To understand what I believe, I guess, you really have to go back to the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve lived in perfect harmony with God. Adam and Eve understood God, and lived in His presence. I like to think that they posessed what C.S. Lewis called in the Narnia books, the "Deep Magic".

 

In Narnia, there was magical spells and magical items that all did whatever they did and served whatever purposes they each served. But all of this magic was infused with a Deep Magic that only Aslan (God) could speak or fully understand. In the same way that we have a physical book called the New Testament that is infused with a deeper meaning called the Holy Spirit.  Catholics have sacraments that are physical things, but most of them will tell you that they're not much good unless you seek the deeper spiritual meaning behind them. I believe it was this deeper meaning, this understanding, this Truth, that they carried with them out of the Garden when they left.

 

And this Deep Magic survived the Flood, with Noah and his family. A few generations later, it survived the Tower of Babel when man was scattered, and from there went to develop different cultures and different languages and made war and formed governments and whatever. The Deep Magic survived in creation, in man's conscience, in our need to understand God and be loved.

 

But God spoke to the Nation of Israel in a much clearer way than with any other people. And even  though remnants of the Deep Magic survived in other cultures and other philosophies, it was the Nation of Israel that carried It forward through history. And then the Deep Magic was embodied in the person of Jesus Christ, and He provided us a means of salvation by His sacrifice on the cross.

 

Now, this Deep Magic is everywhere. God is everywhere, in all of creation, infusing every philosophy and every religion. There is no one true religion. There is none that is 100% accurate

 

 

When I say "Deep Magic" I am just using an image to describe a spiritual truth. It's just a way of understanding it, and if it helps you, great. If not, forget it.

 

All religions are not the same, obviously. Even all Christian religions are not the same. But I think the mistake Christians today make is telling anyone else that their religion will lead them to hell. In a way, all religion will lead you to Hell, if you don't seek the deeper meaning behind it, just as sure as day. Folks who seek the Truth of God will find it, in the way that He reveals it to them.

 

Hindus believe in Nirvana, the emptying of self, the denial of all earthly desires. Just the same way that Christians teach that you need to humble yourself before God. The difference is that, in Christianity, you humble yourself and then you accept the Truth of God; in Hinduism, Nirvana is the truth that you are seeking and there is nothing there to fill you back up. So the mistake is thinking that because they each contain this one similar truth, that they are both exactly the same. They are totally not.

 

Buddhists believe in karma, the notion that your actions effect your destiny and that a worldy action will have spiritual results. This is the same way that Christianity teaches that the sins of the father are passed to the son.

 

In the Bible, there are two chief aspects of God: That He is perfect in love, and perfect in justice. That He loves and accepts us, and that He requires Justice. That's why in the Old Testament, God was always visiting judgement on folks, but also why He always spared His people. Folks look at how harsh He was to Soddom & Gommorah, or how He wiped out mankind in the Flood, and they say that this must be a different God than the New Testament One. They forget that He spared Lot, and Noah, and that He made covenants with Moses and Abraham. They say that Jesus taught Grace and Peace and forgiveness, and that surely this must be a different God than the Old Testament one. They forget that Jesus overturned the tables in the Temple, and that God brings judgement in Revelation.

 

Or think of it this way, if you like. If God was all judgement and wrath, why would He send His Son to die on the cross to forgive our sins? But if He was all love and peace and He didn't care about our sin, why did He have to have His Son die to forgive our sins?

 

I'm not trying to convert anyone here. I'm just saying, these are two complete opposite aspects of God, but if you only look at one of them, you'll miss something critical. You need a balance. And isn't that the  same thing as that Eastern religion yin-and-yang thing?

 

I'm not saying that it doesn't matter what religion you are, and that they're all the same. I'm just saying, don't be so caught up in whatever religion you are, that you miss anything else that God wants to show you.

 

I am very comfortable being a Christian. I believe that Christianity contains the most complete picture out of all the religions. As far as I know, no other religion talks about Grace, the idea that God covers us in His unmerited favor, that He loves us and draws us to Him without us having to do anything other than sincerely seek Him. I believe that if you are honestly seeking God, when you encounter Jesus Christ, you will recognize Him for who He is. But I don't think it's my job to decide for you. All I can say is, honestly, seek God, and you will find Him. He will reveal Himself to you. I know, because He revealed Himself to me. That's all.

