Does Christianity make a claim no other religion makes?

One could opine that "Free Mason" is a misnomer? Your mind is in a box. Good luck w/that next go 'round. Did they take St. Pete off the gate? Did they go over "judging" down at The Lodge™ before or after the secret handshake?

At least give Us what YOU think not what is written in some "Rule Book" written by The Quorum 30+ yrs. after the main character dies.

So Your spiritual journey has only "advertised" One flavor? Keep looking. Your "stuck" in 'going to Church™' don't type Me, "they" pass a hat around right? and Pastor Dave is giving ..uh...er.... Selling You His interpretation of what He got when He was "searching" Yep, nothing like distorting the word.
No, it makes total ¢ that the Preacher is on His 3rd marriage, is wearing a $35k watch and living in a $3M mansion while His 'parish' beg for alms...

| KNOW St. Pete and You ain't Him.

namaste

akushla99

Your OP can clearly state anything it wants...completely ignoring common traits to then say they don't share common traits...or, taking the highly edited writings, collected in a very badly put together religious version of part-travelogue, part-horror story...and claiming the stories are unique...which then 'sets it apart' 'so completely' so that it cannot 'be mistaken'...is clumsy logic, most often practiced by individuals who are afraid to face the awesome task of responsibility that thier thoughts and actions create...in not facing the responsibility, it falls to a scapegoat...scapegoat must live somewhere (hell)...scapegoat is hard at work harvesting (why? No explanation) the unrepentant...and saviour character is needed...because a subconscious part of them knows it is thier failure to face responsibility which has created an elaborate Grimms fairy tale around the psychological blindness that protects them from having to fessss up...

Å99

Yup...
That's pretty much it

FreeMason

3NL1GHT3N3D1
So believing in Jesus is different from believing in Muhammad, Vishnu, Krishna, Zeus, Odin, etc.? In what way exactly? All require a belief in their deity.

Christianity is no more "unique" than any other religion throughout history. They're all unique in their own ways and have things that set them apart. Does this mean they're all right? Because that's what your OP is implying.

Well for one, all those different entities and deities are different constructs, with different logic used to explain them, different traits and characteristics. Some of them incompatible with each other.

Odin is not Yahweh for instance, in fact, Odin eventually dies. We can say this is incompatible with Yahweh, or Allah, who are immortal.

But Yahweh and Allah have their incompatibilities and so on.

So which God is the true God, the one worthy of Worship?

The correct answer to this question. Agnosticism.

All religions say similar things and use stories to explain reality. They all require faith that said stories are true (yes even Christianity). Therefore, looking logically since all answers have the same chances of being correct, the conclusion derived is inconclusive. The belief that represents this inconclusive outlook is Agnosticism. QED.

adjensen
reply to post by supermarket2012

 

Um... Christianity teaches that Jesus IS God, incarnate. He's not "just some guy", he's God, living here in the flesh.

Kinda surprised you would have missed that, it's kind of central to the whole thing.

That's what Pauline Christianity teaches, but it's not what Jesus said or taught.

Christianity is just a fancy remake of the old solar worship religions, of a constantly dying and resurrecting "sun god", that conquers and saves us from the darkness upon it's victorious rise every morning!



Christianity is unique in that it created a "hell" for its sun god, Jesus, to save us from.

Christianity makes this claim. Without confession of sins, and without acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord, you are lost, and will be judged by the very works that you did.

We will all choose. One way or the other, we will all choose. Life, or death.

reply to post by FreeMason

To me it seems the mark of a true religion is the one that distinguishes it from all other worldly things.

Buddhism distinguishes itself from all worldly things.

And if I'm not mistaken, only Christianity makes the claim that only Christ saves, that no good works you do can undo any of your bad works.

Since Christianity is the only religion that believes in the divinity of Christ, yes, you would be correct that only denominations of Christianity claim Christ saves and your good works cannot undo your bad works.

That without Christ we are dead in our sin.

Again, "sin" is something found strictly within the religions begun by/based on Abraham. In order for this to be relevant, you must first believe in sin, second in an Original Sin, and third: that original sin could only be cured by the blood of Christ.

Without over-generalizing too much, other religions all emphasize something you need to do to achieve transcendence.

The error here is that transcendence is not necessarily the role of all religions. Take Buddhism, again, as an example. In Buddhism the ultimate goal is not to transcend to some higher state, but to completely remove yourself from the Wheel of Samsara through adherence to the Dharma. Western religion tends to focus on ascendance and reaching a "perfect" state.

And that is the opposite of what Christ says.

Baptism, confirmation, being blessed by the Holy Spirit, relinquishing all worldly goods, accepting that you are a sinner, seeking salvation through repentance and acceptance of Christ into your heart... Christianity has a lot of steps in order to achieve transcendence and admittance into Heaven.

