God made bananas

[Sheik]

The concept of God is no more a delusion than any other concept, including personal identity.

 

[pboy]

I think the real problem is people taking things literally and living by that, cause im pretty sure all religions were nature based, life essence based, and the images were just personifications...men being masculine energy, kind of thing, or they were used as metaphors

I think once major empires started getting hold of Europe/asia they basically kidn of took religion out of its context and used it in a propaganda type way, and its really people living by that that's been the problem, and now its just a big time mess because its not necessarily a propaganda tool (except by people trying to make money off it) but its also so out of context no church goers...few, really get anything out of it or even ..they don't have any clue the context and how its supposed to be understood, the difference in life from when they were written until now

theres obviously not literally a bearded man in the sky, but perhaps there is an enforcing or orchestrating 'masculine' type energy that governs over life in some fashion in a karmic way...theres no way to quantify it, things could point at that in many peoples lives and in the experiences they have, but you cant convince or show someone else, and you cant prove it scientifically so its really just a thing you either believe or don't, but that doesn't really change the fact that living as a person with good ethics is a good thing

 

[Nicholas]

I think the real problem is people taking things literally and living by that, cause im pretty sure all religions were nature based, life essence based, and the images were just personifications...men being masculine energy, kind of thing, or they were used as metaphors

I think once major empires started getting hold of Europe/asia they basically kidn of took religion out of its context and used it in a propaganda type way, and its really people living by that that's been the problem, and now its just a big time mess because its not necessarily a propaganda tool (except by people trying to make money off it) but its also so out of context no church goers...few, really get anything out of it or even ..they don't have any clue the context and how its supposed to be understood, the difference in life from when they were written until now

theres obviously not literally a bearded man in the sky, but perhaps there is an enforcing or orchestrating 'masculine' type energy that governs over life in some fashion in a karmic way...theres no way to quantify it, things could point at that in many peoples lives and in the experiences they have, but you cant convince or show someone else, and you cant prove it scientifically so its really just a thing you either believe or don't, but that doesn't really change the fact that living as a person with good ethics is a good thing

oh, of course. the Bible even says that the word/literal kills and that the Bible is a spiritual book in which that understanding has to be given spiritually. There are three phases for all mankind to completion and fulfillment which the Bible discusses from beginning to end: of the sea (unbelievers), of the earth (the "believing" self-righteous church world that doesn't realize they don't even know God), and the heavenlies (knowing Christ). Every human being of all time will come out of every spiritual location in their mind to arrive in the spiritual heavenlies and One with Christ. Nobody skips any part of the process - whether that process is fulfilled in the flesh or after Christ's return. There are still physical realities and rules, but they are not the eternal reality - they are only a shadow of the truth.

 

[mt_dreams]

It's quite common for the masses to mock newer religions like Mormon, Scientology, etc, but people have to remember several thousand years ago in Europe and the middle east there were thousands of different religions. Pretty much every community was coming up with some sort of way of life based on the stories they had at their disposal. The only reason we know so few today is b/c rule one of Christianity is to wipe out whatever religion the takeover region was previously practicing. It was quite common in Mecca on any given day to have hundreds of sages(priests,etc) spew their created religion to the travelers passing through.

We don't know if man invented God, so it would be wrong to point to that as being the first mis-step. From my passive reading of the bible, it appears the first mis-step was that man wanted to be God, aka decide what lives & what dies within all the kingdoms. And yes this includes the creation of agriculture. This mis-step seems to be inevitable due to our brain wiring, so the creator, if it actually watches the whole, is probably having a good laugh about this point in time.

For history sake, not taking into account the last couple of hundred years, the islams were the first to try to treat women as equals. Not just in scripture, rather in real life. Prior to that they were pretty much looked at as material property, and as we know some men don`t treat their possessions with care.

 

[Nicholas]

the central flaw in all humanity is that they think they are God. But if this is the central flaw, to say that man desires to be God of some kind of free will, then that means he already IS God. Can sovereignty be divided? No, that contradictory thinking is only in the mind of man. the truth is that God is working ALL things after the counsel of His *own* will. This is repeated over and over and over throughout the Bible but even "Christianity" does not see it - because they have been deceived by God. To show just how far God's ways are above our ways, He even tells us that He is responsible for creating good *and* evil.

