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2 Sep 2005 @ 03:36, by janos. Religion
Anti-Pandora
Vamos falar abertamente sobre nossas religiões. Algumas pessoas acreditam que não há problema algum em participar de uma instituição, seita ou filosofia que nega, enfaticamente, que o lugar, o habitat natural do ser humano seja o planeta Terra. Antizero More >
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19 Jun 2005 @ 19:55, by vaxen. Religion
The HU
from The Whirling Dervishes : Being an account of the Sufi order known as the Mevlevis and its founder the poet and mystic Mevlana Jalalúddin Rumi
by Shems Friedlander
"When the Sheik arrives at his post, he bows, sits on the post, and kisses the floor. All the turners sit, and their cloaks are put on them by those who did not turn in the fourth selam. They have returned to their tombs but in an altered state. The Sheik recites the Fathia, the first sura of the Koran, and all the dervishes kiss the floor and rise. The Sheik then sounds a prayer to Mevlana and Shams Tabriz and begins the sound "HU". The dervishes join in sounding the "HU" which is all the names of God in one." More >
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 27 Mar 2005 @ 15:17, by jmarc. Religion
I'd first learned of these things in an area studies course on Russia.
Later, i read about them in the book "Hammer" an autobiography of Armand Hammer,
the American millionaire who was a friend of many Soviet leaders,
starting with Lenin. More >
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10 Dec 2004 @ 09:42, by swanny. Religion
Quote
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When I was attending a Presbyterian seminary, in training to becoming an ordained minister, I learned that, during the 300 years following the death of Jesus, the early Roman Church carried out considerable research to choose which of the many religious writings, which were available, to include in the canon the church was assemblying. They included the Old Testament, whose writings portray a perception of an angry, jealous, vengeful, judging and punishing God, which are quite at variance with the loving God portrayed in the New Testament. They also included a Book of Apocrypha, which has since been omitted in our modern versions of the early Roman canon, which we now call the Holy Bible.
It is historical fact that neither God nor Jesus directly contributed any writings to the Bible. All of the writings in the Bible were created, edited and interpreted by men (no women!). Many of these men were inspired and created very inspiring writings, but the writings for the New Testament were translated, interpreted and edited by the early church authorities into the ancient language of Attica, from whence they were again translated, interpreted and edited into Latin and other languages. The Bible can be a powerfully inspiring source of good for the benefit of humankind, but, depending on who is doing the translating, interpretation and editing, it can also be a powerfully inspiring source of evil for the detriment of humankind (for example, www.raptureready.com ).
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Thankyou for this Sir Mindlink
It just bespeaks for the troubling questions religion faces in our time yet it even the piece I contributed offers hope but does not come right out and say what is needed.
It strikes me that the great need then for religion is a Global Holy Bible or Conconcordance. This would not necessarily just be another dogmatic text but a global reference book on spiritual stories and traditions from around the world and of many even some obscure religions. It would be a massive undertaking and who would be responsible for its authorship and editing would probably have to be of a democratic nature at least in part which would be somewhat problematic but perhaps a good exercise in itself.
I think the first task might be easiest in that it could be based on the "themes" of the current text ie Genesis or Creation Stories. It would be interesting to have a collection of say Creation Stories that are say old or on the order of 500 or so years old for it has to has some credibility in time and tradition. These could be derived I suppose for ancient writings and I suppose even some verbal traditions from what few remaining tribal elders are still practicing. Then I suppose you could have a book on miracles or such and another on noteable prohits so we have three books so far and then I suppose one on moral laws so thats four
Heres How it breaks so far
THE GLOBAL HOLY BIBLE
1, CREATION STORIES
2. EARLY MIRACLES
3. THE PROPHETS OF OLD
4. THE LAW GIVERS
etc. etc
Even this would be a massive, problematic but exciting undertaking for some or all to undertake but it would be a start and perhaps a solution to the troubles our world now faces but it would recognize the globality of religion or spirituality and its interpretation would probably give rise to many sects anyway depending on the emphasis and interpretation readers choose to empasis and embrace but at least it would provide an intitial core and unifying reference. It would sort of be the rebirth of a tree on a global basis..... The tree giving birth to itself. More >
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 28 Nov 2004 @ 01:56, by nemue. Religion
We are a few weeks away from Christmas and for most us who live in so called Christian Societies it is a time of celebration. For many the religious message is not always strong but we all enjoy the giving of presents, the decorations, the sharing with family and friends and the celebration of the closing of one year and coming of the New Year. More >
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 4 Nov 2004 @ 10:02, by jazzolog. Religion
O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
---The Book of Common Prayer
I wish that I could just wrap you up in my arms and embrace each and every one of you individually all across this nation.
---Senator John Kerry to his supporters, November 3, 2004
Don't drink by the water's edge.
Throw yourself in. Become the water.
Only then will your thirst end.
---Jeanette Berson
Max Ernst: Pieta or Revolution by Night, 1923
Few memories are more outstanding in one's life than the moment in your swimming lessons when you first jump into the deep end of the pool. For me it was at the Jamestown, New York, YMCA with a bunch of friends my own age, at the direction of our teacher. Maybe we were aged 7 or 8. Brownie was a great barrel of a man, and it helped that we all liked and looked up to him. He was a leader we'd follow anywhere. The water was 12 feet deep, but Brownie assured us we'd go to the bottom, push off and bob back up. The question "What if I don't?" delayed my volunteering to be first. Nobody wanted to be the puny whiner who would be last, so quickly one at a time in we went...and survived, and learned to love doing it. More >
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25 Oct 2004 @ 17:16, by craiglang. Religion
"We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the very first time."
