Do we all pray to the same God?

[Namaste Jesus]

Then one can argue that if they not following the Jewish God's commandments which "he" told them to do then this means they are either disobeying him or not worshipping him at all.

Ok, so who did God tell? The Jews right? He wasn't talking to the Hindus at that time. He was talking to those he had delivered from captivity in Egypt. Those who rather than being grateful, relentlessly complained and continued to doubt God's word some 3 months later. One could argue that the Hindus were already living in God's word by practicing Dharma and didn't need to have it spelled out for them.

 

[mystic]

All humans are disobedient at one time or another but in my opinion, if my God explicitly lays out rules for me to follow then I have to follow those rules and when I should go off track then I ask for forgiveness and get back in line and strive not to sin again. Bottom line here is I am not seeing that anyone of any religion not following the Jewish bible's teachings are worshipping the Jewish God.

 

[wil]

Seems you think there is a Jewish god a Christian god, a Hindu god, a Muslim god...etc

That would be polytheistic.

Jews don't follow.the ten commandments, they attempt follow the 617 commandments in the old testament. Focusing on the ten commandments is a Christian thing...

617 is too many for us

 

[mystic]

Oh yes, that's another can of worms, Jews and Christians. I think if there is one God and he lays out explicit rules we are to live by then every human of every faith should follow his teachings and according to the way in which he commands it. If we do otherwise then.....

 

[Namaste Jesus]

All humans are disobedient at one time or another but in my opinion, if my God explicitly lays out rules for me to follow then I have to follow those rules and when I should go off track then I ask for forgiveness and get back in line and strive not to sin again. Bottom line here is I am not seeing that anyone of any religion not following the Jewish bible's teachings are worshipping the Jewish God.

It seems to me, you're getting hung-up on terms like "Jewish God" and "My God" rather than accepting that there is "Just God" and that different cultures have different interpretations of the divine. You're also not getting that by striving to achieve Dharma, Hindus are essentially following the covenants spelled out by the ten commandments and then some.

 

[mystic]

Good point.

 

[mystic]

The problem I am having with this is let's take India and Africa as examples. They are converting to Christianity as a very rapid rate. These people are abandoning everything they have been taught all of their lives, all of their traditions and rituals go out the window and they give everything of themselves now to Jesus. Those people I can see are on one very direct path like myself, we worship the God of Abraham ONLY and live life according to scripture.

For that same reason even though I attend a catholic church and support it, they know my intentions, I am there only to fellowship because the bible demands it but I do not take part in any of their rituals and traditions or anything that is not in line with the bible. My thinking is if you believe in the God of Abraham the you follow the bible and its teachings.

 

[Namaste Jesus]

The problem I am having with this is let's take India and Africa as examples. They are converting to Christianity as a very rapid rate. These people are abandoning everything they have been taught all of their lives, all of their traditions and rituals go out the window and they give everything of themselves now to Jesus. Those people I can see are on one very direct path like myself, we worship the God of Abraham ONLY and live life according to scripture.

I don't know about Africa, but Christianity is a very easy sell in some parts of India. Remember India was under British rule and religious influence for a number of years. Still other devotes view Hinduism as all encompassing and as such readily embrace other teachings. A business acquaintance from India once told my wife and I that he had converted to Christianity from Hindu, because since coming to the US he no longer had time to be Hindu. To him, Christianity was a short form of worship that didn't compromise his core beliefs.

Bottom line though, as long as you're of the mindset that there is a separate God of Abraham, rather than just some folks worshiping God in the Abrahamic traditions and others worshiping God in the Hindu traditions, you're always going to be faced with the same dilemma.

 

[wil]

Christianity around the world is not completely replacing all beliefs...but moving in with them.

The old beliefs get tangled on in...

But the again, the abrahamic god is the god of Judaism, Christians, Muslims, Mormons, Rastafarians, and more who have varying belief systems. Islam is still much faster growing around the world than Christianity and a higher percentage of Christians become muslins than the other way around.

Ebb n flow.

 

[qaz]

i think not. the only thing religions have in common is rejection of death. but perception and relationship with the "unknown" - the most important features - change very much among cultures.

for example, the abrahamic god will never be comparable to the tao

 

[juantoo3]

Oh yes, that's another can of worms, Jews and Christians. I think if there is one God and he lays out explicit rules we are to live by then every human of every faith should follow his teachings and according to the way in which he commands it. If we do otherwise then.....

Sixth day creation of pre-Adamic humans, Genesis 1:31 finishes "and it was VERY good." So G-d created the races of the world *before* Adam and Eve, and it pleased Him very much. Days 1-5 of the Genesis creation end with "and it was good." Day six, humans are created, and "it was very good." Day seven G-d rested. Day eight G-d created Adam...who by extension is the father of the Abrahamic religions.

Note also Romans 2:14 and 15:
"14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;

Meaning, not only is G-d OK with those of other faiths...provided they live in accordance with the teachings of their faiths...which coincidentally line up nicely with the underlying tenets of the Abrahamic faiths...but it is VERY good.

All of the major world faiths teach at their core the same essential message: "Do to others what you wish others to do to you, and Love G-d with all your heart, mind, soul and strength." G-d may not go by the same name, and humans are bad about projecting their own desires onto the Divine...but the essential message remains. Do the best you know how with what you have been given. No one...none...is born to be destroyed. We all have the opportunity with what we have been born into, with what we have been given. To those who have been given much, much is expected. To those who have been given little, little is expected.

