A while back there was a thread about if catholics prayed to the virgin mary more than they prayed to jesus, and this got me thinking, do christians pray to jesus more than they pray to god?
I ask this because most of the people that i know that are christian always talk about Jesus like if he was god.They always talk about how Jesus their lord and savior help them they never mention god helping them.

Most Christians pray to God and ask things in the name of Jesus I am unsure who gets prayed to the most I am going to say it depend on how you were taught in the first place, I usually pray to"God" first and then" ask these things in the name of your son Jesus"because he was sent to save us or something very close also including any name of Saints or Angels, Hope thats gets the ball rolling...Aanica

In a word for most yes. But they would defend this by saying that God and Jesus are the same person

thats exactly what i meant when i said that they talk about Jesus like if he was god. that would make him his own dad

thats exactly what i meant when i said that they talk about Jesus like if he was god. that would make him his own dad

They say that too.


Mormons on the other hand do not say this at all. and we pray to god through his son Jesus.

It's simply the difference between Trinitarian christians and non-Trinitarian Christians.

Trinitarians (the vast majority of Christians) believe God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are 3 separate and single entities. The non-Trinitarians (chiefly Mormons, Jehova's Witness and Unitarians and some Quakers) believe they are three separate entities entirely.

**shrugs** I'm a Quaker. Quakers don't "pray" really, so I never understood what praying to something really means.

You have never prayed. You have never asked for a better crop this year. or a better job. or whatever you do to live. Wether or not you put god in the thought you have prayed

Salaam (Peace)

The Jesus (AS) topic comes up very often when going to Churches for Interfaith Dialogue. To me it seems that more emphasis is place upon Jesus (AS), but they do not seem to view this as not placing emphasis on "God". Some focus on Jesus (AS) more than others. When we went to the Unity Church they explained to us that they primarily focus upon the message of Jesus (AS) - which is about "God" - rather than Jesus himself. The message more than the Messenger. I've even heard Christians say "Praise Jesus", justified by the Trinity God Concept, yet I've never heard a Christian praise or pray to the Holy Spirit/Ghost. Are there some that do?

It would behoove you to look up what Quakers actually do believe... you might understand it a bit better. In short, no, I have never prayed for better crops, jobs, or anything. Those are the kinds of things I can influence and make happen on my own, without Gods help if I so choose.

In short, Quakers believe in a form of "Silent and Expectant Waiting" ... we patiently wait for God to come to us as he sees fit. We ask for nothing... we receive what we need to receive at the right time.



Quakers, Mennonites, Brethren, and Amish are actually quite Holy Spirit/Ghost centric in a way.

it might but that is why I asked you.

But Friend, you didn't exactly do that either... Perhaps you meant to, but that's not the way it came across in your post. No worries.

Jesus is more relateable then God...although they also consider them the same entity so it really doesn't matter.

Jesus is human God isn't

Some, not all, Pentecostals are nontrinitarians. Oneness Pentecostals do not consider God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit as separate entities but all as the same God in the same person. Modalism or Sabellianism is very similar in that it views God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit as different modes but the same person. Just as one man can be a father to someone, a son to someone else, and a husband to another, but these titles or roles do not mean it is three different people since it is the same person.

Absolutely, I pray to and praise God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Salaam (Peace)

I think I have a pretty good understanding of the Christian concept of "God the Father", and "God the Son", but not the third part so much. Please tell me, in your belief, what is the exact role of the Holy Spirit???

My concept. Still small voice telling you right from wrong. But not god.

I also praise, love and defend The power (Which is the Love) of the Father , son (YOU) and The Holyn spirit (Mother).

Some callFather and Mother , God, Allah ,Giah, nJesus, Etc. There is only one no matter what name one prefers or doctrin one chooses to follow.

The Holy spirit is Our Mother of our spirit, as Father is the Father , you are the ofspring Of this Holy Union of spirit wether you believe me or not.

YOur biological parents , wether you divorce them or not are still your Biological parents.

As your eternal parents are Your eternal parents, wether you rember, know Or believe this or not.

They love you unconditionally wether you know or believe this.

