There is either one way to God or many ways to God - Both can NOT be true at the same time!
Since Yeshua (Jesus) is the ONLY teacher ever claimed to be “The ONLY Way”, Christians (Christ Followers) can come across as judgmental and condescending of other religions. This can seem disrespectful and intolerant of other ways and probably is a “turn off” to a lot of people seeking tolerance, “oneness” & “harmony” among people and in the world. As a believer in Yeshua who said “I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE, NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER BUT THROUGH ME“ John 3:16, I can’t support another way that contradicts what Yeshua said. That does not mean I don’t have respect to people for who they are - Let me explain:
I always wanted the REAL deal – in every thing in my life – I never wanted the fake… Sometimes I had to compromise on the fake because the “real” was too expensive or out of reach, but I still hoped to have the REAL. The fake is NEVER as good as the REAL. How do you know it’s “real” - It’s “real” when it comes from the ORIGINAL – Right? And when it comes to the questions about God, the universe, what it’s all about etc., it comes down to the ONLY REAL DEAL AROUND where it all started – GOD – The Creator – The Original!
Because that’s how I see it and understand it, I want every thing in my life to be REAL and to come from the original. - I want every thing in my life to come from God and to be of God and for God.
The character of God does not lie, does not contradict it self – it is ALWAYS TRUE – I know it because HIS story is laid out for me in the Bible and I believe with all my heart that the Bible is not “men made”, but “God made”. I believe God laid it down for us so we can get to know HIM, so we can know what HE wants from us and why, so we can come to HIM. From all the stories and ideas I have heard about, the story of the Bible is the only one that does not come short of the big answers…
There are plenty of great teachers out there through out the times, teachers who spoke of positive changes, harmony, love, peace, unity etc.. It’s all great stuff and great teachings but when you get to the bottom of it, when you get to the essence of what they teach, they ALL come short of the Bible - Of the teachings of God. I don’t undermine any of it but I also am looking for the FULL picture, for the source of it all – for the ORIGINAL. - I can ONLY find it in GOD and in HIS word – The one who created me and the world – The one it ALL came from – The ONLY ONE with ALL the answers.
People tend to pick and chose the stuff they like about a certain way or religion but ignore or push aside the rest. Take Buddhism for example – Buddhism leaves GOD out of the picture. It teaches that we do not need God but can do it on our own… Here are some quotes from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_in_Buddhism (one site out of many…)
“In Buddhism, there is no Supreme creator. Yet thoughts (or mind, perceptions, etc.; Pali manas, mano in combined form) are the causes and conditions of the way we view the world.”
“In Buddhism there is no “designer” who is outside of the design.”
“In early Buddhism, the Buddha clearly states that “reliance and belief” in creation by a supreme being leads to lack of effort and inaction”
My point is that this is completely contradicts and goes against with what I believe about God. The good teachings that Siddhartha taught about love and positive thinking etc., he did not come up with on his own. Those teachings were there long before his time, and ORIGINATED IN GOD! And that goes to ALL those teachers and Gurus out there! But the teachings he DID come up with on his own and what is in the essence of Buddhism - Has no God in it, no light in it, it is dark and I believe it to be false teaching. Therefore, I can not support someone on a path that I believe is dark and false! Yet, this does not mean I can not support them as people, and respect them as people for who they are, love them and support them in finding the TRUTH.
To illustrate farther - If someone is a smoker and I believe smoking is bad – Should I offer them another cigarette? Should I buy them a pack? Should I smoke with them to show them support??? I will not be able to do that because it goes against what I believe but I CAN support them by giving them the space to smoke, allowing them do what they want to do, I can support them by respecting and accepting that this is where they are at in their understanding. I can support them however, by showing them that it is much better for themnot to smoke… I can support the PERSON, but I can not support their WAY! Can you see the difference???
I do believe that all the positive teachings out there – Those that do NOT contradict with GOD’S word, ARE in essence FROM God. People who think THEY can do it, THEY can get there, ON THEIR OWN, following MEN MADE ideas – To these people I say - You are missing out on the ESSENCE and missing out on GOD! I really believe there is ONE WAY and once you come to that belief, there is just no way to “sugar coat” what it means - That other ways must be wrong… Would you support someone on the wrong way???
You may say, “who are you to say it is wrong?” or “who are you to say that other ways are wrong?” - What people need to understand is that it is not Christians that are saying that, but it is GOD who said it – HE gave clear instructions and clear warnings throughout the Bible about these kind of false teachings and false teachers – those that CONTREDICTS HIS WORD so Take it up with HIM (-:
“How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame ? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods ? Selah” Psalms 4:2
“Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.” Psalms 40:4
“Then the LORD said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds.” Jeremiah 14:14
“For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible.” Matthew 24:24
We are ALL fall short of the glory of God and that is why we ALL need a savior – someone who can guide us, someone who can walk with us, someone who does not fall short of the glory of God, someone HOLY – Like Yeshua.
One big difference between Christianity and other religions is that ALL other religion gives you a “TO DO” list of all that YOU need to DO in order to find that peace everyone want… In Christianity – It was ALREADY DONE FOR YOU! That is just AWASOME!!! KNOWING that I don’t have to do it on my own, I don’t have to figure it out on my own! HE takes my hand and walks with me all the way through showing me HIS WAY (“Nirvana”)!
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