I agree here to a point......"by their fruits" I believe was alluding to what they produce...what kind of people do these religions turn out? The "fruits" in the case of Christianity, was to contrast with the Judaism practiced in the day. It was easy to tell the difference because Christ actually told the religious leaders exactly what was wrong with their teachings. (Matthew 23) He also told them exactly where their course would lead them....and those who followed them.
We could make an easy distinction here that what Christ was responding to was how the religious system took over and made itself and its laws and rules and beliefs, to be of more important than Grace. That very problem exists in Christianity as a religion as well. It's a human thing, not a religion thing.
Some people approach religion with Grace. To them religion is a tool to spiritual development. Other people approach religion from a perspective of seeking rules and beliefs and doctrines. Those who approach it that way, generally do not understand Divine Grace. To them religion is about belonging and community empowerment.
I agree with this too somewhat. Community does give people a sense of belonging but, it was God who brought his people together as one nation, with one set of laws and beliefs that applied to all. Then when Christ came he too set the same theme for his disciples....No one was permitted to pick and choose what they wanted to believe. All had to conform to one set of beliefs. (1 Corinthians 1:10)
I very much disagree with this. You are talking about forcing a singular point of view upon others. That did not happen in the OT times, and it never did in the NT times either. There has always been a diversity of views and beliefs about God with healthy, evolving discourse on the topics. Do you imagine that Jesus would poo poo dissenting points of views? I can't imagine Jesus being so tyrannical and egotistical as to not understand how everyone sees things through different sets of eyes. I think he's a lot more Aware than that.
"All had to conform to one set of beliefs", you stated. Can you explain Romans chapter 14 in its entirety to me in light of this then? Paul certainly showed a Christian perspective which allow multiple perspectives to exist for believers. That whole chapter is the exact opposite of "one view to rule them all" attitude.
Again I agree....no one should feel like God is demanding that they accept anything that is unreasonable or too difficult to believe. We are given intellect for a reason......but propaganda works and we are all subject to it if we don't know where its coming from.
We all need to be critical thinkers, as well as believers. We need to be informed through multiple sources of information, not just the ones that tickle our ears and make us feel certain of our beliefs when we shouldn't be.
So, what if the organized religions of the masses are all of the same ilk? What if they are all just different versions of the same lies? If what people are rejecting is a collective falsehood, why would they assume that God condones it? He did not condone it in Judaism and he will not condone it in Christianity.
What lies would that be? Religions are also different versions of the same truth as well, as the lies.
Any organized religion will be made of individuals all bringing their different energies with them. If they are driven by their egos, fears, desires, angers, greed, etc., then that is now a living active voice or energy within that religion. Likewise, if you have someone of with a heart towards Grace being part of that same religion, then good, and the power of God is also there in that religion. And like anything in our lives, whichever one you feed the most, defines the outcome.
That is as true in your religion, as it is in every other religion on earth that ever has been or will be.
History is repeating, but no one seems to notice. Humans are again following a very familiar pattern of acceptance and rejection. The minority is again a voice in the wilderness, trying to sound a warning of something approaching that will shake this world to its foundations.....but no one wants to listen.
If Christ is due to return as judge of the world....what will he encounter? (Matthew 7:21-23)
I do not doubt history is repeating. It's the ages old cycle human societies go through. You have those who seek overcoming the injustice of the world through Grace. And you have those who seek overcoming the injustice of the world through violence and force. That to me is the epic, ages old battle of good vs. evil. It's our higher human nature, that which is born in the image of God, and our baser animal instincts, our lower levels of consciousness, or 'earthly nature'.
Both of those exist within all of us. And society is shaped by whose inner dog is being fed the most. It all begins within us, life and peace, or greed and war.
What will Christ encounter? The same world it has always been. The same patterns. The same cycles. The same humans.
What if there was a reason for that? I have to include myself in that number too. I left mainstream Christianity because all I saw was the same ridiculous beliefs presented under different banners...those who claimed to be Christ's followers but who betrayed him by their beliefs and conduct.....I rejected all of it...except the part that said God existed and that he left humanity his written instructions. I wanted to find the diamond that I knew existed.
For me, it was similar. I found both their beliefs and their views of everyone else in the world but themselves as lost, to be impaletable to my spirit. It was detrimental to my faith, to be presented with an image of the Divine as harshly judgemental of everyone, but his select chosen few, which happened by chance to be themselves, create this division where none existed in reality. It was all based upon their beliefs.
But that said, there are those within that system itself whose hearts are true. Just because our heads get muddled with theologies and other'isms from the pulpit, doesn't mean there isn't a innocence that still is seen and felt by God at all times. There are many who can find that connection with Grace, even in a system of fear and division, which defined what my church experience was like.
What is truth for one is the opposite for others...so what determines our acceptance of one belief over another?
Why do you have to make it that choice, of one over the other? Can't two or more perspectives be valid? Or must it be one ruling perspective that dominates over all other individualities?
To me, what makes the belief valid or not, is if it is able to help that person bear fruit. If believing God requires you to meet only on Saturday for church, then acting upon that with faith is what matters, not whether or not that belief mattered to God. See all of Romans 14 as support for what I just said.
Can someone find the Divine if they only have a pre-conceived idea about what he should look like? What if he never did fit that idea? Can someone actually find God on their own? What if we need an invitation from him, and without it nothing would make any sense? (John 6:65)
I found God on my own. I found God before I found religion. So I really didn't have any real preconceptions before hand. As far as needing an invitation. Yes, all of creation is invited by the Divine at all times. Whether we see that or not depends on us entirely. I believe all humans are called, just like every plant is drawn to the sun.
True....but I believe its more a case of people wanting to 'make God in their own image' rather than conforming themselves to his. That is what I see to a large extent anyway.
Everyone does this to a large extent. We project our hopes and desires, as well as our beliefs and our values upon God. God tends to look suspiciously a lot like the culture and people we associate with, generally speaking.
As far as conforming to God's image instead of what most people do, that depends upon the individual again. The divide is not between what we believe between each other, but in how we see Life in general.
Do we approach life seeking the Divine, which is beyond our grasp? Or do we cling to religion to tell us the answers from outside of ourselves? God speaks to the heart first. The head is just something that has to be dealt with as it gets in the way. We want something to believe in with the mind, and look to that instead of searching the knowledge of our own hearts, which God has imbued with his Image.
How we belief reflects our culture and community. How are hearts stand naked before the Divine is what makes us true or not.
Since the diamond in question is the unalterable truth about God and his purpose for the human race on this planet.....there is only one diamond worth finding.....God's enemy has hidden it under the pile of broken glass that he created. It isn't God who makes it hard to find....but I believe that he can help us clear away that broken glass...and find the gem...if we let him.
All religions are part of that debris we have to sift thought to find Truth. All religions try to offer is a view of God, and in it there are good and bad things. Religion has a way of clinging to the old out fear. So much of it is fear based, it's truly difficult to find Grace in there. And they all believe they've found the truth. And that makes it hard for someone seeking Grace to break free from all of that and seek the truth beyond it.
