BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Philosophy Tree of Life vs. Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil

Yes! to acknowledge or see, is something that is difficult for humans, (cognitive dissonanc, an' all) but I think it is the answer to most every problem.

The bigger picture is all of creation, I think. Who keeps us? a little-big thing called grace. And, possibly the occasional guardian angel.

To acknowledge or accept is also belief, or perspective. Perspective is also known as the quality of our lives.

Many say we are our thoughts. But, I think (he-he) we are feeling. But, maybe we are fundamentally sensation, that can feel, then think about it.

I do agree that humans are selective sifters of reality...but that is also the beauty of it...the brain receives at least 4000 billion bits of information per second while we only acknowledge about 2000!

Bitter-sweet! I love life.

I couldn't think of how to label this. WHo looks after us? our subconscious as well.

ok to Vance I think Jesus healed the physical as well as the mental emotional and Spiritual. the physical is easy to fix because everyone wants to live and feel better we do not want dis-ease but mental well if you think you are normal and life is great its everyone else should change, or emotional, we tend to wear our hurts like a badge or honer or as a shield or an excuse for bad behavior...and spiritual well if we do not want to recognize that we have a spiritual side or that there is a spiritual world... the point is we have free will and if we do not want or think we need to be healed then God honors us and does not step in.

to answers MomsPaula's question here is a different question!
Is the Holy Spirit our conscious????

the bible says that we must invite Jesus into our hearts and let the Holy spirit Dwell with in us so if the holy spirit is our Conscious then this would mean only christians have one...or the holy spirit dwells in all of us and it is up to us to follow or not so every diciden we make is either christian or non christian depending on if we follow (christian) or not (non christian) our own conscious.

that was stated akwardedly.... sorry about that!

Religion is man made. Following religious beliefs is following what our fore-fathers and mothers have gained in truth. Using these truths correctly, is another matter.

THe holy spirit is more (I think) in connection with our sub-conscious.

I believe the holy spirit is the feeling (or close proximity to)that enters us at any and every moment of the day. We feel. Feeling generates emotion within us. (Sadly, emotion carries history, so our reaction can be jaded - not fresh) However, emotion spurs thought, and action.

And, yes I think we need to me mindful of ill winds or evil spirits.

It depends on how you now define 'Religion'...
If you mean a calling or faith, then yes, it is a Human-Construct. But Religion, in the sense of a Godhead, creed and representation of a deity is something that is inherent in any culture that believes there is a God there in the first place.
The only true 'Man-made' religion, is Buddhism. We venerate the existence of a Man, his teachings and example, and have named our religion after his awakening (he wasn't Buddhist, himself....). There is no God in Buddhism, not one at all. so I would say that this is the only truly 'Man-made' religion there is. Every other religion is an on-going debate.....and one I am not going to stick a spanner into....

A little too technical for me. I think what ever we touch is soiled, or man-created.

MomsPaula, You have a point. LOL a little to technical for me!

Alexandra, I think your right every culture has a built in religon system of some kind. but lets take you for instants You were raised Catholic but you are now a Buddhist, so Buddhism was not a cultural inherated thing for you but you choose that religion.... ok you are a bad example!!!

mmmmm.....well let me make one up! hehehe

ok lets say I was raised Nazarine but changed to Wiccan. I inherated the Nazarine but choose Wiccan. both religions have there basis in a culture but I was only raised in the one culture that is whole heartedly againsted the other.

so my religion would be Nazarine (christian btw)and my calling is Wiccan...

How do you explane the ones that change from one religon to the other? they are both Religions and basised in a cultureal setting?

when does a Religon become a calling?

WOW talk about taking the long way around a question.... sorry!

Well, if you take my example, I changed from a Christian Religion to an Asian or Far Eastern one... But if you think about it, Christianity is fundamentally concerned with worshipping a Deity whose Earthly birth origins were Arab, and from the Middle East..if it hadn't been for a specific directive, we'd either be Jewish (as Christ was....) or Moslem (both religions see him as a prophet.....) So why did God not choose to bring his Son forth in a Western society? It puzzles me, but not in a confrontational way... I'm curious as to whether any Christians have views, opinions or reasons....

I remember reading a report interviewing Christians in America, about perhaps approaching the Bible in the original Aramaic or Hebrew(I could be wrong here on original language, so I humbly crave indulgence and seek pardon if I am incorrect....)and one Baptist minister stood up and announced - quite seriously - that if English was good enough for Jesus his Lord and Saviour, then it was good enough for him....!



I guess I'm guilty, if you like of using this term frequently...
I refer to Buddhism as my calling, for two reasons:
One, some people do not accept, or personally view Buddhism as a 'Bona-Fide' religion, (Though I do) due to the notable absence of a God, so rather than say I converted to Buddhism (it's hard to convert to something when there's strictly speaking, 'nothing' to convert to...!) I prefer to say I considered it a calling to a different path....
Secondly, again, on a personal note, whilst I was 'born' into Christianity, and therefore, through Baptism, "ready made", I made a conscious decision to commit myself to a different Religion, through study, thought and personal Choice. I thought about it long and hard (I've been studying Buddhism for 16 years, but only officially 'Took Refuge' (or "converted" - !) in 2002....) So for me, it was a very definite turn in the road.... a conscious and deliberate decision to seek elsewhere....

Hope this answers your question....you know FB, I am always more than delighted to engage with you and answer as best I can.... though as I always try to point out, I only ever speak for myself and of what I have personally learnt or experienced... I'm no Buddhist 'spokesperson'. So every Buddhist has a different tale to tell of how they came to it....