In response to the title of this section of the forums. The answer is foundation. You can not have a solid foundation if you are pulling in separate directions.
Now I'm not saying you need to marry a Christian, I'm just saying one should seek out someone who would be a good father (shepherd) even if neither of you are planning on, or can have children. Likewise a man should seek out a woman who would be a good mother. If these qualities are missing in a person, then they will more than likely be lacking in compassion, forgiveness, wisdom, understanding, humbleness, humility, and more than that, the ability to take a stand when they need to.
You can find these traits in anyone who is sincere in their love and fear of God...
...The Absolute, that Great Mystery that has blessed us with life and free choice!
Personally I find my self relating more to Buddhist women than Christian, for the fact that many Christian women seem pre-occupied with shopping, tell-lie-vision, fashion, gossip, and of course theological philosophy rather than re-enforceing their spiritual armor, and sharpening their mental swords as they walk in the valley of shadows and death.
Whilst the Buddhist perspective deals directly with the human condition, whilst cutting off superstition and those theological arguments that no one can prove either way. All one can know is the Love and Salvation that comes through God's grace, and our submission to His Laws.
Granted, neither is better than the other, it's personal after all, and we all back slide, and stray from the path in one form or another, but when we are sincere, we always come right back, and that's what's required to keep a relationship working.
My experience has been that it won't, but my experience is not yours.
Personally, I would not want to be yoked with someone that does not share my beliefs, nor would I want to raise children with someone that does not believe in Jesus Christ.
I am a little hurt by your stereo typing. Not sure where you got that thought that Christian women are a bunch of materialistic gossiping snips anyway. The Christian women I know are not at all that way. In fact many of them have been hurt and abandoned, and left to raise their families alone, being called welfare witches as opposed to male counter parts doing the same that are referred to as saints, all by people who stereotype and know nothing about either individual personally. I raised a child alone and ran into that stereotype frequently, even though I never received a dime of assistance as I struggled to make it, buying my house the same way everyone else dose under our states first time home buyer program. Yet I frequently ran into people that thought somehow they paid for the air that I breathed and I must have gotten my home in the divorce settlement. All I got in the divorce settlement were the bills because I cared about the credit and wanted to buy a house.
When Jesus walked this earth, He spoke to all people, and stereotyped no one. He sorted them only after their exchanges by the conditions of their hearts.
If you are looking for a Buddhist woman, I have no idea what you are doing on this site, other than bashing Christian women. I personally feel you owe every women on this site an apology for making such a rude assumption about all of them. I am sorry for your experience, but your assumption just is not true.
I really do hope that plan works for you my friend, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
I don't have time right now to reply in full, but had no intention of offending Christians. Rather I was critiquing the evil that men (and women) do in the name of Christ.
As the Bible states,"many are called, few are chosen". This is reality, and it's a reality which I see ALL around me. The Majority, not all, but the majority of people that call them selves Christian, are no less worldly than those who claim to care less, or not believe "any of that".
They seem to the slogan,"it's all good" and think that life is all about smiles, laughter, and seeking out creature comforts.
Mind you, my halo is a little tainted itself, but I sincerely do what I can to be in the world and not of it, and thankfully, the majority of what we know of as the status quoe, repulses me. :)
Anyhow, God bless, and the best of luck to you too! The Spirit loves us all, even my native ancestors who had not dogma, no theology, no printing press. ;)
O.K. now I can elaborate a bit more. I was taken back at first, I saw that picture of you beside what looked to be a pentagram, and I thought you were Wiccan or something. If you want to hear me make some wise cracks, wait till I get on the subject of Wiccans some time. :)
Anyhow, no again, I really am sorry if I offended you. I do not mean to write as an attack on my fellow Christian brothers and sisters, but rather of as a critique of the majority who I would refer should to as pseudo-Christian. Your tale of abandoned women and children exploits yet another exmaple of that very same concept. I can tell you, I have many friends, family, and people I just know that are going through the motions of being dead beat mothers and fathers. I my self was adopted out of such a situation, so perhaps that experience is what makes me so keen on having an honorable and noble God centered family.
