Religious Controversies: The Right Religion

I wanted to start this thread for a very good reason. For one, I learn (and Im hoping others too) a lot from them. Two, is for the very reason that there are many belief systems out there. Obviously not all of them can be right. But the problem with it is that people who don’t believe in any “religion” tend to say that “how can we know which is the right one?” or “this is all so confusing, I’m just gonna be an atheist”. This is a similar situation to the infamous paralysis by analysis that occurs with many avid lifters. I want everyone of every religion to give reasons, from history, archeology, and even personal events that leads them to what they believe.

I also want to make this clear. I am not trying in any way, shape or form to get anybody to convert, or trying to breath my religion down the throats of others. I am a Christian and it will forever stay that way, but I am genuinely interested in others views. Its important to know these views, so that we can better understand each other.

Why don’t you start?

Krishnamurti focuses on himself. In mind and beyond mind. Through that, he is able to know me, you, socialism, christianity, capitalism etc.

Awareness is my religion. Love and peace are my god.

He is def. worth a read… but many will read him through their own prism - through their own knowledge, assumptions, and expectations. Thus, they will not get much out of it and stop after 10 pages or so. You must go beyond your mind when you read him. Beyond the analysis. Stay in the present to understand it… to understand yourself. Then… through this understanding, ‘what is’ will transform itself naturally.

[quote]THE_CLAMP_DOWN wrote:
Krishnamurti focuses on himself. In mind and beyond mind. Through that, he is able to know me, you, socialism, christianity, capitalism etc.

Awareness is my religion. Love and peace are my god.

He is def. worth a read… but many will read him through their own prism - through their own knowledge, assumptions, and expectations. Thus, they will not get much out of it and stop after 10 pages or so. You must go beyond your mind when you read him. Beyond the analysis. Stay in the present to understand it… to understand yourself. Then… through this understanding, ‘what is’ will transform itself naturally.

[/quote]

How can you go beyond your own senses?

There is no right “religion” - there is only a right relationship based on truth with the Divine . . .

[quote]Brother Chris wrote:

[quote]THE_CLAMP_DOWN wrote:
Krishnamurti focuses on himself. In mind and beyond mind. Through that, he is able to know me, you, socialism, christianity, capitalism etc.

Awareness is my religion. Love and peace are my god.

He is def. worth a read… but many will read him through their own prism - through their own knowledge, assumptions, and expectations. Thus, they will not get much out of it and stop after 10 pages or so. You must go beyond your mind when you read him. Beyond the analysis. Stay in the present to understand it… to understand yourself. Then… through this understanding, ‘what is’ will transform itself naturally.

[/quote]

How can you go beyond your own senses?[/quote]

I did not say that.

Catholicism (because of its authority), I am not good with words so I suggest this book. Because of course I am not an authority myself.

The right religion is the one that resonates with truth in you.

[quote]THE_CLAMP_DOWN wrote:

[quote]Brother Chris wrote:

[quote]THE_CLAMP_DOWN wrote:
Krishnamurti focuses on himself. In mind and beyond mind. Through that, he is able to know me, you, socialism, christianity, capitalism etc.

Awareness is my religion. Love and peace are my god.

He is def. worth a read… but many will read him through their own prism - through their own knowledge, assumptions, and expectations. Thus, they will not get much out of it and stop after 10 pages or so. You must go beyond your mind when you read him. Beyond the analysis. Stay in the present to understand it… to understand yourself. Then… through this understanding, ‘what is’ will transform itself naturally.

[/quote]

How can you go beyond your own senses?[/quote]

I did not say that.

[/quote]

When I say senses, I refer to “go beyond your mind.”

In many ways, the sentiment that “what works for you is right” is very easy to agree with, and is probably never a bad principle to work from.

HOWEVER,

If we believe, at some point don’t we have to make a claim on the truth, whatever you believe. I mean… Jews and Catholics can’t both be right.

