As a former fundy, I have studied and digested all of the various contradictions and errors of Scripture. When pointed out, the discrepancies are quite obvious–to a thinking person.. However, the Christian tact that no matter the appearance, the Word is absolute truth stands in the way of any kind of effective intellectual argument. They know their direction. They take no prisoners.

The coming war between the West and Islam is a feather in the cap of the fundys. It is the last great proof that Truth is on their side. And they will not stand in the way of the conflict; rather, they will rush to escalation.

Can we stop them? Should we even try? Yes, with every fiber of our being. How? As Gandhi said, paraphrased, when there is peace in my heart, it will find its way into the world.

Thank you for writing this.

This is where we have to differ and I agree with your conclusion that your faith requires blood to be shed before sin can be forgiven. I worship life and all that is life, but I am not a vegetarian as some who are. There are people out there who will not have blood shed at all no matter what.

My faith does not require the shedding of blood to bring about forgiveness of sin. I do not agree that God requires any sort of sacrifice to forgive me or even to listen to my pray. That would make Him a small God. God has to be above constraints to be God and He definitely loves us a lot.

But by choosing to disagree does not mean that I would love you any less. You are allowed your freedom to worship God in any way you choose. God still listens.

“To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: two men went up to the temple to pray, (one was a “good citizen” and the other a sinner)… the Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: God, I thank you that I am not like other men- robbers, evildoers, adulterers… (but the other man) beat upon his chest and said: God, have mercy on me, a sinner. I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.”

It is only that I choose a certain path that brought me closer to God than I have ever been and I am glad and satisfied with this chosen path. I do not want anybody hurt, killed or be crushed because of me. I’d rather cry out to God and be truthful to Him on my own rather than use devices. God, I believe, would not have it any other way.

“The Eternal Way”, or the “Perennial Philosophy/Harmony/Faith”, is the one name that has represented Hinduism for many thousands of years. According to Hindus, it speaks to the idea that certain spiritual principles hold eternally true, transcending man-made constructs, representing a pure science of consciousness. But this consciousness is not merely that of the body or mind and intellect, but of a supra-mental soul-state that exists within and beyond our existence, the unsullied Self of all. Religion to the Hindu is the native search for the divine within the Self, the search to find the One truth that in actuality never was lost. Truth sought with faith shall yield itself in blissful luminescence no matter the race or creed professed. Indeed, all existence, from vegetation and beasts to mankind, are subjects and objects of the eternal Dharma. This inherent faith, therefore, is also known as Arya/Noble Dharma, Veda/Knowledge Dharma, Yoga/Union Dharma, Hindu Dharma or, simply, the Dharma.

Another major aspect of Hindu dharma that is common to practically all Hindus is that of purushartha, the “four goals of life”. They are kama, artha, dharma and moksha. It is said that all humans seek kama (pleasure, physical or emotional) and artha (power, fame and wealth), but soon, with maturity, learn to govern these legitimate desires within a higher, pragmatic framework of dharma, or moral harmony in all. Of course, the only goal that is truly infinite, whose attainment results in absolute happiness, is moksha, or liberation, (a.k.a. Mukti, Samadhi, Nirvana, etc.) from Samsara, the cycle of life, death, and existential duality.

I wish you well in your pursuit of God. May you be blessed and be all that you choose to be and be at peace with yourself and with others who cross your path.

In Love,
A Hindu

You have totally missed the mark here, sir. Why was Abel’s sacrafice accepted and Cain’s rejected? Why did the Angel of death pass over (hence the “Passover”) those houses with lamb’s blood on the door? Why did God institute the sacrificial system?

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; sof it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.” -Leviticus 17:11

Just because blood is not mentioned in a particular verse does not mean it isn’t there. The passover lamb and the sacrificial system all pointed forward to the coming of the Messiah who would be the ultimate sacrifice. The Messiah, our spotless and sinless Lamb, was the sacrifice that ended all sacrifices. This is clearest in Isaiah 52:13-53:12.