 

[pboy]

so is god cool or an **** hole? or are we to personally blame via free will for our good and bad experiences? if the answer to that is sometimes, then is the times when bad things happen to good people random? or does god have a specific method to the madness

this is why I say, eff it, just lets focus on each other here, be good people, create a world that is as nurturing and liberating as possible for ourselves, and if there is a god that is good...great, if there isn't, we still doing the best we can for each other. to 'serve' god is a major potential problem. How about serve people in the totality of the sense, not like be their butler or slave, but in all you do think of and account for the collateral and ramifications down the line, to other people, and act in good ethics and spirit about that

its funny how the Japanese who have never had an abrihamic religion, do a much better job than this than the so called 'god' religions, and they still appreciate art and the beauty of nature, apparently, much more also

 

[Nicholas]

so is god cool or an **** hole? or are we to personally blame via free will for our good and bad experiences? if the answer to that is sometimes, then is the times when bad things happen to good people random? or does god have a specific method to the madness

this is why I say, eff it, just lets focus on each other here, be good people, create a world that is as nurturing and liberating as possible for ourselves, and if there is a god that is good...great, if there isn't, we still doing the best we can for each other. to 'serve' god is a major potential problem. How about serve people in the totality of the sense, not like be their butler or slave, but in all you do think of and account for the collateral and ramifications down the line, to other people, and act in good ethics and spirit about that

its funny how the Japanese who have never had an abrihamic religion, do a much better job than this than the so called 'god' religions, and they still appreciate art and the beauty of nature, apparently, much more also

nothing is random. yes, according to scripture God causes it ALL. As you said, it's not something you can convince people of or prove scientifically. It is something that God can convince people of, though. He is the one that deludes man into thinking they have free will in the first place. He thinks very little of our flesh...because the flesh is only the beginning. The fleshy mind has to be destroyed before the Spirit can come. I know that someday we will all be grateful for all of His works - as harrowing as they may seem at *present*.

That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." - 2 Cor 3:1-6

who will love him? all of humanity, but first the firstfruits:

14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. - John 10

 

[pboy]

see that's where I think people go wrong, its just a book, written by 4 men, no one even knows if those words were of Jesus anyways (who also was a man). No man is without capability, then or now, to know and intuit and ponder on matters of the heart and spirit, so following or putting trust in words from a book written by others, unless they are literally just the same thing you were already thinking, is pretty much...dangerous. You can come to high knowledge and be a better person than most religious people just by meditating and testing things in life, being observant, having a conscious effort to live in the best way and figure that out, and living out of your own volition is what makes sense. It obviously cant be only pure selfish, it has to realize how your actions and words effect everything at large, then its great....if everyone did that and lived out of that, we'd be good. Everything is simple and obvious actually, over complicating it, is actually a defense mechanism for self fear based aggressive or unfair towards others living patterns. Its so simple children are born naturally with this in them. Why speak in scary riddles and be all vague and ***t? why not just say things plainly as they are. Its like the science professor or medical establishment using long chemical scientific names and purposefully acting confusing and a bit elitist just to boost their own self status image...any real teacher, or person with a heart and real knowledge and experience, can speak to any people and make it valuable and understandable, at least coherent to make an impact

 

[Sheik]

Zen taught me more about Christianity and God than church ever did.

I want to recommend a great book by Stephen Mitchell called The Gospel According to Jesus. But I must also say that it might be difficult to understand without actual spiritual experience. With spiritual experience Jesus' words start to make sense. A lot of sense.

I got a used copy of the book off amazon for a few bucks.
http://amzn.com/006016641X

 

[Peat's_Girl]

That's because we share 50% of our genetic DNA with bananas ;D

 