I just don’t want to treat egalitarian/ecumenical tolerance into a cop out for finding truth, which is what religion is all about right?

I’m Jewish, btw.

[quote]CappedAndPlanIt wrote:
The right religion is the one that resonates with truth in you. [/quote]

and what if there is no truth in you?

[quote]Brother Chris wrote:
Catholicism (because of its authority), I am not good with words so I suggest this book. Because of course I am not an authority myself.

I would clarify and say that following Christ (who is the way, the truth and the life) is the right religious faith . . .

[quote]Brother Chris wrote:

When I say senses, I refer to “go beyond your mind.”[/quote]

The brain , which creates your senses, houses the mind but IS NOT the mind.

The mind is your personality. Your history. Your knowledge. Your intellectual abilities. Your biases and assumptions. Basically, your mind is thought.

Now can you go beyond thought?

Have you ever been “in the zone”? What Csikszentmihalyi would call “Flow” , aka Optimal Experience? Have you ever had a moment or event in your life that seemed outside of time?

To go beyond the mind… is to stay in the present. Completely. No thinking… which means the past or future cannot enter your head. It is here where we can see things for being as they really are. Your senses are not clouded by your mind. By your past (knowledge).

Beyond thought, beyond the mind… this is where we experience true happiness… true love. Happiness, love, and peace that are not dependent on anything. No reason at all. No attachment. No fear or insecurities.

This is awareness. This is my religion.

[quote]IrishSteel wrote:

[quote]Brother Chris wrote:
Catholicism (because of its authority), I am not good with words so I suggest this book. Because of course I am not an authority myself.

I would clarify and say that following Christ (who is the way, the truth and the life) is the right religious faith . . .[/quote]

Then you should be Catholic if you are following Christ. :slight_smile:

[16] Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. [17] And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. [18] And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. [19] And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven. [20] Then he commanded his disciples, that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ.

[quote]THE_CLAMP_DOWN wrote:

[quote]Brother Chris wrote:

When I say senses, I refer to “go beyond your mind.”[/quote]

The brain , which creates your senses, houses the mind but IS NOT the mind.

The mind is your personality. Your history. Your knowledge. Your intellectual abilities. Your biases and assumptions. Basically, your mind is thought.

Now can you go beyond thought?

Have you ever been “in the zone”? What Csikszentmihalyi would call “Flow” , aka Optimal Experience? Have you ever had a moment or event in your life that seemed outside of time?

To go beyond the mind… is to stay in the present. Completely. No thinking… which means the past or future cannot enter your head. It is here where we can see things for being as they really are. Your senses are not clouded by your mind. By your past (knowledge).

Beyond thought, beyond the mind… this is where we experience true happiness… true love. Happiness, love, and peace that are not dependent on anything. No reason at all. No attachment. No fear or insecurities.

This is awareness. This is my religion.[/quote]

…i’d wager that the gnostics, sufis and kabbalists agree with you. It’s a pity they are marginalized by their respective religions…

I hate wishy-washy universalist religious stuff.

I’m personally agnostic, and firmly agnostic in my belief that the knowledge religion proports to reveal is unknowable to mortals. That’s where I am.

But I do respect some religious traditions, and the practitioners of those traditions. I also respect it when people aren’t wishy-washy about what they believe. In Catholicism for example, I don’t understand the Vatican II approach. To my mind, you either know (using Catholicism as my example still) through faith, that Catholic doctrine is correct, that the one true son of God died for our sins, and that through him is the only way into heaven, and that the one Catholic Church is THE Church.

I feel like if you have universalist tendencies (and I use universalist to dennot the general grouping of beliefs that says “All/most religions have a the same truths at their core and they are all good/correct/exe.”) you either ought to declare yourself an agnostic, or workout your issues with your religion: in Christianity, lots of people end up in hell. If that doesn’t square with your world view, you need to decided if the problem is your lack of faith, or the problem is the religion itself. What I don’t have respect for is saying “Yeah, I’m Catholic, but I don’t really believe in the church, or papal authority, or original sin…” If you don’t believe in those things, you’re not really Catholic, and you need to decide either why you don’t believe them, work it out and get on board, or find a new religion/non-religion.

