Religion

[JOEBIALEK]

With the passing of Pope John Paul ll, perhaps some reflection on religious beliefs is appropriate. Religion is defined as a set of beliefs concerned with explaining the origins and purposes of the universe, usually involving belief in a supernatural creator and offering guidance in ethics and morals. It also consists of any of several institutions with their own beliefs, rituals, and teachings. Throughout history and even still today, most religions claim to be the one true religion and all others are considered either phony imitations or some sort of heretical sacrilege. It is a sad reality that most people do not recognize the benefit of what can be learned from other religions along the way of their spiritual journey. If one studies the major religions of today such as Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism etcetera they will find more similarities than differences. They are guides for how to live and grow spiritually. Some would argue that religion has been one of the biggest causes of humanity's problems but others counter that it is the misinterpretation of religious tenets that causes strife. Still further, many people see religion as a form of control over the masses whereas others see it as a necessary shield against evil influences.

I had the opportunity to read a book recently concerning near death experiences {NDE}. The book was a compilation of individual testimonies by those who left their bodies temporarily and returned to tell about their experience. The author characterized their stories and then pointed out the large similarities and small differences in each of the NDE's. Two personal friends of mine have had an NDE and shared their experience with me. I've also communicated with a deceased friend by way of a psychic medium. All three sources agreed that upon death of the body, we travel through a tunnel toward a bright, warm and loving light. Upon entering the light, we are given a life review. During the life review, we re-experience all the thoughts, words and actions that came from us. Anything negative is re-experienced as though we are the person on the receiving end of our negativity. For example, one of the contributors to the book re-experienced the event where he had severely beaten another man although this time, he felt the blows he had administered. The whole premise for experiencing the light appears to be an opportunity to examine what we have learned along our spiritual journey. In conclusion, it appears that Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, Confucius, and Buddha were all very wise men who made a significant impact on humanity teaching spirituality as it applied to a specific civilization. Perhaps if humanity could somehow integrate all these religious belief systems toward the goal of one spirituality with God, we could finally begin to see the emergence of world peace.

[GirlColumbo]

Hi Joe, will have to get back on this one. Requires a little more heavier thinking than my after six brain can accomodate.

[JOEBIALEK]

ok, get some rest...

[tkcomer]

As far as the pope’s funeral, I thought it odd that so many people payed their respect to a man whose teachings they disagreed with. I’m talking women priests or priests getting married. Or birth control for that matter. And other things. Most countries that have a little wealth disagreed with him on a large scale, not by a little margin. Even his home country, Poland. I have never had a near death experince. But I have seen a few things that convince me that there is an afterlife. But what I saw goes against my teachings that when you die, you go to heaven or ****. Not roam around the earth. It has caused confusion in my mind to this day.

[GirlColumbo]

I have to admit, that down through the years i have become even more confused about religion.

[Jeremy]

From my blog on the day he was buried:

"Pope John Paul II was buried today in a crypt beneath St. Peter's Basilica. Despite his conservative religious principles the man did countless good and beneficial things, and he was always consistent. The world is a darker place with his passing.

I was also surprised to find that he used to be an actor and a playwrite. I never knew that about him."

I think the reason a lot of Catholics who are less conservative were able to put aside their differences and embrace what the Pope did that was good is because the things they disagreed on were more political than actual core beliefs of the Catholic community.

The Catholic church is more like a country than just a church. These aren't really the "beliefs" of the church, they are the current "politics" of the church, or at least their political stance. Most Catholics believe in the dogma of the church, which doesn't include the things mentioned above, like women not being equal, but rather the immaculate conception, the divinity of Christ, etc.

The things mentioned above are current affairs outside the pure dogma of the church. They can be changed depending on the political whims of the whatever governing body there is at the time. While the dogma of the church is unchangeable to maintain the identity of the Catholic church, other things such as whether women can be priests are open to change.

Thanks for your personal post by the way JOEBIALEK. I've been trying to get other's to see that there's not just one idea of religion for months now :) It would definitely benefit the world if more people could set aside their religious differences and embrace the religious similarities.

I think a lot of the problem has to do with the nature of faith itself. Faith, by definition, means knowing something even if there's no direct evidence of such, believing in something no matter what.

People embrace faith and become unshakeable in it. They KNOW they are right. This may sound good on the surface but I would rather see more people who embrace the MYSTERY of life, and realize that no one knows anything really. I would rather have more mystery than knowledge. That's just my own personal thing though.