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Have you noticed how peoples "limited" religious beliefs seem to get in the way of sharing any kind of real love, humanity or joy in spirituality with others outside their own?

I see so many religions/churchs that although their founders obviously found a joy so great that they wanted to share it with the world, yet today some of those same religions/churchs seem to want to seperate or even tear down the world because of their limited beliefs, rather than unify it from that love they found.

Some might say the oposite of love is hate...but I say the opposite of love is to exclude...for if you truely know love...you want to share it with the world!

If any belief feels that God only smiles on those who are of the same belief, then they have missed the full spiritual story here...for God is not of the "limited", but is of the "unlimited", and that means God is there for all who seek him.

God is love...and to exclude another from finding that love. [in their own way], is to limit/exclude.

My point here is,,,Don't let any"limited beliefs" get in the way of humanity realizing "unlimited love"

Beliefs seem to seperate us from a love that simply just wants to flow.

Good to see you are back OldHippy!

quote:

Some might say the oposite of love is hate...but I say the opposite of love is to exclude...for if you truely know love...you want to share it with the world!

My mother says that the opposite of love is not hate, but rather fear . . .

My father grew up in a religion that was - and is - very single minded. In college he would get the church bullitin reminding him not to attend dances and that Catholics are evil. It didn't do him much good. He happened to see the movie "Elmer Gantry" and that changed everything for him. He became a seeker. Eventually he found Quakers and that is the faith that I was raised with.

While Quakerism is based in Christianity, in my house the Bible sat on a shelf next to Kahlil Gibran's "The Prophet," "The Anam Cara," "Siddartha," "Black Elk Speaks," "The Koran" and William Least Heat Moon's "Blue Highways."

We talked about faith, sprituality and religion. For me I see the connections in faith and not the divisions.

Jet

Susan Glaspell said something wonderful which is very much to the point here. It was her history of the world, in fragments, and I may mangle it, as I´m in Portugal and can´t consult my source, but it was something like this: "Living church becomes pure theatre. Pure theatre becomes pure dead church. Dead church becomes living theatre." The idea is that wonderful ritual arises from human experience and then becomes religion, which attempts to codify and exclude (exactly right, Old Hippy) and makes experience rigid and dead. Out of that dead thing, new life can arise, but it doesn´t call itself church. I think we don´t need a new religion, Old Hippy, we just need what Mary Oliver says: to fall down on our knees in a meadow and know that we are part of it all, and to love it with all our hearts.

If you find a new religion a couple of steps down the line it will just be like the rest.

It seems to me that religions over time go through a process by which what started them is forgotten and "true believers" all want to impose their own standards on the other followers of that religion. 'You're either with us or against us.'

It happened throughout history and is happening today.

Another line from a song this one from the Eagles
"Call some place Paradise kiss it goodbye."

I guess religion has played a huge role in my life. I was raised very mexican and very catholic. By all accounts, my family is one of the "liberal" ones but that's not saying much. I have to say though that thanks to my parents, I grew up aware of other religions and often attending services for other religions because of friends my parents had made throughout the years.

Catholicism didn't work for me and so later on in life, I became a Quaker. Culturally, I guess I'm catholic, and I'm okay with that. I can see the beauty in all religions but honestly, I see the most beauty in faith.

in my mind, the worst thing you can do is go out into the world and force your beliefs on others or tell them right from wrong according to your God. Believe in what you personally need to believe in and go. That's just a little harder to find with organized religion.

Ela

Some say that all religion does is let people believe that there is a higher power because if people did not have something to worship or believe in at a higher level they would have to take to the idea that life is what it is and people should stop asking questions and just do something with their love: help others, believe you can make a difference, love and be loved. Psychologically speaking, religion as do idol worshipers just gives people an excuse to think that "heaven" awaits them and that though the world may suck there is a better place when you die. People are too afraid of death and need that belief that therte is something better waiting for them....but death should not be feared..it is simply a new door opening after the door of life has closed. THough, i do believe there may be a "switch" or something in the brain that leaves people in an eternal dreamstate where there unconscious belief of heaven or h-ll and where they belong comes into fruition. There may be no "other" but if there is Bless him or her or it. I happen to believe in the Buddhist view of reincarnation. No g-d per se or higher judgement. Unfortunatly, each of us is who we have been made to be and good/bad is determined by our environemtn, our teachers, our genetics and how we choose to exist. Perhaps god is like a crutch to help people make sense out of disasters and anomie when there may be no other answer or punishment in the "afterlife" thouh again, i do have some Buddhist beliefs and believe , myself, that if i do good, i will come back in a good form etc.

Ever been to Africa Hippy? If so know of any good spiritual places there (Imean the "real" Africa not far northern Africa. just an aside. : )

peace and comfort to all sentient beings,
Jx Joshua

Interesting thread..
My parents were both from very religious backgrounds-my father Mormon, my mother Roman Catholic. They got together in the 60's and decided that religion was not for them..I was raised aetheist. In my family, science was God. Everything had to be proven by scientific fact. There was not much room for spirituality, as it could not be proven by fact.
When I grew up, I was drawn to spiritual things, but my parents always were very upset by my interest in it. They had had very negative experiences in childhood, and I think they just sort of "collapsed" that into one big heap with religion/seeking.
Six years ago, I had cancer and almost died. I had a "spiritual experience". After this, I did much seeking and decided to become Catholic, as an adult. It was very
upsetting to my parents. At this point, they still will not talk to me about it.
This year, I decided to devote my life to service, in the social justice sense of the phrase...and go around the world for several years devoting myself to volunteer work. Some of the places I am going are Catholic, some are non-religious, a few are Hindu or Buddhist.Planning the trip has made me realize the commonalities of spiritual seekers and beliefs, and the importance of the ecuemenical movement.
There are positive aspects to all faiths.
The Chinese have a saying "When your cart reaches the foot of the mountain, a path will appear." I hope your path appears for you, in whatever form that would be. God is love, it is that simple.
You may find of interest the book< " Soul of A Citizen: Living With Conviction In A Cynical Time" By Paul Loeb, i read about it in Sojourners magazine(spiritual social activism) an I just finished it. It is excellent.
Gigirtw
http://blogs.bootsnall.com/gigirtw

I started searching for God when I turned 18, through books such as black elk speaks, kahlil gibran, celestine prophecy, sacred journey of the peaceful warrior, herman hesse,carl sagan (!), and the like.

Ive come to believe in Jesus for a couple years now. I know that the way to peace does not have bringing each other down. There are always the extreme in different religions that bring out the worst.