Mind you, I don't presume that I coudl pull it off my self. I know a lot of single mothers, and I have a few close friends who are married, are good Christians, have 5 or more children, and home school on top of that! One of them even goes to school and brings all six of her kids to work with her as she assists her husband in his business. I even know a few fathers who managed to beat the odds and have custody of their children. So ya, I get my fair share of exposure to what that world can be like. It's harsh, but the one thing I keep hearing again and again, is that it's worth it. That fills me with hope, just to see some parents still express that now a days, and show it through their actions! :)
In regards to the Buddhists, I was not refering so much to the branches that have adopted it and merged it into their own theology and what have you, but more so to Buddhism in it's purest form, which would be when it was merely about the psychology of the mind, and the physical sheel we ride in, not the various religous systems and theologies that have been attached to it. And yes, believe me, I know there are plenty of people that claim to be Buddhist, as in a practicer of a religeous system, and there are those like me that have been inspired merely by it's basic precepts, or found the stories and myths surrounding it quite facinating as well. Needless to say, many of those people, like Christians, Muslisms, Jews, etc. have fallen and came short of the glory of God. It seems a lot of New Agers embrace it, and seem to think it preaches of gospel of smiles, entertainment, creature comforts, and even homosexuality if it makes you happy, or what have you. It's really quite sad, but I would have stated that I wanted a nice New Ager and or Christian, if that was the rout I was going, but alas, it's not in me.
You see, I'm not so much about obesessing and arguing over theological dogma, like the early fathers of what became the Catholic church. It's fun to discuss, and reflecting upon theoglogical precepts works just like a Zen Koan in that is gives one a meditation point to focus upon, which in turn works as an aid towards inner transformation and growth, the story of Lucifer's fall would be one fine example!
This is why I prefer to focus the basic teachings of Yeshua which pertained to personal conduct, personal reflection, personal observation, control, familiarization. In other words, KNOW THY SELF! This is what Yeshua taught, and he gave various examples, stories, and clues as to what will lead one towards that awakening many of them he said were inspired by, and could be found in ancient scpripture.
These very same concepts are also taught in basic Buddhism, in fact, as Jesus promised to destroy the temple, the old Law, and so forth, and so did Siddartha Gooma, otherwise known as The Buddha, come to destroy the people's attachment to their religion and their dogmas, to the point where a division grew between man and Truth. Well God is the ultimate Truth, and we can all agree that no one among us (that I'm aware of) can begin to tell you what God is, so Buddhism delcairs all the remaining Truth that man can know, which again is what Yeshua did. He broke down the barrier between man and God, and gave us Truths that lead to Him.
The ONLY difference between Buddhism and Christianity, is that Siddartha Gotoma, otherwise known as The Buddha, never suggested that he was anything more than a teacher, an adviser, one to point you in the right direction, yet leaving the journey itself to you to do upon your own.
Unlike the Yeshua of the Orthadoxed (this means right thinking, it was a term coined by the early Catholic {meaning Universal} church) collection of small books known as the Bible, The Buddha (enlightened one) never taught theology, he never defined God, he never spoke of angels, demons, or anything to that effect. His business was what could be known, what one could know about them selves, and self mastery though attunement with Natural Law. This in NO WAY is tolerent of evil, and wickedness, and all forms of perversion, such as cheating on one's wife or vise versa, it does not promote murder, homosexuality, anger, fear, hate, malice, selfishness, coveting, etc. In fact one of it's basic principles is non-attachment. This concept is reflected in Yeshua's words,"let the dead bury the dead".
