Christianity is not the only way to God

[firedragon]

The Tanakh and NT provide very different portraits of the God of Abraham, yet He is the same God. The Quran’s portrait is closer to the Tanakh than NT. I believe there is only One God.

I am curious to know what makes it closer to the Tanakh than the NT. What is the gist?

 

[Dawnofhope]

I am curious to know what makes it closer to the Tanakh than the NT. What is the gist?

The major theological difference of course concerns the nature of Jesus and His claims to Divinity. In Judaism and Islam there is strict monotheism and any a clear distinction is made between the founding Prophet and God.

 

[Marcion]

There is only one way to God or spiritual liberation. All that is needed is to speed up the expression of your karma and to avoid creating new karma. Any religious context is totally unimportant.

 

[firedragon]

The major theological difference of course concerns the nature of Jesus and His claims to Divinity. In Judaism and Islam there is strict monotheism and any a clear distinction is made between the founding Prophet and God.

Oh its on the nature of God as in monotheism and the divination of Jesus. Thanks for clarifying.

 

[Windwalker]

It certainly means to be seeking God and His Kingdom.
Those who have found or have been found by Jesus and are in the Kingdom have repented and have passed over the judgement because Jesus has taken their sins on Himself.

If Jesus took on the sins of the whole world, then that includes everyone regardless of their culture, history, or religion. So then, even if one remains a Buddhist their whole lives, if they live the law of love, which Jesus taught, then Jesus opening the doors to heaven, would pertain to them, and everyone else in the world regardless of actual religious affiliations. The Door, is Christ, not church affiliation, right?

God is calling us closer all the time, both in belief and practice.

Do you have scripture to support this statement that we are to get closer in "belief and practice"? My interpretation of scripture is that we are to draw closer to God with our hearts, not with our religious beliefs and practices. We may choose to do that as a means to that end, if that is what we need for who we are and where we are at on our paths, but the injunction from Jesus is not to become more religious. Rather it's to become more loving, from what I read.

God does want us to repent and to accept Jesus, the one He sent, as our Lord and Saviour. Without Jesus sacrifice for us we face the judgement and can only hope for mercy, we cannot claim to be good enough and we cannot claim the sacrifice of Jesus for ourselves, we can only hope that God looks at our life and is merciful to us.

Are you saying that in order for Christ's sacrifice to be imparted to the whole world, somehow people must mentally acknowledge the doctrines of the Christian church and believe in them and follow them, i.e., convert to that religion? Are the keys to the kingdom, found in correct beliefs? Do we have to answer the questions on the test correctly first, demonstrating we have a correct mental comprehension of the Divine, in order to receive God's Grace?

 

[A Vestigial Mote]

Ok, so who is the God of Abraham? Any God one chooses?

Every single one of "His" adherents has a separate copy of "Him" in their heads - with whatever attributes and opinions they are wont to give "Him". That's precisely how I truly believe this to work.

 

[Windwalker]

The Tanakh and NT provide very different portraits of the God of Abraham, yet He is the same God. The Quran’s portrait is closer to the Tanakh than NT. I believe there is only One God.

I used to divide as many do between God in the OT and God in the NT. God in the OT appears more wrathful and violent, but Jesus teaches God as more loving and forgiving, and such. Various theologies try to explain this in terms of the differences between living under the Law, versus living under Grace.

The problem with that of course is that the same God of Love of the NT is also found scattered about in the OT. And the same God of Violence found in the OT, is also found lashing out in an all-out bloodbath in the most violent book of the Bible found in the NT with the book of Revelation. So it's really not a case of OT vs. NT, as it is perception of God by humans throughout the ages, all the way up till today.

This is a great book that goes into the technical details of this from a multi-disciplinary approach to biblical scholarship. https://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Bible-Still-Christian/dp/0062203614/ref=sr_1_1?crid=39K5S4UDPHZMW&dchild=1&keywords=how+to+read+the+bible+and+still+be+a+christian&qid=1618323623&sprefix=how+to+read+the+bible+and+st,aps,177&sr=8-1

And yes, I've heard that the Quran reads much more like the OT books, than what you see in the more Grace-oriented teachings of Jesus in the NT.

 

[RestlessSoul]

There is only one way to God or spiritual liberation. All that is needed is to speed up the expression of your karma and to avoid creating new karma. Any religious context is totally unimportant.

And how do you do these things?

 

[Marcion]

And how do you do these things?

All living beings are knowingly or unknowingly moving around God (searching for happiness) in ever closer union with Him.
Souls move from primitive life forms to more evolved life forms and finally to human life (or evolved life forms on other planets).
The closer you get near to the spiritual centre of the universe (God), the faster you move and the faster your karma is expressed (you undergo more pleasure and more hardship than you would have normally experienced).

The less karma you carry with you, the more happy/peaceful you become and the more unified you feel with God.
You can move closer to the Centre by meditating on Him and not forgetting Him.

Avoiding new karma is done by offering away your actions to Him, by giving away the do-ership of the actions.
In the teachings of Jesus e.g. this is done by ideating "Abba, Your will be done" before starting any action.