Does not stop what Iam talking about, THe Power Of God is the love we share, This love will come back to Haunt you, as a Good thing, Share it and Love God whoever you think God is , You must love all God's creations also, They are your brother and sister. No matter what they believe,

This honors the father and Mother (GOD) in heaven, as well as The Father and Mother on Earth, It also Honors the son (YOU) And all your son's and Daughters in The physical.
This love is a chain which binds the physical to the imortal, Loose the love, break the chain.
All son's and daughters are Of God

Love Omnaka

Not Even, I know Father and Mother (God) And I also know Brother Jesus, Father and Mother need Nothing and Love Unconditional. Bro on the other Hand Likes lots of ritual and the like.

Either way the prayers are answered and Go to the intended.

Although Only some Of those who think they are going to Jesus' world are actually Going.

One needs only have a conversation with His consciousness to speak with Father. And no one needs an interpreter to speak with Father .

This is a truth.

Love Omnaka

Yep, they love Jesus more than the ones who sent him.

Even Mohammed stated that the Christians made the mistake of loving Jesus more than the ones who sent him.

Jesus was just a dude who was educated by people from another planet in order to help spread peace and love around the planet. His dad did come from the sky though. Jesus is half alien, you know.

-Josh
Aliens='God'
www.rael.org

Salaam (Peace)

I'm interested to know if you believe that Muhammad (SAW) was educated by people from another planet, and/or if he was half alien? I have heard this mentioned a lot about Jesus (AS). What is your belief based upon? Just curious.

Your right since God is an alien. ie he is not human.

...........<<>> God the Father and the Son Jesus are one.

(John.14:7-11)- (The Father Revealed)- verse- 7- "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."
Verse- 8 - Philip said to Him,"Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."

Verse- 9 - Jesus said to him, "Have i been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father"?

Verse- 10- Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.

Verse- 11 - "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.

We can pray to God the Father, The Son Jesus & the Holy Spirit.
The (Unified) Godhead or divinity, so that all three persons are one in unity and eternal substance,but three separate and distinct persons as to individuality (1 John.5:7-8; Dan.7:9-14; Matt.3:16-17; 28:19; Acts.7:56-59).....................Joey

I agree with you.


Just like any well functioning family is. Even if they don't live together anymore.

Yes,Catholics do,and we have prayers and hyms to the Holy Spirit/Ghost.There is one that goes,Come Holy Spirit, creator blessed and in our hearts take up
thy rest. I can't recall all the words right now. It seem to me that fundie protestants talk about the Holy Spirit too.

Sometimes when Pentecostals call to Jesus they are calling on the Spirit. The indwelling of the Spirit is a major component of Pentecostal and Charismatic churches. Some people go to church to talk about God we go to church to experience God. But at least among Oneness Pentecostals Jesus is considered the same as God and the Spirit, they are all the same entity, there is no trinity in this view.

God has manifested in various ways through Jesus as the Creator (John 1:3), the Alpha and the Omega (Revelation 1:8), the Great I Am who revealed Himself to Abraham (John 8:58), and Jesus was the One who guided the Israelites out of Egypt (1 Corinthians 10:1-4). After the day of Pentecost in Acts God has manifested through the Spirit and as prophesied in Joel 2:28 and mentioned again in Acts 2:17 that God's Spirit will be poured on all flesh. It is the helper Jesus promised to come after He left in John 14 and 15. This still continues today.

The tree of life in Eden IMHO has nothing to do with a real tree but a direct connection to God which is through the Spirit. When they listened to the serpent and wanted their eyes opened like God and to be like God, that is to do it on their own, without relying on God or God's Spirit, they were cut off from that tree. In Revelation the tree of life is mentioned again and mankind can now, in the spirit, be connected to God again directly.

Here are other passages regarding the Spirit as it pertains to the modern believer: Romans 8:9, Romans 8:16, Romans 8:26, 1 Corinthians 2:10, 1 Corinthians 3:16, and 2 Corinthians 5:5.

This is a question which made me think deeply. It is obvious that many people see and relate to god in very different ways just from the comments on this thread so far. I would not argue with any of them. Personally im a bit like Miissmelswell

The more god becomes a part of me, and vice versa, the less i pray to him. Ie the less i ask of him.

