Does Christianity make a claim no other religion makes?

reply to post by Skadi_the_Evil_Elf

Good works/bad works are irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

Not really true since Karma is included in buddhism also. That you reap what you seed.

Buddhist is also a nondualistic search where you leave the ego behind and become one with everything just like hinduism.

And what was really the original sin that man created but a rejection from being one with god and doing things themselves without the guiding of the one who is connected to everything. They ate from the tree of knowledge of right and wrong, and believed in the duality and that they could understand right and wrong without caring for everything around them.

Three maps to the same source if you can interpret the maps. Who care's if you like the pink shaded map or blue map or the green colored map? Just use any map that will get you there and if the map you are using do not work for you get another map that suits you better. The destination is the important thing, not the map or garment.

I personally have found that Christianity makes a lot of sense. Out of all the religions of the world, Christianity is the only one that seems reasonable and logical. In fact, the more I have come to understand the Bible, the more I have realized that it is an entire "system," where things build upon other things, and it is quite flowing, logical, and utterly brilliant. Some of it may not be logical except when applied to the religion itself, but I guess what I am saying is that the theology itself that is laid down is more intricate than that of many other religions combined. Much of this intricacy stemmed from Judaism, but the way that Christianity blended with Judaism, and basically updated it by adhering to the standards and fulfilling the prophecies of the Old Testament, just blows me away.

Like I said, on the surface this may not be apparent. One could spend a lifetime studying the Bible and still learn new things and make new connections, which says a lot in my opinion. I think that many of these links between different aspects of Christian theology do in fact posses the mark of a Divine hand. That is not to say that God wrote the Bible. I don't believe that. However, I believe that the Bible is divinely inspired, and that those who chose the gospels and books for inclusion were divinely inspired to a less significant degree.

In my case belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ goes beyond faith, for the reason I mentioned earlier, which is that there is an inherent beauty to it, and an underlying logic, as well as an absolutely elegant form despite its seeming simplicity. Actually, I refer mainly to the New Testament. Although the Old Testament is supposed to hold a high degree of importance in the faith, I do not see it as being as great as the New Testament.

People often ask how it is that there can be so many "backwards" ideas in the Old Testament of the Bible, and I wrestled with this seeming contradiction for some time. Then I had an epiphany one day. The more I read the Bible, and the more I made connections and understood it, I suddenly realized that it depicts a progression. A progression of spirituality among people. And then I understood that this spiritual progression could not have taken place all at once. The times were simply not right. The thought processes of the people of those earlier eras, and there conditions, dictated their beliefs, and one must understand just how different those people were.

But still, the laws of God were corrupted by men, as evidenced in the Jewish faith. The whole emphasis on the law in the first place was part of the problem. Things like what meat could be eaten, and all the other rules and regulations. God does not care about that stuff. The point of that stuff was not the outside actions, but it was supposed to have a more inner effect. It was basically a teaching tool for the people of the time. But the Jews began to stagnate in their religion because of this and other similar things, and true to every prediction made by the prophets of the Old Testament, Jesus came and ushered in a completely new spiritual age.

And even though things were progressing spiritually, and jump from Old Testament Judaism to the teachings of Jesus, although they followed the Divine progression that they should have, these new teachings were still waaay out there for the times. People nowadays seem more "moral" and seem to behave more, but this is mostly because of the times we live in, and the technology we have. For instance, we have laws that most people usually obey. Not only that, we have a very good system of enforcing them, and technology helps a great deal in this area. These things were not around back then to such a high degree, so theoretically people could get away with being scoundrels and criminals a whole lot easier than they can in our modern society. That is just one of the reasons the teachings of Jesus were so revolutionary for the time.

But like I said, it is not as if Jesus simply came in and changed everything. Part of what makes the religion so appealing and so deep is the fact that Jesus' new teachings were predicted, alluded to, and foreshadowed throughout the Old Testament. Your question regarding what sets Christianity apart also reminds of the fact that no other religion has someone claiming to be the Son of God. And if there was such a person, there is no way that they acted in a way that seemed to uphold their claim. People seem to forget that Jesus backed up his claims. He practiced what he preached so to speak. The multitudes of people of the time witnessed miracles by the thousands, things that only Jesus, and to a lesser extent His disciples, has ever been able to do. There are other things that I feel sets Christianity apart as well.

