Are you free?

[Sonic247]

I am a Christian. I follow the advice of the Psalmist who said: "O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever." I have a promise from God of eternal life. I am free from death and hell. I do not have to pray, I do not have to go to church, I don't have to tell you that this freedom is freely offered, I am free to though. So many other religious and moral people work hard day and night for some assurance from God. They pray for hours, they go on long fasts and pilgramages. They beat themselves to atone for sins. But the prophets say "he was wounded for our iniquities, and bruised for our transgressions. The chastisment of our peace was upon him." And for those who worked so hard for salvations with every human effort and wisdom he gave a positive message. "Come unto me all ye that heavy laden and I will give you rest." I would like to tell all those working so hard for salvation, "don't do the work that Jesus has already done for you. Rest in his salvation." If you don't you will spend the rest of your life working for an unreachable standard and have no freedom.

Warning: this link has graphic content!

(Don't try to do what Christ has already done for you!!!!!!!)

 

[3.14]

some people are crazy and some people just don't have better things to do, hope for there sake there crazy

 

[Sonic247]

I'm guessing you mean the people in the photo? (Just one example.) The photo is an extreme example in a sense, it seems pretty painful. But there are many people who struggle internally as well trying to earn redemption, overall even what these people hitting themselves are looking for is internal.

 

[Riverwolf]

I can never have that which I desire above all else: true freedom. No god can give it to me; even Yeshua's promise of Eternal Life is a chain, the chain that is Life. I wish to be free of Life, Death, all that is physical, spiritual, or anything that is a chain, which includes Death, by the way, for those of you who might be afraid I might try to kill myself to be "free"; death is a chain as well.

Even the gods are bound by their promises to mankind, so even YHWH is not free, bound by his pact with the Jews. He does not want to break this pact, I know, so it is a chain he wears gladly, but a chain nonetheless.

Only the One is truly free. And it is only One.

 

[TashaN]

Well, the hindu here in malaysia (where i currently live) have sort of festival where they do the same excact thing. That makes me wonder where those guys got this method from?

 

[Yerda]

I'm not free. Just really cheap.

 

[UnityNow101]

Are you truly free? Or are you bound by the conditions set upon you by society? To be completely free, mustn't you rid yourself of the chains set upon your neck by the people of "authority"? I am not speaking of being outwardly free, but inwardly free. If your mind is filled with ideas imposed by society and the religious dogmas taught throughout the ages, are you free?

 

[Zephyr]

The thing that turned me off from Christianity in the first place was that I couldn't live with somebody else saving me. That was a debt I didn't want on my shoulders. I'll save myself, thank you very much.

 

[logician]

The thing that turned me off from Christianity in the first place was that I couldn't live with somebody else saving me. That was a debt I didn't want on my shoulders. I'll save myself, thank you very much.

And the guilt trip religions try to put you on.

 

[UnTheist]

And the guilt trip religions try to put you on.

All religions?

 

[Riverwolf]

And the guilt trip religions try to put you on.

There's no guilt in my religion whatsoever. My gods demand nothing of me, and "sin" is practically nonexistent.

 

[gnomon]

Well, the hindu here in malaysia (where i currently live) have sort of festival where they do the same excact thing. That makes me wonder where those guys got this method from?

I'm going to show my ignorance.

Are you talking about the journey up a mountain some believers take supplicating themselves constantly during the journey on their hands and knees. Or is it akin to crawling...I can't remember. I kept thinking this was a Buddhist sect but maybe it is a Hindu sect.

Or maybe I'm completely wrong and imagining things.

 

[Sunstone]

I am free of head lice. A major improvement over the Middle Ages.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

I'm going to show my ignorance.

Are you talking about the journey up a mountain some believers take supplicating themselves constantly during the journey on their hands and knees. Or is it akin to crawling...I can't remember. I kept thinking this was a Buddhist sect but maybe it is a Hindu sect.

Or maybe I'm completely wrong and imagining things.

Was it something like this?

Maybe both us and the Hindu sect do something similar, although I've never done my prostrations all around a mountain.

 

[Charity]

John 8:36
If the Son therefore shall make you free,
ye shall be free indeed.

 

[TashaN]

I'm going to show my ignorance.

Are you talking about the journey up a mountain some believers take supplicating themselves constantly during the journey on their hands and knees. Or is it akin to crawling...I can't remember. I kept thinking this was a Buddhist sect but maybe it is a Hindu sect.

Or maybe I'm completely wrong and imagining things.

Well, they do climb a mountain, but i don't know if they do the other things you have described.

 

[Muffled]

Well, the hindu here in malaysia (where i currently live) have sort of festival where they do the same excact thing. That makes me wonder where those guys got this method from?

That looked like a Christian church in the background so my guess is the Phillipines.

As I remember it there was a news item in Iraq about people flailing their backs during some religious festival.

Hmm! Could it be that there is an evil spirit that seeks to harm people by convincing they need to such things?

 

[gnomon]

Was it something like this?

Maybe both us and the Hindu sect do something similar, although I've never done my prostrations all around a mountain.

Might be. Apparently some pilgrims spend up to as much as four days making a pilgrimage around the mountain prostrating themselves.

I kept thinking there was another pilgrimage up a mountain rather than around as they do at Kailash. I can't remember but there were pilgrims using small boards for their hands and knees, praying and prostrating themselves even on an old stairway as they made their way to their destination. I do not think it was Mt. Kailash but I cannot remember.

 

[gnomon]

Well, they do climb a mountain, but i don't know if they do the other things you have described.

This is going to drive me crazy, now. I'm going to have to find out what it was I was watching when they were showing these pilgrims spending days on their pilgrimage basically on their hands and knees the entire time.

This is like trying to remember somebody's name or a song stuck in your head.

 

[logician]

All religions?

The guilty religions know who they are.