DocM
|
"Live in Love and we will be saved." Yes, but then if so, why the title of this thread? The implication is that if people from other religions see JC in NDEs or visions, it implies that there is some evidence that JC is the only version of God we should worship, and that christianity is the most "true" religion. This is my gripe about the whole conversation. "I am the light and the way, and there is no other way to the father but through me." I find that phrase beautiful, and leading by example, but some fundamentalist christians take it literally to mean that if you are a good person who is kind to others, yet you don't go to church and worship JC by name, then you are damned.
I've had enough experience and done enough soul searching to know, (not just think I know) that it is how we express our souls that matter. It is our intent. Our love of what is good and true (God) and our good intentions to our brothers/sisters (the golden role) that really matters. JC embodied these values, and as such, he is a beacon and a light for many. A role model, even as Justin implies for common folk to follow in his footsteps (which may sound haughty, but really isn't).
If my spiritual search leads me to love, to become more selfless, to treat others with love, and yet I don't identify myself as a christian or go to church, or use the name Jesus when I pursue goals nearly identical to those espoused in the New Testament, does it really matter? Am I less of a good soul for not following the tradition or ritual of one particular earthly religion? Of course not. And herein lies my problem with discussions of this sort.
If a Jew, a buddhist, or a muslim lives in a loving manner, they are on the right path. It may be, that in the afterlife there is an unfolding or acknowledgement of the truth of the philosophy of love championed by JC, and all in doing so would therefore see him as a manifestation of God or Source flowing directly into a person. Any honest person, if in spirit would recognize this if it is so. And yet, the whole philosophy put forward in the NT is more about love and putting love into your actions, than ritual or recognition of earthly ceremonies or names. Read through the NT and show me where JC invents any of the rituals practiced now in the church. Things such as wafers, wine, certain ceremonies were all conceived by followers to honor his way, but not mandated in the gospels.
I do not believe in salvation through ritual or faith without works. Intent must be put into action to be real. Charity must be real, and incorporated into our daily lives to make a difference. Swedenborg talks of this, and I agree. Thought not tied to intent and action is not a path toward salvation or evolution of the spirit. So the debate over the supremacy of one earthly religion or religious figure over another misses the heart of true spirituality.
M
|