Other religions than god centered.

[little big man]

Hi, I am in 12 step programs. God is meantioned alot, or one higher power, i e same thing. Seems no one knows about religions that are not christian. In Buddhasm we have nothing to pray no, no god, no higher power, and we dont even pray to or worship the current Buddha (been millions of them). Faith based religions are not the only religions.

 

[Serious Dave]

Hi Little Big Man,

I am a Christian, but I'm not going to push it on you. I'm glad that you are asking questions and that you want to know what's going on with us pesky Christians. I hope someone has told you what Christianity is and how God can help you. Really, that's all God wants us to do. He never told us to force it on you. Some Christian people are just annoying and would be that way even if they were talking about what they had for lunch. Most, like me, are so excited by what God has done in their lives that they can't wait to tell you the "Good News". That's what the word Gospel means - good news.

Other Christians forget that they are just supposed to tell you the Gospel and then say, "If you have questions, give me a call." They think it's their job to complete the work of "saving" you, but that's God's job - only He can save you, in a Christian sense, that is. It's a big problem for the Christian Church, and I agree, it turns people off and makes some of them hate us.

Really, God wants Christians to live lives that are so pure, happy and attractive to others that they say, "Hey, I want some of what you got. Where can I get me some of that?" - that's when we've got you. The problem is, we stink at living Godly and upright lives, so people rightly say, "If that's what a Christian looks like...no thanks!" That's a big problem for us too because, though we are saved, we are still sinful and suck at being good examples. Keep in mind that, just because the messenger is an idiot, that doesn't mean the message has no value. If you want to read up on what the Gospel is, I suggest you get a bible from the library (they aren't burning them yet) and read the book of John. Get a modern translation like the New Living Translation (NLT). All due respect to the King James Version, but the language of the Middle Ages is a bit tough to follow in 2015, and "Give me a call, or a post, if you have any questions." End of annoying Christian talk.

The other thing you question is the lack of other religions in 12 step programs. 12 step was modeled on Christianity. The 'higher power" used to be God, but they changed it to make the program more "user friendly". And, 80%+ of people in North America claim to be Christian, so the majority usually gets all the attention.

The other reason is that Christianity is the only religion in the world in which the believer "surrenders" his or her life to God, depending totally on Him for salvation - we admit we are lost and can't help ourselves. In every other religion, the believer "works" his or her way up the ladder to Heaven or Nirvana or what have you. I am a Christian because I have trashed my life, and I know I can never get to heaven (perfection, also called holiness) based on my good works. Frankly, my best efforts smell worse than dog crap.

I hope this answers some of your questions about why us Christians are such a pain in the ars. But please be nice to us from now on, we're really as messed up as everyone else.

Thanks for putting up with me.

Dave

 

[victor-victim]

god is the center of my universe.
god is my center.
works for me.
i honestly can't think of anything more important.
i can't imagine something else worth being the center.
before god was the center of my world,
there was a huge revenous black hole in my center,
and everything outside was a dangerous empty void.

 

[don64]

Hi Little big man,

This is a spiritual forum for everyone. I am sorry you are not getting the respect and support you and everyone deserve for the right to choose what, who, and how you worship, or not. This site is not only for Christians, and is not intended as a site for Christians to witness/educate/debate those who believe differently.

Sending you love and support,

Don

 

[little big man]

I am a Buddhist. I am not interested in Christianity. Right here it is being pushed on me.

 

[victor-victim]

Faith based religions are not the only religions.

please tell me more about this.

i try to imagine a religion without faith.
are you talking about a fact based religion?

long have i looked for a religion that satisfies both logic and love.

when i was i kid i used to envy spock on star trek, because i believed he had mastered emotions to the point where he had wished them out of existence through pure power of the will.
i diligently set about doing just that.

as a traumatized child, the idea of feeling nothing was very appealing to me. i sincerely thought that feelings were a weakness, and more seriously, a handicap and a hazard that could cost you. i had already learned the intensity of psychic pain, and i would be happy if i never felt that again.
i simply started this process by studying spock and suppressing my emotions and wearing a mask. it worked well.

great essay on spock psychology and philosophy: https://www.gdg.00freehost.com/trekessays/essay011.htm

as i got into my teens and started tripping, i added my own western warped concepts of nirvana and satori to this mix. add a little nietzche and i ended up with my own eclectic religion. i was consciously trying to create my own altered state of self directed being. i was going to become a vulcan buddhist bermensch. sort of a manmachine. i really envied and emulated robots. so i added some asimov to my private belief system.

the three laws of robotics could be considered my code of conduct. it seemed sufficient to me at the time. perfectly simple and simply perfect. no need for emotion in this equation. peace through programming.

as i got older, this poorly conceived concoction of conflicting survival defense mechanisms mutated into a mess. i had become a jekyll/hyde type, or worse... a banner/hulk type. i was the opposite of my ideal... unpredictable, random, irrational, volatile, hostile. i was full of feelings, bad feelings.

i started to graft on emergency patches to fix the leaks. psychedelics, quantum physics, metaphysics and magick entered my life. i added shaman sorcerer to my laundry list. after that, i became a musician magician. under the guidance of camus and crowley and castaneda, i turned into a rebel pagan warrior.

i had a huge collection of maps, i was out there exploring the territory, but i had no compass.

this wild journey took me into some dark corners of the mind, which i scoured and devoured without inhibition.


call it data processing.
i continued to accumulate and assimilate more information in my quest for knowledge. i sifted through all that knowledge, looking for inspiration and wisdom. from that inspiration and wisdom, i was hoping to catch a glimpse of truth or reality in this lifetime.

i was digging through piles of coal, searching for diamonds.


i am now 53 years old and i have arrived here.

love is my diamond.
jesus is my jewel.
god is my gem.