The Bible

I might be going to hell for this one but I dont know....

Dont get me wrong, I have faith, in what ... Thats what I dont really know. My family NEVER took me to church, the couple of times in my life I did go was with friends parents and each time it was a differant kind of church. I guess my faith would be that there is something more then us but over the recent years I have thought hard about the bible and what little I know / have heard about it. I worked with a guy who was HIGHLY religious and everytime I would talk about something I saw on the discovery channel about life possibly being in the universe he would give me a spill about how thats peoples way of trying to prove there is no god and etc. My whole thing is, what if the bible was written by someone as a regular book or maybe just alot of thoughts someone had or whatever. Then someone comes upon it, spreads it out and it becomes what alot of people believe in. From stuff I have heard, like moses splits the red sea and some other wild stories, I just cant believe those. How come we have no one in the world like that today? Someone who is trying to lead us to good. All these characters were present in those days but none can be around now? Im not going to post everything I was going to at first as I could sit here for hours but let me know what your thoughts are on religion. I am very interested in learning about all types of religion so let me know your thoughts on certain things and what you believe in.

*EDIT* sorry I mispelled some words and had to correct them.

I'm not a big church goer and I never go but I do believe in god and I think that is enough to get me to the promise land...My dad just found Jesus and hes always telling me to go to church but I don't think that I will go to hell if I don't go.....

you don't have to go. it's all about your relationship with God.

I was raised Christian, went to a private school from 1st till 6th grade- 2 hour religious class daily for all those years and 3 church services on Sunday.. my parents got divorced and a lot of doubt was cast on the church because of it, I noticed how everyone around me preached that crap all day but no one cared to live it, I then found out about all the Vatican edits of the Bible during the 3rd century. I was infuriated that I had been swamped with all these lies. I went 'religion shopping' through my teen years, dabbling a little bit in everything. I came to the startling conclusion that all religions worked and all religions carried some truth to them. It seemed as if the sheer BELIEF in them made them so. I now belong to no religion but am highly spiritual, I belong to the theosophical society which is basically a group of people who believe in a higher being and that we are all connected, that all religions have truths to them and that it doesn't matter what name we choose to call God- goodness all leads to the same place..

Only you can decide what you believe, don't let yourself be pressured into thinking one religion must be right because MoSt people believe it.. good luck in your search.

Hi folks. Here's a wee bit of a common sense that i heard{?} through Alan Watts. I can't remember exactly what he said, but the idea is along these lines...We experience what we consider to be other internally; i.e. what we experience through our senses happens inside of us, e.g. all trees, litter, cherries, books, odours, other people etc, are inside not outside. With this in mind, one can reflect on connectedness, on our own direct experience. The very fact that you would initiate this thread JOEGALLO is a great thing. Asking profound questions like you have provides the impetus for reflection, and in my opinion it is reflection, or even better, contemplation, that will lead to you ceasing to have to ask anyone else what is right or wrong; you'll feel it out for yourself. That said, there are many paths to God, and there are many people that have gone before, and many that are around today who can help galvanise your search, but my personal opinion is that signposting is the best anyone can do for you. I am amazed to find how pretty much all of the great religious traditions have their mystical aspects, and ultimately are saying the same thing. It's also great fun to check out how strange the world is according to those at the cutting edge{last 100 years or so} of physics. Please don't assume that i understand physics at any depth beyond that of someone who can entertain the very basics of the wonderfully strange ideas espoused by the likes of Einstein, Planck, Heisenberg et al. Their theories which can be shown to be true may help you look inward by demonstating that things are not how we percieve them to be. I enjoy books on zen, vedanta, sufism,yoga, aikido, shamanism, quantum mechanics and many other subjects. If you feel an affinity with Jesus, then maybe a course in miracles would be of interest? I didn't get too far with it, one for later perhaps. I would suggest seeing the late George Carlin's take on religion before worrying too much about heaven or hell, it can be easily found on youtube, and may perhaps highlight some crucial distortions in what to my mind are pretty seedy institutions. That said, i know people of most faiths who are a hell of a lot more serene than me. I by no means mean to do anything but share your thread and wish you well on your path. Oh.. theosophical society seems pretty cool to me to. All the best s.

Better still, sit with your plants, sense your breathing and just be there, if your mind is annoying or whatever, keep observing your breath, no need to strain. I heard a good one, watch your thoughts like a cat watches a mouse hole.

Every religion is a result of man missing something that He could not fulfill with everyday life. Desire is the root of all evil. Desire implies that YOU are not satisfied with the current situation that your life is at. So YOU chase all kinds of pleasures to fulfill that desire whether it is sex, food, drugs, or rock n roll. Ultimately nothing will satisfy the desire for a personal relationship with God. And the Truth about God and Life can be found where you would never look. The Kingdom of God is inside you. I recommend reading up on meditation. Set aside 20 minutes of your day. Get really really high. Then sit still and meditate.

meditation is awesome. sad that some Christian churches claim that it's evil and what not. i wish the religion wasn't so altered and manipulated... maybe people wouldn't hate it so much that way.

Yeah I have tried to talk to my Dad about meditation and he seems to think that meditation of Eastern thought like Buddhism is evil. However it says quiet plainly in the Bible for Christians to meditate. And it doesn't say contemplate or concentrate. It says meditate. Ma Ra Na Tha is Aramaic and it is a Christian mantra used for centuries by Christian monks. I believe it means Come Lord. I read somewhere that it is the final instruction of Revelation.

Its not that I am looking to find a religion or whatever you would call it. I just like to see what people believe in and how it effects their life. I have known alot of people who swear they are good going christians but yet they lie, steal and cheat. I always thought those were big "no no's" for christians or any religion really.

I have always believed that if you lived your life right, even though we all make mistakes ... and I have had more then my share of them, that you would end up good in wherever life takes you. I do believe that there is something above us all, what that is .. I dont know. I havent had the time to look into many religions but I just think it would be interesting to read into them all and see how different or alike they really are.

Im glad there has been no bad talking yet. Hopefully this thread will stay nice and clean and everyone can share their input and read others with a little respect.

This subject is so entertaining! let me join in! lol

Ok, well I'm an oddball of sorts when it comes to interests, basically I just love life and everything it has to offer.

GOOD = GOD
EVIL = DEVIL

I've always found that the natural instincts inside of me are ones I consider truthful and correct although I dont always listen to them, you get me. I consider god not a man but everything in existance, I am as confused as most of you but find great calm in knowing we are all of one spirit and we will unite in the eternal. I feel that the devil is in all of us, in the context that the devil is the evil actions we knowingly allow ourselves to do from time to time.

Right now, our situation on earth is both new and alarming in human existence, with the controlled media, corporations, secret societies, government mind control, Global warming!myth?, Over population, conspiracy theories etc.. Religion to me is yet another thing in society that creates conflicts, but also has its place in getting us to where we are at the moment in time, it's not pretty but where else would the natural course of eternity take us?

I'll skim through a few things which may be of interest to some.
Mayan calender 2012 which also coinsides with Terrence McKenna - decoding the I Ching. December 21st 2012 is a significant day people.
The flower of life - Sacred Geometry (try find the video on google video), this stuff is mindblowing!!
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You know I never knew some christians thought meditating is evil, wow.
There are too many narrow minded people in this world.

Check these films out if you havn't already!!!!
All can be found on www.documentary-film.net:
Who wrote the bible?
Zeitgeist
and Im sure youll find a few more of interest


Ive just deleted a whole load of stuff, sorry guys Im dribbling on now...
Peace

I highly recommend you to read this, you can find it as an ebook.

The Sacred Mushroom And The Cross - John Allegro