 

Isn't this all just getting back to you being an arrogant pig, and saying that you're right and everyone else is wrong?
Whether I am an arrogant pig or not is a matter of opinion, and most of my friends will tell you that, yeah, I really am sometimes, but I'm not saying that I am right. I am saying that God is right, and that God has shown Himself to all these folks throughout history. Some folks have just understood Him better. It's no more arrogant than other folks who believe that Native Americans understand God better because they took peyote. Maybe I am the one hallucinating. I can't prove anything, just telling you what I believe.

 

But still, aren't you saying that whoever doesn't believe this is going to Hell?
No, because, in a way, God doesn't care so much about what you believe. He doesn't even care so much about what you understand about Him. He does care about what you did with the understanding that He gave you. Did you try to understand Him better, or did you just try to go your own way, or did you just not care one way or the other? Most folks don't care.

 

And I'm not saying that Hell is a place where you're punished for not understanding. Hell is simply what you choose when you choose wrong, or don't choose at all. Hell is separation from God. Some folks say, isn't Earth hell? Isn't this our punishment? And it upsets a lot of conservatives to hear that, and I don't think that it's correct to say, but it is a kind of partial picture of what Hell is. Separation from God. We separate ourselves from God every day by doing all the dumbass crap that doesn't bring us to a more nearer understanding of Him.

 

So, are there Buddhists in Heaven? Are there moslems in Heaven?

YES! But if there are, they got there not by being good Buddhists or Muslims, but by the grace of God.

 

So, now, we're back to where it doesn't matter what you believe, because Buddhists and Moslems can get there just like anyone else?
Not really. Because if a Buddhist or Moslem or WHATEVER, is seeking God, and only seeks Him in the places that they have available to them, they might come to a very limited understanding of God. The Bible tells us that if we seek God, we shall find Him.

 

But when this Buddhist or Moslem encounters the historical figure of Jesus Christ and learns of all the stuff that He taught, they'll be able to recognize Him for Who He is. It's kind of like, we don't find God in Buddhism, or Hinduism, or even in the Catholic church or the Protestant faith. We come to a fuller understanding of God in these faiths, some of them much more nearly than others. We seek God our whole lives here on earth, we come to understand God as we seek Him in these things, and Heaven is kind of like the place where He says "Were you looking for me?"

 

Sadly, most folks aren't even looking for Him, or looking for Him in the wrong places, and they won't find Him because they never sought Him. That's my idea of what Heaven and Hell are.

 

So you're saying that you can lose your salvation?
I'm saying that maybe the entire traditional idea of saying a prayer of faith is wrong, or at least it's incomplete. I'm saying that you will find what you are seeking. If you seek God, you will find Him. If you don't, quite simply, you will be separated from Him. In a way, I'm saying that I think this idea of judgement being something that God imposes on us is a lot less accurate than just that it's like a long line of people wandering past a door, and the ones who are looking for the door will get in, while all the others just keep wandering around and around not knowing where to go.

 

So you're saying that all you have to do is seek God?
Yes.

 

So what about the prayer of faith?
You can say the prayer of faith, but seek God when you do it.

 

So you're saying that God can reveal Himself to a Buddhist or Hindu through meditation?
Absolutely, if their meditation is done in a way in which they are honestly ridding themselves of all of their own earthly desires, I believe that God can reveal Himself to them. I will qualify this because almost all Western preachers will here accuse me of blasphemy. I also believe that when ANYONE, no matter what their background or culture is, seeks God, then they will also recognize Him when they encounter the historical figure of Jesus Christ, or read the Old or New Testament. Because I believe that these are  are two very crucial ways that God reveals Himself to man.

 

But let me also make an important disctinction. That is, as I understand the concept of Nirvana is simply the loss of self. The loss of desire, of self, the extinction of all attachment. As a Christian, I seek these things so that I can be a better servant and that God can use me for His purposes and  not my own; they seem to seek these things just because.

 

Isn't this a pretty radical way of looking at Christianity?
I thought so at first. But the more I explained it to people, the more I realized that folks have been saying these things for years. Anyway, if it helps anyone at all to even understand God, then I've done what I wanted to do by writing this.