All of this pitting faith against faith and religion against religion and belief against belief is politics and deception. There is no *best* religion, and there is no *perfect* faith...all have their shortcomings, just as all humans do.

 

[Bhaktajan II]

the bible very clearly states that you need to follow the 10 commandments

The Ten Commandments is elementary. The ten commandments are definitive rules for civic behavior ---they facilitate Good Karma.

I am Hindu and the ten commandments appear to instruct rules that must have been lost among the then living populace.

I God advents [in some form] and commanded that:
"You shall not fling excrement at any time under any circumstances"

or

"Thou shall not oedipus rex one's own mother"

Such rules would be likened to a state of emergency provision.

 

[Thomas]

Hi mystic —

These people are abandoning everything they have been taught all of their lives, all of their traditions and rituals go out the window and they give everything of themselves now to Jesus.

I think that's a great pity. The great missionary waves of the 18-19th centuries did that, and inflicted much ignorance, suffering and damage. Later European missions tend to be more enlightened and work alongside the communities, most notably in the 'liberation theology' that emerged in S America when Christian missions fought for the rights of the people against corrupt govts.

But my point is that traditional cultures have very rich heritages and these traditions should not be tossed out, declared 'works of the devil' simply because they're not mentioned in Scripture. Rather, I would follow St Paul: "For passing by, and seeing your idols, I found an altar also, on which was written: To the unknown God. What therefore you worship, without knowing it, that I preach to you" (Acts 17:23). A bit more of that would go a long way ...

Those people I can see are on one very direct path like myself, we worship the God of Abraham ONLY and live life according to scripture.

Well I agree with you ... I believe there are many paths to God, but you only walk one. 'No servant can serve two masters' (Luke 16:13), or ride two horses, etc. It's common sense really.

A person can honour two or more traditions, as is, dare I say, the case with NJ.

For that same reason even though I attend a catholic church and support it, they know my intentions, I am there only to fellowship because the bible demands it but I do not take part in any of their rituals and traditions or anything that is not in line with the bible. My thinking is if you believe in the God of Abraham the you follow the bible and its teachings.

Hmm. Huge area for discussion there.

 

[jacquisoder1]

Yeah. I believe so

 

[Thomas]

Sixth day creation of pre-Adamic humans, Genesis 1:31 finishes "and it was VERY good." So G-d created the races of the world *before* Adam and Eve, and it pleased Him very much. Days 1-5 of the Genesis creation end with "and it was good." Day six, humans are created, and "it was very good." Day seven G-d rested. Day eight G-d created Adam...who by extension is the father of the Abrahamic religions.

Eighth day? Oooh ... that's a novel interpretation!

Note also Romans 2:14 and 15:...

I rather see this as reinforcing my notion of what religion is. That is, not simply a way to get to heaven, but if you want to be a conscious participant in the unfolding of the Divine Plan, that requires a different order of commitment.

 

[juantoo3]

Eighth day? Oooh ... that's a novel interpretation!

It's pretty plain in the black and white... This is the primary reason I look to the Eden story as the beginning of agriculture, G-d saw there was no one to till the soil and so He created ha-Adam.

 

[juantoo3]

Eighth day? Oooh ... that's a novel interpretation!

It's pretty plain in the black and white... This is the primary reason I look to the Eden story as the beginning of agriculture, G-d saw there was no one to till the soil and so He created ha-Adam.

 

[juantoo3]

Eighth day? Oooh ... that's a novel interpretation!

It's pretty plain in the black and white... This is the primary reason I look to the Eden story as the beginning of agriculture, G-d saw there was no one to till the soil and so He created ha-Adam.

 

[Namaste Jesus]

Is it just me or is there (3) post #55's?

It's pretty plain in the black and white... This is the primary reason I look to the Eden story as the beginning of agriculture, G-d saw there was no one to till the soil and so He created ha-Adam.

That's always been my interpretation as well. As Adam is not mentioned until after God had rested on the 7th day, Genesis 2:7 Whereas on the 6th day. Genesis 1:26 -27 states:

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

 

[RJM]

This is a sincere discussion between sincere, seeking souls. And i surely have no wisdom to add.


Surely God is listening where two or more are gathered together in his name? I do believe God takes nine steps towards the sincere soul, in response to one step towards him?

 

[RJM]

There probably aren't any simple, verbal answers, to the sort of issues opened here?

I just do find it a bit sad that people get so locked into scriptural studies they forget scripture is just the shell of the nut, protecting the living truth it contains. Imo.

The shell is dead, dry wood. But without it, the living truth wouldn't last out in this world?

There are poisonous nuts and fruits too, of course.

Complicated ...

 

[metamel]

I don't think we are praying to the same God. We do however pray to the God of our own unique understanding. I think it would be pointless to disagree or even argue with the ideas posited by others on how they interpret their God. The exchanging of ideas is what matters the most. No one can deny another their unique idea of what God means to them. The one and true living God if there is one - will be the only one to know who is truly reconciled or not. So it may well be that we'll always take different paths just to arrive at the same destination. I really don't think people are ever going to agree upon the same God since we live in a broken world since the fall...I think maybe we are talking our first baby step toward union with the absolute, and there is still a long way to go.

These are just some of my ideas/opinions only.