Other world views may or may not require anything because other world views may deny the need to transcend all together, which makes them completely worldly which is unimpressive.

Buddhism denies the need to transcend, because it acknowledges the need to escape from all matter, including Heaven, Hell, and the Earth. Yet, Buddhism is anything but "worldly" and "unimpressive" when you really explore the Dharma of the Buddha.

So I would say Christianity alone has a mark unlike any other.

Not focused on worldly things? Buddhism has it in the Dharma which speaks of ending your time in the Wheel of Samsara. Works do not matter? Buddhism has it in the doctrine of impermanence, where all things good or bad are temporary and illusionary. Sin? Buddhism has "maya" and "dukkha," the illusion of suffering which explains why we cling to our physical lives, instead of escaping into Nirvana, or non-existence.

I would say Christianity is not the only one.

~ Wandering Scribe

reply to post by FreeMason


well, don't forget that Christianity also promised that its followers wont die. that's a pretty big distinction for insanity...I mean "Christianity"...to make.
t

So many keep seeing the surface and discussing the wrapper of the candy, without opening it and checking inside. Live forever, we all do. Bruce Lee, when asked when we stop reincarnating said (paraphrased) when we live a life worth remembering.....The whole basis of Christianity in a nutshell. Under the wraps.

Tons of good information here, pure gnosis, not dark, but seeing the higher love and positivity in the package, ie the light codes. They're always there, in all religions, in much works and our hearts draw us to the truth. But then they put the dark stuff in to distort our consciousness after the love and wisdom (the two witnesses) within us, draw us to the Love and Peace being presented.

www.spiritofthescripture.com...

reply to post by Wandering Scribe


^^^what this poster said. and said. although Buddhism does not "distinguish itself from worldly things" for emptiness is form, and form emptiness....suffering is liberation. No offense to Christianity, but Christians have commandeered the liberation but try to avoid suffering at all costs...this is why suffering pops up in other parts of the world- like a repressed illness will manifest itself in some other way. the violent and extremist side of Islam is the creation of Christianity, just as Christianity was the result of degradation within the Jewish temple. and before that, and before that.......

FreeMason

3NL1GHT3N3D1
So believing in Jesus is different from believing in Muhammad, Vishnu, Krishna, Zeus, Odin, etc.? In what way exactly? All require a belief in their deity.

Christianity is no more "unique" than any other religion throughout history. They're all unique in their own ways and have things that set them apart. Does this mean they're all right? Because that's what your OP is implying.

Well for one, all those different entities and deities are different constructs, with different logic used to explain them, different traits and characteristics. Some of them incompatible with each other.

Odin is not Yahweh for instance, in fact, Odin eventually dies. We can say this is incompatible with Yahweh, or Allah, who are immortal.

But Yahweh and Allah have their incompatibilities and so on.

So which God is the true God, the one worthy of Worship?

My OP clearly states that all religions except one share common traits, and only Christ makes a claim that sets it apart from all the other religions so completely as not to be mistaken as a worldly religion.

You're delusional. All religions have their unique traits just like Christianity does, they're not all the same while Christianity is the only "unique" one as you are trying to imply. You even admitted that in this post! Take your blinders off, Christianity isn't any more unique than any other religion throughout history, they're ALL unique from one another.

adjensen
reply to post by supermarket2012

 

Christianity is one of the FEW religions that believes in order to obtain salvation, you have to BELIEVE AND GIVE YOURSELF TO ONE MAN.

I don't believe in Idols...and to me, the concept of Jesus is an idol. He is elevated to God-like status in christianity, and you are told as a prerequisite to being saved, you must believe in him.

Um... Christianity teaches that Jesus IS God, incarnate. He's not "just some guy", he's God, living here in the flesh.

Kinda surprised you would have missed that, it's kind of central to the whole thing.

 

To the OP, I was in the car last night and someone on the radio made a statement that speaks to your "makes a claim no one else does" question. Though I haven't done enough research to verify it, I think he's spot on -- Christianity is unique in having a God that is humble -- in every other religion, their gods are all about power and control, while Jesus is about humbling himself to serve others.

And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:8 NIV)

Missed that? I didn't miss that, I specifically SAID that in my post. Christianity teaches that Jesus is some kind of Man-God. Not only is that unnatural, and impossible (born from a virgin, really?).....but it is worshipping an idol.

Instead of seeing Jesus as a man who obtained a high level of awareness, who ACHIEVED something.....mainstream christians see him as a God....something apparently NONE of us are...ONLY Jesus. That is absurd. Any religion that teaches you to see some man as GOD...and that we can't be equal to him, is just cult-like.