 

Are you saying that there are mistakes in the Bible?
Not mistakes so much, really. I am saying that the truth revealed to us in the Bible is God's Word, and this is a spiritual thing, and not words on a page. God's Word is expressed to us in a way that we can understand in the Bible. But there are different translations of the Bible in all different languages. Not every  translation can be 100% accurate. Think of it this way: Jesus Himself spoke in parables. He never claimed that the parables were literally true, like, He didn't say that the prodigal son was an actual historical person. But the truths expressed in the story of the Prodigal Son are real. In the same way, the truths expressed in the Bible are 100% accurate, even though they may not be literally true.

 

Does God hate homosexuals? Should I? Do you?
God's word tells us that the heart of man is sinful, that everyone has sin in their lives. I don't think it's my job to tell anyone what their sins are or that they have to live any lifestyle that they choose. That's between them and God. But I believe that homosexuals, just like everyone else, need to be willing to give up whatever comes between them and a fuller understanding of God. If they are willing, God will call them to what He wants them to do. They can seek Him or not seek Him. So, to answer your questions: No, That's up to you but whatever dude, and no.

 

Do you think you know everything?
Sometimes I do. That's when God smacks me in the back of the head and reminds me what a dumbass I really am. The truth is, I am just a regular guy and not a Bible scholar. I'm just a big doofus who screwed up his whole life. I'm no better than anyone else; in fact, most times I don't even think I am that good a person. So, no, I don't know everything. All I'm saying is, you don't either. Be open to what God wants to show you, that's all.

 

So are you saying that someone can be saved without believing in the Bible or Jesus Christ?
Not really. I'm saying that salvation comes when God speaks to our hearts and we choose to follow Him. If we do this, we will recognize Jesus Christ when we see Him, and He asks us "Who do you say that I am?" Many Protestants make the mistake of teaching that, to be saved, we have to accept certain facts, such as the historical person of Jesus Christ. We can learn about a historical figure whose name was Jesus of Nazareth, and not be saved. Only when we are saved will we recognize who the historical person of Jesus Christ truly is. If someone is truly seeking God, and is willing to give up their own understanding to accept Him as He reveals Himself to them, I believe they can be saved even though they've never had the opportunity to learn about the Bible or Christianity.

 

What about the Catholic sacraments that you mentioned? Do you believe in those?
I personally don't. I'm not Catholic. But if it helps them come to a better understanding of the nature of God, you know, rock on. Whatever. I'm not going to tell them what to believe.

 

What about covenants? Does God have different covenants with different people?
No. God has one covenant, and one promise. All I'm saying is, He uses different means to draw people to Him.

 

Isn't the "Deep Magic" another way of describing the Holy Spirit?
Probably. Like I said, it's just a term I used to describe different aspects of God that survive in different places.

 

I don't believe in all this God stuff. I don't want to hear about Jesus or the Bible. It's offensive to me. It's all just your opinion and I disagree with it.
That's not really a question, but ok. You are right when you say that it's my opinion. I can't prove it, and I may be wrong. But when you tell me that your opinion is different than mine, it tells me that you have already made up your mind about God and that you're not open to anything that He wants to show you, because that's all I'm asking anyone to do.

 

As for Jesus and the Bible, there are a lot of negative things that people believe about them. They think Jesus was just a man, that Christians are all close-minded bigots, and that the Bible has been hopelessly and irreversibly corrupted through history. I happen to believe that Jesus was God, and that Christians are just like anyone else, and that God spoke His Word through men and preserved it throughout history in the Old and New Testaments. But to be honest, if I believed different, I wouldn't want to hear about Jesus or the Bible either. All I want anyone to do is to rid themselves of those pre-conceived ideas and be open to new ones. Consider that there might possibly be a Creator and be open to what He has to show you.

 

Well I disagree. We can still get along without calling each other names. I'm not going to apologize, though, for trying to tell you what I believe. If you don't like it, don't listen. We can still be friends. Or just ignore each other. Or whatever.

 

Not if they really are stupid. Anyway, I don't do it to make anyone feel bad; I'm just laughing at how stupid everyone is, myself included. 

