M
mee
Guest
thats the way to do itThere is only one way to God.
john 17;3 and its all in the bible about Jesus and the true God JEHOVAH
thats the way to do itThere is only one way to God.
Is it salesmanship? Maybe. If you had something that has worked in your life and in the lives of people you know, wouldn't you want others to know? Wouldn't you want to advertise it?
Mee wrote above:
"...but if i didnt write things down i might by mistake go back to that person thinking that their loved one was just at work , and say something to offend . its good to get the facts right ."
My comment:
I can see Jesus telling His disciples
and He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey,
except a mere staff--
no bread,
no bag,
no money in their belt--
"But.. wait!
Take a pad and pencil so you remember who you talked to!"
matthew 24;14 matthew 28;19-20 thats right , thats when God is involved and behind it all. and great things are then accomplished in more ways than one
if God is involved then he will tell you where to go, who to speak to and what to say
also any suggestion on how to deter Jehovah's Witnesses ?
they keep coming round on saturday mornings lol![]()
if god is infinite then all ways lead to him ~ or more that there are no ways to him as he is amongst us, hence no journey necessary.
i believe that the only way to God is through Jesus.so you all [christians] think christianity is ‘the’ way to god? so your purpose on these forums is not to be comparative but to keep saying you are right and everyone else are wrong?
John 14:6 (New International Version)
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
well I believe its the truth, however when Jesus said that what did he really mean ?i would be saddened if that were true. its just pure ignorance.![]()
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The question is why do people try to convert people? This to me has a thousand answers. One particular one I notice is converting someone to a different ideology is almost similar to a courtship ritual of trying to seduce, and maybe a subconscious drive to practice this valuble skill set.
if god is infinite then all ways lead to him ~ or more that there are no ways to him as he is amongst us, hence no journey necessary.
so you all [christians] think christianity is ‘the’ way to god? so your purpose on these forums is not to be comparative but to keep saying you are right and everyone else are wrong?
i would be saddened if that were true. its just pure ignorance.![]()
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yes there are many sides to the question, as indeed there are many different answers [see my last post]. there is nothing wrong with telling people ones truth, as long as they ask. believe me, if anyone can say what the truth is then we would all come flocking to that truth.![]()
unfortunately reality is a tad more complex than any particular understanding and indeed language itself.
i think there are many truths to be learned from all faiths, the problem only comes with the labels.
if a christian or jew could marry a muslim or a pagan and bring up their children without indoctrination, then all is well.
"To believe in God is not a decision we can make. All we can do is decide not to give our love to false gods. In the first place, we can decide not to believe that the future contains for us an all-sufficient good. The future is made of the same stuff as the present....
"...It is not for man to seek, or even to believe in God. He has only to refuse to believe in everything that is not God. This refusal does not presuppose belief. It is enough to recognize, what is obvious to any mind, that all the goods of this world, past, present, or future, real or imaginary, are finite and limited and radically incapable of satisfying the desire which burns perpetually with in us for an infinite and perfect good... It is not a matter of self-questioning or searching. A man has only to persist in his refusal, and one day or another God will come to him."
-- Weil, Simone, ON SCIENCE, NECESSITY, AND THE LOVE OF GOD, edited by Richard Rees, London, Oxford University Press, 1968.- ©
1: Answer the door stark naked.
2: Get your partner to answer the door with you (ditto).
3: Same-gender partner is even better.
4: Record a fight off a TV homicide show. Switch recording on as the come up the garden path.
5: Open the door holding some kind of weapon.
6: Laugh hysterically at everything they say.
7: When they're talking, hold you hand up to interrupt them, cock your head to one side, and pay particular attention to the voices in your head.
8: Argue with yourself while they're talking, a la Gollum.
9: Squirt lighter fuel or other flammable material on the floor at their feet whilst they're talking. Make sure they know you have a zippo handy.
10: Open the door awkwardly, a tie round your bicep, one end in your mouth, a syringe in the other hand, and motion at one of them to hold the other end of the tie and pull it for you...
11: Shout over your shoulder, "Unlock the cellar, ma!"
Just a few ... I've forgotten the others ...
... no-one comes to see me anymore ...
Thomas
path_of_one said:Dondi, I've never had to advertise it. And I don't think I'm anything special.
People have noticed ways I am different about some things, and they ask me about my faith/religion/spirituality. My testimony is my life, plain and simple. There is no better advertisement.
If something is life changing, that change is the best advertisement for it that can possibly be. If, as Christians, we are called to be the light of the world- how can we go unnoticed?
