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In your own words, what is your understanding of religion as a tool to wisdom

loverofhumanity

We are all the leaves of one tree
Premium Member
Can you say something about how you understand of religions to be a way to wisdom of the spiritual realm and why we have different religions in this world? Still in this tread, only your own words )

ok. I believe that religion is all about spiritual virtues, upright conduct and character which leads to peace and love and that religion is renewed from time to time with new teachings for each age as we become ready to receive higher truths.
 

wizanda

One Accepts All Religious Texts
Premium Member
Can you honestly say that Messiah 2000 years ago would go around calling people Racists?
Yes, and we can show evidence for it in multiple places... I'd show you the verses, yet you asked for no citations.

In my opinion. :innocent:
 

Spirit of Light

Be who ever you want
Yes, and we can show evidence for it in multiple places... I'd show you the verses, yet you asked for no citations.

In my opinion. :innocent:
Do you truly believe an enlightened being as the true messiah was would say to his followers that because they were to disagree with him they become racists toward him? No he would not because he would not have any attachments to that someone disagree with him. That you are so focused on what others say about you is a very clear sign that you are not a true messiah. Because if you are so concerned about what others think of you, you still have a very hug ego you would need to let go of before you become enlighten and ready to be a messiah of today.
 

metis

aged ecumenical anthropologist
Do i understand you right that you think every religion/spiritual path at least hold some truth? But you can not say if all of the religion hold the full truth?
To the 1st question, yes; and to the 2nd question, probably yes.

IOW, we have more questions than answers, and even what we believe to be answers may not be spot-on.
 

wizanda

One Accepts All Religious Texts
Premium Member
true messiah was would say to his followers
Answering for Yeshua 2k ago, then not using their testimony, whilst proceeding to answer for them is shocking.

Yeshua made statements about the Roman Centurion being in the Kingdom, and the Jews kicked out for being arrogant towards him.

That in the Parable of the Good Samaritan is about treating others of other religions/races fairly, as the Pharisees, and Sadducees didn't.

There is statements about not feeding pearls to swine, and feeding dogs what is holy, where both are referencing other races (Gentiles).

When the woman came who was a Gentile she was going to be turned away, yet made Yeshua question, by saying "don't dogs eat the crumbs from the masters table".

Therefore religious racism has always existed, and this leads to why there becomes many religions, and eventually nations form around a religious culture, like India and Pakistan, etc.
Do you truly believe an enlightened being as the true messiah was would say to his followers that because they were to disagree with him they become racists toward him?
The Messiah is the anointed King of Israel, and of course people might be racist towards him...

This is why I was just explaining that people are racists, and they become bigoted because of this root error in many cases, as they've not studied other cultures.

In my opinion. :innocent:
 

Dawnofhope

Non-Proselytizing Baha'i
Staff member
Premium Member
Can you say something about how you understand of religions to be a way to wisdom of the spiritual realm and why we have different religions in this world? Still in this tread, only your own words )

In my paradigm there is an unknowable essence we call God who manifests Himself from age to age through certain men. This gives rise to the world religions. A community arises empowered by the Teachings of their Founder. The religion at the height of its vitality becomes a driving force for an enterprise we call civilisation. Eventually the light from religion becomes obscured by man made dogmas and ideas that have nothing to do with God and His Revelation. The vitality of the religion diminishes and the religion may even become a source of great harm and confusion. A new Religion becomes necessary and the cycle repeats itself. So whatever religion we practice or follow can be a vehicle for the betterment of ourselves and our communities. It can also lead to prejudice, hatred and estrangement between peoples. So in addition to what religion we choose we also choose the manner in which we practice our religion. Both choices affect our spiritual growth and maturity, but the choice is ours alone to make.
 

Spirit of Light

Be who ever you want
In my paradigm there is an unknowable essence we call God who manifests Himself from age to age through certain men. This gives rise to the world religions. A community arises empowered by the Teachings of their Founder. The religion at the height of its vitality becomes a driving force for an enterprise we call civilisation. Eventually the light from religion becomes obscured by man made dogmas and ideas that have nothing to do with God and His Revelation. The vitality of the religion diminishes and the religion may even become a source of great harm and confusion. A new Religion becomes necessary and the cycle repeats itself. So whatever religion we practice or follow can be a vehicle for the betterment of ourselves and our communities. It can also lead to prejudice, hatred and estrangement between peoples. So in addition to what religion we choose we also choose the manner in which we practice our religion. Both choices affect our spiritual growth and maturity, but the choice is ours alone to make.
That is pure wisdom :)
 

Windwalker

Veteran Member
Premium Member
The end of religion is the beginning of wisdom.
Or the beginning of Wisdom is the beginning of the end of dependence on religion. If you want to look at it from that perspective.