-His appearance was marred more than any man and His form more than the sons of men.
-He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
-Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening of our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.
-But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.
-He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth.
-By oppression and judgment He was taken away.
-the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
-As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities.
-Because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.

I don’t know about you, but I need that!

-David

Thank you for your response.

Thank you for understanding the issues that I had to face with regard to my personal life. I agree that there is a need to address sin but I disagree with the method being employed as stated in the bible.

The Greek word hamartia (ἁμαρτία) is usually translated as sin in the New Testament. In Classical Greek, it means “to miss the mark” or “to miss the target” which was also used in Old English archery.[

Please understand that while we discuss and even argue about these issues, it is not my intention to judge you in any way. You should continue your pursuit of God in any way that you need to. If you are at peace, so am I.

My immediate term of reference with regard to the bible would be the 4 gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). I cannot accept the authenticity of the other books as they were writings by people who profess themselves to be disciples or apostles. I do not believe that one human being is made greater than the other. Jesus did not create leaders, he created teachers (disciples).

Jesus himself did not at any point state that his blood would be needed to wash away the sins of the world. Even in the old testament, you will notice instances of God forgiving the sins of men without the shedding of blood (Isaiah 1.18). So this tells me that God can forgive sins if He wants to. He does not need an external device to bring about forgiveness.

Well, how then does God forgive our sins? Is He able to simply say “you are forgiven” to those who turn to Him in repentance or must He first sacrifice a sinless individual before He can do this? To get the answer let us read the Bible:

“It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them; that they may return every man from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.”
Jeremiah 36:3

“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
Isaiah 55:7

“I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.” Psalm 32:5

“By mercy and truth iniquity is purged…” Proverbs 16:6

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

Other verses
Ezekiel 18:21-30, Proverbs 21:3, Hosea 6:6, Micah 6:6-8

Even on the cross, as Jesus lay dying, he forgave the sinner next to Him. Jesus had not died yet at that point, yet He forgave.

As for me, I do not need forgiveness as it is my heart that is of importance to God. If my heart is right and I truly worship God, than there is no sin in me. I have not missed the mark.

There are those who do not believe in God and that is perfectly alright. Their heart has no sin since they are being truthful about their thoughts. Be truthful to yourself and be honest about all things, everything else will take care of itself.

Now I could go on on this, but I fail to see the point. I do not judge you in your attempts to seek salvation. I believe that if you need salvation by the use of the blood of an innocent, so be it.

Be at peace and be full of love for your fellowmen. You will see God as you yourself have turned into Him.

In love,
A Hindu

Thank you for your message, and your obvious compassion. I am responding with as much compassion, if not moreso.

I am sorry to hear about your adulterous wife, but if her church is teaching the Bible, then that is not what her church is teaching. God hates adultery and divorce, as witnessed by Jesus’ words that “what God has joined together let no man separate,” regarding marriage.

Philosophically and logically, your position makes sense in about every area except for one. Your sin.

If God looks down on this world with its rapists and murderers and adulterous wives who leave their husbands, and is not angry with sin, then He is unjust.

However, regardless of whether or not we commit rape, murder, or adultery, we all sin against God. And because we all sin against God, we all have a problem, because God is angry with all sin- unless He is unjust.

God promises not to leave the guilty unpunished. Therefore, we need a way for the penalty of our sins against the living God to be paid and we need atonement for our sins.

We all die, and then we all face judgment. Before the judgment seat of the living God, there is nothing that the blood of our ancestors can do for us, because they sinned against God just as we have sinned against God.

How can the penalty of your sins be paid, and how can your sins be atoned?

In love,
David

I am glad to hear that you are well. Ike’s will come and go and maybe bigger IKE’s may come but know that you are important to God.

Right this moment, God wants you to know that He loves you , without favor. It is my belief that I do not need any bridge to meet God since God really doesn’t need a bridge to come see me. He came to my life when I was at my deepest end. Yes, I was cheated by a Christian wife who committed adultery and is now living with her boyfriend. She refuses to allow me to see my sons. Yes, I am upset as this is the kind of teaching her church is probably teaching her while at the same time praying in the Father’s name. This is hypocrisy. This is wrong. Anyway, I am really glad that when ‘Ike’ came my way, God stood by to take my hand. He told me to remove fear and give Him my hand. He told me that there are far too wonderful things than to wallow in my misery.

