BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Spirituality Religious Superiority

thats the problem I have had with catholicism. At least in christianity you are able to communicate with g-d directly. In catholicism it's through a mediator like a priest, etc.

Hi Jase.. Even in many Christian religions, Jesus is the go-between. Some believe that he was God in the flesh, but others believe that he was the son of God. Either way many Christians still pray to Jesus rather than to God.

I don't believe in God, but I do believe that there is a rhyme and reason to all of this. And, when I have a want or need, I send that thought out into the universe. I can honestly say that I have always gotten what I wanted.. in some form or another.

Love and Light...

If I may...

Christians pray to Jesus and ask Him for forgiveness of our sins because He is the only way to get into Heaven.

"No one comes unto the Father, but through me".

I would agree that what you said is quite true Amadeus.. To many Christians the only way to heaven is through Jesus..I have no problem with that.. But, since I am not a Christian that concept does not apply to me.

Christianity is not for everyone.. nor is Paganism, Islam or Buddhism. We choose the pathway that best suits our individual spiritual needs.. There is no right or wrong way to pursue spiritual growth.

In my individual case, I find diversity of faith to be a good fit. That is why I choose to be a Unitarian Universalist with a Pagan foundation.

If the spiritual shoe fits.. wear it with pride.

Love and Light..

Spirituality is between a person and his/her higher power or creator. It's a one on one thing. I personally believe I am closest to my creator when I'm surrounded by the other things he/she/it created which means nature, not fancy and expensive churches. Does this make me right? Between me and my maker, it does, and that's all that counts because we're the only two involved. Does this make you wrong, Amadeus? It's not for me to judge. That's between you and yours. Your god cannot save me; nor can he condemn me. I cannot understand any god that would condemn an innocent child to hell because they had not been baptized. What could a child have possibly done?

What is the meaning of - I send that thought out into the universe. Is that prayer?

Hi Das...

Prayer is a funny word.. When most people think about prayer they think about praying to Jesus or God or Allah or Angels, or whatever deity or thought form they may be comfortable with.

Prayer to me means asking something or someone for advice, intervention, or direction.

I believe that my higher power is myself. I am a spirit having a physical experience, but only a part of me is here experiencing this. Spirit cannot be contained in one place, in one body or in one time.

We are made up of energy.. everything around us is energy.. millions and billions of little dots of energy that combine to make a bigger "unit" of energy.

Sometimes I work the Photo Lab at my job. If you are familiar with digital photos.. you know that there are a million little dots called pixels that combine to form a digital photo. To me, digital cameras are amazing things. The person brings in a camera card, puts it in the machine.. and presto... in about 10 minutes out come hundreds of photos, which were contained on that tiny little piece of plastic.

And, all of this around us is made up of those same type of pixels. This whole world is like a giant digital video..lol

So, when you have that concept in mind.. and it is backed up scientifically... you can understand the principle of manifestation. Thought is energy... and energy draws like energy.. just like two magnets of the same charge. So, if I want something I picture it in my mind, and send that thought out to the universe like a laser beam.. and the universe always responds.

I don't know exactly how it works .. but it does.. if you have a positive mindset, you attact positive things into your life..If you have a negative mindset, you attract negative things.

I see the source of all things as a giant energy turbine which sends out tiny sparks on a continual basis, and all of us are just a pixel on a much larger picture.

Love and Light... Linda

Linda
If you tell such sentences to a religious guy probably he/she should responds you with such words.
"surely God spoke, called and emailed you and has done it in any moment of your life time. for hearing him just open your heart" lol

Amadaus
I born as a human I think. An individual person who can love, hate, judge and so on. no me nor any one else couldn't absolutely dispossessed me from any of such properties I think.
I know this possibility to be wrong in any of my opinions so try to prepare myself to accept my wrongs.
Try to drive with clear windshield.

Hello there!
I was raised Christian, and that white male dominated theory....as with most theories in today's society I could not resist as I do today because I was a little girl. A child.(All though I do believe I came out with resisting fists for the challenges each woman faces and my brother men. I think if your looking for a "God" or something to "save" you. Then one will appear, only because the Universe works that way. Not much to do with a spirit in the sky. When a challenge or disease or death or something we THINK is too much to handle we ask for help from above or get on our hands and knees and the answer comes. Instead of sitting with a candle or by our own beings and asking that light inside for the guided answer. It is like when you are sad, admitting it takes the sadness away! Happiness does not last, nor does sadness, or any emotion. It is not suppose to! This blip of illusion called life is what it is. We have all the answers inside. We are our own messengers. We are the healers. We are all connected. If you ask me (and you did not)but, I will continue the Gods and religions are what devide us, kill us and why there are wars. I see it in my own life. I have been through much, I died and what I seen was no God! It was a connection to all. Or the nothingness, or the allness what ever it was indeed...unexplainable. I am my final law at the end of the day. I am that I am. There is no other I am that comes before me. I create my own set of rules without conforming to others. This is evolution my friends.
I hug trees, I dance with the wind, I laugh with the thunder and cry with the rain while thanking it for the nourishment. I am apart of all of it.
Any religion that cannot love passed and beyond the barriers of predudisms bias's and the right to choose what is inside each individual beings desires and beliefs, is not what love is and could give a believer in that kind of religion something to ponder on. Each of us has unique gifts and if a religion stifles that or forces us to conform we are but mereley being oppressed and the trueness of our reason for our birth right does not evolve. (The cycle of other peoples beliefs continues) there for no evolution of the individual mind grows....(Just more money for the therapists ;)) Then we as a people all suffer and miss the oppertunity of the message that our individual being was to offer. We all have a message and we all can write words in stone! Be creative!
To the parents, I wish for you to allow each child to listen to what is in there own hearts the moment they start questioning your thoughts and beliefs. Your job as parents is not to conform but to free the spirit within all of us. Especially through creativity. Let the passions free and learn not to attach to the passion for that leads to sorrow. Just let allow relax trust and be.
Chia
Namaste
The spirit in me honors the spirit in you!
(Sorry if there are spelling mistakes)

I admire your spirit and courage! I also understand your point about being our own healers and having our own answers inside. Prayer, meditation, even casual communication about a problem sometimes helps us figure out the solution. I'm not sure I share your confidence about the answer always coming, though. Prayer or meditation without action is pretty much pointless. And often even the most fervent prayers cannot keep tragedy from striking, which brings us back to the original topic of religious superiority, in a way.

One of the things that has always bothered me about certain fundamentalist Chritians is their belief that God takes care of those whose faith is strong enough and whose prayers are fervent enough. The reverse side to that coin is that if you accept that God takes care of the faithful, then you have to accept that those who are struck by tragedy, death, or disease simply weren't faithful enough. This seems really arrogant if you think about it: it's like saying that people who drown in tsunamis, are massacred in wars, or suffer and die from malnutrition and poverty deserve it. It always strikes me as truly vain and selfish when affluent Christians who believe in the power of prayer attribute their own success to a superior faith in God, as if Christians born into poverty could be rich like them if only they prayed hard enough!