You start out looking for answers/truth thinking someone has to possess these. Lot of claims are made and being young and ignorant you have little choice except to listen. Eventually you come to learn that no one has any real answers or any knowledge of something called "truth". Of course you wouldn't know this unless you involved yourself in these various beliefs.
I think this is largely true. I used to hear this quote from the proverbs rolling through my head while listening to my religious teachers. "I know more than all my teachers". That was my beginning of the end of my looking to them for answers.

So once you accept that no one has any secret knowledge and there is no truth to be learned you find a place of peace and can let go of the search for truth.
Eventually, with looking far beyond where they rose to in their thoughts, I began to see that there are those who do know more than me, legitimately. Everyone has someone they can learn from. Letting go of that self-reliance at little, helps me to grow. But of course ultimately, it has to be your own realization in yourself. It's not that they can "tell you" the answers. Those come from inside ourselves, often times through the help and guidance of others.

One has to face the illusion of truth to let go of it.
I don't think truth is an illusion. But I do think that when we think we know what that truth is, that's when we are inside the illusion.

Religion forces one to come face to face with the illusion of truth, accept it for what it is, and let go of it.
How I see it, is you, and I as well, came to see the illusion of looking to those we have already passed in our personal growth for answers they don't possess. That doesn't mean no one anywhere in the world can't shed light for us to help us see beyond the ways we are currently seeing. That's what growth it.
 

TagliatelliMonster

Veteran Member
Can you say something about how you understand of religions to be a way to wisdom of the spiritual realm and why we have different religions in this world? Still in this tread, only your own words )

I see religions as various movie / series franchises.
Some follow star trek, others follow star wars.

These followers might know a lot about star trek or star wars.
But none of that knowledge specific to star trek or star wars lore, relates to the real world.

Like in most stories, there can be a "moral of the story" and whatnot. But it's fiction nevertheless.
 

pearl

Well-Known Member
I would say that religion is more often a placeholder for the pieces that we don't (yet) have.

"Truth is always complicated by the human envelope in which it is enclosed. It's not only an intellectual problem, but one at the heart of the gospel itself. It was not sinners who turned Jesus off; it was the righteous religious types who felt they had all the answers." Raymond Brown
 

PearlSeeker

Well-Known Member
Can you say something about how you understand of religions to be a way to wisdom of the spiritual realm and why we have different religions in this world? Still in this tread, only your own words )
Humans long for spiritual fulfillment that transcends mere survival, seek meaning and truth behind the appearances. Religions are accumulations of these sorts of experiences, knowledge, ideas, concepts, aspects ... and also errors, rumors, myths and legends in certain cultures.
 

PearlSeeker

Well-Known Member
There is subjective religion (personal relationship to holy) and objective (scripture, formulas, system of beliefs, objects, rituals in community). Sometimes these two align with each other, sometimes they oppose each other. Or something between.
 

Aupmanyav

Be your own guru
Can you say something about how you understand of religions to be a way to wisdom of the spiritual realm and why we have different religions in this world? Still in this tread, only your own words.
Does the religion has something new to say? What is spiritual realm? 'Love thy neighbor' has been claimed by all religions. Nothing new there. How much wisdom and how much superstition does the religion offers? The proportion of the two will decide the worth of that religion.
 

Spirit of Light

Be who ever you want
Does the religion has something new to say? What is spiritual realm? 'Love thy neighbor' has been claimed by all religions. Nothing new there. How much wisdom and how much superstition does the religion offers? The proportion of the two will decide the worth of that religion.
What you can read in the religious/spiritual scriptures is only the recipe to the real experience of the religious path. it is how much each one put in to cultivating the teaching in to our life that give access to more and more wisdom (in my experience anyway) So the community within a religion is only a small percent of what religious lifestyle is all about. And even for those religions that are old now, as long people cultivate the teaching in to their daily life they will get benefit from it.
 

PearlSeeker

Well-Known Member
Does the religion has something new to say? What is spiritual realm? 'Love thy neighbor' has been claimed by all religions. Nothing new there. How much wisdom and how much superstition does the religion offers? The proportion of the two will decide the worth of that religion.
Yes, universal love is part of all "world religions". Maybe even "love your enemies". But what about in real life practice?
Example 1: What if a member of your family/community converts to a different religion? Then love ends?
Example 2: What if your neighbour is slaughtering and eating cows? Then love ends?
Example 3: Anti-abortion violence, death penalty ...
 

IndigoChild5559

Loving God and my neighbor as myself.
Wisdom is not the learning of knowledge, but the ability to put that knowledge into practice. Religion gives a person the tools to hone that ability. Not everyone avails themselves of such tools. But for those who really want to become better people, more virtuous people, wiser individuals, there is no better way to do it than through religion.
 

MNoBody

Well-Known Member
religions provide the same service to anyone as any tutor or teacher would....
....it ought to be the teachers intent that the student outgrow the need for a teacher.
Why drive your bike with training wheels for all your brief mortal span?
 
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