As I get to know him, i realise he already gives me everything i need, and watches over me every minute of the day. I tend to ask him what i can do for him, could he show me more of his will and his way/ plan for my life. I thank him for the blessings in my life, and let him know that i am content to place my life in his hands.

The closest i get to asking him consciously for something, is to ask him to walk with me and if he would mind talking with me, and being a sounding board . I tell him that i am receptive to his voice and want to do his will. Its not prayer so much as conversation with a much older and wiser brother or a father. I have found that god always answers "prayers"even when they are not consciously voiced and he does so in a way that is best for you. He always gives what we need and not what we want.
I get the feeling that my relationship may resemble that of a muslim, in an element of complete acknowledgent of gods control, and submission to his will, but i dont know enough about their concept of god to be sure. Because i appreciate the great responsibility god has given me, through intelligence and fee will i always try to honour those gifts through respecting them and using them as fully and wisely as i can

While i have a clear concept of the nature of god and the 3 forms he occupies, i tend to see my self as talking with god the father..Jesus had a fixed form and purpose both on earth and in heaven, and the holy spirit is too much an energy form for me to relate to. It was god the father who said he made us in his own image and so i seem to relate better to him.

Jesus exemplifies the type of human, god wants us to be in many respects and yet it is impossible to be exactly like him because he was possessed by the holy spirit.

It is god which surrounds us and suffuses our being, which also makes it easier to conceptualise talking with him, while i tend to think of jesus still occupying one physical place in the universe.

Ie jesus in in heaven, but god the father is in me and all around me ,given his physical integration with the fabric of the universe.
So that is how i relate to god,

This is probably a mistaken idea, but one i find difficult to shake off, creating a psychological barrier to conversing directly with jesus.
Also, in my personal experience, god has sent angels and messages through dreams visions and voices rather than employing jesus, and so i tend to reply in kind.

However, given that jesus and god are one and the same, i dont think it really matters, and jesus did say that we should come to god through him (my problem with that, is that i never went to god at all, he came to me, which kind of rendered jesus' advice superfluous, at least if it was meant in that way).

Bit of a ramble, but as i said, a question which made me think. Church of england /anglican church in australia always used to end prayer with in the name of the father son and holy ghost. Some biblically based christians use all three interchangably because they see all three as equal aspects of one god. sometimes separate and sometimes completely integrated. Kind of like an amoeba capable of splitting and joining but when it is separates it has a mind which is interconnected, so that each element is completely aware of what is happening to the other elements and capable of instantaneous communication and reintegration at any time Thus they may say "dear heavenly father.........We ask this of you in jesus name" and /or "Through the power of the holy spirit"

...........<<>> A question Mr Walker? What Church do you attend ? And what doctrine do you follow? You can PM me with your answer if you want to.................Joeycastaneda56.

Not the more fundamentalist ends of Protestantism. Sometimes they seem to overlook the New Testament at all, or at least those bits that make any mention of what Jesus may have actually said or wanted, preferring instead to dwell on the more blood-and-thunder parts of the Old Testament.

it doesnt matter which one you pray to there the same for lack of better word person theres the father [god] the son [jesus] and the holy spirit

I would hope not!

I think Christians have given a "human face to God" in regard to Jesus. He has become like a symbol of God's relationship to humanity and this is what is referred to as "the Son." Put another way, the "Son" is where the Divine and humanity meet. What is being affirmed is the union or oneness of God with humanity on this level. A very powerful affirmation of deep implications IMO, but it is bolstered by the concept of our being "made in God's image."

Sorry I don't have a more conventional explanation. This is also not "my" explanation but is what I learned from my wonderful teachers.

