Posted by giveawayboy on September 22, 2001 at 17:48:35:
In Reply to: Re: an afghani-american's view posted by Bryon on September 22, 2001 at 11:18:53:
Dear Bryon, I understand your concern. I for one, am not very much into Kaballah, but let me address what you said about not putting things above Christ. I agree with you wholeheartedly. However, I also believe that there is truth in other religions. We may not agree with them on everything, but as Christians we worship God, who is the truth. Well, then, we need to recognize the truth wherever we find it. If we do not honor the truth then we become idolators because we misrepresent God. You did not seem harsh at all, but I think some of your fears are unfounded. But I think one thing we all can do more of is get to know our own faith better. It's true that there's alot of folks who call themselves Christians but can't even tell you the Nicene Creed. Not to mention any knowledge of the Scriptures. But I would suggest to you that Christ did not come to abolish everything good in other cultures. He came for the entire world, and that means that the Gospel merges with the most authentic expressions of various cultures. Do I believe that cultures can be in error? Yes! But do I believe that cultures are entirely demonized? No. Also, I don't believe that all religions are spawned from demons. I do believe that religions are man's attempt at understanding and celebrating a mystery that they perceive. See Romans chapter 1. I believe that it is man's attempt to give glory to that mystery that they know encompasses them. Do I believe all religions are right? No. Do I believe they are all equally valid? No. Then I would be more like a universalist than a Christian. I believe that some religions can be more 'right' than others. Ouch. All my non-orthodox friends just bit off their nails. I believe Christianity to be the 'most right'. Do I think this means we should be haughty and proud? Certainly not. But, I do think it means that we should try to follow God and become more like him and love our neighbors like he teaches us. Buddhism is a religion I really like to study. For me it really teaches us alot about 'mindfulness' and 'compassion'. I have to recognize it since it is there before my eyes. Does that mean I suddenly believe in reincarnation? No. does it mean that I have to despise the Dalai Lama, just because he believes in it? No. He also believes in compassion, which is good. Or what about Islam which teaches that Christ was born of a virgin and was the Word of God? We must affirm this with them. However, to be wise we must also see the distinction as to who they say Jesus is. He is not God according to them. Here, we Christians disagree with our brothers the Muslims. But we still have a tie to God as they believe in the God of Ibrâhim/Abraham. All I'm saying is that not everything about other religions is false.
Something else. I always enjoyed the fact that I could come to Crossover's message board and get much more than the standard faire at any other Christian message board. I mean, there were people here talking about everything from Jesus Christ to the X-Files and everything in between. I like that ability to be well-rounded. Maybe you are right though. People can buy into this lie of modernism that says you have to take a skeptic posture all the time. I for one believe in and uphold the Nicene Credal statements. I don't hold them easily. But I hold them by faith since I believe they were revealed by God. Here they are:
The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Bryon, if you want to read something cool about Jesus written by Christians, check out the document entitled: Dominus Iesus (the Lord Jesus) which recently was released by the Declaration of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of the Catholic Church. Writing this got them in hot water since they said that Jesus was the only way to salvation.
Later, Bill
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This will probably seem harsh, but I have to share what I think about this and other recent postings.
: I thought this was a Christian message board.
: I get tired of seeing posts about other religions here and the tolerance shown towards other "doctrines" or "prophesies" such as this and the "The Essential Kabbalah " as though they are "just alright". They aren't. Jesus said that not one will come to the Father except through Him. These other religions do not teach that.
: Why should we aim to be "more educated" in these other teachings when most of us cannot even name all the books of the bible, let alone in order!
: I don't know who the Hopis are, but we had better be careful not to put anything above the provision and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. There has been an awful lot of talk about the prophesy of non christian sources and interest in other "religions" or whatever lately. Please don't promote this over Christianity. I am sure there are a lot of people that visit this board other than our "crowd" and I am certain there are some that visit who are new in Christ and this type of thing might become a stumbling block to them.
: I don't think people spend enough time praying and reading the Bible, let alone to be encouraged to dabble in the recent ideas posted.
: The reason I say this is not to ask for legislation of the board, it is to plead with my family to continue looking toward the prize and continue on the correct path.
: Put your faith in Christ.
: : I don't think there are words to properly honor what this man has written. We saw some of this on the news last night and it's tragic. The truth in this matter is so heavy it's suffocating. There will be no winners. This is the real stuff. The Hopis prophesized years ago that the West would end up on their bellies trying to survive. Here we are and here we go. God bless the world.