great Works: they coincided. He is a role model for many, but not necessarily all, since God created other Holy Faiths as well.

God Bless All Peaceful Faiths!!!

You have voted GreatTech for the Way Above Top Secret award. You have used all of your votes for this month.

Thank you GreatTech, that was a wonderfully uplifting post. One must do more than pray for a better world, and work towards it as well.

‘Religious people must do more than offer prayers if the world is to become a better place to live. ‘ His Holiness The Dalai Lama

‘Prayer among sane people has never superseded practical efforts to secure the desired end.’ George Santayana

"One should not think, 'My religion alone is the right path and other religions are false.' God can be realized by means of all paths. It is enough to have sincere yearning for God. Infinite are the paths and infinite are the opinions." Ramakrishna

‘Treat the other man's faith gently; it is all he has to believe with. His mind was created for his own thoughts, not yours or mine. ‘ Henry S. Haskins

If/When Islam conquers the Earth as it's stated goal in the Qu'ran, and kill or convert all human beings on the Earth, then you'd have a perfect religion.

It's only perfect if every single person is doing it, and it's only perfect if it's universal.

But, dont quote me on that one. And while I do not like the concept of a world completely converted to Islam, the concept of an entire planet, an entire human race on an entire planet all bowing into the same direction, at the same time, 5 times a day to pray to God is a pretty awesome concept, and this is why I say this. It would be awesome because the sheer channeling of prayer to a single coordinate, everyday, multiple times a day, by every single human being on the face of the planet.

That is the definition of a perfect religion, and much like a perfect world (Utopia), people who try to bring it into reality end up with a distorted corrupt system based on an Idea that was perfect. In the socio-economic & political sense, take strict Communism for example. Ideally Utopian, in Human practice the Soviet Union. In the religous case, Utopian is World Islam, and Global Jihad & Terrorism is the Human practice attempt at enstating it. Or in the past, the Ottoman empire attempted it. It is a good thing that they lost World War I, or we could be looking at a very different world right now..

Originally posted by BlackGuardXIII
Thank you GreatTech, that was a wonderfully uplifting post. One must do more than pray for a better world, and work towards it as well.

GT - I agree with BlackGuard!!!

Excellent!

If I had any more votes I'd give ya one....but alas I've used them up early on.

Love you and your sweet spirit, GT!!!

Originally posted by runetangIt's only perfect if every single person is doing it, and it's only perfect if it's universal.

But, dont quote me on that one.
That is the definition of a perfect religion, and much like a perfect world (Utopia), people who try to bring it into reality end up with a distorted corrupt system based on an Idea that was perfect.

I see it very differently. My perfect religion would be universal, but it would have as a tenet that everyone can practice their own chosen faith and everyone accepts that other people have that same right, and are no better nor worse for it. It is my definition of a perfect religion when no one tries to make someone else believe what they do, because they respect that even if their faith is very different than theirs is, it is not up to anyone but oneself to choose what to believe. If nobody on earth felt the need to convince anyone else to see things their way, and change their faith, that would be perfect, to me.

‘Do you want to improve the world. I don’t think it can be done. The world is sacred: it can’t be improved.’ Lao Tzu

Originally posted by BlackGuardXIII
God can be realized by means of all paths. It is enough to have sincere yearning for God. Ramakrishna

Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.


Remember these verses you read on here, because you will need them someday.

perfect religion?
perfect car?
perfect house?
perfect human?
perfect cockroach?
perfect spaceship?
perfect pet?
perfect god?
perfect wife?
perfect etc. etc.

Must I say more? Nothing is perfect, situations change, # happens, evolve and adapt? Godly...... heheheee

ixiy, the only Being or thing that is Perfect is God. We may even doubt God's Perfection at times due to our sinful nature. However, through Eternity God has a Perfect plan for us. This plan is revealed to us when God decides, not when we decide.

Love and Peace.

Originally posted by dbrandt
Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.


Remember these verses you read on here, because you will need them someday.

Thank you dbrandt, I have read Proverbs, three different versions of it. That was when I read the KJAV, NIV, and the Good News Bible. I do have copies of other versions, but after reading the Qu'ran, the Bhagavad Gita, the Dhammapada, and various other religious texts, I didn't feel there was enough value for the effort I would spend to read any more versions. Since then I have read bits from other versions, usually specific sections that were different from each other in the first three. Things live the begats in Luke. Different bibles do indeed have different names, in the same positions. But, that is not as interesting to me as the way that one version of the bible will have conflicting information regarding the same event, depending on which gospel it is in. For instance, when Mary Magdalene found the tomb was open that morning, one bible can have three different accounts of who she was with.
Here is a question in response to your question. You claim I WILL need them someday. That is something I doubt, but if you are correct in your assertion, and I do need them, how do you suggest I choose whether to say Joanna or Helen-Salome, when one gospel says Joanna, and another Helen? I have pursued this a little bit, but so far, it is pretty clear that Joanna and Helen-Salome are two different people.
I am not worried about it in the least as far as the afterlife is concerned, but I have wondered whether one is more probable than the other.

'Different teachings have blossomed to suit different people and the needs of different times. In all religions, there are three aspects; one is values, another is practice, another is symbols. The values are common to all religions. The teaching may seem contradictory, but it's not; it's complete.' Sri Sri Ravi Sankar