Salaam (Peace)

As far as Christians go, I communicate mainly with Baptist, Methodist, and Church of Christ. They do indeed "talk" about the Holy Spirit/Ghost, but I can't remember one time when I heard them praising the Holy Spirit/Ghost. I hear them speak of "being filled with the Holy Spirit/Ghost"

NP joey. I dont regularly attend a church, mostly because for 25 years we lived just too far away from any, and had family commitments which prevented us. I can, and do, walk into most churches mosques or other places of worship and sense the presence of god, and while identifying aspects of worship which i might not personally agree with, still comfortably commune with god there., but i can also do that on a starry night in the middle of a desert ,or in a class room full of 14 year old kids

I have studied with many christian denominations and have an interest in non christian religons, although they are not as culturally relevant to me. My wife and i read the bilble and study it. I call myself a biblically based christian (meaning all of the bible) and see both the cultural ideals and the nature of god as expressed in the bible as acceptable to me, but acknowledge that if i had been born in another culture, god would have come to me in a different form and context.

I follow, as much as anyone can, the bible eg all the 10 commandments.( i keep the sabbath day friday sunset to saturday sunset, , not in the manner of the pharisees, but as jesus said the laws should be obeyed., out of love for god and a desire to do what he has aid is best for us.) I believe the laws of god have both significant social and spiritual significance and should be obeyed, But to sum up, my main credo would be "in all things love"
Thus treatment of self and others comes before the letter of the law. because love/jesus is the fulfilment of the law.
I see god as a father who loves his creations. Unlike many modern people, i know that a person who loves people must sometimes do things to them which seem to hurt them, in order to protect them or teach them to avoid far greater harm. True love does not allow harm to come through too much compassion, any more than too little.

I believe that while jesus died for us, his sacrifice takes away the original sin placed on all humanity at the fall, but that each individual, who is given the choice and is capable of making it, must accept god/jesus and through love, do their best to sin no more. People who consciously choose to sin , i do not believe are eternally covered by gods grace or jesus'sacrifice. Otherwise heaven would be full and very few would die.

Not an easy doctrine to sum up, and an amalgam of many years experience and study.

The majority of Protestant Christians consider Jesus to be God in human form, so there is no difference between Jesus and God (by which I assume you mean the Father). Additionally, if you listen to most Christians when they pray out loud, they usually close with something along the lines of "In your Son's name we pray... Amen." So, the prayer is directed at God, the Father, not at Jesus.

All the stuff I hear when I flip through the channels,and land on the religious networks,I certainly think they do.

It sounds so... peaceable and comforting. Thanks MissMels for the brief explanation. I know no Quakers personally.

...........<<>> Thank you for your answer 'Mr Walker'. It sounds like we are on the same road. Have a great week. And (God Bless) you and your family..................JoeyCastaneda56.

Hi,

Yes, Muhammed was educated by people from another planet, however the original teachings were distorted/mistranslated/open to corruption and this is why the Koran is full of horrible violent passages.

We know that Muhammed was taken for a night journey across the sky and that he went to 'heaven'. He was educated in a cave by the 'Archangel Gabriel' who would have been a person from another planet.

He's not half alien, from our standpoint. He's just a normal man that they selected to carry their message.

These beliefs are based upon what the Prophet Rael was told when a person from another planet gave him a new message for humanity. He's the last of the prophets because humanity have finally reached maturity and we can understand our creators instead of dumbly adoring them like gods.

If you want to read what the alien told him, you can download 'Intelligent Design - Message from the Designers' at www.rael.org for free. Any questions let me know.

-Josh

Can I come to the picnic too??

Thank you

I'd have to say, it is peaceful and comforting.

You may know Quakers, you just don't realize you do. Although, admittedly we are short in numbers--one of the the smallest if not the smallest in number of all the "major" denominations. I believe that there are about 45K Friends in the USA.

It is a peacful and quiet faith... we are often lumped in with the Anabaptist faiths although we are not Anabaptists -- mostly the Mennonites and Brethren because all three chuches are part of the Historic Peace Chruches who work on peace and non-violence programs. The Mennonites and Quakers are actively and permenently involved at the UN facillitating peaceful solutions to global violence and war.

As far as the OP goes... Anabaptists (mostly faiths descendent from Mennonites, which include Amish and Brethren and a few others) and Quakers who aren't decendent of anything other than the 16th century philosophy of George Fox, LOL, are all what's called "Inner Light Faiths" They feel their communications come from the Holy Spirit. Mennonites pray, as do Brethren... but they are "filled with the holy spirit which moves them to do Gods work" more or less. There are also a few Pentacostal churches that fall into this category as well. Along with the little known Molocans who fell out of the Russian Orthodox church.