I never seek to convert people, and I hold firmly that conversion is, indeed, bringing people from one social group to another. It is not awakening them. The two are entirely different actions on the part of the guide and on the part of the individual who is changing. People can awaken in nearly any religion that promotes love, faith, hope, peace, and connecting to the joy of God. Any religion/path that teaches to give up oneself in order to be filled with Something More, that teaches justice and mercy and "humbly walking with one's God." I've seen awake people in Judaism, Islam, Christianity, neo-Paganism, indigenous religions, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism... on and on. It's not to say all paths are the same, but rather that many paths lead to the Divine One and the transformation that occurs as we commune with It. Awakening someone involves being the midwife that assists their birth into a more connected state within whatever their religion/path is. Converting someone involves moving them from one religion/path to another- from one social group to another.
mee
yes 2,000 years ago that may have been a worthy cause, but we can all read now and i cannot image that anyone has not heard of the bible. there can’t be many people who have not read it!
Join them.GlorytoGod said:also any suggestion on how to deter Jehovah's Witnesses ?
I don't believe all paths lead to God- those that lead to the ego, I believe, are leading away from the awakening to the true nature of the self, and thus away from God. Those that lead us into harming ourselves and others are not beneficial.
BUT, I believe all people end up in God. It's just a matter of time, in my opinion. We can resist a long time, but God is eternal and infinite. We're bound to eventually run out of steam in our egoic lives and come to terms with the Divine. I believe God is patient by nature. By virtue of God's infinite and eternal Being-ness, by virtue of God's love, mercy, and justice... well, there is no rush from His/Her part. Time is on God's side.![]()
But it's not my life style that I'm trying to lift up. It Jesus Christ who I'm trying to lift up. Because my life wouldn't have changed without Him and His Love.
Are we to sit quietly and let them guess? Are we hiding our light under a bushel by keeping silent?
Our personal testimony is perhaps the greatest witness, but we aren't presenting the whole story of how God changed us if we don't let people know how we got there.
I don't convert anyone either. We aren't the converters, the Holy Spirit is. So we need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading. Sometimes, a person is just ready. They are ripe for the harvest. They simply didn't know how. Others are either not ready or not interested. That's fine. We leave them be. There is no pressure to come to God. Any attempts at conversion would be false anyway. A person must come on his own accord. We simply leave them some literature and if they have any questions call, and maybe invite them church.
But the point is that I'm not looking for those who have 'Something'. I'm looking for those who don't. Reach out to folks who and give some kind of hope to those who live in quiet desperation, as Thoreau would say. To toss a lifeline to those who need it. Jesus didn't go to those who weren't sick.
Some Christians believe Christianity is the only way. But then, Christianity is variously defined in Christian denominations.
I don’t believe all paths lead to God- those that lead to the ego,
Anyone who experiences God could tell you that being separate from God is torturous and painful.
i believe in supposed false gods! e.g. the egyptian god anubis has taught me much about balance ~ the ma'at. is paganism a pretend religion? is hinduism then a false religion? or buddhism as it has no gods? perhaps the christian god is the false one, no-one can even tell me what it is, so it must be ~ for truth must be expounded or it is not anything at all.All we can do is decide not to give our love to false gods.
what is not god? and what is god that we may make this comparison?He has only to refuse to believe in everything that is not God.
People defend fighting over partial truths: false gods.
The human condition has allowed us to accept an unnatural life explained in Buddhism through the parable of the Burning House and in Christianity By Paul as the "wretched man" and by Plato as the Cave analogy.
Where you seem to be asserting the value of accepting all false gods as eqaul and "one", I believe that "ONE" is at a higher level of psychological reality beyond the scope of false gods and something we must awaken to.
what is the kingdom of daniel i don’t know for i havent read the bible [just bits of it]? i would put a pretty penny on it that even without knowing what it is, it will be a relatively easy task to demolish it completely. so go ahead tell me.yes many have got the bible but its all about the GOODNEWS of the kingdom DANIEL
BUT, I believe all people end up in God. It's just a matter of time, in my opinion. We can resist a long time, but God is eternal and infinite. We're bound to eventually run out of steam in our egoic lives and come to terms with the Divine. I believe God is patient by nature. By virtue of God's infinite and eternal Being-ness, by virtue of God's love, mercy, and justice... well, there is no rush from His/Her part. Time is on God's side.![]()
Path_of _One
Would you find the Buddhist idea of the wheel of samsara unnecessarily depressing since we don't automatically end up in God but rather continue in circles and in many cases end up further from the source of life itself?