One of the things that I find very interesting when reading through various postings is that a lot of posts leave religion of out it. I am not interested in reading people’s religious beliefs – but I really enjoy hearing evidence of spiritual occurrences. For example, I don’t want to hear – “Jesus will save you”.

Don’t get me wrong, if you are religious, that is great, but I am not seeking proof or evidence of religion. To me that is entirely another subject.

Although I would not describe myself as religious, I would describe myself as spiritual. I want to really belief that I will know my kids (for example) after my physical life has ended.

When reading people’s experiences that had a NDE, some state that they are more spiritual as opposed to religious. Here is an example:

“The experience, however,  does have a profound effect upon him. He has been spiritually transformed.  Formerly he had been active in his church and had held the beliefs of his denomination to be the only true path.  Now he is no longer "religious" in a dogmatic sense, rather he has become spiritual.  He realizes that many of the aspects of religion which he had formerly considered important are merely superficialities.  Although he enjoys his physical surroundings, he places little value on material possessions.  Love and compassion towards his fellow man are the treasures with which he is now concerned.   From his life review he realizes that these are the elements of true religion.  He also recognizes the importance of learning and the joy which it can bring.  Lastly, he no longer fears death, he views the material body as a bird views its cage.  He knows that upon his physical death he will soar in another realm.”

I’m wondering what other peoples views are related to this subject? That is – can a line really be drawn between spiritual belief and religion? I think so.   

Would agree - the two are usually positioned towards the opposite ends of the spectrum of ways of approaching belief.

Religion is I guess usually a ready made package of beliefs or dogma handed down by those in charge that one signs up to 'believe' (actually a contradiction in terms) in joining a religion.

Some allow a bit of  personal freedom, but dogmatic belief systems are usually constructed by people operating from an intellectual and institutional power perspective, who having purported to represent God or whatever Deity on earth then set out to propogate and often enforce these beliefs on others.

They rarely admit personal or subjective esoteric experience as this threatens to undermine the dogma and the authority of those enforcing it, and leads to independent thinking on the part of the membership.

Spirituality is as you say basically about growth along a personal path as a result of personal study, experience and insight, and includes subjective esoteric experience. Spiritual teachings explain what most can expect to experience, or teach methods  - they support the personal path.

Belief is a personal matter and follows from learning, experience and insight - from what amounts to an experiential 'proving' of  teachings to oneself. 'Truth' is emergent...

Spiritual energy and religion are two different subjects.

One can have spiritual/non-physical experiences, but not be in a religion at all.

The people who wrote the Bible said God told them to write the words, and those people had their own personal experiences, so those people created the "Christian" religion/movement. The movement was created based on those people's personal experiences.

As you can see, spiritual and religion are two different subjects.

One can have spiritual experiences and have nothing to do with religion.

I hope that makes sense.

in the distant future there will be such a change in religion it will seem archaic when people talk of it. we will be just more knowing individuals and our heart intelligence will guide us, also the left and right hemispheres of the brain will be in sync, which will aid us in being discerning of the spiritual dimensions, obe, meditation, and all of those tools of exploration of our inner selves, who and what we are.
I'm not putting down religion though, in the beginning here, we needed guidelines that religion has given. but now is a new age we slowly go into.

I am in agreement with you all. especially like what Jetman said. love, alysia

Hi I love God so very much and i never go to church to talk to him,i always talk to him in my bedroom on my own as God knows what im going to ask him ,even before i ask,he knows me better than anyone else in the world and i put my faith and love and trust in him as he is my  strength and i can go on with Gods love ,if i didnt have that ,then im not so sure i could go on,i just know that he loves me as when i talk to him,theres so much peace and love that fills my  soul.I  have seen spirit and spirit love us even if we are not religious,there love for us and the divine spirit God's love for us is unconditional.

I was very down today because of this divorce im going through and i layed on my bed and i was sending thoughts to God that i was feeling like i did not know where to turn and as i closed my eyes i saw this beautiful angel dressed in gold and white smileing at me and holding her hand up and this peace went right through me and everything had lifted and i started to feel strong again and then the angel dissapeared,so God does listen,but sometimes we dont realise it.

Love and God bless   Love Juditha

[Dave:] "Interestingly, religion has no place for common people who are directly aware of God. In fact, the essence of priestcraft is that the priest alone has the Divine Ear, and to be heard, all the rest must funnel their wishes, thoughts etc through the priest who is ultimately the representative of God on Earth."
____________________________________

"You [all] are God's holy priests (1 Peter 2:5)."
"Don 't let anyone call you `Teacher;' for you have one teacher, and all of you are on the same level as brothers and sisters (Matthew 23:8)."
"But you have received the Holy Spirit, and you don't need anyone to teach you what is true.  For the Spirit teaches you alll things, and what bHe teaches is true (1 John 2:27)."

Don

What you say is very right JG - it helps so much to be a part of a community of others on the path. But it can be quite tough to find such a group.....

pulsar wrote on Sep 13^th, 2007 at 2:14pm:


Well, I understand what you mean, but I have learned that there is nothing fruitful that can come from questioning things that are flawed in religion that come from trend and tradition. Sure the church building is not truly needed, but like I mentioned before is something that should be apart of religion and society. The problem stems from worshipping the building, or the pastor, or the Bible, or whatever resource is related to the religious dogma in question.

The stringent details of most religions can be debated, is flawed, yadda yadda. The BASIS of the religion should speak for itself and be what a truly intelligent person should look for. It's just such a negative stigma in our society because the "ignorant" details that are associated with religion are what cause debates, wars, and extremism. My advice has always been to never concern yourself with those things, because when it's all said and done, regardless of what any book or person tells you, God will be the ultimate judge of your heart. And I am willing to bet it won't be based on how many times you have physically been to church...lol.
The mafia of old went to Catholic services everyday, before and after murdering people.

Always think PRINCIPLE before debating INTERPRETATION.