Believe me when I say that I have put a whole lot of time and effort into deciding my spiritual fate, and I have analyzed many different religions of the world, and even "spiritual" things that are not really considered religions. And I have chosen Christianity for a variety of reasons, some of which I have mentioned. I am not saying everyone should become a Christian, although the world would be a better place if this occurred, as long as these people really made an effort to practice what they have been taught. Which reminds me. I am sick of people talking down about Christianity simply because someone who is a Christian does something wrong. If these people understood human nature, or the religion itself, they would realize that even Christians aren't perfect. They sin and make mistakes just like everyone else. Anyway, for the sakes of the people of the world, I hope everyone awakens spiritually.

And even some of the more New Age type things are referenced by Christian teachings. But, the Bible does not speak directly about all these types of things. Even things like spirits and hauntings are referenced by the Bible in some capacity. I think that the archaic language of the Bible turns many people off. And not only that, but one can read a sentence and think it means one thing, when in fact it means something completely different. And many people claim that any given passage can be interpreted in various ways, and this is true. However, there is only ONE correct interpretation, and to get at the correct interpretation, often times one must look to the source language itself, as well as the literature of the time, how people wrote and spoke...

This is why the majority of people cannot truly grasp everything the Bible has to offer, although in modern times there have been many scholars who break these things down. Many Bibles even have commentary that addresses these types of points. So anyway, I believe that Christianity is different from all religions. I believe that Judaism is no longer a "correct" religion, and I believe that modern Jews have failed to grasp their own religion enough to accept Christ as the Messiah described in their religious texts. But all early Christians were Jews, for the most part. As for the other Abrahamic religion, I believe Islam is nothing but a corrupted form of Judaism. There are so many inconsistencies in the teachings of this religion, which is based on Judaism, that it is obvious the person creating this religion did not have a good grasp on the religion he was trying to copy.

And as for exotic religions, and ancient polytheistic religions, they don't possess the history, logic, and other things found in Christianity

reply to post by FreeMason


To me, Christians are the most judgmental, hypocritical war mongering a-holes on the planet. I want nothing to do with them, their religion or their "God". Actually, you can put anyone involved in an organized religion there, screw them all.

Is he so insecure that he has to order people to believe? What you do, who you are, makes more sense to me for "moving up"

There IS a creator, I firmly believe that, but he don't care a lick if you believe, he wants to see your worth, and THAT, you can't fake

adjensen

supermarket2012

Not only is that unnatural, and impossible

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

Yet it was impossible for him to forgive us without him incarnating as a human so that his human creations could sacrifice him to himself as a payment for our sins? He couldn't forgive us out of the goodness of his heart even though nothing is impossible to him? Why the requirement for payment in blood if he is so omnipotent?

Your God requires payment for sin in blood. Think long and hard about that. Your God requires payment in blood...

OP, I believe you are correct... Christianity says all have sinned.. Once sin happens.. No amount of time, chances (reincarnation) or good deeds can erase the sin..

The bible says "the soul that sinneth dies".. So without the shedding of blood unto death.. The penalty of sin cannot be paid..

Jesus gave a story about two guys going to court to stand before the judge.. He said as your walking to the court house, work it out amongst yourselves.. That way you won't have to face the judgement..

So we walk through life.. Christ Jesus is walking with us whether we acknowledge him or not.. I say it's better to cut the deal with the DA (Jesus) as I'm walking in life towards death,.. Then the judgement...

God is love yes, but he's also holy, just, righteous, perfect,not a respecter of persons and has already paid the price and shed his blood..

I'm taking the deal.. I'm not as upright, good, clean, and moral as most people.. I need a savior (yes, I need Jesus).. I wouldn't fair well in the Holy court system when my life is shown to a Holy, just, righteous and perfect God..

Our concept of perfection is flawed because we are flawed.. No matter the time, attempts ect.. We can never obtain the righteousness needed to enter Gods perfect kingdom..

So, yes Christianity is far different than all other belief systems..