On the other hand Yeshua is said to have insisted that he was The Way, The Truth, and The Light, and was here, as God in the flesh, intent on being willingly sacrificed upon The Cross, in order that his spilled blood might atone for our Sins which we were born in, no thanks to the crazy shenanigans Adam, Eve, and that wacky serpent. At least, that's what the collection of books that the early Catholic Church seemed to be suggesting. Well perhaps one from the Old Covenant, and a few from the New. According to the Gospel of Thomas, which predates three, if not all four of our oldest copies of the New Testament Gospels, Yeshua tells his apostles, that they have became intoxicated upon his words, and that he is merely a teacher, a prophet. Other than that, I believe every line in it is reflected in the Gospels that are in the Church's Bible. I'm not saying that this is proof, I'm just saying there is a VERY old book, of wich we have multiple copies from multiple sources, that says this, therefore this is proof that it was part of some early pre-Christian's way of thinking about Yeshua, just as it is today. Likewise, re-incarnation was a heavy theme during those times, in fact that subject comes up a few times in the Bible, even in Yeshua's presence as he is conversing with his apostles. The strangest thing though is that you never see him correct them once. And you will also find him saying that the Kingdom of Heaven is actually within us, and all around us, and yet we do not see it, which can be found in Luke as well as other various books of the New Covenant/Testament.
Now at this point, let me say, I am not here to tell you that Yeshua was not the Messiah of the Hebrews, or The Christ (oil) as some of the Greeks refered to him. I am not here to say that Yeshua is not the perfect example of what God's Son and children should not be like. I am not suggesting the tale of his life that we are all familiar with is not beautiful, insightful, inspiring, and the most amazing and moving tale I have ever heard! For he so loved the world that he gave his only begotton...
...it's beautiful! And you know, Yeshua, unlike The Buddha, was able to reach everyone from every walk of life! Fishermen, prostitutes, kings, the wealthy, the sick, those in poverty, adulterers, priests, bankers, politicians, muderers, drunks, thieves, etc. He ruled! He still rules in my book! Yeshua's A O.K. So you can believe about him what you want to believe, I'd have to agree with you, but...
...I was not born in Sin. I developed a sinful nature, I learned sin. I on the other hand was born in ignorance if anything, but certainly not sin. Otherwise you'd figure I'd have eaten my way out of my mothers stomache, went striaght for my father's eyes, gouged them out, crawled across the floor, repeatedly stabbed the doc till he was dead, and so on and so forth.
Ya, it's a little exaggerated, but seriously, if we were born Evil as some curse, we'd all be coming out like the Exorcist or what have you. Things would be crazy! Rather we humans tend to seek companionship, we tend to seek softness, comfort within others, friends. We tend to find our selves making sacrifices, laying down our lives for others, becoming mothers and fathers wanting only what is best for our children. We find our selves torn up inside if we are not doing the right thing. Living a sinful live makes us heavy with burdens. It's just not part of our nature to live in Sin. We are part of the Nature that God created, and we are supposed to move in accord with that! We can not be selfish, we can not sulk, we can't abosorb our selves in self pity, wimpering about like life is not fair, pointing the finger, looking for a scape goat to pin all the guilt on, etc. We do this, and we are off The Path, and down we go into the depths of hell, having fallen short of The Glory of God. So we got to be strong, we have to have Faith in God and the Natural Laws that God placed to govern man and beast.
Personally I do not get my faith from any one person. Mind you a person's mere existence and way of being may influence me, but I never just start believing in something just because someone told me a story one time. And no, I wasn't rebelling against my parents and the church and this and that. In fact churches and the people in them did not leave a bad taste in my mouth till much later in my life. Again, not that all are bad, of course, not, but there are plenty of corrupt ones out there!