 

According to dictionary.com, Karma is simply "The total effect of a person's actions and conduct during the successive phases of the person's existence, regarded as determining the person's destiny." At least, as it is traditionally regarded by Buddhists and Hindus. I don't have a problem believing that the things I do or believe effect the things that happen to me, and to those around me. Even if I didn't believe in God at all, this just seems to be common sense. But like I said it's also very similar to the Christian idea that folks can suffer because of the "sins of the father".

 

The modern concept of Karma seems to me like money. I mean, you do something good and then something else good will happen to you, even if the things that happens is completely unrelated to the thing that you did. Like, if I help you change a flat tire, then a stranger who is uninvolved and doesn't even know me will at a later date be compelled to hold a door open for me. Or if I kick my dog through a hedge one day, six months later a piano will drop on my head. And that these events keep some kind of cosmic ledgers in balance. I don't know if I believe this, or at least the part about some cosmic balance. My Bible tells me that the race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. Sometimes evil men will prosper, in other words. Sometimes it will pay off to lie or cheat or steal. Now, again, even if I didn't believe in the Bible or God, and all I knew was what I read in the papers, I would be more compelled to believe that there is no cosmic balance.

 

I suppose, you could look at it that way. But at the end of the Book of Revelation, there really is no "balance" between Good and Evil. Good wins. I can't tell you what to believe, I can only tell you what I believe

 

Of course, but I like to think that what I believe is a lot closer to what He taught than to the beliefs of those who slaughtered people in His name. And I certainly don't believe that what those freaks back 1700 years ago did, is any reason to reject the Truths that are in His message today.

 

I never heard that before, but, no offense, I don't believe it anyway, and even so I don't think that knowing any more about it will help me in my own spiritual walk.

 

Well as for me, I don't need to worry about all that. I guess, the only thing I would wonder is did He teach anything new as he went through Asia and North America, as you say, or was it the same Gospel message that He brings us through the Bible? If it was a different message, I would have a great deal of trouble accepting it, and if it's the same one, I am very comfortable with the Truths that the Holy Spirit reveals to me through the Old and New Testament and through my own prayer life.

 

Well, if He taught them the same things that He taught in Israel, and the same message that Paul spread through his missionary journeys, then I don't really stand to gain anything by studying it, because I have been studying the lession that he taught in Israel.

 

If you did find Jesus, and if you can stand before Him and recognize Him on the day that He asks "Who do you say that I am?" then that is wonderful. The only message that He ever gave me to spread was that people continue to Seek Him from wherever they are, and to prepare their hearts for Him when He comes.

 

Exactly. But I don't think that this means that all religions are one, or that all religions lead to the same place. It simply means that God speaks to people of all faiths, and even to folks with no faith at all.

 

I think mainstream Christianity has lost the Sprit in thier lives. 

Well, regarding mainstream Christianity, I am starting to think that you may be more right than even I was willing to admit even just a week ago.

 

I was brought up to believe that the concept of healing and praying in tongues was evil, and as a child could never quite grasp that.
I don't think any belief is ever really "evil". I think the evil comes from any belief that we are unwilling to honestly examine, or change.

 

Just because I haven't changed my mind, doesn't mean I'm close-minded. I think when most folks want me to be open-minded, they just want me to agree with them.

 

The long and short of it is that this Jesus stuff is working for me, dude. Kind of like when I find a good mechanic, I want to tell folks about him.

 

Do you know how hard it is to find a good mechanic?

 

No, seriously, I wasn't thinking of it this way when I said it, but no matter what kind of car you drive, you will always need a mechanic, just the same way that we all need to understand God better than we do. You could say that Jesus is like this Cosmic Mechanic, in a way.....of course, that means we're all '63 Chevy Novas

 

One of the questions or thoughts when I was 7 was that each language, at the Tower of Babel was given a piece of truth...........And was i expected to believe that it was just a tower that was being built? God was threatened by a tower, made of stone and really tall? hummmm

Well, I tried to make this point in the first question about the Garden of Eden, I don't think it's necessary that we take everything that's described in the Bible as literally true. Was there an actual, literal Tower of Babel? I don't particularly care, really. I'm not qualified to debate it, and even if I was I wouldn't much see the point of it.