With Christianity's teachings, though not easy to hear and harder to admit and receive.. It makes the most sense (to me).. Man cannot reach God.. God must reach down and help man..

sk0rpi0n
And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:

That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
- Mark 4:11-12

I have spent a long time looking into these types of contradictions in the Bible, and at first glance they may seem to read one thing but actually do not. In short, it is simply that you are reading it wrong. The scripture tells us that the scripture reinforces itself, so that means if there is something that immediately points out as being off or contradictory, you simply have to read it over again. Here is where it reinforces itself; Surely the many verses indicating that Jesus sacrifice was for all should not have a contradiction. It means either it can be two things:

1.) That yes Jesus really doesn't love everyone and He simply plays favorites.
2.) That this is a misunderstanding of scripture.

If this was really option 1, the whole of Christianity and Jesus' life and God's work was a waste and I would denounce Christianity today if this were actually true, but it is not.

Here is what the verses mean, as though we were there. "Jesus why are you describing things in parables? I'll tell you why, because you guys know directly from me who I am, if I say this to other people directly they will think I am crazy, so I tell them in parables because they have more meaning and depth than a simple "I am God." [which many people in those days and these days are claiming] The parables I preach are for those who are seeking Me, otherwise they are just hearing something and not listening, seeing something and not knowing, because if they actually did truly seek after me, they would be saved."

So in essence, your argument proves rather the opposite of what your thread stated, and that is Jesus teaching parables does more for those seeking the Truth, than it does if He simply went without. There is no elect theology here that Jesus picks favorites, it is simply showing that Jesus knew there were those who are not truly seeking, though they might hear.

A good example would be this very post I am writing. You can read it, and skim over it and see nothing but words with poor grammar and spelling from me. Or you can read it and realizing that your original thoughts were quite contrary. It is about where your heart is before reading, not after, because if you were truly seeking the truth you would find it, and the reading would simply guide you in the right direction. This is what Jesus meant by these verses.

reply to post by BardingTheBard


So you want me to disregard the part about slavery because its inconvenient
to the current morality of the church, sure thing i will just pretend that
part isn't in there then, while im at it can i get a list of the correct parts
because this entire time i thought the claim was that the bible was actually
true.

And i fail to see how enslaving someone protects them in any way, removing
someones freedom hardly protects them. Must be tough trying to think of
a way slavery can be morally correct, I am glad i don't have that problem.

Ahh, Christianity.

What makes it different from other religions?

First of all, the Roman Emperor Constantine decreed it the "official" religion of the Roman Empire, a largely political , social-engineering type of move on his part to amalgamate his far-flung, multi-ethnic and contentious empire.
A common empire-wide religion was the pragmatic solution at the time....(and a convoluted and misinterpreted "prophecy" of modern fundamentalist Christians and their Apocalyptic "one world religion").....It happened 2.000 years ago!!

Holidays, doctrines and dogmas were liberally "borrowed" from several pagan religions at the time to create a unique and "official" man-made religion backed by the political might and military power of the Roman Empire....hence the ROMAN Catholic Church.

But the most primitive, superstitious and ignorant "official" Christian dogma of all is the worship of a dead human being as god.

Yes, all of the faithful, fanatical Christians can be proud of that pagan blasphemy...the worship of a dead human being as god.

That really takes you back a couple of thousand years to "official" paganism...pure and simple.

The first Roman Emperor to be "officially" worshiped as a god was Julius Caesar, declared "divine" in 42 B.C....subsequent Roman Emperors were also declared "divine" with temples, rituals, prayers, sacrifices and all of the religious trappings that eventually became incorporated into?.......you guessed it!!....the Official Religion of the Roman Empire.......Christianity!!

You'd better believe it....or else!

And Christians expect their archaic, superstitious and pagan dogma to be taken seriously??

Really??

reply to post by adjensen

" Christianity is unique in having a God that is humble -- in every other religion, their gods are all about power and control, "

not exactly humble according to the old testament.
"thou shalt have no other gods before me!!"
"the lord thy god is a jealous god"!

reply to post by adjensen


Christianity.....a humble god?

We are talking about the divine megalomaniac in the bible who exterminated almost all life on earth because it didn't do what he wanted it to, orders the full scale slaughter, rape, and enslavement of people, demands the bloody sacrifice of animals, punishes petty crimes while rewarding adulterers and murderers.

This same god who basically ruins a man's life by murdering his family and livestock because of a drunken bet with his adversary over how devoted this guy was.

