• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Search results

  1. W

    Why should I have to justify?

    "When we hold beliefs or make claims about what exists, we should be able to justify those beliefs/claims to a skeptic if we want to engage in a discussion about what is/can be true and what is/can be known." Yes, sort of. I think the metaphysician Frithjof Schuon put it well: "It has been...
  2. W

    Nirvana

    Partially through symbolism but partly I wouldn't convey them at all. Only the Bodhi or eye of the heart could do that, which each individual must open himself.
  3. W

    What is the biggest thing makes me convert to Islam?

    Islam, and perhaps Orthodox Christianity, are probably the most accessible tradition for Westerners today which have a truly widespread contemplative and spiritual attitude. If you are looking for a vital, truly spiritual path then Islam is an good choice for a Westerner.
  4. W

    Libertarian or Conservative... or both?

    I agree with Russell Kirk that conservatism, or at least traditionalist-conservatism and libertarians are utterly different ideologies with an unbridgeable gap between them. Some other forms of conservatism might have a better relationship with libertarian but a traditionalist is never going to...
  5. W

    Dualism and Judaism

    That is an interesting post Levite. That said I do have a few criticisms. Firstly I think it is wrong to call Christianity dualism. Dualism posits a second God or principle, Christianity does not do this. The devil is not equal to God in any sense, indeed he is would be a being of extreme...
  6. W

    Is Jesus GOD?

    That is a complex question. On one level everything is God but Jesus was special. He is not the same as the divine essence but he is the direct human manifestation of the second person of God. Trinitarian theology is necessarily simplifying and because of the demands of dogmatic theology but...
  7. W

    Jewish Perspective on Jesus Christ?

    But surely if one reads say the Cappadocian fathers or Meister Eckhart a spiritual person can only be struck by their deep spirituality and love of God. Whatever else Christianity has been it has certainly granted a deep and effective spiritual path to millions upon millions of mankind. That...
  8. W

    Nirvana

    Much of Buddhism is hard for Westerners to understand. As I did for Taoism I'll recommend using certain Western ideas, particularly Platonism-Pythagoreanism as well as Vedanta to understand certain aspects of it. It certainly would be wrong to over use this methodology or to Platonise Buddhism...
  9. W

    Emptiness disproves God?

    Not perhaps all roads, Marxism doesn't lead to Rome for instance, but if you mean the major traditions and most of the traditional, tribal faiths I'll agree. But not only do you require a road to reach Rome, it doesn't do to mix your journey up by trying to introduce sections of other roads into...
  10. W

    Emptiness disproves God?

    Emptiness proves that the creative, personal God is not the divine essence. In fairness to us Abrahamic types many of us have realised the relativity of that aspect of God and the fact that the Godhead or divine essence is what is truly absolute. St.Augustine, not one of the most mystical of...
  11. W

    Western Taoism

    It has been said, with some truth, that in traditional Chinese religion Taoism is its esoteric side and Confucianism its exoteric side. This is something Western Taoists generally ignore as well. The author I recommened, Jean Cooper, described Taoism eloquently when she says "Taoism is a...
  12. W

    Western Taoism

    In traditional metaphysical schools like Platonism or Vedanta the "eye of the heart" or the Intellect or Bodhi ultimately is absolute, partaking of awareness itself. It therefore would not differ. What's more it is seen as the real source of knowledge, to which discursive thought or reason is...
  13. W

    Western Taoism

    Continued: That said it is extremely hard to become a Taoist anyway, as Herr Heinrich notes its religious practices are bound up with Chinese culture and really one would have to enter this culture to truly be meaningfully initiated into Taoism. This is a very daunting and hard task for...
  14. W

    Western Taoism

    I admit from the start to not being an expert but only a relatively informed amateur. That said I'll give my views, which will no doubt be unpopular with some here. There are some good Western writings on traditional Taoism such as the work of Jean Cooper. Also for me at least Western...
View older results
Top