 

The story of the Tower of Babel is this: After the Flood, Noah and his descendants all lived together in one place, had one culture, one background, and basically one religion. They were disobedient in that they were unwilling to wait on Him and do things His way, and they tried to "reach" Him by building a big tower to go up to Heaven. As punishment, He scattered them, giving them all different cultures in different places and different religions.

 

Now, what the story says is that we were all meant to live together with one understanding of God, but because we're idiots we all try to do it our own way and wind up with a million different religions and philosophies. I believe that this is true, whether there was an actual, physical Tower of Babel or not.

 

And consider, it may be a good thing that things are this way. Because if we all did still have just one understanding of God, I can guarantee you that it would be wrong. Because we're all still idiots.

 

I do too.

 

I didn't knock on your door, dude. I don't care what you do. I'm just putting some ideas out there. If you don't like it, go look at porn or get drunk or something, do whatever you like, all I'm saying is that you will never draw closer to God by just seeking your own will and your own pleasures.

 

Because God has requirements of us, and it starts by seeking Him. But even if I'm totally wrong about just that point, you can't find God if you're not looking for Him, if you're just seeking pleasure and escape. Just be honest about it and we can still get along and not argue, so even if there's no Heaven we can at least get along here.

 

Honestly? I don't know that at all, and I didn't mean to suggest otherwise. There are a great many people, in fact, who go to places like that just to find God. But based on the number of folks with substance abuse problems and the spread of STDs, I'm guessing that very few of them find Him there. Dude, God can speak to anyone in any situation using any means. But just because He finds you where you are, doesn't mean He's going leave you there.

 

Sure He can. But what are you going to do when He's standing in front of you?

 

Think of it this way: When Jesus was put on trial, He sat in front of all these old dudes who had studied the Old Testament stuff and knew about all the old prophets and their writings, all that stuff in Daniel and Isaiah about what to look for. And they said "Are you the Messiah? Are you the Son of God, the Promised One?" He said, "So you say." He wasn't being sarcastic, like on the Little Rascals when they say "Puddin' Tame, ask me again, I'll tell ya the same!" He was being literal. You say I am the Messiah, I didn't say it. You already know Who I am, and what are you going to do about it? I believe that they knew Who Jesus was, they knew what to look for and they'd personally witnessed His work and His miracles, and yet they killed Him anyway. And these guys were rich and powerful and respected and educated.

 

By contrast, when He hung on the cross He was next to this petty little nobody thief, who probably didn't know too many of the prophecies or been all that educated. Yet when they mocked Him, this little dude says "Why do you mock Him? What did this guy ever do to anybody?" And then He asks Jesus to remember him when Jesus gets up to Heaven. This guy was a criminal, he admitted that himself. But he recognized Jesus for Who He was, and he sought God. He didn't mock Him or spit on Him like the rest of those dudes. He didn't wash his hands of Him the way Pilate did.

 

It doesn't matter where you are, to God, it matters where you're going. Are you trying to move closer to Him and understand Him more, or are you pulling away from Him? Or are you indifferent, and just not care about God and where you are in relation to Him?

 

I should point out that those who think they've already found God, that they understand Him as much as they need to understand Him and that they don't need to move any closer.....they're not going anywhere, either. If the door to Heaven opens in front of them, they're not going to step through it, because they're not going to think that they need to. This includes everyone who claims that they are already "saved".

 

I think it's great that you asked Jesus into your heart, and that you at least recognized Him enough to do that. But that's the first step in a journey of a thosand miles. And, no, that doesn't mean  that it's something you can earn.

 

Think of it like Spiritual Inertia. A Spirit in motion tends to stay in motion, and whatever direction you're moving on earth is the direction you'll keep on moving when you die. Are you moving toward God, or away from Him, or just standing still?

 

Well, you can choose Heaven, but you don't have to choose Hell. Hell is what happens when you just stand there.

 

Really? Try having God wake you up at one in  the morning and spend six hours typing this stuff.

 

It's not that I hear physical voices, but that there are times when I feel His purpose for me, or the things that He wants me to do, are as clear as if I did hear a voice speaking to me. And the only point I'm trying to make here with everything that I've written on this page is just that, if you are also willing to make yourself available and forget everything that you already know about God, He can make our purpose in life that clear as well. And I should also point out that if you are in pain, if you're confused, if you aren't happy with your life, then what you already know about God isn't working for you anyway, so give it a try.

