i cannot tell exactly what you are looking for Daya. it says angels demons but everyone is talking Jesus/God.dayaa said:i hope more people with varying views might add to this thread to get a broad range of ideas. to me, consistency is important, and people interpret things in so many different ways, some of which do not seem to be consistent. to put it very basically, either God does or doesn't/ can or can't in some way assume human form.....what i am looking for is a consistency that i can relate to. path has acheived that by taking it all as to some extent metaphorical. as i understand it though, most christians believe jesus to be more literally the "son of God" or "God incarnate" and to me it seems necessary to find a precedent for that in previous scripture. it seems a bit odd to insist that God has no physical form in one breath then in the next talk about the son of God. to my mind, either jewish interpretation of scripture where God has no physical form, never did, never will do, is right.....in which case jesus cannot be God incarnate either, or jesus was in some form God incarnate in which case we need a precedent for that concept from scripture (as i suggested above).
thanks everybody....keep the comments coming![]()
i totally understand. the dogma, the interpretations, the translations, the arguing etc. i went through all the same things. when you feel bogged down, that is the best thing to do, think about something different because you will always come back to the topic again. & again. & againdayaa said:hello bandit![]()
yes at some point this thread got side tracked to a different subject....my fault![]()
thanks for your offer to discuss this with you on a one to one basis and i will take you up on that sometime soon but not right now......i seem to have got myself in a bit of a state worrying about it all and i'm getting to mental exhaustion point. i think i need a few days break to calm down a bit.
just to explain briefly what's going on in my head: i don't have any problem with God at all....but i have a problem in knowing what is the right way to go about it. i really LIKE jesus.....the persona, the teachings, but i get tangled up in the dogma and interpretations which vary from denomination to denomination. i have a general understanding of christianity (mainstream) but lack specific knowledge particularly in the subtle differences between opinions. even different groups use different translations of the bible. i am trying to read it all for myself and draw my own conclusions, but i also find it helpful to get personal insights from people which help me to understand what i am looking for and how different people interpret it and why.
anyway...i seem to have got myself a bit bogged down at the moment, and i feel i need to do some more reading....then come back to the philosophy again with a fresh mind.
thanks again
see you soon![]()
It does not mean to be like God, or like Jesus. It means to be God like, or "godly", in everything done, said, and thought. Knowing we aren't perfect, we strive to be better, and know we are forgiven, even before we stumble. It means to keep trying, and never give up.dayaa said:hello bandit
just a quickie.
the quotes you mentioned above i am not familiar with off the top of my head in context, i'd have to look them up, but i'll try to give a quickie answer just looking at the quotes.
hmm, well....
it seems to be saying that jesus was in some way God or part of God but in human form and he accepted the role as human...a servant (to God...i assume) and carried out that role as human right until death. being in the form of God? i don't know...we're back to the how do you interpret "form" question? it almost seems to be saying that jesus "thought" himself equal to God....because of his "form" ...which form? i don't know. his physical form? (back to the created man is his own image?)....no can't be....because the first verse almost seems to be saying that we should think like jesus....yet it can't possibly mean we should all think ourselves equal to God????? and then it goes on to jesus being made in the likeness of men....so there's your distinction....ok, try again...jesus has some "form" which is God related but the physical form of man. he accepts the role as man. and we all should accept our role as servant of God humbly (and maybe there is some question of a divine spark in all of us?) i'm getting really confused now. it's starting to sound like hinduism. could we be talking about a divine spark (a potential) which if fulfilled by choice and acceptance leads to .....something
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i think i'm going to give up and look it up and see the exact context. just looking at those four verses without any context, i've read through it about 17 times already and each time i come up with a different meaning varying from the very simple and straightforward to the making my hair stand on end.
it can't possibly mean what it seems to mean. i need to look it up for clarification. i'm tired....going to leave it for another day....and i thought it was going to be a quickie!![]()
better still, you tell me what it means to you and i'll look it up and see if i agree or not.![]()