This is also called Yoga, practising techniques that speed up your unification with God or the Cosmic Consciousness.
The differences between religions and non-religious paths just occur due to historical and local circumstances.

 

[John1.12]

Christianity is not the only way to God

I have evidence from the Bible itself:

God is love, whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him, 1 John 4:16

What do you think about that?

John 14.6
Jesus is the only way to the Father .

 

[Windwalker]

John 14.6
Jesus is the only way to the Father .

So that means joining the Christian religion? If someone follows the ways of Divine Love, then isn't that who and what the Christ is? So aren't they coming through him, even though they know who he was as an individual from Nazareth? Do they have to read the Bible first and learn the stories about him?

 

[Starlight]

All living beings are knowingly or unknowingly moving around God (searching for happiness) in ever closer union with Him.
Souls move from primitive life forms to more evolved life forms and finally to human life (or evolved life forms on other planets).
The closer you get near to the spiritual centre of the universe (God), the faster you move and the faster your karma is expressed (you undergo more pleasure and more hardship than you would have normally experienced).

The less karma you carry with you, the more happy/peaceful you become and the more unified you feel with God.
You can move closer to the Centre by meditating on Him and not forgetting Him.

Avoiding new karma is done by offering away your actions to Him, by giving away the do-ership of the actions.
In the teachings of Jesus e.g. this is done by ideating "Abba, Your will be done" before starting any action.

This is also called Yoga, practising techniques that speed up your unification with God or the Cosmic Consciousness.
The differences between religions and non-religious paths just occur due to historical and local circumstances.

Your believes sound like New age

 

[Windwalker]

Your believes sound like New age

I've noticed that the term New Age is just an everything and anything bucket that Christians like to throw whatever into when they hear something that sounds different from the way they're used to hearing it. Doesn't matter what it is, or whether or not it's even remotely New Age.

Personally, most of what that poster said, can be found in the teachings of the Bible. Karma, being the law of "reaping what you sow", etc. That's true of many things in Christianity, which are taught also in other religions, just using different terms to say the same things. But they aren't remotely "New Age", as they've been saying it for far longer than the 1970s.

 

[Starlight]

I've noticed that the term New Age is just an everything and anything bucket that Christians like to throw whatever into when they hear something that sounds different from the way they're used to hearing it. Doesn't matter what it is, or whether or not it's even remotely New Age.

Personally, most of what that poster said, can be found in the teachings of the Bible. Karma, being the law of "reaping what you sow", etc. That's true of many things in Christianity, which are taught also in other religions, just using different terms to say the same things. But they aren't remotely "New Age", as they've been saying it for far longer than the 1970s.

Well I think the beliefs to Marcion sounds like new age

 

[Praise Jah]

Christianity is not the only way to God

I have evidence from the Bible itself:

God is love, whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him, 1 John 4:16

What do you think about that?

Christianity is not the only way to God

I have evidence from the Bible itself:

God is love, whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him, 1 John 4:16

What do you think about that?

And how does one prove that they abide in love? By actually being obedient to and doing what God commands. "For this is what the love of God means, that we observe his commandments." (1John 5:3)

The only way to the Father is through Jesus. (John 14:6) If we abide in love we will observe and be obedient to this fact.

 

[Starlight]

And how does one prove that they abide in love? By actually being obedient to and doing what God commands. "For this is what the love of God means, that we observe his commandments." (1John 5:3)

The only way to the Father is through Jesus. (John 14:6) If we abide in love we will observe and be obedient to this fact.

Do you really think that only non-trinitarian Christians can be saved? Only those people who believe in the New Testament and follow the rules according to the New Testament? So what about Jews? Or Muslims? Sikhs? Do you really mean that you think all those people are lost just because they didn't believe "the only way to the Father is through Jesus"?

 

[John1.12]

So that means joining the Christian religion? If someone follows the ways of Divine Love, then isn't that who and what the Christ is? So aren't they coming through him, even though they know who he was as an individual from Nazareth? Do they have to read the Bible first and learn the stories about him?

The only way to the Father is through ' regeneration ' .

 

[Windwalker]

Well I think the beliefs to Marcion sounds like new age

But are they really? That's the question. Not everything people call "New Age", is actually that.

 

[Windwalker]

The only way to the Father is through ' regeneration ' .

I would agree with that. People have that happen everywhere throughout the world, both within and without all the religions.

So do you accept that they are children of God as well?

 

[YoursTrue]

I would agree that it is by one's one conscience we stand or fall. That is true if you follow a religion, or if you don't. So do you agree that someone would not need to convert to Christianity, in order for them to be doing the will of God, and following their conscience? Can you see a Buddhist fulfilling God's will, even while remaining a Buddhist, or a Hindu, or etc, and never converting to the Christian religion?

Jesus said he is the way. In order to understand this better, one must first realize that not all those claiming to be Christians are acceptable to God. I know this may be hard for some to realize or accept.