Some better questions: to what degree does the Abrahamic faith borrow from preexisting religions, and what does that mean for the subsequent tributary religions based upon Abraham and his faith? Is the Abrahamic faith more plagiarism than not? How does that affect the validity of its claims? Does this influence the probability that such religions will prove effective in a follower's life? According to which philosophies? How has this been proven? Is this observable in the modern world, and in what way are such observations reliable and/or conclusive?

There's a lot of questions to ask.

Its coded and you need to look underneath the wrappings. The entire Hebrew faith and this extends to Christianity, is from more ancient knowledge and is gnostic, not literal, metaphoric, look within.

There are many clues for people to pay attention, such as Genesis 32 30.

Concerning Jesus as God, the Son of God. Well, I would say he was one with his HS, and with Source. That the process of awakening and ascension was for him to overcome all his lower primitive mind and gain Higher Mind, and Third Eye Awakening, which is what is buried in all the scriptures. He did this phoning Home to Source with the right number, selfessness and service to others, grown up and taking nothign personally but able to reach the ones in need, including those making train wrecks of their lives.

He overcame his ego, his body suit temptations (the beast, primitive lower mind and frequency) and the world, seeing through its corruption.

And his third eye connection flowered forth with the petals of the Lily, that is the hebrew form of the Tao Locus, or eastern, unfolded and He Became Himself, more Fully. Superman in the system, connected to Higher Self and God, ASCENDED. He went from being the son of man to the SON OF GOD.

The second coming of Adam, which is biblical. And the redemption of humanity shown, for we're all meant to walk in his path.

reply to post by FreeMason


Right, true Christianity you are saved through Jesus Christ, who is God in the flesh who took on our sins for us for all time past and future.
All other belief systems you must attempt to earn your salvation, which you can't because no man can be perfect enough to do so.

supermarket2012
Missed that? I didn't miss that, I specifically SAID that in my post. Christianity teaches that Jesus is some kind of Man-God.

No, he's not "some kind of man-god", he is God, incarnate. You apparently have a fairly superficial view of Christian theology, which is predicated on Jesus being God, rather than that being some sort of by-product of his coming.

Not only is that unnatural, and impossible

We're talking about God, here -- inherently supernatural, and for whom nothing is impossible.

Instead of seeing Jesus as a man who obtained a high level of awareness, who ACHIEVED something.....mainstream christians see him as a God....something apparently NONE of us are...ONLY Jesus. That is absurd.

God becoming man is absurd, but man becoming God is not? Seriously? You have a pretty shallow view of what the creator of reality would have to be.

As for Jesus, what do you think he achieved? He told a bunch of stories, converted a few people and was killed for it. Without him being God, being resurrected and having fulfilled his role in the salvation plan, Jesus' story isn't all that notable, and hardly commendable.

reply to post by FreeMason


Unmerited Grace, yes, is what distinguishes Christianity.

The problem however is that no one really "gets it", because if they did it would take them utterly by surprise.

Imho, the true import of Christianity is that of a great joke told by God through Jesus Christ at the expense of the devil within us all.

But no one has the courage to laugh, and that's funny in and of itself.

It's offensive only to what we presume to already know, about ourselves, others and the world around us or what we don't really have the first clue about, but oftentimes, the very best defense is a really good offense.

I'm ok with what Christianity contends with, even though it cuts to the core and makes the worst part of me weap tears of repentance, but through that necessary process is where the fun and good humor begins, and where life begins anew, with new eyes, a new heart and the beginning of a new mind.

Jesus knew full well that we wouldn't be able to engineer our own salvation and that that was why he was sent, to place us back into a right relationship with God whereby life is a free GIFT from God to man extended because of love.

Everything that was made was made by the father for the son because of love and for the sake of a shared experience in mutuality.

Christianity is about setting everything right again in accordance with the divine order, and with man included in God's plan.

I wish we'd hurry up already and GET IT though, Christians especially.

reply to post by adjensen


I have a question for you. If Jesus is God and not just some man-God, how can he be killed by men? Shouldn't God be able to withstand the punishments upon him?

reply to post by Krazysh0t


According to Christianity, Jesus never really died at all! Apparently he preached in hell for 3 days before coming back to Earth. How does God die anyways? I thought he's supposed to be eternal?

reply to post by windword


What happened to you? When did you become an anti-Christian atheist?

reply to post by NewAgeMan


Well, the story of Jesus IS just a rehash of earlier pagan solar deities, only morphed into a new version. Pagans are the ones who killed him and legalized a religion based around him, so it makes sense to me. Rome was infamous for religious and cultural diffusion, that's how they thrived for so long, by taking others ideas and making them their own. It was no different for Jesus, they diffused his teachings with that of pagan rituals and myths.