Individually, many Anabaptists and Quakers don't consider themselves Christian at all. Ask an Amish person if they consider themselves Christian and they will probably tell you no--they are Amish.

I kind of prefer the term "Christian Spiritualist" for myself. Some Friends call themselves "Children of Light." I've also heard Meno's call themselves that as well. It's often been said that the Gospel of John is the "Quaker Gospel"

Anabaptists and Quakers have very very different beliefs about God, the Bible, salvation etc... but in the end, they all work together toward a common goal of peace, integrity, simplicity, and equality for all people.

I'm in Western Canada. I might know some unknowingly, but there are no large groups nearby.

Most Chrsitians I know (trinitarians, Conservative Protestantism) pray to God the Father, but we do so through Jesus Christ's name. that is what I believe the Bible teaches (Jesus is our intercessor, our High Priest who intercedes to God on our behalf).

that said, Jesus is also God,so the distinction is quite arbitrary, though biblically the right thing to do.

Ya, and large is subjective... I do know there's a permanent meeting house in Vancouver... it's near the airport. It just looks like a cute little turn of the century house with a simple sign on the outside that says "Quaker Meeting House". No other identifying marks. It could easily be mistaken for someone's home.

Many Quakers simply hold their meetings in each other's homes. Other's don't attend meetings at all. Some attend only regional or national meetings which happen either quarterly, yearly or every 5 years.

If I had to guess, I bet BC has several hundred Quakers living there. But probably not much more than that. I could be well wrong though.

WA and Or have some very large groups.

Nice!! The meeting house would be about two hours from me, in Richmond I'm guessing. I don't get out there often but I like the fact that they're around. I don't know why.

All are welcome. You only have to ask, and really want to come.

Knock, knock....... (door opens) smiling man standing there ... come in. Welcome!

Mr Walker, your thoughts ring very true...
There is something we can learn from all aspects of religion just as you say.... Love is the most important of everything.... at least its one thing all can agree on from every stance.

But even if on the sabath day if your horse fell into a deep ditch...please pull him out.....Bible says we should.... He'd be scared left in there all night.....

Blessings

Thats what i meant with my comments about the pharisees and jesus. Jesus told us to still obey the laws but to do so out of /with, love(as in the case of the good samaritan)

So while one should try to keep the sabbath as a day of rest, reflection and worship; care for self, others, and yes, animals, comes first. I have a brother in law who was a grazier for many years and a far better sabbath keeper than i. He would still take a drive out through his beautiful pastoral property on sabbath to check any animals which might be at risk, eg through birthing, and would still do what ever was necessary to stop them suffering on the sabbath.
Nurses, doctors, etc are specifically excluded from strict sabbath worship because their jobs involve helping people, but all sabbath keepers should apply the same basic principle. Love first. law second. The law is there to show us right from wrong. Love tells us how we should obey the laws.

The pharisees had evolved such a complex set of laws that the original intent and purpose of the sabbath had been lost. For example the distance a person could walk on the sabbath wa regulated by a piece of thread attached to their clothes.You could legally walk the distance of that thread, but not a step more. This became the standard length allowable for a sabbath journey. Jesus pointed out how ridiculous and wrong, such legalistic linterpretations were, but still obeyed, and taught obedience of, his fathers laws.

It's probably been covered in this thread, but Christians believe in the holy trinity, that is, the three forms of one God; all equal. So basically there are three gods in Christianity, the traditional God, Jesus and the holy spirit. While these are three different entities and act in their own mannerisms separate from each other, they are all equal to God. So when you pray to Jesus, your praying to God, when you pray to God (the father in this sense), you're praying to God, etc. But in my view, Christians do prefer Jesus over God because the Jews already have God; Jesus is what makes Christianity Christian. Mainly all of Christian teaching comes from the New Testament, which means it mostly comes from Jesus, so really, you'd be more inclined to pray to Jesus because not only is he more popular in Christianity, he is also the human-form of God, so in other words, he would be the one who can relate.