Anyhow, I was not rebelling against my parents or the churches. I had not even studied the history of what came to be called Christianity, I had not read the writings, arguments, and politics of the Church fathers, I didn't even know about the cultures of the land, about the caravans from Egypt, China, India, Tibet, etc. I wasn't even aware of other religous systems, literature, let alone excluded Christian and Jewish scpitures, many of which are mentioned in The Bible, and some that are quoted word for word in the Bible, even by Yeshua himself, and still not included. All I knew is that I really really really took to Yeshua, and the stories that I heard about him. I LOVED him with all my heart and still do, regardless of how much the stories are true, or elaboration from the Church, those who wanted to twist Yeshua's impact to their own politcal advantage, or those who merely wanted to do harm in general.
I can only imagine what Yeshua's actual life was like, I can only assume he was a man like me, and not so much God considering that A. The Earliest Church Fathers were Pagan and worshipped other God's along side of Yeshua, who they began to refer to as Jesus. B. I've heard Yeshua's story before. Not exact, but the main concepts and themes were very intact from virgin births, rebirth, the facing of temptations, crucifictions/self sacrifice, etc. It's reflected in the Jewish Mezzeroth. C. I do have a pretty basic understanding of classic Jewdaism and a elaborate library of books and reference books which I refer to when trying to understand scripture in it's original tongue, or at least the tongues we have them in. D. I like to compare versions of these texts, not only with their earlier and later incarnations, but also with scripture from other faiths.E. If he was God, would he ask him self on The Cross why he had foresaken himself? F. If he was God, then why would he have tempation? G: Unless you are mormon, again, what's one say about my Native Ancestors and their "Great Spirit" and their relationship and knowledge of Nature. H: Men have been able to describe the planets in immense detail way before any scripture was written what so ever. The Summerians are one such people. I: There is no absolute opposite to God in the universe. Luficer is merely a creation of God (if you want to talk theology) that can not work outside the will of God. Luficer, Satan is the tale of man. Man's fall. We fall because of vanity, pride, selifness, attachment, etc. Luficer's story is our story. Christ is the solution.
In other words, you got to bear the cross that you yourself made. You have to die upon that cross, and be reborn. It is the story as personified in the Mazzeroth. If you want to come to know the Messiah, you must walk in His foot steps. It's that simple. That is what I believe, but like I said, you can believe what you want to believe. I don't expect you to have the same dream cycles and experiences as I did growing up, I don't expect you to do your own research, to question everything you believe, even your self. I'm not telling you to do any of this. It's not required, though Yeshua did insists upon a steady observation of scripture, so I do find it fascinating to read what Yeshua read! And that's something a LOT of modern Christians are guilty of; dismissing the Torah, and other books that now make up what we know of as the Old Covenant. Strange, they praise Jesus, but don't read the scripture which He commanded us to read. Obviosly he couldn't have been reading anything that was written after him, and I dont' recall him trying to start a Church or a temple. he told us the body is the Temple, and according to the tales, when he died upon the cross, lightening flashed, the earth quaked, and the division between man and God was eroded, man no longer had to rely upon other men to commune with God...
...oh boy! :) I'm not suggesting you are one of these people, I just had to point that irony out for my own personal amusement. Per chance someone might come along who that might sting. It won't break their heart, but it will hurt their ego, and I sincerley hope the simple logic helps then along The Way.
Anyhow, what I am suggesting is that you continue to obvserve Yeshuas teachings so that through application, dedication, faith, and because of God's Grace, you may steadily be saved and be a living example.
So, please, please, please do not interpret my words as an attack upon everone on this sight, please do not let anger or your sorrows cloud your perspective. I am not attacking all christians, all women, or what have you. I am not attacking how you choose to believe about Yeshua, your Church, or what have you. You may have a great church with a wonderful congregation, that's perfect!!!!!!!! It's just that I was merely instructed by Yeshua's teachings as I know them, and by the precepts of Buddhism and Zen, to be honest. Honest with my self, and honest with everyone else (except maybe authority figures), so I must express my self as none other than me, otherwise I would be leading you on, and leading my self on, being something I am not, which therefore does not lead to God ultimately.
