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It totally is baffling.

Yeah, Isaiah 14 is about a person, not Satan.

Using KJV (because some still consider it "the true translation"): "They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners? - Isaiah 14:16-17...


What kind of things did you find that destroyed the concept of the Christian God? Did you attempt to go through phases of belief, like, becoming super unorthodox in your beliefs and so on?


You're...18 now iirc, right? (From the meditation thread) That means you became a Buddhist at about 14? Or you found stuff out about Buddhism from 14?

Man. I've pointed out soooo much. It baffles me that some of my family members still believe it. Prior to reading Thich Naht Hanh I had spent a good time studying Christianity in depth and also grazing the surface of all other world religions. I found so much in Christianity that just destroyed my concept of the Christian god who is loving and the Holy Bible that is 100% correct. I was not aware Isaiah 14 was about Nebuchadnezzar, that is an interesting concept I'll have to look into it.

Lol! Oh man, sounds like you have your hands full there.

It is sad to see that; I have such problems with my brother when I chat with him.

I guess I'm lucky that I was never brought up with Christianity, suc things seem so alien to me. Have you ever pointed out how Satan is an angel in Judaism, and Isaiah 14 ("You have fallen from Heaven, O Son of the Morning!" etc) is about Nebuchadnezzar II? Or do you think that would just cause arguments that you don't want?

Lol my let's just say that I have a prayer group or two. My parents and the rest of my family can't fathom the idea that another religion aside Christianity is true. To them, it is by their Gods way or by the Devils way. I commonly ask family members and other Christians here how they explain the fact that adherents to all religions have the same fervency for their faith as they do, they claim the same healing and same change as they do except without ever accepting Jesus and they say that it is the Devil deceiving them. The Christian faith is hard to argue because for every argument there is the Devil who is spearheading it in order to destroy the faith of the Christian. It's very sad really.

To put it simply, when I read the words of Thich Naht Hanh or hear him speak of the Dharma in a video, I am overcome by his great calm and it reaches through to me and calms me. I think that is pretty good stuff. When he's got my attention nothing else is going on. He is the most calm but yet strangely commanding man alive. He is the only example I know of where one has attained such great peace and such great ability to induce peace that it can be used for things that only violence is thought to be used for. He is like a peaceful drill sergeant. He is furthermore the only person with a talent like that whose thoughts aren't utter rubbish! Ha. His mastery thought are equally reflective of his mastery of calm.

Wow, thanks for sharing. That's pretty awesome! Thich Nhat Hanh, eh? Good stuff, very good stuff.

How did your parents react to you changing religion, if they're aware of it? If your parents are Baptist Christians, I'm guessing they're somewhat actively religious?

So I got a few more of his books, even more to my surprise I found two books where he called Buddha and Jesus brothers! I was hooked to say the least. Eventually I associated with Buddhist itself and began to associeate more closely towards the Zen and Mahayana schools. But I believe that all schools have something to learn from and something of importance and that this is important to remember. It was this that I found to be the greatest down fall of Christianity's openness is that they even caused the division of themselves, and we must learn to understand each other.

Yes. I believe that seems to be a common distinction between the Dharma and the Abrahamic religions.

I certainly wasn't born into it. By birth I'm a Baptist Christian. However, since I had something of a conscious idea of what I was believing I've been unsure and doubtful of the faith. About 4 years back I stumbled across a book by Thich Naht Hanh called No Death No Fear. The book fascinated me because Naht Hanh so seemlessly merged spirituality with the science of reality. I seen in his writing a very open attitude towards progress, something which I always thought to be lacking in my own faith

The DIRs are pretty helpful in stopping that, I feel. There's a lot more openness within the Dharmic DIRs than there is the Abrahamic ones, though, it seems.

So, how did you end up going for Buddhism? Were you born into it, or...? What school do you currently affiliate yourself with, if any?

Thanks =) It's an interesting Forum. Most religious boards I have been to have people jumping from each religion that do nothing but argue and it's always the same thing. Lol. No discussion and no progress. But here it seems a bit different. I think because of how well it is divided into it's respective categories.

It is certainly a different type of forum.

:namaste
Welcome to RF. I hope you're settling in comfortably.