[Nicholas]

see that's where I think people go wrong, its just a book, written by 4 men, no one even knows if those words were of Jesus anyways (who also was a man). No man is without capability, then or now, to know and intuit and ponder on matters of the heart and spirit, so following or putting trust in words from a book written by others, unless they are literally just the same thing you were already thinking, is pretty much...dangerous. You can come to high knowledge and be a better person than most religious people just by meditating and testing things in life, being observant, having a conscious effort to live in the best way and figure that out, and living out of your own volition is what makes sense. It obviously cant be only pure selfish, it has to realize how your actions and words effect everything at large, then its great....if everyone did that and lived out of that, we'd be good. Everything is simple and obvious actually, over complicating it, is actually a defense mechanism for self fear based aggressive or unfair towards others living patterns. Its so simple children are born naturally with this in them. Why speak in scary riddles and be all vague and s***? why not just say things plainly as they are. Its like the science professor or medical establishment using long chemical scientific names and purposefully acting confusing and a bit elitist just to boost their own self status image...any real teacher, or person with a heart and real knowledge and experience, can speak to any people and make it valuable and understandable, at least coherent to make an impact

i see what you're saying - though we disagree. whatever people think that Jesus is, many regard him as a teacher at least....well, he specifically said that he spoke in parables so that the meaning would be HID - He was intentionally keeping the meaning of his teaching from the masses. He did his entire ministry and had disciples... and in the end, he knew that none of his disciples could hear and understand him....and he said that they would NOT understand and remember his words until he died and sent the Spirit to reveal the meaning of all his parables.

 

[Westside PUFAs]

The bible?

Watch this video to see the crazy things the bible says:

(I shortened the link because it has the word s**t in the title, it's a youtube video)

https://goo.gl/Qtwxzp

It says a lot about a person who can honestly be okay with referencing a book that says such things. Why ignore the bad parts but endorse the good ones?

The videos author also has Holy Quran versions as well. Actually looking at what all of these books say should be enough to make you run far away from them.

 

[gummybear]

Feminists just suffer from the suffering of other women. This is an excess that was created by another eccess. Violence to women AND children are the most common, because they are the weekest.

Feminism will disappear when the anger will disapear.
The problem is anger because it wastes energy, and creates more powerlessness, helplessness.

It is better to fight for peace without anger, because in that case there is more strengh and power, and no violence for revenge.

 

[tara]

The worst thing humans have ever done, in the whole history of humanity, is to first invent god, then to make god a male. We still have not recovered from this.

It looks as though you distinguished yourself from a doormat. :)

It looks as though we have some anti-feminists here.

Varied as women's/feminists viewpoints are, as far as I can tell, feminists generally seem to think women should not by mistreated on the basis of being female - that is, we generally want to end sexism.

Sexism seems to be primarily enforced by male domination, and secondarily by women's agreement to submit to it. Men's oppression (stats above) also seems to be primarily enforced by male domination.

I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat.

― Rebecca West

 

[schultz]

It says a lot about a person who can honestly be okay with referencing a book that says such things. Why ignore the bad parts but endorse the good ones?

The passages in the Bible were written by about 40 different people over the course of around 1,500 years. Some of them said douchie things and some of them said things that make sense. All these passages just happen to form one big book now, but really it's like a book of "short stories". If you took 60 something short stories from modern authors and put it into one big book, you wouldn't tell people that they had to endorse the entirety of it or none of it at all, would you? I think it's healthy to pick out the good parts of things. When I eat fruit I don't eat the rotten part, only the sweet part.

If people would only read the bible they could actually form their own opinion on the book. Parts of it are really dumb, parts of it are really boring, there are some good stories in it and definitely some good advice.

"You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies!... If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else?"

That's pretty profound. If all humans did this we would have no war.

“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” - Mahatma Gandhi

 

[Nicholas]

but the entire POINT of the scriptures is that man cannot (of himself) do the things he ought because he is a beast. the real truth is that if everyone had CHRIST in them there would be no wars and we would all love our enemies. But that is not the purpose of creation at the moment. God wants there to be wars so that light can come out of dark. Man has to see that he is incapable of doing the thing that would bring him peace before he can desire Christ. Gandhi says what the scriptures say, basically: you say Lord, Lord and do not the things that i say. Even though Gandhi is blind and doesn't realize what he's saying - by him saying that he doesn't like christians he is saying that he doesn't like himself - because he was not a Christ follower - just as false Christians are not Christ-followers

it's because orthodox "Christians" don't have Christ. The only people that have Christ do the things that He says. humans have and will have a progression - not believing in Christ, thinking you believe in Christ and are superior to everything, and then actually knowing Christ (being Him). the church world is where all the false prophets are, not in the unbelieving world. false prophets do not go after unbelievers, they go after believers. all christians before they come to know Christ and be like Him are their own false prophets.