Christians that make unchristians of others

[brownprose]

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Wow, what a heated exchange. But I think that can't be helped sometimes; religion can be a very personal issue for many.

I heard an author once said that Jesus was only making a reasonable claim when he said, "I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me." He said that truth is mutually exclusive, and that all religions, though they have some points of similarities, essentially have different truth claims. So I guess that means that not all of them can be true at the same time. Only one is true. The question is, which one? Someday I really want to find out for myself if that is really true, that each religion have basically different truth claims, etc., when I can find the time to do it. But there are so many other things that are more urgent hehe...

You surprise me bro...I thought sa BookClub thread ra ka active.

Truth is intrinsically relative from the purview of spirituality - and it is a very evasive truth in real terms simply because the Divinity of God cannot be contained by how much we know of Him in the Bible or any holy book for that matter. Doing so would only limit the infinity of God in the realm of human understanding and wisdom which is not the case. God's omnipotence, wisdom and greatness transcend beyond any of those holy books combined. Hence, God is infinitely unimaginable and beyond insight and therefore, human as we are, we submit to the truth that we cannot and will never find the WHOLE TRUTH in God unless He so wills it.

In addition, God probably throws bits and pieces of the truth (not the whole truth) about him not to confuse us or disunite his creatures -- it must have been so purposed for man to seek him and find a common ground among those who also seek him to compare experiences (God's revelations) rather than compare dogmas.

[josephdc]

Hehehe... usahay magbasabasa pud ko dire nga forum bro...

But didn't God send Jesus to the world to proclaim the truth? If he is the son of God, then we can learn the truth from him. Through Jesus, we can learn the truth from God, although we may never come close to knowing it fully.

I agree that there's really a lot of wisdom and truths in the major religions, but don't they basically contradict each other? If so, then only one of them can be correct.

[josephdc]

Come to think of it, God is *the* Truth, and if Jesus is really who he said he is, then he is *the* truth.

[munzter666]

Hehehe... usahay magbasabasa pud ko dire nga forum bro...

But didn't God send Jesus to the world to proclaim the truth? If he is the son of God, then we can learn the truth from him. Through Jesus, we can learn the truth from God, although we may never come close to knowing it fully.

I agree that there's really a lot of wisdom and truths in the major religions, but don't they basically contradict each other? If so, then only one of them can be correct.

OR none of them got it.

Come to think of it, God is *the* Truth, and if Jesus is really who he said he is, then he is *the* truth.

whose god? whose truth?

[brownprose]

Come to think of it, God is *the* Truth, and if Jesus is really who he said he is, then he is *the* truth.

And yes that is according to Christianity. We have several brands of truth in which they bear the signatures of wise men like Buddha, Lao Tzu, Mohammed, Vyasa or what have you.

However, our orientation or extensive exposure to "the truth" that is taught by our religion has blinded us to believe that "there can be no other truth but ours." And this is where the problem starts (bigotry, fundamentalism and etc.) because we begin to compare their truth and our truth when [the real truth is] we all end up to the same Creator anyway although the roads we take may be a little different.

Also, it's hard to appreciate the "truthness" of or in others when we are stuck or used to the "truth" that we know of since childhood. That's why it's unlikely of a Muslim to convert to Christianity or vice versa especially when he has spent all his life reading the Bible or the Qu'uran or perhaps educated in a Christian or Islamic school.

That's why all it takes to appreciate the spiritual truth is its variety.

"God offers to every mind its choice between truth and repose. Take which you please - you can never have both." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

[brownprose]

you just nailed it...hehehe...

OR none of them got it.

whose god? whose truth?

[josephdc]

OR none of them got it.

That's possible, too.

whose god? whose truth?

Well, the Christian God. But Christians don't view him as one God among many. They view him as Being itself, the uncaused cause.

And yes that is according to Christianity. We have several brands of truth in which they bear the signatures of wise men like Buddha, Lao Tzu, Mohammed, Vyasa or what have you.

But Jesus wasn't just a wise teacher, don't you agree? He also claimed to be the son of God. I mean, he claimed that he and the Father are one. I heard someone say that Jesus is the face of God, because he is the incarnation of the Word. He's a wise teacher, a pleasant man, a kind man, etc., but he also claimed to be divine; and he performed miracles, too. That's a great contradiction in his personality, I think, so that, as someone put it, that makes Jesus either a liar, a lunatic, or really the Lord. And he resurrected, too. I think that's the reason why his disciples were emboldened to spread the gospel to distant lands, because I guess by rising from the dead they were convinced that he really is who he said he is. I mean, their martyrdom were a testimony to it, wouldn't you think?

However, our orientation or extensive exposure to "the truth" that is taught by our religion has blinded us to believe that "there can be no other truth but ours." And this is where the problem starts (bigotry, fundamentalism and etc.) because we begin to compare their truth and our truth when [the real truth is] we all end up to the same Creator anyway although the roads we take may be a little different.

Yup, I agree that religion can blind us, can narrow our minds. But I really believe religion at its best can also be very liberating. I mean, I believe that that is truly the purpose of religion, to liberate us, to make us truly free. Also, not all Christians are fundamentalists di ba.

I guess we cannot really blame most Christians for being too "harsh" and "dogmatic" and "blind" for believing that there's only one way to the truth, to God, because Jesus said it himself that he is the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through him, etc. How can we resolve this problem? Can Jesus' statement be understood in a different way? I've heard someone say though that philosphers and theologians have always understood it that way. But we know that God is infinitely merciful and infinitely loving, because he is love himself, and his ways are mysterious, too, so who knows? But, yeah, I agree, some Christians can be quite bigoted; however I also see that their belief that there's only one way to the truth is based on logic.

Also, it's hard to appreciate the "truthness" of or in others when we are stuck or used to the "truth" that we know of since childhood. That's why it's unlikely of a Muslim to convert to Christianity or vice versa especially when he has spent all his life reading the Bible or the Qu'uran or perhaps educated in a Christian or Islamic school.

That's why all it takes to appreciate the spiritual truth is its variety.

Yeah, I agree, most of us didn't choose our religion, so it's difficult to really appreciate the truths in others' faith. I think that many of us don't even know our own religion, how much more those of others? I mean, many of us can't really articulate why we believe what we believe. This is a struggle for me, personally. It seems it's not very practical to mull over religious issues, especially when you are caught up in more urgent things like making a living. I guess that's also true for many. Most of us can't even clarify our faith, either because we don't have the motivation to study the faith, or we are so busy. So we really don't have the energy or the time left to study and appreciate the other religions. But I have a few reasons why I believe what I believe, and I guess I have faith, too; I mean, it's a struggle, but I strive to have that virtue.

[Sinyalan]

What is/was the question in the first place nga jesus is the truth?

[botslob]

OR none of them got it.



whose god? whose truth?

mao hihihi ... mas tinood pa nga gipangwartahan lang ta ani nila.

[Sinyalan]

IMHO, each of these religions didn't get the "true" memo...