This is supposedly the same god who later decides to father a son on an engaged woman, a son who is supposed to deliver is message of "peace and love and forgiveness" and shows is love by......ordaining the gruesome murder of his son to satisfy a bloodthirst that never seems to be sated by anything but death and abuse. All because two people he created with free will chose, instead of obeying him, eat a piece of fruit he told them was off limits.

Petty, vengeful, selfish, arrogant, sociopathic......but definitely not humble, rational, or truly loving.

Skadi_the_Evil_Elf
reply to post by adjensen

 

Christianity.....a humble god?

You disagree that Jesus was humble?

You appear to be a fundamentalist who limits his view of God to that represented in the Hebrew Bible, but that's not what I referenced, is it?

reply to post by adjensen


He said god, not Jesus. Two different things. Demonstrably different things.

The actual difference is that Christianity, in its pure gnostic roots and in the model we have of the outer wrapper, the possible real outer expression of Christ as as a literal man. We're talking about Service to Others and Turning the Other Cheek, not reacting or retaliating.....even Krishna fought wars, and RA, retaliated in something I read. This is the only account other than Buddha that was Peace and Love.

Humble of Heart? Thats an attribute of Love. What is really being expressed is not ego or humility, but growing up. If you were 5 years old, and in a room full of misbehaving 4 year olds, and they hit you and threw things, you might get into the fight. If you are a 16 year old, or adult, babysitting a room full of 4 year olds, you wouldn't retaliate if it cost your life, in most cases. Growing up, growing to a grade past kindergarden in earth school, means you care for all of the children, and recognize various levels of spirit maturity.

But the Good Family and is not just another god. The Infinite Light/Love/Consciousness between all of the true Higher Ups IS GOD/GOODNESS.

The fruit determines the tree. Anyone with love in their hearts, and giving, compassion, knows what LOVE is.


Both sides are not equal in the cosmos/universe/dimensions. The simplest way of putting it is like two cones of energy or pyramids of energy, the negative side is scarsity, power to the few, a true pyramid, and the inverted pyramid is Abundance/Prosperity/Empowerment of others/Equality and infinite progression of the individual. Where those two forces meet is the testing grounds, with both sides being able to access. Up or down. It has to do with rank and file, inequality, and lack of compassion, versus, truly growing up, equality and Love.

Jesus/Yeshua, whether real or metaphor comes from the inverted Abundance Heavenly side of things, from GOD/GOODNESS true source.

The other side used the word god alot.

The Family above don't like that word for they truly humble of heart. The bible is littered with Romes imprint: Lord, Lord, Thrones, Thrones, Master/Slave.

Whereas Family is Family. The 26 year college student may be wiser and more advanced, but he has no business telling his 4 year old brother he is a god/God, so worship me.

reply to post by Skadi_the_Evil_Elf

If I believed by faith alone, my door knob will save me from damnation, then I have a religion based on faith alone.

My grapefruit can beat the crap out of your door knob!

reply to post by FreeMason


"Christianity is logically true because it makes a claim unlike that of any other religion."

That is pretty sound reason.

I mean, the only way to deduce validity is to check that the preposition in question has never been claimed by anyone else before.

IF no one has ever made the same exact claim as made in the original preposition, we can logically deduce that the preposition is in fact, valid.

I mean, that's how logic works, right guys? amirite??

Example:

I am not a human being, I am actually a female umbrella made of glitter.

No one has ever made this claim, so my claim is true.

reply to post by LewsTherinThelamon

I am not a human being, I am actually a female umbrella made of glitter.

No one has ever made this claim, so my claim is true.

Am I to presume that you are the inspiration for Rihanna's god-awful Umbrella?

reply to post by AfterInfinity


Rihanna and I are so close, we're like siblings.

Well, maybe not siblings, more like cousins.

Cousins may actually be a bit of a stretch, I'd say we're bff's.

Actually, best friends forever is a lie. I am sorry for lying. Rihanna married a distant relative in my family. Like, my Mother's third cousin's stepfather's Uncle.

What I am trying to get at here is that I've never met Rihanna.

I suppose I should have just come out with it.

I'm not actually female, nor a sparkly-umbrella.