- TS Eliot
I spent a wonderful weekend going back to my roots - attending a retreat with a Christian group in which I used to be very active. It was very interesting to see how much they, and I, had changed during the years I had been absent. More >
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 18 Oct 2004 @ 21:58, by i2i. Religion
Theocracy is the name given to political regimes that claim to represent the Divine on earth. Most governments throughout history and across cultures have claimed to be following their gods' designs or to be legitimated by a divine mandate.
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8 Oct 2004 @ 13:11, by jwwells. Religion
An Epistle to the New Church
May these words and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight oh Lord my God.
Greetings and peace to you. May God in heaven smile on your path and receive your spirit into everlasting joy.
You have heard it said that there are neither male nor female in heaven.
I say unto you, there are neither husbands nor wives, neither mothers nor fathers, neither rich nor poor, neither conservative nor liberal, neither masculinist nor feminist, neither straight nor gay within the unending Kingdom of the Living God. All are the children of God and each is called to his or her own purpose under heaven. All are worthy of the love of God and their fellow humans, even those who reject that love.
You have heard it said that the Kingdom of God is spirit and that all in heaven are spirit.
I say unto you that we on Earth are both spirit and flesh. The spirit which starves cannot understand your pretty words as the body which starves cannot act. Treat then in all matters the spirit and the flesh. Above all, do not destroy the spirit of another, for that is the essence of evil.
You have heard it said that the bible says this...
The ideas behind the words in the bible are perfect; the words themselves cannot be. If this were not so, we could read the bible only in its original languages. I say unto you that the spirit of the word of the Living God is more important than any person's petty interpretation of the words in any book. We are called to a relationship with the Living God: Christ Jesus freed us from the law for that purpose. Do not spit upon Christ's death and resurrection by using your own love of the law to destroy the spirit of another.
You have heard it said that this person or this group is not of God and therefore not saved.
I say unto you, it is written that we will be judged by the same standard we use in judging. How dare you judge the spirit of another! We who cannot see the spirit may judge fairly the actions of the other, only God may judge the spirit. We who cannot see the spirit may judge fairly the words of another, only God may judge the spirit behind those words. Moreover, any person using contempt of the other as a weight in their judgement is in danger of hell fire. Purge your own heart first: Only then may you see clearly in judging the other's words or actions.
You have heard it said that evil is that which destroys the spirit.
I say unto you, any person who through their own prejudice and hard heartedness destroys the spirit of another behaves as the enemy of God. The friend of the enemy is that person using pretty words with foul meanings to destroy the spirit of another. The enemy tries through all means to destroy the spirit: Do not help the enemy.
You have heard it said that this person is more evolved than that person and that this group is further evolved than that group.
I say unto you, any person who claims superiority over another proves their personal inferiority. Love them and teach them as lost children, for they are lost in their own twisted mind.
You have heard it said that men are violent and abusive.
I say unto you, people are violent: Violence comes in male and female bodies. People who see gender as the prime component of abuse speak from their own fear and not from a love of the victimized. Pray for them. Teach them that all are children of the Living God. Think then beyond the violence which destroys the body to the violence which destroys the spirit. All people abuse others through their own ignorance, lack of faith and hard heartedness. In this matter there are no innocents; no, not one.
You have heard it said that we are to treat others as we ourselves would be treated.
I say unto you, we are also to treat ourselves as we would treat others; for we too are children of God. The man who says to himself "I am a man, I have no right to speak of my own feelings" spits in the eye of God. The woman who says to herself "I am a woman, I have no right to speak of my own need for leadership" spits in the eye of God. Cast out your fears and doubts: Know that God loves you as well as the other. Follow then the path of God and not the path of the law or of the enemy.
You have heard it said that all must be responsible for their own actions.
I say unto you, carry that concept further: When we call for responsibility from one and not from the other, we attack the spirit of both. When we call mothers the great angels of the home, we attack the spirit of both mothers and fathers. When we call men defenders of our civilization or tyrants out to destroy civilization, we attack the spirit of all people. When we spout racism or other hate we attack all of civilization. How then are we different from the enemy? Destroy not the spirit of any. I say to you once more: "All are the children of the living God: How dare you destroy any."
You have heard it said that we must love the sinner while hating the sin.
I say unto you, take this one step further. Love all people while always fighting error. The path to the Lord given each person is straight, narrow and difficult: Walk your path with pride and deep lasting love for God. You say "How then shall I know error?" To which the Lord your God replies "Error is that which destroys the spirit." Have great care to build the spirit of the other, by doing so you fight all error.
You have heard it said that we must protect the children.
I say to you, among many there is an old adage which reads "No amount of prosperity is worth the life of one child." Hear the message of these words. Furthermore, I say unto you, that which kills the children, kills us all. Those who savage this planet for their own purposes are as much child killers as those who kill by their own hand. Those who see their own profit as more important than the life of a child are child killers as are those who put their politics in front of a child's life.
Please pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. Pray also for those doing the work of God in all parts of God's kingdom, with no regard to the label they bear. The last days of this age are coming to their end: Pray deeply that we follow God, speak the truth and reject malice.
Greg
Aylmer, ON, Canada: October 2004
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 14 Aug 2004 @ 10:12, by mre. Religion
Work continues, slowly, on developing the specs for the Voice of Humanity Network. Meanwhile in an important side development, a prototype collective email dialog program is being assembled using Python and MySQL. Time frame is to have it ready by January for a possible Jewish / Muslim Interfaith Dialogue. Focusing on the Middle East, this dialogue will use collective communication to build consensus in a non-confrontational way. Each of these three terms needs a short explanation. More >
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