Sorry to go off on a rant, but I have a problem with the world’s religions being gradually distilled into a bunch of meaningless rituals.

[quote]Spartiates wrote:
I hate wishy-washy universalist religious stuff.

I’m personally agnostic, and firmly agnostic in my belief that the knowledge religion proports to reveal is unknowable to mortals. That’s where I am.

But I do respect some religious traditions, and the practitioners of those traditions. I also respect it when people aren’t wishy-washy about what they believe. In Catholicism for example, I don’t understand the Vatican II approach. To my mind, you either know (using Catholicism as my example still) through faith, that Catholic doctrine is correct, that the one true son of God died for our sins, and that through him is the only way into heaven, and that the one Catholic Church is THE Church.[/quote]

Agreed, and there is loop holes even in the Catholic Church, but it is hard to do and is set aside for those in Pagan countries that do go desire to be in a relationship with G-d, but have no recourse to do that and do not commit Mortal Sin and if they do commit a perfect act of contrition.

[quote]
I feel like if you have universalist tendencies (and I use universalist to dennot the general grouping of beliefs that says “All/most religions have a the same truths at their core and they are all good/correct/exe.”) you either ought to declare yourself an agnostic, or workout your issues with your religion: in Christianity, lots of people end up in hell. If that doesn’t square with your world view, you need to decided if the problem is your lack of faith, or the problem is the religion itself. What I don’t have respect for is saying “Yeah, I’m Catholic, but I don’t really believe in the church, or papal authority, or original sin…” If you don’t believe in those things, you’re not really Catholic, and you need to decide either why you don’t believe them, work it out and get on board, or find a new religion/non-religion.

Sorry to go off on a rant, but I have a problem with the world’s religions being gradually distilled into a bunch of meaningless rituals.[/quote]

[quote]Spartiates wrote:
I hate wishy-washy universalist religious stuff.

I’m personally agnostic, and firmly agnostic in my belief that the knowledge religion proports to reveal is unknowable to mortals. That’s where I am.

But I do respect some religious traditions, and the practitioners of those traditions. I also respect it when people aren’t wishy-washy about what they believe. In Catholicism for example, I don’t understand the Vatican II approach. To my mind, you either know (using Catholicism as my example still) through faith, that Catholic doctrine is correct, that the one true son of God died for our sins, and that through him is the only way into heaven, and that the one Catholic Church is THE Church.

I feel like if you have universalist tendencies (and I use universalist to dennot the general grouping of beliefs that says “All/most religions have a the same truths at their core and they are all good/correct/exe.”) you either ought to declare yourself an agnostic, or workout your issues with your religion: in Christianity, lots of people end up in hell. If that doesn’t square with your world view, you need to decided if the problem is your lack of faith, or the problem is the religion itself. What I don’t have respect for is saying “Yeah, I’m Catholic, but I don’t really believe in the church, or papal authority, or original sin…” If you don’t believe in those things, you’re not really Catholic, and you need to decide either why you don’t believe them, work it out and get on board, or find a new religion/non-religion.

Sorry to go off on a rant, but I have a problem with the world’s religions being gradually distilled into a bunch of meaningless rituals.[/quote]

It’s entirely possible to be a theist and an agnostic. I don’t believe things are absolutely knowable or provable, but I do believe in a higher power.

There isn’t a right religion. There are definitely wrong religions though. These are ones that close minds, tell people it’s right to do something they are against, or wrong to do something they agree with.

If you disagree with something, but follow it, I would say you’re following the wrong religion. Use your heart and mind as a guide in this world first and foremost. Any path that leads to helping of others and the removal of suffering of all things around you is a good one.