So anyway, Christianity isn't special. The answer to the question is: nothing that's important.

reply to post by FreeMason


Christianity is the Religion setup by the Way the Truth and the Life Itself, Christ Jesus, the Word and Son of God Incarnate into the Human Race,

Orthodox Catholic Christianity is the Truest and Purest form of religion on Earth, it is the Truth, the whole Truth, nothing but the Truth, so help us God!

Orthodox comes from Greek meaning True or Correct, and Dox meaning Doctrine or Worship, and Catholic means Universal, so it literally means the Correct and True Doctrine and Belief, Universal Christian Church on Earth.

The Roman Catholic Church has the Way, the Truth, and the Life, with heterodox (false doctrine) added to the Truth, so they have true doctrines of the church which are not part of the Truth of the Church,

The Protestant Church Reformed the Way, the Truth and the Life, and have taken much away from the Truth (the Deuterocanon, or Second Canon of Scripture, for example, approximately 7 books of the Old Testament / Greek Septuagint which the Lord Himself and the entire Orthodox and Catholic Church hold as Scripture, only the Jews and Protestants removed the Scripture from scripture and say there are only 39 books of the OT, when in Reality there are additional books),

The Protestant Church has the Way, the Truth and the Life but subtracted from the Truth and added truth which is heterodox,

I hope what I'm saying is understood by all who read this who have Eyes to See and Ears to Hear,

Edit: In brief, what I'm saying is this: All Christianity has some Truth, and all world religions (just about) make claims of having truth, but very few have any Truth at all, and Christianity is divided into three main Sects, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox Catholic, and Protestant, and all make claims of being the One True Church, and only One Truth can be THE Truth,

The Eastern Orthodox Church has approximately 250 - 300 million members on Earth, these people are members of the Truest form of the Church on Earth, only the Saints who have made it to Heaven behold the Truth face-to-face, while we are pilgrims on Earth, the Eastern Orthodox Church is the closest you can get to discovering Heaven on Earth,

The Roman Catholic Church has approximately 1.1 - 1.2 billion members worldwide, and have the Truth but as I stated before, have added to it,

The Protestant Church has approximately 900 million members worldwide, and REALLY messed things up ~500 years ago, because NOW we have 18,000+ churches all claiming to be "Bible Based" and "the True Church" and this REALLY throws people off and messes Christianity up as a whole, some Protestant Churches have some Truth, but they all have there own truth which is not True and have subtracted from the Real Truth,

Christendom Worldwide has 2.2 billion members and growing, because it really is the TRUTH!

Learn to discern spirits, discern the Spirit of the World from the Spirit of Evil and from Spirits of Evil Ones from the Spirits of the Flesh and from the Holy Spirit of Truth and Wisdom,

God bless!

God bless us all, God bless anybody who reads this with Wisdom, Knowledge and Truth, in the Name of the Father (The LORD God of Hosts), and of the Son (The LORD Jesus Christ, Yeshua the Messiah, the LORD of lords and KING of kings) and their Holy, Holy, HOLY Spirit,

Amen and Amen

mymymy
reply to post by FreeMason

 

To me, Christians are the most judgmental, hypocritical war mongering a-holes on the planet. I want nothing to do with them, their religion or their "God". Actually, you can put anyone involved in an organized religion there, screw them all.

Is he so insecure that he has to order people to believe? What you do, who you are, makes more sense to me for "moving up"

There IS a creator, I firmly believe that, but he don't care a lick if you believe, he wants to see your worth, and THAT, you can't fake

A God that is any God at all, would be too holy, and too righteous to "see our worth", because we are too fallen and sinful to be in His presence. You don't seriously think you're a good person do you? I can probably find thousands of times you wronged someone else. Purposely.

It's like Buddhism...."the first step is admitting you are suffering".

Only the first step is admitting you're a sinner.

Christians are no more judgmental or war mongering than any other person. In fact, you think Christians are more judgmental than say, Nazis? Or Communists? Or Muslims? HAHAHAHAH Sorry for my laughing in your FACE!

But you're just so biased or inexperienced in the world, perhaps you should walk around the Muslim world someday wearing a gold star and see how much they lke you?

And you think just believers are like this?

Go to the UK and preach the Gospel and find out how quick they throw you in Jail...militant secularism.

Perhaps because our sinful nature is not unique to Christians or religious people.