 

And as for hearing voices, sure, it does sound crazy, because we think about those wild-eyed self-medicating schizophrenics who mutter incoherently about the CIA implanting tracking devices in their teeth. But if someone tell me they hear a voice that tells them to love their neighbor and be kind to everyone, I'm going to have a lot more questions about it than a voice that tells them to stab their neighbor in the head with a fork.

 

The other thing is, if a voice tells me to buy stock in Google right before it triples in value, I'm going to care a lot less about whether or not I imagined it than just listening for what it tells me to do next.

 

So why do you think God called you to do it?
I guess because I'm willing to do it, and not make excuses why I can't.

 

I said that those things don't make a person stupid, and that is so; most people, though, are stupid anyway. The thing that makes most people stupid is not that they're wrong, but that they're so convinced that they're right and they live in misery and fear, unwilling to stick their heads out of their shells even the tinest bit and consider that there might be something more.

 

I'm really glad that you feel comfortable enough with me to share that, and that we live in a world where even the most obnoxious people can voice their opinions.

 

I'm sorry, what?

 

I don't think so. I'm no scholar, but the truth is that there aren't any religious figures that I know of who even claimed to be God, at least not in the same way that Christ did. There were always a lot of different gods, or regular guys who God chose to lead people. Historically, the only people I can think of who claim that they are the one true Living God, are insane axe murderers like Charles Manson.

 

I believe that Jesus Christ was, fully, God made flesh. I believe that the Bible as it exists today is God's Word as it was revealed to men, and that God has preserved it through history to serve His purpose. It is complete in that it reveals exactly what He wants us to know about Him.

 

Think of it this way. On the one hand, Christians claim  that Jesus Christ is God and that He is the one true Path to Heaven. They claim that Jesus Christ Himself taught these things while He lived here on Earth. Popular thinking now is that all religions lead to Heaven, that you can believe whatever you want and still enter into God's presence. Not only that, but to teach otherwise is intolerant and immoral. In other words, every philosophical and religious path leads to assurance of salvation, except the one that claims to.

 

That's tricky, because first of all I don't believe it would happen. But I couldn't even begin to presume why God does the things He does, or what His purposes are.

 

There are a great many people who can't recognize the truth in the Bible because, simply, they hate the Bible. They hate Jesus. It's not that they hate the things that He stands for, it's that they don't know what He stands for, either because they were taught incorrectly or because they have all these preconceived notions that get in the way: That Christians are bigots, or that the inaccuracies in the Bible are more profound than they actually are, it really doesn't matter why. The fact is that something is preventing them from recognizing the truth in the Gospel and in the person of Jesus Christ, and maybe they will never come to as full an understanding as they might have otherwise, but God can still touch their hearts and they can still seek God.

 

I had not thought of that, but it's entirely possible. It's easier for me to believe that I already know everything and cling to the beliefs I had before.

 

Absolutely I think they should. But I don't believe that they should get a head full of steam up and just charge out into the world, led by nothing more than blind human ambition, and try to reach as many folks as possible. I think they should always use their common sense and their basic manners and think about what they're doing. Most of all I think they should be patient and kind and wait on the Spirit to move them to speak. Everyone has their own, limited understanding of God, and there's nothing wrong with sharing what you understand about Him with other people. Just also be prepared to listen.

 

Like what? Other ideas? God doesn't want you scared of other ideas. He wants you strong in your own faith. Besides, I was only talking about basic courtesy.

 

Yes it does. But that implies that we're being asked a question. If folks aren't interested, they are not going to hear you. And all I've been saying is, when you tell people to Seek God, is to prepare themselves to hear you. It's not enough that God prepare you to speak His Word; they have to be prepared to listen.

 

That doesn't mean that I should make it my goal to get as many folks to hate me as possible. There are always going to be folks....a great many folks....who not only don't want to hear me telling them about God, but they won't want me talking about it, at all, to anyone. Those folks have their minds and hearts set on this physical world, and not on anything spiritual. That's what "the world" is. Not "everyone else in the world but me".