Last night when I visited the temple to pray, I asked about my sons and He replied that you have found you sons when you have found Me. Find Me and Find everything.

I have already discarded my old ways of seeking God through a book and I embraced my life as a written testament of God’s existence. I am the temple of God and no one can take Him away from me. I am a Hindu again and I am a Dravidian, meaning it was my ancestors who were in Ethopia where civilization begin and where life was worshiped. Artifacts found in Ethopia and dated 13,000 years back have the image of Shiva imprinted on them and Shiva is the name given to God who is the creator and the destroyer. My ancestors worshiped life and knew what life and death meant. Their blood flows through me and I embrace the same worship that they have given to God / Shiva.

Today, ‘Ike’ is till around but I place my life in God and let His goodness surround me.

Dear Bigham,
If you believe that you need a book, so be it. I trust that you are a better judge of yourself than any one of us. May your journey to seek God be an enjoyable one and may you truly find Him.

In Love,
A Hindu

But I’ll listen to the Bible instead of you when my soul is on the line. And it tells me that the fear of God is the beginning of knowledge.

Sorry I haven’t posted in a few days, but hurricane Ike ran off with my electricity. When power and internet were restored, I was very pleased to see that I got a “shout-out” in a post here at de-con.com. Woo-hoo!

Anyways, here’s a surprise for you guys: no big sermon.
Just a thought. And one that I think might change the way that you guys look at things, if you’ll give it a chance.

The “god” being sold by too many churches today is not the real, living God of the Bible. The God who created all things by the power of His word. So, disbelieving in the “god” that you were fed is absolutely the right thing to do, since that “god” is really just an idol anyways.

So, my thought, which I think will help a lot of things in this world to make sense, is this:
God doesn’t want us to be healthy, wealthy, and prosperous.
God wants us to have faith.

Hope you guys weren’t hit, or at least weren’t hit too hard, by Ike!

-David

Many things changed in my life when I came back to being a Hindu but the one thing that I found amazing was that I stopped fearing death and hell. I have no fear anymore of death and hell, something that was constantly ground into my head in church. Open your mind and explore a little. Don’t be afraid to explore. If the Bible remains your source of reference, you will find other religious books that were written far earlier having similar stories to tell. But these religious books are just that, books. I don’t need any book when I am the temple of God and God dwells within me. All knowledge comes from Him and since He dwells within me, why do I need a book to tell me about God?

So stop fearing and shed your chains of insecurity away from your self. Remove all bindings and look within for God. Nothing has been said that was not said before, and nothing has been written that was not written before.

I am glad I found this site. And I am glad that God led me to you.

Be well,
A Hindu

I was a Hindu, then became a Christian and now am a Hindu again. Please do not judge nor condemn me.

Jesus came into this world not to condemn but to save that which was lost. Bigham., why do you condemn me?

Jesus also did not come to judge. Bigham, why do you judge me?

But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven….

Bigham, please do not judge others for you shall be judged by the very measure you use against others.

For it was Christ himself who uttered Love the Lord thy (YOUR) God with all thy heart, and all thy soul, and all thy strength, and all thy mind. (Matt. 22:37). He did not say love the Lord my God.

I am happy with the relationship I have with my God. He is one (Hinduism is monotheistic by the way). He is life and death. He is in everything and everything is in Him.

When Jesus said that you are the temple God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you, he was not referring to a Christian as Christianity did not come into being yet. I too am the temple of God. How can you condemn and judge me, when we are both the same? Remove religion from your heart and you will be set free. Religion is the opposite of God and it constricts thinking. Set yourself free and embrace eternity with an open mind.

I love God to but He goes by another name with me. You can call him any name, but He remains God.

In love,
A Hindu