This is my world. It's not any different than the life of any pre-Christian in the century that followed after Yeshua's time on Earth. They were many and varied. All from various back grounds and belief systems, each merging what they heard through the grape vine, into their own personal system. Christ IS personal. Because of that, it may ruin all chances of me meeting a nice Christian girl...
...but then is she Christian because she can't see that? Because she does not know the history? Anyhow, if every girl on here rejects me because of this, then it was not meant to be, but at least I can meet some friends on here!
Besides, maybe God has higher plans for me. It's not what I want, I want companionship, someone to grow old with, but we don't always get what we want now do we? All I can say is that I'd hate to be dishonest, run into a girl on here that might for what ever reason, take to my particular state of being, then come to find out I was not Orthadoxed, and am all messed up in the head. ;)
Well, once again, have a blessed day, keep loving Yeshua, and spreading it as he would have spread it! From the sounds of your tales, I imagine you wear your heart on your sleeve. So to that I say keep the faith. Through God's Grace and our persistance The Lord will renew us, and make us strong. :)
I am still trying to figure out which Master you serve, Buddha or Jesus? I don't know anything about Buddha, but I know Jesus says you cannot serve two Masters. Its kind of like a person that cannot choose between two mates, not terribly flattering to either.
I am not Wiccan, nor have I ever been. I am standing next to a friend who is wearing a law enforcement uniform.
I think before you choose a mate, you should choose your faith.
I still think you owe the good Christian women on this site an apology, for you own upbringing by your own admission should have taught you that stereotyping is not a good thing. I am sorry you have had a bad experience with Christian women, but I cannot imagine that all Buddhist women are going to be what you expect either.
The best advice I can give you is to choose your Master before you choose your wife, and let your choice in a mate reflect the choice you made in the love for your God. There are good women in the world in every faith, and their are evil women in the world in every faith. Trust your Creator to guide you in all your life choices. You might start by asking the One True God to prove Himself to you for only the One True God will be able to, where all false gods will fail.
Good luck in your search, for most women of faith are not going to want a man that cannot figure out his faith.
No, frankly, I'm not, you told me you were torn between the two.
Why do you insult people? Do you personally not think you would be happier deciding what you honestly believe and then finding someone that believes the same?
Why insult women and then think that we would want a man torn between two gods?
Just what wrong conclusions do you presume I have jumped to?
I am not sure why you are so angry, I have not insulted you. Why would you think as a Christian you would want a Buddhist wife, or as a Buddhist, why would you want a Christian wife? Does that no seem the slightest bit unequally yoked to you?
I don't want a Buddhist husband, I don't want an Islamic husband, I don't want a husband that follows any faith other that Christianity with a true belief in the Holy Trinity and the teachings of the Holy Word from the Bible itself. Whether that makes a person right or wrong, at least there would be happiness in being yoked with someone you have common ground and agreement with.
Grouping Christian Women or any group into a category of bad or good is never a good thing my Friend. Just because someone isn't right for you does not make them a bad person. The Lord loves all of us to guard our hearts and be equally yoked. I would think until you know what you believe, it would be difficult to know what equally yoked is.
Just what conclusions have I come to in error? You raised a totally legitimate point. Do you not welcome feedback on that point?
A. I never said I worship Yeshua or Siddhartha Gautama. I merely learn from their teachings, and the stories of their life as they have been related in various forms of scripture. Though I do call my self a Christian as I am most inspired by Yeshua's life and teachings over all!
B. I was not dogging on Christians, as I said, I should have stated pseudo-Christians.
C. God bless, and take it easy. Fear and Hate will get us no where.
What I am hearing from you is someone who is searching for the Truth, but what you are doing is walking through the Cafeteria of Religions and placing on your tray what sounds good to you and makes sense to you. God decides who goes to Heaven so I can not say who will or will not but, if you really think about it there can only be One Truth. It is either true or it is not true. You can follow only One Teacher. There are Universal Maxims which is Truth that can be found in the various religions but again, which One do you follow?
