In my world, where I spend a lot of time studying and discussing different Religions, I am so often amazed with just how much semantics play into the discussions.
If I talk about "The Secret" or the Law of Attraction to my Christian friends, I am speaking the words of Satan and guiding people into Hell since I am discussing how to manifest in one's own life. Now not every Christian believes in it, but many teach what has become known as the "Prosperity Gospel" which is actually nothing more than the Law of Attraction expressed in Christian terminology.
I find it so funny when I have a religious conversation with a Christian and the central theme against another religion is that the practitioners do something, that "works" play a role in their attainment of salvation in whatever form they believe in.
In Buddhism you meditate to find Nirvana within, in many religions one performs rituals to the idea of deity to show devotion and to focus on the ideal. These actions take one to a point where they are completely focused on the goal, preferable growing in their relationship with God, but as in all human activities, they tend to be more mundane like paying the mortgage or getting the kids into college.
Christianity believes that salvation is a gift from God, nothing you can possibly do has any affect since we are all such terrible sinners. The place where I cannot help but giggle is that the individual must make a choice, they must choose to follow Jesus, they must choose to follow through with that decision and grow within that relationship they have chosen to establish. Lastly, most would say it is in your best interest to study the Word and become stronger in one's walk with the Lord, yet another action that likely should be taken.
Sounds like an awful lot of action is involved and my "works" through all the day-by-day and often moment-by-moment choices to pursue and follow my chosen walk with God seem instrumental to my salvation.
The grace of Salvation is not some ring you grab off a hook on a carousel, but something waiting for you to accept willingly. In "A Course in Miracles" they say that there is actually only one sin, to believe that we are separated from God and all these other "sins" are nothing but the manifestation of that one incorrect thought.
Sin means to miss the point or target, forgetting our relationship to Source is what we have forgotten, all the teachers have told us this, it is OK to believe in it and yourself. It is not possible to grow in your relationship with the Creator if you deny you are part of the creation.
If I talk about "The Secret" or the Law of Attraction to my Christian friends, I am speaking the words of Satan and guiding people into Hell since I am discussing how to manifest in one's own life. Now not every Christian believes in it, but many teach what has become known as the "Prosperity Gospel" which is actually nothing more than the Law of Attraction expressed in Christian terminology.
I find it so funny when I have a religious conversation with a Christian and the central theme against another religion is that the practitioners do something, that "works" play a role in their attainment of salvation in whatever form they believe in.
In Buddhism you meditate to find Nirvana within, in many religions one performs rituals to the idea of deity to show devotion and to focus on the ideal. These actions take one to a point where they are completely focused on the goal, preferable growing in their relationship with God, but as in all human activities, they tend to be more mundane like paying the mortgage or getting the kids into college.
Christianity believes that salvation is a gift from God, nothing you can possibly do has any affect since we are all such terrible sinners. The place where I cannot help but giggle is that the individual must make a choice, they must choose to follow Jesus, they must choose to follow through with that decision and grow within that relationship they have chosen to establish. Lastly, most would say it is in your best interest to study the Word and become stronger in one's walk with the Lord, yet another action that likely should be taken.
Sounds like an awful lot of action is involved and my "works" through all the day-by-day and often moment-by-moment choices to pursue and follow my chosen walk with God seem instrumental to my salvation.
The grace of Salvation is not some ring you grab off a hook on a carousel, but something waiting for you to accept willingly. In "A Course in Miracles" they say that there is actually only one sin, to believe that we are separated from God and all these other "sins" are nothing but the manifestation of that one incorrect thought.
Sin means to miss the point or target, forgetting our relationship to Source is what we have forgotten, all the teachers have told us this, it is OK to believe in it and yourself. It is not possible to grow in your relationship with the Creator if you deny you are part of the creation.
